Lame from the Start, I See Through Dead Ends

During the Xuanhe era of the Northern Song, cuju, or soccer, is all the rage. But behind the official club known as the Qiyun Society lurks a “Nuo Ghost Game,” where human lives are used as stakes.

The protagonist, Shen Wuyou, was once a cuju prodigy. After he stumbled upon the corruption behind the scenes, his right leg was broken, leaving him crippled. Three years later, he unexpectedly awakens the “Illuminating Mystic Eye,” which lets him see through things and perceive their true nature. He can read the way muscles move, predict the ball’s path, and see through anything, revealing bones buried beneath the field, hidden weapons inside the ball, and the sinister schemes in people’s hearts.

He returns to the game despite his crippled body and meets Luo Qianji, a mysterious young woman who uses puppets to rehearse tactics. Together, they form the “Ghost Mask Team,” made up of outcasts from the martial world. In every match, defeat means death. As Shen Wuyou uses his mystic eye to crush his opponents with tactical brilliance, he also searches the field for clues to a string of murders. In the end, he exposes a shocking conspiracy threatening the imperial court and kicks his way through the labyrinth surrounding imperial power with a decisive final strike.