Mere grains of sand are not even half as worthy as I am.

15-0!

Mingyi Songyuan continued to strike the ground with his tennis racket, staring intently at Akutsu. The boy realized that using pulling force to stop the spin and increase the ball’s speed was no longer effective; the super underspin he had just played clearly worked wonders.

Such a level of underspin was far beyond Mingyi's own ability; the credit belonged to Universal Pull. After battling against dozens of tennis club members from Silver Flower Middle School, Mingyi’s understanding of how to use Universal Pull in tennis had improved yet again. The difference between actual matches and practice in raising one’s skill was like night and day.

Now, Mingyi could not only apply pulling force to the ball to eliminate spin and increase speed, but also apply excessive force to make the ball spin fiercely in any direction!

With this, unless the opponent returned the ball with equal spin, it was impossible to send it back, even for someone as naturally gifted as Akutsu.

He served again. Facing the incoming yellow-green glow, Akutsu maintained his crouched stance, ready to react. The tennis ball hit the ground and spun violently, causing Akutsu to instinctively lean forward. Wasn’t this a super-fast serve?

Since this powerful underspin would bounce back towards the server’s court, Akutsu decided to strike quickly as it rebounded, hoping to make Mingyi lose on his own serve.

"Too naïve, Akutsu."

Seeing Akutsu leap to smash the ball the moment it flew up, Mingyi quietly shook his head. As the racket and ball collided, the tennis ball bizarrely shot upwards, finally slipping out in front of Taiichi Tan and Yamei Dongfang, who watched in astonishment. Akutsu landed, his smash hitting nothing but air.

“Scratch, scratch...”

The ball slid slowly along the ground toward the net. As he lost another point, the disdain and contempt on Akutsu’s face vanished, replaced by surprise and confusion.

"30-0!"

Mingyi announced the score with a smile.

Looking at the boy across the court, Akutsu couldn’t understand how Mingyi could produce such a super underspin. He had never seen such a ball, even playing against adults. How had a first-year student, his peer, achieved this?

"A kid can eat a devil."

Mingyi tossed the ball and swung the racket hard!

Swish!

The serve, charged with excessive pulling force, shot toward Akutsu again. In the next two serves, Akutsu lost points, unable to counter the fierce spin.

"1-1!"

Mingyi shouted loudly.

“To be able to completely suppress Akutsu, who easily toys with adults, at such a young age—this Mingyi Songyuan, if given enough time to grow, has a promising future!”

Yamei Dongfang was thoroughly astonished by the boy’s skills; he never imagined tennis could be played like this!

“Mingyi... Akutsu brother...”

Taiichi Tan muttered anxiously.

Akutsu’s expression remained cold and indifferent. He wasn’t disappointed for failing to break Mingyi’s serve; now it was his turn to serve, the best chance to reclaim the court!

“Ha!”

A fierce, straightforward serve with no frills. Watching the tennis ball shoot toward Mingyi, Akutsu crouched, ready to move.

"Alright, kid, where are you going to hit?"

Akutsu quickly imagined all possible return routes Mingyi might take. No matter how tricky, he believed he could save them with his physical advantage. Come!

Smack!

Mingyi’s forearm tensed; as the racket struck the ball, its still surface suddenly spun violently. Feeling the vibration from the net to the racket’s frame and shaft, the boy shouted sharply.

Whoosh!

The yellow-green streak flashed past and spun in place upon landing in the opposite court. Akutsu, about to rush forward, was shocked—he hadn’t expected Mingyi to deliver fierce spin not only on serves but also on returns!

“So... that leaping shot was no fluke—he can do it every time?”

The ball bounced back in front of Akutsu, who grabbed it, and the young voice rang out again!

"40-0!"

Impossible, absolutely impossible. Akutsu stood frozen. He prided himself on being able to catch any difficult shot with ease, using poses ordinary people couldn’t manage. Yet he couldn’t handle this fiercely spinning ordinary ball!

As his serve was broken, Akutsu began to doubt himself. Mingyi, watching Akutsu’s changing expression, understood why he was helpless. Such super underspin could only be countered, Mingyi estimated, by players of the caliber of Yukimura or Tezuka.

The excessively pulled spin ball seemed like a powered-up external spin serve, but its trajectory resembled a white whale return. Even if prepared, failure to counter the spin with equal force would inevitably result in losing the point.

The score was now 2-1. Mingyi’s serve. As Akutsu still struggled to find a way against Mingyi’s super underspin, he noticed Mingyi appeared somewhat exhausted during returns!

When Akutsu tied the score at 2-2, he naturally believed Mingyi’s frequent super underspin shots had drained his stamina. Mingyi, hands on knees and gasping, showed clear signs of fatigue, which Akutsu noted keenly.

“What’s wrong, kid? Lost your swagger?”

As the score shifted to 5-2, Akutsu’s pale face twisted into a sneer, laughing coldly.

Mingyi swung his racket with tense arms, serving and rushing the net. Akutsu knew Mingyi’s underspin was much weaker now; he could easily handle this level of spin!

The tennis ball sliced through the air toward Akutsu, who fearlessly rushed the net as well. Taiichi Tan exclaimed in alarm, “Akutsu brother is rushing the net too!”

“Go to hell, kid.”

Akutsu’s face was calm; he knew Mingyi was desperate now. Even if Mingyi tried his super underspin, it would weaken further as he had to counter Akutsu’s force, combined with his already diminished spin power. The rest of the match held no suspense.

Smack!

Seeing Mingyi strike back forcefully, Akutsu’s smile widened as he moved to intercept. Feeling the impact through his racket, he was pleased—not a spin ball!

Yet, Akutsu’s arm shook uncontrollably; he found he couldn’t catch the ball single-handedly!

“Damn it!”

Akutsu roared, but the law of shouting for strength failed him completely. The tennis ball shot at full speed toward the wire fence, and his racket spun away rapidly. Akutsu’s fingers trembled uncontrollably as he tried to hold on.

“Such... such powerful force!”

Akutsu looked at the no-longer panting Mingyi, who pointed his racket at him, saying, “You’re still far from it, Akutsu.”

“How... how is this possible? Wasn’t he exhausted? How can he still hit such powerful shots?”

Akutsu questioned himself incredulously, but received no answer.

Seeing Akutsu’s frustration and fury, Mingyi knew he was growing anxious, but Mingyi himself was in no hurry. From 2-1 onwards, Mingyi had only been acting.

He let his serve be broken to boost Akutsu’s confidence, only to shatter it and take the remaining five games in one sweep.

The reason for this was a barrage mission—a fan of the strongest actor Kanata Irie from Prince of Tennis had posted it: as long as the opponent gets five points and you come back to seven, you’ll earn the skill Forbidden Technique: Shadow Healing and Injury Eradication.

The plot unfolded according to Mingyi’s plan; now, it was time to launch his counterattack.

“Applying excessive repulsive force to the tennis ball really damages the strings...”

Seeing a slight dent in the center of his racket, Mingyi frowned, but figured it would last through the set.

Akutsu, oblivious, had already fallen into Mingyi’s trap. Furious, he vowed to himself: just one game left—I must defeat this kid!

Yet, facing the ball charged with excessive repulsion, Akutsu had no answer for Mingyi’s returns.

With his racket flying out countless times, the score quickly became 7-5. Akutsu, having exhausted himself in counterattacks, knelt on the ground drenched in sweat. Mingyi calmly walked to the net and said, somewhat disappointed,

“Mere sand and gravel, not worth half of me.”