Chapter 6
C6 – The Practitioners on the Basketball Court
The sun was blazing in the sky.
Outside the cave, Jiang Que basked in the sunlight’s warmth, taking a deep breath involuntarily.
The atmosphere here was a stark contrast to the damp, shadowy confines of the cave. The crisp air and gentle warmth of the breeze gave him a sense of renewal.
Yet, despite the inviting sunlight outside, dangers lurked at every turn.
Jiang Que needed to quickly gather enough Thorn Fruits and return to the cave to delve into the new cultivation method.
After a cautious survey of his surroundings to ensure safety, he relied on his body’s memory to navigate toward the thicket of thorny bushes.
“What’s happening? He hasn’t left the cave in a month and a half, and now he’s forgotten the path to the small woods?”
“I just checked the map. There’s a Roaring Tiger ahead of him.”
“With countless paths to choose from, how did he manage to pick the only one that leads to certain doom?”
“Staff, immediately contact the crew on the battleship orbiting Exile Planet and instruct them to eliminate the Roaring Tiger with lasers.”
“That won’t work. The paramount rule on Exile Planet is to prevent the escape of any felons.”
“The Federation selected Planet A518 as the Exile Planet because it’s surrounded by cosmic storms and meteor showers, a region where only large battleships can endure.”
“The only spacecraft orbiting Exile Planet is a massive, unmanned battleship, and its space jump equipment, weapon system, and Mecha system are all inoperable.”
“Consequently, even if the prisoners retained their memories, they’d have no means to commandeer the battleship.”
“And should they manage to board it, escaping Exile Planet would still be impossible.”
“Furthermore, no one else can infiltrate the Intellectual Brain of the battleship to manipulate its weapon or Mecha systems, preventing any covert aid to the convicts.”
“I had hoped he might test what dangers the Chaos Spell posed. Instead, it seems he’s willfully seeking his own end.”
The live broadcast audience was filled with sighs of dismay.
The situation was unfolding just as they had anticipated.
The Roaring Tiger’s sense of smell was incredibly sharp. Even over a hundred meters away, it had already detected Jiang Que’s presence.
After unleashing a roar that could deafen, it powerfully kicked off with its hind legs.
The creature stood two meters tall and stretched three meters in length. With an effortless bound, it cleared four meters and lunged toward Jiang Que.
Jiang Que, some distance away, was startled.
But contrary to the Roaring Tiger’s expectations, he wasn’t paralyzed with fear, trembling at the sound of its roar.
Instead, after a brief moment of surprise, Jiang Que channeled Spirit Power into his legs.
Then, he spun around and bolted!
He was moving at a speed twice that of the Roaring Tiger. In a blink, he vanished from sight.
The Roaring Tiger halted, staring blankly in the direction Jiang Que had fled.
Its gleaming eyes were full of bewilderment.
It had chased swift prey before, but they usually boasted long legs.
Yet here was prey with two short legs, running at such an incredible pace. This tiger had never encountered a creature like this.
Meanwhile, Jiang Que sprinted five to six hundred meters. Once he was sure he had lost the Roaring Tiger, he came to a stop.
Then, he began to navigate around the Roaring Tiger, making his way toward the thicket.
The over twenty million viewers in the tenth broadcast room were left speechless.
They appeared even more baffled than the Roaring Tiger.
They all questioned whether what they had witnessed was merely an illusion.
“What did I just see?”
“How is his speed faster than the Roaring Tiger’s?”
“The scan data shows his speed reached 30 meters per second?”
“How is that possible? Given his current physical condition, he shouldn’t be able to exceed 10 meters per second. How could his speed surge to 30 meters per second?”
“According to the world record, the fastest unaided human speed is 20 meters per second.”
“He harnessed the Spirit Power stored in his Qi Sea! My goodness, I never imagined Spirit Power could be utilized in such a way.”
Upon reviewing the previous scan data, some viewers uncovered the true reason.
As Jiang Que began his escape, Spirit Power burst from his Qi Sea and infused his legs, multiplying his speed several times over.
This revelation sparked a fervent debate across the live broadcast room.
Jiang Que had spent half a month improving his physical fitness by 30%, which was already incredibly impressive. Yet, what was truly unexpected was the staggering effectiveness of the Chaos Spell.
No one anticipated the tremendous utility of Spirit Power.
With just a minor expenditure of Spirit Power, Jiang Que could suddenly accelerate to a velocity of 30 meters per second.
“In that case, if someone were to channel Spirit Power into their arms, wouldn’t their strength multiply several times over?”
“The Chaos Spell is incredibly potent. But what are the drawbacks? Common sense dictates that the more pronounced the benefits, the greater the drawbacks.”
“If the side effects are within an acceptable range, we could also learn the Chaos Spell.”
The live stream audience was a mix of excitement and concern.
On Planet A1637.
“Spirit Power can be utilized in this way?” In the locker room, Tong Hai took a moment to check the tenth live stream and was left utterly astonished.
He was soon overcome with joy.
It wasn’t until he had regained his composure that he realized he had rejoined his teammates on the court.
The score was now 89 to 56.
Only a few minutes into the second half, the Mad Bulls Team had further widened their lead, now surpassing the Glorious Team by over thirty points.
The majority of the Glorious Team’s home fans had already departed the arena.
Those who remained appeared drowsy and dispirited.
“Tong Hai, get in there!” With the game slipping away, the head coach had no choice but to concede and substitute the equally lethargic starters.
Tong Hai sprang to his feet and joined a few substitutes on the court.
Three rounds later, Tong Hai caught a pass from a teammate.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he infused a small amount of Spirit Power into his legs.
As a scoring guard, he was already skilled with the ball. His marginal status on a C-level team was due to his low shooting percentage and lack of physical explosiveness.
Knowing that shooting accuracy was hard to improve quickly, he opted for close-range shots.
Tong Hai burst into action.
The defenders could only see a blur before they lost sight of him.
By the time they looked again, Tong Hai had already dashed to the basket, scoring an effortless two points.
What was happening?
Both the players on the field and the dwindling number of spectators couldn’t believe their eyes.
On the sidelines, the head coach of the Glorious Team was pleasantly surprised.
He had sensed that Tong Hai was in good form during recent training sessions.
Yet, he hadn’t anticipated just how outstanding Tong Hai’s performance would be.
The game resumed.
As the Mad Bulls Team guards advanced the ball to the frontcourt, assessing the situation and deciding which teammate to pass to, a black shadow suddenly streaked past them.
In the blink of an eye, the basketball was gone.
Had it been stolen?
The substitute guard for the Mad Bulls Team turned his head in frustration, only to be left speechless.
He watched as Tong Hai soared high and slammed the basketball through the hoop.
Tong Hai’s quick succession of four points electrified the crowd in the arena.
But this was merely the start.
Over the past four or five days, Tong Hai had advanced to Energy Condensation Stage Level 2.
The Spirit Power in his Qi Sea wasn’t abundant, but it was more than enough to sustain him for a game and a half.
On the court, Tong Hai became an unstoppable god of war.
Even in the fourth quarter, when the Mad Bulls Team saw their lead dwindle and brought in their stronger starters, Tong Hai remained the standout player.
Despite the team’s loss, he himself had not been defeated.
In just sixteen and a half minutes, he racked up twenty-five points.
Typically, post-game interviews are reserved for the standout players of the winning team.
However, this time, the reporters flocked to Tong Hai.
In his first-ever interview, when asked about his exceptional performance, an elated Tong Hai responded with a jumble of words.
“I have to thank Jiang Que for creating the Chaos Spell. Despite its terrifying side effects, he remains a deity in my eyes! If he were here, I would kiss his toes with the utmost reverence!” he exclaimed.
This interview not only marked Tong Hai’s debut in a post-match press event but also propelled him, a C-level basketball league substitute, to the top of the headlines, outshining all other sports celebrities on global sports media platforms.