Prince of Tennis Fraudster

Overall rating: Second-rate contestant in the county competition

After only a 0.6 increase in the five dimensions in a week, Niou roughly guessed that the body's original ability was 12. Further improvements would be even more difficult.

During this week, Nioh earned about 2000 points through some small tasks and drew basic skills and basic physical abilities.

Despite his relentless training day and night, and his continued growth momentum, his body is starting to feel the strain.

"System, are there any items that can relieve fatigue?"

Niou, yawning as he went to school, had two dark circles under his eyes and looked completely drained.

System: "Yes, but it's a skill."

Upon hearing this, Renwang glanced at the 800 points in his hand and couldn't help but sigh. The minimum 1000-point lottery draw, with each draw yielding a basic skill worth 300, was simply too much for him to afford.

To draw the skill mentioned by the system, it would probably be impossible without spending at least 100,000.

"Don't worry, host, this skill is included in the mission rewards."

"Mission rewards?"

"That's right, you'll see in a moment."

Upon hearing this, Renwang couldn't help but smile wryly. He roughly understood what the system meant: he was very likely to receive a mission soon, and that mission would include that skill.

"Shameless GM..."

Although he knew the system was aware of his thoughts, Niou couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

Upon arriving at school, Niou, sporting two panda eyes, naturally became the subject of everyone's questions.

The boy jokingly advised him to exercise restraint, while the girl who admired Niou secretly expressed her concerns about him.

During math class, looking at Renwang who was dazed and whose head was sometimes raised and sometimes lowered, Cang Lian couldn't help but sigh and his eyes became much sharper.

"No, I must meet his father!"

As a teacher, he couldn't watch his promising students go astray.

"Ah~"

After school in the afternoon, Niou picked up his schoolbag and followed the road to the location of the tennis club.

After changing into his team uniform, he arrived at the training ground, yawning.

A week later, almost half of the first-year students who had been scrambling to join Rikkai had left. The reason? They couldn't handle Rikkai's training intensity.

The gap between reality and dreams can be despairing.

However, the remaining first-year students, though somewhat tired, had a changed look in their eyes. They were like unpolished sword blanks; though they couldn't harm anyone, their sharpness was already faintly visible.

boom!

boom!

The first-graders were retrieving balls, while the second and third-graders were practicing sparring. They were in high spirits today because Sanada had finally finished a whole week of doubles and switched to singles.

Two figures stood out among them.

Kazuki Nakajo and Naoya Nakagawa. The two third-year students, mixed among the first-year students, kept picking up the tennis balls that the second and third-year students were hitting.

Seeing Niou approach, Nakajo couldn't help but give a cold smile: "Niou, let's get to work!"

Swish!

As soon as he finished speaking, Renou casually flicked his racket to the side, sending the tennis ball flying back with a thud. By sheer coincidence, it landed precisely on the side of the court where the ball had been launched.

"hiss……"

Nakajo's eyes widened, and he froze. Nakagawa, standing beside him, narrowed his eyes. "This guy's progress is so rapid! He probably already has the strength to challenge for that position, right? No, Sanada would never break the rules!"

Over the past two years, Nakagawa has gotten a pretty good grasp of Sanada's personality. He is strong-willed, hates evil, acts decisively, and cannot tolerate the slightest injustice.

He would never break the rules.

On the other side, Yukimura watched Niou return tennis balls with his racket everywhere and accurately hit them back to the players' court, and couldn't help but laugh: "You're improving very quickly!"

"indeed."

Liu continued, "Whether it's speed, skill, or stamina, he has made tremendous progress compared to a week ago."

After saying that, he opened his eyes a crack and sighed inwardly, "I thought you had regressed, but I was wrong..."

Yukimura then turned to Sanada beside him: "What do you think?"

"There has indeed been some improvement."

Sanada didn't shy away from the facts, but he shook his head at the same time: "But he's still far from being a regular starter."

Basic skills are only one part of a player's overall ability; the key is how much of that ability can be utilized on the field. If a player's skills are the water in a bucket, then their experience, game intelligence, and mental resilience are the bucket's volume.

Sanada has seen far too many players who perform well in regular matches but repeatedly falter in the main competition.

More importantly, Nioh has a fatal weakness.

Sanada continued, "Besides, he's never played in a regular tournament!" In his eyes, the match against Nakajo was nothing more than child's play.

The lack of real match experience is undoubtedly a disadvantage for Nioh.

Upon hearing this, Yukimura and Yanagi nodded slightly. While Niou has potential, he hasn't reached the point where Sanada would break the rules. For the mighty Rikkai, rules come first.

As time passed, dusk fell.

"gather!"

A roar erupted, and the entire stadium stirred. In no time, everyone was positioned to face the three giants.

Sanada nodded in satisfaction, then announced loudly, "Everyone has trained very well, and after discussion, the intra-school ranking competition will begin the day after tomorrow!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: Minor Actions

An intra-school ranking competition?

The crowd erupted in excitement. The first-year students looked puzzled, while the second and third-year students were beaming with excitement. After a long holiday, the new ranking tournament had finally begun.

Most importantly, with Mori's departure, they also have the opportunity to become starters. They will fight as Rikkai, donning that battle uniform.

How could they not be excited, given how proud Rikkai was?

"Okay, the list will be announced tomorrow. That's all for today, dismissed!"

The team disbanded, and Sanada watched Niou's departing figure, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. But this was Rikkai's rule, and he couldn't break it.

But Niou didn't think that much about it.

He is optimistic about whether he will qualify for the competition, given his remarkable progress. With his current skill level, he is confident he can face anyone except the starting players.

However, the next day...

Early in the morning, many people came to the bulletin board to check the list of participants for this ranking tournament.

"No?"

Niou narrowed his eyes; surprisingly, his name wasn't among the eight groups.

"Ding!"

At that moment, the system's voice rang out.

"Triggering Quest: Ranked Tournament Qualification [Blue]. Due to the host's lack of experience, age, and strength, they have not gained Sanada's favor. Obtain Ranked Tournament Qualification and complete the reward skill [Deep Sleep]!"

"A mission? And this skill..."

Niou's initially gloomy mood instantly lifted. He carefully examined the details of the mission, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

There were no specific requirements, only a request to gain Sanada's favor.

"Could it be that I'm going to have to fight Sanada?"

But after thinking about it, he abandoned this unrealistic idea. Not to mention Sanada's Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain techniques, his five dimensions alone would probably crush him.

Full of doubt, Niou seemed listless and distracted throughout the day in class. This only strengthened Kura Ren's resolve to visit Niou's home.

"What should I do?"

In the tennis club, Niou, who was retrieving a ball, unconsciously slowed down his movements. This was noticed by Nakajo, who was not far away.

He smirked and said in a low voice, "Kid, you're not in a good mood because you weren't chosen, are you?"

He was suspended and did not qualify. Nakagawa was successfully selected for Group D, while Niou, as Nakajo expected, was not selected.

Nakajo looked at Niou with a mocking expression, but unfortunately, the other party ignored him.

"Hmph, does he really think he's someone important?" He glanced coldly at Niou, and when he saw a young man training not far away, a plan came to him.

He glanced at the Big Three and noticed they were observing the regular players' training. He crouched down, quietly approached the young man's court, and gave him a wink.

The young man understood, gestured for a pause to his companion, and went to Nakajo's side.

This person's name is Yamazaki Daichi, and he has a good relationship with Nakajo. However, because of the incident before the start of the school year, people who used to be on good terms with Nakajo gradually distanced themselves from him, and Yamazaki was among them.

So, upon seeing Nakajo, although he still outwardly agreed, his voice turned colder as he approached: "What is it?"

"Ah……"

Hearing the tone of the other person's voice, Nakajo couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly. He wasn't stupid; he naturally understood that these people's attitude towards him had changed, but he didn't care.

He said, "In a moment, all your balls will leak over there..." As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of Niou.

"I think you've got the wrong person." Yamazaki shook his head. Although he wasn't a fan of Niou, with Yukimura and Sanada around, he didn't dare to do anything reckless.

After saying that, Yamazaki turned to leave.

"Hey, wait!"

Nakajo called out to the other person: "That sweatband you had your eye on last time."

"Not enough!" Yamazaki refused outright.

Nakajo glanced at Niou, who was leisurely picking up the ball, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Add that network cable."

“Hmm…” Yamazaki hesitated for a moment.

Nakajo glared at him: "Don't go too far."

"Okay, deal!"

Yamazaki laughed. Not only did he manage to deal with that fox-eyed guy, he also made a small profit.