Chapter 365 The Future I Dare Not Think About
"Shurima, your emperor is back!"

After Lee Sang-hyuk asked for Tsar, SKT naturally did not hesitate, and Tsar was almost locked in in the next move.

"It appears! Faker's Tsar!" When SKT chose Tsar for Lee Sang-hyeok, the commentator's originally calm tone suddenly showed a little excitement.

The barrage in the live broadcast room also became lively after the yellow figure appeared.

"Here it comes! Classic tiebreaker to get the Tsar!"

"How can the Tsar lose when he starts with three sand soldiers?"

“I don’t know why, but it’s really good!”

An entire summer passed, and without realizing it, Li Sang-hyeok had saved nearly ten years of detour compared to his counterpart in a parallel world, and had trained the Tsar to become his most signature hero.

The reason lies in SKT's new lineup.

Although from a God's perspective, the lineup of top laner Khan, jungler Bengi, and bottom laner Deft+keria seems to be more reliable than the four geniuses T1 in a parallel world.

But the problem is that in this life, Lee Sang-hyeok, in his first season, enjoyed a public opinion environment that the parallel world could only enjoy after winning the treble.

It has to be said that if public opinion is really manipulated by people with ulterior motives, it can really be said to have the ability to completely reverse right and wrong.

In 2018, a certain executive vice-goat played against opponents led by the second team, third team, or even rookies, and stumbled into the finals and were taken away at the speed of light, with the highest average point difference in the finals in history.

Despite such a shameful performance, it was still praised as the "Thanos stall" and even Dan Zi couldn't help it.

As for Lee Sang-hyuk, although MSI only made it to the semi-finals, it barely maintained its position as the top division in South Korea.
However, under the full efforts of the media behind the scenes, some media used some customized data to magnify Lee Sang Hyuk's already impressive personal data for "rational analysis".
Similarly, Lee Sang-hyuk's performance in MSi was described as a "historical individual performance."

If it weren't for the fact that there didn't seem to be any successful seniors in LCK who could challenge him, they would probably have to come up with a slogan for Lee Sang-hyeok like "No matter who comes, it won't work."

In addition to praising Lee Sang-hyuk personally, the LCK official also did not hesitate to quietly type all of SKT's former teammates in the spring season, except for Deft, as "LJL"

Well, it’s not LSPL, because the team from LSPL is about to enter the World Championship from the North American region, and the local players in the United States are thinking about how to protest to the official.

In short, at the beginning of the summer season, Lee Sang-hyeok's personal reputation reached an abstract height in this purely random and unscrupulous promotion.

There is a bit of mystery in making a rookie who has debuted only half a year become the pillar of LCK.

As we all know, the harder someone tries to promote someone, the more likely it is to arouse rebellious psychology among fans.

Even the four-time champion Faker in his previous life could not escape this law, let alone the young Xiao Fei in this world.

The result of the bloody battle between fans and haters is that the entire SKT public opinion environment has become extreme.

As for Lee Sang-hyeok himself, if he doesn't perform well in any operation, he will basically be subjected to overwhelming abuse and ridicule.

Many people with lower incomes would even target his unhappy single-parent family.

His teammates were even more miserable. They were watched by both the black and white pieces 24/7. If there was even the slightest problem in their play, they would be punished immediately.

The pressure is really too great.

Even if we include the older Bengi, the average age of SKT's starting lineup is only about 19 years old. How can they hold up?

Even Deft, who had already proven himself in the Spring Split and MSI and had worked hard to lift himself out of LJL, was still troubled by the completely irrational wave of public opinion.

Under such terrifying external pressure, SKT as a whole, as well as Lee Sang-hyeok's own playing style, have unknowingly undergone certain changes.

In general, regardless of whether they are suitable or not, their performance is getting closer and closer to what fans expect to see, that is SKT.
Fans believe that Lee Sang-hyuk is the absolute core, so the whole team will unconditionally play around the middle.

Fans need Lee Sang-hyeok to stand out, so he will play the kind of hero who can create miracles, raise the ceiling, and can also take on the role of the absolute core of the team.

Thus, an SKT team with a stronger lineup than the four geniuses period but a playing style that is still very similar to the four geniuses period emerged.

It cannot be said that it was a complete mistake for SKT to change the team's playing style to this. Considering their current situation, it was even the right choice.

This version of SKT is moving purely against the grain. It is unlikely that Bengi will be able to play the jungle core well.

Although Lee Sang-hyuk is definitely not as amazing as the media hypes him up to be, he is indeed SKT's longest strength at the moment.

There is nothing wrong with SKT implementing the policy of making him the absolute core.

Just this alone puts tremendous pressure on Lee Sang-hyuk.

Essentially, he was just a rookie in his first year of career, yet he unknowingly carried the hopes of the entire team on his shoulders.

Although judging by the team's strength on paper, this team doesn't really need him to be the C...

……

"Sang Hyuk, the future of the team rests on your shoulders. It's all up to you!"

Although I know that at this time, adding more pressure to Lee Sang-hyuk, who is already under a lot of pressure, is definitely not a wise choice.

But the coach had no other choice.

Unknowingly, when the summer season just started, the much-anticipated SKT team had already walked to the edge of the cliff, with one foot in the abyss.

Initially, the reason why LCK was able to raise Lee Sang-hyeok's reputation to such a high level was that the suppression of his former teammates was of paramount importance.

Among his former teammates, Park Jae-yoon, the veteran among veterans, is obviously the best target to suppress compared to the two immature rookies.

In the past, SKT-related media used every possible means to severely criticize Park Jae-yoon from dozens of aspects, including data, efficiency, performance, and character.

Trying to make the entire LCK audience believe that it was because of this waste that caused trouble for Lee Sang-hyeok in the team that they could only stop in the semi-finals in MSi.

But the problem is, the optimized waste has come back with a group of teammates who are even more useless than him.

Not only did he lead the team into the playoffs, but he also made it to the second round, facing SKT, the same team that had KTVed him.

They even managed to drag the game into the deciding round.

In fact, at this time, voices of counterattack have begun to emerge on the Korean Internet.

"Isn't it said that IPX is the cancer of SKT? How come the cancer can lead the team better than the true god?"

"It feels like the vase that some public opinion has been praising is about to be exposed."

"Getting to the top four is really annoying."

The external pressure is increasing, and the other two giants in LCK are also watching SKT's situation with a keen eye.

If Park Jae-yoon really succeeds in defeating the opponent in one fell swoop, a catastrophe will be waiting for SKT.

The only way out is to make a concerted effort and win the game at hand.

The only one he could rely on was undoubtedly Li Sang Hyuk.

Therefore, all the coach can do is to trust Faker.

But Li Xianghe himself seemed to have not heard it, his eyes were a little blurry. Listening to the powerful battle song "Silver Scrapes" specially prepared for the BO5 final game, he couldn't help but think of the experience of being asked out by him privately a few days ago when Park Jae-yoon led the team to play the first round.

"Long time no see, Jae-yoon-sempai, what are you doing tonight?"

When he entered the store where they had agreed to meet, he saw Park Jae-yoon sitting in a booth looking at him with a smile. Lee Sang-hyuk was silent for a moment, but still greeted him politely.

However, there was still a hint of caution in his tone.

After Park Jae-yoon's self-explosive talk that night, Lee Sang-hyuk's impression of this once not-so-pleasant old teammate was not so bad anymore.

But secretly asking him out before the game between the two teams was really suspicious, and Li Xianghe could not help but be on guard.

"Don't worry, I still have some professional ethics. My last name is not Ma, and I can't resort to trickery to fix a match. I still have one or two years left on my contract." Park Jae-yoon waved his hand casually and asked Lee Sang-hyuk to sit down.

"How does it feel to be praised so harshly during this period of time?" After sitting down, Park Jae-yoon's first words showed signs of breaking Lee Sang-hyuk's pretended calm.

"You don't need to ask to know, it must be terrible, right? The feeling of carrying unrealistic expectations and being forced to transform yourself for unrealistic goals."

Park Jae-yoon took a sip of wine.

"Senior, drinking may--"

"I'm almost at the age of retirement, why should I care about these things?" Park Jae-yoon completely ignored Lee Sang-hyuk's dissuasion and just drank.

After drinking the first glass of wine, the old man's face turned rosy and his tone of voice became even more presumptuous.

"Do you know why I was able to hit you?" Park Jae-yoon suddenly asked a sharp question.

"…Because the seniors are so strong?" Li Xianghe guessed tentatively.

"Don't flatter me. I know my own worth."

"…Because the server was shut down?"

Although he had done some odd jobs in Honor of Kings, Li Xianghe was still concerned about the news of Honor of Kings' service shutdown.

After all, in the neighboring first division LPL, there are countless old Dengs who became blood-thirsty in the following games because of this news.

As the former Lord of Glory, it is reasonable for Park Jae-yoon to be given a higher level of buff.

"What are you talking about? We are not the league next door to China. The environment in our Glory is disgusting."

Park Jae-yoon continued to drink heavily, scoffing at the so-called stimulant effects of Glory.

"Well, that old man Ambition should have the same idea. If you can play against him in the next match, you don't have to worry about him exploding."

"Even if that old guy explodes, he won't be that good." Park Jae-yoon sneered.

"That's why——"

"Because you took over the pressure that I was carrying..." Park Jae-yoon gave Lee Sang-hyuk a bright smile.

That smile really contained a kind of relaxed happiness, that kind of relief... No, where does the 'relief' come from? It's just the feeling of having unloaded a heavy burden.

"I have been traded to a team that doesn't look that good. No one is watching us, no one has high expectations for us, and even the management doesn't have many expectations for our performance. We will be considered a success if we can avoid relegation."

"I am no longer the center of media and public opinion. As long as I am stepped on by your media occasionally as a routine matter, basically no one will pay attention."

“This kind of environment makes me feel at ease.”

Park Jae-yoon is having a really good time during this period.

He learned a lot during his time in Glory. Although he has now become a sinner of SKT on the Internet, he is very good at protecting himself.

In South Korea, where people tend to go to extremes and often act offline, real life has never been affected by these public opinions.

In addition to this, as a top laner who still fits the current LCK version, even though his reputation is bad, he still gets the highest salary in his own team.

The knot in his heart has been untied, the pressure is gone, and his life is going very well. If Park Jae-yoon's performance in the summer season is bad, that would be news.

Moreover, his team, JAS, is not really so bad that it cannot be helped.

They are all rookies playing in their first year, so how could they have no potential to be tapped?

Looking at Park Jae-yoon proudly showing off his current celestial life in front of him, Lee Sang-hyuk felt his fists harden.

Only he himself knows how much pressure he has been under during this period.

Compared with Park Jae-yoon, Lee Sang-hyuk suddenly felt like a beast of burden.

He suddenly regretted believing the lies of the old fox in front of him and running out to meet him.

"What are your plans next?" Park Jae-yoon laughed for a while and suddenly asked.

"I will try my best to defeat my senior and win the duel." Li Xianghe answered subconsciously.

"That competition is not important. I'm talking about the distant future." Park Jae-yoon waved his hand.

"Given your current public opinion environment, there are only two paths for the future."

"You can either stick to one path and carry the most expectations to achieve the best results, but the possibility of achieving it is basically zero."

"Or like me, you will fail at a critical juncture and become a lost dog."

"Any plans?"

The atmosphere was silent for a while, and Li Xianghe said softly: "It's too early to think about this now."

He knew this was an issue that could not be ignored, but he forced himself to ignore the elephant in the room for the time being.

"Not too early." Park Jae-yoon smiled, and his free-spirited eyes suddenly lit up: "What if I send you to play in the bubble match tomorrow?"

“…I won’t lose to you.”

……

Facts have proved that what Park Jae-yoon said was not a joke. If he lets go completely, he really has the ability to force the current SKT into a desperate situation.

But Li Xianghe still does not intend to think about where the future will go as he said.

He was afraid that he would really be shaken by this.

There was only one thing he could do.

win.

　more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)