Sacred Radiance Wins the Championship

Chi Tong and Sendoh exchanged a glance, and in that meeting of eyes, they understood each other perfectly.

They made no unnecessary movements and spoke no unnecessary words. Their tacit understanding had long been forged through countless confrontations.

But the instant they made their move, two Bright Marsh players immediately pounced, trying to stop them with a double-team.

Here they came again!

But this time, they were no longer facing individuals fighting alone, but Chi Tong and Sendoh—a duo gradually taking on the aura of kings.

Chi Tong spun, his feet swift as the wind, tearing through the defense in an instant.

Sendoh used his ghostlike footwork to slip easily around the double-team, moving like a shadow.

The two broke free almost simultaneously, their movements so synchronized they seemed like mirror images.

The next second, they shot like twin bolts of lightning toward Sawakita Eiji, closing in from both sides.

Sawakita Eiji immediately sensed the danger. His pupils contracted and his body tensed instinctively, but he neither retreated nor panicked. Instead, the corners of his mouth slowly rose into a spirited smile.

Good!

He murmured under his breath, his voice brimming with excitement and anticipation. Hot blood surged through him like a tide. This was exactly the feeling he wanted.

The basketball danced and spun in Sawakita Eiji's hands. His changes of direction were lightning-fast, his rhythm so rapid it was nearly dazzling. His movements seemed driven by a beastlike instinct, every touch of the ball like a struggle against fate.

Sendoh's gaze sharpened. He pushed off hard and charged in from the wing, his arm swinging out as his fingertips reached for the basketball, trying to steal it before Sawakita Eiji could fully launch his attack.

But just as he was about to touch the ball, Sawakita Eiji's speed abruptly surged. He exploded like a cheetah, seeming to cross the limits of space itself as he forcibly slipped past Sendoh's fingertips.

Sendoh's pupils shrank, shock flashing through his eyes. He's even faster than before!

Sawakita Eiji's breakthrough rhythm had risen another level at the limit.

Still, Sendoh's ambush had not been without effect. That instant of interference caused the slightest pause in Sawakita Eiji's movement—and that was enough.

Chi Tong seized the fleeting opportunity and shifted sharply sideways, standing before Sawakita Eiji like a towering crimson wall.

Sawakita Eiji changed hands again. The ball spun across his fingertips, his movements sharp as blades.

He spun and drove sideways, forcibly circling past Chi Tong's left.

But at the exact moment he completed the breakthrough, Chi Tong's heterochromatic eyes lit up. Two crimson-gold halos emerged within his pupils.

The Eye of Heaven activated. Countless images flashed through his mind at high speed—the trajectories of every move Sawakita Eiji would make next, broken down, analyzed, and predicted by his extraordinary awareness.

At last, the images froze on one crucial instant: Sawakita Eiji's next driving route.

Chi Tong did not hesitate. Following his prediction, he reacted a step ahead. He would seal off Sawakita Eiji's path and trap him completely in this area!

At that critical moment, the image shattered with a crash. The future trajectory that had been so clear before Chi Tong's eyes suddenly fragmented, cracks spreading like a spiderweb as though it would collapse completely the next instant.

Chi Tong's pupils contracted sharply, and for the first time, shock and astonishment appeared on his face.

An unexpected incident had occurred on Chi Tong's side, and on the other side, Sawakita Eiji encountered an unexpected incident as well.

Because Chi Tong's earlier action had clearly affected Sawakita Eiji.

Chi Tong's sudden move and precise prediction forced Sawakita Eiji to change his trajectory in an extremely short span of time.

While moving at high speed, he abruptly shifted his center of gravity. His muscles tightened, and his nerves were stretched to their limit.

Again. Sawakita Eiji gritted his teeth inwardly, a trace of fury and wariness in his eyes.

He can always sense my next move in advance.

In that instant just now, he had nearly believed Chi Tong had completely locked him down. Though he had ultimately broken through, the oppressive feeling of being watched by the eyes of fate made cold sweat break out across his back, as if he had just walked through the gates of hell.

Just like that, Chi Tong's unexpected mishap caused the defense to halt halfway through, while Sawakita Eiji's caution made him forcibly stop his own movement midway as well.

The two passed each other, and Sawakita Eiji broke through right past Chi Tong.

The Bright Marsh players who saw Sawakita Eiji break through all revealed excited expressions, but no one noticed the faint upward curve at Chi Tong's lips.

That smile was extremely subtle, yet it carried the coldness of a long-laid scheme.

At the instant Sawakita Eiji broke past Chi Tong and inwardly let out a breath of relief, a hand shot out from the diagonal side like a ghost!

It was a precise and lethal ambush. The palm struck like a blade, slamming viciously onto the basketball.

What?

Sawakita Eiji's pupils constricted as his body reacted instinctively.

But it was already too late.

The basketball was smacked away hard, its trajectory instantly thrown off, completely disrupting the rhythm of his impending shot.

The sharp crack of the basketball being violently slapped rang out across the court.

But to Sawakita Eiji and the Bright Marsh players, that sound was like the roar of a demon from hell.

What?

How did this happen?

Sawakita Eiji whipped his head around, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief. Sendoh had somehow silently appeared behind Chi Tong. Sawakita Eiji had originally broken through from Chi Tong's other side, but that momentary blind spot had become his fatal opening!

Sawakita Eiji's eyes widened as every detail from when he had broken past Chi Tong flashed through his mind—the strange sensation of sluggishness just now.

He had thought Chi Tong had suffered an unexpected mishap and that he himself had coincidentally seized the opportunity. But now it seemed things were not that simple. That had not been an accident at all!

No, that's not right. If they deliberately used that accident... The more he thought about it, the colder his heart became.

A trap?

Could everything before this have been intentional?

It felt as though Sawakita Eiji's heart had been struck by a heavy hammer. He finally realized that Chi Tong had never intended to stop him head-on. Chi Tong had deliberately let him break through in order to create the perfect opening for an ambush, allowing Sendoh to charge in from the wing and land the fatal blow!

If this truly had been Chi Tong's tactical setup, then he was even more terrifying than a monster!

Chi Tong and Sendoh directly slapped the basketball into the hands of Chi Tong, who had already sprinted ahead.

Damn it!

Sawakita Eiji's pupils contracted. He turned almost instinctively and sprinted wildly toward Chi Tong.

He could not let Chi Tong advance so easily!

The other Bright Marsh players finally snapped out of the shock of that steal as well. Like beasts startled awake, they all chased after Chi Tong.

The distance between both sides rapidly shrank. Hope reignited in the Bright Marsh players' eyes. They saw it—if they were just a little faster, they could disrupt Chi Tong's offense. If they took one more step, they might be able to win the ball back!

But when Sawakita Eiji had only run halfway, his heart suddenly jolted, and a powerful sense of unease surged up within him.

He swept a glance over his teammates. Everyone was falling back, yet not a single person had gone to mark Sendoh. Damn it!

Sawakita Eiji's heart sank sharply.