National Class-II Athlete

Crack! A crisp sound rang out, and the tall, skinny young man's expression changed as he staggered back two steps in pain.

The black-haired young man turned around, cradled the ball in both hands, sprang up, and easily laid it into the basket.

"Hmph!"

The black-haired young man snorted coldly and stared at the tall, skinny youth, frightening him so badly that he did not dare meet his eyes.

"Nice shot!" the people around them shouted.

The black-haired young man curled his lip disdainfully, then turned to look around. Suddenly, he spotted Li Ke and Zhu Zhan walking toward the court.

"Li Ke!" the black-haired young man muttered. His eyes fixed on the number 24 jersey Li Ke wore, and a vicious glint flashed through his gaze.

"Wang Cheng, what's wrong?" Three or four boys gathered around the court, one of them asking the fierce player Wang Cheng.

The boys were all tall, averaging around 1.8 meters. Their jerseys were clearly the same style as Wang Cheng's: yellow, resembling those of the NBA's Lakers. Apart from their individual numbers, the backs of their jerseys bore the words: "Class 1!"

Wang Cheng bounced the basketball in his hands. "My greatest enemy!"

After saying that, Wang Cheng gritted his teeth. "In this tournament, I'm going to teach him a proper lesson!"

Wang Cheng had also been a member of the school team last semester, but his relationship with Li Ke had never been good. Li Ke had taken away the girl Wang Cheng liked, Wen Ting. Thus, whenever Wang Cheng saw Li Ke, his eyes practically spat fire. Most people at school knew perfectly well that the two were romantic rivals.

Behind Wang Cheng, a tall youth with an earring and a face full of acne smiled. "So he's your love rival. Heh, no problem. Only our class has five people who can play basketball and fill every position. The other classes are just a rabble. Ji Yuyang and Yang Yi from Li Ke's class either dropped out or transferred away, so only he and Zhu Zhan can play. When we face our class, we'll definitely help you vent your anger!"

"You'd better all play well. When you run into Li Ke, elbow him hard a few times. I'll buy each of you a pair of Nike shoes afterward!" Wang Cheng said in a low voice, staring at Li Ke through gritted teeth.

The four youths around him froze for a moment and exchanged looks, each seeing a trace of malicious delight in the others' eyes.

On the other side, Zhu Zhan walked behind Li Ke.

Looking at Li Ke, Zhu Zhan saw that Li Ke had already shed his lazy manner. His swordlike brows were furrowed, giving him a heroic air. It had to be said that on the basketball court, Li Ke was the sort of person born to lead, with an aura that put people at ease. Walking behind him, Zhu Zhan once again felt that Li Ke was an obstacle he could never overcome.

"You're here! Hurry and have some water!" From a distance, Class Monitor Li Xue came up to them, holding out two bottles of mineral water to Zhu Zhan and Li Ke.

Li Xue was a little plump, but she possessed the delicate, refined air of a southern girl, and her skin was very good too. She walked over and handed the water to Li Ke and Zhu Zhan.

"No need. What time does it start?" Li Ke waved off Li Xue's water and asked.

"Oh, we still have to wait a bit. We'll have to watch for an announcement from the podium over there!" Li Xue took back the water and pointed toward the stands in the center of the stadium, some distance from the court.

Zhu Zhan and Li Ke both turned to look. A massive red banner hung from the central stands, bearing the words: "Jinghai High School's Ninth Interclass Basketball League!"

Three tables had been set up beneath the banner, where eight or nine people who looked like PE teachers were discussing something.

"It's pretty formal," Zhu Zhan said. Li Ke nodded, then looked at Li Xue. "Have our classmates arrived?"

"They're all here. They've been waiting for you two star players!" Li Xue said with a smile, pointing at the five boys standing beneath the basketball hoop.

Zhu Zhan looked over. This time, all seven boys from his class had shown up.

Aside from Liu Yong, the other four boys were Li Zirong, Ding Qiang, Zhai Fei, and Zhang Bo.

Of them, only Zhai Fei and Zhang Bo were relatively tall, both over 1.7 meters, though they were rather thin.

Ding Qiang and Li Zirong were only around 1.6 meters tall, though they were sturdier built.

Zhu Zhan shook his head as he watched their bizarre shooting forms.

Other than Li Zirong, who could still dribble past defenders and had a somewhat passable shot, the rest were complete beginners who knew nothing at all.

He frowned. With Ji Yuyang and Yang Yi around before, he had never played basketball with these guys. This time, he and Li Ke could only give it everything they had.

"Liu Yong, all of you come here!" Li Ke walked over and waved at Liu Yong and the others. They immediately put down their ball and came over.

Li Ke looked them over and said, "Let's go over our tactics first. Our tactics are simple: four words. Give me the ball."

"When the game starts, you don't need to do anything else. Just pass the basketball to me. Remember, no matter how you get the ball, make sure you protect it. Don't lose possession!"

"Okay!" Everyone else nodded. Li Ke smiled. "As long as I'm here, just relax. Our goal this time is the championship!"

"Ah!" Everyone was stunned.

"You're joking, right?" Li Xue shouted.

"Our class only has you two who can play. And you're talking about winning the championship?" Li Zirong asked with wide eyes.

Li Ke shook his head. "Come on, put out your hands and shout with me: 'Class 5, number one! Class 5, number one!'"

Li Ke's voice rang loudly across the court, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

Class 6's court.

Zhang Jian, 1.87 meters tall and weighing 65 kilograms, was Class 6's undisputed star player.

At that moment, Zhang Jian held a basketball in his hands as he warmed up.

His skin was fairly dark, and he had a lean build. But he was not skinny to the point of being all skin and bones; instead, he gave off an impression of great agility and lightness. He bounced lightly on the ground to test the springiness of his new shoes, and Zhang Jian was very satisfied with them.

In this tournament, I have to make a real splash and catch the eyes of a few more girls! Zhang Jian glanced sideways and saw several girls from his class watching him. The corners of his mouth rose into a smile.

There isn't a single pretty girl in my class. What a tragedy for men! But soon, girls from other classes will come watch me play! Zhang Jian was delighted.

The boys of Class 6 all wore red uniforms paid for by their class.

Zhang Jian wore newly bought white Nike basketball shoes, looking utterly determined to win.

After all, when it came to average height, no class could compare with Class 6.

Zhang Jian was the tallest of them all!

As a track-and-field athlete, he was a member of the school track-and-field team.

He had attended a sports school for several years as a child, and he was now a National Class-II Athlete. Even looking across the entire school, Zhang Jian was one of its top track-and-field athletes.