Chapter 10: Rules and Taboos

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Rules and Taboos

BANG!

The soccer ball slammed into Shi Xiang’s head and bounced away forcefully.

Shi Xiang’s face was a bloody mess, his head was ringing, and he was completely dazed by the impact.

’I’m a Grandmaster’s Disciple. I never thought I’d be taken down so humiliatingly by such a bizarre move. The guys in front of me are clearly a disorganized mob. I still have so many ultimate moves I haven’t used, and my Inner Strength is still plentiful. This is fucking unbelievable...’

"Hall Master."

Shi Xiang’s two companions cried out in alarm and rushed to his side.

One stood guard with his saber, while the other knelt to check his injuries. "Hall Master, are you all right?"

The bouncing head rolled to a stop beside Yu Fei.

Yu Fei loved Xianxia and monster-tale novels, and he admired Li Ye more than anyone.

The others were more or less reluctant to kick a ball during a fight, but he trusted Li Ye completely. He was Li Ye’s biggest fan.

And fans love to imitate their idols.

Shi Xiang was seriously injured, which should have been the perfect opportunity for a coordinated attack. But instead, Yu Fei decided to copy Li Ye. He took a mighty kick, sending the head flying toward Shi Xiang’s two companions.

The instant he kicked the head, Yu Fei felt his physique and Inner Strength surge dramatically. Overjoyed, he shouted, "Brothers, kicking the ball increases your Spiritual Power! Let’s pass it around!"

The defender who had passed the ball to Li Ye earlier had already experienced its miraculous effects and had been charging forward silently.

He had wanted to get a few more kicks in while no one else knew, hoping to reap the rewards in secret. He never expected the secret to be exposed before he could even touch the ball a second time.

His words caused an uproar.

The Knights on the field all turned to look at the head, which had just been slashed open by the saber of one of Shi Xiang’s companions. Greed and desire flickered in their eyes. Having tasted the wonders of Spiritual Power, they were no longer so desperate for the *Dragon Emperor Spell*.

Liu Guangsheng and the others instantly understood Li Ye’s intentions and couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

’As expected, there was a deeper meaning to Lord Li telling us to ambush them with a ball. The cultivation methods of higher civilizations truly are different...’

...

Li Ye was amused.

’See?’

’The way to use this demonic object is being verified bit by bit. This is what motivates people to improve!’

Just then, the soccer ball landed at Deng Wei’s feet.

Deng Wei dribbled it from one foot to the other a few times. Sensing the Demon Qi inside him rising, a hint of delight appeared on his face, and he refused to pass the ball.

"Fuck you, Deng Wei, pass the damn ball!" the others cursed when they saw this. Those closest to him already started trying to tackle him for it.

Watching the men clump together to fight for the ball, Li Ye felt a wave of exasperation. ’Great. They haven’t even learned to play soccer properly, but they’ve already got the style of the national team down.’

As more people joined the scramble, Li Ye snapped irritably, "What are you fighting for? Pass the ball! Work together! Your Spiritual Power will increase faster that way."

"Remember, we are a team! Everyone’s goal is victory! Victory brings honor, and it will make everyone’s Spiritual Power increase even faster."

Although Deng Wei was reluctant, he didn’t dare disobey Li Ye. He had no choice but to pass the ball to a nearby teammate.

The teammate dribbled it twice, then passed it to someone else...

This scene left Shi Xiang and his men dumbfounded.

The man guarding Shi Xiang muttered in bewilderment, "What are they doing?"

The man checking Shi Xiang’s injuries glanced over, his face also full of confusion. "Are these guys a bunch of lunatics?"

"They’re fighting amongst themselves. Let’s go." Shi Xiang endured the sharp pain from his two injuries, shot Li Ye a cold glance, and struggled to his feet. He gritted his teeth. "Xu Peng, carry me. Cai Jun, cover our retreat."

"Yes."

Xu Peng nodded and turned to hoist Shi Xiang onto his back.

The three of them faced Li Ye’s group and began backing away, trying to escape the battlefield step by step.

Li Ye caught sight of them trying to escape out of the corner of his eye. "Idiots, stop passing it around! Kick it at them! The targets are getting away!"

Before his voice had even faded,

Shi Xiang and his men abruptly quickened their retreat.

And at that moment, the ball happened to be at Yu Fei’s feet.

Yu Fei kicked the ball toward Li Ye. "Lord Li, catch!"

Li Ye didn’t trap the ball. While the head was still in the air, he executed a volley, sending it straight for Xu Peng. He then sprinted after it. "Old Liu, Old Fan, intercept Shi Xiang! Everyone else, follow me!"

BANG!

Cai Jun, who was covering the retreat, slashed the head away with his saber.

Shi Xiang glanced back and saw the crowd rushing toward them like a volley of arrows, yelling and screaming. He frowned and ordered, "Cai Jun, get their ball."

Cai Jun froze for a second, then lunged for the head. He beat Li Ye to it and scooped up the so-called ball.

But the instant he held it, he felt that something was wrong with its texture. He looked down at his hands and his face paled in horror. "Hall Master, it’s a human head!"

’A human head?’

A series of question marks flooded Shi Xiang’s mind.

’What the hell kind of freaks have I run into? Is this some kind of Evil Cult?!’

Cai Jun’s terrified voice rang out again. "Hall Master, this head is poisonous! I can’t move!"

"Drop it!" Shi Xiang yelled hurriedly.

Cai Jun frantically tossed the head away.

Just then, Li Ye arrived. After receiving the soccer ball with his leg, he executed a slide tackle on the paralyzed Cai Jun.

CRACK!

A normal person would have dodged a slide tackle.

But Cai Jun just stood there stupidly, a terrified look on his face, and watched as Li Ye slid in and broke his leg. He didn’t move at all.

Only after he collapsed in pain did he regain the ability to move.

But it was too late. Li Ye followed up with a clean double kick to his head, knocking him out with one blow.

"Cai Jun!" Shi Xiang cried out.

Beside Li Ye, Fan Jie flashed past, kicking the soccer ball that had fallen to the side toward Xu Peng, reveling in the pleasant sensation of the Demon Qi enhancing his body.

Cai Jun had been poisoned by the head, so Xu Peng didn’t dare try to block it. He could only dodge out of the way.

The ball had been kicked by Fan Jie, so its speed wasn’t overwhelming. Xu Peng easily dodged it, and it whistled past him. Liu Guangsheng and Li Ye took the opportunity to bypass them and chase after the head.

Li Ye was faster and got to the ball first. He didn’t pass, instead dribbling it as he charged toward Xu Peng again.

The bizarre ambush, the poisonous human head, the cheers that erupted from time to time...

Under the night sky, the whole scene was unprecedentedly strange.

Xu Peng had long since branded them as Demons in his mind. Seeing Li Ye charge at him, he grew timid, and his technique fell into disarray. He brandished his saber and slashed wildly at Li Ye. "Stay back!"

He couldn’t hit anyone with a proper slash, let alone a wild one.

Li Ye seized the opening and performed another slide tackle, breaking his shin as well.

Hearing the crisp crack of breaking bone, Shi Xiang closed his eyes. Only a single thought remained in his mind: ’It’s over!’

THUD!

Xu Peng lost his footing and fell to the ground, sending Shi Xiang, who was on his back, tumbling away.

Immediately, a thunderous cheer erupted.

Li Ye planted his foot on the soccer ball once more. He looked at the three men sprawled on the ground and spat expertly. "Still want more?"

"Sir, since you went to the trouble of ambushing me, you must know that my master is the Grandmaster Huaiyi. I will offer you the *Dragon Emperor Spell*. How about you let us leave?" Shi Xiang’s reaction was remarkably quick. The moment he hit the ground, he had the *Dragon Emperor Spell* in his hand. "Otherwise, I will destroy this manual."

Li Ye didn’t even glance at him. He clapped his hands twice to call everyone over, then asked with a smile, "Everyone, how do you feel?"

"Reporting to Lord Li, my Spiritual Power has increased greatly," said Yu Fei. "Especially after you knocked them down, Lord Li. My Spiritual Power shot up by a huge amount."

"My Spiritual Power increased too," said Fan Jie.

"The cultivation methods of higher civilizations truly are one of a kind," said Yu Qiang.

"One of a kind?" Li Ye snorted, his face darkening. "What did I tell you all before the match? Teamwork, ball control. But what did you do?"

At his words, Liu Guangsheng and the others hung their heads in embarrassment.

Yu Fei said, "Lord Li, we were wrong."

Deng Wei said, "I shouldn’t have hogged the ball."

Fan Jie said, "I was so focused on attacking that I completely forgot about the soccer ball."

Liu Guangsheng said, "The same goes for this old man. Please punish us, Lord Li."

...

The men critiqued themselves one after another, completely ignoring Shi Xiang.

Shi Xiang held up the Secret Manual, feeling like an absolute fool. He was on the verge of losing his mind. ’What the hell is with this group? I’m still right here, you know? Did you come here to steal the Secret Manual, or just to screw with me?!’

...

While listening to his team’s self-criticism, Li Ye was mentally summarizing the rules of the match.

’After the match, my Demon Qi increase was the highest.’

’During the match, when I tackled someone, and when the others cheered, my Demon Qi increased accordingly.’

’Cai Jun’s paralysis when he grabbed the ball must be the penalty for a handball. This needs to be verified.’

’After Cai Jun took possession of the ball, the strength and speed granted to us by the Team Emblem dropped sharply. After he threw it away, our lowered Attributes returned to normal.’

’The duration was very short, so Fan Jie and the others didn’t notice, but I did.’

’So, during a match, the opposing team having possession of the ball will lower our team’s Attributes. That’s something to keep in mind...’