The Crowd Was Stunned

Qing Junce stepped onto the court, brushing past Sakuragi Hanamichi as he came off.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's face was filled with unwillingness and humiliation. The moment he saw Qing Junce, he could no longer hold back and cursed, "Damn you, Qing Junce! You actually stole this genius's spot! How despicable, shameless, vile, Godless ghost..."

Qing Junce did not care in the slightest. He casually dug his ear. "A guy who only knows how to clown around. Isn't it normal for you to come off?"

"What did you say..." Shark-like teeth instantly appeared in Sakuragi Hanamichi's mouth as he roared furiously. "You must have said something to Old Man. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken me off so quickly."

Qing Junce shot him a sidelong glance without saying a word.

But that silent look seemed to carry endless disdain and mockery, causing the flames of anger in Sakuragi Hanamichi's heart to flare higher and higher.

"You bastard... Are you looking for a fight?" Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly stepped forward, bringing his face almost against Qing Junce's, and shouted angrily.

Qing Junce looked at the comical face leaning toward him and wondered whether he should throw the first punch.

It was not because Sakuragi Hanamichi was especially annoying at that moment. His hand simply felt a little itchy.

Bang...

Just then, a heavy fist slammed hard into Sakuragi Hanamichi's head.

Caught completely off guard, Sakuragi Hanamichi fell face-first onto the floor.

Akagi Takenori withdrew his fist and glared at the fallen Sakuragi Hanamichi with a dark expression. "You idiot, be quiet and get back to the bench."

Sakuragi Hanamichi's heart was full of grievance and unwillingness, but he could only obediently climb to his feet and return to the bench, looking back every few steps. He continued muttering, "What the heck! Why am I the only one being taken off?"

Ayako looked at the unconvinced Sakuragi Hanamichi and explained, "Sakuragi! You've already committed four fouls! If you commit five, you'll be forced to leave the game."

"Four fouls?" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked utterly confused. "What does that mean?"

"Four fouls means that in a single game, every player has a maximum of five fouls. Once you exceed five, you'll be forcibly ejected from the court." Ayako patiently explained, then turned her gaze toward Qing Junce, who had stepped onto the court, and felt somewhat puzzled. "Given the current situation, Shohoku has the upper hand. Even if Qing Junce doesn't enter the game, it shouldn't be a problem. Is Coach worried about something unexpected happening?"

Ho ho ho ho...

Hearing Ayako's question, Coach Anzai did not answer directly. Instead, he turned to Shimizu Kanon and asked, "Kanon, what do you think?"

Shimizu Kanon thought for a moment before saying, "I think Coach Anzai wants to see how A-Ce performs in an official game."

Ho ho ho ho...

Coach Anzai laughed a few more times, nodded, and said, "Mm! That's right."

At that moment, both Ayako and Shimizu Kanon understood why Coach Anzai had sent Qing Junce onto the court.

Qing Junce was indeed extraordinarily talented, but he had never participated in an official game before.

After all, streetball and organized competition were very different. The atmosphere on the court, the pressure they faced, and everything else were worlds apart.

Coach Anzai simply wanted to see whether Qing Junce could still put on an astonishing performance in an official game.

However, Coach Anzai had still worried too much.

To Qing Junce, all games were the same.

Cowardice, nervousness, and worry simply did not exist in his dictionary.

Without Sakuragi Hanamichi causing trouble, Qing Junce calmly stepped onto the court.

His expression was peaceful, without the slightest trace of fear or nervousness that one would expect from someone making his debut. He looked just like an old woman strolling through a market.

Qing Junce glanced up at the score displayed on the electronic scoreboard.

Shohoku 35, Miuradai 44.

There was just over one minute left before the end of the first half.

"You've had this much time and still haven't caught up. You guys really suck." Qing Junce mocked them without the slightest courtesy.

At those words, the faces of Akagi Takenori, Rukawa Kaede, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota instantly turned livid, veins bulging on their foreheads.

Mitsui Hisashi immediately raised his middle finger at Qing Junce and angrily cursed, "You only know how to show up late! You just entered the game. What gives you the right to say that?"

Miyagi Ryota also glared furiously at Qing Junce. "Exactly! What an arrogant first-year brat."

Akagi Takenori ground his teeth together and clenched both fists, forcibly suppressing the urge to smash one into Qing Junce's head. He said in a low voice, "If you want to come off now, I won't stop you."

Only Rukawa Kaede said nothing. He merely stared fixedly at Qing Junce, his eyes revealing a refusal to lose.

Qing Junce rested his left hand on his waist and dug his ear with the pinky of his right hand, his eyes half-closed and his expression completely unconcerned. "Instead of spouting nonsense, hurry up and pass me the ball."

In an instant, it was as if four volcanoes had erupted, shooting straight into the sky.

Mitsui Hisashi was so furious that he jumped to his feet. He turned to Akagi Takenori and demanded, "Why did you agree to let this bastard join the basketball team in the first place?"

Akagi Takenori's expression was a sight to behold—black tinged with green, green shading into red, and red mixed with blue. "Do I need your permission to decide who joins the basketball team?"

Qing Junce stopped paying attention to them and walked over to the center line on his own.

Just then, the referee blew his whistle.

Tweet...

The whistle sounded.

The game resumed.

Miuradai had possession.

Miuradai's point guard, Araki Kazuo, wearing jersey number 5, dribbled the ball forward.

Because Miyagi Ryota had made several successful steals earlier, Araki Kazuo's attention was focused mostly on Miyagi Ryota.

Qing Junce was only a newcomer, so Miuradai had not devoted much attention to him.

The player defending Qing Junce was Miuradai's power forward, Miyamoto Kazunari, who wore jersey number 6.

Looking at the laxly defending Miyamoto Kazunari in front of him, Qing Junce gently exhaled and thought, This is really irritating.

His gaze swept across the court and instantly locked onto Araki Kazuo, who was dribbling the ball.

The next moment, his eyes narrowed slightly. His figure flashed, and he disappeared without Miyamoto Kazunari noticing.

At the same time, Araki Kazuo stopped his forward rush and passed the basketball toward his team captain, Murasame Kengo.

Murasame Kengo reached out with both hands to receive the ball.

But just then, a flash of white appeared before him, and the basketball vanished right in front of his eyes.

What?

Murasame Kengo's eyes widened. He had no idea what had just happened.

Miyamoto Kazunari also sensed that something was wrong.

He realized that the player he had been assigned to guard had disappeared.

Where was he?

Where had he gone?

Bang...

Bang...

Bang...

The sound of the basketball striking the floor drew the attention of everyone on Miuradai.

They followed the sound and looked over, each of them widening their eyes as disbelief filled their faces.

A figure wearing Shohoku #9 had somehow appeared behind all of them. It was Qing Junce.

When had he gotten there?

Murasame Kengo looked utterly stunned.

Once he recovered, he hurriedly shouted, "Stop him!"

Hearing the order, Miuradai's other players immediately turned and chased after Qing Junce.

But because of that, an unbelievable scene appeared before everyone's eyes.

Qing Junce, wearing Shohoku's white Number 9 Jersey, dribbled the ball as he sprinted ahead, while the five Miuradai players in dark blue jerseys desperately chased him from behind.

Strangely, however, the distance between the Miuradai players and the white figure ahead was visibly growing larger.

The entire scene was bizarre to the extreme.

For a moment, the whole gymnasium fell terrifyingly silent.

Apart from the sound of Qing Junce dribbling the basketball, only the squeaking of the players' shoes against the floor could be heard.

Miuradai's coach had already risen from his seat. His mouth hung wide open, and his face was full of disbelief.

What kind of international joke was this?

They couldn't catch someone running while dribbling even though they were running empty-handed.

Just who was Shohoku's Number 9?

Amid the stunned gazes of the crowd, Qing Junce charged straight into Miuradai's key, then leaped high into the air and delivered a one-handed slam dunk.

Crash!

The sound of the dunk rang out.

Qing Junce slammed the basketball firmly through the hoop.

The score on the electronic scoreboard changed as well.

Shohoku 37, Miuradai 44.

The entire court fell completely silent.

Everyone had been stunned by Qing Junce's astonishing performance.