League: Educating LPL is my duty.

Li Chen didn't know whether the Korean server was easy or not for others; he only knew that the Korean server was very easy for him.

After logging into the game and checking his rank, Li Chen discovered that he was only in the Gold rank on the Korean server. He decisively gave up on top lane and switched to mid lane and jungle to improve his ranking speed.

Although his mid-lane and jungle champion pool doesn't include Grandmaster-level champions, he has reached the Conqueror and Spellweaver levels with champions like Fizz, LeBlanc, and Lee Sin. Combined with his stats, he can easily dominate games below the top tier of solo queue.

The game involved queuing, hero selection, and gameplay, averaging 30 minutes per match, with each match resulting in over ten kills, leaving viewers in the live stream thoroughly entertained.

"Holy crap, I see C playing in the top-tier Challenger rank every day, and now he's suddenly in the Gold rank. It feels like an older brother beating up a younger brother."

"Older brother hitting younger brother? That's clearly a grandfather hitting his grandson!"

"A grandfather beating his grandson in a Gold-ranked game? As if it's the same in a King-ranked game."

"That makes sense. Hun Shen is really not 'hun' anymore. I strongly suggest the streamer continue teaching Hun Xue."

After a seven-hour winning streak that propelled him to Platinum, Li Chen cracked his neck and said, "Alright, newbies in the chat, that's enough of today's execution performance. Let's keep pushing for points tomorrow and aim for number one on the Korean server in five days, okay?"

Ignoring the protests in the live stream, Li Chen quickly ended the broadcast to prepare for a late-night snack and go to sleep.

But just then, the phone rang suddenly from an unknown number.

Li Chen hesitated for a moment before answering the phone: "Who is this?"

A male voice came from the other end: "Mr. Li, hello, I am Chen Sheng, the manager of Shark Live."

Li Chen smiled and said, "Are you trying to get me to sign a contract? What terms are you prepared to offer?"

Chen Sheng didn't expect Li Chen to be so direct, but it was good that way; there was no need to beat around the bush, and they could directly discuss terms.

"Mr. Li, Shark is indeed interested in signing you. As for the compensation, we are willing to offer our utmost sincerity: a three-year contract with an annual salary of one million, plus a signing bonus of one million."

Chen Sheng's offer wasn't bad; it was top-notch for a new streamer. He had been observing Li Chen's livestream performance for the past few days, and it was absolutely phenomenal.

While he's considered a skilled player, Li Chen is always arguing with the viewers and creating entertaining moments for his streams. Yet, despite being called a comedic streamer, he also dominates high-ranking matches in the national server with his top lane prowess.

It is precisely this dual approach of development that has enabled Li Chen to retain viewers in his live streams. His popularity has surpassed that of many mid-level streamers, and he seems poised to reach the top. He is definitely a promising talent.

But Li Chen was not satisfied with the terms. He had already received tens of thousands of yuan worth of gifts in the past few days, and there would only be more in the future. A million-yuan annual salary and a three-year contract? They were treating him like a child.

"Manager Chen, I appreciate Shark's sincerity, but I need to think about it. Also, as you know, I'm still a professional player, so I want to wait until I find a team before signing a contract to stream."

Chen Sheng was a smart man and knew that Li Chen was dissatisfied with the terms, so he immediately said, "Mr. Li, if you are not satisfied with the contract terms, we can talk again. Why don't you tell us your terms?"

"It's a bit early to discuss terms now. Let's wait and think it over. It's getting late, so I'll rest now." Li Chen hung up the phone immediately after saying that.

The conditions Chen Sheng offered were far from what he expected, making it impossible to reach an agreement, so there was no need to continue the discussion.

Chen Sheng had just hung up the phone when, before Li Chen could even leave the house, another call came in.

Li Chen initially thought the call would come from another platform, but he realized it was different after answering the phone.

"C God, let me introduce myself. I'm Abu, the manager of EDG. You should know me too."

"Manager Abu is a well-known figure in the LPL, how could I not know him?" Li Chen said.

Abu got straight to the point: "You probably know why I called. We at EDGS7 are looking to strengthen our top lane, and I heard that C-God doesn't have a team yet, so I wanted to invite you to join us."

Li Chen did not reply immediately, but began to think.

His goal has always been the world championship, so he definitely needs to choose his team carefully.

To be honest, there are only a handful of LPL teams that have a chance to compete for the World Championship in S7. Although EDG did not perform well in the Spring Split, they still have a strong foundation.

Regardless of his character, Xiaoxue, the mid laner, is indeed a top-tier mid laner in the league in terms of skill alone. After iboy joined the team, the bot lane was also strengthened.

There's not much to say about Ai Luoli. Although the factory manager is getting old and his skills have declined a lot, his thinking is still among the top junglers.

If I join EDG, then EDG will have a super top laner. The lineup will be strengthened, and there will be more tactical ideas. They definitely have the potential to compete for the championship.

Li Chen paused for a few seconds and said, "Manager Abu, I know a lot about EDG. Now that Fat General and Pilot have left, the team's overall strength will definitely decline. I want to know how determined EDG is to compete for the World Championship this year."

Abu paused for a moment, then said, "EDG doesn't lack league titles; their goal has always been the World Championship."

Upon hearing this, Li Chen immediately stated his thoughts: "If that's the case, then I can join EDG, but I have some conditions regarding salary."

Abu had been watching Li Chen's live streams for the past few days and knew that Li Chen had big ambitions, so he was mentally prepared and said directly, "You can tell me what your conditions are. I will try my best to solve them within my authority."

"I want to sign a betting agreement with EDG!"

Li Chen really didn't care about annual salaries of hundreds of thousands or millions. He wanted to take a big gamble, either lose everything or take it all away.

Abu had expected Li Chen to make an exorbitant demand, but the betting agreement left him bewildered. He instinctively asked, "How do you want to bet?"

"Of course, results speak for themselves. I won't even mention the spring and summer seasons within the region. Beating a bunch of spinning top teams isn't very rewarding. I'll just give each champion 500,000 yuan, and I won't even take the runner-up's money. Is that alright?" Li Chen said.

In short, Abu's brain was completely shut down.

He just blurted out that all LPL teams were "spinning top teams" and that they wouldn't get paid if they didn't win the championship. His arrogance is simply outrageous.

Who gave Li Chen the courage to be a substitute who had never even played in an official match?

Abu really wanted to ask, but in the end he held back, forcing himself to speak despite his discomfort: "I can agree to that. What other conditions do you have?"

"At the MSI Mid-Season Invitational, the prize money is two million for winning the championship, nothing for the runner-up, nothing for the quarterfinals of the World Championship, three million for the semifinals, seven million for the finals, and fifteen million if I win the championship."

Li Chen asked for a lot, and the conditions he offered were also outrageous: a top-eight finish in the World Championship and a runner-up finish in the Mid-Season Invitational would be free. To Abu, these conditions sounded like EDG was being offered a year's worth of free service.

Abu remained silent for a long time, and Li Chen was not in a hurry, waiting for the other party to think it over.

After a long while, Abu finally spoke, saying, "I can't decide on your terms; I need to consult the boss."

"It's okay, I'm also considering teams. In my opinion, there are only a few LPL teams that have a chance to compete for the World Championship right now, EDG is one of them, of course, that is with me playing top lane."

"I understand what you mean. I'll keep an eye on your performance in the Korean server. That's all for now." Abu said and hung up the phone.

Li Chen looked at the turned-off phone screen and shook his head with a hint of helplessness.

The LPL's reputation as a top-tier competitive region wasn't built on hype; it was earned through hard work and dedication.

Every year was supposed to be the most promising year, but every year they were completely outmatched by the LCK, from the semifinals to the quarterfinals and the round of 16, each year they were stronger than the last.

Aside from a few teams and individual players performing well in certain seasons, they're practically stuck in the "zone" of the competition the rest of the time.

Especially in S15, the fourth seed was eliminated in the round of 17, the second seed in the quarterfinals, and the third seed in the semifinals.

As for the number one seed, they were even more impressive. They didn't face a single LCK team and were eliminated in the round of 16. The world's best top laner was solo-killed by an Indian coach, which is simply setting a new low for the LPL.