Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

In the crowd, someone mentioned the change in Zhang Beixing's strength after he removed his weighted training gear, immediately piquing everyone's curiosity. They all turned their gaze to Zhang Beixing, who was warming up on the sports field, their eyes shining brightly, filled with expectation. Although it might sound a bit exaggerated, considering how strong he already was wearing the training gear, now that he had taken it off, wouldn't he just take flight on the spot?

Feeling the fervent stares, Zhang Beixing moved his body a bit. Without the oppressive weight of the training gear, he felt incredibly light. Like an unshackled mighty eagle that, with a gentle flap of its wings, could soar ninety thousand miles and roam freely between heaven and earth. Of course, Zhang Beixing understood this sensation was an illusion. Setting aside whether he had trained to that extent, from a purely biological standpoint, the human body simply wasn't built for such a feat.

As for the future... that would depend on the System. Zhang Beixing felt that as long as "System Bro" didn't malfunction, he could use his added points to become a being that transcended humans, even all earthly creatures. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility. However, such thoughts were too far off; he conservatively estimated he'd have to wait until all his attributes broke through 1000+ to even consider it.

Forget it, what's the use of thinking so much? he thought. Let's deal with the matter at hand first. Basketball... I'm really not familiar with this stuff. Aside from watching Kun Kun play basketball and knowing about the Lightning Whirlwind Split, I don't have much in-depth understanding of it! I hope they'll be sensible enough to let me save face; otherwise, I'll just have to make them lose theirs afterward!

Cracking his knuckles, Zhang Beixing muttered as he walked onto the court. He might not care about his own pride, but if this group didn't care about his pride and let it be trampled, then for the remaining days, they could only pray for the best! As a sparring partner, Zhang Beixing had a hundred ways to train these sports students to the point of utter misery, all within reasonable limits!

「...」

Out of the blue, Li Chang and all the other sports students playing on the court felt a shiver run down their spines, as if something sinister had its eyes on them. But after thinking it over, they couldn't make sense of it and simply put the feeling out of their minds. Pulling Zhang Beixing aside, they briefly explained the rules of basketball to him. Zhang Beixing naturally understood; after all, even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen a pig run, haven't you?

During this time, up in the stands, Lin Siqi, Sophia Zhou, and Chen Rourou had somehow ended up together. They watched Zhang Beixing, who appeared to be listening but whose mind was clearly elsewhere, and began to discuss him.

Sophia Zhou took a sip of her sports drink and looked at Lin Siqi. "Sister Siqi, you have such a good relationship with Beixing. Do you think he really can't play basketball, or is he just pretending? I feel like he's faking it."

Hearing this, Lin Siqi chuckled. "Pretending? Sophia, it seems you really don't understand Zhang Beixing. Although he can be a bit of a scoundrel, his defining trait is sincerity. If he says he can't do something, he means it. He wouldn't feign incompetence only to surprise everyone, nor would he suffer just to keep up appearances!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Rourou was taken aback and quietly turned to look at Lin Siqi. If she hadn't kept her own affairs completely secret, she might have even thought Lin Siqi was being sarcastic towards her. Ever since Chen Rourou demonstrated the Northern Sect's Eight Pieces of Brocade in front of her father, Chen Fenghua, a few days ago and lied, claiming she had figured it out herself, Chen Fenghua had been furious. Previously, he might not message her for days. But now, he inquired thrice daily, on time and without fail, each session lasting half an hour. It pushed Chen Rourou to the brink of collapse; she felt her treatment was almost that of a prisoner of war and nearly confessed. However, upon considering the consequences of confessing, she held back. Instead, she sped up her learning of the Northern Sect's Eight Pieces of Brocade, practicing it several more times each day. She hoped to master it soon and present a grand surprise to Elder Chen at the Chen Family, smoothing over the lie.

"Rourou, what do you think?" Just as Chen Rourou was lost in her myriad thoughts, Lin Siqi's gentle voice interrupted her.

Chen Rourou, startled, asked subconsciously, "Think about what?"

"About Zhang Beixing's basketball skills. He said he can't play, right? I believe he can't make a single shot, but Sophia thinks that with his physical abilities, he'll be able to score quite a few points. What about you?"

"My thoughts align with Sister Siqi. Zhang Beixing won't make a single shot! It's a matter of skill, which has nothing to do with physical fitness." If Zhang Beixing had been there, Chen Rourou would have undoubtedly agreed with Sophia Zhou. But now, with Zhang Beixing absent, she was laying it on the line: even if Zhang Beixing were Superman today, he would definitely not make a single basket. Absolutely!

「...」

Meanwhile, not far from Lin Siqi and the others, Zheng Jituo exclaimed, "Damn, I'm so jealous!" He looked around and noticed that many girls, including the trio of Lin Siqi, Sophia Zhou, and Chen Rourou, were discussing Zhang Beixing. A look of intense envy appeared on his chubby face. When will I ever be like Zhang Beixing, the center of attention wherever I go! Damn it, so many girls are focused on him. Is this the charm of a sports god?

"If you're envious, then just start training," Jin Linyu said, patting Zheng Jituo on the shoulder encouragingly. "Others might not know Lao Zhang's training methods, but don't you? Go for it, Jituo, I believe you're the next Zhang Beixing!"

Hearing this, Zheng Jituo shook his head without hesitation, signaling a definitive no. Zhang Beixing's training methods were fundamentally not something ordinary people could emulate.

Just as Jin Linyu was about to tease him, Dong Guoning, who had been engrossed in admiring his goddess, looked up at the basketball court and said, "Stop chit-chatting, they're about to start! Let's watch Lao Zhang's performance!"

At his words, Zheng Jituo and Jin Linyu immediately quieted down, their eyes fixed on the court, curious to see how Zhang Beixing, who had never played basketball, would be humiliated.

On the court, after Li Chang had explained the basic rules of basketball to Zhang Beixing, he saw Zhang Beixing's thoughtful expression. Li Chang chuckled and bounced the ball, unable to stop a smug feeling from rising within him. He had been trounced so miserably by Zhang Beixing before, even beginning to doubt his own existence. He thought he would never be able to surpass Zhang Beixing in sports. But to his surprise, today, he'd stumbled upon a huge weakness: Zhang Beixing, a man of many talents, didn't know how to play basketball! This was just too perfect!

His heart beamed with joy. Li Chang's smile was radiant as he patted the ball and then tossed it to Zhang Beixing. "Brother Zhang, catch! It's your first time, so you start!"

"Here, Brother Zhang!"

Reacting to the call, Zhang Beixing finally stirred. He yawned, thinking to himself, Finally, he's done, then turned around, about to say something. But before the words could leave his mouth...

WHOOSH!

He saw a black shadow rapidly enlarging before his eyes!

"!!!"

Startled, Zhang Beixing froze for an instant. Almost instinctively, he took a step back, adopted a Yue Family boxing stance, and aimed a powerful punch at the approaching shadow!

Damn, reacted too quickly, he thought, but the punch was already thrown, and Zhang Beixing immediately regretted it. Because he realized in time that this was, damn it, a basketball! He had subconsciously countered. It was all because he practiced Martial Arts too much, had suddenly removed the weights, and had a moment of distraction—he hadn't adjusted. Now, here he was, just stepping onto the court, failing to even catch the ball, and worse, he'd punched it away. This was truly embarrassing!

As his thoughts raced, it was clear the punch could not be retracted.

BOOM!

The next moment, a loud bang erupted. Zhang Beixing felt an impact force travel up his arm, accompanied by strong wind pressure and the acrid smell of plastic, scattering the hair on his forehead. The gust of wind came and went in an instant. Perceiving that its momentum had dissipated, Zhang Beixing was somewhat stunned. He narrowed his eyes and focused.

There, in his hand, was a deflated basketball, its remnants wrapped around his fist. The expected scene of the basketball flying away hadn't occurred, sparing him the embarrassment, but it left Zhang Beixing utterly bewildered.

What the hell? It burst with just one punch? Shouldn't the basketball have flown away from the force of impact? How could it explode instead? That doesn't make any sense...

Zhang Beixing looked around, bewildered, only to see Li Chang standing opposite him, mouth agape, equally dumbfounded. And it wasn't just them—everyone in the stands, who had been watching the spectacle, was struck dumb by the scene on the court, their eyes wide with incredulity!

At that moment, the vast sports ground was eerily silent!

Zhang Beixing: "???"

「...」

The silence stretched on for a long time.

CLATTER!

After what seemed like an eternity, someone's water cup fell to the ground, the sound finally jolting everyone back to their senses. The spectators gaped at Zhang Beixing on the court, who had burst the basketball with a single punch. They stared at the remains of the ball still clinging to his hand, their faces filled with horror!

"Holy crap, what was that? He blew up the basketball with one punch?"

"I must have gotten up too suddenly; I can't believe I'm seeing such an absurd thing. That's it, folks, good night!"

Someone slapped himself. "SLAP! HISS! It didn't hurt. I must be dreaming; no wonder I saw such an outrageous scene!"

"Quit your bullshit! You hit *me*, how could *you* feel a damn thing? This isn't a dream! Zhang Beixing really did blow up the basketball with one punch!"

"But... how is that possible? Basketballs are tough! When I watch the NBA, those players, no matter how hard they dunk, they only shatter the backboard. The ball is always fine. Zhang Beixing just..."

"It shouldn't be possible! Given a basketball's elasticity and shock absorption, an ordinary person couldn't do much to it without special means, let alone make it explode with a punch! That's just not something a human can do!"

"Logically, if a basketball flies at you and you punch it, shouldn't it just fly off in another direction? How could the force of impact make it explode? It shouldn't!"

"Physics... no longer exists! Newton's laws of force have been overturned!"

"Could it be that this is China, and Newton isn't in charge here? Maybe it's Newton's younger, more awesome brother, 'Niu Bi,' who's in charge! Who cares why Zhang Beixing burst the basketball? All I know is, it was Niu Bi! Niu Bi, and that's all that matters!"

"To be fair, that punch from Zhang Beixing was truly incredible. If I wasn't here, if I hadn't seen him throw that punch with my own eyes, you could kill me, and I still wouldn't believe anyone in this world could be so awesome—to face a flying basketball and, without any tools, make it explode with a single punch. It was so outrageous, it was as if absurdity itself had thrown open the gates for more absurdity—it was absurd to the extreme!"

For a time, the entire field was in an uproar. On the court, Li Chang and the others looked at Zhang Beixing, involuntarily gulping. Their lips moved, but for a long while, they couldn't form a complete sentence.

And Zhang Beixing, facing the strange looks from everyone, paid them no mind. He simply looked down, frowning. He faintly sensed a new kind of strength within his body, and for some reason, he felt as if his Martial Arts skills were about to break through... What on earth was happening?

Zhang Beixing was rather puzzled when he heard someone calling him.

"Brother Zhang?"

Snapping back to reality, Zhang Beixing looked up at Li Chang and the others. He nonchalantly flicked the remains of the basketball from his fist, then helplessly spread his hands and said innocently, "I told you, I really can't play basketball!"