Chapter 30

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Chapter 30: Don’t You Think the Colorful Warriors Need One More Member?

"The moment you pick up the basketball, you become a warrior. The basketball is your weapon, everything you believe in, all that your soul has. The ground you stand on is the battlefield, and the enemies you face are those you must defeat. You will either crush the enemy or lie wounded on the battlefield. Only with this understanding can you take another step forward on The Way of Basketball!"

"Coach, you say so much, but at least give us a basketball!!!"

Mugang Xian grabbed a chair and smashed it down on a thug, knocking him to the ground. Then he charged forward, using his shoulder to knock down another thug. He picked up the iron pipe that had fallen from the thug and struck hard, breaking the thug’s right hand in a terrible angle, all while roaring fiercely.

"Recently, our budget is tight. A decent basketball costs hundreds, and buying a batch for a game would be thousands. I can’t afford that! Just make do with a machete or a pipe instead; just understand the spirit! It’s all quite similar anyway."

"Coach, when have you seen basketball players train with machetes and steel pipes? Get the hell away from me!" Gongcheng Liang yelled angrily, quickly dodging the swinging machete, but the blade still grazed his shoulder, causing blood to seep out. He then jumped up and kicked the enemy away.

"Yes, you are just like that," Bai Qige replied calmly, standing beside a group of defeated gangsters, his hands together in a gesture of compassion.

"Hmph, Gorilla, Dwarf Monkey, four-eyed toad, you three have been attacking our Bloody Earth territory for the past four days. You have great courage, but today, you will meet your end because I, the King of Evil Spirits, will grant you a painful death!"

"What if I say we are not here by choice and have no interest in being enemies with you? Let’s turn from foes to friends and go our separate ways. What do you think?" Mugong Yan said hopefully, but was met with a cold, malicious snort, "Go die!"

An ugly, short, and chubby man waved his hand, and two strange ghostly shadows appeared beside him, swiftly pouncing forward.

"Gorilla, Dwarf Monkey, four-eyed toad, may the old monk grant you strength, transform now, and crush the enemy completely!"

Three humanoid beasts, filled with wild rage, charged at the Psychic, leading to a chaotic battle!

Three minutes later, the Psychic was completely defeated and fell to the ground, bleeding from all his orifices. Then, Bai Qige slowly walked over, unhurriedly taking the three with him to find a place to treat them.

[After continuous use, the universal skill True Qi Healing has leveled up to level 2, consuming 5 points of True Qi to heal X21% of the root bone within 290 seconds.]

The time was reduced from 300 seconds to 290 seconds, and the healing effect also improved by 1%. Although the progress was very small, Bai Qige felt satisfied. After bringing Mugang Xian, Gongcheng Liang, and Mugong Yan back from a serious injury, Bai Qige said softly,

"Disciples, you’re lucky. This Psychic’s superpower creates two spiritual summons using his own mental energy. It’s a bit like a ghost, formless and intangible, but it doesn’t have much direct killing power. It focuses on possession and erosion, producing illusions, controlling bodies, and invading organs to secretly kill from the inside out. It’s pretty good, but it takes some time to truly work! In the end, before the superpower could be used, you all took him out up close."

Bai Qige was becoming more and more curious about the existence of Psychics. Although there were many flaws, such as their physical condition being mostly the same as a regular person’s, and the conditions and methods of use being filled with many direct or indirect fatal weaknesses, the bizarre effects of the superpower made it very sharp if viewed purely as a weapon.

For example, the Psychic who was killed up close relied on his two formless mental summons. If used well, even heavy protection from the enemy would be useless. Perhaps while sleeping, someone would find their throat cut by their own wife or husband. Even more simply, a breakfast or a glass of water would be enough to kill silently, without any fear of being implicated.

This could be called the ultimate assassination superpower. If Bai Qige had such a superpower, he believed he could quickly come up with a few tactics and become the world’s number one assassin, a terrifying figure. Then, he could hide in an ordinary city, occasionally teaching a lesson to those he didn’t like, and use his superpower to attract a few beautiful women. This would create an exciting storyline worth millions of words, and Bai Qige thought there was no problem with that, completely fitting a Little Bai-style plot that was incredibly enjoyable.

However, it was a pity that Bai Qige couldn’t claim this superpower for himself. The strongest assassin and thrilling Little Bai-style plots had nothing to do with him, and it was clear that the knocked-out guy had not fully utilized his superpower. After observing for a while, Bai Qige realized he couldn’t blame him, as he sensed that this guy’s mental summons seemed to not be able to stray too far from him, about a maximum range of five meters. That’s why he had to fight up close.

"If I get the chance, I must establish a research lab to study what these Psychics are all about!" This thought crossed his mind, but it wasn’t something to do right now. Bai Qige picked up a steel pipe next to the defeated thugs.

This steel pipe looked similar to the weapons used by unruly gangs during fights, but it had strange patterns carved into it by machines, and the patterns had a faint dark red color. It appeared to be a special pipe for non-mainstream youth, making it quite amusing.

However, Bai Qige sensed something strange about this steel pipe. When he tried to use True Qi, he found that it seemed to be affected by something on the pipe, becoming faint and obstructed. Nevertheless, it wasn’t a big issue; by using force, True Qi could overcome these obstacles.

"Oh, is there really equipment that can control Psychics? By the way, am I considered a Psychic too? Bloody Earth is indeed interesting!"

Last time, the foolish, oh no, wise man Gu Shigui brought an attack on Daxiong and Jingxiang, and he armed his thugs with these strange cold weapons. Afterward, Bai Qige seized them and noticed this as well. Now, he is confiscating them from these thugs, showing that this has become standard equipment for Bloody Earth.

In Ye Xiao’s memory, he knew nothing about this kind of matter because he joined the Seven Holy Spirits the latest. Bai Qige’s thoughts were turning, but his expression did not change. At that moment, Mugang Xian and the others had mostly regained their strength, so Bai Qige took them away, leaving behind a mess.

In four days, they smashed three places belonging to Bloody Earth and defeated three Psychics. On the first day, Mugang Xian and his friends were forced into it, completely trapped by Bai Qige. On the second day, they were still trapped because they protested violently but were knocked out by Bai Qige and thrown into a Bloody Earth arena, where they were closely watched by mob thugs searching for them. On the third day, they decided to run away, but didn’t get far before they ran into a group of Bloody Earth goons. It turned out Bai Qige had taken them to a hideout that was actually Bloody Earth property. On the fourth day, they wanted to escape again, but it was useless because Bai Qige called Bloody Earth, and the three who thought they were hiding well were quickly surrounded.

Humans are very adaptable, and now, the three of them have begun to adjust to this life of fighting, spending their days training in basketball while dodging and attacking.

"Coach, where are we going to fight next?" After a few days of basketball training, Mugang Xian no longer looked like a basketball player. Sitting there, he exuded a fierce aura, and with his increasingly wild appearance and physique resembling a gorilla, he looked just like a gang leader who rose to power through battles.

"No rush, no rush. Fighting is a complex skill. You need to plan before battles and summarize afterward to keep improving. By the way, Gorilla, it seems your Heart Sutra is almost at a beginner level!"

Upon hearing this from Bai Qige, Mugang Xian was astonished. He immediately practiced the "secret techniques" Bai Qige had taught them and indeed felt he was on the verge of mastering them.

"Between life and death lies the best opportunity for growth! Endless honing and sculpting are needed to remove dirt and impurities, allowing one to become a shining gem!"

Walking between life and death, constantly unleashing the potential of life, this is indeed a shortcut to understanding the Heart Sutra. The three of them have spent four days training in the art of combat, learning through the experience of hurting and being hurt, which has proven to be effective. Although it is not as straightforward as the drowning method, the side effects are not as severe.

The drowning method, where one must face death to learn, even if it allows entry into the Heart Sutra, requires a long period of adjustment. One must go back and build a strong foundation, repeatedly practicing to overcome the aftermath of taking shortcuts, just like Daxiong now. It is said that this also affects future training. In contrast, the approach the three of them are taking is much gentler, gradually touching the threshold of life’s explosion, allowing them to build a true foundation for mastering the Heart Sutra, with minimal side effects.

After hearing this, the three of them repeatedly practiced the Heart Sutra, their expressions showing delight. They even felt that Bai Qige’s plans over the past four days might have some merit. Seeing this, Bai Qige said, "Don’t rush. At this pace, you might soon truly enter the door and experience a transformation, but it will depend on your own fortune because the next phase of training cannot continue!"

The training over the past four days can be seen as an unexpected ambush. The strength of Bloody Earth is quite remarkable. In the Yanhuang Empire, where gun control is very strict, the fact that they could use a batch of firearms during the previous kidnapping of Daxiong and Jingxiang shows their power. During these four days of ambush, Bloody Earth may not have realized what was happening or may have hesitated, but if it continues, the situation could change drastically.

In many gangster movies, there is a common scene where the protagonist attacks a gangster’s hideout or business, and the powerful gangsters can pull out a large cache of weapons at any moment, shooting with a marksmanship that never hits the target. In reality, this is quite unrealistic, especially in the Yanhuang Empire.

Can you imagine if one day health inspectors went to check the food stands under Bloody Earth, or fire inspectors went to a nightclub for safety checks, only to discover a stash of guns and ammunition?

In the Yanhuang Empire, only mid-level and high-ranking members of the gang truly have the ability to acquire firearms, and they can possess only a couple of small handguns, which they are generally too afraid to take outside. The police are aware of this and typically keep a close watch. One day, if they suddenly search someone and find a gun, that’s it. It doesn’t matter if you deal drugs or what other bad things you have done; the illegal possession of firearms could land you in prison, where they can slowly extract information from you and bring down an entire gang. Therefore, Bloody Earth keeps their weapons hidden, often not even in their headquarters. They only take them out for dangerous missions.

However, after four days of training, Bloody Earth should have reacted and gathered the resolve to continue. Bai Qige could guarantee his safety, but for Mugang Xian and the others, their fate would be certain because fighting with blades and facing gunfire are two different matters!

Mugang Xian and the others let out a sigh of relief, thinking they had finally finished the grueling daily training of being both the attacker and the victim, allowing them to return to normal life. However, they heard Bai Qige say, "But you three need not be disappointed. Although we won’t continue the ambush, I have decided to take you directly to attack Bloody Earth’s headquarters and resolve everything once and for all!"

"Coach, charging straight into the heart of the enemy sounds very powerful, but it could be a bit dangerous, right?"

"Don’t worry, I have already calculated that if everything goes smoothly, this journey will not only solve Bloody Earth, but you will also gain a powerful new teammate! In a few days, that basketball game will be a sure victory."

Bai Qige trained Mugang Xian and the others, but he didn’t truly want to teach them Kung Fu Basketball or help them become famous in the NBA. Everything was for the basketball match between the Meteorological Bureau Li Huaian and Long Aotian a few days later. More specifically, it was for that 500 Experience Points!

"New team member?"

"Yes, didn’t you notice? In your Xiangbei Basketball Club, the only real key players are Long Aotian and the three of you, right? Together, that’s just four people. The rest are just backups with poor skills. In this kind of basketball game, how can we rely on them? So, looking for a fifth strong player to join you and form a team of five colorful warriors to defeat the little monsters has become something I must consider as your coach! Luckily, Bloody Earth has just the right candidate! Come on, Gorilla, I have a phone number for you. Call it!"

After getting back the phone that the old monk had taken from him, Mugang Xian was shocked to find that this number was already saved in his phone contacts.

"Coach, isn’t this my classmate Shan Jingshou’s phone number? He often takes leave, and I haven’t seen him at school for a long time. I’m not very close to him, so why should I call him?"

"Hehe, didn’t I tell you? Your classmate is the leader of Bloody Earth! When I called, of course I wanted to find a way to use Buddhist teachings to influence him and lead him to the right path!"