After a brief silence, a deafening cheer erupted from the ranks of Clinical Medicine, Class 7.
"Nice one, Captain!"
"That display of force was totally badass! Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3, I'm asking youâare you scared?"
"I heard that Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3, was boasting that they were going to beat us. They should know by now just how ridiculously wrong they were, right?"
"Scrubs are always scrubs. How could they possibly compete with us? On our team, besides our captain, LĂŒ Tian, we have several experts who placed high in the National High School Basketball Tournament! Today, we're definitely going to beat the shit out of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3!"
It wasn't just the people off the court; the players from Clinical Medicine, Class 7 on the court were also cheering for their captain's provocative act.
On the side of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3, however, the players were filled with righteous indignation, all of them thoroughly pissed off.
"What the fuck do you mean by that? Are you asking for a beating?"
Guo Shun and a few other hot-headed players immediately surged forward and surrounded LĂŒ Tian.
"What do you think you're doing? You wanna fight? If you dare touch a single hair on our captain's head, we'll beat every last one of you to the ground!"
Seeing this, the players from Clinical Medicine, Class 7 wouldn't stand for it. They rushed forward to back up their captain, facing off against the players from Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3, in a tense standoff.
At this moment, having finished his showboating and provocation, LĂŒ Tian spoke again. "What are you doing? We're here to play ball, not to fight. If you have any real skill, show it on the court. Resorting to fighting at the drop of a hat is just so uncivilized."
LĂŒ Tian's words seemed to be a lecture for his own players, but he was actually criticizing someone indirectly, mocking the Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3 team for having no skill and no class.
He conveniently forgot that by pulling such a provocative stunt before the game, his own class wasn't exactly high-and-mighty either.
How could the players from Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Class 3, not understand the meaning behind his words? The anger in their hearts immediately flared up even higher.
"So what if I'm uncivilized? If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll really think you're hot shit!"
They were all young and hot-blooded; who could possibly stand being provoked like that? Guo Shun and the others were about to throw punches at LĂŒ Tian.
Seeing this, Liu Zhu quickly called over a few other level-headed teammates to hold Guo Shun and the others back, shouting, "Don't be rash! If we actually fight, we'll be disqualified! We all agreed we would do our best to make it to the end and win the freshman basketball tournament trophy!"
LĂŒ Tian, surrounded by his teammates, had already walked to the midcourt line.
Hearing Liu Zhu's words, he burst into exaggerated laughter. "Did you all hear that? They actually said they want to win the freshman basketball tournament! HAHAHA, that's the funniest joke I've heard all year. A bunch of scrubs shamelessly boasting about winning the championship. They truly don't know their own limits!"
After the continuous provocations and taunts, it wasn't just the hot-headed ones like Guo Shun; even the usually calm and rational Zhao Yuan was getting angry. He snorted coldly and said, "We might be scrubs, but we're still a tiny bit better than you."
LĂŒ Tian reacted as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, laughing so hard he doubled over. "Better than us? HAHAHA, that's some A-grade bullshit, I'll give you that! You're Zhao Yuan, right? Let me tell you, don't even think about scoring a single basket on our hoop today!"
"Oh?" Instead of getting angry, Zhao Yuan smiled. "Then you'd better be careful!"
"Dealing with a scrub like you is a piece of cake. Why would I need to be careful?" LĂŒ Tian continued to mock him, but the words had barely left his mouth when he saw Zhao Yuan lunging toward him like a ferocious tiger.
"What do you think you're doing? Starting a fight?" LĂŒ Tian was startled and demanded sharply.
Zhao Yuan sneered. "A fight? I'm not as low-class and crude as you! I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine!"
LĂŒ Tian froze for a second, only to see Zhao Yuan rush up to him and reach for the basketball in his hands.
"A scrub like you wants to steal the ball from me? In your next life!" LĂŒ Tian sneered, quickly turning sideways to shield the ball.
His ball-protection skills were excellent; in the National High School Basketball Tournament, very few people had ever managed to steal the ball from him. So, he didn't take Zhao Yuan seriously in the slightest.
However, in the instant he made his move to protect the ball, Zhao Yuan's speed suddenly increased.
WHOOSH!
LĂŒ Tian just felt a gust of wind rush past him, and the basketball was already in Zhao Yuan's hands. At the same time, Zhao Yuan had blown past him and was now sprinting toward their basket.
Seeing this, how could LĂŒ Tian not know what Zhao Yuan was about to do? He had no time to be surprised at how the ball was stolen from him. He quickly roared at his teammates under the basket, "Stop him! Don't let him shoot!"
He had just claimed that Zhao Yuan couldn't possibly steal the ball, and he was immediately proven wrong. If he let Zhao Yuan score a basket now, it would be like getting slapped on both cheeks, one right after the other, with a resounding SMACK!
The players from the Clinical Medicine, Class 7 team scrambled toward Zhao Yuan, trying to block him.
It wasn't just the five starters warming up on the court; several substitutes were there as well. They lunged at Zhao Yuan from all directions, seemingly blocking off every possible path.
However, Zhao Yuan had already faced this kind of "swarming" defense countless times during training with Liu Zhu and the others. He wasn't the least bit intimidated.
Four Saints TechniqueâCyan Dragon Form, activate!
Zhao Yuan's movements immediately became incredibly agile. His footwork was erratic and unpredictable, yet it wasn't random. In the blink of an eye, he broke through the defense of several Class 7 players, arriving near the free-throw line and faking a shot.
"Don't even think about shooting!"
A player leaped high, blocking his shooting lane.
But it was just a pump fake from Zhao Yuan. The ball never left his hands. Instead, he took advantage of the opponent's jump to quickly dribble past him, then leaped into the air!
"A layup? In your dreams!"
Two players from Clinical Medicine, Class 7 jumped simultaneously, one from the left and one from the right, trying to block Zhao Yuan.
But soon, the expressions on their faces turned to shock and terror!
Four Saints TechniqueâVermilion Bird Form, activate!
In mid-air, Zhao Yuan was like a Vermilion Bird spreading its wings, soaring toward the sky with unstoppable momentum!
The two players from Clinical Medicine, Class 7 were brutally knocked aside by Zhao Yuan and fell heavily to the ground.
But Zhao Yuan was completely unaffected, continuing his flight toward the hoop!
SLAM!
Zhao Yuan slammed the ball hard into the basket!
A dunk!
No one had expected to see a dunk in a freshman basketball game!
This wasn't a professional basketball game! West Hua Medical University wasn't a sports academy; dunks were a rare sight, let alone such a badass power dunk that involved bulldozing through two defenders?!
The entire crowd was stunned!
Utter silence!
The only sound was the creaking of the basketball hoop as Zhao Yuan hung from the rim with both hands.
A moment later, Zhao Yuan let go and landed lightly on his feet.
Turning around, he raised his index finger, wagged it at LĂŒ Tian and the other players from Clinical Medicine, Class 7, and said with disdain, "You're the real scrubs!"