Ive had my fun. Its time for you kids to make your move.

Ive had my fun...

Ive had my fun....

The words echoed in Lin Fengs head, bouncing off the sides of his skull. Booming through his ears. Just a few words, but they carried so much meaning. Three wasnt old. Far from. But his years in the spotlight had come to an end. Hes had his fun time for me to make a move

Lin Feng was so caught up on those two sentences that he almost missed the next. Threes voice rang out through the phone, Theres no room for an old fart like me. Ive had my 15 minutes of fame. Its time you younguns take the lead. Step up and find your own paths! Dont let anyone tell you how to do it. Do what you think is right.

Three was passing on the torch. Lin Feng understood how important this was to his old mentor. And how important it was to himself, too. He listened in earnest. Soaking it all up and giving it a special place in his mind. Hed had his fun. Its time I have mine.

Fatty should be good for now. Your little speech really helped him fight through his own head. He looks good. I think hell keep up his performances and become one of the Seven Kings. But thats not enough. I wont be happy with just that. Were better than that. We got the talent! I expect at least half of the Seven Kings and Four Emperors to come from the LPL! Anything less is a failure! But more than all of that. You. Youre good, kid. Youre really good. Theres a reason One saw something in you. You know he was the best in the world? He was better than me and everyone else. And he saw something special in you. Youre the special one. Follow in his footsteps. Make him proud.

Lin Feng took in every word. When Three spoke of Fatty, he smiled. It was great to hear his friend doing so well. And then came the last few sentences. One was the best. And he was Ones protege, so he had to become the best too. That was his dream. He was going to give everything he had to achieve that, no matter how hard it was. I understand. He nodded, earnest. Then he grimaced. I lost to Rake once. Hes got to enjoy that long enough. Its about time I beat him back

There came a chuckle from the other side of the line. Thats what I was hoping for. Im looking forward to it. But. What are you doing right now? Fatty said youre doing some school stuff Whats that all about? Some kiddy League tourney?

Oh, that. Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and chewed on his lips. The Shanghai 16 School Tournament

Why? Ah, nevermind. Sure. Have your fun with that little tournament. But when thats done, youre coming back, right? You can easily find a second rate team to brush your skills back up. A lot of the veterans still know you. Theyll have you in a heartbeat! Do one season in the LPL with that team and then move to one of the top teams. It should be easy for you. Is that what youre going to do? Or whats your plan?

No. I want to start from scratch. Im starting all over.

Starting all over Why?

Yes! Its going to be a fresh start. Im going to build a new team and start at the bottom. Well climb our way up to the top, one step at a time.

Lin Feng was incredibly talented at League of Legends. So much so that even when he was out of practice, he was still more than good enough to make his way into a lower ranked team in the LPL. If he familiarized himself with the new competitive scene and found his groove, he could even make his way up to the top of the LPL in a relatively short time. However, he didnt care about becoming just a professional player. Or just one of the best professional players. He only had one goal. To be the best League of Legends player in the world. Anything else could only be considered a failure. And he didnt think he could reach that goal if he jumped right back into the competitive scene. It didnt feel right. If he wanted to become the best, he needed to do something different. That was why he wanted to build a team from the ground up. To grind his way through the different leagues and fight his way into the LPL and finally Worlds. He believed that only by doing all of this could he work his way to the absolute top.

The number one player in the world, who took the throne of Sovereign all the way back in Season 1, hadnt sat idly by all these years. Hed worked hard to become better and better. Rake of SSK was fully deserving of his title. And it wasnt just him, but his whole team that played together perfectly. There was no random team that could beat them. Lin Feng couldnt magically find synergy with four players and beat this team. It was with all of this in mind, for example, that he chose to compete in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. A challenge. An opportunity to prove himself. To himself. Step by step he would get stronger and build a team around him that had perfect synergy. They would push past any setbacks and he would take the throne. Sovereign Lin Feng!

Haha! Thats some mindset, kid. Sounds like youve been doing some soul searching these last few years. Hmm I agree. One didnt make a mistake. He was right about you all along, Three said.

For the first time since Lin Fengs departure from the professional scene in Season 1, Three understood why One had let Lin Feng go. I was so disappointed. I didnt even see Back then, Three morphed his disappointment into anger and resentment. He hated that Lin Feng gave up and wanted to quit! But he wasnt allowed to stop Lin Feng. One stopped him. One forced him to let Lin Feng go. For the kids own good To let him find his own path To come to terms with everything that happened He felt these were all excuses. And not especially good ones. But when he listened to Lin Feng now, over the phone, he understood. One was right. All those years ago, One made the right call. Because the person on the other end of the line didnt sound like the boy he remembered. This man was like a treasured sword, tempered under years of real life. His edges were sharper. His cuts more precise. But he was always good at that. The real difference was that he now also knew when to sheath that sword. Hed learned the skill intimidation. For the real danger wasnt in the known, it was the unseen blade.

Lin Feng and Three spoke for a while longer, but they were both lost in their own thoughts. They barely listened, nor did they talk much. After hanging up, Lin Feng put his phone away and stared at his feet, the silence of the dark night around him magnified. Then he looked up into the sky. The faces of his friends, both young and old, and the scenes of everything that had happened flashed before his eyes. The pain and heartache on one side versus the joy and happiness on the other. He took a deep, long breath, bit on his lips, and then hollered out into the night sky, FIGHT ON! BE THE BEST!

Lin Feng grinned, still looking up at the moon. So thats why wolves do it, huh? I feel great! He looked in front of him and started walking again. That was when he noticed the faces. There were only a couple other people in the street. But theyd all stopped walking and were just looking at him, as if he were a severe mental case. He rubbed his nose and started laughing, only reaffirming what the other pedestrians thought. Then he started running, sprinting, racing home as fast as he could.

It was already late when Lin Feng got home. He pushed the front door to his apartment open and shouted inside, Im home! Then he sniffed, loudly. A strong and fragrant aroma assaulted his senses. He started salivating as his eyes widened and pure bliss appeared on his face. Expectation. Hunger. Deliciousness! Ohhh! That smells amazing! I want! He kicked his shoes out and rang to the dining table. Su Xue had prepared all sorts of dishes, with steam coming off of them. It was a feast to his culinary eye. Wow! Thats That looks amazing! Can I? Can I?

Lin Feng! Put your shoes in the rack! Go and wash your hands! Hey! Dont touch the food with your fingers! Su Xue yelled as she came walking out of the kitchen with another steaming plate. Then she asked, annoyed, Do you know how late it is? Why didnt you call me? Where were you!

Lin Feng scratched his hair. Oh, uhh The tournament only started at 7, and then it ran way later than I expected. Sorry, haha.

Su Xue put the hot plate down on the table. She looked over at Lin Feng, a little curious, and asked, So. Did you at least win?

Hehe! Of course we won! We won all three matches and are through to the next round! It was great! Lin Feng laughed.

Oh? Not bad. Not bad at all. Su Xue nodded, impressed. Then she ruffled his hair and said, But whatever. Its just a little kids tournament. Nothing to get excited about. You know what is something to get excited about? Todays games at Worlds! Like O.M.G, you missed the best day of Worlds! KG and HoG did absolutely phenomenal. And God Roundy was so cute! He carried and everything! Come come come! Lets eat! I prepared this feast to celebrate! She showed Lin Feng all the different dishes shed made. Most of them were some kind of chicken. She knew he liked that. Oh, right. She paused for a moment and added, I suppose we can celebrate your wins too.

Ok! Sounds good! Lin Feng ran to the table, his hands still wet after washing them. He didnt care what this meal was for. This wasnt a celebration for him or for KG at Worlds. This was a celebration of food! And he would enjoy and savour every second of it! He grabbed his bowl and filled it with a chicken curry. All the while, Su Xue narrated the events thatd happened at Worlds, Ok, so. When you were playing your games, right? The most amazing things happened at Worlds! KG played so good! You shouldve been here! It was like Ah! I dont know! But it was super amazing!

Su Xue didnt eat a bite herself. She waved her arms around and tried to show everything that happened. To the point where she grabbed some items around the table to make a replay of the best scenes, like the five man Hecarim ultimate. See? See? Like this! Thats how God Roundy did it! Amazing, right? Only he could do that! I was holding my breath the whole time! It was too exciting! And his Riven! You shouldve seen his Riven. It was like. And he beat Demon so easy. But like! Ah! She fell silent. She remembered something and looked up at Lin Feng. Hey!

Mhmphpg? Lin Feng mumbled, his mouth full. He didnt even bother to look up at her as he took another large bite from his chicken curry.

Hey! HEY! YOU! Su Xue yelled. She pushed up and reached across the table, pulling Lin Feng's face up by his chin. Leaning forward, she stared into his eyes and screamed, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING? WHAT DID I SAY? WHAT?

H-hruh? Whagh? Lin Feng asked, bewildered and scared. Some food spilled from his mouth, together with that nice, thick sauce.

Su Xue let go off Lin Fengs chin and wiped her hand clean. Youre disgusting! Stop talking with your mouth full! Also She stared at him and hesitated. Then she looked away for a moment before mumbling, Also, Id like to learn how to play Riven. Think you can help me with that?

Learn Riven? Lin Feng asked, tilting his head. Why?

Yes! Yes! Su Xue nodded, frantically so. I really want to learn Riven! Did you not listen? God Roundy was so good on his Riven! I want to be that good too! And those degens in my chat said that I cant. They keep saying I suck! Screw them! Im good enough! I can play her! Ill show them! But please, I need you. Help me teach those degens how wrong they are!

Mhm-mm. I see... Lin Feng nodded. He rubbed his chin, rocking back and forth and pretending he was deep in thought. All the while his eyes were locked on the stir-fried eggplants. How do I get them on my plate without her yelling

What do you see? Su Xue asked, nervously.

She sounds distracted. Now! It's your moment, you own it, you better never let it go! You only get one opportunity, one shot! Lin Feng reached out for the stir-fried eggplants with his chopsticks and grabbed one of the bigger ones. Then he put it in his mouth and started chewing, enjoying every bite. Mhm-mm! He rubbed his belly and looked up at Su Xue with a large smile on his face. The food was eaten. She couldnt take it back! Now he could tell her, Oh, I think your viewers are right.

The table became quiet. Lin Feng held his chopsticks still, waiting. Su Xue just stared at him. His words had caught her completely off guard. Of everything shed prepared for, this wasnt it. Then her face turned red and she yelled, You little punk! Think Im stupid! Are you itching for a beating? Did you miss them these last few days? Get your ass over here! Let me slap some sense into you!

HEY! Dont run! Stay here!

Dammit! Get your ass over here! Im going to slap those cheeks red if its the last thing I do!