Generation Z Artists

Chapter 195 The Chinese Martial Saint
The one-on-one match was ultimately scheduled for before the start of the preseason.

September 29th, a Saturday that didn't quite fall on either day.

It was 8 p.m., just as the Americans had finished dinner and the Asians across the ocean were getting up, making it as convenient as possible for them to watch.

TNT is a live streaming platform with 78 broadcasting organizations, covering areas from North America to Africa.

This alone recouped $1200 million of TNT's investment.

China, Japan, and South Korea are highly interested, Southeast Asia is finding it novel, Europe isn't particularly interested but has a fan base, and Africa and South America are simply joining in the fun.

To describe their level of excitement in detail, you can summarize it based on the amount of money they spent.

Japan's NHK paid 200 million US dollars for the broadcasting rights and sent an interview team directly to Washington, while Japanese businesses contracted nearly one-third of the stadium's advertising space, spending an additional 300 million US dollars.

South Korean broadcaster KBS spent approximately 150 million on broadcasting rights, while Samsung and GEO Contact Lens secured an advertising billboard behind a basketball hoop.

When it came to national television stations in South Africa and South America, the broadcasting fee was only a symbolic $5.

And China's CCTV5... is a freebie.

The country is currently short of foreign exchange, so Fang Xinghe contacted TNT, and they generously waived the fees and even reserved a prominent broadcasting seat for reporters like Zhang Heli.

Oh, and the funniest ones are Da Huang and Er Hei.

Both of these families have been clamoring to kill Fang Xinghe, but both have TV stations actively broadcasting this one-on-one duel live. It seems that Taiwan even invited a lot of experts to do a special program.

Hong Kong has limited land and isn't very enthusiastic about basketball, while Taiwan is a legitimate "Asian powerhouse" with its own league.

So, even though Fang Xinghe, who made it into the NBA, was voted "most disliked mainland star," they still went on and on about it before the live broadcast.

"Although Fang Xinghe doesn't like us, it doesn't matter. We don't need to like him either. We're just cheering for the Chinese people..."

"Yes, we want to explore a possibility through his performance."

"If he can do it, then our elite players from Taiwan certainly can too."

"That's right! People on the mainland live a very hard life. They can't even afford tea eggs, and their nutritional conditions are pitifully poor. It's just that there are too many people on the mainland, so occasionally one or two genetically mutated abnormalities will appear..."

"If you talk like that, Fang Xinghe's fans will complain about you again~~~"

"It's okay, we're all Fang Xinghe's fans today, and I hope he wins—but only today!"

"Well, I'm different from you. I don't want him to win. Michael Jordan is my idol. I just want to see him get crushed by Michael Jordan..."

"It's not a matter of whether he wants it or not, how can he win?"

Taiwanese experts were already quite eccentric back in the day.

They were reluctant to let go of Fang Xinghe's popularity, wanted to see him fail, and were also afraid of his victory. The pre-show was a mess and didn't resemble a professional basketball program at all.

In comparison, the outlook programs from China, Japan, and South Korea are all very well done and each has its own unique characteristics.

NHK invited experts such as men's basketball star Takehiko Orimo, national team head coach Pavlevic, and former national team player Takahashi to conduct professional analysis.

Of course, their analysis is not important; TNT is far more professional than them.

The most amazing thing about Japanese pre-show programs is... their extremely Japanese-style new nicknames.

"The Imperial Cage Ball Martial Saint!"

A line of large, special effects text slapped across the top of the screen, exuding passion and excitement that defied description.

As the program progressed, all sorts of inexplicable adjectives came out one after another.

Six times the calamity!

The Legend of Speed!
The devil is faking!

Mythical Slam Dunk!

To be honest, Fang Xinghe didn't watch TNT or CCTV5 in the backstage dressing room; he just watched NHK, laughing non-stop as he watched.

But you know what, NHK's domestic viewership is incredibly high, stealing a lot of viewers from other channels.

As for South Korea, they don't have many national basketball players, nor do they hire professional commentators. Instead, they put Yoo Jae-suk on the show to entertain with jokes and banter.

The only two basketball experts who came up with the idea immediately: "Optimistically speaking, in the future, our Republic of Korea will also have high-quality local athletes..."

The Korean star was jumping up and down in a panic: "It's freezing! Oppa's younger brother can't play basketball, he has to go into the entertainment industry!"

Mom's mental illness.

It's uncertain whether that bastard Fang Tonghui can even have children, but they've been eyeing Fang Xinghe's younger siblings for a long time already. It's really damn annoying.

In the end, CCTV was the most serious.

Zhang Heli and Sun Heping were enthusiastically analyzing Fang Xinghe's chances of winning.

Zhang Heli: "This will be a tough fight, a really tough one."

Sun Heping: "Oh? What do you mean?"

Zhang Heli: "Today's one-on-one match is under American rules, which mainly includes the following points: 11 balls per round, and you win two rounds in a row."

Receive the ball beyond the three-point line, dribble three times, and you must shoot.

Receive the ball inside the three-point line and dribble twice.

A three-pointer earns 2 points, and any other goal earns 1 point.

Possession changes after the attack ends.

Xiao Fang is a point guard who relies on driving to the basket, and the limited number of dribbles is a limitation for him. In addition, at only 16 years old, his stamina should be a weakness, and it will become increasingly difficult for him to play as the game progresses..."

Sun Heping: "The rules are very unfavorable to Xiao Fang. Is there a problem?"

Zhang Heli: "That's not so easy to say. When you're on someone else's turf, and you want to challenge their basketball god, you definitely have to abide by their rules..."

This has caused an uproar among the public in China.

Zhang Heli's aim was to exonerate Fang Xinghe, so that if they failed, it would immediately be blamed on the lack of fighting spirit.

However, it's true that this rule isn't very friendly to the opposing star system. Nike and the league are putting pressure on them, saying that if they want it to be made public, they have to accept it.

Danzi himself is not afraid of losing, but they are terribly afraid.

Therefore, it would be natural to further weaken Fang Xinghe from the perspective of the rules.

Many Chinese people feel deeply wronged, and even some people who dislike him feel indignant, feeling that they have been suppressed and targeted.

The forum was already in an uproar before the competition even started.

"Damn! What's wrong with the Americans?"

"Because I'm afraid of losing!"

"Can Baby's Breath stop patting herself on the back? Is Qiao Shen afraid of your Ziwei? That's hilarious."

"If you, God Qiao, are so awesome, why don't you dare to have a fair fight?"

"What do you mean by fair? This is the rule for American one-on-one matches. Isn't it just that Ziwei overestimated herself and insisted on challenging him?"

"Exactly! A 16-year-old bullying a 38-year-old man, is that fair?"

"Should we bring Jordan back?"

"If you know you're getting old, just retire properly. Why are you trying to grab attention like this?!"

"Without Jordan protecting her, your Ziwei would probably have been played to death by Shaq and Kobe."

"No matter how much you black lackeys talk, the future of the Wizards belongs to Fang Xinghe, not that bald old black man."

"Watch your mouth! Your Xiaofang isn't even worthy of carrying Qiao Shen's shoes!"

"Damn it! So what if it's not clean? Give me your address if you dare!"

Even before the one-on-one duel began, the domestic audience was already extremely excited. These days, offline PKs are all the rage, and there were actually people willing to fight offline for Fang Xinghe.

It's almost certain that if Fang Xinghe loses the one-on-one duel, a fight will break out in China.

As the clock ticked closer to 8 o'clock, Fang Xinghe and Da Dan appeared in TNT's interview footage.

In the locker room, Danzi, a cigar dangling from his lips, gives his final interview.

His old friend Barkley pounced on him, hugged him, and asked, "So, are you ready to give SR a good kick in the ass?"

Danzi grinned, looking incredibly cool.

"I hope you bet on me to win."

"Of course, of course!"

Barkley laughed heartily: "Don't you dare lose, or I'll laugh at you for the rest of my life!"

Meanwhile, Smith was also interviewing Fang Xinghe.

"SR, did you know that the betting companies in Las Vegas have opened odds specifically for this one-on-one match? Jordan has a slightly higher chance of winning, at 1 to 1.08. Your odds are 1 to 1.22. Do you have anything to say about this?"

American television programs are really "free," and topics about spinach are openly broadcast on television.

Fang Xinghe frowned: "I hate gambling. Next question."

So Smith tried a different approach to provoke him.

"Okay, do you know your approval rating? Less than 18% of respondents believe you can win."

“Very good.” Fang Xinghe reacted quickly, uttering a golden sentence: “Truth is only in the hands of a few.”

……

7:.

Jordan and Fang Xinghe took to the court and warmed up in the middle.

The league specially invited Neil Fink, the home commentator for the Chicago Bulls. As the lights dimmed and the classic Sirius Black theme played, Neil Fink opened the game with his signature voice, "And from Chicago." The audience at the stadium and those watching on television felt as if they had been transported back to that era, and they couldn't help but shed tears.

Jordan jogged onto the court under the spotlight and waved to the audience.

"Wow, Michael Jordan!"

In an instant, cheers erupted, and the 20674 spectators at the MCI Center nearly blew the roof off the stadium.

In contrast, Fang Xinghe's appearance was unremarkable.

Some Wizards fans applauded and cheered for the team's future, but most of the audience remained critical and did not give him a more enthusiastic response.

But that doesn't matter. Fang Xinghe knows what he can do, and he also knows how fickle they are.

The two met in the center of the court, raised their hands, and slapped each other hard.

Smith immediately exclaimed, "My God! Look at their hands, how big is the difference?"

In the close-up shot, Fang Xinghe's hand was at least three sizes smaller than Jordan's.

To ensure a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing appearance when filming movies and TV series, his hands are in standard proportions to his limbs, with long, slender fingers and a narrow palm, making him more suitable for playing the piano than basketball.

Jordan noticed this and taunted, "Baby, can you even hold a basketball?"

"This kind of ball?"

Fang Xinghe tilted his head to look at the basketball that had rolled to his feet in the middle of the court and smiled.

"I can't hold it very well, but I can smash it with a flick of my wrist."

Danzi: ? ? ?
What does "smash" mean?
Before Fang Xinghe could finish speaking, he suddenly pulled his foot sideways and flicked the basketball into the air with his toes. Then he raised his right hand and slammed it down.

"boom!"

"puff!"

The sphere underwent a violent deformation under that whip strike, and then crashed to the ground like an orange meteorite, moving so fast that it could not be captured by sight.

The next instant, the violently deformed ball collided with the floor. Under the double pressure, the basketball bladder finally couldn't withstand it, making a loud screech of air leakage. It bounced less than 10 centimeters and finally rolled to the side in a crooked manner.

Jordan: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ

"Wow!"

A gasp erupted from the crowd, with countless people shouting "Oh my god!" and others instinctively covering their mouths.

The hosts, Barkley and Smith, stood there dumbfounded, their stunned expressions transmitted to millions of households via the broadcast signal.

For at least a second, Barkley suddenly clutched his head.

"Holy shit, shit, shit, shit!"

Smith then told a dry, lame joke: "You can tell they were really angry with each other..."

“No,” Barkley corrected carefully, “Only Star River was really angry, while Michael was scared. Did you see his face? He was nervous!”

That's right, anyone familiar with Jordan can notice that the basketball god's eye twitches at a slightly abnormal frequency.

Danzi is a tough guy, no doubt about it, but he's really not good at fighting.

Fang Xinghe raised an eyebrow at him: "So, you still firmly believe that having big hands is a great thing?"

This guy……

This guy!
Danzi was so angry that his temples throbbed.

His face darkened, and he forced out an angry roar from his throat: "This is a basketball game! If you want to fight, then bring it on!"

嗳？
Fang Xinghe was somewhat surprised, then laughed heartily.

"Great, I now believe you are a fully healthy Jordan, inside and out. Great! Let's let our skills speak for themselves."

If off-the-books tactics are useful, there's nothing wrong with using them.

But as things stand now, using underhanded tactics is completely useless. It would be even better to have a real, top-level showdown with Da Dan, who is in peak physical and mental condition.

Challenging limits and pushing the impossible is a very joyful thing.

Fang Xinghe became increasingly uncertain about his chances of winning, yet he grew increasingly excited.

A surge of passion welled up from his chest and spread throughout his body.

The two players returned to their respective halves of the court to warm up.

At this moment, the media around the world were in an uproar.

"what is that?"

"Star River's Chinese Kung Fu!"

"Incredible!"

"Wow! So cool!"

"The most ferocious martial saint of the empire! Xi Kuoyi!"

"My God! Fang Xinghe gave Jordan a real shock right from the start! With a casual flick of his wrist, he blasted the basketball apart, like a demon descending from the heavens, truly a god among men!"

"This is not just violence, it's violence that is beautiful to the extreme!"

In repeated replays on various television stations, Fang Xinghe's movements were executed flawlessly and effortlessly, displaying both the exquisite beauty of perfectly coordinated action and the explosive power of violence.

Audiences these days have never seen anything like this before! I almost peed my pants!
Domestically, there's Mimi Tangtang; in the cherry blossom world, there's Yui Hei-hei; in South Korea, there's Yoo Jin Hyori… each one is louder than the last.

Hollywood actresses, needless to say, after seeing Fang Xinghe's performance, they wished they were the ones getting slapped instead.

The pop diva, her mouth agape with envy, licked her lips and exclaimed, "Oh my god! Does anyone have his contact information? I want to go see him play basketball live, the kind where he absolutely blows the ball out of the game!"

Anne Hathaway, who just rose to fame with "The Princess Diaries"; Scarlett Johansson, who is currently filming "American Rhapsody"; Angelina Jolie, who has developed a strong interest in action films because of "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider"...

Too many people find it unbelievable, too many people remember this slow-motion scene vividly, and too many people are filled with curiosity and awe for the Milky Way because of it...

This is not basketball, but it is a more universal and profound calling card than basketball.

This is a true Chinese martial arts master, the first step in conquering the world.

(End of this chapter)