Mentality Shattered

Jiang Shan's little face turned solemn. He glanced at Wang Chao and said, "I'm getting serious."

For some reason, Wang Chao found that line familiar.

Hadn't he said something similar himself at Mingyue Stadium last time?

It did have a rather showy effect.

So this little brat was copying him?

"Bring it on. Let me see what you look like when you're serious." Wang Chao was intrigued.

Jiang Shan served. This time, he was genuinely cautious, because he had discovered that Wang Chao was far better at finding openings than he had imagined. To avoid letting Wang Chao attack right away, he did not seek merit, only safety. He served the most basic short backspin ball, landing it close to Wang Chao's left side.

This position was awkward both for stepping around to attack and for directly using a Penhold Backhand Loop. He had calculated that Wang Chao could only pull the ball back first.

This time, nothing unexpected happened...

Wang Chao safely pushed the ball back, sending it over to Jiang Shan's side again. Jiang Shan secretly rejoiced and immediately stepped in, forcefully twisting his wrist and pulling the ball up with all his strength.

"Awesome!"

After being outmaneuvered for four consecutive points, he had finally gained the chance to attack. Jiang Shan desperately needed an outlet at that moment. As he viciously pulled the ball across, he let out a strange yell: "Take this!"

He actually had a bit of the flair of Bruce Lee, the famous martial arts star from Wang Chao's previous life.

Wang Chao stepped back and met the ball with his arm, blocking it back.

But how could Jiang Shan let it go?

Rarely getting an opportunity like this, he had long prepared for a multi-shot attack. When one stroke failed, he immediately slammed another one over.

It was blocked back again.

He smashed again, and it was blocked. He smashed again, and it was blocked. He kept smashing, and it was blocked again. He blasted all the way to the seventh stroke before finally overexerting himself. The pull was forced, and the ball missed the table, flying straight off the court.

5:0.

Jiang Shan finally realized something was wrong.

His fundamentals were clearly supposed to be better.

Although he had lost the previous four points in a row, all of them had been due to strategic mistakes and miscalculations. He admired Wang Chao's intelligence at the table, but he was not convinced.

But the fifth point was different.

He had seized the initiative, sent the ball to the most hated placement for a penhold player, and launched an unbroken string of attacks. That was already an enormous advantage in the rally.

When the players were evenly matched, the attacking side should win at least seven out of ten such points.

Yet he, as the attacker, had failed to win?

Wang Chao had been forced into defense, and his method had not changed at all—just the penhold backhand push-block. Yet he had actually held him off by force?

That could only mean there was a gap in their strength...

"Brother, did you hide your true strength that day?" Jiang Shan immediately identified the key issue.

In Ping Pong World, strength spoke for itself. When Jiang Shan had first arrived, he had looked down his nose at Wang Chao, as though Wang Chao's name was just "Hey." But now that he had discovered Wang Chao was an expert, he had started calling him brother.

Wang Chao merely smiled without answering.

Of course, he had already gone all out that day.

But what set him apart from others was that he improved every day.

Ever since leaving Mingyue Stadium that day, he had known exactly what he needed to improve most.

Stamina.

Strength.

And control over his body.

This body was visibly malnourished. Neither its stamina nor strength could keep up. Playing leisurely matches with Han Feng and the others was fine, but when he had played Tian Zhengguang at Mingyue Stadium that day, he had been gasping for breath after just one game, nearly unable to continue.

So, he needed the most basic training.

As it happened, his mother had forced him to become an apprentice.

With a few slight adjustments, he had turned his apprenticeship at the barbershop into a form of physical cultivation.

Cutting hair was meticulous work. The more meticulous the work, the better one's control over the body would become.

Business at the barbershop was not bad. He ran around all day, busy from front to back, without even having time to sit down and rest.

It looked like he was earnestly learning washing, cutting, and blow-drying, but in truth, he was keeping himself constantly active to train his endurance.

Every noon, he ate two boxed lunches, because he needed to consume large amounts of meat, eggs, vegetables, and carbohydrates.

He needed to put on a little more weight and grow some muscle.

He had actually been doing "shadow practice" all along, never stopping for a day.

That was why he was in no hurry to come clean with Wang Mei.

If Jiang Shan had not come looking for him, he had planned to work as an apprentice for a month first.

Training was training wherever he went. Here, the boss fed him, so it was more cost-effective than going home and spending his mother's money on meat.

"Wow, you hid it well!" Jiang Shan immediately flew into righteous indignation. "Too sinister! Too shameless! But I like it!"

The little brat's chuunibyou aura overflowed. "In that case, let me show you my ultimate move!"

Jiang Shan served, short and flat. Wang Chao had no chance to attack and safely returned it. Then Jiang Shan immediately sprang into action.

He rapidly adjusted his footwork, leaned forward, and twisted his wrist to the limit. Like a tightly wound spring, he then violently snapped it outward, tracing an irregular yet smooth semicircle.

This was a technique called a "twist."

It was a standard backhand twisting posture.

In fact, it was one of the techniques most favored by the vast majority of shakehand players in today's international table tennis scene when dealing with balls to their backhand side.

It was highly effective. After being invented, it became a standard technique in the shortest possible time.

In theory, almost any ball could be twisted directly.

As long as your wrist had enough range, enough strength, the rubber generated enough friction, and your spatial awareness was good enough.

A low-quality twist was merely a mediocre topspin or sidespin ball, but a high-quality twist could directly become a killing shot.

Some top players could even train the twist into their signature finishing move, its power no weaker than a true smash.

A twist at that level was called an Overlord Twist.

Jiang Shan's twist was fast and heavily spun. It seemed to cling to his racket one moment, only to be on the other side of the table the next—and it had even flown off the table.

This should have been the fastest ball so far.

But Wang Chao still received it.

He had not expected Jiang Shan to suddenly use a twist, but this body's reaction speed was too fast. Moving after Jiang Shan but arriving first, he actually caught up to the ball and hastily blocked it back.

Although the return was extremely forced and of poor quality, it ultimately landed successfully on the opposite side of the table.

Jiang Shan did not blindly trust in that twist and had never lowered his guard. Seeing the ball fly high toward him, he rushed forward without a word and raised his racket high!

Wang Chao retreated a full seven or eight steps, and he was still backing away.

After hastily receiving that twisting shot, he had not hesitated at all. He had immediately retreated.

With the point having developed to this stage, the choice was entirely Jiang Shan's. At that moment, Jiang Shan only needed to hold his racket flat above the net, calmly wait for the ball to fall, then casually flick it for a sharply angled short ball. Wang Chao would certainly lose the point.

But table tennis was not only about technique. It was even more about psychology.

Wang Chao knew just how stifled Jiang Shan had been through those first five points. He knew Jiang Shan desperately needed an outlet.

And when it came to letting off steam, what could compare to brutally smashing the ball dead?

He had calculated that Jiang Shan definitely would not flick a short ball here. He would definitely unleash a powerful smash.

He had bet right.

Jiang Shan smashed it with tremendous force. The ball bounced high and flew five or six meters away before rapidly dropping. Wang Chao waited there and slashed his racket diagonally forward.

A beautiful sidespin chop!

The ball drifted through the air over an extraordinarily long distance, its trajectory breathtakingly beautiful. It floated leisurely over the net, lightly clipped the edge of the opposite table, abruptly changed direction, and flew away, making Jiang Shan's poised next smash miss completely.

It was actually an unbelievably lucky edge ball.

6:0.

"Damn it all! My mentality's completely shattered!" Jiang Shan directly cursed.