Chapter Twenty: King versus King

  The earth will not stop spinning because of anyone, Yan Lingfeng cannot participate in the competition, and the rest still have to continue fighting. The first year eight classes took the lead with a fierce attack at the beginning of the game, also set the tone for this semifinal. The third year five classes did not lose their morale so easily, they fought back desperately in the following time, under the leadership of player No. 10, and kept the score close, but they did not make this game one-sided, however, they tried their best, only to prevent the score from being too far apart, and ultimately failed to reverse the situation. 68-61, The first year eight classes defeated the third year five classes, and advanced to the final with pride.

  The final match of the Shuiyun No. 1 Middle School basketball tournament will be held tomorrow afternoon (October 10, 2004), with the two teams competing being the so-called "basketball class" of Grade 3 Class 11 and the dark horse, freshman class Grade 1 Class 8. Grade 3 Class 11 is a well-known basketball class in Shuiyun No. 1 Middle School, under the guidance of Wu Fengtiao, who is known as the number one basketball player in Shuiyun. All students in the class, regardless of gender, have a strong interest in basketball. Wu Fengtiao not only plays basketball in school but also has a reputation throughout Shuiyun City, with a height of 1.9 meters and having played on almost every basketball court in the city. His years of experience have earned him a great reputation, and his teammates Bi Xiangyang and Li Kun are also not to be underestimated after years of training. Can Grade 1 Class 8 make it to the end and eliminate the last obstacle in their way? This is the biggest suspense of this year's basketball tournament, and under the school's deliberate promotion, this final match has already become the hottest topic in the entire campus before it even starts.

  That night, the 501 dormitory did not have the tense atmosphere of sharpening swords and horses before the big battle. No one spoke, and no one could easily fall asleep. The big battle is approaching, saying that it's not nervous is a lie, but a sense of sadness and depression hangs over the entire dormitory, the final match is about to arrive, but their brothers can't fight side by side with them.

  "Heaven's will is playing tricks on people..." Sun Feiyang sighed and said in a low voice.

  "Ling Feng will come back, I believe!" Zhao Senming continued in the darkness.

  "Although he hardly ever played, in my eyes, Ling Feng has always been standing with us. Today's game, without him sitting on the sidelines, feels really weird. What do you think? Big fool" Fu Zijun also didn't have any sleepiness.

  His answer was a series of thunderous snores.

  "Damn it! Now I'm actually envious of this four-limbed fool." Fu Zijun said discontentedly.

  "Hehe, there's no use in wild guesses, let's just go to sleep early." Zhao Sen sighed.

  "Hmm, but thinking about facing Wu Fengtiao tomorrow, I couldn't sleep..." Sun Feiyang sighed.

  "When the enemy comes, we'll defend; when the flood comes, we'll dam it. What can Wu Fengtao do? As long as we brothers unite and stand together, he has nothing to fear." Zhao Senming comforted, comforting Sun Feiyang at the same time also comforting himself.

  Beijing time on October 10, 2004 at 9:00 am, the final of Shu Yun City First Middle School basketball game officially started.

  The pig demon called the five starting players to his side, clearing his throat and saying: "Ling Feng hasn't returned yet, so he probably won't be able to play today. Whether or not we can bring back our first honor from Class 8 of High School is up to you guys now. We are newcomers, but newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. Tell me, are you guys the calves?"

  "We're not going up to the clouds," Zhao Senming replied.

  "Awesome!"

  "Ha ha, I'll tell you, you're not! Our real opponent is! So what are you? The tiger and leopard's colt has not yet grown up, but already has the spirit of swallowing a cow! I hope you can bring out this kind of spirit in today's match! Wipe them out! Give an account to Lingfeng who lost his loved one! Give an account to our whole class who have been cheering for you since the basketball game started! Go for it, kids! Today's match is not just yours, but also mine, Lingfeng's, and the whole class'! I won't say anything else, go!"

  Five people nodded solemnly with a serious expression, took off their jackets and prepared to warm up on the field.

  "Who's going to guard Wu Fengtao?" Fu Zijun's eyes were gentle as he stroked the basketball in his hand, a habit of his. When warming up, he didn't seek out hand feeling like most people did through shooting; a true shooter needed a kind of feel, a kind of unity with the ball.

  His position should be small forward, if Ling Feng is there, naturally he is the first choice to defend against him, Qing Yun's height and strength are both at a disadvantage compared to his. Sun Feiying replied with a frown.

  "What can we do?" Xiang Qingyun didn't think that Sun Feiyang was underestimating him, he was very clear about Wu Fengtao's strength, and being arrogant could only lead to self-destruction.

  "Zi Jun, come here. Dēng Yún, be on guard at all times." Zhao Sen Ming said with a furrowed brow.

  "Alright, I'll try my best!" Fu Zijun nodded heavily.

  "Haha, Zijun, don't look so worried, it's just Wu Fengtou! What are the Four Great Kings afraid of? In front of our brothers, any reactionary is a paper tiger!" Sun Feiyang laughed and encouraged Fu Zijun.

  "It's easy to talk about it, why don't you try it?" Fu Zijun gritted his teeth and said.

  "Zi Jun, you're free!" Zhao Senming, who had been very calm all along, suddenly jumped up and ran towards the direction of the stadium gate with open arms and a beaming smile.

  "Ah?" Fu Zijun seemed to have realized something, and looked in the direction Zhao Senming was running. A familiar figure appeared before his eyes in the gentle breeze.

  "Ling Feng is back! He's returned!" Fu Zijun also couldn't care about his image anymore, excitedly following Zhao Senming's footsteps as he ran over.

  Yan Lingfeng, surrounded by five people in the middle, forced a smile, but only he himself knew that his body was now extremely weak, and he had been guarding the mourning hall all night without closing his eyes.

  When a faint white fish belly appeared on the horizon, Yan Lingfeng bowed his head to Grandfather's spirit tablet to apologize, took a short nap, hastily ate some breakfast, and then boarded the bus back to the city.

  Although he encountered a change, Yan Lingfeng still couldn't put down this final match. No matter what his physical condition was like, no matter how dizzy his spirit was, he still hoped to stand together with his teammates in this final match and fight side by side for their first championship, dripping with sweat.

  The pig demon also walked over, smiling at Yan Lingfeng and saying: "You're back."

  "Back!"

  "Can you fight?" the pig demon asked with concern.

  Yan Lingfeng's gaze pierced through the crowd and looked towards the opponent's field, where his opponent wearing a light blue magic jersey was warming up.

  "Is it him?" Yan Lingfeng's eyebrows slightly furrowed, although it had been over a decade since they last met, but Yan Lingfeng still recognized at a glance the person who dominated the Water Cloud basketball arena in his previous life - Wu Fengtao, now wearing the Magic No. 1 jersey. Yan Lingfeng slowly recalled Wu Fengtao's basketball style in his mind, and finally summed it up in two words - all-around.

  Yes, all-around. At the high school basketball level, Wu Fengtao's 1m9 height can play all positions, inside and outside, able to break through and shoot, playing center he can use his position and jumping ability to grab every rebound in the backcourt, playing guard he can use his height to overpower opponents, absolutely a very difficult role to deal with.

  Wu Fengtao seemed to be unaware of the various gazes focused on him, chatting and laughing with his teammates. Yan Lingfeng withdrew his gaze, the opponent's strength was not what he feared, but rather his own nearly exhausted physical strength and confused mental state. Yan Lingfeng could almost confirm that if he went on court now, he would be easily defeated by Wu Fengtao.

  "It's over!" Yan Lingfeng gritted his teeth, and since he had been reborn, it was equivalent to having picked up a life. What else did he have to worry about? If he died, then so be it. A glorious death in battle was absolutely more honorable than a humble life.

  "Alright!" Yan Lingfeng nodded heavily and took off his jacket, ready to warm up on the court. In his haste to leave yesterday, he still had his jersey on.

  Xiang Qingyun sat back on the bench for the first time, and at least on the surface, he didn't show any dissatisfaction. Yan Lingfeng had taken his starting position, but without Yan Lingfeng, he might not have been able to integrate into this circle at all. Moreover, Yan Lingfeng's basketball level was far beyond his reach, so being a substitute for someone like that, he had no opinion.

  The referee saw that everyone had warmed up and blew the whistle to signal the start of the competition, asking the 10 starting players to get ready and take their positions.

  Yan Lingfeng's footsteps are a bit floating, 98-year-old Old Joe can still come on and fight the Jazz in a severe cold, but does Yan Lingfeng have such ability and perseverance at just 15 years old?

  The starting lineup of Class 31, Senior High School is led by No. 1 Wu Fengtiao, followed by No. 2 Bi Xiangyang and No. 3 Li Kun, except for the poor shooting performance of No. 10 Zhang Peng, and the pure blue collar No. 11 Liu Ba.

  Liu Ba, No. 11, stood alongside Han Dengyun, not losing out in terms of height or weight. His name was quite domineering, but unfortunately, his appearance didn't live up to it - a long horse face hung down, as if someone owed him millions and hadn't paid back yet. When Yan Lingfeng returned, Han Dengyun's mood also relaxed, staring at the other's cheek and jokingly saying: "You definitely don't have to worry about the quality of your shoes being bad, right?"

  Liu Ba glared at Han Dengyun with a cold expression and said, "Nonsense, can't you see what brand I'm wearing? Can your domestic goods compare to this?"

  Han Dengyun and Fu Zijun had been in contact for a long time, and somehow he started imitating his nose-touching gesture. He chuckled and said: "Your face is worn out like the sole of a shoe, if you stick it on, it'll definitely be durable and sturdy."

  "Little kid, are you looking for death?" Liu Ba's eyes were emitting a fierce killing intent, and his fist the size of a bucket was clenched tightly, wanting to teach this ignorant little fatty who didn't know how to respect his seniors a lesson.

  Wu Fengtao chuckled and patted his shoulder, saying: "We're on the court now, don't look for unnecessary trouble."

  Although Wu Fengtao's fighting power didn't seem particularly strong, the tall and majestic Liu Ba nodded obediently, slowly loosening his clenched fists, but the anger in his eyes only intensified.

  Liu Ba vented his anger in the first round of the one-on-one basketball match, and Han Dengyun hadn't even had time to jump up when Liu Ba let out a loud roar and slapped the ball back to his own half-court.

  No. 2 Bi Xiangyang, who plays the position of controller defender in Class 31 of High School No. 3, slowly walked across half court, Zhao Senming cautiously approached him step by step. When Bi Xiangyang saw Zhao Senming coming to defend, he didn't hesitate and made a steady diagonal pass to give the ball to No. 10 Zhang Peng. Sun Feiying immediately moved her feet forward to defend against Zhang Peng, whose three-pointer was an absolutely worth-preventing scoring move, but she mustn't let him have the chance to shoot comfortably.

  Zhang Peng didn't even dribble, seeing Sun Feiying pounce over, he thoughtlessly hung the ball to the inside line, stuck in position 3 Li Kun. Li Kun was close to Fu Zijun's thin body, and now his standing position was still a distance from his shooting range, so Li Kun wasn't in a hurry to shoot. But what surprised him was that Fu Zijun, who looked like a bamboo pole, had strength that didn't match his body. Li Kun bumped into him several times, feeling no chance, and could only pass the ball out again.

  Wu Fengtao caught the ball outside the three-point line, gazing at Yan Lingfeng's calm smile and asked, "You don't look nervous at all?"

  Yan Lingfeng didn't say a word, he now had to concentrate every bit of attention and gather every bit of strength to defend against the opponent's number one player. To defeat the snake, you must hit its seven-inch weak point; to capture the thief, you must first capture the king. As long as they could freeze Wu Fengtao, victory was not far away.

  Wu Fengtao shook his head and said, "Don't make futile efforts anymore. You can't defend against me. This is the first basketball game of Water Cloud No. 1 Middle School, but not the last one. Your class may be able to win the championship, but not now, because I'm here!"

  Wu Fengtao is quite arrogant, but he indeed has the capital to be arrogant. The current captain of Shandong men's basketball team, Cheng Zhiming, can't stop praising this young man. Will he become an arrogant person?

  Yan Lingfeng's expression was a bit dazed, for the first time he had doubts about his team's chances of winning, in front of this legendary senior who was like a myth in the Water Cloud basketball world, could they continue to create miracles?

  It was just a moment of distraction, and Wu Fengtao seized the opportunity to break through Yan Lingfeng's defenseless defense. With a big step, he quickly bypassed Yan Lingfeng and jumped up to shoot the ball. In the eyes of a basketball master, this unguarded shot was even simpler than an open three-pointer. At this distance, Wu Fengtao had practiced shooting hundreds or even thousands of times every day, and his years of accumulated hand feel allowed him to make the ball spin slightly as it went into the net.

  Class 31 of High School No. 3 took the lead from the very beginning, with a fierce battle between Wang and Wu Fengtou opening the curtain.