He brought the ball past half-court, ran a pick-and-roll with Boozer at the top of the arc, and passed to James cutting on the wing. James finished with a powerful tomahawk dunk... The Chosen One had finally made his mark.

But this time, the fans’ attention was still on Su Xi.

After all, it was Su Xi’s steal.

Su Xi turned, his killing intent palpable as he walked toward his side of the court.

The fans in ARCO Arena saw Su Xi’s posture on the overhead jumbotron. They let out some boos, but they no longer had the spirit for a coordinated chant.

They were finally starting to worry about Chris Webber.

They were no longer as arrogant as before, nor did they still believe they could easily crush this insolent rookie.

They realized Webber’s physical condition wasn’t what it used to be. His knee injuries had caused a severe decline. That rookie was right: Chris Webber really wasn’t a generational talent anymore.

But why did Chris have to provoke this rookie before the game? Could it be... was this battle really going to end according to Su Xi’s will?

Su Xi walked to the frontcourt. He stopped in front of Webber for two or three seconds and said, "This isn’t over."

Finish off your enemy completely. Don’t go soft for the sake of an empty reputation.

That was Su Xi’s rule on the court.

Su Xi continued to keep pace with Christie, but his eyes kept glancing over at Chris Webber.

The staring made Webber a little unnerved. Webber wasn’t a coward. But from college to the pros, he had never won a truly tough battle and was famous for choking in clutch moments.

Webber had never seen a rookie like Su Xi. He originally thought Su Xi was just a madman who ran his mouth. But after the first possession on the court, he deeply realized that this guy was ruthless to the bone. He seemed extremely calm, just like when he was talking trash on TV. But he was serious, and his seriousness was a manifestation of: ’If you can’t kill me, I’ll kill you.’

This was a stark contrast to his handsome face and his sunny, even somewhat shy, smile.

Mike Bibby ran a pick-and-roll with Brad Miller, then dished it to Miller. Miller took the shot... and finally made the Kings’ first field goal of the night.

ARCO Arena finally breathed a sigh of relief. They never dreamed a rookie could exude such oppressive pressure. Before the game, they had all confidently believed that Webber would effortlessly destroy Su Xi.

The game continued.

Su Xi brought the ball past half-court, charged in from the top of the arc, and drove straight into the paint, heading right for Webber.

Webber and Bibby double-teamed him.

Su Xi forced his way past Bibby’s help defense, faked a quick pass, and Webber instinctively fell back. But Su Xi jumped, overpowering Webber to score the basket.

Su Xi was like a bloodthirsty Shark. He was taking advantage of Webber’s weakness to finish him off.

He was making good on the harsh words he’d spoken in Los Angeles: ’How the war ends, and in what manner, that’s for me to decide.’

He backed up his talk.

Charles Barkley said on TV, "If Webber can’t respond forcefully, then tonight won’t just be about humiliation. It’ll be a turning point in his career. He’ll enter a rapid decline, and more and more young players will lose their fear and start running wild on him."

Webber realized this too.

So, he once again received the ball above the free-throw line.

Su Xi didn’t disappoint, rushing up as soon as Webber caught the ball.

’You want a fight? Then let’s fight!’

Webber turned his back to him, backing Su Xi down as he pushed backward.

On screen, Webber looked a full size bigger than Su Xi.

Webber managed to push back two steps, but it took every ounce of his strength.

He hadn’t expected Su Xi’s lower body strength to be so formidable. Generally, guards didn’t focus on training their lower body in order to maintain their speed and agility.

But this rookie was strange through and through.

After forcing his way back two steps, he spun quickly, trying to shoot, but Su Xi was stuck to him, giving him no space to release the ball. He held the ball high with both hands, afraid to bring it down and have Su Xi strip it away... Su Xi’s demonstrated ability to poke the ball loose made him extremely wary.

But even with the ball held high, Su Xi was constantly obstructing his vision, making it difficult to pass.

The two were pressed together as if they were slow dancing.

Just as Webber spotted a teammate in his peripheral vision and was about to make the pass... James came streaking in from the side. Seeing Su Xi treating Webber like a punching bag, he wanted to pick on the weakling too. He leaped up and snatched the ball right out of the air.

This was a savage.

Hailed by authoritative media as the most physically gifted perimeter player besides Jordan in the last 20 years.

He ripped the ball from Webber’s hands, and Su Xi immediately followed up on the wing.

James charged inside the three-point line, drew the primary defender, then passed the ball to Su Xi. Su Xi took one step on his drive and then tossed the ball up.

James was about to leap over Christie’s defense for the alley-oop, but Ricky Davis came flying in from the side, grabbed the ball, and slammed it into the hoop.

After the thunderous dunk, he raised his eyebrows, his face screaming: ’This is the keen instinct of a 20-5-5 superstar.’

James looked at Su Xi with a hint of dissatisfaction.

Su Xi spread his hands. ’I didn’t expect it either. Who knew this old geezer would play dirty and launch a surprise attack?’

"Jack, with you and me, it’s more than enough to make Chris Webber go home in defeat tonight," James said to Su Xi on the way back to their side of the court.

Before Su Xi could reply, the "20-5-5" on the side chimed in sarcastically, "Little Sheep Su Xi doesn’t need you to make Chris Webber go home in defeat."

Instantly, James shot Ricky Davis a look that could kill.

Davis kept his head high, pretending he didn’t see it.

The conflict between him and James was becoming more and more overt.

Ricky Davis currently felt he was on a 50-50 level with James. Even though James was the rising star, even though he was a Cleveland local, even though the media was hyping him up... ’But... I’m a superstar in my prime. The team definitely has to consider the weight of a 20-5-5 player.’

Webber didn’t touch the ball on the following possessions, and the Kings started scoring again.

Adelman even subbed him out seven minutes into the first quarter, bringing in the veteran Divac to play a twin-towers lineup with Brad Miller.

With the scoreless Webber off the court, the Kings’ offense flowed much more smoothly.

Kenny Smith couldn’t find anything to boast about on TV anymore.

Barkley taunted from the side, "This is the Ewing Theory. The Kings play better without their King."

"Kenny, what do you think of Jack’s performance tonight? Do you still think Chris Webber is going to destroy him?" Barkley asked deliberately.

Kenny Smith sounded deflated. He said, "Well... um... you have to look at both sides of things. Why is Webber playing so-so tonight? That’s something worth thinking about. Maybe we need to trace it back to last season, or even earlier. Right, the knee injury is an objective factor. But it’s not like you can say Little Sheep Su Xi is playing poorly. Anyway, the game isn’t over yet..."

Smith spewed a bunch of nonsense. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Everyone knew he had nothing left to say now. Before the game, his speech had been grand and resounding.

His hemming and hawing added a lot of comedic effect to the broadcast.

At this point, the Kings gradually seized the initiative.

Just as Charles Barkley had said, the Kings became stronger after Chris Webber left the court. It was like a patient who’d had their appendix removed and was now jumping around, full of life.

Could it be that Su Xi was going to win the personal duel but lose his debut game tonight?

...

...