Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 68 - 068 Fierce Tiger Style Reappears in Jianghu

"Zone defense!" Qiao Bixia stood by the goalpost, waving her arms and shouting, "Everyone, hold your positions!"

"Hold tight!" Xu Mengxi also shouted to help.

Under Coach Qiao’s commands, Class 4’s defense finally started to have some structure.

Inside the three-point line, centered around Liu Xin, they stood guard in a circle, ready for battle.

Jiang Qinghua, meanwhile, led the Slime Monster around in tangles.

If it’s a marathon, then it’s a marathon.

I’m gonna run you to death!

Class 2 began their usual frequent passing and cutting.

But facing the zone defense orchestrated by Coach Qiao, they hadn’t been able to create any opportunities even after a dozen seconds.

The ball reached Ling Shijie; seeing that the shot clock was running down and exploiting Liu Yonghui’s shorter stature, he forced a jump shot.

But at that moment, Qiao Bixia suddenly spread her arms wide and started flapping them.

Her tiger-like eyes bulged, as if she wanted to devour him.

"RUAA!!!" Qiao Bixia roared fiercely.

The Fierce Tiger Style reappeared in Jianghu.

At this roar, Ling Shijie shrank instantly, and his movements became distorted.

Even his teammates awakened a primal fear, their backs chilled and their steps faltering.

Only Liu Xin, who firmly claimed his position under the basket.

After all, he was a man who had rubbed shoulders with Qiao Bixia hundreds of times.

Just a small scene.

As expected, Ling Shijie’s shot was weak and off the mark, looking like a sure miss.

Liu Xin had predicted this and stretched out to grab the rebound.

Then, just as Li Zheng had said.

First thing, look for positioning.

He decisively spotted Jiang Qinghua sprinting to the opponent’s half-court.

This was the positioning for a fast break.

Liu Xin immediately swung his arm round, regardless of the distance, and flung the ball like a discus with all his might.

"Defense!" Ling Shijie turned and shouted as he ran back.

Class 2 teammates started sprinting back in response.

But none of the Class 4 players moved.

They just rested in place.

Coach Li had planned this, now was the time to create a stamina gap.

Regardless of whether the shot went in or not, they wouldn’t compete for it.

On Jiang Qinghua’s end, using his jumping advantage, he caught the ball as expected.

While turning back to check on the Slime Monster, he casually laid up the ball.

The Slime Monster, having already given up, regained his energy at this pace and leapt towards him.

Jiang Qinghua waited for the perfect timing, deliberately allowing him into his personal space before jumping to lay up the ball.

But the Slime Monster couldn’t stop himself and smacked Jiang Qinghua’s arm.

Jiang Qinghua’s shot was disturbed, and the ball regrettably bounced off the hoop.

"Toot toot!!"

The whistle blew.

Referee Teacher Wang signaled with a raised hand: "Foul, free throws!"

After a moment of relief, Jiang Qinghua nodded toward Li Zheng, who was making his way back from afar.

Only after that did Class 2’s players run back, playing catch-up and exhausted from the effort.

In contrast, Class 4 players strolled over leisurely.

One side was conserving energy, the other depleting it, an exchange with clear benefits.

Next, Jiang Qinghua took the free throws.

Standing alone at the free-throw line, he felt a sense of freedom he had never experienced before.

As if the snot sticking to his hand was suddenly wiped clean.

He raised his arm, took the shot.

The first ball went in steadily.

Then the second shot.

Clang!

It was a bit off, bouncing out of the hoop.

Liu Xin, who had played with Jiang Qinghua for ages, had instinctively blocked off that direction and leaped to grab the rebound.

Turning back, he saw Li Zheng running back to cover halfway, just then standing by the three-point line, unguarded.

Without a second thought, he passed the ball over.

Li Zheng was quick as a whip, catching the ball and jumping for the shot in one fluid motion, just like at the start.

He shot.

Swish!

The ball went through the net once again.

This was Li Zheng’s third three-pointer of the game.

17:23.

Only 6 points behind now.

The sideline crowd went wild instantly.

"Ahhhh!!"

"Li Zheng is awesome——!!!"

It had been a while.

But the energy was back.

Even more unexpectedly, Jiang Qinghua, who had been leading the cheers, couldn’t hold out anymore.

He shifted allegiances.

"Li Zheng MVP!!! Li Zheng MVP!!!"

Class 4 was hugging and shouting like mad.

Only Qiao Bixia remained true to her duty, too busy to celebrate as she kept shouting for her players to defend.

Xu Mengxi was actually also shouting help, but no one noticed.

In the excitement, Class 2’s center, following the same tactic, launched another long-range pass.

This time, Li Zheng quickly engaged in defense, racing Ling Shijie for the ball without giving an inch.

This time, the advantage of Li Zheng’s ten-minute rest became apparent as he closed the gap faster and faster.

But what was even more terrifying was.

"RUAA!!!" Qiao Bixia roared at Ling Shijie once more.

Ling Shijie was so scared that his heart skipped a beat.

He was forced to delay half a step by this lion’s roar technique.

Li Zheng, however, was used to this trick by now and, using the momentum, leaped up to snatch the ball.

His body stretched out even longer.

Slap!

He caught it!

Secured the ball.

Landed.

Stabilized.

The whole court cheered.

"Li Zheng!! Ahhhh!"

"So handsome!!!!"

"Take them down! Take them down!!"

At this moment, Li Zheng’s recovery value had repeatedly broken new peaks.

[Total Speed: 572.5?????]

Li Zheng dared not look at his vitality value any longer; after a brief examination while holding the ball, he raised his hand to signal for a slower pace and a more stable offense.

Exhausted, Ling Shijie could only hustle back on defense. While passing by Teacher Wang, the referee, he shouted, "That Tank’s shouting is shattering my liver, are you not gonna do something about it?"

Teacher Wang glanced at Qiao Bixia.

He also shuddered.

But remembering the instructions from his brother, he just waved his hand, "NBA audiences can also disturb, play the game properly."

"Fuck!"

"Fuck who’s mother? You want to say ’fuck’ again?" Teacher Wang’s hand then reached into his pocket, as if to pull out a card.

"It’s nothing, it’s nothing..."

Meanwhile, the number of girls crowding around the court was steadily increasing.

Legend had it that a god of basketball emerged from the sophomore class.

Lake Ying’s Marbury.

Class Four’s Mitsui Hisashi.

Everyone who was anyone rushed to have a look.

On the court, Li Zheng knew that his recovery was steadily climbing, but at this point in the battle, he dared not spare a sliver of attention to check his vitality value, focusing solely on the match.

The recent mad dash had not been in vain; he’d not only made a steal but also regained control of the pace of the game.

The confidence of Class Four grew even stronger, their cheers even more vigorous.

Still, Li Zheng didn’t dare to go all out; he needed to reserve enough strength to last the full 15 minutes.

In the following few minutes, both sides had their back and forth.

Ten minutes into the second half.

The score was 29:31.

Just two points away from a tie.

There were only five minutes left in the match.

Everyone on the court was moving a little slower, as if trapped in a quagmire.

Energy levels had hit rock bottom.

Li Zheng’s technical movements bound to be deformed due to exhaustion.

Even though he had rested for part of the game and deliberately conserved his energy, he was now struggling to catch his breath, his legs numb with lactic acid.

He stood in his defensive area, his vision blurring, everything flashing before his eyes.

But he had to stay here.

During Class Two’s offense, the ball was passed around, eventually ending up with Ling Shijie.

Ling Shijie took a deep breath and drove towards Li Zheng’s area.

Li Zheng took a sharp breath, dragging his feet as he desperately defended.

He could feel that Ling Shijie’s dribbling was different from before.

It seemed he was set on breaking through.

No matter how tired, Li Zheng couldn’t let him succeed, meeting him head-on with tenacious resistance.

Ling Shijie, finding his path blocked, pivoted to back dribbling, using his body to force his way inside against Li Zheng.

Although Li Zheng’s frame was no match for his, he refused to give in an inch, clenching his teeth and pushing back.

Who could have imagined that he, Li Zheng, would have such a day?

For the victory of the class match, he was putting his life on the line.

Female classmates on the sidelines were nearly moved to tears.

"Li Zheng!! Hang in there!!"

"Ahhh Li Zheng!!!!"

Ling Shijie struggled to push inside for seven or eight seconds but failed to make headway.

With the shot clock running low,

he glanced at the scoreboard.

"Motherfucker..." Ling Shijie clenched his teeth, suddenly gripping the ball tightly, raising his arms high and abruptly turning to throw his elbow back.

With that swing, his elbow connected squarely with Li Zheng’s nose.

Before Li Zheng could even feel the pain, his vision went dark.

His body uncontrollably fell backward.

Crashing to the ground.

Only then did the pain surge through his head.

Followed by a metallic taste.

"Tweet tweet!" Teacher Wang yelled as he ran over, "Ling Shijie, do you even want to play anymore!"

"Sorry, sorry, couldn’t control my elbow." Ling Shijie said with a grin, bending down to offer his hand, "Nothing serious, right, bro?"

As Ling Shijie bent over, even he was shocked.

Li Zheng’s face was covered in blood.

Blood still streaming from his nostrils.

"Teacher Wang, do something about it!" Qiao Bixia shouted from afar, "Isn’t that a serious foul? Shouldn’t that be a loss by default?"

People cheering for both classes began to make noise.

"Really... It wasn’t intentional..." Ling Shijie squatted next to Li Zheng, grabbing his arm trying to pull him up forcefully, "A little nosebleed doesn’t matter... stop faking it, get up quickly..."

But then Jiang Qinghua, eyes red with rage, rushed over and pushed Ling Shijie down: "You fucking pretender!"

Liu Xin also hurried to help Li Zheng up, "Brother Li, hold on, we’re going to the hospital now."

"It’s nothing..." Li Zheng wiped his nose, shaking off the blood from his hand and struggling to stand up straight.

The sharp pain in his nose quickly passed, but his head still felt heavy and his legs even weaker.

"That’s enough!" Liu Xin supported Li Zheng towards the sidelines, "Your legs are giving out; stop the bleeding first."

While he helped Li Zheng, he glared with red eyes towards Ling Shijie: "Motherfucker..."

On the court, Jiang Qinghua grabbed Ling Shijie’s collar, "Get the fuck off the court on your own volition!"

"Why should I?" Ling Shijie pulled at his own collar for the gym teacher to see, "Teacher, what do you say about this, is it a serious foul?"

Physical education Teacher Wang struggled to separate the two, standing between them.

"Ling Shijie, penalized!"

"Class Four gets the ball!"

"Whoever fouls again will be declared the loser immediately."

"If you two keep this up, both will be declared losers."

This decision somewhat appeased Jiang Qinghua.

Pulled back by Chen Sen and Liu Yonghui, he suppressed his anger for the moment.

Ling Shijie snorted, spat out, and turned to instruct his team, "I’ve taken down that kid; focus on team play now. As long as we block Jiang Qinghua’s position, we’re sure to win."

The teammates hesitated in their gaze, but facing Ling Shijie, they didn’t dare to say a word.

As the whistle blew and the game continued, a substitute took Li Zheng’s place, forcing Liu Xin back onto the court.

Watching the game restart, Li Zheng stood on the sidelines, only able to stare blankly.

With his nosebleed, it felt as if his vitality had also drained away.

Even lifting his feet was hard.

Several hands helped him clean the blood, and someone plugged his nostrils.

It was all a mess, and he couldn’t tell who it was.