Volume One: Our Own League 077: What Does True Fearlessness Mean?

A long-range shot from the center arc sent the football speeding toward Class Ten’s goal. The students of Class Ten watched in terror, praying silently. But the ball was merciless, descending with precision into the net as their desperate gazes pleaded for a miracle.

For a moment, the stadium fell silent. Then, the players of Class Six erupted in ecstatic screams, sprinting wildly across the field toward their king—Yang Hao.

Yang Hao stood there serenely, casting a calm glance at the ball in the net, his demeanor tranquil and unperturbed. Inside, he felt not the slightest ripple of emotion. It was as if this were an utterly ordinary event, hardly worth a second thought.

Pretentious! He was putting on airs, no question about it. Xu He inwardly scoffed at Yang Hao, thinking the guy was a master of theatrics. Yet, upon reflection, if he himself had scored such a spectacular goal, he would probably have played it cool just as Yang Hao did.

Xu He chuckled wryly. Yang Hao was simply extraordinary. How could a single person achieve such astonishing feats—how could anyone pull off a shot like that?

The players of Class Six piled onto Yang Hao, knocking him to the ground and celebrating madly with him.

Class Six was elated. From the stands, their classmates chanted Yang Hao’s name in unison; at that moment, he was their king.

Xu He could only sigh quietly. There was nothing to be done. The other side was just that formidable.

Zhu Ge also sighed, but quickly rallied himself, addressing his teammates, “We’re only one goal behind. Don’t panic, we have plenty of time and opportunities ahead. Let’s fight back—we can still win.”

Zhu Ge was deeply concerned that his team might crumble emotionally; if the blow was too severe, they would lose the spirit to play.

Xu He echoed, “Exactly, there’s still time and plenty of chances. Let’s keep going, everyone!”

With that, the Class Ten players regained their confidence. They trusted in their own strength and believed they could defeat Class Six—they had done so before.

Class Ten regrouped and launched an attack. After a few quick passes, the ball landed at Mu Yang’s feet. Mu Yang scanned the field and delivered a precise long pass to Xu He.

But as soon as Xu He controlled the ball, two defenders closed in on him. Clearly, Class Six had tightened their defense against him, recognizing his excellent form and the fact that most of Class Ten’s attacks originated on his side. Today, he had completely stepped into Lin Xuefeng’s role and performed brilliantly.

It was only a pity that Lin Xuefeng’s fan girls hadn’t redirected their cheers to Xu He.

Facing the two defenders, Xu He feigned a backward pull, as if preparing to retreat. Both defenders took the bait and pressed hard.

Xu He spun with a McGeady turn, slipping through the gap between the two. Before him lay a vast open space. Joy surged in his heart, and he accelerated fiercely, charging like a wild stallion across the field.

Class Six’s defenders were stunned. Xu He’s dribbling was astonishingly unexpected and brilliant. Was he unstoppable today?

The defenders of Class Six sped after him, but their pace simply couldn’t match Xu He’s. The more they chased, the wider the gap became.

Monster! Xu He was a monster.

Xu He raced down the flank, leaving everyone in the stadium gaping. So fast. Xu He wasn’t playing by the rules—he simply outran the defenders and charged into Class Six’s penalty area.

Class Six’s center-back lunged forward to intercept. Behind him, Yang Xin was suddenly unmarked; he raised his hand, signaling Xu He to pass—he was free and ready to score.

But Xu He ignored him, stormed into the box, took two strides, and unleashed a powerful shot.

With a thud, the ball tore toward Class Six’s goal. The goalkeeper, Wang Yi, was startled; the shot was so sudden, he barely had time to react.

Wang Yi instinctively raised his hands and managed to block the ball with a smack. The ball shot upward, cleared the crossbar, and bounced out over the end line.

No goal!

Xu He was deeply disappointed; he’d felt great about that shot. So much so that he hadn’t passed to Yang Xin, despite his signaling—instead, he went for the shot himself, though the angle was just a bit too direct.

In truth, the quality of Xu He’s strike was excellent. The ball was fast and powerful. If Wang Yi hadn’t reacted so quickly, it would have been a goal—Xu He was only a little unlucky.

Yang Xin was displeased, gesturing that he had been open. Clearly, he was somewhat annoyed that Xu He hadn’t chosen to pass; had he received the ball, he would have faced the keeper one-on-one—a sure goal.

He was frustrated.

But Xu He paid him no mind, immediately turning to join the next attack.

Zhu Ge quickly approached, pulling Yang Xin aside. “Xu He’s decision wasn’t wrong—it was a good opportunity. Go get ready to poach at the next chance.”

Zhu Ge had noticed the tension between Yang Xin and Xu He; during training, they hardly interacted, and sometimes even seemed to rub each other the wrong way. Now he genuinely feared that their conflict might erupt—if that happened, Class Ten would be finished.

He stepped in to smooth things over and calm Yang Xin.

Yang Xin took a deep breath, nodded slightly, and moved to the far post, preparing for the next attack.

Class Ten had a corner kick opportunity.

Normally, Lin Xuefeng would have taken it, but he was absent today, so Zhu Ge headed to the corner flag to deliver the kick himself.

Perhaps because Yang Xin was the tallest in the box, giving him the best chance, or perhaps Zhu Ge wanted to appease him, he sent a curling cross right to Yang Xin’s head.

Yang Xin rose above the defenders, heading the ball fiercely toward the goal, but it narrowly missed the far post and went out of bounds.

Class Ten had missed another golden opportunity.

Zhu Ge’s pass was excellent, and Yang Xin had done well, managing such a high-quality shot despite interference from three defenders. The fault couldn’t be laid at Yang Xin’s feet.

Luck simply wasn’t on Class Ten’s side.

Meanwhile, Class Six launched a swift counterattack, the ball landing at Yang Hao’s feet.

With a thud, Zhong Haokun slid in aggressively, kicking the ball away from Yang Hao. The crowd of Class Six students cried out in alarm, unable to bear watching. They felt that Zhong Haokun’s tackle was too dangerous, not an attempt to play football but an intent to injure.

They voiced their discontent, criticizing Zhong Haokun.

But though his tackles looked dangerous, every time they were precise, never touching Yang Hao—a safe play.

Still, the ferocious tackles were intimidating.

Yang Hao shuddered inwardly; he felt he had narrowly avoided being injured by Zhong Haokun. Zhong Haokun was truly fierce. Yang Hao cast him a deep look and moved aside.

He realized Zhong Haokun was trying to intimidate him, to make him hesitant in possession, to keep him from daring to break through.

Yang Hao glanced at Zhong Haokun once more, then ran off, raising his hand to call for the ball.

Class Six passed the ball back to Yang Hao. Unexpectedly, instead of avoiding Zhong Haokun, Yang Hao charged straight at him with the ball.

Many spectators were stunned—Yang Hao was courting disaster.

Truth be told, Zhong Haokun was taken aback, caught off guard. He hadn’t expected this seemingly frail guy to have such steely resolve; faced with intimidation, Yang Hao met him head-on.

Zhong Haokun was moved, his opinion of Yang Hao improving greatly.

Yang Hao was truly remarkable.

But their positions were opposed; Zhong Haokun quickly put these thoughts aside and surged forward.

He rushed fiercely at Yang Hao, as if preparing for a brutal tackle.

But Yang Hao remained fearless, advancing with the ball.

As the gap closed, Zhong Haokun accelerated, ready to body-check Yang Hao. With his robust physique, a collision would surely send Yang Hao flying.

Class Six’s classmates were anxious, some too frightened to watch.

Xu He’s heart trembled—Yang Hao was truly bold. If he were in Yang Hao’s place, he would never have chosen to confront Zhong Haokun directly; at most, he’d respond with a goal.

Yang Hao charged at Zhong Haokun, soft against stone. That took extraordinary courage.

A true hero knows no fear.

With a thud, Yang Hao was indeed sent sprawling, crashing hard to the ground and rolling twice. Everyone feared for his safety, worried he might be seriously injured.

Even Zhong Haokun felt a jolt of concern.

He hadn’t expected Yang Hao to refuse to dodge, colliding head-on. Even his tough heart was touched.

Zhong Haokun ran over, bending down to check on Yang Hao, genuinely worried.

But Yang Hao, grimacing in pain, brushed aside Zhong Haokun’s hand, fixing him with a cold stare. “I’m not afraid of you!”

With that, he struggled to his feet, moving about to loosen up.

Clearly, he wasn’t hurt, though he was certainly in pain—tears even welled in his eyes.

Zhong Haokun snapped out of his stupor, chuckling softly.

Yang Hao was interesting.

Seeing that Yang Hao was fine, the crowd relaxed, though many were still uneasy about his reckless choice—he’d been too rash.

Xu He, however, deeply admired Yang Hao.

Yang Hao was a true hero.

The match continued. Class Six quickly sent the ball forward to Yang Hao. He glanced at Zhong Haokun, then dribbled rapidly, weaving past two defenders, bursting into the penalty area.

Facing Wang Xu, who rushed out to block him, Yang Hao calmly curled a shot toward the far corner.

The ball whistled through the air, tracing an arc and bypassing Wang Xu’s dive.

With a clang, the ball struck the inside of the far post and bounced into the net.

Two-nil.

Class Six extended their lead to two goals as the first half drew to a close.

Class Six’s classmates cheered joyfully in the stands.

Zhuo Jun turned to Song Xiang, asking in surprise, “Did you expect the match to unfold like this before it started?”

Song Xiang immediately shook his head.

Zhuo Jun replied, “I didn’t expect it either.”