The smoke of the Star Sea Cup Round of 16 had just cleared, and the draw for the quarterfinals was settled. The advancing teams showed no signs of slackening; instead, they entered an even more intense preparation phase. The sound of keyboards clacking echoed incessantly in the training rooms, analysts repeatedly studied recordings of the previous round's matches, and the coaching staff was busy formulating targeted tactics.
A practical problem lay before all teams: finding high-level training opponents was difficult. The same-group avoidance principle meant that quarterfinal teams could not schedule matches with potential opponents before the official games, and training matches with too large a skill gap yielded little effect. Thus, a silent "training match scramble" quietly unfolded behind the scenes. Clubs with good relationships frequently scheduled matches, and some non-quarterfinal teams with similar styles became hot commodities. The atmosphere of the entire professional circuit, after a brief period of sentimentality, was quickly replaced by more pragmatic and fierce competition.
Amidst this tense atmosphere, however, Qin Feng's office at Riot Games headquarters was a rare scene of relaxation.
Qin Feng leaned back in his chair, a slight smile playing on his lips as he looked at the briefing on the screen about the various teams' active preparations. As the empire's creator, he enjoyed this flourishing competitive ecosystem that he had personally fostered. However, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: ever since league of legends was developed and successfully launched, he seemed to have been completely immersed in company operations, event planning, and strategic mapping. How long had it been since he truly touched this world he had created, as a "player"?
Those nights of repeatedly testing hero skill values, those scenes of arguing red-faced with planners over equipment effects, those joys of "abusing" employees with various bizarre tactics in the internal test server... it all seemed like a very distant past.
A long-lost impulse surged in his heart. He wanted to reconnect with that world, not as a boss, not from a designer's perspective, but as a pure player.
"Perhaps it's time for a game," Qin Feng murmured to himself, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "And, shared joy is better than solitary pleasure."
A bolder idea formed—to livestream.
When the news of "league of legends Founder Qin Feng's First Personal Livestream" was released through official channels and Qin Feng's personal social accounts, the entire player community instantly erupted.
"Holy crap?! Boss Qin is playing himself?"
"Is that the legendary man? He still plays games?"
"Here he comes! Let's see how God plays the game he created!"
"A tutorial game? Is he going to teach some secret martial arts techniques?"
Countless curious, expectant, and spectating players flocked in, and the livestream's popularity reached an astonishing number even before it began.
At 8 PM, the livestream started precisely. The screen showed Qin Feng's smiling face and the game client interface on his computer.
"Hello everyone, I'm Qin Feng," he greeted the camera, his tone relaxed. "Recently, watching the Star Sea Cup matches got my blood pumping, and my hands started itching. I thought it's been a long time since I played, so I might be a bit rusty. It's a good chance to do a livestream, interact with everyone, and by the way... well, see if I can recall some of my former glory from those closed-door testing days."
The chat instantly flooded the screen, with messages like "Worship the great one," "Request friend slot," and "What role does Boss Qin play?" scrolling rapidly.
While chatting with the viewers, Qin Feng skillfully logged into his account—a very low-key account, without even any rank. He unhesitatingly chose to solo queue.
"What should I play for the first game?" Qin Feng scanned the hero list, his gaze finally settling on an elegant and agile figure—The Unforgiven, champion.
"He's the one. Happy Wind Man, let's get a feel for it," Qin Feng locked in champion, causing another wave of excitement in the chat.
However, the subsequent match completely deviated from the "tutorial" track.
During the laning phase, Qin Feng's champion appeared... very clumsy. His use of the E Skill "Sweeping Blade" was ill-timed, often resulting in unfavorable trades or dashing into minion waves only to be easily counter-attacked by the opponent. His grasp of distance also seemed rusty, frequently missing last hits. Most critically, he seemed to have completely underestimated players' understanding and counter-play abilities for this hero in the current version.
"First Blood!"
"The Unforgiven has been slain!"
"The Unforgiven has been slain!"
The kill notifications rang out repeatedly. Qin Feng's champion was solo-killed in lane, ganked while roaming, and focused down first in team fights. Ultimately, when the opponent destroyed their nexus, his score was a shocking 0-15-3.
The livestream fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a flood of "hahahas" and teasing.
"??? Is this the founder's understanding?"
"0-15-3! I could do that! (Referring to feeding)"
"Boss Qin, is your champion here to enhance the opponent's game experience?"
"Tutorial game (literally): Teaching how to quickly make the opponent go godlike with champion."
"Designer, look at the hero you designed! (doge emoji)"
Qin Feng looked at his score and couldn't help but cover his face and laugh, showing no embarrassment, but rather a long-lost joy of "being played by the game."
"Ahem... mistake, purely a mistake," he cleared his throat and said earnestly, "It's been a long time since I played, my hands are cold, and the pace of this version is indeed quite different from when I first tested it. Please bear with me, please bear with me."
He paused, looking at the screen full of "hahahas" and "refund" (even though it was a free livestream), a glint of unyielding determination flashing in his eyes.
"It seems if I don't show some real stuff, you guys will look down on me," Qin Feng stretched his fingers, his gaze becoming focused. "One more game, still champion."
The second game began.
Perhaps the first game served as a "warm-up," or perhaps Qin Feng's focus truly sharpened. While the early laning phase in this game was still not advantageous, at least there were no more easy solo deaths. Last hitting also barely kept up with the timeline.
However, luck did not seem to fully favor him. The opposing jungler clearly noticed this "famous" champion and provided several consecutive rounds of "special care." Although Qin Feng tried his best, using Wind Wall and Flash to escape a few certain death situations, he still reluctantly gave up several kills. His score once again became unsightly, 0-4, 0-5... The chat's sentiment began to shift again, from initial teasing to slightly benevolent "encouragement" and "sympathy."
"Boss Qin, how about we play Malphite and just chill?"
"Teammates are about to mental boom..."
"You can tell he has the mechanics, but it's been too long since he played, so his awareness and rhythm are out of sync."
"It's great that he's sticking with it!"
Mid-game, Qin Feng's blue team was nearly five thousand gold behind. Both sides gathered near the Dragon Pit; the fifth dragon, a fire dragon with good stats, was about to spawn. This team fight would likely determine the outcome of the game.
The atmosphere grew tense. Both sides engaged in back-and-forth skirmishes in the mid-river, probing with abilities and looking for opportunities. Qin Feng's champion, due to his poor score, did not have good equipment and could only hover on the flanks, occasionally poking with his Q Skill "Steel Tempest" to stack his whirlwind.
His gaze was fixed on the screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, his brain rapidly calculating enemy positioning, ability cooldowns, and distances.
"Just one more hit..." he muttered softly, controlling champion to use an E Skill to dash towards a low-health melee minion, simultaneously casting Q Skill, and finally, the whirlwind effect enveloped him.
At this moment, the red team's five players were somewhat grouped together as they tried to gain vision of the dragon pit. Their frontline was pushed forward, and the backline carries, for safety, stood further back, but the distance between them was not too great.
Now!
A sharp glint flashed in Qin Feng's eyes! He didn't choose the conventional EQ to knock up the frontline, but instead performed an operation that took everyone by surprise!
His champion suddenly used his E Skill "Sweeping Blade" to dash towards the opposing support who was positioned slightly forward! Almost at the instant the E Skill animation appeared, his Q Skill "Steel Tempest" was pressed simultaneously (EQ), and then, as champion swept towards the support with his blade whirlwind, a golden light suddenly flashed—Flash!
This was not the common E Flash Q (using Flash to change the E's landing spot and quickly cast Q), but EQ Flash! During the E Skill's dash, he forcibly changed the final landing point of his EQ combo and the release position of the whirlwind using Flash!
Whoosh!
champion's figure, like a ghost, instantly flashed from the side of the opposing support, at an extremely bizarre angle, to the clustered ADC, mid-laner, and another warrior of the opponent! And the whirlwind he had accumulated, at the moment he landed after flashing, was suddenly released from him as the center, towards the conical area in front!
"Hasagi!"
A fierce whirlwind roared out, precisely knocking up the red team's ADC, mid-laner, warrior, and the support he E-d to—a total of four people—all into the air!
"What?!"
"Four?! Knocked up four?!"
The livestream chat and his in-game teammates simultaneously let out exclamations of disbelief!
This wasn't over! The moment the four were knocked up, Qin Feng immediately cast his R Skill—"Last Breath!"
"Sorye ge ton!"
champion's figure transformed into a streak of light, instantly appearing among the four airborne enemy champions, his sword light pouring down like a tempest! A massive "Quadra Kill" notification appeared shockingly in the center of the screen!
(Although due to health issues, not all the kills ultimately went to him, the effect was fully achieved.)
The remaining red team member was also terrified by this earth-shattering play and was easily taken down by the blue team's other members.
Team wipe!
The blue team seized the opportunity to take Baron, and the originally huge disadvantage was completely reversed by Qin Feng's astonishing play!
The entire livestream went completely crazy!
"!!!!!!!!!!"
"What did I just see??????"
"What the hell kind of play was that?? EQ Flash??"
"Holy crap! So Flash can be used like that??"
"Sorry Boss Qin! I admit I spoke too loudly just now!"
"This is The Unforgiven!! This is the founder's true strength!!"
"Tutorial! This is what a real tutorial is!"
The chat scrolled like a tsunami, and various gifts and donation effects almost drowned the screen.
In-game, teammates also typed "???" and "666," their previous complaints vanishing, replaced by genuine admiration.
Qin Feng looked at the "Victory" sign on the screen, let out a long sigh of relief, and showed a joyful and slightly smug smile. This play seemed to have brought him back to those years when he tirelessly studied every skill mechanic and explored every combo possibility.
"Boss Qin! Please teach! How exactly did you press that?"
"Yeah, yeah, EQ Flash? Is it different from E Flash Q?"
"Too fast! Couldn't see clearly at all!"
"Slow-mo please! Explanation please!"
The audience in the livestream recovered from their shock and began to ask frantically.
Qin Feng looked at the enthusiastic chat, smiled, and took a sip from the water glass beside him.
"It seems everyone is very interested in this technique," he said slowly. "Actually, the principle isn't complicated; the key lies in the timing and the coordination of hand speed..."
The livestream was not over yet. A true "Founder's Tutorial" had just begun. And with this astonishing play, Qin Feng not only proved that he still had it but also re-established his "god-like" status in the hearts of countless players.