LOL: Do I have to be a spinning top too?

The next few days were packed with training matches.

Li Hu's schedule was completely packed with Zhou Xiang's...

In the morning, we played internal matches against the youth training team; in the afternoon, we played a best-of-three series against the second team; and in the evening, we reviewed the replays and did free ranked games.

He never complained about being tired; he was always the first to arrive at the training room and the last to leave.

During the training match, Li Hu completely let loose.

Those heroes with maxed-out proficiency...

Camille, Riven, Wanhao, Malphite, Nasus, and Vayne took turns attacking the second team's top laner, Aspire.

Aspire was so badly beaten he questioned his existence.

On the first day, Camille solo-killed him three times in twenty minutes.

The next day, Wanhao tower-dived and killed him twice, and destroyed the first tower in thirteen minutes.

On the third day, the coaching staff couldn't stand it anymore and ordered the second team's jungler, Cream, to camp the top lane.

As a result, Li Hu picked Malphite, and as soon as he reached level six, he teleported to the bottom lane and got a double kill, while Cream waited in the top lane in vain.

"No, why does this person look like a ghost?" Cream cursed in the voice chat.

Aspire remained silent.

He finally understood what "dimensional reduction attack" meant.

Li Hu's heroes with maxed-out proficiency...

Camille, Riven, Nasus... pick any one of them and their laning skills will crush him by at least two levels.

The timing of last-hitting, the window for trading blows, the control of the minion wave, and the micro-management of harassing under the tower—everything is as precise as a textbook example.

Aspire even had the illusion that he wasn't playing against a trial rookie, but against established LPL top laners.

The second team manager, Shui Jing, couldn't sit still any longer and shamelessly called Qing Tian over from the first team's training room.

"Zihan, can you do me a favor and fill in for me in the top lane for a couple of games?"

Sunny arrived rubbing her hands together, a signature goofy grin on her face.

"Tiger, your brother Sunny is here."

"Ready to get beaten up?"

Li Hu's voice drifted over from the other side:

"Brother Qingtian, be gentle, I'm afraid of pain."

"Don't worry, I'm heavy-handed."

Li Hu looked at him with a smile, but what he was thinking was...

  

Zihan, you're giving me practice points again.

These two training matches were extremely fierce.

With Qingtian leading the second team on the opposing team, their overall strength was elevated to a whole new level.

Sunny's dominance in the laning phase far surpasses that of Aspire, and Li Hu was severely pressured by him in the early game.

But Li Hu's understanding of those heroes at full proficiency level had reached the level of muscle memory.

After reaching level eight, he began to choose playstyles that made his teammates feel comfortable.

With his skillful roaming, he coordinated with the jungler to gank mid, securing a decisive team fight victory and taking over command of the entire team.

The second match was even more outrageous; he picked Camille against Sunny Crocodile.

Li Hu completely ignored Crocodile's early-game strength and capitalized on Qing Tian's mistake to achieve a solo kill in lane.

Even more remarkably, during a mid-game dragon fight, he used his hook to enter the fray and use his ultimate to trap the enemy ADC.

A single kick dealing true damage instantly killed someone, and with the help of teammates, they wiped out the enemy team in a 0-for-5 exchange, securing the victory.

TES.C suffered another defeat.

After the game, Qingtian sat in a chair and stared blankly for a long time.

"When did you learn that Blue Steel Shadow technique?"

"Brother Qingtian taught me well." Li Hu smiled and handed over a bottle of Ice Dew.

Qingtian's expression was complicated.

He remembered that when he soloed with Li Hu a few days ago, this kid's Camille wasn't this strong.

It's only been a few days? How come he seems like a completely different person?

What he didn't know was that Li Hu's Blue Steel Shadow illustration was already 100% complete.

Previously, I was killed six times in a row by Qingtian in solo, purely because Li Hu was intentionally getting hit by a spinning top.

After a few games of being picked off, Darius's stats increased by 0.12%, Aatrox by 0.1%, and Gwen by 0.15%...

This deal is ten times more profitable than playing ranked games.

But what we're playing now is a practice match, an official match that the coaching staff and manager are watching.

Li Hu made a clear distinction: when it's time to win, he couldn't afford to lose a single game; when it's time to be whipped around, he wouldn't fight back even once.

Li Hu's dominance extends beyond the team.

On the fifth day, Zhou Xiang arranged a training match against WE's second team.

WE.A is considered to be in the upper-middle level in LDL, and their top laner is a veteran who has played in the secondary league for two years.

As a result, Li Hu picked three different heroes in three games and won all three.

In the first game, Riven played against Fiora, securing a solo kill at 13 minutes and gaining a 2,000 gold lead in their lane at 20 minutes.

In the second match, Sett faced Renekton and withstood the pressure flawlessly.

He unleashed three perfect ultimate moves in the team fight, leaving WE.A's AD carry completely helpless after being deliberately punched.

In the third game, Vayne faced Gnar, gaining a 40-CS lead during the laning phase. Later in the game, Vayne made a brilliant move, 1v4, and ended the match.

WE.A's coach sent a message in the group chat after the match:

"Who's the background of your TES second team's new top laner?"

What rank do I have at the top of the Rift?

Zhou Xiang replied with a smiley face, without giving a direct answer.

Two days later, RNG's second team held a training match.

Li Hu used his Malphite to completely overwhelm the enemy top laner Kennen, and at level six, he used Flash and his ultimate to solo kill Kennen, who was vaporized before he could even use his ultimate.

RNG's second team coach privately messaged Zhou Xiang after the match:

"Hey bro, where did you guys find this newbie?"

Zhou Xiang maintained his smiling expression.

Then, Zhou Xiang arranged all the training matches he could with EDG's second team, JDG's second team, and LNG's second team.

Li Hu's performance was frighteningly consistent...

In games where I need to carry, I never miss a single one; in games where I need to withstand pressure, I'm as steady as a rock; in games where I need to provide support, my teleport is always three seconds faster than the opponent's.

After several training matches, news of Li Hu leading his team to two victories against Qingtian and numerous wins against other teams spread like wildfire throughout the LDL community.

"I heard that TES's youth academy has a top laner who beat even Qingtian?"

"Really? Isn't Qingtian a substitute on the first team?"

"I heard it from people on TES's second team. That rookie is ridiculously strong, and his champion pool is bottomless."

When the news reached the LPL, the managers of several weaker teams started to get restless.

TT's manager was the first to call Guo Hao:

"Hey Hao, I heard you have a pretty strong top laner in your youth training program?"

"The transfer window isn't closed yet, how about we talk?"

Guo Hao feigned ignorance on the other end of the phone: "Huh?"

"Who are you talking about?"

"We have several top laners in our youth academy. Which one are you talking about?"

"Stop pretending, it's that Li Hu."

"Oh... Little Tiger."

Guo Hao drawled out the sound:

"This child is still young and needs more practice. There's no rush."

"Have you signed it yet? If not, then we..."

"Oops, bad signal. What did you say? Feed? Feed?"

The phone hangs up.

TT Manager looked at his phone screen, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Two days later, people from LGD also came to inquire.

Then came RA, OMG, and even UP, a team that consistently underperforms, who asked around through connections.

Guo Hao pretended to be stupid in all of them.

But in his heart he was thinking: Zhou Xiang has a really sharp eye.

After the training match that afternoon, Li Hu approached Qing Tian with a grin.

"Brother Qingtian, your tower dive today was too fierce."

"If it weren't for that tower dive kill you, our bot lane wouldn't have had a chance to take the dragon at all."

"Your luck was terrible this time. Our jungler was counter-ganking right then and there."

"If it weren't for Brother Qingtian pressing me so much in the early game, I would have taken off much earlier in the mid-game. Winning this game was purely due to good luck."

Qingtian felt a little embarrassed by his praise and scratched her head:

"Was it really just luck?"

"Of course."

Li Hu's expression was so sincere it was as if he were making a vow:

"Brother Qingtian's laning dominance is the strongest I've ever seen among all top laners."

"Brother Zihan, if you hadn't practiced solo with me every day these past few days, how could I have improved so quickly?"

"It's all thanks to you."

Sunny was so flattered by his praise that she couldn't help but smile.

"Then, shall we practice some more?"

"I couldn't ask for more!"

Li Hu agreed incredibly quickly.

The two then sat down at the solo camera position.

Sunny Day: "I'm playing Fiora this game, and you're playing Fiora too. I'll teach you the details of laning."

Li Hu's eyes lit up as if he had just seen braised pork trotters:

"Okay!"

Thirty minutes later.

Li Hu's Fiora was solo killed seven times by Qing Tian.

On the side of the screen, the golden illustrations are appearing everywhere.

"Absorption progress +0.09%"

"Absorption progress +0.11%"

"Absorption progress +0.14%"

"The host is being subjected to intense spinning, it is recommended to continue."

Li Hu looked at the slowly changing numbers on the Sword Maiden's illustration and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

Sunny shouted from the opposite side, "Tiger, you need to practice your Fiora more! Your positioning is too straightforward!"

"Yes, yes, Brother Sunny is right!"