You've only been playing for half a year, and you've already reached the finals?

Chapter 297 It’s inevitable to win!

After the match ended, both contestants stood up and bowed to the audience in the center of the stage.

Both players were in high spirits at the moment, and their emotions were not affected by the outcome of the game.

To be frank, this is just an exhibition match. Even if everyone played seriously in the last game, it doesn't prove anything.

Of course, some viewers don't think that way; they like to jump in and stir things up at times like these.

When he checked the forum after the match, he saw that the forum had started arguing again.

To be honest, Fei Shen is definitely more than one level stronger than the other nine, right? They even seem to be from completely different art styles.

[Is there even a question? Two consecutive Finals MVP awards have already proven it; do you really need an All-Star title to prove it?]

[Is this guy, Fei Xiaozi, really brainless? Didn't he also send his dad, Fei, to his death in the second round? Using an entertainment match to put down one and praise another is just outrageous, isn't it?]

[Was that considered giving away the second game? Wasn't it a deliberate opportunity given to secure a third game?]

Yes, yes, yes, if Fei's dad dies, it's an opportunity; if Niu Niu dies, it's a gift.

[I think some people are just arguing for the sake of arguing. In the second game, he even dodged TheShy's Flash and ultimate, holding onto his Windfury without using it, and then got hit by Alistar's combo. You can't say that wasn't intentionally given to him?]

[First, you dodge the ultimate attack to prove your skill, then you turn around and take the hit for entertainment, right?]

Greatness needs no further explanation!

[Actually, there's not much to say. Fei Shen is indeed strong, but using a casual best-of-three match to criticize nine players and praise one is a bit disgusting.]

Enjoy this while you can, brothers! You won't be able to watch Fei Shen's next match for another six months.

Even after the All-Star game, Ming Jing's mission was not over.

He first returned to Shanghai, and then followed the team to several more fan meet-and-greets.

This is a must. Ming Jing always runs away as soon as he wins a championship, and he's not even there when the team holds a meet-and-greet. This will definitely make the fans feel bored.

If Fei Shen isn't here, what are we going to do?
Unfortunately, EDG had no choice but to postpone the fan meeting until Mingjing returned to the team.

Ming Jing didn't find it troublesome at all; on the contrary, he was quite enthusiastic during the meet-and-greet, fulfilling all requests for autographs or photos.

After all, he knows that his fans are the source of his high status, so he doesn't think too highly of himself.

After attending several meet-and-greets, Ming Jing stayed in Shanghai for a few more days and spent two more days with Song Xuan.

When I returned to Wuhan, 2021 had already quietly passed, and it was already early January.

With competitions, contests, award ceremonies, and All-Star meet-and-greets, Ming Jing has barely had a break in the second half of the year.

Fortunately, the work is done and there's nothing to do for the time being. Mingjing just needs to rest, adjust his condition, and prepare for the national training team at the end of March.

Of course, Mingjing won't be neglected in the game either.

At the very least, you still have to play ranked matches; you have to at least maintain your form.

On January 10th, the ranked matches of Season 12 officially began. Mingjing kept his promise and duo-queued with Wang Hao to climb the ranks.

The S12 region removed the extremely malicious rule that "players above Master rank cannot duo queue," allowing Wang Hao to cling to Ming Jing's coattails and see what the Challenger rank looks like.

The start of the new season is arguably the most difficult time to climb the ranks, especially in the Challenger tier, which is filled with streamers and professional players. You never know when you might encounter a top player from last season who had a thousand points in a single ranked match.

Fortunately, Ming Jing was the most resourceful junior agent, so even if Wang Hao couldn't withstand the pressure, Ming Jing would be there to cover for him.

With a win rate as high as 90%, their scores skyrocketed!

Although limited by time and not as focused as those streamers who stay up all night to reach the first King rank, both of them are still firmly in the top tier in terms of score.

In less than a week, Wang Hao soared to Master, which was his ceiling from last season.

Of course, Wang Hao's skill level is actually not bad. He only reached Master rank last season, mainly because he had to prepare for his last CMO, so he didn't have as much time for ranked matches as before.

After reaching the Master level, their win rate dropped slightly from 90% to 80%, but they were still in a class of their own in terms of ranking efficiency!

While Mingjing's ranked matches were in full swing, the LPL Spring Split officially began.

As the champion team, EDG has naturally received a lot of attention.

Everyone understands that EDG's strength will inevitably be greatly reduced without Mingjing.

But everyone is also wondering, without Mingjing, how much of EDG is left?

Fortunately, EDG's performance did not disappoint the fans.

In the first two matches of the tournament, EDG faced FPX and UP respectively.

This year's FPX is no longer the championship contender they were last year; their dismal performance in the round of 16 has completely dismantled the team.

Doinb, Xiaotian, and Liu Qingsong have all left the team, and top laner Khan has also returned to South Korea to prepare for his military service.

Last year's second seed FPX has now been reduced to just Lin Weixiang, making a significant drop in their strength inevitable.

Indeed, this is true. Although EDG fielded substitute mid laner Zeka, FPX's mid laner Gori was also a substitute.

This Gori looks familiar to everyone; he's the one who gave Faker a thumbs-down to humiliate him after winning against T1 in the LCK last year.

What's even more outrageous is that after being attacked by Kobe fans after the match, he posted that Phi is the greatest mid laner of all time in his mind, and that his "like" was done on behalf of Phi, seemingly to rally Mingjing's fans against Kobe's fans.

But Mingjing's fans weren't buying into this provocation and rallied for him.

In both games, Zeka performed exceptionally well, consistently dominating Gori and helping the team secure their first victory of the Spring Split with a 2-0 score.

In the subsequent match against UP, Zeka played even more ruthlessly, achieving a godlike performance in the first game and helping his team crush their opponents with a score of 16:2.

Although he was somewhat invisible in the second game, Viper stepped up and helped the team secure another solid victory.

After watching these two best-of-three series, countless fans felt a little relieved.

It seems EDG's eye for talent remains as sharp as ever; this substitute mid-laner named Zeka is quite something.

That Akali played with a style reminiscent of an old friend!
At this moment, the comments section was already filled with messages like "Fei, team, don't worry."

But Mingjing didn't take these two BO3 matches seriously.

Matches against weaker teams are like ranking matches; they don't offer much reference value.

Zeka's true strength can only be demonstrated when facing strong teams.

Having long been certain of the team's victory, he didn't even watch the game; he simply focused on leading Wang Hao to quickly climb the ranks.

Another week passed, and on January 24th, Wang Hao officially entered the top 1 in the national server, advancing to the King rank.

Meanwhile, EDG is finally facing a tough battle.

In the second week of the Spring Split, EDG faced off against TES.

This will be the last match before the Spring Festival. After this match, the players will go home to celebrate the Spring Festival.

With its left-handed player, TES is undoubtedly one of the strongest mid-lane teams in the LPL.

This match will be the real test for Zeka.

Unfortunately, Zeka did not perform well in this test.

In the first game, Zeka's performance was a complete mess, and he lost miserably in the duel against Zuo Shou's mage assassin.

Not only was he solo-killed by his opponent, but he also performed terribly in the later stages of the game, frequently feeding kills in the side lanes and team fights!

With their mid-laner performing erratically, even if the rest of EDG played consistently, they were powerless to turn the tide and could only regretfully lose the first game.

In the second game, Zeka seemed to follow his team's advice and locked in the mage class, which he was not good at.

This didn't result in him being sent away, but it didn't have much of an effect either.

They lack lane dominance, disrupt the tempo of the game, and are practically useless in team fights.

The game went all the way into the late game, but the later it went, the more damage Zeka's stealth dealt to his team. In the final Dragon Soul fight that decided the outcome, Zeka was once again the first to be eliminated, ruining a winning game.

At this moment, countless fans were completely enraged, wondering what this substitute mid-laner was up to.

Didn't you play really well before? Why are you so weak today?
So you're just a bully who picks on the weak and fears the strong, huh?

Fly! Team, return immediately!

Ming Jing did watch that match.

Seeing the constant stream of doubts and calls for help in the live stream, Ming Jing sighed and closed the live stream.

"Oh dear, what a pity." Wang Hao, who was also watching the match, said in the voice chat, "Zeka doesn't seem to be doing very well."

“That’s normal. It’s unrealistic to expect him to have hit his left hand before.” Ming Jing’s tone remained unchanged.

It was exactly as expected.

In Ming Jing's opinion, Zeka's talent is definitely not weak; in fact, it's considered excellent.

However, it still needs some practice.

Not everyone is as intelligent as Ming Jing, able to adapt to the pace of a top team so quickly.

Players like Zeka, who have been wandering around in weak teams for many years, may still have a strong desire for the championship, but their dismal record over the years has affected their confidence.

This is something we can only learn through practice in competitions.

Since Mingjing won't be back until the Summer Split, Zeka still has plenty of room to grow.

But until he gets into the game, EDG will probably have to maintain this persona of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

"What about the rankings?" Wang Hao asked.

"Come!"

As promised, Ming Jing would complete the mission if he helped Wang Hao reach the King rank, but since he had nothing else to do, he might as well play more.

Another week has passed, and Wang Hao's score continues to climb, soon reaching the top 100 in the national server!

At this point, the date was January 31st.

New Year's Eve.

Ming Jing looked at the victory that had once again appeared before him and laughed, "How about it, is that enough?"

Wang Hao excitedly opened the leaderboard and saw that his account had reached number 77. He nodded in satisfaction, "That's enough, bro, that's more than enough!"

In the past, when Wang Hao played solo queue, he often encountered those abstract matches where the support filled in and the jungler was a spoiled brat.

Wang Hao often cursed these kinds of situations, saying they were pure divine retribution and that even Ming Jing couldn't win.

But after playing alongside Ming Jing for three weeks, Wang Hao would never have such thoughts again.
What can't we win?
Do you understand the value of carrying a Master player to Challenger rank in the Rift with an 80% win rate?
This isn't even just about mechanics anymore; in these top-tier matches in the Chinese server, Mingjing doesn't even need to rely on his talent.

Anyway, Mingjing's name is well-known in the Chinese server, and his teammates are generally obedient. He only needs to use the operational strategies and game understanding of top teams to push the pace and he can manipulate his opponents in ranked matches.

Only in extremely difficult situations where teammates are completely outmatched will Mingjing attempt to force his way through, and he manages to win most of those challenging matches.

So this is what it feels like to play AD for EDG?
Wang Hao even felt that even if he went to EDG to replace Viper, he might still be a strong contender for the championship.
Too funny
Unfortunately, my journey to climb the ranks ends here.

If Wang Hao were to be a little more persistent and beg Ming Jing to take him under his wing for a while longer, forget about being in the top 100 of the national server; even becoming number one wouldn't be a problem.

But of course he couldn't bring himself to say that.

The current ranking difficulty is clearly beyond his ability, and it is foreseeable that his score will start to drop after Ming Jing leaves.

In this situation, even if you become the number one player in the national server, it's meaningless and only makes you a laughing stock.

"Can you hold your own in the King of Glory rank?" Ming Jing's voice came over at that moment. "What if I come back and find you've already dropped to Diamond I?"

"Don't yell!" Wang Hao immediately retorted, "By the time you come back, I'll already be number one in the national server!"

"OKOK~"

"That's all for now, I'm going to have my New Year's Eve dinner. Happy New Year, brother."

"OK, Happy New Year!" Ming Jing said and left the team room.

His mother's voice came from outside the room. Mingjing got up and stretched his limbs before preparing to enjoy the New Year's Eve dinner, which was not lively but warm enough.

After the New Year, no young person has time to themselves anymore.

Just like last year, Mingjing once again became his parents' face-saving robot, accompanying them to visit relatives and friends.

At his grandparents' house, Mingjing was surrounded by countless uncles and cousins, and even the old man gave him a thumbs up, praising him highly.

With Ming Jing winning the championship again, his reputation on the internet has risen to a whole new level.

Last year during Chinese New Year, many people asked who was more capable, Mingjing or his cousin Mingkai.

But now, nobody asks that question anymore.

After all, Mingjing's excellence is obvious to the naked eye.

Not only are they good at games, but they also have the opportunity to bring glory to the country in mathematics. In the eyes of the elders, these two are achievements of roughly the same level, and the latter may even be more prestigious.

Even among his peers worldwide, there are probably only a handful who can reach Mingjing's level of excellence!

After greeting all his relatives, Mingjing finally had the chance to sit alone in a corner of the yard, happily playing on his phone.

At this moment, his cousin also moved a chair and sat down next to him, chatting with Mingjing about EDG's match.

"The club is considering replacing Zeka and finding a mid-laner from their second team," my cousin said. "What do you think?"

"Huh?" Ming Jing was a little surprised. "We only lost one game, wasn't that a bit much?"

“You know, Abu wants good grades,” his cousin said helplessly. “He thinks Zeka isn’t capable of getting good grades.”

Ming Jing laughed upon hearing this: "It's normal not to get good grades. If we could get good grades even without you, what would be the point of having me?"

My cousin paused slightly.

The words may be rough, but the principle is sound.
"Let's give him a chance," Ming Jing said after thinking for a moment. "I feel he's quite capable."

Ming Jing has always been a master at reading his opponents' actions; he can glean game strategies from their subtle maneuvers.

Is he relying on his lucrative contract to ensure he doesn't slack off? Or is he willing to take risks to carry the team and keep improving?
Many veterans are the former.

Zeka is undoubtedly the latter.

“Okay,” my cousin said. “Abu should listen to you.”

The Spring Festival holiday is coming to an end quickly. High schools are gradually reopening.

Although Wang Hao had already been admitted to university through the guaranteed admission program, he returned to school to complete his final semester of high school since he had nothing else to do.

He even considered taking the college entrance exam, since he had studied hard for ten years for this exam, and it would be a pity to miss it because of the guaranteed admission program.

But Mingjing didn't have this masochistic idea. He just continued to study mathematics while ranking up in the Korean server to maintain his skill level.

Mingjing climbed the ranks even faster after switching to solo queue. In just one month, his Korean server score soared to over 1,000 points, placing him directly in the top five of the Korean server.

And this isn't even taken seriously yet.

Ming Jing was, after all, the FMVP during his peak, and also the best mid-laner to climb the ranks with. Being number one was as easy as eating and drinking.

But Mingjing was just trying to maintain his form. Chovy, who was ranked number one in the Korean server, had already pulled ahead of everyone else by more than 100 points. He was incredibly aggressive and unpredictable, so Mingjing was too lazy to compete.

He packed his luggage and nucleic acid test report, and flew directly to Beijing to participate in the national training team's training and test held at Peking University this year.

In the previous national team training, Ming Jing made it to the second round, but unfortunately finished tenth and missed out on the national team.

This time, Ming Jing is determined to win!
(End of this chapter)