Recaps

After transmigrating into eighteen-year-old Wang Chao, a former national table tennis coach considered his future while spending the holiday with his friends. Their teasing stirred his old dream of becoming a champion, and he resolved to try playing despite his age.

• Wang Mei nagged Wang Chao about studying and supporting her in old age, and he escaped when his phone rang.
• Wang Chao met Han Feng, Liu Yue, and Hou Xiaojian after their placement exams, and Han Feng suggested they play table tennis at Mingyue Stadium.
• While the group waited for a table, Hou Xiaojian said he planned to study cooking at vocational school, and Wang Chao struggled to imagine a future in a world with unfamiliar history and culture.
• Wang Chao said he would become a table tennis coach, but his friends mocked his skills and pointed out that he was already eighteen.
• Wang Chao remembered how a wrist injury had ended his own playing career and how he later became a renowned coach, then wondered whether he could compete for a championship himself.
• A table opened at Mingyue Stadium, ending the conversation before Wang Chao could say more about his revived dream.

Wang Chao joined Han Feng, Hou Xiaojian, and Liu Yue for table tennis and discovered that his new body gave him exceptional control and awareness of the ball. He left Han Feng stunned after returning two serves with powerful attacks, the second striking Han Feng in the forehead.

• Wang Chao took his turn at the table and instinctively adopted a professional stance that surprised his friends.
• Han Feng served with heavy spin, but Wang Chao read the ball and smashed it past him.
• Wang Chao realized he could sense the ball's trajectory and control his shots with extraordinary precision.
• Han Feng tried a fast, spinning long serve, and Wang Chao stepped back and smashed it into Han Feng's forehead.

Wang Chao and Han Feng’s table tennis game was interrupted when Yan Feng brought in Jiangcheng’s substitute team for an assessment. As the matches continued, Wang Chao’s unusual vision let him spot flaws in the players’ techniques, and Tian Zhengguang glared at him after mistaking his yawns for insults.

• Wang Chao challenged Han Feng to come over, but a crowd rushed into the court and a muscular player bumped Wang Chao’s shoulder.
• Yan Feng asked Han Feng and Wang Chao to yield the area for the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Team’s substitutes, while Han Feng pointed out the man who had bumped Wang Chao.
• Wang Chao stopped Han Feng from confronting the player, identified him as Tian Zhengguang, and dismissed his provocative look.
• Yan Feng hosted an assessment match featuring the substitutes, and Wang Chao watched as the spectators cheered their play.
• Wang Chao saw openings in the players’ serves with unusual clarity and kept yawning, prompting Tian Zhengguang to glare at him.

After the assessment, the stadium held exhibition matches for audience members, but Long Tao singled out Liu Yue and deliberately humiliated him. Han Feng stepped forward to challenge Long Tao, while Wang Chao recognized that Tian Zhengguang was behind the targeting.

• The assessment ended with Jiang Shan first, Tian Ye second, and Tian Zhengguang third, and Yan Feng arranged exhibition matches with audience members.
• Yan Feng overlooked Liu Yue and his friends, but Long Tao called Liu Yue onto the court and repeatedly smashed his serves.
• Long Tao hit Liu Yue in the cheek with a forced flick, and Wang Chao realized the player was deliberately humiliating him after seeing Tian Zhengguang applaud.
• Liu Yue quit, and Long Tao challenged Han Feng, who accepted to stand up for his friend.
• Yan Feng noticed something was wrong but chose to side with the players.

Wang Chao took Han Feng’s place at the table and used two deceptive serves to score against Long Tao. Long Tao was left embarrassed and unsettled after Wang Chao’s second serve exposed his skill.

• Han Feng tried to prepare himself to serve, but Wang Chao took the paddle and stepped in.
• Long Tao taunted Wang Chao with a forehand feint, but Wang Chao’s fast Sneak Long Serve struck Long Tao in the chest for a point.
• Long Tao protested that the serve was a sneak attack, then demanded another serve as the spectators jeered.
• Wang Chao tossed the ball high and used a Spin-or-No-Spin serve that Long Tao misread, sending his return off the table.
• Long Tao stood speechless and glanced toward Tian Zhengguang, wondering what to do after being tricked twice.

Wang Chao crushed Long Tao with a difficult return, then challenged Tian Zhengguang to a serious one-game match. Tian Zhengguang took the first point, leaving Wang Chao facing a professional’s counterattacks and the old man warning that his amateur strategy put him at a disadvantage.

• Wang Chao returned Long Tao’s serve with a sharp, wide-angle flick, prompting Long Tao to admit he could not beat him.
• Tian Zhengguang took Long Tao’s paddle and challenged Wang Chao, who proposed that one game decide the winner.
• Old Zhao and Old Li allowed Tian Zhengguang to play despite Old Tian’s objections, and Yan Feng refereed the match.
• Wang Chao opened with a Sneak Long Serve, but Tian Zhengguang counter-smashed his returns and won the first point, 1:0.
• An old man told Han Feng, Liu Yue, and Hou Xiaojian that Wang Chao’s lack of professional training and match strategy could put him at a disadvantage.

Wang Chao studied Tian Zhengguang while falling behind 8:0, then adapted to his new body and began using his superior technique to close the gap. After winning four consecutive points, Wang Chao left the game poised to take control.

• Tian Zhengguang repeatedly targeted Wang Chao's backhand and raced to an 8:0 lead.
• Tian Zhengguang mocked Wang Chao's penhold grip and declared that he had no chance of beating a professional.
• Wang Chao announced that he was getting serious and scored with a sharp inside-table flick.
• Wang Chao returned Tian Zhengguang's powerful high-toss serve with a direct shot, then punished Tian Zhengguang for popping the ball up.
• Wang Chao won four straight points as he adjusted to his new body and became confident he could outplay Tian Zhengguang.

Wang Chao won his match against Tian Zhengguang by unveiling a powerful penhold backhand counter. The crowd recognized it as the legendary Penhold Backhand Loop, a technique that had made national player Bai Feng famous.

• Wang Chao rallied from a tie to take an 10:8 lead over Tian Zhengguang.
• Tian Zhengguang called a timeout and consulted Coach Tian, Old Li, and Old Zhao about how to counter Wang Chao.
• Tian Zhengguang served a short, low backspin ball toward the middle-left, but Wang Chao anticipated the strategy and returned it with a penhold backhand counter.
• Wang Chao won 11:8, and the crowd erupted as an old man identified the shot as the legendary Penhold Backhand Loop.
• The chapter recounted how Bai Feng had used the technique to rise to world prominence and win a World Table Tennis Championships singles gold medal.

After defeating Tian Zhengguang, Wang Chao returned home and learned that Wang Mei had arranged for him to apprentice at a barber shop because she believed he would not get into college. He agreed to go the next day, then researched table tennis in this world and discovered that China remained dominant but had a more developed domestic league system.

• Wang Chao taunted Tian Zhengguang after their match, then escaped the crowd with his three friends.
• Wang Mei arrived home late with fried rice and told Wang Chao she had arranged an apprenticeship for him at Huimin Barber Shop under its owner, Tony.
• Wang Mei dismissed Wang Chao's objections, cited his poor mock-exam score, and decided he would skip the college entrance exam to learn a trade.
• Wang Chao agreed to start the apprenticeship the next day and went to his room to research table tennis online.
• Wang Chao learned that China Table Tennis was still dominant, though less overwhelmingly than he remembered, and that this world had a thriving Table Tennis First Division.

Wang Chao began apprenticing at Huimin Barber Shop and turned down his friends’ invitation to play ball so he could work and help Wang Mei. At the training base, coaches argued over who would represent the reserve squad in next week’s promotion-relegation match after Li Mu and Tian Zhengguang tied in the rankings.

• Wang Chao spent his first morning learning the barbershop trade from Tony teacher, then declined Han Feng and the others’ invitation to play ball.
• Tony teacher praised Wang Chao for settling down, advanced him five hundred yuan, and told him to buy meat for Wang Mei.
• Wang Bin reviewed the reserve squad rankings and questioned Tian Zhengguang’s poor results in the assessment held at Mingyue Stadium.
• Li Zhenguo pointed out that Li Mu had beaten Tian Zhengguang and had the same number of wins, though he ranked fourth because of point differential.
• Tian Qi argued that the top three should represent the reserve squad, while Li Zhenguo and Zhao Fuqiang called for a deciding match between Li Mu and Tian Zhengguang.

Wang Bin uncovered how the coaches had concealed Tian Zhengguang’s humiliating loss to a teenage amateur and disciplined the players and coaches involved. He ordered the coaches to find Wang Chao and invite him to the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Team’s training base for a trial.

• Li Zhenguo revealed that Tian Zhengguang had lost a casual match to a high school student, while Tian Qi and Zhao Fuqiang downplayed the defeat and said there was no recording.
• Wang Bin found an online video showing Wang Chao rally from 0–8 down to beat Tian Zhengguang with a Penhold Backhand Loop.
• Wang Bin fined and disciplined Tian Zhengguang, Long Tao, Tian Qi, Li Zhenguo, and Zhao Fuqiang for the match and their efforts to conceal it.
• Wang Bin told the coaches to find the teenage player and bring him in for a trial.
• Yan Feng contacted Han Tiande, who helped him obtain Wang Chao’s information, and Wang Bin ordered the three coaches to invite Wang Chao to the training base.

Wang Chao was challenged by Jiang Shan, a cocky young reserve-team player, and agreed to a match to test their skills. He took an early 4:0 lead by reading and outmaneuvering Jiang Shan with his attacks and deceptive serves.

• Jiang Shan visited Wang Chao at Huimin Barber Shop and challenged him to a match, saying he wanted to test the player he had watched at Mingyue Stadium.
• Jiang Shan taunted Wang Chao for lacking his own paddle and explained that he had studied recordings of Wang Chao's earlier match.
• Wang Chao borrowed Jiang Shan's spare paddle, and they began a best-of-seven match at an outdoor concrete table.
• Wang Chao attacked Jiang Shan's first two serves and won both points with decisive shots.
• Jiang Shan misread Wang Chao's short serve and failed to return it, then was caught off guard by a sudden long serve that struck his paddle handle, leaving him behind 4:0.

Wang Chao dominated Jiang Shan at table tennis, revealing how his physical training had improved his play. Jiang Shan’s frustration peaked after Wang Chao won a rally with a lucky edge ball, leaving him at 6:0 and mentally shattered.

• Jiang Shan served cautiously, then attacked repeatedly, but Wang Chao blocked seven smashes until Jiang Shan sent the ball off the table for a 5:0 score.
• Jiang Shan realized Wang Chao had outlasted him through superior strength and asked whether he had hidden his true ability before.
• Wang Chao reflected on building stamina, strength, and body control through his barbershop apprenticeship, extra meals, and daily shadow practice.
• Jiang Shan used a fast backhand twist, but Wang Chao returned it and retreated as Jiang prepared to smash.
• Wang Chao anticipated Jiang Shan’s smash, returned it with a sidespin chop that clipped the table edge, and took the point for 6:0.
• Jiang Shan cursed that his mentality had completely shattered.

Wang Chao thoroughly defeated Jiang Shan in their table tennis match and discovered a weakness in Jiang Shan’s play, but he stopped short of a complete rout to protect the young player’s confidence. Jiang Shan refused to play him again unless Wang Chao became his teammate.

• Wang Chao outplayed Jiang Shan with deceptive shots, taking the first two games 11:1 and 11:3 and building a 6:0 lead in the third.
• After Jiang Shan complained about Wang Chao’s tricks, Wang Chao promised standard serves but repeatedly placed backspin balls where Jiang Shan could not attack, revealing a shifting flaw in his play.
• Jiang Shan realized Wang Chao had found his weakness and asked for one more serve; Wang Chao deliberately served into the net instead of completing a bagel.
• Jiang Shan threw the ball away and quit, telling Wang Chao he would only play him again if Wang Chao became his teammate.
• Wang Chao reflected that he had hit too hard and had deliberately stopped the rout to avoid damaging Jiang Shan’s confidence.

After a humiliating loss to a strange opponent, Jiang Shan told Tian Ye that the encounter had shaken his confidence in table tennis. The next morning, Wang Chao arrived at the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Training Base for a tryout and barely passed the shuttle-run test.

• Jiang Shan challenged Tian Ye to a match, lost 3–0, and admitted that a freak opponent had made him doubt whether he knew how to play table tennis.
• Tian Qi, Li Zhenguo, and Zhao Fuqiang visited Wang Chao and invited him to a tryout; Wang Mei initially suspected he had paid them, but their credentials and explanation convinced her.
• Wang Mei called Tony teacher to request leave for Wang Chao after hearing about the tryout and the potential pay.
• Wang Chao arrived at the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Training Base the next morning, where Wang Bin began his fitness tests.
• Wang Chao warmed up before the shuttle run, thwarting Wang Bin's hoped-for chance to catch him neglecting basic precautions, but his poor stamina left him barely passing the test.

Wang Chao struggled through the tryout’s physical and ball-contacting tests, leading the players and Coach Wang Bin to doubt his ability. Though he admitted his stamina was poor, he insisted on playing an actual match, and several players volunteered to face him.

• Tian Qi stirred up an argument between Li Zhenguo and Zhao Fuqiang over whether Zhao Ge or Li Mu was stronger.
• Wang Chao performed poorly in the strength test, and Wang Bin continued the tryout with a ball-contacting test.
• Wang Chao missed more than thirty of a hundred balls, drawing laughter from the watching players.
• Wang Chao asked to try an actual match after acknowledging that he could not continue the endurance test.
• Several players rushed to volunteer to play Wang Chao, while he remained calm despite their contempt.

Wang Chao, exhausted after defeating Tian Zhengguang, faced Zhao Ge and relied on an unorthodox defensive style to withstand his attacks. Wang Chao took a 7:4 lead, and Zhao Ge’s inability to change direction left the coaches and players baffled.

• Wang Bin chose Zhao Ge to face Wang Chao first, with Li Mu reserved in case Zhao Ge lost.
• Zhao Ge took an early 4:1 lead by attacking Wang Chao’s weak movement and stamina.
• Wang Chao adjusted his stance and paddle angle to block Zhao Ge’s repeated drives, winning a long rally and drawing admiration from the spectators.
• Wang Chao won points on his serves by making Zhao Ge misread the spin, turning the score around to 6:4.
• Zhao Ge launched another powerful attack, but Wang Chao returned his smash to the opposite direction and extended his lead to 7:4.
• The players criticized Zhao Ge for attacking the same spot, while Zhao Fuqiang recognized that Zhao Ge could not change directions.

Wang Chao defeated Zhao Ge 2:0 with precise placement and defense, then began a match against Li Mu that revealed how effectively he anticipated and exploited his opponent’s weaknesses. As the game reached 3:3, Wang Bin struggled to understand Wang Chao’s unusual skill and high rate of scoring directly from serves.

• Wang Chao came back from 1:4 to win the first game against Zhao Ge 11:4, then rested on the floor while Wang Bin reconsidered his assumptions about him.
• Wang Chao beat Zhao Ge 11:3 in the second game, winning the match 2:0 and leaving Zhao Ge exhausted and discouraged.
• Zhao Fuqiang told Zhao Ge that Wang Chao’s table tennis skill seemed far beyond his physical ability, while Wang Bin watched in confusion.
• After resting for ten minutes, Wang Chao began playing Li Mu, whose defensive style and difficult-to-borrow power prompted Wang Bin to watch closely.
• At 3:3, Wang Chao had repeatedly placed the ball where Li Mu struggled most, forced him to run around the table, and scored directly from a serve.

Wang Chao defeated Li Mu in their tryout match with deceptive serves, impressing the reserve team despite his exhaustion. After Li Mu conceded, Wang Chao waited for Jiang Shan, who revealed that Wang Chao had already beaten him the day before and urged the coach to send Wang Chao to the main squad.

• Wang Chao took six straight points against Li Mu, reaching a 9:3 lead as the players recognized his skill.
• Wang Chao won the first game 11:3, fooling Li Mu with two deceptive serves; Li Mu later explained that he had tried to return them.
• Wang Chao said he could manage only one more match, and Wang Bin decided to wait for Jiang Shan rather than let Tian Ye play.
• Jiang Shan arrived and told Wang Bin that Wang Chao had already beaten him the previous day, then urged the coach to send Wang Chao to the main squad.

Wang Chao joined the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Team as a reserve and began conditioning under Tian Qi. At lunch, he discovered that the Cook preparing the cafeteria food was a terrible cook, and the Cook asked him to try several dishes.

• Wang Chao joined the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Team as a reserve player, and Wang Mei celebrated his allowance before asking whether the money was real.
• Jiang Shan helped Wang Chao settle into the dormitory and paid for his necessities after learning Wang Chao had almost no money.
• Tian Qi assigned Wang Chao to focus on physical conditioning, while teammates greeted him and asked for pointers.
• Jiang Shan tried to steer Wang Chao toward diet food, but Wang Chao filled his tray with richer dishes instead.
• The Cook sat beside Wang Chao and had him sample badly seasoned beef, undercooked chicken, and bland red braised pork belly.

Wang Chao adjusted to life at the training base, endured the Cook’s terrible meals, and built up his stamina while waiting to practice with a ball. The coaches restarted the internal round robin and reinstated Tian Zhengguang, leaving Wang Chao to face him first.

• Wang Chao learned from Jiang Shan that the Cook was a former national team coach who had turned down coaching jobs to work in the kitchen.
• Wang Chao continued running laps and eating the Cook’s dishes, while Tian Zhengguang lifted weights during his ban.
• Wang Chao tried to chat with the Cook, but the Cook rejected him, and Jiang Shan explained that many players had failed to win the Cook over.
• Wang Bin announced that the earlier round-robin results were void and that the coaches would hold a new assessment, with the top three advancing to promotion and relegation matches.
• Wang Bin waived Tian Zhengguang’s remaining punishment and included him in the competition; Tian Qi announced that Wang Chao would face Tian Zhengguang first.

Wang Chao faced Tian Zhengguang in the first match of a grueling round-robin tournament, where players had to complete sixteen best-of-seven matches. Wang Chao chose to conserve his stamina by ending points quickly with direct, precise attacks, and the first game left Tian Zhengguang overwhelmed and trailing 1–0.

• Tian Zhengguang greeted Wang Chao and chose to serve first after winning the coin toss.
• Tian Zhengguang tried long serves to force Wang Chao to move and wear him down, but Wang Chao attacked both serves and took the first two points.
• Wang Chao used fast, straightforward serves and precise attacks to race ahead 4–0, showing Head Coach Wang Bin that he planned to conserve energy by quickly crushing opponents.
• Wang Chao won the first game 11–1, as Tian Zhengguang failed to find a way past his attacks.
• Tian Zhengguang, sweating and despairing after the game, hoarsely demanded to play again.

Wang Chao swept through the morning matches and remained on course to win the round robin, while the coaches failed to uncover how he had become so strong. In the afternoon, he used bananas to maintain his energy, deepening Wang Bin’s suspicion that Wang Chao had a hidden teacher.

• Wang Chao defeated Tian Zhengguang 4:0, then swept another opponent and continued winning matches without tiring.
• Wang Chao completed twelve morning matches, including victories over Zhao Ge and Li Mu, while the coaches concluded he was likely to take first place.
• The coaches recalled that they had restarted the round robin hoping Wang Chao would run out of stamina, but none of his opponents had managed to wear him down.
• Wang Chao ate chicken with Jiang Shan, pocketed several bananas, and returned to the training hall for the afternoon matches.
• Wang Chao won his first two afternoon matches and ate a banana between them; when Wang Bin asked who had taught him the trick, Wang Chao said he had read it in a book.

Wang Chao forfeited his final two internal selection matches to protect himself for the promotion-relegation round, while Jiang Shan mistook the decision for fear of facing him. Meanwhile, head coach Luo Zhihong arranged a table tennis feature for his daughter and agreed to find Wu Li a different sparring partner after two parents complained.

• Wang Chao told Wang Bin he was forfeiting his matches against Tian Ye and Jiang Shan to avoid an injury and preserve his chances in the promotion-relegation matches.
• Jiang Shan accused Wang Chao of dodging him, and Wang Chao let him believe he had been afraid to lose.
• Jiang Shan explained that reserve players could earn money in the Table Tennis First Division, prompting Wang Chao to consider earning money to help his mother, Wang Mei.
• Luo Zhihong offered his daughter, Luo Xiaoyu, a feature interview with the city table tennis team after refusing to arrange access to the football team.
• Two parents complained that their sons were being made to spar with Wu Li, and Luo Zhihong agreed to find Wu Li a different partner before summoning him.

Luo Zhihong reprimanded Wu Li for mistreating his practice partners, then called Coach Wang to discuss the promotion and relegation matches. Wang Chao began his match against Gao Ming, whose cautious style made the opening points dull, leaving Luo Zhihong wondering how Wang Chao compared with Wu Li.

• Luo Zhihong scolded Wu Li for shutting out Xiao Ping and Xiao Jian during practice and driving away their parents.
• Wu Li asked about the promotion and relegation matches, and Luo Zhihong kicked him out before calling Coach Wang to discuss the match slots.
• The Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Team held its promotion and relegation matches, pairing Wang Chao with Gao Ming, Jiang Shan with Li Fang, and Tian Ye with Zhou Bo.
• Wang Chao and Gao Ming traded cautious short pushes, splitting the first two points as observers began leaving in disappointment.
• Wang Bin told Luo Zhihong that Wang Chao might be Jiangcheng City’s best prospect in three years, and Luo Zhihong asked whether he was better than Wu Li.