Chapter 0133: The Opening of the First Round of the National Tournament

“Hello, hello, I’m Xia Chiyi…”

“I watched all your games in the Southeast Division, and you were absolutely amazing! I forgot to introduce myself, I’m the captain of the Qicheng Commerce basketball team. My name is Wan Siqi! But… I’m already a junior…”

“Ah?” Xia Chiyi paused. “Does it matter that you’re a junior?”

“You’re already this incredible as a freshman, while it took me until my junior year to make it to the nationals.”

“That’s not how you should calculate it. I was just really lucky to join the school team right when Coach Ling took over, otherwise… I wouldn’t even have the qualifications to step onto the court.”

Wan Siqi smiled knowingly; it seemed he had also heard about Ningchang University’s experiences over the past few years.

He had a pair of simple, large eyes, thick eyebrows, and skin tanned to a healthy wheat color.

Being so directly admired by someone from another division made Xia Chiyi feel a bit embarrassed.

Ye Chaoying smilingly slung his arm around Xia Chiyi’s shoulders: “Not bad, harvesting fans from other divisions so quickly. But Captain Wan, no matter how much you admire him, we won’t show any mercy in Monday’s game!”

Wan Siqi laughed: “Admiration is admiration, and a game is a game! Just bring it on this Monday, we’ll wash our necks and wait for you!” (Note: “wash one’s neck” is an idiom for preparing to be executed/defeated).

Xia Chiyi paused for a moment. Wasn’t washing their necks a bit too dramatic?

Just then, Qicheng Commerce’s head coach walked over to greet Ling Huanzhen.

To Xia Chiyi’s surprise, this head coach looked very young, even younger than Cheng Qing… Could someone like this really have dared to butt heads with the school administration eight years ago? Had he even graduated from college back then?

Ling Huanzhen shook hands with him, then asked with a bit of doubt: “Are you… Coach Chen Mingxi?”

The other man laughed: “Forgive my lack of manners, Chen Mingxi was my father. During the Northwest Division quarterfinals, he suddenly passed away from a heart attack and didn’t get to see these kids play in the national tournament…”

Ling Huanzhen revealed a look of shock, momentarily at a loss for words.

“My condolences” felt too formal, but he was afraid that expressing any other regrets might make the other party sad.

“Coach Ling, you don’t need to pity us because of my father. I only have one small request,” the young Coach Chen said.

“Please go ahead.”

“We are very aware of our own strengths and flaws. What we need most right now is technical exchange and experience. If possible, no matter how wide the point gap is on Monday, please make sure to keep your best players on the court.”

Looking at Coach Chen’s sincere gaze, Ling Huanzhen’s eyes turned red.

For as many people out there who used a coach’s authority for personal gain, like Ma Hongming, there were just as many who dedicated their lives to cultivating talent in this field, and the late Chen Mingxi was one of them.

Technique and experience can only truly be improved through actual gameplay.

Keeping his best players on the court and playing with everything they had was perhaps the best tribute to Coach Chen Mingxi.

“Alright, I promise.”

That night, Ling Huanzhen once again re-watched the match between Qicheng Commerce and Southwest Aviation University.

Since he had made a promise to the young Coach Chen, Ling Huanzhen was determined to make Monday’s game meaningful.

After returning to his room and washing up, Xia Chiyi sat cross-legged on the sofa and started scrolling through Qicheng Commerce’s match videos.

According to the data analysis team’s conclusions, this team’s biggest advantages were their off-ball movement and help defense. Their switching on defense was also full of tacit understanding. Although the team had no star players like Ma Tao or Ke Yan, their fundamentals were incredibly solid, and they often pulled off surprisingly brilliant plays.

“Qicheng Commerce is simply…”

“Simply what?” Zhou Zhexiao, fresh out of the shower, walked over and tilted his head to look at Xia Chiyi’s phone.

“Playing the pig to eat the tiger. Like a student taking an exam: scoring just over 100 in math, just over 100 in language arts. Every subject is upper-middle tier, but once you add up the total score, they can knock out the top students who only excel in one subject.”

After a good while, Zhou Zhexiao simply replied: “Oh.”

Xia Chiyi covered his eyes. What a terrible analogy he just made. Zhou Zhexiao had never even taken the college entrance exams, how could he understand that?

But Zhou Zhexiao was watching very closely: “Their double-team defense initiates very quickly.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s better than yours and Ye Chaoying’s.”

“…Ye Chaoying would be sad if he heard that.”

“This guy with Wan Siqi written on his back uses the drag step very well.”

Xia Chiyi froze for a second. Turning his head, he perfectly caught sight of Zhou Zhexiao’s still-damp bangs hanging over his forehead and couldn’t resist blowing on them.

Zhou Zhexiao looked like a cat basking in the sun, closing his eyes as if he was thoroughly enjoying it.

“I didn’t hear that wrong, right? Are you praising someone?”

For Zhou Zhexiao to verbally acknowledge someone meant their technique had reached a certain height.

“Yeah, I am. His ball-handling isn’t any worse than Ye Chaoying’s. Perhaps due to his personality, his playstyle is very steady. For example, his between-the-legs drag step crossover, his spin-move drag step crossover, and this highly difficult fake-directional drag step crossover. The amplitude of his drag step is huge, and it has strong resilience.”

As they kept watching, Xia Chiyi not only became Zhou Zhexiao’s human backrest but also his phone stand. It was five minutes past eleven, and Zhou Zhexiao surprisingly hadn’t dozed off, but silently finished watching the entire Northwest University of Technology vs. Qicheng Commerce game.

“What do you think?” Xia Chiyi asked.

“Qicheng Commerce excels at defense; as you said, they are a good student without weak subjects. But Northwest University of Technology is also well-rounded, plus they have a specialty—their forward’s attacks in the paint are very sharp, so Qicheng Commerce lost.”

Xia Chiyi smiled: “Northwest University of Technology is this year’s King of the Northwest.”

“Oh, well they made the King of the Northwest struggle hard for that win.”

“Yeah. If Northwest Tech is tempered steel, then Qicheng Commerce is yielding softness. It’s just a pity that the softness snapped at the end.”

“Northwest Tech has too many players they can rotate in.”

“Yeah, Qicheng Commerce’s bench depth is too shallow. We actually share that same weakness.”

Xia Chiyi thought Zhou Zhexiao would say something more, but after two or three seconds of zero response, Xia Chiyi realized Zhou Zhexiao had actually fallen asleep with his eyes closed in that exact position.

“Get up right now! If you’re going to sleep, go sleep in the bed!”

The next morning, Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao went to the hotel’s buffet breakfast together. Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the elevator, they ran into an old acquaintance.

“Yo, Ningchang’s little potato.”

Xia Chiyi paused, then immediately shot back: “Yo, Southwest’s debt-collector face.”

“Ha, the most capable thing on your entire body is just that mouth of yours.”

Zhuo Zheng moved to the side, and Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao walked in.

“You guys were placed in this hotel too?”

“Yeah, so we’ll probably run into each other often at breakfast and dinner.”

The elevator quickly reached the first floor. As Zhuo Zheng walked out, he didn’t forget to throw one last jab: “Eat a bit more, little potato. Hope you grow to 1.9 meters soon.”

“You eat more too, hope you grow to 2 meters soon.”

Upon arriving at the buffet restaurant, they saw all sorts of beautiful pastries laid out, and there was plenty of seating. No wonder the organizers arranged the accommodations here.

While Xia Chiyi was holding his plate picking out food, he ran into quite a few familiar faces. For example, while waiting for a fried egg, he spotted Ma Tao. Xia Chiyi immediately ducked his head to pass by, hoping Ma Tao hadn’t noticed him. Who knew Ma Tao seemed to have eyes in the back of his head; he turned around and clamped a hand around the back of Xia Chiyi’s neck.

“I say, Xia Chiyi, Ningchang University already beat us, why do you still look like a mouse seeing a cat when you run into me?”

“Heh… hehe… Good morning, Brother Ma! Hope you have a good appetite, Brother Ma!”

“Look at you acting all cowardly, you may retreat.”

Xia Chiyi hurried off with his plate. While picking up some garlic broccoli, he ran into Lu Yingnan.

The other boy was wearing the uniform Southwest Aviation jacket, looking much more handsome than his usual casual clothes.

“Morning, Captain Lu.”

“Mhm, morning. After the Qingda training camp, you’ve been practicing your defense properly, right?”

“Of course.”

Lu Yingnan asked again: “Have you been practicing your left-hand dribbling drives properly too?”

“Yes.” Xia Chiyi smiled and rubbed the back of his head. “Thanks for caring, Captain Lu!”

“I’m not caring about you. I’m just making sure you won’t be able to find any excuses when you lose to us.”

Xia Chiyi stood there for about two seconds before he realized Lu Yingnan was throwing down a challenge.

“This is my first breakfast at the nationals… Captain Lu, are you trying to ruin my appetite?”

Lu Yingnan handed the tongs to Xia Chiyi and replied flatly: “I am your opponent. I’m only responsible for defeating you, not for ensuring you have a good appetite.”

With that, Lu Yingnan walked away.

Although Xia Chiyi keenly noticed a small dent at the corner of Lu Yingnan’s mouth—that guy was clearly happy they had met again.

“Zhuo Zheng just told me to eat more to grow past 1.9 meters, and now I have no appetite. How am I supposed to grow at all!”

After breakfast, the team took the bus to the entrance of the stadium.

Massive First-Tier League posters had already been put up, displaying the hot-blooded words: “Climbing the Peak of Youth.”

Vertical posters of the thirty-six participating teams surrounded the perimeter of the venue, looking flashier than a mega-concert.

This stadium in Linbin City was newly built three years ago and had hosted the Asian Championships last year. It contained four basketball courts inside, and its spectator capacity was similar to Qingda’s stadium.

The central circle on the basketball courts featured the First-Tier League logo, while the basketball hoops on both sides were printed with sponsor advertisements—Zhengfeng Sports.

Rumor had it that up until this morning, the folks from Zhengfeng Sports still hadn’t given up on negotiating with Ling Huanzhen, hoping the Ningchang University players would switch to Zhengfeng’s basketball shoes.

Ling Huanzhen’s attitude was the same as it was in the Southeast Division. Playing tai-chi with his words, he argued that since the game was tomorrow, the players definitely needed to wear their broken-in shoes; switching to new ones could easily affect their performance.

The manager responsible for persuading Ling Huanzhen grew anxious and blurted out: “A flower doesn’t bloom red for a hundred days. If you refuse the sponsorship now, and you end up losing in the nationals, you won’t have any commercial value left at all!”

Ye Chaoying, who was warming up on the sidelines, got annoyed: “How can this guy speak like that? We have a game tomorrow, and he’s bringing us bad luck today?”

Xia Chiyi grabbed the back of Ye Chaoying’s collar. “Alright, we trust Old Ling. It’s just a sports brand, he can handle it easily.”

Ling Huanzhen had been playing it cool, but upon hearing the words “commercial value,” his brows furrowed: “We are a university student team, not a professional basketball club; we inherently have no commercial value. The tournament committee also wouldn’t want any sponsors coming into the teams just to endlessly preach about commercial value. On a small scale, this corrupts the students’ values; on a large scale, it casts a shadow of utilitarianism over the First-Tier League.”

The manager immediately realized he had said the wrong thing and apologized profusely.

“And isn’t it perfectly natural that a flower doesn’t bloom red for a hundred days? Even I, Ling Huanzhen, didn’t play professionally forever. If we lose, we go to the loser’s bracket, and we still have a chance to fight our way out. If not, three months from now, we’ll be back as tough as ever. If you want to win, you can’t be a sore loser.”

Ling Huanzhen’s “three months from now” referred to the fact that the national tournament ends in June, and the grassroots qualifiers kick off again in September.

This detached, unbothered attitude of his made him truly bulletproof.

Even the young Coach Chen from Qicheng Commerce on the opposite court showed an expression of admiration.

Ling Huanzhen clapped his hands loudly: “Hurry up and get on the court to get a feel for it! Every team only has twenty minutes; don’t waste other teams’ adjustment time. He Bin, what are you still standing there for? Take them out there to feel the floor’s friction, the stadium lights, the hoops, and see if you can adjust to the basketballs provided by the committee!”

He Bin immediately waved them over. All the players lined up to shoot, and after shooting, they lined up to dribble.

Ye Chaoying dribbled the ball all the way across the court. His speed was incredibly fast—double between-the-legs dribbles, push-crosses, Hardaway crossovers. His movements were rapid and fluid. Anyone watching from the sidelines would find it a feast for the eyes; his rhythm was strong, and the amplitude of his dribbling fakes was deceptive enough.

They were testing the waters on Court 1, and the teams on the other courts couldn’t help but look over. There were also other teams sitting in the spectator stands waiting for their turn, such as Southwest Normal and Xiangbei Liberal Arts.

The ones who had originally been chatting among themselves quieted down the moment Ye Chaoying began to dribble.

With every change in direction, his shoes screeched against the floor. Once Ye Chaoying dribbled to the other side, Xia Chiyi swapped in.

Xia Chiyi was still wearing his “Little Goldfish” shoes. First, he sprinted half the court, then braked sharply at the three-point line for a rapid pull-up jumper.

The sounds of friction and the swoosh of the ball ripping through the net echoed one after another.

Zhou Zhexiao stood on the other end, catching the ball with perfect chemistry and tossing it right back to him.

Xia Chiyi executed all kinds of step-back jumpers around the three-point line.

The staff members adjusting the lighting and cameras around the arena couldn’t help but start talking.

“Who is that! His three-pointers are so beautiful, and he shoots so fast!”

“That’s Ningchang University’s Xia Chiyi, a hot favorite for this year’s top five players.”

By the time Xia Chiyi reached the basket, he executed an exaggerated double-clutch floater. Upon landing, he jumped in place a couple of times.

Ling Huanzhen nodded and smiled as he asked the Zhengfeng Sports manager beside him: “You see, the shoes we are wearing right now perform pretty well. They grip the floor nicely, and they protect the ankles well too. We can go hard in them without worrying about ruining them.”

The Zhengfeng manager still tried to defend his brand: “Our shoes have much stronger elasticity and shock absorption…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Zhou Zhexiao suddenly took a running start from the three-point line. Rushing past the free-throw line, he leaped into the air with a massive mid-air stride and slammed the ball with a resounding BANG. Landing smoothly, he immediately spun around, ran back to the three-point line, caught a pass from Xia Chiyi, rushed back to the basket, and finished with a sprawling reverse layup.

Explosiveness, speed, and technique—a perfect trinity.

Many of the waiting teams in the stands were completely stunned.

Ling Huanzhen turned his head and smiled: “The shoes we’re wearing right now have top-notch elasticity and shock absorption too.”

The brand manager was speechless and could only take a deep breath, politely excusing himself.

Sitting at the very top of the bleachers was Capital Sports University. They were originally supposed to practice on Court 2, but the moment Ye Chaoying started dribbling, they all collectively shifted over.

Vice-captain He Lian’s eyebrows shot up high: “This is the first time I’ve ever seen a team treat their court adjustment time with such arrogance.”

Captain Xu Xingzhi laughed, “You say that as if they don’t have the capital to be arrogant.”

He Lian looked at the freshmen beside him: “These little rookies are watching so intently.”

“They’re shook. They always thought the Capital was the place that attracted and gathered the best talent in the world. After seeing Qingda, they thought they were the ceiling of the First-Tier League. But now, seeing Ningchang University, they’re realizing the world is much bigger than they imagined.”

The twenty-minute adaptation training ended, and Ling Huanzhen handed the court over to Qicheng Commerce, leading his team away.

“Let’s go, which teams do you guys want to watch practice? Qincheng University is on Court 3, they should be done by now. Qingda is on Court 4… Southwest Aviation is on Court 2. Dismissed.”

Hearing those last two words, Xia Chiyi dragged Zhou Zhexiao straight over to Court 2.

Cheng Qing asked Ling Huanzhen with some concern: “Zhengfeng Sports is the chief sponsor of the national tournament. By rejecting their offer like this, will they cut our screen time during the live broadcasts?”

Ling Huanzhen laughed: “Don’t worry, I know these sports brand sponsors well enough. They think exactly like scumbags—the ones they can’t have are the ones they lust after the most. Besides, as long as we keep winning, could Zhengfeng Sports really afford to censor the champions?”

“That’s true,” Cheng Qing smiled.

That day, the official Kulang social media account posted a group photo of Ningchang University at the nationals. It didn’t mention any of their own products, only a single caption: Walking alongside the light, shining toward the future.

After a day and a night of rest, the first round of the national tournament was about to commence.

Before bed, Xia Chiyi went to the window to draw the curtains. In the distance, he could see a massive billboard on a skyscraper in Linbin’s central business district—The First-Tier National College Basketball League: The Power and Attitude of Youth.

Stop thinking so much. Sleep now and recharge!

Because Ningchang University was a highly favored team, even though this was only the first round of the group stages, the tournament committee and the Kulang streaming platform treated it with immense importance. They double-checked the court lighting, set up broadcast camera angles, and even invited local radio hosts to provide commentary. They were fully pulling out all the stops.

The next day, when the Ningchang University players changed into their gear, finished their warm-ups, and arrived at the stadium, they discovered that Qicheng Commerce’s popularity was extraordinarily high!

It wasn’t just the players’ relatives and friends; there were also alumni from the past eight years who loved basketball but never had the chance to participate in the First-Tier League. There were even many students previously taught by Chen Mingxi who had traveled thousands of miles, taking time off work or school just to watch this game.

They didn’t wear matching support t-shirts, nor did they shout loud slogans; they merely smiled and waved at the Qicheng Commerce players.

Xia Chiyi looked up at the spectators and sighed, “I’m getting a serious ‘away game’ vibe here.”

Ye Chaoying was bouncing in place. “You can’t exactly say that. Our coach’s popularity is actually quite high too. Look at that middle-aged fan club over there, Old Ling’s influence is still going strong.”

It was well known that after Ling Huanzhen retired, he didn’t pursue politics or business, but threw himself into foundational basketball development. This made his fans incredibly proud of him, and even the Basketball Association treated him as a model, praising him at every meeting.

Ling Huanzhen bowed toward the direction of his fans, then turned and walked over to Zhou Zhexiao.

At that moment, Zhou Zhexiao was sitting on a chair tying his shoelaces.

“Hey, I have something I want to say to you.”

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded, meaning Go ahead, the Emperor is listening.

“Qicheng Commerce is incredibly united. Their help defense is very strong, and their tactical execution is tightly interlocked. However, they don’t have any elite players at the level of Yang Huaiyu, Zhao Lingcong, or Liu Suchen. They made it into the national tournament purely through hard work.”

Zhou Zhexiao raised his eyes, seemingly not understanding the point of Ling Huanzhen telling him this.

“For the majority of them, they might never play competitive basketball again after this year. Our Ningchang University might be the highest-level opponent they will ever get to experience in person.”

Zhou Zhexiao didn’t even bat an eyelid, only replying with one sentence: “You’re too narcissistic.”

Ling Huanzhen wore a look of utter confusion: “Ah?”

“Qicheng Commerce’s skill level is very high.”

Ling Huanzhen remained utterly confused: “Ah?”

“What exactly do you want from me?”

“I want you to show them the skills you are best at. Find all the flaws in their tactics, and make them feel that fighting for three years to get here was entirely worth it.”

Zhou Zhexiao lowered his head and rotated his expensive wristband.

“Mhm. I know.”

Ling Huanzhen finally relaxed, because the Great Demon Lord he knew respected all opponents who genuinely loved basketball.

A massive crowd had already gathered in the Kulang livestream.

[Finally! Finally, our Ningchang University has stepped onto the national stage!]
[Xia Chiyi is going to equally shoot through every single team’s hoops!]
[Your Zhou Zhexiao is about to unleash his kaleidoscope of skills.]
…

Pang Shuai had been granted a special leave of absence by the school administration, and he was currently sitting in the front row of the bleachers with his camera. Aside from the student union alumni sitting to his left, the huge section behind him was entirely made up of Qicheng Commerce’s friends and family.

Even an eighty-something-year-old grandfather with white hair at his temples had come. His son was beside him, introducing the two teams and explaining some basketball rules.

“This is the first time our Qicheng Commerce has made it into the nationals, and we’re immediately facing a hell-difficulty opponent. Dad, look, this is Ningchang University. They are the champions of the Southeast Division. But just like our Qicheng Commerce, they were also completely underestimated and fought their way up all the way here.”

The old man nodded: “That’s okay, that’s okay. We fought our way out of the Northwest Division precisely to witness even stronger opponents… As long as we work hard relentlessly, no opponent will dare look down on us!”

Listening in, Pang Shuai silently nodded in his heart, strongly agreeing with the old man’s perspective.

The game officially began, and the commentator started introducing the starting lineups for both teams.

“Qicheng Commerce University is entering the national tournament for the first time in eight years, ranking third in the Northwest Division this year. First, let me introduce their captain, junior Wan Siqi, standing at 192 centimeters, playing as point guard. He understands all of his teammates’ specialties and habits. His dribbling style is solid and fluid; he’s an outstanding offensive initiator and defensive organizer, as well as a three-year veteran for Qicheng Commerce.”

Wan Siqi stepped onto the court and shook hands with Ningchang University’s captain, He Bin.

Unfortunately, He Bin wasn’t in the starting lineup for this game. He nodded at Wan Siqi and smiled, “I hope we get a chance to face off in this game.”

Wan Siqi replied very seriously: “We also really want to experience your off-ball movement.”

“Serving as Qicheng Commerce’s shooting guard for this match is Qiao Xin, 187 centimeters tall, a sophomore. It is worth mentioning that this player’s three-point accuracy ranked first in the Northwest Division. His playstyle is incredibly steady, and together with Captain Wan Siqi, they are known as Qicheng Commerce’s backcourt duo.”

Qiao Xin seemed very nervous today. As he walked toward Xia Chiyi, he tripped over his own shoelaces and almost fell flat on his face. Fortunately, Shuai Bei, who was passing by, reacted quickly and pulled him up.

“Th… thank you…” Qiao Xin looked at Shuai Bei gratefully.

“Mhm,” Shuai Bei nodded.

Xia Chiyi actively reached out his hand to shake Qiao Xin’s.

Qiao Xin finally spoke: “Please advise me well today.”

“Please advise me too,” Xia Chiyi flashed a big, bright smile.

The commentator continued: “Zhao Ying, 195 centimeters tall, serving as Qicheng Commerce’s small forward. This is his freshman year, and also his first time participating in the First-Tier League. To be able to break into the nationals, this player clearly has immense potential. His attacks are clean and decisive, his cuts are resolute, and his aggression is strong—definitely one to watch!”

Zhao Ying, this freshman, had been a bit unruly back in the Northwest Division, but the moment he saw Zhou Zhexiao, he toned it down considerably.

Even though Zhou Zhexiao was also a first-year player, the aura of absolute control he emitted was overwhelmingly oppressive just from watching his tapes.

Seeing Zhou Zhexiao in person now, that unsmiling expression and cold gaze made Zhao Ying feel an invisible pressure.

He was just about to step back when Zhou Zhexiao unexpectedly extended his hand first: “First time meeting, I’m Ningchang University’s small forward, Zhou Zhexiao.”

Zhao Ying hadn’t expected the other party to introduce himself first. It felt more like Zhou Zhexiao had seen right through his cowardice and actively pulled him forward.

“Hello, I’m Zhao Ying… I’m the small forward.”

“Mhm.” Zhou Zhexiao nodded, taking a step back into his opening defensive position.

Zhao Ying quietly exhaled a breath. Zhou Zhexiao was more humble than he had imagined, but that battle-hardened aura simply couldn’t be hidden.

“Qicheng Commerce’s power forward—Bai Dan, standing at 208 centimeters tall! Sturdily built and highly oppressive, he has fought alongside Captain Wan Siqi for three tournaments and finally made it to the nationals!”

The moment Bai Dan and Shuai Bei met each other’s gazes, there was a mutual understanding.

The two men briefly hugged each other. The atmosphere made the viewers in the livestream wonder if the game had already ended.

“Lastly, introducing Qicheng Commerce’s center, Zhu Cong! He’s also a junior. Last year, he suffered an unexpected injury and couldn’t finish the last game of the Northwest Division. Perhaps due to his absence, Qicheng Commerce failed to break out of the divisional qualifiers last year.”

Zhu Cong and Du He high-fived, agreeing to battle it out over the rebounds.

The spectators in the livestream were all very curious as to why there was no smoke, no provocation, and no trash talk at the start of this game. The two teams acted as if they were old friends who had known each other for years.

[Did Qicheng Commerce play practice matches with Ningchang University? How come I don’t remember any results being posted?]
[They probably didn’t. I don’t think Ningchang University ever visited the Northwest Division!]
[I thought Ningchang University’s tightest bros were Qincheng University!]
[Even if they are tightest with Qincheng, they still score on each other and provoke each other at the start!]
[Stop guessing! We’ll know what’s going on once the game starts!]

The commentator then introduced Ningchang University’s starting lineup again: the newly crowned Southeast Division Three-Point King Xia Chiyi, the Southeast Division Steal King Ye Chaoying, the rim-finishing terminator Zhou Zhexiao, the moving defensive walls Du He and Shuai Bei… Viewers in the livestream commented passionately, recalling their past glorious moments.

But none of that mattered to Xia Chiyi anymore.

The national tournament was an entirely new starting line.

With the blow of the whistle, the basketball flew high into the air under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Zhu Cong and Du He’s jumping heights were essentially neck-and-neck. The two nearly touched the ball at the exact same time, but in the end, Du He had slightly more power mid-air, slapping the ball toward Ye Chaoying.

The commentator’s emotions surged: “As expected of Du He, ripping up mountains and commanding the heavens!”

Just as everyone thought Ye Chaoying was about to launch a fast break, the opposing point guard Wan Siqi reacted instantaneously. He flashed past Xia Chiyi, leapt high into the air, and intercepted the ball right before Ye Chaoying could catch it!

Qicheng Commerce took the initiative to launch the first attack. This was an entirely unexpected surprise for the live audience!

“Holy crap!” Ye Chaoying rapidly chased after Wan Siqi.

This guy was tall with long legs, and his center of gravity didn’t look low, but who would have thought his dribbling speed was this fast?

Seeing that Wan Siqi was about to single-handedly drive into the paint, Xia Chiyi preemptively arrived at his dominant dribbling side, abruptly dropping his center of gravity. Suddenly, the ball vanished from Wan Siqi’s hands.

Due to momentum, Wan Siqi ran two more steps forward before scrambling to recover on defense.

It was the first time this game’s commentator had witnessed such dribbling speed in person, nearly rendered speechless by the shock.

Right from the opening, the offensive and defensive transitions were incredibly fast. This suffocating pace immediately dragged both the live audience and the livestream viewers into a state of high tension.

Qicheng Commerce was extremely wary of Xia Chiyi. Their shooting guard Qiao Xin instantly moved to form a front-and-back double team with Captain Wan Siqi.

However, with an agile and rapid “scorpion tail” move, Xia Chiyi nearly faked Qiao Xin onto the floor, immediately following up with a magical behind-the-back dribble, slipping right past Wan Siqi’s side!

The moment he created some distance, Xia Chiyi pulled up for a shot.

Qiao Xin turned to watch the shot. He knew Xia Chiyi’s release was fast, but experiencing it firsthand on the court was an entirely different level of pressure.

“Congratulations to Ningchang University for taking first blood in the national tournament!” The commentator once again marveled at the level of the First-Tier League. “Xia Chiyi’s shot just now was a holy trinity of speed, precision, and agility! This might just be the most unsolvable problem in the entire league!”

Also playing as a shooting guard, Qiao Xin stood with his mouth slightly agape, unable to figure out how he could have possibly blocked that shot.

On the sidelines, Coach Chen placed a hand over his chest and pressed down, signaling Qiao Xin to calm his nerves.

On the second possession, the ball returned to Qicheng Commerce’s hands.

Wan Siqi held the ball, rapidly plotting an offensive route in his mind.

He charged into enemy territory in one breath, locking onto the gap between Ye Chaoying and Xia Chiyi, and squeezed right through. Before Xia Chiyi could laterally slide over to defend, Wan Siqi had already blown past.

Ye Chaoying was just about to steal the ball from a low angle when he crashed straight into the opposing small forward, Zhao Ying.

What an airtight help defense!

Seeing that Wan Siqi was about to pass the ball to shooting guard Qiao Xin, a figure flashed by—Zhou Zhexiao had actually taken the initiative to intercept the pass!

“Fast break!”

Zhou Zhexiao blew the horn for the counterattack, and all of Qicheng Commerce scrambled back on defense.

Center Zhu Cong raised both arms. Feeling Zhou Zhexiao’s overwhelming momentum, he couldn’t help but gasp: “He’s too fast…”

Everyone thought Zhou Zhexiao would cut directly to the basket, but unexpectedly, he handed the ball off to Shuai Bei next to him. Zhou Zhexiao then spread his arms, blocking Zhu Cong and denying him any chance to interfere with his teammate.

Shuai Bei immediately pulled up for a jumper. Power forward Bai Dan rapidly leapt to contest the shot, and the ball bounced off the backboard.

“Rebound!” Bai Dan shouted.

In the very next second, a loud BANG echoed as Du He slammed in a putback dunk!

The livestream erupted, everyone screaming about how incredible they were.

The commentator snapped back to reality, cleared his throat, and said excitedly: “Right from the start, Qicheng Commerce displayed immense tactical execution. Their help defense and rotations are absolutely top-tier in this league. But Ningchang University dismantles every trick thrown at them, relying on keen reflexes and highly efficient offense to break through Qicheng Commerce’s teamwork!”

At this moment, Ling Huanzhen’s brows were tightly knitted. The opponent’s individual combat abilities weren’t strong, yet they had managed to pose several threats within just the first minute. It was clear their teamwork was far more meticulous than Ningchang’s.

They needed to establish their offensive triangle as soon as possible.

Zhou Zhexiao turned his head and glared coldly at Ye Chaoying: “Have you thrown away your own strengths?”

Ye Chaoying froze. My strengths… Speed? Or steals? Even if you’re my teammate and my roommate, what’s with this rude attitude?

Xia Chiyi patted his back: “This guy is so annoying. Our Little Shadow has so many merits, Emperor Zhou, you could at least pick one from the menu! Do you prefer creating a diversion in the east while attacking the west? Or besieging Wei to rescue Zhao? Or openly repairing the plank roads while secretly marching to Chencang?”

Ye Chaoying immediately realized he had been too affected by Wan Siqi’s incredibly fast-paced dribbling. He had been so focused on driving the ball himself that he had forgotten his most fundamental duty as a point guard—organizing the offense.

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re just afraid I’ll get mad at Emperor Zhou, and you’re intentionally trying to smooth things over for him.”

Xia Chiyi smiled, revealing his two small canine teeth: “Little Leaves, you’re all grown up now, you should learn to see through things without exposing them!”

Receiving the ball, Ye Chaoying looked across at Wan Siqi and broke into a smile.

A truly elite point guard doesn’t just rely on high-speed dribble penetration and kicking the ball out; they must destroy the opponent’s zone defense entirely!

Ye Chaoying accelerated his dribble, heading straight for the half-court line.

Even though Xia Chiyi and Zhou Zhexiao were flanking his left and right, he was in no rush to pass. Instead, he drove the ball to face Wan Siqi head-on.

Ye Chaoying pushed the ball to the right, leaning his body, then suddenly yanked it back in a spin move. He originally thought he could shake off Wan Siqi, but unexpectedly, this ‘Nick Young spin move’ failed to lose him. Wan Siqi planted his foot and rapidly kept up.

Damn, what a formidable defense!

Qiao Xin immediately rushed over to provide help defense, forming a pincer attack on Ye Chaoying alongside Wan Siqi.

Ye Chaoying scoffed inwardly: You two must be deeply in love with this double-team tactic!

The commentator noted with concern: “Ye Chaoying’s handling of this play is too impulsive. He has already been forced toward the sideline by Qiao Xin and Wan Siqi. Once the trap closes…”

Before the commentator could finish, Ye Chaoying suddenly executed a bounce pass. The ball ricocheted off the floor right beside Wan Siqi’s pivot foot—an incredibly bold and perfectly angled pass.

Catching the ball, Xia Chiyi was completely unguarded and easily scored a wide-open shot!

“Phew…” Wan Siqi looked at Ye Chaoying, thinking to himself how impressive that was. There are no impossible passes, only gaps you haven’t thought of.

Their double team not only failed but actually allowed Ye Chaoying to lure the tiger from the mountain, drawing the perimeter defense toward the sideline and giving Xia Chiyi ample space.

Ye Chaoying retreated on defense with a blank expression.

But for Qicheng Commerce to rank third in the Northwest Division, they definitely had their own capabilities!

What followed was Qicheng Commerce’s ruthless counterattack. Wan Siqi pushed the ball into Ningchang University’s defensive zone, nimbly tangling with Ye Chaoying. Xia Chiyi came to help defend, intentionally positioning himself on Wan Siqi’s dribbling side, attempting an untelegraphed steal to force Wan Siqi toward Ye Chaoying.

However, Wan Siqi’s reactions were incredibly fast. Instantly seeing through Xia Chiyi’s intentions, he threw a backward pass. Their small forward, Zhao Ying, caught the ball and immediately faced Zhou Zhexiao’s blockade.

A thin layer of sweat broke out on Zhao Ying’s back. Making eye contact with Zhou Zhexiao made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Why did Zhou Zhexiao get here so fast? Wasn’t he just on the other side of the court a second ago?

Zhao Ying executed two consecutive pump fakes, but neither managed to fool Zhou Zhexiao. He couldn’t drag out the time any longer. Gritting his teeth, he passed the ball right beneath Zhou Zhexiao’s arm. To prevent Zhou Zhexiao from stealing it, Zhao Ying practically used his entire back to shield the ball, losing his balance after the pass and falling flat onto the floor.

Power forward Zhu Cong squeezed past Du He and Shuai Bei’s human wall, smoothly catching the pass, and without hesitation, turned around for a thrilling pull-up jumper that found the net!

Qicheng Commerce’s family and friends erupted into applause and cheers.

On the sidelines, Ling Huanzhen revealed an appreciative smile, clapping forcefully for the play.

Xia Chiyi exhaled a breath and exchanged a look with Ye Chaoying: The opponents are tough, and they have an incredibly deep trust in one another.

Wan Siqi walked up to Zhao Ying and patted the freshman on the back.

“That was a beautiful pass.”

“Mhm.” Zhao Ying nodded, but recalling Zhou Zhexiao’s suffocating defense—an oppressive feeling he had never experienced in the Northwest Division—it was like facing an impenetrable wall with no way out.

“But you seem a bit afraid of him,” Wan Siqi said.

“I’m not, I’m absolutely not!” Zhao Ying hadn’t even realized his own face was red.

“Good. Bring out that fearless, arrogant aura you had back in the Northwest Division! If you lose the fight, you still have us seniors here to catch you!”

In the final two minutes of the first quarter, Qicheng Commerce unleashed a small wave of climax.