TCWSITD – Chapter 36.2

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Chapter 36.2 – Poison-Tongued Li Quan

Li Qian swore he’d never come across a player like Lin Jiang in his entire life.

Not even among the strongest teams scattered across the world’s top leagues could he find anyone so confident, so powerful, and so utterly fearless.

He took a long drag on his cigarette, finishing it off in one go. It had been a long time since he felt such a refreshing feeling.

Once their smokes were done, the two returned to the conference room, bumping right into Fang Luxing, who was just wrapping up his talk. He looked a bit awkward. “Why’d you guys step out?”

Lin Jiang replied, “Had a craving, so we smoked one.”

Fang Luxing nodded. “”Oh, okay.”

He had initially thought they left because his presentation was too boring.

Li Qian smiled but said nothing.

Once back in their seats, he leaned toward Lin Jiang and whispered, “You good-hearted fool.”

Lin Jiang remained expressionless, organizing the materials in his hands before stepping up to present his own insights and tactics.

By the time he finished, everyone had a clear understanding of WG. Previously, they had only thought WG excelled in late-game fights, never realizing it was due to their endurance-based strategy.

Lin Jiang looked at them calmly. “So, Shen Ju, I’ve reduced your recent training load. You are not allowed to increase your training without permission. If you violate this rule, you will be fined.”

Laughter rippled through the room. While they’d heard of players being penalized for skipping training, Shen Ju was the first to be fined for overtraining.

Song Zhixu didn’t stay cheerful for long because he was the next one. “You can’t just coast in the top lane anymore. Find ways to contribute damage. The enemy will definitely ban your Renekton, so think about what else you can bring to the table.”

Confident, Song Zhixu declared, “I’ve practiced a lot of champions! My Darius is pretty decent now!”

Lin Jiang cut him off, “I’ve seen it. It’s just average.”

Song Zhixu’s smile faded, and he quickly glanced at his teammates, as if looking for support.

“A’Deng, your Nocturne will probably be banned too. We can’t afford to drag this into a war of attrition, so focus on mastering junglers with strong crowd control.”

“Got it.”

Lin Jiang glanced at Zhou Wen, completely puzzled by his training routine. “You just keep doing whatever you’re doing.”

Having said his piece, Lin Jiang yielded the floor to his teammates.

Shen Ju had nothing much to say. Song Zhixu could only talk nonsense. A’Deng barely said a few words. But Zhou Wen’s mindset was so different from the rest that what he said barely registered.

Then, out of nowhere, Song Zhixu called on Li Qian. “:Would the new consultant like to say a few words?”

Lin Jiang’s expression instantly darkened, but before he could intervene, the microphone was already in Li Qian’s hands.

With the floor now his, Li Qian offered a tight, almost forced smile.

He stretched out leisurely, raising the microphone. “Do you only know how to play Ornn? Aside from him, none of your picks are even passable. As the top laner of a team heading to Worlds, you should have the basic awareness to master at least five meta-strong top-laners plus four utility champions for tactical needs. Right now, you only have Ornn, barely 1 out of 9 of the requirements. Take a good look at how far behind you are.”

Song Zhixu was so hit by the critique he nearly froze. “Nine? Nine top laners?”

Looking back through all of League’s history, very few top laners could master nine champions to such a terrifying degree!

Damn, the new consultant’s standards are this high?!

“Then there’s the jungler—what exactly are you playing? Do you even know how to analyze routes? Controlling the pace shouldn’t be that hard. You have zero talent, timid in fights, and no guts to start teamfights.”

A’Deng looked like he was about to kneel right then and there. “I’m sorry, I’m too trash.”

“And the support. Don’t you have your own ideas? No innovation? Always stuck copying others, forever lagging behind. It might seem fine now, but what happens when you face higher-level players you can’t imitate? Just kneel and admit defeat? No self-improvement at all—your ceiling is just this.”

Zhou Wen blinked, clearly caught off guard.

Zhou Wen blinked, clearly caught off guard.

This also surprised Lin Jiang. He’d always felt Zhou Wen’s playstyle was odd but couldn’t pinpoint why.

“Then there’s the AD.”

Li Qian looked at Shen Ju, who was also glaring back at him.

The little wolf-dog’s eyes were fierce, clearly not convinced.

Amused, Li Qian sat down and deliberately teased him. “Keep that fierce look. I kinda like it.”

Shen Ju’s expression instantly changed, staring at him like he was a creep.

Lin Jiang quickly pulled Li Qian outside, smoothed things over with some nice words, and only then did Li Qian reluctantly let them off.

The meeting room was dead silent, no one even dared to breathe.

They felt that if a mosquito passed by Li Qian, it would be scolded too.

Lin Jiang tried to lighten the mood, “He’s blunt, so don’t take his words too personally. In fact, some of what he said rings true—it’s really your flaws he’s pointing out. I’ve made plenty of mistakes too, and it was his tough criticism that helped me grow. Sure, he can be harsh, but there’s no denying he gets right to the point.”

Back then, Lin Jiang had been arrogant, dominating matches with assassins. Li Qian had warned him, “You’ll take a hard fall sooner or later.”

And sure enough, he did. Lin Jiang had to swallow his pride, starting fresh as a utility mid laner and grinding his way back up.

Since then, no matter how the meta shifted, he always maintained mastery of over 10 different champions—the secret to his undefeated status in the league.

Everyone was silently reflecting, not daring to speak up.

Finally, Zhou Wen timidly raised his hand, “Captain, can I have a word with the new consultant? I feel like I’ve hit a wall lately and don’t know how to get past it. He seemed to give me some clarity today.”

Lin Jiang raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

He didn’t expect there would be an unexpected gain.

It was a meeting of just three: Lin Jiang, Li Qian, and Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen felt a little uneasy. He sat upright in his seat and said uneasily. “My training method… is a bit unusual.”

“I’ve always been slow, not as quick to learn as others. I barely made it in esports thanks to my little talent for hand speed. But I soon realized support requires a lot of thinking, and that’s where I struggled—I’ve been improving very slowly. Then one day, while watching matches, a new idea hit me.”

He pulled out a notebook—a full two centimeters thick, densely packed with tactical analyses.

What Lin Jiang heard next was the most bizarre story of his career.

“I calculate every match I watch through data — their hand speed, angles, habits, even movements, I remember all clearly. Whenever I encounter the same lineup, I quickly adjust the optimal solution in my mind and use the same method to respond.”

No wonder his playstyle in every match was completely different, as if mixed with shadows of multiple players!

“At first, it worked surprisingly well, but as my opponents grew stronger and the data I could gather became less and less, I couldn’t find the optimal solution anymore.”

Lin Jiang looked at his notebook, its edges worn and frayed with age, and felt a pang in his heart. “Have you always trained like this?”

Zhou Wen nodded sheepishly. “The workload was too heavy, so I had no time for actual training. Almost all my time was spent watching other people’s matches.”

As long as he watched enough matches, he could simulate any player’s data and adjust the optimal plan.

“I have always been imitating others, but this imitation was too limited, so…”

He trailed off, and Li Qian finished for him: “You can mimic average players, but when you face someone stronger than you, imitation won’t work anymore.”

Zhou Wen nodded awkwardly, his eyes clouded with confusion. “Mr. Consultant, what do you think I should do now?”

Lin Jiang had never fully grasped the problem, but Li Qian saw through it instantly. He could tell Li Qian wasn’t some amateur.

Li Qian marveled at his notes. “With this level of perseverance, you could succeed at anything, yet you chose the longest detour”

He set the notebook down, dropping his playful tone. “Throw away what you have now.”

Zhou Wen was stunned. “What?”

“Throw away your notes and all the data in your head. Since you can imitate any player, push further—devour them all.”

“D-devour?” Zhou Wen was speechless.

He watched as Li Qian took his pen and wrote on the notebook: “Remove the coarse, take the refined.[mfn]去粗取精 (qù cū qǔ jīng) – it means filter out the unnecessary or less important parts and keep only the best, most valuable essence.[/mfn] Discard the false, keep the true.[mfn]去伪存真 (qù wěi cún zhēn) – it means to distinguish between what is fake or misleading and what is genuine or true; keep only the authentic part.[/mfn] From this to that.[mfn]由此及彼 (yóu cǐ jí bǐ) – it means to use one thing as a starting point to understand or reach another thing; make a logical connection or extension.[/mfn] From surface to inside.[mfn]由表及里 (yóu biǎo jí lǐ) – means to look beyond appearances to understand the deeper meaning or the core essence.[/mfn]”

“Devour all your data, integrate it, absorb it until it becomes your own, from the surface to the core.”

These words were too profound; not only Zhou Wen, but even Lin Jiang didn’t understand. “Can you explain it more plainly?”

Li Qian muttered, “Wasn’t I speaking Chinese? How much plainer can I get?”

He placed a hand on Zhou Wen’s shoulder, explaining one word at a time: “It means, take all those fragmented pieces of data and blend them into the essence. Once you absorb it properly, you’re no longer imitating, but refining it into something of your own. As for how far you can grow, that depends on your own talent and determination. This is the fastest way to break through your current dilemma.”

Seeing Zhou Wen still looking confused, Li Qian couldn’t help but shake his head. “This is something you need to comprehend on your own. I can’t teach you directly. When you reach that level, you’ll naturally understand what I’m saying.”

Zhou Wen nodded, still struggling to absorb the information despite his efforts.

Lin Jiang was worried his brain might short-circuit, so he pulled him aside and said, “What Qian-ge said isn’t without reason. Since you’ve hit a bottleneck, breaking through will definitely be tough. But once you do, when you look back, those difficulties will seem trivial.”

As someone who had been through it himself, Lin Jiang’s words carried weight. Zhou Wen trusted him completely.

“Got it, Captain.”

After seeing Zhou Wen off, Lin Jiang noticed Song Zhixu lurking nearby, sneaking glances.

“Song Zhixu.”

“Here!”

“What are you looking at?”

Song Zhixu scurried over, slightly embarrassed. “I was looking for the new consultant.”

“What do you want with him?”

“I’ve got some questions I want to ask.”

Lin Jiang gave him a thorough once-over, surprised by his sudden studiousness. “He’s inside. Go ahead.”

Song Zhixu went in cautiously, and even locked Lin Jiang out with a warning, “Captain, no eavesdropping, okay?”

Lin Jiang who was confused: ?

He’s not curious, okay?

Song Zhixu stayed in with Li Qian for over half an hour before finally emerging. Lin Jiang still tried to act uninterested, but when he saw Li Qian’s radiant smile, he couldn’t help but ask, “So, what did he ask you?”

Li Qian shook his head while clapping in admiration. “Fascinating, truly fascinating! That guy’s something else!”

Great. Now Lin Jiang was even more curious.

What kind of dumb question had that idiot Song Zhixu asked?

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