Techniques and Dao

Chapter 49 The Chinese National Football Team Won
The night view of Lujiazui is breathtaking; I've never seen it from the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower before. Although it's autumn, the wind at this height doesn't feel cold, but rather refreshing.
Next to the Oriental Pearl Tower are two golden office buildings, and a ten-minute walk away are three of Shanghai's iconic skyscrapers: the Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Shanghai Tower.

Standing on high ground and looking out, Hanamori's longing for the human world welled up in his heart. Although Seihei had countless virtues, he would still miss this bustling human world from time to time.

The human world is simply the world of ordinary people.

In the nights of Saint-Pierre and Saint-Pierre, he had dreamt countless times of returning to these cities. The scenes in his dreams were just like now, brightly lit, fashionable, and full of life. Gazing at the Huangpu River beside the Oriental Pearl Tower, the river flowed gently eastward, with many cruise ships adorned with brightly colored lights shuttling on its surface. Looking down from above, it had a touch of the elegant charm of a winding stream.

Across the Huangpu River lies the Bund, a collection of international architectural styles. At the north and south ends of the Bund are brand-new commercial districts. The interplay of old and new cultures seems to tell the story of the city's century-long history of change and prosperity.

To their surprise, the city below appeared peaceful and serene. From the top of the TV tower, the vehicles and people below moved in an orderly fashion, and tourists could be seen taking photos on the Lujiazui pedestrian bridge from time to time. There was no sign of the giant snake attack.

Hua Sheng said, "Shanghai doesn't seem to have anything unusual. Should we find a computer or TV to watch the news and see if we can find any trace of the Xuanwu Serpent?"

"Indeed. It's completely contrary to what we expected. We need to look for clues."

The two, disguised in ordinary human clothing, arrived at an electronics store. The store wasn't crowded; the staff, seemingly exhausted from standing all day, looked listless and were waiting to close. Seeing Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiao Jun, who appeared to be teenagers, enter, they knew they weren't likely to be big spenders and didn't bother to greet them.

Hanamori walked up to a television set that was playing a program, picked up the remote, and started switching between channels, trying to find some information. The news was basically the same old routine: "So-and-so is very busy, so-and-so is very happy, and people abroad are living in dire straits."

Hanamori yawned, switched channels, and suddenly stopped in front of a screen.

"Dear viewers, you are now watching the final match of the Asian qualifiers for the Men's World Cup. The Chinese team is challenging the formidable Asian team, South Korea! This match can be described as a do-or-die battle for the Chinese team. Before the match even started, the Chinese team had no way out. Today, they not only had to defeat the South Korean team, but because the South Korean team had a goal difference of 8 more than the Chinese team, the Chinese men's football team had to defeat the South Korean team with an incredible score of 9-0 in order to have any hope of advancing to the World Cup finals next year."

"But unfortunately, as the old saying goes, time is running out for the Chinese team. We're now in the 80th minute of the second half, and China is trailing South Korea 0-4. To make matters worse, we just had a player sent off because of our players' impatience. We're currently down a man and trailing by a large margin. You could say that what Coach Liu and I are saying right now is probably pointless, because many fans and spectators can't hear us at all; they've already gone to bed early."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked at the football broadcast and asked, "What? You like watching football? Now is not the time to watch a match, is it?"

“I recognize this stadium.”

"how?"

"This stadium is in Shanghai."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun raised an eyebrow and said, "So what? Do you want to go see it live? What's so interesting about that? Haven't you ever watched football before?"

“I’ve seen it. Not only have I seen it, I’ve seen this scene countless times. Probably a hundred times. That’s enough!” Hua Sheng’s voice sounded somewhat wooden.

"So you're still going to keep watching?"

"I just don't want to see it again!" Hua Sheng suddenly grabbed Tai Shang Xiao Jun's sleeve. "Just take ten minutes of your time and do something with me!"

This is a huge football stadium that can hold nearly 100,000 people when full, and it is brightly lit at this moment.

The fans' shouts were deafening, yet many male fans were in tears. Men don't easily shed tears; four years, and they had to wait another four years. Four years after four years, countless four-year periods. But they never gave up, attending every match to cheer on their beloved national team.

Even if this team has broken their hearts, even if their hearts have been broken a thousand times, these fans will still come. Because they are the most passionate, the most professional, and the most loyal fans in the world.

They deserve to be called the best fans in the world.

The host was providing live commentary in the studio. He glanced at his watch; clearly, his work for the day was nearing its end. He planned to meet up with some colleagues for a late-night hot pot meal at a nearby restaurant, and perhaps vent about the team's poor performance this year.

Coach Liu, standing next to him, was clearly distracted, too lazy to even look at the court, scrolling through his phone instead.

But there are still eight minutes left in the game, and if you include injury time, there are probably four minutes left. No, with such a large score difference and one less player, the referee won't give the full four minutes; maybe the whistle will blow the whistle to end the game after two minutes of added time.

The host sighed inwardly. After all, it was their home ground, and he couldn't help but feel a little dejected. But it was still his job, and he had to repeat his commentary, saying the same few discouraging things. He felt deep contempt for the performance of the Chinese national team players on the field and was angry at their lack of competitiveness.

"Seeing no opportunity to break through, the forwards passed the ball back to midfield. The midfielders, seeing the opponent pressing, passed it to the defenders. Fearing losing possession, the defenders passed it to the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper kicked the ball out of bounds—what?! The goalkeeper actually kicked the ball out of bounds! South Korea got to take a throw-in."

"Huh? The referee gestured for a moment; the Chinese team requests a substitution. Right, the Chinese team should still have two substitutions left. So, is the coaching staff planning to bring on two forwards for a do-or-die situation? How should they arrange their lineup?"
"The players who have been substituted in are... wait, who are these two players? One is number 99, and the other is number 100? Do we have those numbers on our team? Let me check the information the director gave me."

"I just checked, and there's no information on these two players. I don't recall having any substitutes like that either. Let's see what the referee decides. Hmm? The referee seems to have found these two substitutes in their records. Strange, they weren't provided to our broadcasting colleagues before the match. It seems our preliminary preparations weren't thorough enough..."

"Our on-site director just told me through the earpiece that they found the player information in the referee team's database. They've given it to us now. The player number 99 is named Hua Sheng. Strange… we don't seem to have heard of this player in the Chinese Super League or China League One before. He looks very young; could he be a China League Two player?" "The other number 100 is named… Tai Shang Xiao Jun? What kind of name is that? I've never heard of this young player either. Are they all naturalized players? But judging from their skin color and names, they should definitely be Chinese players. Perhaps they are young players the head coach has been cultivating, and he's giving them playing time now to gain some experience in major competitions, preparing for the World Cup four years later."

"I didn't see them warming up just now. Since the referee and coaching staff think there's no problem, it seems the two young new players are about to take the field. This should be their debut in an official match. I didn't expect their first appearance to be in an international game. Their starting point is quite high. Hopefully, they can be substituted on as soon as possible to avoid wasting valuable remaining time."

"The players substituted off are forward number 9 and a center forward. Let me see what number the center forward is... What! A goal has been scored!! That's right! China has scored!!! The goal was scored by player number 99, who just came on three seconds ago... Let me see... Hua Sheng! The score is now 1-4!"

"Because it happened so suddenly, many viewers, including myself, didn't see how the ball went in. Now let's watch the slow-motion replay together. The South Korean team threw in a sideline ball, and ah! The ball had just flown into the field when Hwa Sung rushed over and leaped high, unleashing a powerful left-footed volley. Ah! The South Korean goalkeeper caught the ball, flying through the air with it into the goal, tearing the net! The goalkeeper fell about twenty meters behind the goal!"

"The South Korean team's stretcher has been brought onto the field, and it seems unlikely that the goalkeeper will be able to get up. The substitute goalkeeper is currently warming up. In the meantime, the staff will quickly repair the net."

"There are 7 minutes left in the game. Time is running out. If we include the four minutes of added time, scoring a goal every three minutes on average would give us a chance to equalize! Can we do it? Can the Chinese national team salvage some face in their final match of this World Cup and leave with dignity?"

Seven minutes later.

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Unbelievable! The stadium is boiling! Am I dreaming? What score? What score?!"

"Holy crap! 100 to 4! Holy crap! Holy crap!!"
"That's insane! That's insane!"

"The scoreboard can't hold this many goals! The score is frozen at 99-4! Because football scoreboards don't have three-digit scores!! This is a historic moment! In just seven minutes, the two young players had a 100% shooting accuracy!! The Korean players were stunned, they barely even touched the ball! After conceding the goal, the midfield took a kick-out, and Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiaojun scored directly! It can be said that in just seven minutes, the Korean team took a kick-out from midfield a hundred times!"

"More good news just arrived! Coach Liu, who suffered a heart attack due to excessive excitement three minutes ago... Holy crap! He scored again!! It's a double bicycle kick from young players Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiao Jun! So gorgeous! Oh my gosh~~ Oh my gosh~ Oh my gosh~~"
"Sorry, let's continue. Coach Liu, who suffered a heart attack due to excessive excitement three minutes ago, has now regained vital signs thanks to the CPR efforts of the studio staff! Please rest assured, viewers!"
"I don't think the referee will add a single second of extra time; he has to stop this football tragedy immediately! But the problem is he has to keep the game going for at least 90 minutes. No referee can kill the game prematurely! The South Korean players have completely collapsed, they're stunned! The stadium is filled with the shouts of Chinese fans! The stadium, which can hold 80,000 people, is about to collapse from all that shouting!"

"My friend just texted me, saying that the cheers from our stadium can be heard from ten kilometers away! This is a moment that will be recorded in the history of Chinese football, no, it's a moment that will be recorded in the history of world football! Such a score is unprecedented and may never be repeated!"
"A triumphant moment! A triumphant moment indeed! I've had enough of broadcasting the Chinese national team's matches for over a decade, and I've been waiting for this moment! I've finally waited for it! Screw your fear of South Korea! Screw your backfield passing! Shoot, shoot, shoot! This relentless shooting is what football is all about! Rise, China! Rise! Rise!!"

"Those spectators who were just washing up and going to bed earlier, you're all gone now! Chinese fans in the stadium! Your lives have been worth it! Worth it! Worth it!"

"I looked at the data, and so far the Chinese national football team has become the team with the most goals scored and the most goals conceded among all the national teams in this World Cup qualifiers!"
"We're coming to the World Cup finals! No, with these two miraculous rising stars in football! This striker duo is unstoppable! World Cup champions! We're coming for the World Cup champions!"

The host jumped onto the broadcast console table and roared at the top of his lungs!

Cheers echoed from the football stadium throughout the city.

This city of 2400 million people is in a frenzy this night. Tonight will surely be a sleepless one.

The cool night breeze blew gently, making it exceptionally refreshing.

"You learned this magic just to play football?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun used the back of his hand to pat his football jersey as if sweeping away mud, and the jersey turned back into his Xi Yuan Daoist uniform.

"You can say that if you want. Anyway, I'm having a blast right now!"

Hua Sheng rubbed his stomach, which rumbled loudly, and he suddenly felt unbearably hungry. Just moments before, on his way back to the locker room from the field, he had to regretfully tell the head coach that he and Tai Shang Xiao Jun might have to retire. Then, while everyone was celebrating their victory, Hua Sheng and Tai Shang Xiao Jun disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Thinking back on the day when he had been running around non-stop and hadn't eaten anything, and having just jogged a few steps on the football field, Hua Sheng couldn't wait to find a restaurant and have a big meal.

"There's a small problem: we don't have money for food. What should we do?"

The Supreme Lord Xiaojun remained unconcerned about any difficulties: "As the saying goes, the food in the forests of the world is as plentiful as mountains, and the alms bowls and robes are available for you to eat wherever you go. Why should a cultivator worry about not being able to fill his stomach when he comes to the human world? Even if he eats one or two less meals, he can just consider it as fasting."

"I can't fast now. I'm so hungry today. If I fast again, I'm afraid I'll get low blood sugar and won't be able to walk." When talking about hunger, Hua Sheng suddenly felt dizzy and had difficulty walking.

Suddenly, Tai Shang Xiao Jun seemed to have an idea: "I've got it! I think there's a place here where we might be able to find clues about the Xuanwu Spirit Serpent!"

"You mean in the mortal realm?" Hua Sheng asked with doubt. "Are there really such extraordinary people in the mortal realm?"

"It's not about asking mortals."

"That is?"

"It's a dragon!" said Taishang Xiaojun. "Right in the city center lives an ancient earth dragon. I've heard that the earth dragon had dealings with the Xuanwu spirit snake. As long as we find it, we'll definitely be able to break the current deadlock!"

(End of this chapter)