The second quarter began.
After Lü Tian got the ball, he shot Sun Ning a look. Sun Ning gave a slight nod to show he understood and fell in behind him.
Dribbling the ball, Lü Tian charged straight for Zhao Yuan.
Zhao Yuan was happy to accept this prey delivering itself to his doorstep. He saw his chance, reached out, and stole the ball. Lü Tian acted like he was trying to get the ball back, but he was actually forcing Zhao Yuan toward Sun Ning.
Sure enough, after dodging Lü Tian, Zhao Yuan came face-to-face with Sun Ning. Unaware of their malicious plan, he used a fake-out, intending to shake Sun Ning's defense.
This was the exact opportunity Sun Ning was waiting for.
He pretended to lose his balance from Zhao Yuan's feint, tumbling sideways. As he fell, he balled his right hand into a fist and punched toward Zhao Yuan's groin. The move was incredibly fast and powerful. If it connected, his family jewels would have been seriously damaged!
But as fast as he was, Zhao Yuan's reaction was faster!
He took two diagonal steps, dodging Sun Ning's fist, then immediately rushed the basket and scored with a jump shot.
Although he had nearly been hit in a vital spot, Zhao Yuan didn't think much of it, assuming Sun Ning's move had been an accident.
Lü Tian extended a hand and pulled Sun Ning up from the floor.
Sun Ning spat and cursed under his breath, "Damn it, that kid's reactions are too fast. I was so close."
"It's fine. If it doesn't work the first time, we'll try a second and a third! I refuse to believe we can't cripple him today!" Lü Tian said through clenched teeth. At this point, he no longer had any intention of playing a proper game. He just wanted to injure Zhao Yuan!
Sun Ning nodded, showing he understood.
He soon found another opportunity.
Zhao Yuan had the ball under the basket, posting up. The person guarding him from behind was none other than Sun Ning.
'I refuse to believe I can't take you out this time!'
A vicious sneer appeared on Sun Ning's lips. He shot a look at a nearby teammate, who immediately shifted position to block the referee's line of sight. At that exact moment, Sun Ning raised his leg, driving a knee strike up from behind, aiming straight for Zhao Yuan's groin and rear!
The blow was viciously powerful. If it connected, it wouldn't just be his rear that was wrecked—his balls would be shattered too.
Zhao Yuan sensed it just in time.
After entering the Marrow Cleansing Realm, his awareness of his surroundings had improved dramatically. He detected Sun Ning's subtle movements behind him the instant he made them.
'Can't win the game, so you resort to these kinds of dirty tricks? Too bad you picked the wrong opponent!'
Zhao Yuan sneered inwardly. He snapped his legs together, 'closing the gate' just before Sun Ning's knee strike could land.
BAM!
Sun Ning's knee slammed hard into Zhao Yuan's leg.
The vicious sneer on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an expression of pure agony. Zhao Yuan's leg was as hard as a steel plate! He even heard a crisp CRACK from his own kneecap.
"AHHH—" Sun Ning collapsed to the floor, clutching his knee and screaming hoarsely.
The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
'What's going on? Shouldn't Zhao Yuan be the one screaming? Why is Sun Ning making all that noise?' Lü Tian was completely baffled.
The referee stopped the game and hurried over. "What happened?" he asked.
"My knee... I hurt my knee! I think the bone is shattered," Sun Ning wailed, tears and snot running down his face.
The referee took a look and saw that his knee was indeed deformed. He quickly said to Lü Tian, "Get someone to take him to the infirmary, now."
Two students from Class 7 watching from the sidelines immediately ran onto the court. One piggybacked Sun Ning while the other supported him from behind. Lü Tian took the opportunity to help and whispered, "What the hell happened? Why are you the one who's hurt?"
"His muscles are too hard," Sun Ning replied, his face a mask of misery. "Kneeing him was like kneeing a steel plate. It just... shattered."
Sun Ning was quickly carried away.
Lü Tian's expression was grim. He had tried to set someone up, but instead of taking out his target, he got his own man injured. This was so fucking frustrating.
However, he hadn't given up on his plan to cripple Zhao Yuan. As he saw it, Sun Ning's injury was just a freak accident.
Taking a deep breath, Lü Tian called two players over. He radiated Killing Qi as he said, "Zeng Ping, Cheng Wei, you two are up! I don't care what methods you use, and I don't care where you injure him. Just cripple him and get him off this court!"
Zeng Ping and Cheng Wei exchanged a look and nodded. "Understood!"
The game resumed.
The moment Zhao Yuan got the ball, he was double-teamed by Zeng Ping and Cheng Wei.
This time, they didn't even bother to hide it, going straight for illegal moves. It was obvious they were trying to take Zhao Yuan out. One raised his foot and stomped viciously toward Zhao Yuan's ankle. The other raised an elbow, aiming for his ribs.
But Zhao Yuan didn't dodge. Instead, he accelerated and charged right at them.
In an instant, Zeng Ping's foot stomped hard on Zhao Yuan's ankle. Cheng Wei's elbow also struck Zhao Yuan's ribs.
The referee saw everything clearly and immediately blew his whistle.
The corner of Lü Tian's mouth curled into a cold smirk. 'Kid, I refuse to believe you won't be crippled this time!'
In the next second, his smile froze.
Zhao Yuan was standing in the same spot, completely unharmed. As for Zeng Ping and Cheng Wei, one was screaming on the ground, and the other was wailing while clutching his wrist.
Not only had Zeng Ping failed to injure Zhao Yuan, but he had dislocated his own ankle and torn a ligament. Cheng Wei's fate was the same, except his injury was to his wrist.
Not only did the two commit a foul, but they also injured themselves. Following in Sun Ning's footsteps, they were shamefully carried off to the infirmary.
Lü Tian's jaw dropped, his eyes filled with terror as he stared at Zhao Yuan.
Two consecutive attempts, three people trying to cripple Zhao Yuan only to get taken out themselves. Lü Tian finally realized that this was no coincidence. Zhao Yuan was a monster, not someone they could take down with a few dirty tricks.
Just then, Zhao Yuan turned his head and glanced at him.
That single glance sent a chill down his spine, filling him with utter panic.
Then, Lü Tian did something that left everyone dumbfounded—he raised his hands and began slapping himself in the face, hard, one side then the other.
In just a few seconds, Lü Tian's face was bloody and swollen like a pig's head. Then, as if waking from a nightmare, he shrieked, "AHHH—it hurts! Who hit me? It must have been Zhao Yuan! Referee, Zhao Yuan hit me! You have to penalize him!"
Lü Tian didn't notice, but at that moment, everyone was looking at him as if he were an idiot.
Did he think they were all blind? He was obviously the one hitting himself, yet he had the gall to blame Zhao Yuan. Seriously, that's not how you play the victim. Was the guy a fucking idiot?