Chapter 27: Taocheng

“Taocheng’s bullet serve was directly returned for a point, and just now, that ball’s flight speed was far too bizarre!”

Taocheng’s strength had already been witnessed by Inoue and Shimasaki during the Seishun Academy internal selection match.

Among second-year players from major tennis academies, Taocheng’s skill and talent were undoubtedly outstanding.

Yet this Taocheng, after unleashing his signature bullet serve, failed even to reach the net before being directly returned for a point.

“He didn’t just return it—he aimed at Taocheng-senpai’s foot in an instant.”

“Precisely at the foot stepping toward the ground. Not only speed, but his ball control is astonishing.”

Hearing Karuma’s words, Inoue suddenly noticed a deep tennis mark beside Taocheng’s foot—exactly where Karuma had said, directly beside the foot still unsteady from its step.

“Shimasaki, quickly get out the camera. The middle schooler playing against Taocheng isn’t ordinary.”

“This kind of shot speed and ball control? Even among all middle schoolers, he’s undoubtedly exceptional.”

“He’s likely also a contender in this year’s Kanto tournament, maybe even the national one.”

With just one return shot, Inoue immediately took serious notice of the boy before him.

He could tell this middle schooler couldn’t possibly be unknown—but for some reason, Inoue felt utterly unfamiliar with him.

Logically, a player this strong shouldn’t be completely unknown to him, a professional reporter.

“If even Inoue-senpai doesn’t know him, is he like Karuma—just returned from abroad, or a first-year?”

“The winner of this game is Shengzai Wen, score 1-0. Next game, Shengzai will serve.”

Even as Karuma and the others chatted, Taocheng on court had lost four consecutive points and surrendered his service game outright.

Yet Taocheng himself wasn’t overly discouraged, for on the final point, he’d felt he could barely keep up with the opponent’s ball.

“Shengzai Wen? I’ve never heard that name. I wonder what kind of serve he’ll use in his service game?”

In fact, not just Inoue was curious—Taocheng, as his opponent, and Karuma, watching from the sidelines, now watched Shengzai’s movements with intense focus.

Though they’d seen Shengzai play others before, his previous serves had always been handled by Xiao Xing; this was the first time they saw his own serve.

Shengzai lightly gripped the tennis ball, glanced at his racket, then grinned slightly: “Rare opportunity. Let’s try something new this time.”

He tossed the tennis ball high with his left hand, and as he tightened his grip on the racket, his gaze sharpened abruptly.

As the ball fell at a steady pace, everyone on court saw only Shengzai’s arm blur into a streak of light.

The next instant, as the net quivered violently, the tennis ball shot across at supersonic speed, detonating with a thunderous crack at the baseline of Taocheng’s side.

“Wen Sword Style… no, Wen Tennis Style Type One—Lan Ya!”

Taocheng, gripping his racket with both hands, still crouched, stared in disbelief as the tennis ball rolled behind him and turned his head.

The same stunned expression appeared on every spectator’s face—even Karuma, who had remained calm until now, widened his eyes.

“That serve’s speed exceeded 195 kilometers per hour! Is that even possible for a middle schooler?”

Without question, Shengzai’s serve left everyone on site speechless.

Earlier, the crowd had assumed Shengzai’s serve must be impressive, given his strength—but none imagined it wasn’t just impressive, it was terrifying!

“30-0!”

“40-0!”

“The winner of this game is Shengzai Wen, score 2-0. Now, players switch sides.”

Facing a serve exceeding 195 km/h, Taocheng at this stage had no defense whatsoever.

Naturally, Shengzai easily held his service game.

After switching sides, the third game began with Taocheng serving; now armed with experience from the first game, he was gradually catching up to Shengzai’s shots.

From initially being unable to react at all, to barely managing two steps, to finally just brushing the racket’s edge for an out-of-bounds shot—Taocheng achieved this progress in only two games.

“Out! Winner of this game is Shengzai Wen, score 3-0.”

Though the score stood at 3-0 and Taocheng hadn’t won a single point from Shengzai, he wasn’t completely disheartened.

He could now consistently return Shengzai’s shots; in his next service game, he was confident he wouldn’t let Shengzai score so easily again.

In the fourth service game, Shengzai used “Lan Ya” to secure all four points, extending the score to 4-0.

In truth, Shengzai had many other techniques he wanted to try—but since Taocheng was an opponent, Shengzai didn’t wish to reveal too much too soon.

At the same time, Shengzai couldn’t help but marvel at how rapidly players like Taocheng and Karuma, second-years with protagonist aura, grew.

He was certain he’d maintained his return speed at a consistent level since the start—but after just a few games, in the fifth, Taocheng actually managed to return his shot.

“You’re truly astonishing. In just a few games, you’ve already adapted to my speed?”

“But if that’s all you can do, it’s still far from enough for me.”

“After all, I never said I’m just a speed-type player.”

Shengzai returned Taocheng’s shot again; as Taocheng, confident, prepared to strike back, the force transmitted through his racket left him utterly stunned.

As his racket flew from his hand, Shengzai claimed the fifth game, pushing the score to 5-0.

The final game was Shengzai’s service game; given his previous “Lan Ya,” Taocheng had no chance to return it—meaning Taocheng’s 6-0 whitewash was all but sealed.

Taocheng was drenched in sweat; Shengzai, by contrast, remained effortlessly calm.

Just as Shengzai tossed the ball high, preparing to serve, a powerful voice suddenly shouted: “Shengzai, Xiao Xing, how much longer are you two going to fool around here? Come back with me right now!”

Without doubt, the person who appeared was Juzen Ping, captain of the Budou Peak Tennis Club.

He’d come looking for his sister at his family’s request, only to witness this scene.

(End of chapter)