A Dud?

By then, it was already eight o'clock, and the stadium was gradually filling up. Before long, people noticed what was happening here and ran over to watch. The coaches did not stop them, allowing the players to gather outside the court and whisper among themselves.

"Do you think he'll pass the tryout?" Tian Qi asked Li Zhenguo, tilting his head.

"His stamina is even worse than I expected. He probably won't meet Coach Wang's standards." Li Zhenguo answered ambiguously. "But since he's here, it'll ultimately depend on actual matches, right?"

Tian Qi secretly looked down on this old fox. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Then who do you think is stronger, Zhao Ge or Li Mu?"

His voice was a little too loud, and Zhao Fuqiang overheard him from the other side. He immediately cut in, "Zhao Ge is obviously better."

Li Zhenguo instantly glared. "Li Mu ranked higher than Zhao Ge in this round robin."

Zhao Fuqiang snorted. "Mingyue Stadium was too noisy and affected the players' form. Naturally, the results they got weren't accurate."

Li Zhenguo naturally disagreed. "As if Li Mu wasn't affected too? Don't forget, real matches will be even noisier."

Having successfully stirred things up, Tian Qi smiled and shut his mouth.

The battle for promotion and relegation spots had changed several times in just one day, from yesterday until now.

Tian Zhengguang, originally the favorite, was completely out of the running. Head coach Wang Bin had made it clear that he would not be allowed to compete.

Then Wang Bin had them invite Wang Chao over, and the meaning was equally obvious: if Wang Chao was really that good, the final spot would belong to him.

So, was Wang Chao really that good?

The three coaches had good eyes. After returning home yesterday, they had each found the video online and watched it carefully several times. After analyzing it, they unanimously concluded that Wang Chao was probably stronger than Tian Zhengguang.

In other words, the third spot was as good as Wang Chao's.

The three coaches had originally given up hope. Since none of them could get it, they had remained calm and polite. When they went to Wang Chao's home to invite him yesterday, all three had treated him very courteously. On one hand, that was because of the head coach's instructions; on the other, they had already decided Wang Chao would definitely join the team, so they wanted to build a good relationship with him.

But they had never expected Wang Chao to be so useless...

He had nearly failed even the most basic shuttle run, and he was now gasping badly. Coach Wang's expression did not look too good.

If Wang Chao failed the tryout, things would become interesting again. It would turn back into a contest between Zhao Ge and Li Mu...

Whoever lost would have to wait another year...

That was why the two coaches refused to yield an inch even though they knew someone was fanning the flames.

On the court, Wang Chao was already undergoing the second test: strength.

His arm was wrapped in an extremely elastic resistance band. The band tightened, and then he swung his paddle through the air. The equipment naturally recorded the force he generated.

The result was terrible as well...

Wang Chao's strength did not even meet the minimum standard set by the training base. Worse still, during his seventh swing, he exerted himself too hard, staggered underfoot, nearly lost his balance, and almost fell to the floor. It was an utterly humiliating sight.

By then, the discussions among the players outside the court were becoming impossible to suppress.

They had all watched Wang Chao play at Mingyue Stadium that day and had personally witnessed him defeat Tian Zhengguang.

But that did not mean they accepted it.

On one hand, young people were proud and arrogant. On the other, table tennis was not something one could fully judge just by watching. To know whether someone was strong, one had to play against him.

"Tian Zhengguang wasn't even serious that day."

"Beating Tian Zhengguang once in a while isn't that impressive, is it? I could do that too."

Almost everyone shared thoughts like these.

Thus, low chuckles could already be heard.

Wang Bin's expression had turned extremely ugly.

Of course, he knew physical testing was not the same as actual combat, but he also knew that if someone performed terribly in physical tests, his match performance could not possibly be much better.

That was common sense!

If you could not keep up with your opponent's speed or withstand his attacks, then no matter how many techniques you knew, how could you use them?

In a sense, playing table tennis was much like practicing martial arts, and physical fitness represented one's "internal strength."

"Next is the ball-contacting test. Let's first assess your ability to attack continuously." Wang Bin's tone remained calm.

He had already decided to send him back, but outwardly, he still had to complete the tests.

But Wang Chao shook his head at that moment. "Coach, I can't go on. I need ten minutes of rest."

Wang Bin was somewhat impatient, but his good manners made him pause briefly before nodding. Then he reminded him, "Actually, resting is not allowed during tryouts. This itself is a test of endurance. Requesting a break will cost you points."

"That's fine." Wang Chao smiled, looking utterly exhausted. "Since I'm here, I should try everything."

It was an interesting thing to say, as though he already knew he would fail the tryout. Wang Bin could not help giving him a long look.

Fine. The kid knew his own limits. Then he could let him give up completely.

Soon, someone wheeled over a training basket full of table tennis balls. By estimation, there were probably several hundred inside.

"Start with a hundred balls."

After speaking, Wang Bin paused and added meaningfully, "During our regular internal training, we finish an entire basket of five hundred at a time."

Wang Chao merely smiled and said nothing.

This time, head coach Wang Bin personally stepped in.

He stood on one side of the table and continuously took balls from the basket, feeding them over at great speed. Wang Chao stood on the other side, swinging his paddle repeatedly and striving to drive every incoming ball back.

It was not enough to simply return the ball casually. He had to drive it back with quality while maintaining a high success rate.

His form had to be standard.

The ball speed had to be fast.

The placement had to be precise.

The spin had to be strong.

The higher the quality of his attacks, the higher his test score.

The hundred balls were finished in just two minutes. Wang Chao was panting again, while the players' quiet chuckles outside the court had turned into open laughter.

They really could not hold it in anymore!

They had watched with their own eyes as this guy here for a tryout missed more than thirty of the hundred balls. His success rate on the table had barely passed sixty percent.

As for the quality of his attacks, it could only be described as dreadful.

Too weak.

Too slow.

This was the guy who had crushed Brother Tian that afternoon?

So he was an overrated dud...

Wang Bin sighed. He was finding it hard to continue the tests. He sighed inwardly, thinking he had been too fanciful, actually intending to find some peerless genius among the general public.

I really was thinking too much...

Yet Wang Chao's expression remained calm. He took advantage of this brief break to sit on a nearby bench and catch his breath, taking a couple swigs of water. Even so, he still felt severely drained, as though he could not recover.

This body was simply too weak. It had not been exercised seriously for more than ten years, relying solely on youth to keep it going. It had not caused any problems in daily life, but in the world of professional sports, it was clearly not enough.

But he was not panicking.

"Are we still testing?" Wang Bin asked.

"There's no need to test endurance. Looking at me now, do I seem like I can still run?"

Wang Chao readily admitted his problem, then said, "But I still want to try an actual match."

The moment he said that, before Wang Bin could respond, a player at the side of the court shouted, "Coach, I'll do it!"

The other players immediately began shouting as well.

"Get lost, let me do it!"

"Me, me! I wanted to play him at the stadium that day. It wasn't easy to get this chance today, so none of you better fight me for it."

Someone even flashed Wang Chao a brilliant smile. "Brother, I felt close to you the moment I saw you. How about the two of us play?"

Wang Chao smiled but said nothing.

Although he could sense the contempt behind their eagerness, his mature mind kept it from affecting his attitude.

Besides, who said he was really such an easy target?