Chapter Summaries

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.

Wang Chao narrowly beat Gao Ming after deliberately holding back, and Gao Ming accepted his loss and advised him to play more boldly. After Gao Ming left to pursue a place in the Table Tennis First Division, an arrogant teammate insulted him and challenged Wang Chao, who agreed to a full match.

• Wang Chao defeated Gao Ming 4:2 after keeping the match close for most of the games.
• Gao Ming told Wang Chao he planned to leave the team for the Table Tennis First Division and advised him not to play so safely.
• Wang Chao exchanged contact information with Gao Ming and promised to attend his first Table Tennis First Division match.
• An arrogant teammate mocked Gao Ming and taunted Wang Chao about his cautious play.
• Wang Chao challenged the teammate to a best-of-seven match with no breaks or surrendering.

Wang Chao challenged Li Shaoqin to a match and prepared a cup of boiling water as a playful tribute to an old meme. Meanwhile, intern reporter Luo Xiaoyu sneaked into the training base but wandered into their remote corner, where she mistook their confrontation for a secret battle between experts.

• Wang Chao led Li Shaoqin to a secluded table after checking the score of Jiang Shan and Li Fang's match.
• Wang Chao set a cup of boiling water aside, planning to drink it after the match as part of his joking ritual.
• Luo Xiaoyu slipped into the training base to observe the team without revealing that she was Luo Zhihong's daughter.
• Luo Zhihong learned that Luo Xiaoyu had entered and posed authoritatively on the court, hoping she would see him at work.
• Luo Xiaoyu lost her way and found Wang Chao and Li Shaoqin, assuming their isolated match was a contest between hidden experts.
• Li Shaoqin lectured Wang Chao about professional fundamentals, then criticized Wang Chao's paddle.

Wang Chao faced Li Shaoqin in a match while using Jiang Shan's shakehand racket, and quickly dominated him with precise returns and aggressive shots. Wang Chao led 5:0 as Li Shaoqin struggled to respond.

• Wang Chao grew impatient with Li Shaoqin's lecture about rackets and walked away, but agreed to play after Li Shaoqin promised to stop talking.
• Luo Xiaoyu watched as Wang Chao won the first two points with serves that Li Shaoqin misread.
• Wang Chao smashed Li Shaoqin's spinless serve to take a 3:0 lead.
• Li Shaoqin used a high-toss serve, but Wang Chao returned it sharply and smashed the next ball to make it 4:0.
• Li Shaoqin attacked Wang Chao's body with a loop, but Wang Chao blocked it into Li Shaoqin's deep wide left corner and extended his lead to 5:0.

Wang Chao continued to dominate Li Shaoqin, using increasingly spectacular shots and serves as Luo Xiaoyu filmed the match. With the score at 9:0, Li Shaoqin was left stunned and Luo Xiaoyu gained a new appreciation for table tennis.

• Wang Chao won a seven-loop rally against Li Shaoqin, bringing the score to 6:0.
• Li Shaoqin tried to concede, but Wang Chao reminded him of their agreement and told him to admit he was a pig if he quit.
• Wang Chao returned Li Shaoqin's long serve with a Penhold Backhand Loop, then countered his smash with an overhead kill to make it 8:0.
• Wang Chao used a deceptive chop serve that Li Shaoqin misread, sending the ball sharply sideways and making the score 9:0.
• Luo Xiaoyu watched the match through her camera and became fascinated by the artistry of table tennis.

Wang Chao defeated Li Shaoqin with a spectacular side chop, then refused Luo Xiaoyu’s interview despite learning she was Luo Zhihong’s daughter. After the promotion-relegation matches, Luo Xiaoyu told her father about the impressive player she had watched, and Luo Zhihong mistakenly assumed she meant Wu Li.

• Wang Chao scored the tenth point against Li Shaoqin with a low, curving side chop that went around the net, and Li Shaoqin admitted defeat and ran off.
• Luo Xiaoyu approached Wang Chao for an interview, introduced herself as a Jiangcheng City TV intern reporter, and revealed that her father was Luo Zhihong.
• Wang Chao declined the interview but explained several table-tennis terms, while Luo Xiaoyu left with a video clip and three pages of notes without visiting her father.
• Wang Chao and Jiang Shan won promotion, while Tian Ye lost to Zhou Bo after six games and failed to advance.
• Luo Xiaoyu called Luo Zhihong and praised his players, then described a quiet, hardworking player without knowing his name; Luo Zhihong assumed she meant Wu Li.

After watching the televised match, Luo Zhihong realized Wang Chao was far stronger than he had assumed and reconsidered who should practice with Wu Li. He called the coaches back into a meeting to discuss the choice again.

• Luo Zhihong and the coaches ruled out Jiang Shan as Wu Li’s practice partner and settled on Wang Chao, while Wang Bin stayed silent.
• Luo Zhihong watched the evening news broadcast of Wang Chao’s match against Li Shaoqin and recognized Wang Chao’s remarkable ability.
• Luo Zhihong called Li Shaoqin to ask about Wang Chao, but Li Shaoqin broke down, fearing Luo Zhihong had seen how badly he had lost.
• Luo Zhihong comforted Li Shaoqin briefly, then called the coaches to hold another meeting about Wu Li’s practice partner.

The coaches assigned Jiang Shan to train with Wu Li and paired Wang Chao with Li Shaoqin, who discovered Wang only wanted to practice. At lunch, Jiang Shan prepared to face Wu Li, the relentless top player at the base.

• Xiao Ping and Xiao Jian thanked Wang Chao and invited him to lunch after learning he would not be Wu Li's sparring partner.
• Head Coach Luo Zhihong assigned Jiang Shan to train with Wu Li for the week.
• Luo assigned Li Shaoqin to train with Wang Chao, and Li accepted without protest.
• Wang Chao spent the morning doing straightforward multiball drills with Li, who realized Wang was focused on practice rather than revenge.
• Jiang Shan loaded his lunch tray with food and said he would build up his strength to beat Wu Li that afternoon.
• Wang Chao recalled Wu Li's reputation as a ruthless, meticulous player with extraordinary stamina.

Wang Chao pushed himself through increasingly intense training and made Li Shaoqin train alongside him, while both players gradually improved. By the end, Wang Chao had received a custom paddle order from Hongshuangli, though the company had only collected his requirements and physical data.

• Jiang Shan complained to Wang Chao about being frightened by Wu Li’s aggressive attacks and said he was serving Wang Chao’s sentence as a sparring partner.
• Wang Chao trained extra every evening and pressured Li Shaoqin into joining him after Luo Zhihong backed the plan.
• When Wang Chao proposed starting training at five in the morning, Li Shaoqin begged him to stop, but Wang Chao insisted and threatened to complain to Luo Zhihong.
• Wang Chao and Li Shaoqin began training at four in the morning, while Jiang Shan gradually improved under Wu Li’s pressure and Wang Chao’s stamina increased.
• Hongshuangli examined Wang Chao’s physical condition and recorded his paddle requirements for a custom paddle funded by the training base.

Wang Chao settled into life at the base as he prepared for the monthly internal round robin, where he faced Zhou Bo. His overwhelming victory began to challenge the coaches’ belief that Wu Li was unbeatable in actual matches.

• Wang Chao received his custom racket, engraved his name on its handle, and later heard Cook praise his performance in a recent match.
• Black Spade Q representatives asked Luo Zhihong to let Wu Li play for their club, but Luo refused and Wu Li showed no interest in professional league play.
• The base began its monthly internal round robin, and Wang Chao looked forward to testing his strength against Wu Li.
• Wang Chao faced Zhou Bo, who asked him to play seriously, and won the first game 11–0.
• The scorekeeper watched Wang Chao dominate Zhou Bo and reconsidered the coaches’ belief that Wang Chao could not beat Wu Li in a real match.

Wang Chao swept through the Jiangcheng City main squad’s round-robin matches, but the increasingly strong afternoon opponents drained his stamina. As he began his second-to-last match against Liu Heng, he realized he might be too exhausted to face Wu Li.

• Wang Chao defeated Zhou Bo twice, both times 11:0, and the coach told Zhou Bo he could concede if he could not continue.
• Wang Chao won all nine of his morning matches by 4:0, while Jiang Shan struggled against lower-ranked opponents.
• After lunch, Wang Chao faced stronger opponents and overwhelmed one with two 11:0 games, but his stamina continued to fade.
• Wang Chao defeated his third and fourth afternoon opponents 4:0, then worried that Old Luo’s easy-to-difficult match order had left him too exhausted to face Wu Li.
• Wang Chao offered Liu Heng the chance to concede, but Liu Heng insisted he would clean-sweep Wang Chao as their match began.

Wang Chao defeated Liu Heng after an exhausting match, then faced Wu Li in the final contest to decide the Jiangcheng City Table Tennis Team’s top player. Jiang Long praised Jiang Shan as a provincial-team prospect but doubted Wang Chao, who fell behind 1–0 when Wu Li opened with a powerful over-the-table flick.

• Luo Zhihong regretted arranging a gauntlet that left Wang Chao exhausted before his match with Wu Li.
• Wang Chao defeated Liu Heng 4–2, and Liu Heng massaged him while praising his play and lamenting his stamina.
• Jiang Long praised Jiang Shan’s performance and said the provincial team would give him special attention, but judged Wang Chao’s fundamentals and physical condition inadequate.
• Li Shaoqin encouraged Wang Chao before the final match, and Wang Chao realized Li Shaoqin had improved his ranking through their recent training.
• Wang Chao served a short backspin ball against Wu Li, who answered with a blistering flick to take the first point.

Wang Chao struggled against Wu Li’s relentless power and learned that Wu Li could sustain his peak strength throughout a match, a talent the provincial team called “Monstrous Strength.” After Wu Li broke through Wang Chao’s defense twice, the score reached 3:0.

• Wang Chao served long, but Wu Li attacked with powerful loops and eventually broke through Wang Chao’s blocks to take the point, making the score 2:0.
• Wang Chao realized Wu Li used maximum force on nearly every shot and seemed not to tire.
• Luo Zhihong explained to Jiang Long that Wu Li’s ability to maintain peak power and speed was his talent, named “Monstrous Strength” by the provincial team’s head coach.
• Wang Chao deceived Wu Li with a disguised shot angled toward his forehand, but Wu Li used his explosiveness to reach it and return a powerful loop.
• Wu Li launched another sustained attack, broke through Wang Chao’s blocks after seven exchanges, and extended his lead to 3:0.

Wang Chao lost the first game to Wu Li, whose relentless power and stamina overcame his deceptive shots. In the second game, Wang Chao unveiled an unfamiliar racket technique that fooled Wu Li and drew a stunned reaction from the spectators, while the coaches disagreed about whether it was worth studying.

• Wu Li used his strength and tireless movement to defeat Wang Chao 11:3 in the first game, despite Wang Chao's varied serves and clever attacks.
• Wang Chao returned to the table as the other players cheered him on, hoping he would finally defeat Wu Li.
• Wu Li continued serving long to the baseline and forced Wang Chao into rallies, taking a 3:1 lead as Wang Chao scored with a no-spin serve.
• Wang Chao used a penhold racket in an unfamiliar, banana-flick-like motion to send a strange shot past Wu Li and make the score 3:2.
• The spectators celebrated the apparent new technique, while Luo Zhihong suggested studying it and Jiang Long dismissed it as an unscientific trick.

Wang Chao lost 4:0 to Wu Li after exhausting himself and experimenting with the hook scoop, but earned the players’ respect and finished second in the team rankings. After waking in the dark gymnasium, he accepted his new youth and received care from Jiang Shan and Li Shaoqin while he recovered.

• Wang Chao used the hook scoop against Wu Li, but Wu Li adapted and won the second game 11:5.
• Wang Chao fought through the remaining games, lost 4:0, and finished the round robin in second place.
• Wang Chao collapsed from exhaustion and later woke in the gymnasium with sore, strained muscles.
• Wang Chao decided to embrace his eighteen-year-old life instead of clinging to his past memories.
• Jiang Shan gave Wang Chao lightly salted water and explained that he and Li Shaoqin had stayed nearby while he slept.
• Wang Chao gave Li Shaoqin two days off, and Li Shaoqin insisted he was staying to keep Wang Chao company.

Tian Zhengguang confronted Wang Chao on the road back to the dorms, reflecting on how Wang Chao’s match against Wu Li had changed his view of table tennis and himself. Before leaving the team, Tian Zhengguang apologized to Wang Chao and ran off into the night.

• Tian Zhengguang stopped Wang Chao, Jiang Shan, and Li Shaoqin on the road and asked Wang Chao to share a meal with him.
• Tian Zhengguang told Wang Chao he was leaving the team the next day and explained that he had once hated him over the promotion spot.
• Tian Zhengguang said he had watched Wang Chao play Wu Li and been struck by Wang Chao’s refusal to give up, even in defeat.
• Tian Zhengguang wondered whether he had been wrong to seek only easy victories, while Wang Chao sat quietly beside him as he smoked.
• Tian Zhengguang said goodbye, apologized sincerely to Wang Chao, and ran off into the darkness.