Trouble on the Train as the National Tournament Begins (Part One)

Episode 213. Xiangtian Yanyi kept her eyes fixed on Anben Shili. Her face flushed slightly, and irritation crept into her voice.

"He mocked our senior and Captain Chi Tong before, too." She briefly told the others how she had run into him in Osaka and how he had mocked Ryonan.

When Xiangtian Yanyi finished, the Ryonan players' expressions changed. They glared at Kishimoto Minori and the Toyotama High group. Mocking their ace and captain? Unforgivable!

Anben Shili acted as though he hadn't noticed their hostile looks. Still wearing that arrogant expression, he raised an eyebrow and grinned at them. "Hmph. I heard you beat Hainan?"

His gaze swept over the Ryonan players, the contempt in his voice impossible to miss.

"Hah! You don't look like much to me. Hainan's players must've had bad stomachs that day and handed you the win."

"Say that again!"

Yueye Hongming spoke through gritted teeth, his face burning with anger.

Anben Shili shrugged, unconcerned. The disdain curling his lips grew even more blatant.

"It's true. You just got lucky. Against Toyotama High, you probably wouldn't last half a game before giving up."

He paused as if something had just occurred to him. "Oh, right! I heard Ryonan has a first-year as its captain now!"

"Hahaha! What a joke. The National Tournament isn't a place where some backwater team like yours can run wild."

The Ryonan players' faces darkened completely. Veins throbbed at their temples, and their knuckles turned white.

Yu Zhu took a deep breath and stepped half a pace forward. His towering frame cast a shadow over Anben Shili. He stood more than half a head taller than Kishimoto Minori, and now he lowered his head slightly.

His usually gentle eyes had gone icy, and his breathing had grown heavier.

The tension thickened until