Translated by Kollumceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao both discovered this basketball, but neither of them paid attention to it.
It was just that their steps became lighter and lighter. In the blink of an eye, one step turned into two and the basketball eventually passed Ling Xiao who had been walking behind him, and collided with the iron railings by the roadside with a ‘bang’, making a loud noise. The basketball rolled to Ling Xiao’s feet with a thud and both men stopped at the same time.
“Hey, brother, would you mind throwing the ball over?” A blond-haired blue-eyed youth standing behind the wire fence waved to them. His youthful figure was overflowing with vitality. Although he was laughing, the corners of his eyes were lifted in a provocation that showed that he did not to know the immensity of heaven and earth.
Ling Xiao looked at him before he turned to his wife, “Wife, can I presume that his actions were a provocation?” He knew that the ball under his feet was called a basketball and there just happened to be one in his wife’s Qiu team also. He had seen on the television that basketball was a type of blood-pumping sports on Earth, and it was fine as long as the basketball was thrown into the hoop.
You XiaoMo broke out in cold sweat, “You don’t need to presume. He was plainly provoking us.”
The corner of Ling Xiao’s lip curled up in a faint smile. He stooped to pick up the basketball by his foot, and with a gentle movement of his finger, the basketball immediately started rotating quickly on his index finger.
There was a cry of alarm from those around him and all the passer-bys stopped to watch this show. After watching for some while, they found that the basketball on the man’s hand showed no sign of stopping and was maintaining its current speed.
The expression on the young man behind the wire fence changed.
Just as he was about to speak, the basketball on Ling Xiao’s finger suddenly stopped. Ling Xiao raised the ball over his head and threw it gently in the direction of the court. The basketball flew out with a swoosh, drawing an arc in the air, before it fell into the hoop with a bang without even touching the net.
Everyone, including the young people who provoked them, was stunned. The expression on their faces froze in a split second.
You XiaoMo could not help laughing. If it was his past life, he would feel that basketball was really a hot-blooded and energetic sport. However, now he felt it was like a little child playing house, because no matter how far they were from the hoop, it was as easy as ABC for them to get the ball into the hoop.
The young man was shamed into anger by his laughter. He suddenly strode towards them and threw down a challenge, “Do you dare you to play a game of street-ball with us?”
You XiaoMo was stunned. He actually still dared to invite them to play street basketball? Suddenly, he felt out that the young man was really brave. Generally, people who saw the skill that Ling Xiao displayed would have long been frightened and most would not dare to provoke them any more.
“Don’t cry when you lose, kid.” Ling Xiao crossed his arms as he ribbed the youth.
The young man lifted his chin with pride and said confidently, “This is our territory. We won’t lose.” His gaze finally fell on You XiaoMo who was of a smaller stature.
The corner of You XiaoMo’s twitched slightly, was he looking down on him for his height?
Ling Xiao shrugged his shoulders indifferently, “Well, come on then.”
Ten minutes later, a jam-packed crowd was surrounding the basketball court. Many people had come after receiving the news that spread not long ago. Most of them were here to watch a good show while some of them came to support the youths. In a short time, a cheerleading team of seven people was formed.
It was only now that You XiaoMo realized that many street basketball heroes and myths were created in Manhattan. It could be said that this was the birthplace of street basketball and the youths were the most famous team in this area. They had already occupied this court by force for three years. They had not met any opponents who matched them in strength until now. Sure enough, they had the strength to back it up, no wonder they dared to provoke them!
As they only had two people, the youth want to play a two verses two game with them. However, Ling Xiao told all six to come at him all at once, that was, two verses six. This thoroughly offended them and they decided to teach the two men a lesson.
“Are our actions considered as bullying others?” You XiaoMo looked at six people warming up opposite him.
Ling Xiao spun the basketball on his finger as he gave a wicked smile, “Didn’t you say that basketball was also a type of recreational sport? We’re just play about. It’s not considered as bullying.”
You XiaoMo was speechless.
The competition officially began when the time came. The six youths were rolling up their sleeves, preparing to give the two an unforgettable lifelong lesson. However they did not know that what was awaiting them was an unforgettable blow that would last for a lifetime.
Street basketball had no rules and the court was only half the size of the court in an official match. It depended entirely on one’s own talent and it was not considered a foul even if the other side was hurt. It was undeniable that street basketball was more awesome, cool and trendy.
“Don’t you need to warm up?” The youth could not help frowning when he saw that them with an extremely relaxed bearing, and still wearing casual clothes.
“No.” Ling Xiao threw the basketball in his hand to them. “You guys start first.”
The youth suddenly felt like he had been belittled. He angrily pointed at them and shouted, “Looking down on us?! You’ll regret it!” After that, he threw the basketball to his comrade behind him. At the same time, a whistle sounded outside the court and the game began.
The youth’s comrade Xiao A (小A) rushed towards Ling Xiao while dribbling the ball. Just as he was approaching Ling Xiao, he quickly threw the ball to Xiao B (小B), who had already rushed beneath the hoop. Xiao B caught the basketball and jumped up to do a slam dunk without a pause. The surrounding crowd burst into excited and alarmed shouts along with his actions.
Just when the crowd thought that the ball would be shot into the hoop, a figure appeared in front of Xiao B and with a ‘bang’ the basketball was knocked from Xiao B’s hand. The basketball bounced to the edge of the court and was quickly intercepted by a person. Before the others could react, the person jumped up, raised the basketball over his head and threw it out with a whoosh. Under the shocked gazes of the spectators, the basketball accurately fell into the hoop – a three-point shot!
Silence reigned for a few seconds, before a shrill scream from outside the court suddenly echoed.
The cheers of men and women seemed to break through the sky. Regardless of who had scored, it was an extremely marvelous shot, making them particularly excited.
The six youth had all paled. What kind of terrifying speed was that? They basically could not react at all. The whole process took less than three seconds and they had already lost the first point. The six people finally knew that had encountered an expert.
You XiaoMo who had scored the point more or less knew Ling Xiao’s feelings. This sort of turning into a superhuman in one second did not feel too good!
They looked at each other quickly and shared a tacit understanding as they laughed.
It was not known if it was good to have a man that wished for the whole world to be in chaos, but it was certainly not good to have a man that accompanied him to bring disaster to others!
The six youths did not know that this was just an appetizer and the best part of the show had yet to come.
After You XiaoMo let loose and played, he cooperated with Ling Xiao and constantly passed the ball between them at a high speed, completely breaking through the blockade of six people. The six wanted to rely on a their greater numbers to block the movements of the two people. But in the end, they could not catch up to the two’s speed. They could not keep up to the ball even if they occasionally saw it flying in front of them. Tricks were also useless, because the two’s methods were of a higher level and they were the ones who always suffered losses one after another in the end. They could only repeatedly watched the ball fly past them. There was no need to mention how miserable that feeling was. It was so miserable that they nearly collapsed.
The match was divided into two halves, one half lasted fifteen minutes.
At the end of the first half, the six were sweating all over and collapsed limply onto the ground. Their physical strength was almost exhausted, yet they only scored one point. They had utterly lost their faces and were ashamed to continue the match.
You XiaoMo walked up to them. He was not even breathing hard as he praised, “You guys played quite well to be able to scored a point from us.”
The six of them, “…”
As the six people did not have the physical strength to continue, the match ended in the first half with a score of one hundred to one. The spectators were left wanting for more as they dispersed. They still had not seen enough, it was really too marvelous. Although it was a one-sided match, there was a lot of variety in the dribbling movements of the two. There were only angles the crowd could not imagine, and no actions the two could not accomplish.
You XiaoMo also felt a little like he had not played enough as he clicked his tongue.
Ling Xiao handed him a bottle of pure water, “Do you want to play some more?”
You XiaoMo saw his expression of wanting to bully others and rolled his eyes, “What skill is there in bullying ordinary people? If you have the ability, go play with the others when you go back. Winning that takes real skill!”
Ling Xiao did not express an opinion, “Listening to your words, it seems that you think I might lose?”
You XiaoMo showed a row of pearly-white teeth and seemed to be very pleased as he said, “Everything is possible if you don’t use spiritual energy.”
Suddenly, Ling Xiao laughed, “Wife, it looks like you really want to win against your husband.”
You XiaoMo immediately gave a humph from his nostrils, of course!
“Master, please accept me as your disciple!” At that moment, the young man suddenly rushed them and knelt down quickly. His green eyes were glittering like gems as he looked at them with expectation and excitement. His previous arrogance had long been turned to dust and he had been thinking about this ever since just now. He even refused to leave when his companions asked him to go together.
You XiaoMo was shocked. He had never thought of accepting a foreigner as a disciple. Besides, he did not have the intention of accepting a disciple. However… He took out a jade bottle which contained a magic pill from his sleeve, and threw it at him casually. “Catch. Eat this and you can become very powerful!” Just take it as thanking him.
The youth was rather dubious of this and when he still wanted to say something, the two had turned around and walked away while laughing and talking.
The youth still ate the magic pill later, and then he became a legendary figure in the world of ball sports. No one could surpass him in the next two hundred years.
No one knew that the legend has always been grateful to the two people, without whom he would not have risen to such heights. As for the two people who he was grateful to, they were presently traveling freely and unfettered in another world.
