The Most Effortless Fighting Style

Tian Zhengguang walked out from one side of the court.

His gaze was somewhat cold, but today he showed unusual restraint, even taking the initiative to nod at Wang Chao as a greeting.

It was clear he also knew that this opportunity was hard-won and absolutely could not be wasted recklessly again.

He had to prove himself, crush Wang Chao, and secure the final spot in the promotion-relegation matches.

And this match between him and Wang Chao was directly designated by head coach Wang Bin.

"I can give Tian Zhengguang a chance, but he must play Wang Chao in the first match, because only at this time will Wang Chao's stamina be at its peak."

"This can be considered a small compensation from me to Wang Chao."

There weren't many spectators for this match.

The players had already dispersed and started playing simultaneously on four tables.

The four coaches were each responsible for one table. After the initial round was arranged, subsequent matches were scheduled on the fly. Whoever finished would immediately play the next game. The sole principle was to ensure that no table remained idle, completing all matches in the shortest possible time.

With a total of seventeen players, there were 136 matches. Each match was a standard best-of-seven format. Even with four tables, and even if every match ended 4-0, each table would still have to play 136 games.

If they didn't seize every moment to play, they likely wouldn't finish within a day.

And for each player, this meant playing 16 consecutive best-of-seven sets with theoretically no rest time in between.

This was clearly a huge test for Wang Chao, who had only trained his stamina for three days.

The match began.

Head coach Wang Bin personally watched the match between Wang Chao and Tian Zhengguang. Following international custom, he took out a coin and had them guess. Tian Zhengguang guessed correctly and chose the serve.

Head coach Wang Bin nodded inwardly.

The setup of the training base wasn't very scientific. In fact, the lighting on one side of this table was somewhat glaring, causing a slight disturbance to the players' vision.

Therefore, players who usually competed on this table would not choose to serve first; they would choose their side first.

But Tian Zhengguang had clearly found someone who had carefully investigated Wang Chao's performance when he joined the team.

He didn't let Wang Chao serve, and instead, with great precision, sent a long ball to the backhand line.

In the past few days, the players had discussed methods to deal with Wang Chao privately, and they had almost reached a consensus.

"This guy's control over the ball's placement is too precise, and he's too good at using his opponent's force."

"So, we can't play short rallies with him, we can't outsmart him, and we certainly can't attack him mindlessly."

"The best way is to limit him in terms of fundamental speed, power, and stamina."

Tian Zhengguang's ball was long and fast, designed to force Wang Chao to turn sideways and start moving from the beginning, most effectively consuming Wang Chao's stamina.

As for whether Wang Chao would retreat and smash directly?

"He won't."

Yesterday, several players discussed this issue in a private QQ group. The young kid Jiang Shan confidently guaranteed, "He wants to conserve stamina, how could he play so violently right from the start? What about the days to come?"

Tian Zhengguang was full of confidence, waiting for Wang Chao to calmly chop the ball back, and then he would counter-attack.

However, he miscalculated.

Facing a ball that was going out, Wang Chao unhesitatingly turned sideways and smashed the ball with a "pa," fast and low, with pinpoint accuracy. It landed on the corner of Tian Zhengguang's left side of the table; just a few inches more, and it would have been out.

Tian Zhengguang was completely taken by surprise and stood there frozen, not moving at all.

"1:0, Tian Zhengguang to serve again," Wang Bin announced the score.

Tian Zhengguang became more cautious. It was only the second ball of the game, but he pondered for a full five seconds before serving.

This time, it was still a long ball from the left baseline.

He didn't believe Wang Chao would dare to smash again; he thought Wang Chao was playing mind games with him.

"You think I don't dare to hit it, but I'll hit it anyway. Once I scare you, you won't dare to serve like this again."

—Wang Chao probably had this plan...

Tian Zhengguang had a stubborn streak; he felt he couldn't be intimidated.

He wanted to see if Wang Chao would still smash.

Wang Chao indeed took action again, with a "pa," smashing it again to Tian Zhengguang's most uncomfortable left-side wide angle.

But Tian Zhengguang was more prepared this time. Seeing the ball coming, he immediately retreated. He twisted his wrist, let out a shout, veins bulging on the back of his hand, and forcefully twisted the ball, returning a high-quality reverse spin.

This was a desperate attack.

A desperate attack, as the name suggests, is when you know the chance of self-destruction is extremely high, but you still don't want to play slowly with your opponent and insist on winning or losing, so you risk self-destruction and hit the ball with the highest difficulty.

This represented Tian Zhengguang's determination and courage.

However, it was useless.

Tian Zhengguang's footing was already unstable from hitting the ball too hard. Wang Chao, who had been waiting, simply blocked the ball with his paddle, flicking it casually. He easily flicked a super short ball.

Tian Zhengguang didn't have time to reach the table. He threw his paddle out, sliding it across the table surface, trying to save the ball, but it still rolled onto the floor with a ping-pong sound.

2:0.

It was Wang Chao's serve.

He wasn't as flashy as in previous points. Instead, he immediately served a straightforward, deep baseline ball – fast, urgent, and with strong spin.

There were no feints, no tricks. Tian Zhengguang could see every detail clearly.

However, because the ball was too fast, Tian Zhengguang didn't have time to attack and simply returned it steadily.

Then, Wang Chao went straight for the attack and finished Tian Zhengguang with just one shot.

3-0.

He then served another deep baseline ball, still straightforward, still fast and urgent.

This time, Tian Zhengguang reacted and went for the attack.

But Wang Chao's movements were even faster. As soon as the ball was hit back, he "smacked" it back, changing the angle to a straight line that landed in a spot Tian Zhengguang couldn't possibly reach.

Less than a minute and a half into the game, the score was already 4-0.

Wang Bin sighed inwardly.

He understood Wang Chao's intention.

This round robin match today was indeed an extremely severe test of Wang Chao's stamina.

Wang Chao really needed to find a way to conserve his energy.

But the method Wang Chao chose wasn't to abandon offense or power, but to defeat his opponent directly in the shortest amount of time, using the most concise and clear method.

Ideally, he wanted to crush the opponent's spirit in the first game.

In other words, Tian Zhengguang had misunderstood.

Wang Bin's face felt hot and flushed at this moment.

Because, just like Tian Zhengguang, he had also misunderstood.

He had also thought Wang Chao would hold back his offense.

Only now did he suddenly realize: That's not right! The reason Wang Chao didn't exert himself yesterday wasn't because defense was truly more energy-efficient than offense, but because his stamina was already depleted before the match even started yesterday.

He just couldn't exert himself, not that he didn't want to!

This grudge match between Wang Chao and Tian Zhengguang, while seemingly carrying extraordinary significance, was actually decided when the score hit 4-0.

The score then began to climb.

5-0.

6-0.

7-0.

8-0.

8-1.

9-1.

10-1.

Finally, the score of the first game was set at 11-1, with Tian Zhengguang scoring only one point.

This point was purely due to Wang Chao making an unforced error, hitting the ball into the net.

Only at times like this did Wang Bin feel like he was watching a city team match, not a national-level competition.

This newcomer to the team, like an ordinary person, made mistakes, had errors, and even shouted in frustration after a failed shot.

Tian Zhengguang's forehead was covered in sweat, large drops rolling down from his hair, making his crestfallen face look somewhat disheveled.

He felt a sense of despair.

During this game, he had tried every method, used every tactic, but all were useless.

When he served long, the opponent immediately attacked. When he served short, the opponent lobbed.

When he attacked, the opponent counter-hit.

When he defended...

He simply couldn't defend!

This game wasn't exciting because no rally lasted more than five shots. Almost every time, after Wang Chao launched his attack, Tian Zhengguang was quickly defeated.

If three days ago everyone saw Wang Chao's defensive capabilities, then today, he displayed unparalleled offensive prowess.

It didn't require great power. All it took was hitting the ball to the right spot at the right time to create a situation for a one-hit kill.

"Again!" Tian Zhengguang croaked.