Dominating U-17: Starting as the Tennis Tyrant

"Raphael!! Hit his backhand!! Pull yourself together!!" "Dammit... If we lose like this, the Azure Snake Court's reputation will be ruined!!" The surrounding thugs had various expressions. Some were cheering for the older man named "Raphael" on the court. Others already looked worried and anxious. But... The reality was brutal. A few minutes later, the teenage boy on the court swung his racket and sent a slice shot just over the net. Raphael lunged desperately to save it, but he was just a step too slow. He could only watch helplessly as the tennis ball bounced in front of him and spun out of the court in an arc. This winning point caused the corners of the noble-looking boy's lips to curl upward into a playful, triumphant smile. "Heh heh, it's over!" "Tch! Not bad! You, the Guardian of the Azure Snake Court, are a bit stronger than that guy from the White Horse Court a few days ago!" "According to your Holy Lord Association's rules, now that I've arrived, you all have to get the hell off this court, right?" James Nobel IV spoke, taunting the defeated Raphael with his racket. His eyes held a flicker of disdain for the Guardian of Azure Snake Court. As a recognized genius among Switzerland's new generation of tennis players, James Nobel IV considered himself the most brilliant star of his age group. The Genius Young Master—that was the title he alone deserved. But... Growing up in Bern, he had heard of someone else two years ago. Or rather... The owner of a certain title. The Holy Lord! The name alone was undeniably eye-catching. Rumor had it that this individual known as the "Holy Lord" was an orphan. For reasons unknown, he began frequenting the street courts of Bern's East District at the age of nine. By eleven, he was already capable of defeating adult tennis enthusiasts. By fifteen, he had seized control of all the street courts in the East District and established the Holy Lord Association. Using his overwhelming tennis skills, he swept away all the "Court Bullies" who had dared to interfere with the street courts or extort profits from them. In his prime, after he had unified and taken control of all the street courts in Bern's four districts, the title "Holy Lord" spread completely through the street tennis community. Bern's four districts—East, West, South, and North—now had only three street courts each, totaling twelve! The twelve courts were named after twelve special animals. To seize all the profits generated by these twelve street courts and take over the right to speak for Bern's street tennis, one had to defeat the Guardian stationed at each of the twelve courts! And then, one had to defeat the "Holy Lord" himself! At first, of course, many people refused to accept this and came to challenge him! But clearly, no matter how many came, seventy percent fell to the twelve Guardians chosen by the "Holy Lord." The remaining thirty percent, although they had successively defeated those twelve Guardians, were sent straight to the hospital by the "Holy Lord" himself when they challenged him. From then on, almost no street or amateur tennis player in Bern ever wanted to interfere with the street courts in the four districts again. As a world tennis powerhouse, Switzerland naturally had its share of truly top-tier tennis players. But those people didn't care about who owned the street courts. And those who did care about the profits from the street courts lacked the strength to challenge the "Holy Lord." A month ago... James Nobel IV became interested in the Holy Lord Association and became its newest challenger. Azure Snake Court. This was the sixth court he had challenged! His goal, of course, wasn't the money from the street courts. Nor was it the prestige that came with controlling them. He simply wanted to prove... That he was more talented than this "Holy Lord" guy! That he was stronger! Lowly street court trash had no place on the big stage! "Damn it!! Don't get so full of yourself, you bastard!!" "You damn middle schooler!! Who do you think you are?! How dare you provoke the Holy Lord Association like this!!" "You bastard!! Apologize!!" "You're too arrogant!! Do you really think you can defeat all the Guardians?!" Inside the court, the Azure Snake Court members, led by Raphael, all wore furious expressions. They could accept losing the match. But they couldn't forgive this middle schooler's arrogant attitude. Facing the anger of Raphael and the others, James Nobel IV sneered, "Just as I thought... you're nothing but a rabble..." "Whatever! I can't be bothered to waste any more words on you lot!" "For the next match, notify the Guardians of the West District Swift Rabbit Court in three days! I, James Nobel IV, will come to defeat—" Just as he was about to leave the name of the next court he would challenge and turn to walk away... Clang— The previously closed chain-link gate of the court was pushed open from the outside. The sound made everyone present instinctively turn their heads to look. A young Asian man, roughly eighteen years old, appeared. He stood over 1.8 meters tall. His short black hair contrasted with eyes that burned like torches yet gave off an unusually cold impression. His jawline was as sharp as if carved by a knife. He wore a pale gold sports jacket. Though it was somewhat loose, it couldn't hide his straight, upright posture. His appearance caused Raphael and the others to stiffen momentarily before they erupted into excited shouts: "Boss!!" Immediately, they ignored James Nobel IV and rushed toward the newcomer. Their exclamation made James Nobel IV's eyes widen in shock. Boss?! That meant... This young man was the one he was looking for... The Holy Lord?! "Body of the Holy Lord! Power of Talismans!" "Body of the Holy Lord! Power of Talismans!" Bei Xiao looked at Raphael and the others surrounding him, his expression remaining largely unchanged. He simply spoke in a calm tone, his voice cutting through their excited gazes: "I thought you'd be off the courts by now. It's been a year! You've worked hard." Raphael and the others shook their heads vehemently at his words. "Boss!! Don't say that!! If you hadn't led us to consolidate all the street courts in Bern back then, we'd probably still be out here looking for fights!" "That's right! Even though you've been gone for a year, Boss, the street courts are bringing in more and more profit! Managing your territory is the least we can do!" "Exactly! Boss, if you hadn't helped us, we'd probably still be stuck in our old line of work!" Bei Xiao nodded slightly. He was genuinely gratified that Raphael and the others had managed to maintain the lifestyle he wanted for them during his year-long absence from Bern. Though Raphael and his crew were all in their late teens, with some even in their early twenties, their respect for Bei Xiao was heartfelt. These were children who had grown up in the slums of Bern. Growing up in the starkly stratified environment of Bern, they had received virtually no formal education. Their parents were all slum dwellers. Most had passed away; even those still alive lacked the means to truly support Raphael and the others. To survive, Raphael and his own had banded together. The younger ones begged. The older ones found ways to become "knives"—muggers who cornered people. Or they became "pliers"—pickpockets. Bei Xiao first met them on a street court. At the time, he was just over ten years old. Raphael and his gang had tried to rob him of the 500 francs he'd just won in a streetball bet. After teaching them a lesson, Bei Xiao saw that they were merely trying to survive. That was when he conceived the idea of forming the Holy Lord Association. He would cultivate Raphael and others—those who might not have great tennis talent but were willing to endure hardship. By seizing control of all the street courts in Bern, they would generate wealth. This wasn't just to give them honest work to support themselves and their few remaining relatives. It also meant Bei Xiao himself would never have to worry about money again. Who could have imagined that from that day until now... Nearly ten years had already passed! And he had been in this world... for a full year! A year ago, Bei Xiao had unexpectedly arrived in the world of The Prince of Tennis. An orphan, he had been abandoned as a child in an orphanage in Bern. When he was seven years old, the orphanage could no longer maintain its operations due to financial difficulties. He was supposed to have been sent to another orphanage or adopted by a wealthy family. But Bei Xiao chose to escape! He did so because, at that time, he discovered something on his body that felt incredibly familiar. To be precise... It was a Talisman!! The Talisman was engraved with a pure white horse! The moment his consciousness first linked with the White Horse Talisman, his body underwent a qualitative transformation. At seven years old, his strength, speed, reaction time, and all other physical attributes far exceeded those of an ordinary child his age. In that instant, he also understood that the White Horse Talisman was one of the powers of the "Holy Lord" he had been thinking of! His first contact with the White Horse Talisman after all these years completely unlocked the power within his body, granting him the "Body of the Holy Lord." The ability of the White Horse Talisman was simple! No matter how exhausted Bei Xiao became, he would receive one complete recovery of his physical and mental strength every day! This also gave Bei Xiao the idea of escaping his original fate. If he could rely on himself, he absolutely did not want to live under someone else's roof. After he picked up a discarded racket on the street courts, he began his own tennis career. With the White Horse Talisman and the Body of the Holy Lord, combined with learning tennis by observing people playing on the street courts during the day, Bei Xiao's training was harsh enough to be called brutal!! In just one short year, he had already reached... infinitely close to National Level! At the same time! During this year, he also continuously studied his own body. He discovered that there wasn't just the White Horse Talisman in his body!! But rather, a complete set of Zodiac Talismans resided within him! These talismans could not only be unlocked but also enhanced! As long as an opponent's talent or strength could cause them to react, defeating that opponent would allow the talismans' power to be enhanced to a certain extent. This was also the reason why he, at the age of seventeen, left Bern. In Bern, the tennis players he could find were becoming increasingly mediocre. Those who possessed both talent and skill were unlikely to play against him. Meanwhile, the challengers who came to seize the Holy Lord Association's street courts couldn't trigger any reaction from the Twelve Talismans. This was because as the Talismans' power grew, their requirements for opponents became more demanding. To activate a Talisman, an opponent had to possess at least one of the two: exceptional skill or exceptional talent. Therefore, Bei Xiao chose to leave Bern and wander the world. Now, after a year away, he had returned to Bern for a visit, though he still had other places to go. Just as Bei Xiao was lost in thought, Henry, who had come to challenge the Azure Snake Court, noticed Raphael and the others surrounding him—the so-called "Holy Lord"—and talking. Henry's expression soured. "Hey! You're their boss? The Holy Lord who rules all the street courts in Bern?" Only then did Bei Xiao notice the stranger on the court. Raphael and the others turned to glare at Henry in fury. Bei Xiao was no slow learner. From Raphael's expression and the racket in the stranger's hand, he knew this man was no friend or guest. He was a challenger here to crash the party. "Lost?" "Uh... Boss! I was this close to winning! Just leave him to us, you should rest after your long journey!" "What's the score?" Raphael scratched his head, looking awkward. "11-0!" Bei Xiao nodded, his expression unchanged as he looked at Henry, whose face bore a clear smirk of provocation. "You look like you have money. Get on the court!" "If you lose, leave all your belongings and get out!" "If I win, all the street courts in Bern belong to me!" Henry's eyes lit up. He knew he hadn't guessed wrong! He even felt incredibly lucky! He had thought he'd have to defeat the Guardian of the last remaining street court before facing the "Holy Lord." But now, the timing was perfect! "Hmph! Let's see what you've got, 'Holy Lord'!"