Chapter 27: Coach, I Want to Play Ball

Ye Cheng had arranged for someone to save seats in the front row ahead of time; when they entered now, he led Li Qingran straight to their seats.

The view was unobstructed, the scenery splendid beyond compare.

Amidst a sea of Korean female high school students in uniform, there was also a woman wearing sportswear, tall and slender, with a proud bust.

She was the coach leading the delegation from Busan Girls' International High School in Korea this trip — Quan Zhiqiao.

Down on the court, the players from Busan Girls' High had already begun warming up and testing the table.

One of the girls, after a single break shot, proceeded to sink fifteen balls in a row in one go, instantly causing an uproar throughout the venue.

This person possessed the looks of a heroine straight out of a pure romance manga, a captivating charm; the moment she picked up the spirit control cue, her temperament transformed completely, with none of a woman's softness.

Her name was Lin Yunhui, a student ranked in the top five at Busan Girls' International High School for spirit control ball.

Ye Cheng's gaze swept across the entire venue, finally settling on Lin Yunhui, and he nodded inwardly: "Good shot! Good shot!"

Li Qingran chuckled: "You really are a seasoned fan."

"Of course."

Practically the whole school's faculty and students had come.

Li Qingran spotted an acquaintance.

Wangchuan Qiq was sitting not far from them.

On the spirit control ball court, besides Hua Fenglang, all the other spirit control ball experts from Heihai City No. 2 Middle School had also arrived.

Hua Fenglang looked coldly at the Korean girls across from them, heart brimming with pride: I'm a professional-level player, after all.

This invitation tournament was, without a doubt, a provocation against China, against Heihai City No. 2 Middle School.

Hua Fenglang silently vowed to thoroughly defeat them.

While Hua Fenglang was observing the girls, their coach Quan Zhiqiao was also secretly watching them.

Then, Quan Zhiqiao smiled and said to the girls: "Everyone relax, I've observed them — not a single one of them can play."

The contempt in those words could not have been more obvious.

In contrast to Quan Zhiqiao's disdain, Heihai No. 2 Middle's coach Chu Feng wore a grave expression, arranging the students' order of play with utmost caution.

This invitation tournament used a points system: each side fielded ten people; the loser stepped down, the winner earned one point and could continue facing the next person.

Hua Fenglang was slated to appear second-to-last.

Of course, it wasn't that the last student was stronger than Hua Fenglang.

Rather, in the entire Heihai City No. 2 Middle School, only nine students could be fielded for spirit control ball.

If even Hua Fenglang lost at the end, then no matter who the school sent up, they would merely be cannon fodder, unable to turn the tide.

The match began.

Heihai No. 2 Middle's first player was a pale, thin, monkey-like effeminate boy — Li Zhanling.

He possessed the ghost-type guardian spirit Lei Gui, one of the Hundred Ghosts of Chinese legend.

Its characteristic: everything it does is fast.

Li Zhanling held his cue; before even striking the ball, his first move was to summon his guardian spirit Lei Gui.

Accompanied by peals of thunder echoing through the gymnasium, a ghostly creature resembling an ape-monkey, with lips like cinnabar, eyes like mirrors, a long horn atop its head, green fleshy wings on its back, and a long trailing tail, materialized behind Li Zhanling.

Lei Gui was very ugly, but very gentle.

Coach Chu Feng's idea was to send Li Zhanling, the one with the ugliest guardian spirit, out first to scare the Korean players and thereby affect their overall performance.

In the stands.

Ye Cheng clicked his tongue in commentary: "Have to say, this coach is a genius — this Lei Gui, just looking at it gives me goosebumps. The girls facing it up close, wouldn't they be scared witless?

Ran Ge, what do you think?"

He still had a deep psychological shadow regarding evil spirits.

Ye Cheng asked himself: if it were him on the court, his heart would definitely skip a beat, his hand would tremble, and that would be the end of everything.

Li Qingran's eyes shifted; with one glance she saw that the girl matched against Li Zhanling was both large-chested and bold.

Her guardian spirit happened to be the light attribute, which counters ghost-types.

Li Qingran shook her head and uttered a single word softly: "Loss."

Coach Chu Feng, sharp-eared, happened to catch their conversation, turned his head slightly to glance at them, and felt a surge of displeasure.

This tactical arrangement demonstrated his 250 IQ — how could it possibly lose?

If we lose, I'll do a handstand and take a shit!

Too bad.

On the court, just as Li Qingran predicted, the Korean girl was unaffected.

On the contrary, her potential was stimulated; this match she performed superlatively.

"Being ugly isn't your fault, but coming out to scare people is your wrongdoing."

In the end, Li Zhanling was no match for the bold girl and went down in defeat.

An unfavorable start; the faculty, students, and players on site were all silent, the atmosphere somewhat oppressive.

Ye Cheng stared wide-eyed at Li Qingran and gave a thumbs-up: "Awesome!"

Coach Chu Feng, looking at the dark-faced school leaders, explained with feigned composure: "Leaders, please rest assured!

Li Zhanling is our school's weakest spirit control ball player; this was just to test the opponent's level.

What comes next is the main event — for the second match I've arranged student Guo Jiuzhu to play."

Coach Chu Feng then introduced Guo Jiuzhu's combat strength at length.

Guo Jiuzhu possessed the human-type guardian spirit War God Ling Gong — Guo Ziyi, a famous Tang Dynasty general who spent his life on horseback and achieved meritorious deeds time and again.

And Guo Jiuzhu himself had once followed his spirit control ball teacher around challenging park uncles in the folk circuit.

His ball path was unconstrained and unpredictable, making it impossible to guess how he would strike the next shot.

And this kind of bizarre, myriad hitting approach is precisely the nemesis of Korean players who have already fallen into set patterns.

Ye Cheng wore an excited expression and asked again: "Ran Ge, what about this match?"

"Win." Li Qingran still answered briefly.

Sure enough, Guo Jiuzhu's hitting approach was ingenious, catching the Korean girl completely off guard.

Cheers erupted at the venue.

The school leaders' faces cleared from gloom to sunshine.

Coach Chu Feng looked smug.

Busan Girls' High School of Korea sent up a new player to continue against Guo Jiuzhu.

Ye Cheng asked: "Ran Ge, this match?"

Li Qingran replied: "Win."

……

"This one?"

"Win."

"……"

"Win."

"Win."

Guo Jiuzhu could be said to have beaten the master with wild punches, forcibly taking down five Korean girls one after another, making the opposing team's coach Quan Zhiqiao so angry he nearly coughed up blood.

Guo Jiuzhu scored 5 points in a row, equivalent to slapping the other side hard across the face.

Cheers rang out from time to time at the venue, shouting "China must win, No. 2 Middle must win."

The situation was excellent, with climaxes rising one after another.

The school leaders looked at Guo Jiuzhu, nodding repeatedly, their eyes full of approval.

Coach Chu Feng wore a smile, but his palms were full of sweat.

The other side only had four players left, while they, counting Guo Jiuzhu, still had nine.

Among them, the strongest, Hua Fenglang, still hadn't taken the field.

There's a chance to win!

Ye Cheng stared at Li Qingran dumbfounded, exclaiming: "Pro."

Predicting the match results correctly six times in a row, this is no longer a matter of luck.

Li Qingran looked calm: "Basic operation, don't six."

At this time, the score was 5:1.

Hua Fenglang sat on the bench, somewhat restless, thinking to himself: No way, no way, are the Korean players this weak this time?

This kind of chance to show off should be mine!

Coach, I want to play too..