Sannoh's undefeated legend had long been etched into the memories of the entire high school basketball world.
Whether Ryonan could shatter that legend, whether the dark horse could remain dark to the very end—everything was still a mystery.
No one could predict the outcome in advance. Only when tomorrow's final whistle sounded, after they had battled point by point on the court, would the true victor be decided.
And that uncertainty made this final even more captivating.
In the afternoon, sunlight filtered through sparse leaves, casting mottled shadows across the ground.
On a streetball court near White Egret Manor, there was no noisy crowd, only a monotonous yet intensely rhythmic sound echoing without end.
The steady, powerful thud of a basketball striking the ground sounded like a precise metronome, every beat reverberating through the empty court with a force that pierced the heart.
A crimson figure moved constantly across the court, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, his footwork unpredictable. At times, he bent low to dribble, the basketball bouncing nimbly between his palm and the ground as though stuck to his hand. Then he suddenly accelerated, his body turning into a crimson bolt of lightning flashing from one end of the court to the other.
The swish of the ball brushing the net rang out from time to time, followed by thunderous dunks.
Those alternating swishes and dunks broke the streetball court's original silence, adding a touch of vivid life, yet the lone figure only made the scene feel even more solitary.
Chi Tong ran back and forth across the court alone, with no teammates, no opponents—only himself and the basketball.
His expression was frighteningly focused. His gaze was calm and still, yet as deep as a bottomless black hole in the universe, intangible and formless, but carrying a suffocating pressure