This Is a Promise

The choice of S City as the college application location was a decision Lin Xiao had made long ago.
One reason, naturally, stemmed from his predictions for his college entrance examination results and his school choices. Compared to other places, S City was not only closer to home, but its six or seven top universities were also highly ranked nationwide. From the perspective of major application analysis, it was also relatively suitable for him.
The other reason, undoubtedly, lay in his long-standing pursuit of his eSports dream.
Regardless of how it was evaluated and considered, S City, playfully called the "Magic City," was the region with the fastest-developing and most relatively complete domestic eSports industry.
For instance, nearly two-thirds of the professional teams in the domestic LPL Professional League had their clubs located in S City, including Jiu Tian Team where Shuang Leng Mo He resided, Feng Ye Team where Jian Ren Ni Tian and Jiu Yue Qing Kong resided, and so on.
At the same time, as the place with the densest eSports atmosphere, the number of offline LoL tournaments held in S City was also greater than in other places.
This also provided a better competitive environment for honing his own strength and that of his team.
Of course, if Lin Xiao's ultimate goal was to enter the LPL Professional League, then participating in the LSPL First-Tier League qualifiers in S City would mean facing much stronger opponents and enduring much greater competitive pressure.
But isn't there a saying—
With pressure, comes motivation.
If a team can't even withstand this kind of pressure, then what's the point of talking about entering the LPL later, or even integrating into world-class S-tier tournaments?
They might as well disband early.
Conversely, if they can carve out a bloody path in fierce competition against countless strong enemies, overcoming countless challenges through such tempering, then such a team would truly possess the strength and qualifications to ascend the LPL eSports stage and compete against other top professional teams on the domestic server.

And apart from the two factors mentioned above, the hope that Lin Xiao would apply to S City was not just his own.
...
Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling—
One early morning, Lin Xiao was abruptly woken from his bed by the sudden ringing of his mobile phone.
Rubbing his somewhat messy hair, Lin Xiao, still slightly groggy from not being fully awake, vaguely answered the phone with a pounding head:
"Who is it?"
From the other end came someone's characteristic booming voice:
"It's me!! Hey, hey, are you awake!?"
Lin Xiao sighed: "If I wasn't, you would have woken me up anyway..."
Jiang Hao Jie on the other end paid no attention to Lin Xiao's complaints, directly and impatiently asking:
"You've finished the college entrance exam, right? Next, you have to fill out your applications, don't you??"
"I told you, you absolutely must apply to S City! Look how good S City is, well-planned city, good economic development, the sky is always blue, the grass is always green, and there are beautiful girls everywhere! If you don't apply to S City, you'll definitely regret it, alright? Hey, how about it, have you decided? Are you applying to S City?"
His continuous, non-stop chatter made Lin Xiao unconsciously move the phone slightly away from his ear. After a moment, he brought it back to his ear:
"Ah, what did you just say?"
Jiang Hao Jie was angry: "Damn it! You didn't hear everything I just said!? Can you show me some respect!? I said you absolutely must apply to S City!"
Lin Xiao: "Please, my college entrance exam results aren't out yet, alright..."
"Oh, right, you fill out applications after the college entrance exam results are out, I forgot!" Jiang Hao Jie suddenly realized, then immediately spoke with a decisive and bold tone: "But that doesn't matter. Anyway, no matter how you perform, S City has top-tier universities, second-tier universities, and vocational schools. You can just pick one based on your results then!"
Lin Xiao: "... Our school should really invite you to be a guest speaker for application analysis."
Jiang Hao Jie: "Less nonsense! Just remember to apply to S City! Alright, I'm going to eat breakfast now, goodbye!"

After Jiang Hao Jie's early morning phone call, close to lunchtime, Dian Dong Ci Li Bang also called Lin Xiao.
Hen Man Kun's questions in the call were similar, concerning Lin Xiao's college situation and future application support. In the end, he also, without exception, suggested that Lin Xiao should ideally aim for S City.
And to Dian Dong Ci Li Bang, Lin Xiao's reply was much more straightforward:
"Don't worry, barring any accidents, it'll probably be S City."
Then he added:
"Otherwise, if our team members are scattered everywhere, it won't be convenient for offline training."
Dian Dong Ci Li Bang on the other end was clearly rolling his eyes: "Let me tell you again, don't try to trick me by using the phrase 'our team,' I won't agree!"
...
In the evening, Lin Xiao unexpectedly received a QQ message from Shuang Leng Mo He.
*Finished college exams yet?*
Seeing this message appear in the chat window, Lin Xiao was rarely stunned.
He truly hadn't expected to hear such a caring inquiry from Shuang Leng Mo He, known as the Stone-faced Man, who always disliked interacting with others.
Immediately, Lin Xiao curiously typed: *Oh, how did you know?*
Shuang Leng Mo He still replied concisely with four words:
*Jian Ren Ni Tian.*
Lin Xiao suddenly understood, no wonder. Apart from the loud-mouthed Jian Ren Ni, Old Mo truly couldn't have known about the college entrance exam from anyone else.

Immediately, Shuang Leng Mo He actively sent another message:
*Where will you study college?*
Lin Xiao couldn't help but smile. Discussing such a personal topic with Old Mo truly made him a bit unaccustomed, but he still directly typed his reply: *S City.*
With Shuang Leng Mo He, there was even less need for playful arguments like with Jian Ren Ni.
On the other end of the chat window, Shuang Leng Mo He paused, then replied:
*Very good.*
Followed by another sentence:
*S City, forming a team to compete, there are also more material opportunities.*
These latter words were an accurate insight offered by Shuang Leng Mo He, as the sharp-eyed captain of a top professional team on the domestic server.
A single statement hitting the nail on the head.
Lin Xiao saw this reply and nodded slightly in agreement.
Indeed, material opportunities, that was probably the third reason for choosing S City as the destination for forming a team.
In this first-tier international city called "Magic City," the relatively developed eSports industry was not only reflected in the number and quality of teams, but also in what existed behind those teams—
Sponsors.
Any professional-tier team must have the support of sponsors in terms of economics, equipment, accommodation, and other aspects.
Only when logistics are well-managed can team players focus more on training and competing.
In S City, the number of factories, businesses, and companies suitable for investing in and sponsoring professional eSports teams is absolutely the highest nationwide. The big bosses of the Magic City, similar to Tian Xie Group, have sharper vision and broader perspectives compared to businessmen in other cities, and are more likely to grasp the enormous commercial opportunities existing in the field of eSports, especially LoL.
Thus, even though his college entrance examination results were not yet out, Lin Xiao's college application region had already been directly determined.

At the end of the conversation, Shuang Leng Mo He asked another question:
*How's the team formation going?*
Lin Xiao smiled, not directly answering, but giving a confident reply:
*Next year, see you in LPL.*
Hmm, this was a promise.