Zero Style Serve!

After saying that, Atobe watched Chiba Yun Chuan, who stood on the court with a serious expression.

"Chiba, is Tezuka really worth taking this seriously? Let me see for myself!"

Atobe's eyes began to flicker, their color shifting.

"Let me see the strength of the Ice Emperor captain, Chiba!"

After saying that quietly, Tezuka gently tossed the tennis ball into the air with his right hand. Then he raised the racket in his left hand and swung as the ball descended to the right height!

Smack!

The contact between the racket and the ball made a crisp sound, followed by a sharp whoosh through the air.

The ball spun fiercely as it shot over the net and landed in front of Chiba Yun Chuan!

"That's some serious spin!"

Inoue Mamoru exclaimed.

"That serve is the Zero Style Serve! The spin isn't quite there yet, but it's almost perfected!"

When Atobe saw the serve, his pupils contracted.

"Is that... the Zero Style Serve?"

"I can't believe Tezuka can hit a ball like that!"

Chiba Yun Chuan's gaze sharpened as he saw Tezuka's Zero Style Serve. In an instant, he was at the ball's landing point!

Then he raised his racket.

"Water Soft Resistance!"

Chiba Yun Chuan swung his racket rapidly, and the air crackled with a sonic boom!

The spin on the incoming ball began to weaken, and a current of wind seemed to envelop it.

Its spin slowly faded, and by the time it was about to hit the ground, it had vanished completely!

Then came the sound of the ball hitting the court!

Thump!

The ball bounced gently into the air!

"How is that possible?!"

Atobe had lowered his hands and stared at the bouncing ball in utter shock!

"Why? How could the ball's spin be canceled out?"

Atobe's voice was full of disbelief.

"How is that possible? Can you really cancel out a ball's spin? Chiba Yun Chuan, how did he do that? Shiba Saori, did you get a shot of that ball just now?" Inoue Mamoru hurriedly asked.

"N-no, I didn't."

On the court, Chiba Yun Chuan was swinging his racket.

"Tezuka, your Zero Style Serve is complete, and almost impossible to return. But I'm a god! Is there any ball a god can't return? The answer is no!"

After saying that, Chiba Yun Chuan gripped his racket tightly in his right hand. A golden light began to shine where the racket met the ball!

Chiba Yun Chuan swung with all his might.

Boom!

The blast echoed throughout the stadium. The ball transformed into a streak of golden light and shot toward Tezuka's side of the court, slamming into the ground before he could react!

Boom!

Another tremendous crash rang out. The ball left a huge dent behind Tezuka, then tore through the fence behind him and flew out!

"It's back! I haven't seen the captain's Light Bullet in ages! What power!" Chotaro shouted.

"Light Bullet? Tennis really is interesting, isn't it, you peacock?" Akutsu said to Atobe.

"Akutsu, keep calling me that and I'll get angry," Atobe replied casually, his eyes on the court.

On the Seigaku team's side—

"What was that serve Tezuka just hit? And that return from the other side—the ball actually lit up?" Kawamura stammered.

"Based on the data, Chiba Yun Chuan guided the airflow with his racket to generate a reverse force, forcibly eliminating the spin on Tezuka's Zero Style Serve! I've never seen this method before. It should only exist in theory! As for that return, even Kawamura couldn't take it head-on. If he tried, the chance of injuring his hand would be 100%."

After Inui finished speaking, he pushed up his glasses, hardly able to believe it himself.

So this was Chiba Yun Chuan, the captain of Ice Emperor? He really was strong.

That was what everyone on the Seigaku team thought.

In fact, what Chiba Yun Chuan had just hit wasn't a true Light Bullet. It was a simplified version he had modified, invented based on the tennis racket's super sweet spot!

What was a super sweet spot?

The sweet spot was the effective hitting area on the racket face. Within that area, a player could generate tremendous power and improve both control and accuracy!

When a player struck the ball with the sweet spot, it felt effortless. Every shot seemed to flow naturally, as if the racket were an extension of the player's arm, allowing them to hit exactly where they wanted!

So the Light Bullet was really a demonstration of the sweet spot. But when power was added to a sweet-spot shot, it became terrifying, giving the return immense destructive force!

That meant Chiba Yun Chuan had only hit a Light Bullet, not a Light Bullet: Destruction!

Mastering the sweet spot was one of the basic skills every professional athlete needed to possess!

Strictly speaking, the Wave Ball was also a kind of sweet-spot shot. But the sweet spot wasn't properly aligned, or the player lacked enough power, so it couldn't produce the effect of a Light Bullet!

On the court, Tezuka was still frozen in the pose he'd struck while hitting the Zero Style Serve. But now he was staring at the small crater beside him.

Just moments ago, he had felt a terrifying gust of air rush past his side, lifting even his T-shirt.

That showed just how powerful the Light Bullet was!

"He... returned it!"

Ryuzaki Sumire was incredulous. She knew how difficult it was to counter the Zero Style Serve!

Ever since Tezuka had mastered the Zero Style Serve, no one had managed to return it.

The Zero Style Serve was simply unfair. A receiver had to wait for the ball to hit the ground before returning a serve.

But the Zero Style Serve used backspin to keep the ball from bouncing. Once it hit the ground, it rolled along the court and all the way back to the net!

That made returning it even more difficult.

She stared at Chiba Yun Chuan on the court, stunned.

That was the Zero Style Serve!

Outside the court, everyone was talking excitedly.

"Did that ball just glow?"

"A tennis ball can glow? That can't be real, can it?"

"Ha! You're stunned, huh? That was Yagami's Light Bullet. Pretty cool, right?"

Meanwhile, in a corner of the court, Tachibana An watched Chiba Yun Chuan hit the Light Bullet, her eyes full of admiration.

"That shot was so cool. Chiba Yun Chuan is really cool!"

She watched Chiba Yun Chuan as she spoke to herself.

Just then, the referee announced the score.

"Ice Emperor scores. 15–0."

After the score was called, Tezuka's expression returned to its usual cool composure.

He looked across at Chiba Yun Chuan, his thoughts unreadable.

"Tezuka, you can use your Zero Style Slice as much as you like. The spray I gave you wasn't just for treating your injury!"

Even without Chiba Yun Chuan saying so, Tezuka could feel the difference!

Previously, hitting the Zero Style Slice had put enormous strain on his arm, but now he felt no unusual reaction at all!