Chapter Twenty-Six: Basketball Paradise

At the same time, countless others waited eagerly: influential figures in the internet industry, founders of the four major training institutions, advocates for rural teachers, and nearly a million young internet café regulars.

From eight o’clock onward, the Shishuo website displayed a maintenance notice, announcing that it would be upgraded to the next version in one hour. Everyone began to wait with anticipation. Competitors wondered what tricks Shishuo was up to—after all, a site that had only launched less than a day ago was already undergoing maintenance and an upgrade, a first in the industry. The children, on the other hand, were hoping that after this upgrade, they might finally be able to find a master to apprentice under.

Since the night before, nearly a million young people from internet cafés had registered as disciples on the website, uploading their personal information. Yet, few had succeeded in finding a master—almost none, in fact. This led many of them to question themselves: Was it the website that was inadequate, or were they themselves lacking? Most of them ended up doubting themselves, for as internet café youths, they were often disliked, blamed, or punished by parents and teachers, and many had long since lost that most precious quality of youth: confidence.

However, the news of the website’s upgrade brought them new hope.

Saturday night, nine o’clock.

Nearly a million children, scattered across the country, surged onto the Shishuo website. The massive influx of users almost brought the site to its knees, but thanks to Wan Cong’s foresight in adding new servers just days before, the site held up admirably.

Upon entering, the youths found that the homepage hadn’t changed much. The blue and green tones and borders now gave off a livelier aura. Dominating the center was a banner featuring three words—youth, sweat, basketball—alongside a simple cartoon animation of a slam dunk, making the theme instantly clear.

Some were overjoyed; others disappointed. Those who loved basketball were thrilled.

Basketball has a huge following in Huaxia, as evidenced by the ubiquity of basketball courts in every city. Almost every major city has basketball parks and gyms—each with its own basketball community. Even small counties often have sports squares, like the court Lin Lang once took Lin Nan to.

This basketball-themed update sent the basketball-loving youths clicking eagerly into the new section.

The screen immediately switched to the basketball category. Before their eyes was a gallery of basketball legends—streetball icons and retired professionals alike—all now listed as “masters” in the basketball section of Shishuo.

Each profile card included a name, photo, and a brief introduction: career history, basketball achievements, titles, and so on. In the top right corner was an official certification mark. Those passionate about basketball instantly recognized the legendary faces among them.

Could they really apprentice under these legendary figures?

Each child wondered silently. The quick-witted among them began searching the website for ways to become a disciple.

Soon, some discovered that Shishuo’s upgrade was more than cosmetic. For example, when they tried to apprentice under “Liuchuan Mu”—the streetball legend from Lingnan City—a message popped up outlining his requirements:

Age: 16-20.
Height: no requirement.
Wingspan: no requirement.
Running vertical reach: 315cm (just high enough to grab the rim—barely dunking height).

Alongside, a note read:
You must meet these requirements to apply.
If you do not, and you lie on your application, your account will be permanently banned upon discovery.
The first rule of apprenticeship is to be an honest child!

...

Everyone who admired Liuchuan Mu knew that, despite being only 178cm tall, he had won multiple national dunk contests. His nickname was inspired by his love for a certain anime character. Dunking was his passion, so it was only natural that he set a dunking standard for his disciples.

A running vertical of 315cm seemed daunting to many, so they scrolled down to see what else was on offer.

Soon, they came across a “Basketball Jump Training Plan.” Spanning one year, it detailed daily jump exercises and the corresponding training volume, from warm-ups to major moves and weighted training, divided into six stages. It included not just workouts, but also rest schedules and dietary guidelines—all very thorough. The training times were all set outside of regular school hours—some days required a certain number of jump rope repetitions during lunch break, others a set number of sprints after school, and so on. There were special notes suggesting that joining the school basketball or track team would provide more training time and access to coaches and equipment for additional help.

In short, each of the two or three dozen basketball legends in Shishuo’s basketball section had their own standards for accepting disciples. Some required a particular reach, some a certain height or wingspan, others specific physical abilities. Without exception, every standard was challenging.

Luckily, beneath each criterion was a corresponding training plan. All, however, demanded considerable time—anywhere from one to three years. As long as you were healthy and followed the plan rigorously, you could achieve the target within the specified timeframe. If you were especially diligent or talented, perhaps even sooner.

By now, many of the children understood. Middle and high school years are the time of youth—neither too early nor too late to understand what’s at stake. Shishuo had laid out the path before them. All that remained was for them to prove themselves with sweat, perseverance, determination, and perhaps a bit of talent, showing that they could pursue their dreams.

Scrolling further down, the ending was a lengthy passage:

Children, if for some reason you haven’t done well in your studies at the age when you should be learning—if your grades are poor, or you even dislike studying—then starting now, from today, you must ask yourself what you will do when you grow up, what you can do.

When your classmates achieve excellent grades through study, what have you gained during those same hours in class and after school? Will you let your precious youth slip by aimlessly?

Now, take a look at the paths these basketball legends have walked:

Liuchuan Mu, age: 30. Years playing basketball: 15. Height: 178cm. Running vertical: 346cm. More than a hundred games played, dozens of championship trophies.

Even more injuries: three knee surgeries, cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries, all ten toes deformed from constant friction—the little toe now completely gone.

(A shocking photo was attached.)

Ask yourself from the heart: Do you truly like basketball? Do you truly love it? Are you really willing to give everything for it?

If so, start training tonight! Choose the master you admire most, and rigorously follow their training plan.

Prove with your actions that you are worthy of becoming your idol’s apprentice!

If basketball isn’t your passion, that’s fine. This site will gradually expand into other categories, just as you see now with basketball.

Finally, we wish you all find your ideal master here, someone who can help you walk farther and faster along the road to your dreams!

...

Those not interested in basketball all received an official message in their disciple accounts, prompting them to check out the basketball section. Upon doing so, they too understood the good intentions behind Shishuo. Perhaps next time, the update will be dedicated to what they love—maybe soccer, painting, dance, or something else.

At the same time, a massive wave of basketball enthusiasts flooded into the “Shishuo Basketball Section” through the public platforms of those basketball legends.

For the first time, they found the legends so close, with the opportunity to actually apprentice under them!

A few well-known young basketball players quickly registered as disciples, uploaded their information, and sent their applications to their idols. Clearly, they truly loved basketball—their training had long since met the required standards.

Right then, a nineteen-year-old known as “The Answer” successfully became Liuchuan Mu’s disciple, his title instantly appearing under Liuchuan Mu’s profile.

Countless others watched enviously, wishing they could be “The Answer” and become Liuchuan Mu’s disciple. Most, however, discussed among themselves, recognizing that Liuchuan Mu had clearly heard of “The Answer” before and thus accepted him so swiftly.

They soon discovered the website’s various “Basketball Training Plans,” covering physical fitness, jumping, explosiveness, ball-handling, shooting—everything imaginable about basketball. There were even detailed guides on muscle-building diets, what to eat, how to train specific muscle groups, and more.

Basketball lovers were stunned—this was truly a paradise for basketball enthusiasts!

So many had suffered injuries in their youth from misguided training. If only they’d had access to a site like this, things might have been different.

And with the website’s core “master-disciple” philosophy, many older basketball fans realized that this place would become a basketball sanctuary, a cradle for future talent.

Perhaps, under this unique apprenticeship model, wave after wave of basketball prodigies would emerge.

With this in mind, they all shared news of this basketball paradise with their fellow players.

They now fully understood why so many “basketball legends” had joined the platform—it was all to contribute to the growth of basketball in Huaxia.

By the end of that night, Shishuo had become the gathering place for basketball enthusiasts. There was no one who loved basketball who hadn’t heard of it.

Shishuo’s first upgrade and maintenance was a complete success!