《King of Sports》


 1 Death

    "Brother, can you really shoot that antelope?" said a voice with a hint of distrust.


    On a grassland in South Africa, a dark-skinned African man stared off into the distance then turned his head back to look over the middle aged Chinese man beside him.


    "Nick, of course, you have to believe in my shooting." said Tang Yan, picking up the recurve bow beside him. He glanced over to the African antelope that was grazing over 150 meters away and took an arrow from the arrow pot. After nocking the arrow, he pulled back the bowstring and aimed.


    According to the principle of use, bows and arrows were divided into three types: straight bow, recurve bow and compound bow. Straight bows and compound bows were often used for hunting, while a recurve bow was rarely used because the force it produced was too small.


    "Twang"


    The sound rang out and the arrow flew out of the recurve bow, it flew a parabola curve in the air then fell straight towards the antelope.


    The antelope seemed to sense something was wrong, right at the last moment and ran forward. The arrow that had been aimed at his chest missed its mark and flew into its thigh.


    The antelope shot, made a scream then shot forward with a quick kick.


    The main reason why the recurve bow wasn''t used for hunting was that the force it generated was too small, it was basically only effective on targets within 50 meters.


    "Chase!"


    The black man saw the arrow in the antelope and jumped directly into the military pickup truck on the side.


    With a bang, the car was launched forward in the blink of an eye.


    Tang Yan put away his bow and steadied himself in the back of the truck.


    Tang Yan was a security guard, guarding the engineers of the Chinese Aid project. He was also an amateur archery enthusiast. The black man next to him was Nick ?Jafari, the leader of a small Nigerian mercenary group. Responsible for the security of the railway construction site. The two of them often went hunting in the wild together after work as a way of relaxing.


    Jafari''s driving skills were quite good. After the antelope was shot in the thigh, the speed of its running was significantly reduced.


    "Haha, it''s speed has slowed down it can''t run fast, Brother show me your shooting skills again!" Shouted Jafari excitedly as he stepped on the gas pedal harder.


    "I''ll try!" said Tang Yan, picking up the recurve bow again.


    The road on the grassland wasn''t flat and so the car was constantly bumping. In theory, it was an impossible shot to make especially with the African antelope still running but after staying in Africa for so long the people''s wild and adventurous nature had begun to rub off on him so holding the recurve bow, he decided to give it a try.


    Perhaps sensing its crisis, the antelope began running even more crazily.


    "Dammit, this thing sure is tenacious!" cursed Jafari before stomping on the pedal harder.


    A hill appeared in front of the grassland it had bushes atop it which blocked their line of sight.


    "It''s trying to escape into the bushes!" Jafari yelled at Tang Yan.At this moment the throttle of the car was already at its maximum but since the car was climbing the hill, its speed was inevitably reduced. Tang Yan knew he had to make his shot soon or the antelope would escape.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath and ignored the bumping of the car, and aimed at the wild antelope, in one swift movement he nocked his arrow and shot.


    "Twang!"


    The arrow flew off the string and soared across the sky. The next instant it was directly immersed in the lower abdomen of the antelope. The animal''s feet became tangle and it crashed and rolled over dead into the shrubs.


    "Yes!" Jafari shouted excitedly.


    Tang Yan also excitedly punched the air with his fist.


    But then as Jafari tried to step on the brakes, the brakes of the car failed.


    They were going too fast, the car rushed into the bushes.


    The two of them grabbed the car and prepared for impact.


    But what they never imagined was that after the bushes, was a cliff.


    The car plummeted downwards.


    "Nooo!"


    Tang Yan flew of the back of the truck, as he spun in the air he saw white clouds overhead as darkness began to surround him as he fell downwards.


    Because of long-term mining in Africa, many grasslands collapsed and formed cliffs.


    Tang Yan''s mind was like a videotape, constantly reviewing his life, which had been desolate and humble.


    "Bang, Crunch"


    He hit the ground, Tang Yan felt his consciousness slipping away.

 2 Second Chance

    "Hahaha"


    Laughter, who was laughing? Aren''t I dead?


    Tang Yan opened his eyes and looked around. He was standing on a playground, surrounded by thirty or forty students the laughter was coming from them.


    "Tang Yan, off target. 0 points!" came a voice from behind him.


    Just as he was about to turn around, there was a sudden sharp pain in his mind. Grasping his head in his hand he kneeled over.


    When he recovered he stood up to find himself in a completely blank void, surrounded by white.


    "Is this heaven?" He couldn''t help but groan as he looked around.


    "This isn''t heaven, Master this is the heterogeneous space of the system." said a sweet and tender voice into his ear.


    Tang Yan turned sharply, only to find no one, his emotions were tense: "What the hell! Who''s there!"


    "Hello Master, I am the system administrator." came the voice.


    Looking around again, Tang Yan saw a little loli floating down towards him.


    She was really floating, her feet hovered above the ground.


    Tang Yan was shocked and took a step back. His tone shook slightly: "Are you a human or a ghost? Where are we?"


    The little loli calmly grinned and said, "Master, I am neither human nor ghost. I am Celia, a virtual character built by the system. I am also the administrator of the system." We are currently in the system''s hetero-dimensional space. To be straightforward, this is a virtual space that exists in your mind."


    "In my mind? Heterogeneous space? System? What is going on?" After confirming that the little girl in front of him was harmless, Tang Yan''s mood stabilized somewhat but he still couldn''t comprehend what was happening to him.


    "The system has chosen you, to be its new host. After you died the system discovered your soul and retrieved it back to Earth''s soul realm. The system has automatically selected a time period for you to return to." Celia explained.


    "Soul...Return?" Tang Yan couldn''t believe what he was hearing, was this a dream.


    He reached out and pinched his face, the sharp tingling sensation forced him to understand that everything that was happening in front of him was real.


    "Yes, you have regressed back to the year 2010, to be precise April 26, 2010." Celia explained.


    26th April, 2010!


    Tang Yan suddenly realized what Celia was saying was true.


    Before coming to this so-called "virtual space", he had heard ridiculing, and he had even noticed that he had a recurve bow beside him.


    The memories of his past were awakened.


    2010, that should have been the year of his high school graduation, as for the April 26th well that day was his birthday.


    As a high school student, his academic performance wasn''t great to say the least.


    As such getting into college became a problem. With the academic route gone he had decided to try the sports route.


    Their school offered basketball, running, long jump and a few others. At that time, he was only five foot five which made none of those sports viable. Finally, he found archery.


    It was a pity that he was so naive back then he didn''t realise the amount of training required for archery. While others spent years mastering the basics. He only got three months to practice.


    During the college trials they had to shoot 24 arrows at a distance of 30 meters. Of those 24 arrows he had missed 20, all of which flew straight past the target not even grazing it. He became the biggest laughing stock of the school.


    That was the darkest birthday in his life.


    Thinking back carefully now, before he came into this space it looked like he had just shot his fifth off-target arrow.


    Realizing his situation, he suddenly became excited, since he was back in time maybe he could salvage his situation and change his future.


    "Celia is it?" Tang Yan looked down at the little lolita in front him.


    "Yes, Master." Celia nodded, her two ponytails swaying.


    "What is the use of this ... system," he asked tentatively.


    "This system can summon historical characters and mould master into the king of sports."


    "Summon historical figures?" said Tang Yan a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.


    "Yes." said Celia before waving her hand.


    Suddenly an electronic interface appeared in front of Tang Yan''s eyes.


    The interface was somewhat similar to those of RPG games.


    He saw a list of names most of which were greyed out. Only the names Xiang Yu, Li Guang, Dian Wei and Lu Zhishen were bright.


    "What does this mean?" asked Tang Yan.


    "These are the historical figures that can be summoned by the system. The names which are greyed out, need to be unlocked which can be done once you meet certain conditions."


    "The ones that light up are unlocked then." said Tang Yan, he swept his eyes over the four names and finally fixed his eyes on Li Guang''s.


    Tapping on the name, an avatar appeared wearing a red winged helmet and an accompanying red suit of armour with a red cape draping over the back.


    This was the Han general, Li Guang.


    Li Guang was a Chinese general of the Western Han dynasty. Nicknamed "Flying General" by the Xiongnu, he fought primarily in campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes to the north of China. He was known to the Xiongnu as a tough opponent when it came to defence, and his presence was sometimes discouraging enough for the Xiongnu to abort a siege. There were many legends about him. The most famous being Li Guang''s ability to shoot an arrow into stone.


    In ancient times, soldiers used straight pull bows. The transformation of force was one to one so if someone wanted to shoot an arrow into a stone, you could imagine how much strength you''d need.


    Of course, this wasn''t the focus of Tang Yan''s attention, the line of bright words under Li Guang''s head was:


    ''The ability to shoot with great precision and strength.''


    The myth of shooting a willow leaf at one hundred paces went through his mind.


    Li Guang''s shooting abilities were said to be unparalleled in this world, there was record of him shooting two enemies with one arrow.


    If this system really could change his life, Li Guang''s abilities would be the best to start off with.


    "Celia, do I directly get Li Guang''s abilities?" asked Tang Yan.


    "With your current honour points, you can only unlock 50% of his abilities." Celia explained.


    "50%, honour points?"


    "Honour points are necessary for using the system. They can be obtained through competitions. The higher the level of the competition, the more honour points you can earn and the more of a character''s abilities you can unlock."


    "Understood." said Tang Yan before directly choosing Li Guang''s character with a look of determination on his face.


    Although he hadn''t fully recovered from this series of events, he knew that since he was given a second chance, he had to turn his life around.


    A rush of energy swept through his body.


    Relishing in such a great feeling he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he found himself back in reality.

 3 Dark Horse or a Wolf in Sheeps Clothing?

    Adjusting himself to his surroundings he looked around, the laughter of the crowd still filled the air.


    He could vaguely see the judges on the sides whispering whilst glancing over at him.


    Taking everything in, he tightened his grip around the recurve bow in his hand.


    ......


    "Wang Tao, the standards of this trial are just too low. This is only 30 meters but look at the performances of these people, that kid over there hasn''t even managed to hit the target once even after five shots. You need to raise the requirements next time. " said a white haired old man looking over to the middle-aged man beside him.


    "Yes, Li Lao next time we will set higher requirements, this time because of the time constraints I allowed them to loosen the reigns a bit. But it seems that was a mistake." replied the middle-aged man called Wang Tao.


    He was the vice president of Lotus City''s archery team. The old man besides him was Li Lao the president of this provinces archery team.


    As he was passing through town, they had invited him down to watch the event.


    In fact, Lotus City was a weak city in terms of archery, their performance was always sub-par but even then a performance like Tang Yan''s was too much.


    ....


    "Okay that''s the first round done, you can begin preparing for the second round." shouted a staff member from beside the archery field.


    Upon hearing this voice, the archers around him put down their recurve bows on the grass and took a seat, resting themselves.


    There were a total of 4 rounds in this trial. Each round they were given 4 minutes to shoot 6 arrows. They were using standard targets which had 10 evenly spaced rings. Each ring had a colour and a set value of points.


    White: 1-2 points


    Black:3-4 points


    Blue:5-6 points


    Red:7-8 points


    Gold: 9-10 points


    The outermost ring of that colour was worth less than the innermost section. For example the outer section of the white ring was worth only 1 point while the inner section of the white ring would be worth 2 points.


    The maximum amount of points possible per round was 60 points.


    Tang Yan had shot 5 arrows off target and ran out of time to shoot his last arrow, leaving him with a glaring score of 0 after the first round.


    Looking at his score he couldn''t help but smile.


    The archer to the left of him had scored 48 points, averaging 8 points per arrow. The archer to the right hand side of him had scored 55 points, averaging 9 points per arrow.


    ''If I get a score like that, I''ll still have a chance of getting selected!'' thought Tang Yan.


    He put down his recurve bow and sat on the grass.


    "Hey, classmate is your vision okay." asked the archer to his right after turning around and looking at him with a smile.


    "Yeah, why?" Tang Yan looked at him with confusion.


    "What and you still scored 0 points, damn you really are next level trash." said the student laughing.


    Tang Yan looked down at the name sticker on the chest of the student. His name was Qian Feng.


    "If I was you, I would find an excuse to leave after this round. If you keep on missing targets like this, don''t blame us for ridiculing you. At this rate you''ll end up the school clown." said Qian Feng with a look of derision.


    Tang Yan knitted his brows, but didn''t speak.


    Though the words of Qian Feng were harsh, they were true. In the past this was exactly what had occurred, he had become the laughing stock of the city."


    "We will begin the second round now." shouted a staff member.


    The rest time in between each round of the archery competition was 1 minute. After giving the athletes enough time to adjust the next round would begin.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath and got up. Taking the recurve bow and he walked up to his position in front of the archery white line.


    Seeing that Tang Yan hadn''t listened to his advice, Qian Feng gave a dismissive snort and took up his bow before walking up to the white line.


    "Look, Tang Yan is still competing"


    "Wow he really is thick skinned!"


    "Haha, thicker than a city wall."


    ...


    Some students watching the game on the side of the field saw this scene and couldn''t help but whisper.


    Archery wasn''t really a popular sport among competitive sports. In addition, Lotus City was weak in terms of archery, as such the attention it received wasn''t high.


    So there were no stands for the audience.


    They had marked out a spectator area though. Currently there were around thirty to forty local students watching the event.


    The spectator area wasn''t far from the venue, as such their words naturally passed into Tang Yan''s ears.


    The timer at the side of the field had already begun counting down. In 240 seconds, he had to shoot 6 arrows.


    He took a deep breath and left the words of the students behind him. He held the bow in his left hand, his feet were a shoulder-width apart.


    He stood in a square stance. The weight of his body fell evenly on his feet.


    He took an arrow from the arrow pot and nocked it into the bow. Adjusting his grip, he began to draw the bowstring back and aimed.


    After this series of actions, he was able to clearly sense that something had changed.


    Even after ten years of shooting with a bow he had never achieved such a smooth transition as now.


    He felt a sense of ease. Even pulling back the bowstring had felt effortless.


    For most students it wasn''t an easy task to load a 30-pound recurve bow.


    But he was very relaxed.


    Aiming, he felt the 80cm wide target suddenly enlarge.


    As if his vision had zoomed in, he could see the 10 rings clearly.


    Was this... Li Guang''s ability?


    Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he adjusted his aim and shot.


    "Twang"


    The arrow shot out the bow and flew straight towards the target.


    In the judge''s seat Li Lao''s eyes suddenly flashed, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes.


    A layman saw the outcome but an expert saw the technique.


    This arrow of Tang Yan''s was completely different from his previous arrows. It was fast, stable and accurate vastly different from the sluggish, imprecise shots of before.


    "Boom!"


    The arrow pierced the target and made a muffled sound.


    All the spectators looked over at once.


    He had hit the bullseye!


    The umpire stunned, mumbled out: "Tang Yan, 10 points."


    10 points!


    Tang Yan took a long breath and relaxed his stance.


    "Huh, classmate it seems your luck was good." said Qian Feng looking over at Tang Yan surprised.


    Tang Yan ignored him and picked up his second arrow.


    "What the hell, did Tang Yan just shoot a 10 pointer"


    "Yeah, what the hell.He couldn''t even skim the target in the first round, how the hell did he do that."


    "What''s so strange about this, he probably just got lucky."


    "It''s only 30 meters, give me six arrows and I bet I could probably shoot a 10 pointer as...."


    "Boom!"


    Tang Yan had shot his second arrow.


    The discussions came to an abrupt halt, the last person who was speaking found his words stuck in his throat.


    He couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    10 points!


    Another 10 pointer!


    After shooting 5 arrows off target in the first round, Tang Yan had just shot two consecutive 10 pointers in the second round!


    How could this be!


    Li Lao couldn''t help but sit up straight this time.


    Contrast was an amazing thing.


    In fact, shooting two 10 pointers at 30 meters wasn''t remarkable but shooting two 10 pointers after continuously shooting off-target was shocking.


    Tang Yan could feel the gazes on him.


    "Dammit, you really are lucky!" said Qian Feng, he couldn''t help but curse this time. He had just shot a 9 pointer just now, one point lower than Tang Yan''s.


    Tang Yan didn''t pay attention to Qian Feng, instead he took out another arrow and aimed again.


    "Is this going to be another 10 pointer?" This time, the students on the side-lines no longer laughed but looked at Tang Yan with interest.


    "Twang"


    "Boom!"


    "Tang Yan....10 points!"


    After a series of sounds, Tang Yan had shot another 10 pointer!


    3 arrows, 3 bullseyes!


    "Wow!!"


    "Three in a row."


    "Dammit, is he going to be a dark horse."


    "Wait if he can shoot three 10 pointers in a row what was he doing in the first round"


    "That''s what a dark horse is, it''s meant to be unexpected."


    "Dark horse my arse, more like a wolf in sheep''s clothing waiting to pounce."

 4 Called Ou

    Wang Tao was stunned, excited and confused. He couldn''t comprehend Tang Yan''s sudden change.


    It wasn''t only him; everyone at the judges'' table stared at the boy who was the source of this commotion.


    He was loading his fourth arrow for this round.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath. Although he had lived more than a dozen years longer than these students, after hitting three 10 pointers in a row, even his emotions were fluctuating.


    After all, for him, this wasn''t just an archery competition but the first step in turning his life around.


    "Come on, calm down, you''ve got this."


    He whispered to himself as he nocked his fourth arrow.


    There were still two minutes left in this round. He was the first person to reach his fourth arrow.


    Qian Feng beside him had just shot his third arrow. He got 8 points, making his score 27, which wasn''t a bad score, but compared with Tang Yan''s 30 points, the difference was obvious.


    Seeing this, Qian Feng couldn''t accept it. How was he losing to trash that hadn''t even managed to hit the target once in the first round?


    Just as he was preparing to nock his fourth arrow, Tang Yan shot his.


    Twang.


    Boom!


    10 points!


    The judges were dumbfounded.


    The students on the side of the field couldn''t help but cheer, only to be quickly silenced by the staff members.


    Four arrows, 40 points!


    Now that was something to be proud of.


    Boom!


    Perhaps disturbed by the cheering, or perhaps because of Tang Yan successfully shooting another 10 pointer, Qian Feng''s fourth arrow was slightly inaccurate, only being a 7 pointer.


    "Did I miss something, or did this kid just turn into an expert after missing all his shots earlier?"asked Li Lao while nodding his head at Tang Yan''s performance.


    "Maybe he was just nervous earlier and now his emotions have stabilized," said Wang Tao.


    Li Lao just nodded and said nothing.


    As the second round went on, Tang Yan continued to leave everyone stunned.


    At the end of the second round, he had a perfect score of 60 points.


    Tang Yan put his recurve bow down on the ground and began resting for the third round.


    Li Guang''s ability to shoot precisely and with great strength was only 50% unlocked, but it seemed it was more than enough to cope with a distance of 30 meters.


    With this awareness, his confidence greatly improved. As long as he continued to perform this way, entering the city team wouldn''t be a problem.


    Whilst Tang Yan''s confidence increased, so did Qian Feng''s jealousy.


    Tang Yan had scored 60 points in the second round while he had only scored 48 points, far below his usual average.


    "The third round will begin now. Athletes, get ready."


    Tang Yan took up his recurve bow and walked quickly to the white line. After taking up an arrow from the arrow pot, he performed his shot sequence and "boom!"


    There was no suspense; it was another perfect shot, 10 points!


    "Wang Tao, keep an eye on this boy. If you can train him well, he will become the star of this city, no doubt about it," said Li Lao, watching Tang Yan''s series of smooth and coherent moves.


    "Yes, of course, I will " said Wang Tao, nodding hard. For someone to receive Li Lao''s praise was a rare thing.


    Tang Yan''s speed began to increase after the first shot. Hardly adjusting, he took out his second arrow, nocked it onto the bowstring, aimed and fired.


    "Cough..."


    Just as he was letting go, suddenly, there was a cough.


    Twang.


    Archery was a sport that required extreme concentration and focus. Any noise could distract the archer and put him off his shot, causing his accuracy to fall.


    Boom!


    The arrow had deviated from its course.


    "Tang Yan, 9 points."


    "Haha finally, it''s not a 10 pointer."


    Seeing this, the other archers couldn''t help but heave out a sigh of relief.


    However, Tang Yan frowned and looked over at Qian Feng.


    The coughing sound had come from his direction.


    It was obvious that it was intentional.


    Qian Feng pretended not to feel his gaze and shot his arrow.


    9 points, the same as Tang Yan''s.


    Tang Yan, seeing Qian Feng pretending to be oblivious, turned away from him and took out an arrow from the arrow pot. He nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring back and aimed. Just as he was about to fire...


    "Cough..."


    Just as he had suspected, the cough had come from his right, where Qian Feng stood.


    He stopped his hand immediately, easing the bowstring back to a rest. Holding the recurve bow in his left hand, he raised his right hand.


    Soon, a referee came up to him and asked him what he wanted.


    "He''s interfering with my shot." Wasting no time, Tang Yan pointed over at Qian Feng.


    Hearing those words, Qian Feng and the referee were stunned.


    So direct...


    "I..he''s lying, I...!" Qian Feng finally reacted and vehemently denied doing so.


    The referee signaled Qian Feng to be quiet then turned to Tang Yan and asked: "How did he interfere with your shot?"


    "He deliberately coughed when I was about to shoot," Tang Yan said straightforwardly.


    "No, I didn''t!" Qian Feng immediately retorted.


    The referee glanced at the two of them and began frowning.


    The city trials were only a low-level competition. There were no cameras or anything to see who was telling the truth.


    Sighing, the referee began to speak. "In all honesty, since I didn''t see him do so and there''s no proof, I''m going to have to resume the round, but I will be watching this area very closely from now on, so be warned, the both of....."


    Just as he was about to finish, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Wang Tao.


    Pulling the referee to the side, Wang Tao had a quick chat with him before coming up to the two of them.


    Wang Tao, glaring at Qian Feng, said with displeasure: "Get ready to resume. I''ll be supervising this section from now on."


    Seeing his unkind gaze, Qian Feng became tense.


    Tang Yan, with a relaxed attitude, turned back and prepared for his third shot.


    He nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring back, aimed and shot.


    Twang.


    Boom!


    10 points! It was another 10 pointer!


    Wang Tao''s eyes flashed with a glimmer of light.

 5 Gifted

    Wang Tao was the deputy coach of Lotus City''s archery team. Though he wasn''t at the level of Li Lao, he could still see that the quality of Tang Yan''s technique far surpassed that of the students around him, though it wasn''t without its flaws.


    But what surprised him wasn''t that, but Tang Yan''s fluid movements. He was fast, stable and accurate with few little flaws being observable.


    Such fluid movements weren''t what you would expect from a high school student but a first-class archer!


    While his technique left a lot to be desired, technique could be taught but talent couldn''t.


    He had found a real treasure!


    He was almost unable to hold back his joy and excitement. Li Lao was right; the future of archery in Lotus City was bound to change from this day onward!


    Tang Yan picked up his fourth arrow and completed a series of technical moves under the watchful eyes of Wang Tao.


    In one smooth movement, he shot another 10 pointer!


    After two consecutive 10 pointers, the truth was clear.


    After the first round, Tang Yan had been stably shooting 10 pointers. He didn''t need to smear an opponent for no reason, so it was clear that Qian Feng had deliberately interfered with his shot.


    Wang Tao turned and gestured to the referee to return.


    Swapping places with him, Wang Tao returned back to the judges'' panel. He had already made up his mind what to do next.


    The last two arrows Tang Yan shot for the round were also 10 pointers.


    .....


    At the end of the four rounds, the trial was over.


    The highest scorer was Qian Feng. Although his second round performance was poor, his subsequent rounds were decent, so he won with a total of 210 points, relying on his consistency.


    Due to getting 0 points in the first round, Tang Yan could only finish in fourth place with a score of 179.


    At the end of the trials, a total of three people were entered into the city''s archery team, one of which was naturally Tang Yan, but what people did not expect was that Qian Feng, who had scored first place, actually didn''t make the team.


    Seeing the results, Tang Yan trembled. Although his soul was in its thirties, he couldn''t contain his excitement.


    "Young man, keep up the good work. I hope to see you representing the country one day." Just as he was engrossed in his success, a white-haired old man walked over to him, patted him on the shoulder, smiled and walked away, leaving those words behind.


    "Sir, please wait up," shouted Wang Tao, chasing after Li Lao but not before shooting a smile at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan looked off into the distance at the backs of the two men.


    After sorting out all his paperwork, Tang Yan took up his bow and rushed off home.


    He was eager to return home.


    He ran down his road, excitedly staring at the familiar houses. He was truly back.


    ....


    "Mum, I''m home." As soon as he arrived, Tang Yan quickly rushed into the kitchen.


    "Slow down, slow down." His mother, cooking, shouted at Tang Yan, seeing him rush into the kitchen.


    Tang Yan stared at the middle-aged woman in front of the stove. A face of kindness, she seemed dignified and radiant. She looked at him with a smile, seeing his excitement.


    "Mum..." said Tang Yan. His emotions in turmoil, his eyes began to tear up.


    His mum had passed away from breast cancer by the time he was thirty. They had fought it for a few years after she was diagnosed, but eventually, they ran out of money for her treatment. As such, her condition had gradually worsened till she eventually passed away.


    After that, things had never been the same. His relationship with his father had begun to deteriorate over time. They had never been particularly close before, and now, without her to reconcile them, they began to quarrel. In fact, the main reason he was in South Africa was due to another quarrel with his father.


    Remembering all of this, Tang Yan swore in his heart to never let this occur!


    "Son, why are you crying? What''s wrong? Did something happen at school?" asked his mother, shocked at his tears.


    After more than five years, hearing the familiar voice of his mother, Tang Yan couldn''t hold back his emotions; his tears became stronger.


    Seeing Tang Yan crying so heavily, his mother became anxious. Quickly rushing over, she hugged him and began trying to soothe him.


    "Mum, I''m fine. I''m just really happy. Haha, can''t you see that these are tears of joy?" said Tang Yan, beginning to recover as he wiped his eyes with a smile.


    His mother, hearing his laughter, finally released Tang Yan out of her embrace.


    Relieved, she asked, "What''s made you so happy?"


    "I was selected for the city''s archery team. I can go to college," Tang Yan said with a tone seeking praise.


    "Go to college?" His mother shot him a questioning gaze and said, "What about your college entrance exam?"


    "Mum, I can get in without the test because it''s a sports scholarship. The test scores don''t really matter as long as...." Tang Yan explained to his mother.


    After the explanation, although she didn''t understand too much, hearing that her son was already set for university, she was overjoyed. She got up and began to make food to celebrate.


    Tang Yan left the kitchen and began to wander around his old house.


    Seeing the leather sofa and the big pendulum clock, his heart was filled with emotion.


    While he was reminiscing, the front door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in overalls walked in.


    "Dad, you''re back," said Tang Yan, seeing the familiar figure.


    His father nodded at him briefly then went straight to the table and began to make tea.


    This was his father, an ordinary electrician, silent and dull but the economic pillar of the family. He left for work early in the morning and returned late at night. He single-handedly propped up this house on his shoulder.


    At the dinner table, Tang Yan and his parents ate together. The feeling of doing so was so surreal, he felt like he was in an illusion. He began to serve his parents, which caused his mother to laugh with glee and boast about how their son was all grown up.


    .....


    He reported to the city''s archery team the next day.


    2010 was a big year for archery. In November, there would be the Asian Games. As the current champion of archery, South Korea, were also from Asia, the intensity of the Asian Games for archery was always the same as if they were competing in the World Championships or the Olympics.


    Prior to this though, in August, the first Youth Olympic Games would be held in Singapore.


    In order to prepare for these two major events, the National Archery Association would be holding trials for the national team in July.


    Similarly, in order to prepare for this national event, the Zhejiang Province would also conduct a provincial trial in June to select candidates to compete.


    Lotus City''s goal was naturally to get a few archers onto the provincial team''s list.


    This was why the high school trials were held at the end of April.


    These ladder-type selection trials, for Tang Yan, were his chance to leap to success.

 6 Trials 1

    Tang Yan was given a tour of the facilities after he signed in. Right at the end of the tour he ran into Wang Tao.


    Tang Yan''s impression of Wang Tao was pretty good. He was worthy of admiration for not accepting Qian Feng into the team.


    Although Qian Feng wasn''t amazing, he still possessed potential, so rejecting him must have been a tough decision.


    "Tang Yan, train hard okay, so that when the provincial team trials come along, you can enter the list," said Wang Tao while pulling him over to the side.


    Just from this it could be seen how much Wang Tao valued Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan was moved. He had experienced many hardships in his previous life. So naturally, he understood that earning this level of trust wasn''t easy.


    Although he had obtained a part of Li Guang''s abilities, he still required further training in order to perfect his technique and increase his strength. After all, he couldn''t be limited to shooting at 30 meters forever.


    Modern-day archery competitions were categorized by distance.


    The distances for the men''s competition were:30 meters, 50 meters, 70 meters, and 90 meters.


    The distances for the women''s competition were: 30 meters, 50 meters, 60 meters, and 70 meters.


    In official competitions, these distances were further divided into individual competitions and team competitions.


    The further the distance, the harder it was to shoot accurately.


    Though the distance at the Lotus City trials was 30 meters, that was mainly due to the selection targets being high school students and the fact that the city''s archery standards were low.


    But in fact, in most official competitions, 30 meters wasn''t even an event. With the shortest distance often being 50 meters.


    In other words, although Tang Yan''s performance had shocked many at the trials, nearly every member of the city team could do the same.


    Therefore, although Wang Tao appreciated his potential. Upon entering the team, he was still the weakest member.


    Entering the team, he was now challenged with competing in the 50m event.


    This increase of 20 meters shouldn''t be underestimated. An increase in distance meant a change in your archery angle. You could aim flat at 30 meters but at 50 meters you had to compensate for the distance by raising the angle at which you shot.


    However, for Tang Yan, this was a natural process. He found himself naturally adjusting before he shot. It was like a muscle reflex ingrained in him.


    After getting into the team, he had trained and experimented several times to test out the extent of his abilities and found that he could shoot 46-48 points steadily at 70 meters with six arrows. This level was actually very close to that of the provincial average.


    However, the event given to him by the team was 50 meters. He accepted it, though slightly unwillingly.


    Even so, Tang Yan''s training had left a deep impression on the rest of his teammates.


    After all Tang Yan was only 18 years old!


    Wang Tao seeing their shock, laughed.


    If only they knew the truth that Tang Yan wasn''t only 18yrs old, but a complete amateur with only three months of practice under his belt.


    What a prodigy.


    In truth, Wang Tao had wanted Tang Yan to compete in the 70m event, but the head coach had turned him down. Saying that Tang Yan was too inexperienced.


    .....


    Two months later.


    Today was the day that the provincial trials began. The archery team was preparing to head down to Yuhang City to compete.


    Before the expedition, Tang Yan finally managed to catch a glimpse of their Head Coach Shao Ping, a bald-headed fat man, said to have been the main force behind the former provincial team.


    "Everyone must work hard. This is a rare opportunity. If you don''t grasp it, it will be your own fault. Work hard and bring glory to Lotus City and our archery team!" Before their departure, Shao Ping gave a speech ''full of encouragement''.


    After getting on the bus, Tang Yan was able to hear his teammates cracking jokes and mocking Shao Ping. In fact, this was a common occurrence. Many were disgruntled with the old man who hardly ever showed his face at training, even though he was the head coach.


    However, he didn''t participate in their banter, he found their antics too childish.


    After a three hour bumpy journey, they finally arrived in Yuhang City.


    Yuhang City was the capital city of the Zhejiang Province. It had a developed economy and was filled with grand high-rise buildings. The prosperity of the city was obvious at the first glance. After entering the city, it took them another hour to reach the hotel.


    Their accommodation was arranged by the Provincial Archery Association. Perhaps because of their poor performances before, the hotel they were put in was subpar at best. It was closer to a rundown motel rather than a hotel.


    His teammates, upon seeing the hotel began to frown. When Wang Tao and Shao Ping left for a meeting which left them alone, Tang Yan''s teammates began to curse and complain loudly.


    Tang Yan stood silently, waiting to get his room card. After receiving it he went to his room to rest.


    This trial was said to be for selecting the provincial team members who would compete in the national trials. But in all honesty, basically everyone knew that the main team had probably been selected already. Most of whom would probably be from Yuhang City''s archery team. What the other teams were fighting for, was a place on the team as archers with potential.


    Many cities were aware of this, so they sent up a young line-up. Lotus City had only sent along two veteran archers with the rest of the team being newcomers like Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan knew this as well, but he wasn''t resigned to his fate yet.He began to rest so that he could be in top form tomorrow and steal his way into the main team.


    The next day, Shao Ping did not appear, leaving Wang Tao to take them to the venue.


    The players yawned as they all got onto the coach again. It seemed that they hadn''t slept very well last night.


    Wang Tao couldn''t help but frown when he saw this but, when he saw Tang Yan full of energy, his face burst into a smile. Signaling him to wait, he got the others onto the bus first, then looked at Tang Yan and said,


    "Tang Yan, we will be relying on you today okay, so show them what Lotus City is made of!"


    Tang Yan nodded then got on the bus with a smile.


    _____________________________________________


    Release Schedule is 4:00 pm (UTC) on:


    - Sunday


    - Wednesday


    - Friday


    Bonus Chapters:


    *Four bonus chapters if ranked top 200


    *Five bonus chapters if ranked top 100


    *Ten bonus chapters if ranked top 50

 7 Trials 2

    The provincial team''s selection process was much more extensive than Lotus City''s. The trial would be held over two days. The first day was for the individual events and the second day was for the team event.


    The distances were 50 meters, 70 meters, and 90 meters.


    The first event was the preliminaries for 50 meters.


    Tang Yan was in the second group to shoot. He looked over to the judges'' booth as soon as he arrived.


    Sure enough, Shao Ping was seated over there. It seemed that the head coach of each team was a judge.


    In the centre most position was Li Lao, who looked as if he was dozing off.


    His event began.


    Unlike before, this event had a total of six rounds, with six arrows per round.


    The difference between cities could be seen instantly just from looking at the scoreboard.


    For example, in the first group, there was an archer called Zhang Han from Yuhang City''s archery team. He scored a total of 349 points out of 360.


    Whereas, Chen Yufeng, the archer Lotus City had sent out, had only scored 310 points. The gap in skill levels was quite obvious.


    "Xiao Yan, you''ve cultivated a good one. If he maintains his current form, he''s in with the chance of winning this event." said Li Lao over to the middle-aged man beside him.


    "Haha... Li Lao, you truly have good eyes. This Zhang Han is a prodigy. He''s only been practicing archery for 2 years, but his skills have already reached the provincial level. He has also reached the average level for the 70m event," boasted Xiao Yan full of pride after hearing Li Lao''s praise.


    Li Lao nodded but spoke no more. Just as he was preparing to close his eyes and rest, his eyes swept over a familiar figure. Suddenly, he stopped his actions and began concentrating.


    Xiao Yan knew Li Lao''s habits. He was a 60-year-old man after all so naturally, his energy was limited. As such he normally rested and only watched the major events. It was strange to see him suddenly come to life like this.


    Following Li Lao''s gaze, he saw an archer walking from Lotus City''s camp towards the shooting gallery for his event. Seeing this, confusion filled his mind.


    Who was he and why did he catch Li Lao''s attention?


    .....


    Tang Yan took his recurve bow and took a deep breath before entering the shooting gallery.


    Although the Zhejiang Province wasn''t a huge archery province, due to the huge commotion caused by the trials, a huge crowd of spectators had come to watch.


    Even though this was only the preliminaries for the individual events, nearly a thousand people had come to watch.


    Facing such a huge crowd, Tang Yan felt his heart begin to beat faster. This was the biggest event he had experienced in both the past and the present.


    "Calm down... This is nothing compared to what''s to come. What''s the point of getting nervous now..." muttered Tang Yan to himself trying to calm his nerves.


    Looking at Tang Yan''s anxious behavior, doubts began to appear in Xiao Yan''s mind. What the hell did Li Lao see in this kid?


    "Archers, get ready. The first round will begin soon. Remember, you only have four minutes to shoot six arrows."


    The referee shouted from the side of the field.


    Everyone took an arrow from the arrow pot and prepared themselves.


    "Ready, Steady, Go!!!!"


    At the order of the referee, all the archers nocked their arrows, drew their bowstrings back, aimed and shot.


    Twang


    Whizz...


    Boom, Boom, Boom


    As the archers shot their first arrows, the scene looked like something out of an ancient battlefield.


    This drew a burst of cheers from the sidelines.


    However, such a scene only lasted for one arrow. After the first arrow was shot, each person''s scores were different. Those with unsatisfactory results inevitably shook their heads and began to adjust, causing them to fall behind. Whereas those who got good results could immediately move onto their second arrow with confidence.


    Maybe due to the fact that it was the first round, everyone seemed to shoot at a faster rate. After two and a half minutes, everyone was done.


    After the referee confirmed that everyone was done shooting, he announced the end of the first round and began the one-minute break.


    There were twelve archers in each group, and this group had performed better than the first group, so far at least.


    Among the twelve, four had shot perfect rounds of 60 points.


    These four were:


    Li Cunhou and Li Cunde from Yuhang City, Song Sizhe from Wenzhou City and Tang Yan from Lotus City!


    After the first round of shooting, Li Lao showed a gratified smile.


    Xiao Yan after seeing all of this was taken aback. Lotus City had always been a weak city in terms of archery, as such he didn''t pay them much mind, but out of nowhere, someone like Tang Yan had appeared.


    Seeing Li Lao watching with gusto, he couldn''t help but attach more importance to Tang Yan.


    After the first round, Tang Yan''s nerves had completely faded away.


    He was psychologically older than everyone competing, so naturally, he could quickly adjust his mental state.


    The second round of shooting soon began. Tang Yan continued to perform exceptionally: shooting all six arrows in just two minutes. All six arrows were 10 pointers!


    After this round of shooting, Li Lao nodded with a smile then closed his eyes and began to rest.


    Xiao Yan was shocked. This Tang Yan''s movements were as smooth as silk. He barely took time to adjust after each shot.


    Damn it! When had Lotus City got such a talented archer? It seemed, at noon, he would have to get someone to investigate the background of this Tang Yan. If they lost this event, he would have nowhere to place his face.


    However, the most shocked person at this time wasn''t Xiao Yan, but Shao Ping.


    "Old Shao, you really are a deep schemer. Sending out someone like him to participate in the 50m event," said Wenzhou City''s head coach, Sun Ming.


    Shao Ping recovered and said: "Old Sun, haha... You want me to send out my golden goose to be slaughtered. No way, the kid is still a greenhorn so naturally he has to start with the 50 meter event."


    Though his mouth was saying such words, his mind was saying something completely different.


    "Damn it... Why didn''t anyone tell me that this kid was so talented? Hahaha... We finally have our own genius..."

 8 Trials 3

    After the second round, there were only two people with perfect scores. One was Li Cunde from Yuhang City, and the other was Tang Yan.


    The judges were slightly stunned. Seeing such a performance from someone from Lotus City was definitely unexpected.


    Tang Yan looked at the expressions of the judges and smiled before looking over at Li Cunde.


    Could he maintain his perfect streak as well?


    In fact, Tang Yan''s performance had drawn the attention of the audience as well. They became excited at the idea of a confrontation between two masters.


    After a short break, the third round begun.


    Tan Yan still maintained his previous rhythm, ignoring the increased attention he was receiving.


    His third round was perfect as well.


    After shooting his last arrow, he laid down his bow and arrow and walked back to the grass to sit down.


    The emotions of the audience were tense.


    Of the two, Li Cunde was a much more cautious archer, thus his archery was slower as he paid more attention to each shot. Whilst Tang Yan had finished shooting, he was just on his fourth arrow.


    Taking a deep breath and aiming his bow, he released the bow string.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    "Beautiful shot!" Tang Yan couldn''t help but comment.


    After the fourth arrow, Li Cunde was on a perfect score of 40 points. Although he was slower than Tang Yan, it was stable.


    Looking at Li Cunde, Tang Yan couldn''t help but sigh. This somewhat chubby high school student looked to be two or three years younger than him. Back in Lotus City, he was named a prodigy due to being only 18yrs old. If that was the case, then what was Li Cunde? From this, the disparity between the cities could be seen once again. Talent in one city was just average when moved to another.


    In all honesty, he hadn''t expected Li Cunde''s mentality to be so strong. At such a young age, he could already steadily shoot perfect rounds at a provincial competition and so stably at that. He would be a strong opponent in the future.


    Li Cunde''s stable play continued until the end of the round, although slower, his results were the same as Tang Yan''s: a perfect score of 60 points!


    At the end of this round, there was a burst of cheering from the crowd.


    In this round of the competition, the confrontation between Li Cunde and Tang Yan became extremely popular.


    "Old Chen, do you think those two can shoot a perfect game?"


    The judges began to discuss after seeing the results of this round. In the first group, Zhang Han''s performance had made them satisfied. But he had only shot 349 points. Now seeing these two shooting three rounds of perfect scores, they began to ponder if it was possible for the two to shoot a completely perfect game.


    Seeing so many talented young archers, it seemed the future was bright.


    "It''s hard to say. Tang Yan shoots very quickly, so whether he can maintain his accuracy is difficult to guarantee. Li Cunde, on the other hand, is much slower, but his shots are steady. If you really want to hear my thoughts, I think Li Cunde has a better chance of shooting a perfect game," said the coach, known as Lao Chen.


    "I disagree."


    "Oh? You think Tang Yan has a greater chance?"


    "Naturally, since he can be so accurate while shooting so quickly, he can slow down and shoot even more precisely. Plus, doesn''t it feel like he shouldn''t be on this event but the 70m event instead?"


    .....


    Twang!


    Boom!


    "Tang Yan, 10 points."


    Tang Yan, having maintained his previous speed and accuracy had just finished a perfect game of 360 points!


    The audience burst into cheers once again.


    Tang Yan had finished exactly one and a half minutes ahead of schedule. This was definitely an unprecedented performance. Although Li Cunde was still in with a chance, everyone could see that there was a gap in their strength.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    "Li Cunde, 10 points!"


    The umpire reported the results of Li Cunde''s fifth arrow, causing the scene to fall into chaos.


    Loading his final arrow, Li Cunde drew the bow back and aimed; he held his position a while then shot...


    Twang!


    Boom!


    "Li Cunde, 9 points."


    Silence filled the arena, all that could be heard were the gasps of the audience.


    Xiao Yan could be seen shaking his head helplessly.


    The second group preliminaries ended, and the results of this group were released.


    Tang Yan came in first place in his group with 360 points. He was also ranked in first place out of all the current archers.


    Li Cunde was in second place in the group and overall, with 359 points.


    The veteran archer Song Sizhe from Wenzhou City scored 357 points, making him third in the group and third, overall.


    The results of their group were quite good; the top three were basically guaranteed to advance into the finals.


    The 50-meter event wasn''t a mainstream event; therefore, there were only 48 people competing in it. There were a total of eight archers in each group for a total of six groups.


    After the four remaining groups had finished shooting, another person had achieved a perfect score of 360 points.


    In the fourth group, Zhou Ning from Yuhang City had also shot a perfect game like Tang Yan.


    However, because Tang Yan used less time, he was ranked in first place in the preliminaries, while Zhou Ning was second.


    In the final stages of the competition, of the 48 players, only the top eight would be advancing to the quarter finals.


    Tang Yan''s opponent in the quarter finals was Song Sizhe, and he was ranked eighth.


    The quarter finals would take place in the afternoon after the 50m preliminaries, the 70m and 90m preliminaries took place.


    After the 50m event, the audiences'' emotions were on edge.


    Tang Yan returned to the resting area to watch the other events.


    As he was watching the 90-meter preliminaries, an uninvited guest appeared- Shao Ping.


    "Coach," said Tang Yan respectively upon seeing Shao Ping. Though he didn''t particularly like Shao Ping, since he was the head coach, he knew to be respectful.


    "Well done at the preliminaries. I hope you continue to perform well in the afternoon. Try your best to win the event, and I will try my best to help you get into the provincial team."


    Hearing what Shao Ping said, Tang Yan was stunned. He hadn''t expected Shao Ping to advocate for him.


    He suddenly felt that maybe Shao Ping wasn''t as bad as the other team members made him out to be.


    "Of course, I will try my best. Thank you so much, coach," said Tang Yan with excitement clear in his voice.


    Shao Ping nodded with a smile, patted him on the shoulder then headed back to the judges panel.

 9 Trials 4

    90-meters was the furthest distance in an archery competition. At this distance, it became extremely difficult to maintain a high level of accuracy.


    But those from Yuhang City seemed to defy this, shooting 300 point games, which attracted wild cheers from the crowd.


    After the end of the 90-meter preliminaries, all the events in the morning were over, and the audience withdrew. The coaches of each team also began to find their archers who had advanced past the preliminaries and began to discuss the afternoon finals.


    As expected, whether it was the 50m, 70m or 90m event, Yuhang City had the most archers through to the next round.


    In the 70m event, five of the eight archers who made it into the next round were from Yuhang City.


    In contrast to this, the 50m was a lot more diverse. They had Song Sizhe from Wenzhou City, Li Tao from Taizhou, Qiu Tian from Huzhou City, plus Tang Yan.


    Four of the finalists weren''t from Yuhang City.


    It was worth mentioning that, of the 10 archers from Lotus City, the only one to qualify for the next round was Tang Yan.


    After a short break at noon, the afternoon finals were kicked off.


    Compared with the morning, the number of people watching the trials increased significantly, reaching more than 2,000 people, more than double the morning.


    More viewers also made the tension at the scene increase, and for many of the young archers, this was also a psychological test.


    The first competition was the 50-meter quarter finals. The first pair of archers were Tang Yan and Song Sizhe.


    This round of the archery competition was quite different from the preliminaries. At the preliminaries, everyone shot at the same time. But now, they would take turns to shoot a total of 12 arrows.


    They would shoot three sets of arrows each round for a total of four rounds, and they were now limited to two minutes as well instead of four. The person with the highest amount of points at the end would win and move onto the next round. If they got the same number of points, they would go into overtime where they would continue to shoot three sets of arrows until a final winner was decided.


    Tang Yan had ranked higher in the preliminaries, so he had the right to shoot first.


    "Old Chen, do you think Song Sizhe has a chance to win?" The judges began to discuss again.


    "He does have a chance albeit a small one. The pressure on the players in the finals compared to the preliminaries is different, and look at the size of the audience now. This will be a test of their mental fortitude as well as their abilities. Although Song Sizhe''s preliminaries weren''t as good as Tang Yan''s, he has more experience in competitions like this. This might just give him the edge over Tang Yan to win."


    "What you''ve said makes sense. I really think that''ll be the case. In the morning, it may have been because Tang Yan was from Lotus City which caused people to be surprised and put them off their game. This quarter final does seem to lean more towards Song Sizhe''s favor."


    ...


    At the judges panel, Shao Ping and Sun Hao sat together. In the morning, the two men had ridiculed each other, and now in the afternoon, their archers were facing each other. They both became silent and stared straight at the shooting gallery.


    Tang Yan walked to the white line and took a deep breath after adjusting his stance. He didn''t have the slightest bit of tension; instead, he was filled with excitement.


    The referee quickly signaled the start of the round.


    He took another deep breath and quickly calmed his emotions.


    However, he didn''t immediately start shooting like usual; instead he held his bow up, aimed then held it.


    "What''s Tang Yan doing? Why isn''t he shooting? Don''t tell me he''s overcome with nerves and can''t move?"


    Seeing Tang Yan not shooting his arrow, not only the audience, but even the judges became shocked.


    He looked like he had frozen up like a character out of a horror movie.


    "Haha... Shao Ping, it seems like your golden goose has ..." Just as one of the coaches began to mock Shao Ping...


    Tang Yan moved.


    Like a flash of lightning, he released the arrow.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    Just as the crowd reacted and began to cheer,Tang Yan took out another arrow and carried out a series of extremely smooth technical movements.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    The second arrow was another 10 pointer!


    Not stopping, he took up his third arrow and fired.


    Twang!


    BOOM!


    Another 10 pointer!


    After shooting, he glanced at the results, turned and strode back to his resting area.


    ....


    What tension? With the abilities of Lu Guang, What did he have to fear? With a system behind him, who could stop him in this life?


    Song Sizhe after seeing all of this began to feel immense pressure. In fact, Tang Yan shooting a perfect 30 points didn''t surprise him. After all, it was only 50 meters, but Tang Yan''s three consecutive shots in just a matter of seconds left him flabbergasted.


    However, as an old veteran, he was quick to recover. As he walked to the competition area, he stabilized his mind.


    His archery speed was very slow. In fact, in the final stage, as long as the 3 arrows were shot within the specified 2 minutes, the results were the same. He shot in a slow and stable manner.


    He steadily shot a perfect round of his own, which attracted a cheer from the audience.


    After shooting, he took a long breath and found that his clothes were a little wet with sweat. Against a high school student like Tang Yan, he felt pressure he had never felt before.


    After Song Sizhe''s shot, Tang Yan took up his bow and walked to the white line.


    The audience at the scene looked at him with a slight nervousness. As the game progresses, the pressure onthe archers would continue to increase each round.


    Tang Yan easily nocked his arrow and shot directly.


    Song Sizhe''s perfect round should have increased the pressure on him, but he was quick and clean as he shot another perfect round of 30 points.


    The audience watched intently as the two continued back and forth, shooting perfect rounds.


    But just as things were reaching its peak, Song Sizhe made a mistake and shot a 9 pointer on his last arrow in the third round.


    His performance was exceptional, but that slip up was enough to cost him the game against Tang Yan.

 10 Upgrade

    Seeing Tang Yan''s performance so far, anyone who had doubts about him before had now begun to realize how strong of an archer he was. He had gone from a nobody to the favourite to win the event.


    In the semi finals, Tang Yan''s opponent was Li Cunde from his preliminaries. The latter had eliminated Li Tao from Taizhou in the quarter finals with a near perfect score of 118 points.


    As a member of Yuhang City, when he had lost in the preliminaries, Xiao Yan had criticized him all noon, so he was eager to make his comeback and make a name for himself by winning this event.


    However, in this kind of competition, whether you looked at in terms of strength or in terms of accuracy, Tang Yan had the absolute advantage at this distance. Coupled with his powerful soul which made his mental state increasingly stable, it was difficult to defeat him.


    And this round of confrontation between Li Cunde and Tang Yan proved so.


    Sadly, sometimes effort didn''t necessarily lead to success.


    Li Cunde''s archery was quite stable. The first nine arrows were all 10 pointers, but just like in the preliminaries, he choked from the pressure in the last round and his last two arrows fell short.Both were 9 pointers, making his final score 118 points.


    "This Li Cunde is still lacking. His skills are there, but his mental fortitude is lacking, and his ability to withstand pressure is a little weak. But with a few more years of experience, he will become a formidable force to be reckoned with. He has the potential to reach the international stage," commented a judge.


    "They are all teenagers; their weak mental state is to be expected. In fact, even among the older archers, how many could truly stay unflustered against an opponent like Tang Yan? Though his flair for dramatics is a bit over the top, it is highly effective. Who wouldn''t feel pressured seeing their opponent shooting continuous arrows like it''s nothing?" said another judge with a smile.


    ....


    After defeating Li Cunde, Tang Yan had successfully entered the finals of the 50-meter trial.


    His opponent in the finals was Zhou Ning, the only other person to shoot a perfect game in the preliminaries.


    Unlike Tang Yan who showed absolute dominance over all his opponents, Zhou Ning had taken a more casual approach in an attempt to retain his strength for the finals. He consistently played one level above his opponents; he eliminated his opponents with scores of 116 and 119 points respectively and broke into the finals.


    This was the first time in the individual events that a non-Yuhang City athlete had made it into the finals.


    For Yuhang City, this was a challenge. If they lost, it would break their unbeaten streak and set a precedent. And for Xiao Yan, the head coach of Yuhang City, this was unacceptable.


    During the break before the final, both archers began to prepare.


    When both sides were checking their bows, Zhou Ning suddenly turned to Tang Yan and said:


    "Your performance has been good so far, but sadly it comes to an end here."


    The archers of Yuhang City were all quite prideful.


    It was naturally for this kind of thing to occur; after all, they had always been in a dominant position over the other cities.


    Although talented figures had appeared from time to time from the other cities, it had never been enough to shake their position as the leaders of the province.


    Accustomed to winning; naturally pride and arrogance were bred.


    Zhou Ning in particular was one of the worst ones, having begun learning archery from the age of six, he had become famous in Yuhang City for his skills at the age of 11. Although he was only 16 years old, he was already a key member of the team. The reason why he chose to participate in the 50-meter event was so he could show off his skills more and make a bigger name for himself.


    Tang Yan smiled but didn''t respond. He couldn''t find it in himself to bother with a comeback. Who cared what a 16-year-old said? He might have regressed back to the past, but his mental age was still that of a 30-year-old.


    Zhou Ning, seeing that Tang Yan didn''t respond, snorted, took his equipment arrow and went to the competition area to warm up.


    After waiting a few minutes, with the two archers having warmed up, the 50-meter finals finally kicked off.


    Tang Yan was first to shoot.


    Like before, he shot all three arrows continuously, and all were ten pointers.


    Zhou Ning, however, didn''t show much reaction and went up for his turn; though not as rapidly as Tang Yan, he also shot three arrows continuously all of which were ten pointers.


    It could be seen that although he was arrogant, he had the qualifications to be.


    After shooting, Zhou Ning shot Tang Yan a provocative sneer, but found that the latter was completely ignoring him, as he walked up to the shooting gallery.


    Seeing this, Zhou Ning gritted his teeth.


    The two were continuously alternating and shooting, and the audience on the sidelines were anxious and excited.


    Even many judges in the stands found their palms sweaty from watching in anxiety.


    Everyone was tense, well. nearly everyone. Li Lao was watching with glee, excitedly laughing after each shot.


    As the provincial teams head coach, his considerations were obviously different from others.


    In addition to the Asian Games in November, there was also the Youth Olympics in August. The athletes in the Youth Olympics were required to be between 14 to 18 years old. Most of the provincial team were too old to compete; as such, their goals were to compete in the Asian Games, so he had to find talented young archers who could.


    Therefore, seeing such a top-level final for the 50m event, left him thrilled.


    The three rounds were over, and both the judges and the audience were left stunned.


    120 points!


    Both of them had shot a perfect game.


    The audience was astounded!


    The umpire recovering from his shock called out for overtime.


    The finals had been pushed to overtime!


    There was a minute of rest time before overtime began. While resting on the sidelines, Zhou Ning couldn''t help but turn his head and say to Tang Yan,


    "Your luck has been good today, but..."


    "It ends here, yeah I know. You really are cliche,"interrupted Tang Yan with a smile.


    "You...." Zhou Ning was stunned and turned around and stopped speaking.


    Tang Yan shrugged indifferently. This Zhou Ning was obviously trying to use words to interfere with his mental state; but naturally he wouldn''t be so easily shaken.


    As the first round of overtime began, the two were still evenly matched. The tension and pressure in the air increased after each arrow.


    However, in the third round of overtime,the deadlock was finally broken.


    Li Guang''s abilities not only increased Tang Yan''s skills but also his physique. Also due to his age, he was more physically able. But Zhou Ning didn''t have this advantage, he was just a teenager;, although he had gone through systematic training, as the game went on, it was clear to see he was beginning to fatigue. He began to take longer for each shot, and his strength began to wane. His endurance was starting to fail him.


    On his last arrow of the third round, Zhou Ning''s arms gave way slightly, causing him to release the bowstring prematurely.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    The arrow flew through the air and hit the target board, but it was off course.


    "Zhou Ning, 8 points."


    Hearing this, the crowd broke out into pandemonium.


    It was all over.


    Tang Yan had won. He was the first non-Yuhang City athletes to win the event since the provincial archery selection was held!


    The scene burst to life.


    Shao Ping jumped out of his judge''s seat and punched the air in celebration. Next to him, Sun Yan openly congratulated him with a wry smile.


    Just as the referee was about to announce his victory, he found himself in a white void again, looking at the system administrator, Celia.


    "Congratulations, master. You have won your first major event. You are one step closer to conquering the sports world, and with this victory, you have gained 1 honor point. Remember, honor points can be used to improve abilities or to unlock new characters."

 11 Suspicion

    Tang Yan found it unacceptable the way he was forcefully pulled into the virtual space, but he became excited when he heard Celia''s words.


    He had been hoping for this when he had participated in the 50-meter event, although the process was somewhat boring for him, he had finally won his first major event and gained 1 honor point.


    He looked back at the system interface and found that not a lot had changed.


    Most of the names were still greyed out, only the three characters from the beginning were lit up.


    The only difference this time was that when he selected Li Guang''s name, there was the word ''upgrade'' above his avatar head.


    Selecting the word, an option menu appeared.


    Unlock 60% of Li Guang''s abilities:


    [Yes] / [No]


    Not hesitating, Tang Yan chose to upgrade Li Guang''s abilities.


    A feeling of numbness came over him, and before he could even ask a question to Celia, he found himself back in the real world.


    "Really, so rude!" said Tang Yan silently expressing contempt in his heart at the systems forced transmission.


    Focusing back on his surroundings, he found the audience still cheering.


    Cheering for him.


    They were celebrating the birth of a new champion.


    "Congratulations to Tang Yan for winning the 50m individual event, also congratulations to the runner-up....."


    After receiving his winners medal, he left the competition venue with other players and entered the rest area.


    After sitting in the rest area for a while, he began to feel everything sink in.


    He had just won the first championship of his career. Although it was only provincial, this was something he would never of dared to dream of in his previous life.


    Just as he was wallowing in victory, the door of the rest area was pushed open.


    Looking up, he saw a few familiar figures.


    Li Lao, accompanied by Shao Ping, Xiao Yan and other city head coaches came in.


    After the end of the 50-meter event was the 70-meter final, as such, most of the archers in the rest area were archers from the 50m event.


    When these people saw Li Lao enter, a burst of light filled their eyes.


    They stared at him with gazes full of hope; some daring ones even began to move to say hello only to quickly receive glares from their coaches.


    They could only watch on as Li Lao strolled past...


    Looking along Li Lao''s path of advancement, they realised he was walking towards Tang Yan.


    So he was here for him...


    Seeing this, the archers who had stood up felt loss and embarrassment.


    "Kid, do you remember me?" asked Li Lao walking up to Tang Yan with a smile.


    "Of course." said Tang Yan respectfully as he stood up.


    "Coach Shao often mentions you."


    "He does? Haha, what does he say about me?" Li Lao smiled and looked over at Shao Ping.


    "He spoken about how great a coach you are, and how I should strive to be taught by you one day..." said Tang Yan with a smile.


    "Cough...." Shao Ping was stunned.


    "Haha..." Li Lao laughed heartily, although he didn''t say anything, everyone could tell he was pleased to hear this flattering.


    Tang Yan smiled, but there was doubts in his head. Surely they hadn''t come all the way over here just for this. Especially not with such a big group of people following him.


    "Tang Yan, I heard that you haven''t been studying archery for long. But you''ve made so much progress in such a short time. Can you tell us who taught you?" asked Li Lao laughing.


    When Li Lao said this, the other coaches, including Shao Ping, looked at him with doubtful eyes, especially Xiao Yan, who looked at him with eyes full of distrust.


    Hearing this, Tang Yan realized what was going on. These people were suspicious of him.


    In fact, it was normal to be suspicious. After all, archery was a sport that relied heavily on talent and training. It was unheard of for people to be able to shoot so well after just half a year of training.


    "I don''t have a coach. I''m self-taught," said Tang Yan truthfully.


    "Self-taught?" Not waiting for Li Lao to respond, Xiao Yan asked with a distrustful tone.


    Tang Yan nodded. His eyes focused on Li Lao, ignoring Xiao Yan, he explained to Li Lao: "I picked up archery mostly in hopes of getting a sports scholarship for university next year.Before the Lotus City trials, I had only been training for three months, that trial was my first ever competition."


    Li Lao''s eyes flashed a stunned look.


    "Can.. you show me your recurve bow?" said Li Lao, after recovering from his shock.


    Tang Yan didn''t hesitate and handed over the recurve bow.


    Li Lao took the bow and observed it for a while, pulling the bowstring, he moved as if he was going to shoot the bow. After confirming that there was no problem, he didn''t immediately return it to Tang Yan, but handed it over to Xiao Yan with a displeased look.


    Xiao Yan took the bow and checked it over, meticulously scrutinizing it bit by bit.


    Finding nothing, he wrinkled his brows.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but smile.


    It seemed the head coach of Yuhang City suspected him of cheating.

 12 Youthful Pride

    "Coach Xiao, may I ask what you are looking for? Maybe I can be of some assistance." Seeing Xiao Yan re-starting his inspection, Tang Yan spoke up.


    Xiao Yan immediately began to blush, embarrassment present on his face.


    After the 50m finals were over, he had learned from one of his people that Tang Yan had only been practicing archery for half a year. Hearing this, the first thought that popped into his mind was that Tang Yan must have cheated


    After further investigating, he had found out that the recurve bow Tang Yan had used for the competition was his own personal bow, not one obtained at the competition.


    Connecting these two things, he had confidently brought over Li Lao and the rest to check, he hadn''t expected to find nothing.


    Tang Yan''s sentence was equal to a slap across his face.


    Seeing this, Shao Ping couldn''t help but feel proud. For the first time, he felt superior to Xiao Yan, and he couldn''t care less that it wasn''t through his own making.


    Li Lao who was watching the situation looked like he was finally preparing to speak.


    "Li Lao, some techniques are indistinguishable from the naked eye. Technology has improved a great length over these past few..." said Xiao Yan .


    "Old Xiao, are you still not giving up?" interrupted Shao Ping, shooting him a condescending look.


    "He should change bows and re-shoot in front of all of us." said Xiao Yan, simply ignoring Shao Ping.


    "Re-shoot, why should he, just because you say so?!Li Lao has already said there is no problem with his bow or do you think you know better than Li Lao?


    "At that time, when we were setting the rules, wasn''t it you who pushed to let the archers bring their own bows and arrows? And now you are accusing people of cheating. Is it because your people are cheating?" rebutted Shao Ping, showing no weakness."


    Tang Yan silently praised his coach in his mind.


    "Shao Ping, how dare you?! Don''t get cocky just because you won one event. Wait till next year, we will..."


    "Okay, that''s enough!" said Li Lao, seeing the two about to quarrel.


    Li Lao was an extremely prestigious person in the provincial archery team. Although the two men were angry, they soon became quiet.


    "Tang Yan, can you change to a new bow, and shoot another round for us?" asked Li Lao to Tang Yan.


    "No problem." Tang Yan didn''t think much of it, at his level, changing bows meant nothing to him. He could still comfortably shoot 10 pointers.


    With the consent of Tang Yan, they walked straight towards the shooting gallery.


    They walked to the shooting gallery with great enthusiasm, but soon found a problem.


    Because the 70-meter finals were about to start soon, the distance in the shooting gallery had been adjusted. At this point, there wasn''t much time till the start of the finals and it would take too long to move thing back and forth.


    Seeing this, a coach sighed and said, "I guess we will have to wait until tomorrow."


    "No!" said Shao Ping and Xiao Yan in unison.


    Shao Ping''s objection was due to the fact that he was worried about Tang Yan''s mental state from all this pressure. Whilst Xiao Yan''s objection was completely different, he was worried if he waited till tomorrow, Tang Yan and the rest would change their minds.


    Seeing the coaches on both sides not agreeing, the situation suddenly fell into a stalemate.


    Right at that moment, Tang Yan suddenly said: "In fact, it doesn''t matter. I can shoot 70 meters."


    "What?" listening to his words, the other coaches showed incredible looks on their faces.


    "Tang Yan, don''t talk nonsense!" Shao Ping immediately reprimanded.


    The difference between 70 meters and 50 meters wasn''t just 20 meters. For archers, it was a whole new ballpark, those extra 20 meters separated the amateurs from the experts in the archery world.


    "Quickly, go get a bow," said Xiao Yan immediately to a staff member. He had a massive grin across his face. He didn''t expect Tang Yan to be so arrogant, from the information he had gathered, Tang Yan had never received training for 70 meters. This was simply pushing himself into the fire pit.


    "Li Lao, this...." Shao Ping, seeing Tang Yan actually beginning to warm up, couldn''t help but turn his head to Li Lao.


    "If he has the confidence to do it then let him try," said Li Lao, interrupting Shao Ping. He didn''t believe that someone with only half a year of training could shoot 70 meters either, but he wanted to test Tang Yan''s abilities and see where he got such confidence from.


    Soon, the staff member returned with a recurve bow and arrows in hand.


    Naturally, the bow and arrows were from the Provincial Archery Association, so there was no chance of ''cheating''.


    Tang Yan took the equipment and began to inspect it, just to make sure Xiao Yan wasn''t playing any tricks. After seeing that everything seemed to be good, he didn''t delay and got into position.


    The audience at the scene was waiting for the 70-meter final to begin. At this time, suddenly seeing someone holding a recurve bow on the shooting gallery, confusion filled their eyes, especially when they realized that person was Tang Yan who had just won the 50m event.


    What was going on over there?


    Puzzled, the crowd broke out into discussion.


    Looking at Tang Yan really preparing to shoot, Shao Ping couldn''t help but sigh- youthful pride!


    After Tang Yan nocked the arrow onto the bowstring, he then raised the bow up, and with his right hand, began to pull the arrow back.


    The force behind the bow would determine the distance of the arrow. The draw weight of the bowstring determined how much force you could get from a bow.


    Draw weight was the amount of force needed to pull a bow, and it is measured in pounds. Recurve bows had incrementally heavier draw weights the farther they were pulled.


    At 30 meters, the right force for the recurve bow was 30 pounds, 50 meters was 40 pounds, and 70 meters required 50 pounds.


    At this time, Tang Yan''s pre-pull action attracted the attention of the coaches behind him.


    For a high school student who hadn''t been systematically trained before, it shouldn''t be easy to pull a 50-pound bow.


    But what they saw was Tang Yan pulling back the bowstring steadily and holding it in place, his arm was very stable, there was no jittering at all.


    They all stared with awe.


    After Tang Yan had drawn the bowstring back, he began to aim at the target at a distance of 70 meters.


    The diameter of the target used in the 70m event was 122cm, for someone who was 70 meters away, this was like standing at the halfway line on a football field and trying to hit an apple inside the goal.


    This was why 70 meters was so different from the 50m event.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath, after unlocking 60% of Li Guang''s abilities, he could clearly feel that 70 meters wasn''t as big of a hurdle as before.


    Not only had pulling the bowstring become easier, his vision seemed to have improved too. He could see the distant target more clearly.


    He let out a sigh of relief, and gently raised his aim higher, then let the arrow loose.


    Twang!


    The arrow shot off the bowstring and flew through the sky.

 13 Making A Mockery Of Yourself

    The moment the arrow was off the string, all eyes were on it, they watched it fly through the sky and begin its descent towards the target.


    Boom!


    Everyone''s eyes became wide. Even without being told, they could tell that he had got a good score.


    This arrow was enough to illustrate Tang Yan''s ability.


    9 points!


    When the number was reported, everyone including Li Lao were stunned.


    9 points!


    The diameter of the arrow used in this competition was 7.6mm, the width of the gold ring was only 6.1cm inside of which were the 9-point ring and the 10-point ring.


    This made the ability to shoot 9 points or 10 points very difficult.


    In fact, only a small number of athletes could stabilize their shooting to 9 points after a long period of training. As for consistently shooting 10 points, it was extremely difficult.


    But an 18-year-old child, without private training, had just shot a 9 pointer, this was hard testimony to his ability.


    "Xiao Yan, do you have anything else to say?" said Li Lao with a smile.


    Tang Yan''s performance was completely out of Xiao Yan''s expectations. He was stunned. However, he had been a head coach for several years after all, so he buried his surprise in a flash. Hearing Li Lao''s question, he laughed and said: "Li Lao, this doesn''t prove anything. After all, it was probably just a lucky shot."


    When Xiao Yan said this, the other head coaches scrunched up their faces.


    Archery wasn''t like playing dice where you could succeed just by relying on luck.


    At 30 or 50 meters maybe but not at 70 meters, without skill, even if you shot a hundred arrows, you would be lucky to even hit the target let alone shoot a 9 pointer. The probability of doing so was minuscule.


    Shao Ping was about to argue when he was stopped by Sun Yan, who looked over in the direction of Li Lao.


    Sure enough, Li Lao spoke up with a tinge of frustration, "Xiao Yan, you should have a degree of restraint when doing things."


    Xiao Yan smiled but didn''t reply. Although he was only the head coach of a city team, Yuhang City was different from the other cities, and as the capital, they held a lot more power.


    Although Li Lao was highly respected in the Zhejiang Province, he wasn''t his direct superior. Plus he needed Yuhang City as much as they needed him; therefore, he could afford to tread the line with Li Lao.


    Seeing Xiao Yan not backing down, Li Lao naturally didn''t either and the scene once again fell into a stalemate.


    Tang Yan seeing this scene sighed a little. Then he took out a second arrow from the arrow pot.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s movement, their eyes couldn''t help but lock onto him again.


    It would be far more convincing to shoot another arrow.


    Xiao Yan''s palms couldn''t help but begin to sweat. This Tang Yan''s performance had really exceeded his expectations. If this arrow was another 9 pointer, he would have no choice but to back down.


    Shao Ping''s face was flushed red with excitement and anxiety. This Tang Yan was really too brave.


    In fact, not only Shao Ping but the other head coaches were also infected by the aura around Tang Yan. Such heroic behavior was always admirable.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath, with the experience of the previous shot, his movements were smoother. After the arrow was nocked and the bowstring drawn, he aimed a few centimeters up and loosened his hand.


    Twang!


    The arrow flew out with a clear sound.


    Boom!


    Seeing the drop of the arrow, many head coaches began to applaud. They could tell this shot was even better.


    10 points!


    After hearing the number of points, the head coaches cheered, and Shao Ping waved his fists around.


    The audience also burst into cheers. They had no idea of the situation down there, but after hearing the score, they cheered anyway.


    After shooting, Tang Yan released a sigh of relief. He knew that his ability had improved after the upgrade, but he didn''t expect it to increase so much.


    At 50% unlocked, he could shoot 70m but only 7-pointers mostly, with the occasional 8 pointer, 9-pointers were rare as eclipses and 10''s, well he had never shot one. He averaged 47-48 points with 6 arrows.


    But now, he could shoot a 9 pointer and a 10 pointer indicating that his level had increased to that of the 50''s. This level was around the provincial level.


    This ascension was much more terrifying than he had expected, his base rate per arrow should be 8 points per arrow.


    He smiled.


    After putting down the recurve bow, he couldn''t help but turn his head and look at Xiao Yan.


    He said with a smirk, "It seems I have the luck of the God''s on my side today, wouldn''t you say Coach Xiao?"


    Suddenly the scene froze; the smell of gunpowder filled the air.


    Dammit, this kid was so bold.


    He actually mocked a head coach of a city team.


    Xiao Yan''s stern eyebrows furrowed up. He appeared to be gnashing his teeth, as though he wanted to attack Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan looked back at him with a calm smile. Although he tried not to get involved in drama in order to stay focused on achieving his goals, he wouldn''t just take abuse. After all, even Buddha had a temper let alone him.


    Since they didn''t respect him, what need was there for him to respect them?


    Xiao Yan was fuming. How dare this kid mock him!


    "Li Lao, now Tang Yan has proved himself, so there should be no problem right?" said Shao Ping, trying to conclude the matter.


    He was currently filled with glee, he hadn''t felt so refreshed in years.


    "Wait a minute, I suspect that Tang Yan''s glasses have problems!" said Xiao Yan desperately, unwilling to let this go.


    "Coach Xiao, I don''t wear glasses," Tang Yan said faintly.


    "..."


    Realizing his mistake, Xiao Yan quickly said, "I meant contact lenses, yes, that''s it, he must be wearing contact lenses!"


    "Enough!" shouted Li Lao infuriated.


    Xiao Yan calmed down.


    "Xiao Yan, do you think this is some sort of joke? Do you take us for fools?" screamed Li Lao.


    Seeing Xiao Yan silenced, Li Lao snorted and strode away from the competition area.


    "Li Lao, Li Lao..." The coaches behind him seeing Li Lao so angry, shouted and immediately chased after him.


    Tang Yan looked at Xiao Yan, who was staring at him hatefully, ignored him and strode after Shao Ping, leaving the competition area.

 14 Provincial Team

    Li Lao had stormed off and made his way back to the rest area.


    The archers in the rest area were stunned, seeing Li Lao''s face flushed red with anger.


    They had never seen him so angry before, normally he was a gentle and elegant old man.


    What had Tang Yan done to provoke Li Lao so much, that he was this angry?


    At this moment, Li Lao seeming to think of something, stopped, turned around and looked back.


    Shao Ping had taken Tang Yan with him as they rushed over after the group.


    Finally arriving back at the rest area, they walked in.


    At this moment, Li Lao''s originally angry face suddenly disappeared; instead, he was full of smiles.


    Glancing at Tang Yan, he nodded. Then he turned to look at Shao Ping and said, "Shao Ping, this child is very promising. It is rare for such a talented person to appear. If you ruin him, I will find trouble with you."


    Listening to Li Lao''s words, Shao Ping excitedly patted his chest and said, "You can rely on me, I will train him with everything I''ve got."


    Li Lao nodded and looked at Tang Yan again.


    Smiling at him briefly, he turned and left.


    After turning around, Li Lao lost the smile on his face, and his former anger seemed to return. He walked towards the judges'' booth.


    After the 50-meter finals, the 70-meter finals were next, and it seemed they were about to begin.


    Returning to the judges'' booth Li Lao saw Xiao Yan already seated.


    Seeing him, Xiao Yan attempted a smile only to have Li Lao ignore him.


    Tang Yan watched the 70-meter finals from the sidelines.


    The winner was Zhang Jixue from Yuhang City. The latter had gotten an amazing result of 102 points with 12 arrows. The average number of points reaching 8.5 per arrow. The audience cheered fervently.


    Tang Yan didn''t bother to watch the 90-meter finals. This distance was too far for him, and there was no such event at the Olympic level. So, after watching the 70-meter finals, he returned to the hotel to rest.


    Upon returning to the hotel, he was sought after by his teammates.


    The two old archers they had brought were going to participate in tomorrow''s competition, so they were training in the training grounds by the competition venue.


    The other guys though had come to find him to go out with them. They were going to chill with the archers from the other cities.


    But Tang Yan wasn''t in the mood to go out, so he said he was too tired, and they went off on their own.


    The 50-meter event was over, and tomorrow''s team event was going to be handled by the two veteran archers and the others.


    His trip to the provincial archery trials was over.


    Although he was a bit unsatisfied, he had to admit it had been a fruitful trip. He had won his first major event, unlocked more of Li Guangs'' skills and gotten Shao Ping''s promise to help him get into the provincial team; he had already gained a lot.


    After such a day, he was indeed tired. Although he had an 18-year-olds body, his mind was that of a 35-year-old; as such, his spirit was exhausted.


    After settling into bed and beginning to rest, he heard a knock at the door.


    "Who''s there?" Having to get up naturally made him displeased, which caused him to ask somewhat impatiently.


    "It''s me, Wang Tao." Wang Tao''s voice came from outside the door.


    Hearing it was Wang Tao, Tang Yan got up from the bed, rubbed his eyes with his hand, and went to open the door.


    Opening the door, to his surprise, he found that it wasn''t only Wang Tao outside but Shao Ping as well.


    "..."


    "Little Tang, were you sleeping?" Shao Ping asked while entering the room directly.


    Tang Yan didn''t stop him. Wang Tao smiled and nodded at him, before also entering the room.


    Although he was puzzled, he didn''t ask; instead, he calmly waited after closing the door.


    Shao Ping and Wang Tao had both taken a seat on his bed.


    "Remember what I told you before?" said Shao Ping with a smile.


    "Before?" Tang Yan gave it a thought, then said with excitement, "Wait, did coach manage to get me into the provincial team?"


    "Hahaha..." Shao Ping laughed with a smile.


    Wang Tao said, "Tang Yan, you have to thank Shao Ping and Li Lao. They''ve put in a lot of effort to get you into the team".


    "Thank you so much, coach!" said Tang Yan with gratitude from the heart.


    "Haha, don''t get all emotional on me now. Just make sure to perform well in the provincial team and strive to enter the list for the Youth Olympics, this would be the best way to thank me." Shao Ping said with a big smile.


    "I will work hard," said Tang Yan nodding heavily.


    After this, Shao Ping discussed a few more things with him then and finally said "Okay, well, I''ll leave you be. Have a good rest." Then got up and walked out with a laugh.


    Wang Tao got up as well but didn''t leave with Shao Ping; instead, he lowered his voice and said: "Tang Yan, I heard about what happened earlier, you need to watch out in the provincial team. A lot of the members are from Yuhang City, and Xiao Yan is not the type to let things go easily. "


    "I understand coach, I''ll keep my head down," said Tang Yan with a sigh.


    "It''s good that you understand. You don''t have to be too worried with Li Lao looking over you, things should be fine. Try to enjoy yourself a bit more often, you have earned it, so it''s okay. You are always so strict and solemn, completely unlike your age," said Wang Tao with a smile.


    Tang Yan smiled slightly. He realized that he needed to change the way he acted. If an 18-year-old child used his way of thinking in his thirties, it would cause doubts and issues sooner or later.


    "Also, stop hiding your abilities. In the provincial team if you don''t perform and keep things hidden, they won''t give you opportunities. You have to fight for your place."


    "I understand, thank you coach." Tang Yan said with gratitude, seeing him so concerned about him.

 15 Song Feng

    Because the list of archers was submitted in advance, even though Shao Ping had the mind to substitute in Tang Yan, he couldn''t. Therefore, Tang Yan spent the next day watching the team event, as a part of the audience.


    Tang Yan felt disappointed as he watched from the stands, originally, he had thought the team competition would be extremely intense and high level, but the actual event was much worse than what he had expected.


    There was absolutely no tension. The bigger cities dominated their counterparts and eliminated them, only to be absolutely dominated by Yuhang City, who won by a huge margin. The whole thing was underwhelming.


    Seeing all this, Tang Yan was disappointed. The archers participating in this event were no longer the young archers from yesterday but the main force of each city.


    But seeing their performance he couldn''t help but sigh, after his upgrade yesterday, he felt he could easily beat most of these archers.


    Even Yuhang City''s team wasn''t much better with the exception of a few archers. With this, you could see how bad the overall men''s archery level in the Zhejiang Province was.


    After the trials ended, Tang Yan finished sorting out a few administration issues and informing his parents. He headed towards the provincial team to sign in.


    It was only June, but the weather in Yuhang City was already blazing hot. Walking down the road, Tang Yan felt the scorching heat on his back. After a long day of lounging about, Tang Yan felt sluggish and tired.


    So, after arriving at the Provincial Archery Association and signing in, he didn''t bother interacting with the others. Instead, he headed to his assigned room and went straight to sleep.


    The provincial archery team was a relatively broad term, unlike the city archery team it was subdivided into many groups.


    According to the different age groups, there was the adult team, youth team, and the juvenile team.


    According to the different archery distances, they were also subdivided into four groups: 30m, 50m, 70m, and 90m.


    When competing in large-scale competitions, the team would be made up of people selected from each group.


    Because there were so many people but so few spots, and with everyone being an elite from their respective cities, the competition within the team was incredibly fierce.


    Although Tang Yan had shot a stunning two arrows in front of Li Lao and the other head coaches, he was selected this time mainly because he was the 50m champion. In other words, his group was the 50m-youth team.


    ....


    Early the next morning, after Tang Yan woke up, he found that his roommate had arrived, and of all people, it was Li Cunde who he had defeated in the 50-meter semi-finals.


    "I heard the others say we have to gather by 9 o''clock. You should hurry up," said Li Cunde, seeing him wake up. He was already dressed.


    Tang Yan turned and looked at the time on his phone, it was already half past eight, he said, "Thank you", and then turned around and got up.


    Li Cunde didn''t wait for him to get ready and instead took his stuff and left.


    After showering, he went downstairs and bought two steamed buns to eat while walking. When he arrived at the archery hall, he realized everyone else was already there.


    Fortunately, the coach hadn''t arrived yet.


    After he found a place to stand, he looked around and found that most of the people here were mostly sixteen or seventeen. At his age, he was one of the older archers.


    As he was looking around, suddenly, there was a bang in the direction of the door. He turned his head and looked over. He saw a group of people geared in sportswear enter the hall. They looked to be in their twenties and older, they should be the main force of the provincial team.


    At the forefront was a man with a stern looking face, everyone behind him seemed to follow his lead.


    Tang Yan had experienced a lot in his previous life, and immediately concluded that this man was most likely the ace of the provincial team.


    After the group entered, they didn''t really look at the newcomers. They walked straight over to the rest area behind them.


    After their arrival, the originally relaxed atmosphere seemed to disappear and it suddenly became tense.


    Silence now filled the hall. Nervousness could be seen on the newcomers'' faces.


    The older archers ignored the newcomers, and the newcomers didn''t have the courage to say hello.


    An invisible barrier seemed to separate the two groups.


    Tang Yan didn''t pay any more attention to the veteran group and instead focused back on his group.


    As expected, most of them were from Yuhang City, but what he hadn''t expected was that there were five archers from other cities who had also made it into the team.


    After roughly ten minutes.


    "Cough cough~"


    A series of coughing sounds came from outside the door.


    Hearing the coughs, the older players sitting behind them suddenly stood up from their seats and then arranged themselves into two rows behind the backs of the newcomers.


    Tang Yan turned his head and looked over to the door. A middle-aged man with a big belly and a Mediterranean haircut entered.


    Though the man was a little fat, his eyes gave off an intangible pressure.


    Before they came, they were told some information about some of the main characters in the provincial team. This was the head of the provincial archery team, Song Feng, a legendary figure in the archery scene; he had once shot a 680 point qualifier for the Olympics.


    Song Feng walked into the hall and stared them down without a word.


    His eyes swept over the newcomers. Then he said coldly: "My name is Song Feng, I will be your head coach. If you are looking for a pat on the back for making it here, then you''ve come to the wrong place. If you are looking for an easy ride, then you''ve come to the wrong place. If you are looking for special treatment, then once again you have come to the wrong place.


    "This team is a place of hardship. Archery doesn''t just need talent, but hard work too. What kind of achievements you''ll make in the future will all depend on you. I don''t want to train quitters, so if you think you can''t bear it, then do us all a favor and quit in advance."

 16 Practice

    "Pan Yu." Song Feng shouted.


    "Yes Sir."


    In response, the stern-faced man who had been surrounded by the older archers came forward.


    "Take them to the practice field and check out their skills, then give me a report."


    "Yes, coach."


    Song Feng nodded and glanced at the crowd again. His eyes lingered on Tang Yan for a while. Then he turned away and left.


    "Follow me!" After Song Feng left, Pan Yu wasn''t polite and immediately shouted.


    Pan Yu led them over to the practice site for testing.


    His deterrence abilities seemed to be no less than Song Feng''s.


    Responsible for Tang Yan was a veteran archer called Dong Jie. He looked to be about twenty-five years old. He didn''t speak much and only directed Tang Yan for a while before standing to the side like a wooden figurine.


    Tang Yan was just as happy to stand in silence. Even in his previous life, he hadn''t been very outgoing, being a man of few words. Other than a handful of close friends, he didn''t have many relationships.


    The content of the test was very simple; they had to shoot 72 arrows, but there was no time stipulation.


    So Tang Yan slowed down his speed, and began to observe the performances of the others.


    Looking around, he couldn''t help but nod in admiration.


    These people really deserved to be the best in their respective cities. The average score was around 610 points. Shooting 72 arrows wasn''t just a test of accuracy but also endurance.


    "Don''t just look at other people, pay attention to yourself." At this moment, Dong Jie actually spoke up reprimanding him.


    Tang Yan nodded, focusing back on his own shooting.


    Though the system had improved his body, even his endurance wasn''t enough to shoot a perfect score of 720 with his current fitness level. He had been constantly training to improve his fitness level. If he shot, he could score between 640 to 660 points.


    The continuous 10 pointers didn''t cause too much change in the expression of Dong Jie. He just stared at the target and continued to count his points.


    "Are you a waste?"


    Suddenly, a loud shout rang out throughout the practice area.


    Everyone stopped their actions and turned to look in the direction of the shout.


    Tang Yan also turned around and saw the person yelling was Pan Yu.


    The person he was shouting at was unexpectedly his roommate, Li Cunde.


    "I...." Li Cunde wanted to say something, but his face flushed completely red as he stuttered.


    "This is only 50 meters, so how the hell are you shooting off target? How did trash like you make it into the provincial team?!" Pan Yu coldly shouted.


    Tang Yan''s brows wrinkled up. Li Cunde was one of the few archers he saw with the potential to become his opponent in the future.


    This Pan Yu was going after him so harshly because of one shot.


    "I... my endurance is slightly... weak." Li Cunde stammered for a long time before finally saying with a red face.


    "So you wanna be an archer, but you can''t endure shooting arrows? Is this some sort of joke to you?" Pan Yu asked coldly.


    Li Cunde''s face became redder and redder.


    "Sun Ji, take over here, this was a waste of time." Pan Yu said to an old team member behind him, then he turned around and left.


    After Pan Yu left, the training ground quickly recovered to its previously quiet state. Only the shooting of arrows could be heard.


    If Song Feng''s speech had knocked down their enthusiasm a peg, Pan Yu''s attitude had killed it completely.


    At the end of the day''s training, Song Feng didn''t appear nor did Pan Yu.


    Set free, most of the newcomers left the training hall immediately.


    Tang Yan, however, didn''t head back immediately. Because of the grouping arrangement, he trained 50 meters during the daytime. However, after upgrading Li Guang''s abilities, 50 meters was no longer difficult for him. What he really needed to train for was 70 meters, so with everyone gone, he decided to train alone.


    He ate a little outside, then he headed straight back to the practice field.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    Arriving at the training hall, he heard a muffled sound coming from inside. It sounded like someone was training.


    Hadn''t everyone left?


    He walked in with doubt and found someone still training.


    It turned out to be Dong Jie who had supervised his training earlier.


    Dong Jie felt someone enter and turned around, seeing Tang Yan, his eyes flashed with a strange light.


    "Dong Jie is still here so late?" Tang Yan asked politely.


    "Additional training." Dong Jie faintly returned those two words, then turned his head back and continued to train.


    To Dong Jie''s indifference, Tang Yan was used to it. Not forcing anymore needless conversation, he found a quiet place in the corner and quickly warmed up.


    After a quick warm-up, he went to the 70m section and began practicing.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    He looked up to the display by the target and the number displayed was 8.


    The provincial teams training area was much more upscale than Lotus City''s. Not only did the score appear digitally, but the targets were also replaced automatically. When the number of arrows reached a certain limit, it would rotate to a new target board.


    He stretched a little, then took up a second arrow from the arrow pot and aimed it before shooting.


    This time, he adjusted slightly and shot. It was better, a 9 pointer.


    After hitting the 9th ring, he got ready to take out his third arrow.


    But then, he noticed that Dong Jie was no longer shooting. Turning his head, he saw Dong Jie staring at him.


    Thinking that Dong Jie was shocked by his skills, he laughed and prepared to speak.


    "You''d better change shooting booths." Dong Jie said suddenly.


    "Change booths?" asked Tang Yi stunned, looking at him inexplicably.


    He was currently in the final booth located by the wall of the 70m area. Since it was by the wall,he had somewhere to lean up his things, like his arrow pot, so he could shoot quicker.


    Why was Dong Jie suddenly telling him to change booths?


    "That booth is Pan Yu''s." Dong Jie didn''t wait for him to ask this time and said directly.


    "His booth?" asked Tang Yan furrowing his brows.

 17 Authority

    Dong Jie nodded and didn''t bother to explain further. He turned back and resumed training.


    Tang Yan stared at the back of Dong Jie for a while, then put his bow down.


    He had just entered the provincial team and with Pan Yu''s arrogant nature and status in the team, he didn''t want to provoke him.


    After gathering up his stuff, he moved to another booth. Turning to Dong Jie, he asked, "Is this one ok?"


    "Yes, the rest are fine. It''s just that booth," answered Dong Jie simply.


    Tang Yan smiled and said "thank you," then he took up his bow and continued training.


    Archery was a very stressful exercise. After practicing a round of 72 arrows, he felt his arms become sore. So he put down the bow, stretched his arms and began to rest.


    After repeatedly shooting and adjusting his stance, his level was gradually stabilizing. He could consistently shoot 8 pointers and occasionally 9 pointers along with a few 10 pointers.


    "You can shoot 70 meters?"


    Dong Jie asked as he also set down his bow.


    "Yes, but it''s still not stable." Tang Yan replied modestly.


    Dong Jie glanced at him and then pointed to the scoreboard and said, "Modesty won''t help you here, you will get left behind."


    "Errr... yes... sorry." Tang Yan said awkwardly with a smile.


    Dong Jie didn''t respond. He placed the bow back on the shooting rack. It seemed that he was ready to leave.


    Seeing this, Tang Yan hastily began to ask, "Dong Jie, can I ask about Pan... Yu...?"


    Tang Yan slowed his words to a stop after Dong Jie turned back and looked over him with a glare.


    "I don''t mean anything by it. I''m just curious. It''s just the coach seems to trust him very much. Also, everyone seems to follow his lead..." Tang Yan said, looking around avoiding Dong Jie''s glare.


    After nearly a minute of silence, Dong Jie actually replied:


    "You will know sooner or later. Just remember, don''t provoke him." Then carrying his bag, he turned and left.


    Tang Yan looked after Dong Jie''s figure, shrugged helplessly, and then smiled.


    After Dong Jie left, he was the only person left in the training hall. After stretching, he began his second round of shooting.


    In the first round, he had shot 642 points out of 720 points.


    It seemed that he still needed more practice.


    He pressed the reset button and got ready to shoot.


    Just then, he heard the sound of conversation coming from the corridor.


    "This year''s rookies are actually so subpar, compared to how we were back then."


    "Pan Yu, what do you think coach will do for the national trials?"


    ...


    Their words were transmitted into the training hall. Tang Yan heard some of it intermittently.


    They should be Pan Yu''s group.


    Sure enough, after a while, the group entered the training hall.


    "It''s because they rushed everything for the Youth Olympics, Coach will probably....." Pan Yu was talking to the people around him when he entered through the doorway. Noticing someone was inside, his words stopped.


    Seeing it was Tang Yan.


    Pan Yu said with a ridiculing smile: "Speak of the devil, look it''s a rookie. Hard at work are we?"


    Hearing them enter, Tang Yan decided not to get involved with them and pretended not to hear them and continuex training.


    Pan Yu''s brow wrinkled.


    "Hey, you!! Didn''t you hear Pan Yu talking to you!?" Sun Ji, who was besides Pan Yu yelled.


    When Tang Yan heard this he turned his head back and asked "Oh you were talking to me?"


    Sun Ji became enraged., this Tang Yan was obviously intentionally ignoring them. He moved as if he was about to confront Tang Yan.


    But Pan Yu stretched out his hand and pulled him back.


    Sun Ji looked back at Pan Yu with confusion.


    Pan Yu licked his lips. His eyes were full of ridicule as he said: "Let the rookie practise he probably needs it. Unfortunately without talent there is only so much practising can do."


    Sun Ji immediately understood that Pan Yu was trying to provoke Tang Yan into acting first, sohe could find a reason to punish Tang Yan.


    He immediately laughed and shouted at Tang Yan:


    "True, what is the point of forcefully practising if you have no talent.


    You should be one of the older rookies right, haha watch out that you don''t let those hatchlings over take you. Or else you will really be the biggest trash to enter this team"


    Tang Yan''s brows wrinkled up.


    He glanced at them coldly.


    At this moment, his anger suddenly disappeared, and he laughed in a self-deprecating tone.


    He was actually letting some kids get under his skin.


    "Forget it, treat them like a fart and forget it."


    His goal wasn''t the provincial team; anyway, he had bigger dreams.


    So he paid them no mind, turned his head back and continued.


    Seeing Tang Yan being unresponsive to their mocking, Pan Yu grew bored and lost interest.


    He headed of to his shooting booth.


    The old players, seeing Pan Yu''s lack of interest, left as well to their own booths.


    "Who the hell!" They hadn''t even arrived yet, when Pan Yu''s curse soon attracted them back.


    Pan Yu''s face was filled with anger as he came out of his booth and looked in Tang Yan''s direction:


    "Kid, did you used my booth?"


    Tang Yan stopped his actions and just as he was preparing to lie and deny it.


    Pan Yu threatened without waiting for him to speak: "You better tell me the truth. I will find out if you lie to me.Then you can forget about staying in the provincial team."


    Tang Yan didn''t want to get into a fight, but Pan Yu''s overbearing attitude was starting to get on his nerves.


    He calmly said, "What''s wrong with using that booth?"


    "So you did use my booth..." Pan Yu said with a calm face.


    "Rookie, you are looking for death! That''s Pan Yu''s private booth!" Sun Ji shouted.


    "Oh... I didn''t know that there was a rule against using certain booths in the training hall." Tang Yan said steadily.


    The general training hall didn''t stipulate which booth''s can''t be used, but over time Pan Yu had begun to claim the last booth as his.


    As for the newcomers, it was expected they would gradually begin to learn these hidden rules over time, but no one would have thought that Tang Yan would spend his first day in the training hall.


    In fact, this wasn''t much of an issue, but seeing Tang Yan''s indifferent attitude, which was completely different from Li Cunde''s sincere fear during the day, Pan Yu felt like his authority was being challenged.


    He said coldly: "I have the final say here. Since you used my booth, kneel down and admit your mistakes. Then maybe I''ll forgive you; otherwise, you can forget about staying in this team."

 18 Dropouts

    "I don''t kneel!" Tang Yan replied in a cold tone.


    This Pan Yu was too arrogant. He was overstepping his bounds.


    Pan Yu''s face scrunched up, his anger was clear as daylight.


    "Rookie, do you want to be taught a lesson? Since he said kneel, then kneel." Sun Ji said as he stepped forward.


    This time Pan Yu didn''t stop him. Sun Ji and two others stepped forward as if gearing up to fight.


    "It seems I have to jog your memory on how to respect your elders. Good, I haven''t fought for a while, this will be a good chance to brush up my skills." Sun Ji said with eagerness in his voice as he started to walk over.


    At this moment, Tang Yan held up the recurve bow in his hand as he saw Sun Ji coming over. He didn''t hesitate to draw an arrow from the arrow pot. He quickly nocked the arrow, pulled back the bowstring and aimed at Sun Ji.


    This move shocked everyone including Pan Yu.


    "You... what are you doing?" Sun Ji asked with a trembling tone.


    At this distance, the lethality of an arrow was no less than that of a bullet.


    Damnit, what was this kid doing? One mistake and this situation could turn fatal.


    Tang Yan sneered in his heart, he had already died once, there was nothing to worry about.


    He swayed twice with the bow and said: "Move out of the way now. My grip isn''t very stable; after all, I''m just a ''rookie'', and I would hate it if my hand accidentally slipped and something happened."


    Sun Ji''s face was filled with fright. His complexion became as white as a piece of paper. He unconsciously took a few steps back.


    Pan Yu harrumphed and said in a disdainful tone.


    "I don''t believe you would dare let go."


    "Hey... Wait...!"


    Twang!


    "Ahhh!"


    The screams of Sun Ji resounded.


    Tang Yan had really let go.


    Boom!


    The floor of the Practice Hall was made of wood. After the arrow was released, the arrow flew straight into the wooden floor in front of Sun Ji''s foot.


    The majority of the arrow had drilled into the ground, only the tail stuck out trembling.


    Sun Ji''s face was completely drained of color. He had almost soiled himself in fear.


    Of course, it was impossible for Tang Yan to shoot someone. He had adjusted the angle of the arrow right at the last moment, making the arrow slant downwards.


    Li Guang had the power to shoot through stone. Although he only had 60% of his abilities, it was a breeze to shoot the arrow into the floorboard.


    The effects of this as a deterrence was quite obvious.


    Sun Ji didn''t dare to move, Pan Yu also shivered slightly, frightened by his audacity.


    "Respect is earned, not demanded. As seniors, other than bullying newcomers, what else can you do? If you have actual skills, then make some achievements and bring glory to the team. Your time has passed, so sit to the sidelines, and let those with actual skills through." After Tang Yan finished, he returned the bow to the shooting rack and walked straight out.


    Sun Ji and the rest watched Tang Yan leave. Even though he no longer had the bow, they didn''t dare to move after him.


    Outside of the hall, he couldn''t help but sigh. Although he had scared them off tonight, he knew they would be back.


    Such a waste... He didn''t even get to train properly; instead, he had made enemies. So much for being low-key and keeping his head down.


    Returning to his dormitory, he found that Li Cunde still hadn''t returned.


    He was slightly puzzled at this, but he was so tired after practicing all day, after lying down, he immediately drifted off to sleep.


    The training content for the next few days was similar to that of the first day. It was still the older archers leading the practice, though Song Feng did come in to direct and observe a few sessions.


    What Tang Yan hadn''t expected was that Dong Jie actually moved him over to the 70-meter section on the third day.


    As for Pan Yu''s group, he didn''t know whether they were still in shock from that night or just busy, but they hadn''t come to bother him during this time.


    Because of Tang Yan''s outstanding performance in training and his calm attitude, Song Feng''s trust in him increased a lot. At the end of the third day of training, Song Feng actually asked Tang Yan to take charge of training his fellow newcomers.


    After Song Feng announced this decision, Pan Yu''s face was quite abnormal.


    Supervising the rookies, this was originally the right of Pan Yu alone. Now his position was being intruded on, so his resentment towards Tang Yan was starting to grow deeper and deeper. Although it wasn''t shown outwardly, it was accumulating bit by bit.


    On the fifth day, as they arrived at the training hall, everyone could sense something was off.


    At the end of the training session, Song Feng called for everyone to gather. His face was gloomy, and everyone could sense his frustration and anger.


    When everyone had gathered, he came over and said:


    "Today, multiple people have come to me asking to leave the team. I want to emphasize this to all of you again. This archery team is a place of dedication. We do not need deserters here. If you can''t stand just this intensity of training, then you''re wasting your time here. If this alone is enough to break your will, then leave now. I will say it once again, I don''t have the patience to train people just to have them quit later on. This is your chance to leave now if you feel like you can''t hack it."


    After saying this, Song Feng glanced over all the newcomers.


    No one had stood up.


    Tang Yan turned to look around and soon realised that Li Cunde was nowhere to be found. He hadn''t seen Li Cunde returning to the dormitory these few nights. He had his suspicions but now it was confirmed: he had really quit the team.


    "Very good."


    Seeing no one stand up, Song Feng nodded with satisfaction and went on to say: "The national archery trials will be held soon. We will soon hold tryouts for the team lineup, whether old or new, you will all have to fight for your place on the team sheet. So train hard."


    After Song Feng finished speaking, the crowd broke out into discussion, especially the new archers. They thought that they had no hope. As such, hearing this was an unexpected joy, and they couldn''t wait to prove themselves.


    Tang Yan was also excited. This national trial was a chance into the Youth Olympics. The attention received from this far surpassed that of the provincial trial.


    This was a great opportunity for him to prove himself at the national level.


    "Everyone has a chance, but whether or not you can grasp it will be up to you." Song Feng encouraged.


    After that, he turned and left.


    In order to select the squad lineup, the provincial team would conduct a trial internally. Unlike before, this time, the selection was only out of 72 arrows.


    After seeing Tang Yan''s abilities in the practice hall, Dong Jie had helped sign him up for the 70-meter trial.


    In the next few days, Tang Yan''s 70m shooting improved steadily.

 19 Prove Yourself

    After another week of preparations, the team trials were held as scheduled in the training hall.


    There was no audience in this trial, but everyone could feel the tension in the air.


    First up was the adult team, which was the main force behind the provincial team and they proved why they were.


    They shot an average of 670 points.


    What Tang Yan didn''t expect was that Sun Ji, wouldscore 685, which was one of the highest scores among the old archers.


    However, what really drew his attention was Pan Yu''s display.


    He had figured that Pan Yu would be talented or else how could he have got away with being so overbearing.


    Based on Song Feng''s attitude without sufficient strength or a deep background he wouldn''t let such arrogance stand.


    And his guess was proven correct, although Pan Yu was arrogant, he had the strength to back it up.


    In addition to Pan Yu, Dong Jie''s performance was also quite impressive.


    Dong Jie was the only one able to pressure Pan Yu.


    He scored a total of 697 points.


    This achievement could be ranked in the top 32 of last year''s national trials.


    But Pan Yu stole his limelight.


    Scoring 705 points!


    Eight more points than Dong Jie!


    This achievement could be ranked 16th in the results of last year''s national trials!


    With this outstanding performance, Pan Yu won without suspense.


    Song Feng seeing Pan Yu''s performance also gave a satisfactory nod.


    Pan Yu was the ace of the provincial team. His strength ranked in the top 20 nationally.


    With the current form of the team this year this time they should be able to enter the top ten.


    Pan Yu''s face was full of arrogance, enjoying the envy and praise of his teammates.


    The smugness on his face became more and more pronounced. In the provincial team, no matter what they did,he was the undisputed ace.


    He smugly glanced at his teammates, but when he looked at Tang Yan inadvertently, his smirk fell slightly.


    Pan Yu came down from the booth, he ignored the congratulations of his teammates and walked straight toward Tang Yan.


    After the end of the adult event, the selection for the youth team would follow.


    Tang Yan was warming up calmly to the side.


    Walking over to Tang Yan, Pan Yu said coldly: "It''s time to back up your words, you better pray you make it into the team or it will be you sitting on the sidelines. Then wouldn''t that be ironic."


    At the beginning the incident in the practice hall was only known to some of the old players but it had slowly spread around the team. Now even the newcomers knew.


    Tang Yan raised his eyebrows in surprise, it seemed Pan Yu wasn''t going to directly retaliate against him but attempt to make a fool of him in public.


    "Pan Yu, why are you bothering with a rookie." Dong Jie said from the side.


    "I''ll bother who ever I feel like. Since he has the confidence to insult his elders then he should have the confidence to prove his abilities" Pan Yu said in a ridiculing tone.


    Dong Jie frowned and moved as if he was about to speak again.


    But Pan Yu cut him off:


    "If he hasn''t got the ability to back up his words then he might as well quit now, our team doesn''t need trash who can only sow discord.


    See that''s the issue with people like him, they do a bit of training and they think they''ll be the next big thing look at him, humph already so old but only just making it to the 70m event. No talent but still so persistent, I guess you two really are two peas in a pod." Pan Yu said disdainfully.


    Dong Jie''s hands tightened and his eyes were full of anger. Pan Yu''s words were full of provocation, he wanted to refute but couldn''t find a place to start.


    Since joining the team the two had been at each other''s throats but Pan Yu had always had the upper hand. Just this trial was enough to prove his superiority. Their battle was a symbol of the struggle between talent and training.


    The confrontation between the two made the atmosphere in the hall even more tense. Some of the archers turned their heads and looked over to Song Feng, but found that Song Feng had an indifferent expression. It seemed they wouldn''t get any help from him.


    After a while the anger in Dong Jie''s eyes retreated. He stared coldly at Pan Yu but didn''t speak up.


    Pan Yu saw Dong Jie retreat, and the arrogance painted on his face increased. He turned his head and cast a condescending look down at Tang Yan. He said with ridicule:


    "I know you may have been regarded as a genius back in that backwater city of yours but your nothing here."


    ___________________________________________


    Bonus Chapters (Sunday):


    Two bonus chapters if ranked Top 50


    Five bonus chapters if ranked Top 20

 20 Clouded Mind

    "Are you finished yet?" Tang Yan said calmly glancing at Pan Yu seemingly unbothered.


    "Haha... putting up a brave face are we. You really think your something don''t you."


    "690"


    "Huh...What are you on about"


    "I will shoot 690 points"


    "Haha way to boast, who the hell do you think you are, can you even shoot 600 points." The taunting look on Pan Yu''s face became even stronger.


    Tang Yan shrugged, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he and said with a small smirk: "You wanted to see my abilities right okay then I''ll show you."


    "You talent haha you !" Pan Yu also let out a small smirk before quickly hiding it. He said in a instigating tone:


    "Do you daremake a bet with me. If you can shoot 690 points, actually no if you can shoot 670 points, I will call you master and I will obey your orders but if you lose..."


    His voice was full of malice: "You have quit the archery team? Do you dare?"


    Tang Yan''s level was known to him. During training he had achieved scores of around 640-650 points. It was a decentscore for a newbie but it was far from threatening to him. He said lowerd it 670 points in fear that Tang Yan wouldn''t agree.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "What? Don''t you dare?" Pan Yu said coldly.


    "Don''t you think these conditions are unfair?" Tang Yan looked at Pan Yu and asked.


    "What do you want?"


    "I win, you leave." Tang Yan said unceremoniously.


    "Fine!" said Pan Yu, gnashing his teeth.


    As long as Tang Yan withdrew from the provincial team, he had absolute confidence that Tang Yan wouldn''t be able to participate in professional archery in this life.


    At the bet between Pan Yu and Tang Yan, Song Feng didn''t interfere, seeing Tang Yan''s attitude he showed an expression full of interest.


    He wanted to know what gave Tang Yan, a newcomer, such confidence.


    Although he had already asked Tang Yan to take charge of the newcomers training, it was because he had shown potentially and it was also a way of encouraging the newcomers.


    As for whether Tang Yan could actually shoot 670 points he was just as curious to find out as everyone else.


    He had heard a lot things about this kid from Li Lao and the rest but then again they had praised Li Cunde as well now look how that had turned out.


    This was a good opportunity to see what this kid was actually made of.


    This unexpected conflict had filled the hall with the smell of gunpowder.


    And perhaps it was because of this invisible pressure but many of the newcomers shooting before Tang Yanfaltered performing much worse than expected.


    In the first two sets rookies the best result was only 600 points, which was much lower than requirements.


    As the second group of archers came down,they couldn''t help but shake their heads in frustration. With this kind of score, they knew going to the national trials was no impossible.


    Song Feng also had gloomy face, although he knew that these newcomers were shooting under pressure, but archery was a sport that relied on psychological fortitude, you needed to be able to hold your nerve.


    After the second group, was the last group which Tang Yan was in.


    Tang Yan didn''t look at the people around him. Instead he walked towards the target with other newcomers, he took up the bow and the arrow. Adjusted his stance his right leg slightly tilted forward, then took a deep breath in before slowly realesing it.


    When everyone was ready, they began at the referee''s instructions.


    The eyes of everyone in the training hall, including Song Fengs, were locked on Tang Yan.


    In Tang Yan''s eyes however there was only the archery target. During this period of training, whether it was adjusting his shooting angle for 70 meters or the continuity of his movements, he had made big improvements.


    He nocked the arrow, drew back the bowstring and aimed.


    Twang!


    The moment he let go, the arrowflew out like a sharp blade piercing the void, it flew straight towards the target.


    Boom!


    Straight on the bullseye!


    10 points!


    Everyone sucked a cold breath.


    Pan Yu''s face was incredible.


    Song Feng had a bright smile on his face.


    "Bother Pan, this kid is just lucky, one 10 pointer doesn''t mean anything." Sun Ji said seeing Pan Yu''s face become ugly.


    When he heard Sun Ji''s words, Pan Yu began to calm down with realisation.


    Twang!


    Yes, luck. That must be it, this kid just got lucky


    Boom!


    9 points


    Tang Yan''s second arrow shot, 9 ring.


    Seeing it was a9 pointer, Pan Yu and the old archers subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.


    Sure enough, the firstarrow was just good luck, now the second arrow was a 9 pointer, the following would an 8 then probably a 7 pointer.


    "See Brother Pan, like I said this kid got lucky. He thought he could win by reallying luck. Actually..."


    Boom!


    Sun Ji''s voice hadn''t even fallen when, Tang Yan''s third arrow had been shot, his words came to an abrupt end, and his face was filled with unbelievable.


    10 points!


    It turned out to be a 10 pointer!


    Pan Yu''s face became very ugly, three arrows and two were 10 pointers, he couldn''t believe a rookie could do this.


    "This kid has been hiding his skills." Dong Jie couldn''t help but muttered under his breath, even he who was training with him,had never seen Tang Yan shoot at this sort of level.


    "Interesting." Song Fengs interest was piqued, he had a faint hunch that Tang Yan''s performance today would certainly shock him.


    Tang Yan took another deep breath, this was make or break time. It was time to reveal all he had and secure his place.


    He took up another arrow.


    Twang


    The arrow soared straight at the target.


    Boom!


    10 points!


    Another 10 pointer!


    "How....this is 70 meters..." Sun Ji''s face was filled with disbelief.


    This was no longer a matter of luck. But strength and skill.


    Pan Yu''s body trembled involuntarily, and his face was pale. He suddenly remembered the arrow that Tang Yan had that night. The angle and strength control was almost perfect. At that time, he should''ve know, but arrogance and anger had clouded his judgement making him overlook this.


    ___________________________________________


    Bonus Chapters (Sunday):


    Two bonus chapters if ranked Top 50


    Five bonus chapters if ranked Top 20

 21 Survival of the Fittes

    He had originally thought that he had dug a pit for Tang Yan to fall into, but it seemed he had slipped and fallen into it first.


    At this moment, Song Feng''s smile was somewhat uncontrollable. It was because of Li Lao and Shao Ping''s strong recommendation and influence that the provincial team had recruited Tang Yan. So he hadn''t paid much attention to him, seeing him as just another one relying on connections to get into the team.


    Which is why, when Pan Yu provoked Tang Yan, he didn''t interfere.


    But now, it turns out that this was entirely his prejudice.


    Li Lao''s vision was correct. Tang Yan was a true archery genius. A star bright enough to make the Zhejiang Province shine.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    Right on the bull''s eye.


    10 points!


    "Wow!"


    Some archers couldn''t help but exclaim.


    Tang Yan continued to perform exceptionally. Most of the shots were concentrated in the 9th and 8th ring though from time to time, a 10-pointer appeared which attracted a burst of exclamation from his teammates.


    After his final arrow, his score left everyone stunned.


    655 points!


    Ten points higher than Pan Yu''s. If he had participated in the last year''s trials, his score would have been high enough to enter the top three!


    Pan Yu''s face became pale: there was no trace of blood. He couldn''t accept what was happening in front of him.


    A newcomer had just shot 10 more points than him, and the ridiculous thing is that he had even bet with the other party with just 620 points.


    He had come seeking revenge only to suffer another blow.


    Emotions were infectious, and it seemed that Tang Yan''s excellent state also diffused out into his group. In addition to him, there were 3 more people who had performed well, scoring around 620 points;, compared to the previous group, this was quite a qualitative improvement.


    Song Feng couldn''t restrain his excitement. Before, he had a hunch that Tang Yan''s results would shock him, but he had never imagined that it would be to this level. Tang Yan had actually scored better than Pan Yu.


    Beating him by an additional 10 points!


    The Youth Olympic and even the Asian Games: these were things that the Zhejiang Province could never dream of before, but now, hope and thoughts of glory began to sprout in his mind.


    When Tang Yan saw his final score, he let out a sigh of relief and put down his bow and arrow. He couldn''t help but feel excited and anxious.


    Because the provincial team was full of talented archers it wasn''t an easy task to take the initiative and stand out.


    The conflict with Pan Yu was unexpected, but it had caught everyone''s attention. This included Song Feng. Seeing such an opportunity, he leapt for it.


    If he failed his time, his archery career would come to an end, but success meant making it onto the team lineup for the national trials.


    When Tang Yan came down, Song Feng immediately went over and ordered, "Pan Yu, Tang Yan ¡ª both of you come with me."


    Tang Yan frowned slightly. When Pan Yu had provoked him, Song Feng had chosen to remain silent.


    This time, he was ready to force Pan Yu to fulfill his bet.


    But now Song Feng was interrupting between their wager. At this, he couldn''t help but feel slighted.


    However, Song Feng was the head coach, so he quickly put away his dissatisfaction and followed him out.


    Pan Yu also strode out like a lost soul.


    When they reached Song Feng''s office, he turned to them after closing the door and said, "Pan Yu, what do you have to say for your actions just now? As a senior and captain of the team, how can you be so cruel to your juniors? On account of all of your service to the team, I won''t pursue it this time. But I don''t want to see this type of behavior in my team from now on."


    When Song Feng opened his mouth, he spewed out a tirade of condemnation.


    Pan Yu looked up and stared at Song Feng in shock; this was his first time being reprimanded by Song Feng.


    "Now, apologize to Tang Yan at once, and apologize to all the team members when we return." Song Feng said unceremoniously.


    Pan Yu''s shock intensified, he immediately said, "What... Coach, he started it. He shot an..."


    "Shut up!" Song Feng shouted, interrupting him directly. "I don''t care what happened before. Now I''m giving you a choice: either apologize or leave the team."


    Pan Yu''s body trembled unconsciously.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but stare at Song Feng. The character of this coach was truly ''special''.


    Whether it was Pan Yu or the older archers, their arrogance and overbearing attitude all stemmed from his indulgence in their behaviors. He had created an atmosphere of intense competition within the team leading to their attempted suppression.


    Pan Yu looked up at Song Feng and after seeing his face, he knew that there was no way out of this matter. He gnashed his teeth and nodded. He turned to Tang Yan and offered his apology: "I''m sorry."


    Tang Yan looked at Pan Yu who was gnashing his teeth. He was just about to speak¨C


    "Sincerely." Song Feng reminded.


    "Tang Yan, I''m sorry, I was in the wrong¡­ I apologize for my behavior, and I hope you can forgive me." Pan Yu apologized again with a slightly trembling voice. Finishing a wave of discomfort, bitterness and hate surged through him.


    Tang Yan didn''t speak for a while; he was lost in thought.


    If he had lost the bet, he knew Pan Yu would have tried to force him out of the team using the bet, and most likely, Song Feng wouldn''t have intervened. But he had won.


    Seeing that Tang Yan hadn''t responded, Song Feng stood up and looked at him. He said with a smile: "Tang Yan, Pan Yan has apologized, and I will make him apologize again in front of the team later. So let bygones be bygones, okay? You know that the national trials are coming up, we don''t have a lot of people. If the lineup isn''t complete..."


    Song Feng explained but seeing Tang Yan still not responding, he followed up and announced: "And I have seen your potential. I will give you a spot on the main team for this competition."


    Song Feng''s tone of speech was very kind, completely different from just a moment ago when he was yelling at Pan Yu. This also revealed his intentions to make peace.


    Although Tang Yan had shown his skill, this was only a team selection trial after all.


    But Pan Yu, who had proved himself on a national stage was obviously a more stable choice. But he still wanted Tang Yan as well.


    Tang Yan faced two choices: either push forward and forcing Song Feng to make a choice or choose to accept the conditions given by Song Feng.


    At this time, Pan Yu looked up to Tang Yan nervously since the bet was set by him.


    If Tang Yan really wanted to take a gamble and try to force him out the team, based on Song Feng''s attitude, it wasn''t impossible for him to be driven out of the provincial team.

 22 National Trials 1

    Tang Yan looked over at Pan Yu, and felt the urge to laugh. In just a few minutes, their positions had changed.


    Life was truly cruel.


    "Forget it, I shouldn''t a grudge against some kid. Plus I haven''t got time to waste"


    Tang Yan thought about it, then he said: "Since Coach has advocated for you naturally, I can forgive you for the teams sake."


    "Thank you." Pan Yu felt relieved and quickly nodded.


    Song Feng heard Tang Yan''s words and was full of joy. He said: "Good, so young but still humble thinking of the team first haha this time we shall surely excell at the national trials."


    ...


    The provincial team''s selection trial ended, and the team lineup was officially released.


    According to the rules of the trial, the number in each team was limited to three. However, because there was the Youth Olympics in August, it was eventually expanded to four members, although there was anadditional place the provinces knew that this quota was reserved for young archers.


    This time, the lineup was Pan Yu, Dong Jie, Tang Yi and a newcomer named Ding Ran, who had scored 620 points in the trial. He was the best among the other newcomers.


    When such a lineup came out, the discerning people could see that Song Feng greatly valued Tang Yan and began to change their attitudes to him.


    ...


    At the beginning of July, Tang Yan and his entourage took the plane to Kyoto with Song Feng.


    They were joined by the women''s team, the two newcomers are not excited on the plane, they are the first time to fly.


    Tang Yan had been on planes quit a few times in his previous life so he quickly adjusted and began watching a movie.


    About two hours later, they landed at the airport.


    When they got off the plane, they didn''t go to the residence arranged by the organizer, but they rented a hotel instead.


    Archery wasn''t a popular sport in China, so the provinces don''t invest much in this area. Zhejiang Province was a special case. As the most developed province on the coastal area, it was one of the few which paid it some attention.


    This was Tang Yan''s first time experiencing such special treatment it reminded him of the American men''s basketball team during the Olympics. They didn''t live in the Olympic Village during the Olympic Games, but instead on luxury yachts or in luxury hotels.


    Of course, he didn''t too care much about these external things. After he put his luggage at the hotel, he and the other went to the nearby archery field to get a feel for the arena.


    Although they were staying in a hotel, they were still quite close to the competition venue. The archery hall they found was already full of archers from the other provinces.


    They found a position in the corner and began to train.


    "Oi look over there, those are the archers from Zhejiang I was telling you about."


    "Wow seriously, do they actually stay in five-star hotels."


    "Damn what a waste of money."


    "Yeah, I know right if we had that kind of treatment, we would have already won the world championship. They can''t even get into the national team and they still act so arrogant just cause their province is rich."


    ...


    It was not long after they arrived that these voices of dissent and discussion appeared.


    Obviously, the special treatment they received had made the other archers green with envy.


    Although most of what they said was true and they had the right to feel disgruntled, it was still uncomfortable to hear people insulting them in their presence.


    "Shut the fuck up will you. If you have something to say then say it outloud instead of fucking whispering like a bunch of gutless bastard''s....Humph that''s what I thought." Shouted Pan Yu losing his temper.


    The crowd quickly closed their mouths andturned away and continued to practice themselves.


    "Haha, losing temper your temper are we just because they''re telling the truth."


    "The truth hurts sometimes."


    At this moment, two guys walked in with expressionsfull of ridicule. One was a rather tall male and the other was slightly smaller in height but seemingly built of pure muscle.


    "You need to hear the truth more often, then maybe you''ll stop wasting your provinces money." said the muscular one.


    "Han Tianfu, Cao Yan, don''t try me right now. I''m not in the mood." Pan Yu said sternly but his voice seemed to lack the same confidence and arrogance of before when dealing with the crowd.


    "So what if you''re not in the mood, how is that my business?" Cao Yan,the muscular man, said with a smile.


    "Brother Cao, watch out don''t provoke him or this trash might just bite you. We really can''t afford it if he contaminates you." Han Tianfu said his mocking smilenot diminishing.


    "Damnit I didn''t consider this. Wait do you think I will catch ''trash'' from breathing the same air as him." Cao Yan said with a big smile, his mocking becoming more and more intense.


    "You!" Pan Yu said will striding forward.


    But just in time, Tang Yan pulled him aside.


    Li Guangs'' abilities hadn''t just improved his archery, but also strengthened his body, as such Pan Yu was dragged away by Tang Yan.


    "What are you doing?" Pan Yu resisted shouting at Tang Yan with hatred.


    "Haha, oh you want to fight?" Cao Yan looked over at the two, and burst into laughter.


    Tang Yan ignored Pan Yu and glanced at Cao Yan and Han Tianfu. He said faintly: "I hope your skills are as strong as your mouths."


    Hearing this sentence, Pan Yu immediately closed his mouth, and Cao Yan and Han Tianfu were shocked by they turned to each other.


    Then burst into laughter.


    "Haha Haha~"


    A few moments later.


    "Haha damnit I can''t stop laughing, kid you should become a comedian haha."


    "It seems we need to educate some rookies."


    " Do you know where I ranked last year. Fifth place. As in fifth in the whole of China and Cao Yan finished in fourth place. Now do you think we are talking big?" Han Tianfu said with a look of disdain and arrogance all at the same time.


    The athletes from the other provinces all looked at Tang Yan at this time. This 18-year-old kid probably just wanted to help outhis teammates. But instead he had just headbutted an iron board.


    At this time, Pan Yufelt like giving Tang Yan a slap, what the hell did he think he was doing embarrassing him like this. Damn it he had just lost all his face. Unable to stand this anylonger he moved to shout atTang Yan to shut up and drag him back


    But then suddenly Tang Yan burst into laughter, shocking everyone.


    " Haha Haha¡ª"


    His laughter was hysterical shocking everyone causing them to look at him with incomprehensibility as if he was insane.


    Cao Yan and Han Tianfu began to frown and feel insulted, what the hell was this kid laughing at.


    At this time, Tang Yan said with a smile: "Don''t take this year''s tournament as the same as last year''s or you might just find yourselves falling down a rank."

 23 National Trials 2

    Hearing his words, Cao Yan and Han Tianfu were stunned.


    Who the hell did this kid think he was?


    "Kid, don''t get cocky just because you can beat some trash from your province. I could do that in my sleep. But do you dare compete with me?" Cao Yan asked glaring at Tang Yan.


    "No, thanks." Tang Yan refused without hesitation.


    Tang Yan''s direct refusal stunned Cao Yan.


    When he recovered, he burst into laughter: "Haha~ kid, are you afraid? If you are..."


    "No." Not waiting for Cao Yan to finish, Tang Yan interrupted. "There is no point in competing here. I won''t gain anything from beating you, plus these people are obviously hostile towards us. Even if I won, they would probably say that I lost. So, what''s the point?"


    There was a slight grumbling in the crowd.


    Tang Yan''s words naturally attracted dissatisfaction from them.


    "If you don''t want to compete, then what''s the point of running your mouth?" Cao Yan looked cold and asked with a voice filled with frustration.


    "Why are you so anxious? Isn''t the competition tomorrow? If you want to see the gap between us, just wait till then." Tang Yan said disapprovingly.


    "Good! Good! Remember what you''ve said today. Everyone heard that, right? We''ll see if you can still be so cocky tomorrow!" Cao Yan said angrily; being provoked by some 18-year-old kid naturally infuriated him.


    Tang Yan shrugged. His face was indifferent as he pulled back Pan Yu and returned to his training area.


    "Brother Cao, calm down. Let him run his mouth until tomorrow''s results. We will crush them. When they fall down the rankings, we will see if they dare show their faces here again. Plus, this is also an opportunity." Han Tianfu said with a cunning smile.


    Compared to Cao Yan, he was a lot calmer.


    "An opportunity?" Cao Yan asked, looking at Han Tianfu with a puzzled gaze.


    "Yes, an opportunity." Han Tianfu nodded, then lowered his voice and said: "The people from the Zhejiang province always fly over and stay in luxury hotels. Although it''s not with the organizing committee''s money, it has a negative impact on the association''s image. Not to mention that kid has also provoked the other provinces this time. We can get Lao Lai and the rest to report them, and the other provinces will definitely help us file a complaint to the association against them and their province."


    "Hahaha... Brother Han, you really are a genius." Hearing Han Tianfu''s plan, his mood became better. He took Han Tianfu and went back to their training area.


    After this round of conflict, because of Tang Yan''s words, while they were slightly isolated by the others earlier, now they were being completely ignored. No other archers came around their training area.


    Tang Yan began to inquire about Cao Yan and Han Tianfu.


    The level of the two wasn''t too different from his. They scored around 660 points, slightly better than him but not by a huge margin.


    However, this was based on their results from last year, so they were bound to have improved. Moreover, this pair were experienced, psychologically stable, and were always the starter archers in their respective teams.


    The threat brought about by these two was indeed much higher than that of Pan Yu. It was no wonder that Pan Yu, who was usually arrogant and filled with self-confidence, wavered with doubt and jealousy when he saw them.


    After they finished training, they took the business car rented by the team and returned to the hotel.


    In the car, several of the female archers began complaining about the other provinces. The young Lin Biao was one of the more aggressive ones filled with self-righteous anger.


    "Tang Yan, those two are no worse than you, and they have experience in competing. Don''t underestimate them." Turning to Tang Yan, Dong Jie, who was in the front row, gave him a bit of advice.


    "Which province are they from?" Tang Yan smiled and asked.


    "Han Tianfu is from the Shanghai team, and Cao Yan is from the Guangdong team. Both teams are strong teams. Last year''s champion, Qiu Tian, was from the Shanghai team. He is the nephew of Shanghai City''s Head Coach, Qiu Anguo," explained Dong Jie.


    "Qiu Anguo..." Tang Yan muttered. He had heard of this person. Qiu Anguo had once entered the top 16 at the Olympics. He was a legendary figure in men''s archery in China. He didn''t expect that his son was none the weaker, excelling at the sport as well.


    This Qiu Tian was way more interesting to him than the other two.


    "You can''t afford to make a mistake. They won''t let you back down tomorrow." Dong Jie reminded him earnestly. The two had developed a friendship over the months training together.


    "I don''t plan to back down anyway. I can defeat them, my goal is the championship afterall." Tang Yan declared with a faint smile.


    This sentence was filled with absolute confidence.


    At this time, Pan Yu looked at him with a complicated gaze, then turned back without saying a word.


    "Brother Tang is amazing, naturally he will defeat them!" Ling Biao said full of enthusiasm.


    Tang Yan turned and smirked slightly at her.


    ....


    The National Archery Championship was the largest archery competition in the country and the most high-profile event in the field of archery. It was held once a year. It was for the 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and Hong Kong and Macau. A total of 34 teams and well over a hundred archers. The contestants gathered in Kyoto to compete for the championship, representing the highest honor in archery nationally.


    Among the 34 teams, the top three were Shanghai, Guangdong, and the Macau team. A major archery province and two municipalities. They were the main winners of the championship over the last ten years.


    In other words, they were fighting for the top three while other provinces were fighting for fourth place. For a weak team like the Zhejiang Province, it would be a miracle to just enter the quarter-finals.


    This was also the origin of Cao Yan and Han Tianfu''s confidence. The main force of the Zhejiang Province was Pan Yu and Dong Jie, but these two had never broken into the top 10. So what good could a mere rookie do?


    Although archery wasn''t a highly engaging sport, it was still able to draw a crowd of viewers to watch the game.


    More than half of the seats in the stadium were filled, and there were about five or six thousand people at the scene, which was a big increase compared to last year.


    There were also several TV stations on-site at the stadium for real-time broadcasting.


    The Zhejiang Province TV station occupied a very prominent position. Although the performance of the Zhejiang team was quite average, it didn''t seem to affect the provinces eagerness to invest in the team.


    Shi Min was a beautiful reporter from the Zhejiang Provincial TV Station and a former archer of the Zhejiang Provincial Team. She had managed to enter the national top eight back in the day, but now she had been retired for many years.


    "Lin Yibin... this year, our provincial team has sent a lineup of 2 veterans and 2 new faces. Do you think they will be able to improve on last year''s performance and climb up the ranks?" As the athletes in the field were preparing, Shi Min seized the opportunity to talk to Lin Yibin.

 24 National Trials 3

    "This year does look promising. The archer we should keep an eye on is Pan Yu. Whether or not he can improve on last year''s performance will most likely be the make or break of this team. If he can maintain or improve on his form, it won''t be impossible to reach the quarter-finals." Lin Yibin analyzed objectively.


    "True, that Pan Yu is truly a talented archer, but he was quite unlucky to run into Han Tianfu of Shanghai last year. Hopefully, he can make history this year." Shi Min said.


    "Yes well, let us look forward to the moment new history is made." Lin Yibin responded with a smile.


    The national championships were a large-scale event just below the level of events such as the Asian Games and the Olympic Games. It wasn''t like the low-level competitions.


    There was only the 70-meters team competition and individual competition because there was so many archers and teams.


    According to the schedule, the first two days would be the team event. The first day was the qualifying stages. After the qualifiers, was the knockout round on the second day.


    There were two venues for men and women. After arriving, they separated from the women''s team at the entrance and went to the men''s section.


    In terms of China''s archery strength, the women''s team was far stronger than the men''s team. The women''s team had won silver medals at the Olympics and the World Championships several times.


    In contrast, the men''s team seemed shabby as they could only be considered second-rate in the world.


    After entering the venue, Song Feng went over to the women''s team, and Pan Yu was left in charge of the men''s team.


    Dong Jie was in the first group to shoot, followed by Pan Yu; and Tang Yan and Ding Ran, who were in the same group.


    "Welcome ladies and gentlemen... to the 2010 National Archery Championships. This is the longest-established grand event for national archery enthusiasts. First of all, let me introduce the guests present... I will start with one of the greatest coaches to ever appear: the head coach of the Chinese archery team, Tian Zhenzhe."


    After this introduction, a middle-aged man in his forties, who was seated in the most central position among the judges, stood up and politely waved his hand. This person, while not very old, was actually a famous figure in the field of archery¡ªhe had trained Zhang Wei, the only male archer to achieve success at the Olympics.


    Following this, the other guests were introduced one after another. Most of them were also well-known figures in the field of archery and head coaches of the respective provincial teams.


    Tang Yan paid extra attention to Shanghai city''s head coach; Qiu Anguo, and the Guangdong''s head coach; Lai Yongxing. The two seemed to have a good relationship.


    What surprised him was that, in the middle of the group, he actually saw Li Lao.


    After the introduction of the guests, the first group of archers was called up.


    "Dong Jie of Zhejiang!" When Dong Jie was called up, Tang Yan and Ding Ran both opened up the path for him.


    Dong Jie nodded and looked back at Pan Yu, then walked up to the shooting gallery.


    Pan Yu didn''t say anything. He had been watching the members of the Shanghai and Guangdong provinces since he had entered the arena.


    As one of the main team members, Dong Jie was an experienced archer. His psychological strength and performance were both stable. He scored a total of 640 points.


    Which ranked him first among the first group of archers; in other words, Dong Jie had commenced with a good start for the Zhejiang Province.


    "Old Song, it seems you''re determined to succeed this year." After the first group was finished, another head coach, Zhang Feng, turned to Song Feng.


    "Haha, Old Zhang, stop feeding my ego. I heard that your archery team has a 17-year-old who can shoot 630 points this year. The future is unpredictable." Song Feng said with a smile.


    "Haha... It will be his first time participating in a competition of this scale. So it''s hard to say how well he will perform, but I hope he can make a good impression. After all, the Youth Olympic is coming soon, and this is a rare opportunity." Zhang Feng responded with a grin.


    The two were seated not far from Lai Yongxing and Qiu Anguo; therefore, their words naturally passed into these two''s ears.


    Hearing this, Lai Yongxing coughed and deliberately spoke with some volume: " Qiu Anguo, I''ve heard rumors that Han Tianfu has reached the threshold of 650. You need to share your secrets on coaching. "


    "Haha, it''s mainly due to his hardwork and dedication. I only gave a few minor pointers. Unfortunately, we don''t get a lot of resources like some teams who can afford to stay in hotels; otherwise, we could improve even further, Sadly, we can only rely on ourselves." Qiu Anguo said with emotion.


    Hearing this conversations, Song Feng''s brows furrowed. It was clear to everyone what he was implying.


    His breathing became a bit heavy, but he didn''t say anything. After all, the was some truth in their words. He could only look at the field and sigh.


    The second group of archers included Han Tianfu. His shooting was much better than Dong Jie''s, scoring 650 points.


    When Han Tianfu completed his round, Qiu Anguo looked over at Song Feng with a sidelong glance. He had already agreed with Lai Yongxing that when the championship was over they would jointly file a complaint against the Zhejiang Province.


    Song Feng didn''t know the schemes Lai Yongxing and Qiu Anguo had planned out; nevertheless, when he saw Han Tianfu''s score of 650 points, his heart sank slightly, and he became nervous, occasionally fidgeting with his hands.


    When the third group of archers came up, among them was the well-known young archer called Li Haoze from Xinjiang province, last year''s winner; Qiu Tian, ??and last of all, Pan Yu. This group had all three of the championships favorites.


    The appearance of this group instantly attracted a burst of cheers from the audience.

 25 National Trials 4

    "Haha, Qiu Anguo, your nephew is on the field. I heard that he has passed the 660 points mark. He''s still so young, he is the future of the nations archery team." The group had just debuted, but Lai Yongxing had already begun praising Qiu Anguo.


    "There is still room for improvement, especially mentality. Fortunately, the strength of this group is average, it should be an easy round." Qiu Anguo smiled and said.


    However, when Qiu Anguo said this, Song Feng and Zhang Feng''s brows wrinkled up. The aces of their two teams were all in this group, but they were just ''average'' in the eyes of Qiu Anguo.


    At this time, Song Feng tightened his fists and looked at the field with excitement. Pan Yu had performed well in the team''s selection and given him hope.


    His only hope at this time was that Pan Yu could perform exceptionally.


    The players in the third group were ready, and after the referee signal, the round began.


    Tang Yan put all his attention on his potential opponent. Others may be familiar with him, but he still knew nothing.


    Qiu Tian looked to be only about 20 years old. He had sharp features, and his looks could be compared to a models. His hair flowed slightly onto his forehead. His handsome features attracted a bunch of cheers and whistles from the female audiences when he appeared.


    The group of 12 archers shot their first arrows.


    Li Haoze - 9 points, Pan Yu - 9 points: the score of both were very good.


    However, at this moment, the scene was lit up with the cheers of the female audience.


    Qiu Tian''s had shot a 10 pointer!


    After Qiu Tian finished shooting, he glanced at the number of points, revealed a smile which drew another round of cheers.


    "This guy really is enviable." Tang Yan said with a small smile.


    After the first group of shooting, the scores were as following:


    Li Haoze and Pan Yu performed well with scores of 53 points and 54 points respectively.


    However, Qiu Tian outperformed them, scoring 57 points after one round!


    If he could retain this form for the next rounds, his score would be a top tier score of 680 points.


    Qiu Anguo, seeing all this was filled with excitement that couldn''t be controlled.


    Zhang Feng and Song Feng were looking at the venue with nervous gazes.


    ...


    The performance of Qiu Tian was quite stable, but his accuracy fell short somewhat; therefore, his score settled on 658 points.


    This achievement, even though it fell slightly short of expectations at the beginning, the results still earned a round of applause from the judges, and several coaches could not help but applaud as well.


    This was the highest recorded score of the year so far in China. This level was already at the top of the country, and he was only 20 years old.


    What an exciting time it was for Chinese Archers!


    The laughter on Qiu Anguo''s face couldn''t be hidden.


    Zhang Feng helplessly smiled, Li Haoze''s score was 632 points which was a decent score but not enough to compete against Qiu Tian.


    Zhang Feng could still smile, but Song Feng''s face at this time was completely bland. Qiu Anguo''s smile was like a burst of ridicule in his eyes.


    Pan Yu had only scored 618 points...


    In the first round, his score was still in the top three of the group, but he didn''t know if it was because of the pressure from Qiu Tian, but his score had began to deteriorate after the first round.


    His final score was subpar, to say the least. It wasn''t even comparable to his usual score.


    Qiu Anguo and Lai Yongxing were all immersed in gloating over Qiu Tian''s outstanding score.


    After the third group, the audience and the judges paid less attention to the competition. The archers after them were average and performed just so and so, with the best result being 624 points.


    It wasn''t until the 12th group that the audience and the judges focused their gazes back onto the field.


    Both Tang Yan and Ding Ran appeared in this group, but the focus of the audience obviously wasn''t on them. They were drawn in because Cao Yan was also in this group.


    Because last year''s runner-up, a veteran archer was absent due to injury, Cao Yan and Han Tianfu were amongst the strongest archers present after Qiu Tian.


    The appearance of Cao Yan attracted a burst of cheers from the audience.


    Qiu Anguo upon seeing Cao Yan going up turned his head to Song Feng said: "Old Song, you really are unlucky this time. Pan Yu performed abnormally in the first round, and now your two newcomers have encountered Cao Yan. It seems this isn''t your year... hahaha... How unfortunate!"


    "Hey, Qiu Anguo, this isn''t the case. Maybe there will be a miracle?" Lai Yongxing said with a smile.


    "That''s true, haha... but it''s got to be a hell of a miracle~," Qiu Anguo ridiculed laughing. Everyone could see that they were mocking Song Feng.


    Song Feng coldly snorted and turned away.


    Pan Yu''s poor performance had stomped on his hopes for this championship. His opponent''s performance was excellent. In his mind, If an experienced archer like Pan Yu couldn''t keep up what could newbies like Tang Yan and Ding Ran do?


    Even though Tang Yan had performed well in the trials, Pan Yu''s performance had proved that there was no connection between the two.


    "You two give Song Feng some face." At this moment, Tian Zhenzhe who had been sitting in the middle suddenly spoke up.


    As the head coach of the national team had spoken, Qiu Anguo and Lai Yongxing stopped their mocking and kept their teasing smiles.


    Tang Yan walked up to the venue, and before he reached his booth, he found out that there was a small problem there. It turned out that an archer named Liu Ping had gotten a sprain and had retired in advance.


    It wasn''t that big of a deal, but Liu Ping''s departure meant that Tang Yan would be directly on the left side of Cao Yan.


    Although there was a gap, this was the most direct confrontation in the archery competition.

 26 National Trials 5

    Cao Yan also noticed this point, and he looked over at Tang Yan with a smirk.


    Noticing Cao Yan''s gaze, Tang Yan also smiled.


    This direct confrontation made him even more excited.


    Cao Yan saw that Tang Yan still had a relaxed expression, and his eyes jerked slightly.


    In his heart, Tang Yan should be flustered at this time because of this sudden situation, at least he should have a look of tension; instead, the result was a relaxed face that even held some hints of excitement.


    Just then, the referee announced the start of the round.


    He turned his head and prepared for action, pulling an arrow from the arrow quiver.


    Tang Yan''s gaze made him feel slightly uncomfortable which only helped solidify his decision to thoroughly crush Tang Yan this time in order to demonstrate the gap between them.


    Winding up, pre-pulling, drawing the bowstring, aiming, followed by a deep breath...


    After isolating his mind from the outside world, he aimed at the position of the bull''s eye and shot.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    The arrow seemed to be equipped with an auto-lock feature as it shot straight towards the bull''s eye.


    There was a burst of applause from the crowd. 10 points!


    This... was talent.


    He was smug in his heart, and he turned his head to look over at Tang Yan, looking for a sense of satisfaction from there.


    However, when he saw Tang Yan''s score, his smile suddenly contorted.


    10 points! Tang Yan had also shot a 10-pointer!


    And just as he was looking over, Tang Yan had already taken out his second arrow.


    At this moment, he suddenly realized something. The applause just now, was it even for him, or was the audience cheering for Tang Yan?


    Winding up, pre-tensioning, drawing the bowstring, aiming...


    Under the watchful eyes of Cao Yan, Tang Yan''s technical movements were completed in one go.


    Tang Yan''s speed was exceptionally fast.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    The arrow flew straight to the edge of the bull''s eye.


    There was a burst of cheers on the scene. Another 10-pointer!


    Qiu Anguo and Lai Yongxing on the judges panel were stunned.


    They hadn''t thought much of Tang Yan; he was only a rookie archer in their eyes, at most like Li Haoze before, he could only hope to show off his potential in hopes of participating in the Youth Olympics.


    But Tang Yan''s two shots just now had stunned them. While others might just see the two 10-pointers, they saw the technique and skill.


    These coaches were archery masters; of course, they could see through Tang Yan.


    Fast, sturdy, accurate, and stable: it was obvious he was stronger than Cao Yan.


    "Dammit! a dark horse¡ªof all the times to appear!" Qiu Anguo couldn''t help but whisper to himself softly. He was like a gambler determined to win, only to stumble across a hurdle on his next bet after going all in.


    Song Feng was also stunned, but soon his face was filled with joy and excitement.


    Originally, he thought that after Pan Yu had choked under the pressure, the newcomers such as Tang Yan and Ding Ran wouldn''t be able to go anywhere; however, it seemed he had placed his bets on the wrong person.


    He should have banked on Tang Yan. This kid was bound to reach the top levels of archery.


    Cao Yan''s brow was slightly wrinkled, but he was an experienced archer after all. So after adjusting his mental state, he pulled out his second arrow. This time, he deliberately sped up his movements.


    9 points!


    Although he couldn''t hit the bull''s eye again, a 9-pointer was an excellent shot.


    At this time, Tang Yan was on his third arrow.


    After Cao Yan was done with his second shot, he turned to look over. The scene was suddenly filled with applause.


    10 points! It was a 10-pointer!


    Tang Yan had shot three consecutive 10-pointers!


    "10 points! Yes, folks¡ªit is another 10-pointer. My God, what a stunning opening! Tang Yan has just shot yet another 10-pointer!" Shi Min couldn''t help but scream in her commentator''s box.


    "Tang Yan¡ªalthough this isn''t over yet, today this name is destined to be included in the history of archery in the Zhejiang Province!" Lin Yibin also commented, unable to control his excitement. As the main force of the former provincial team, he could see Tang Yan''s true level which left him excited, finally witnessing the "second generation" breakthrough.


    Cao Yan was completely stunned this time.


    Tang Yan was even more accurate than the last shot. He even managed to shoot faster than before.


    Was this really a greenhorn?


    At this time, Song Feng completely fell into laughter. Turning to Qiu Anguo and Lai Yongxing, he gave them a smirk as he said to Zhang Feng: "Old Zhang, it seems that this year''s championship may just change hands?"


    At this time, Zhang Feng was also shocked by Tang Yan''s performance. When Song Feng spoke to him, only then did he came back to himself and say with a smile: "Old Song, you really have good eyes. This Tang Yan, I feel that with his ability he can go to the... Asian Games."


    "Haha~ the Asian Games, that''s hard to say. We will just have to wait and see. If only this group wasn''t so mediocre, then we could really see his limits." Song Feng said sighing.


    Lai Yongxing''s face turned sour; Song Feng was returning back what they had said to him.


    The game on the field continued, and Tang Yan shot arrows after arrows, bringing the audience''s emotions to a peak.


    By the end of the final round, Cao Yan was filled with anger and frustration.


    Whilst Tang Yan hadn''t shot all 10-pointers, Cao Yan felt like what he did was worse.


    As if almost taunting him, when he shot an 8 pointer, Tang Yan shot a 9; when he shot a 9, Tang Yan shot a 10-pointer.


    In addition,on the occasions he scored a 10-pointer, Tang Yan would shoot two continuous 10-pointers.


    After all the rounds were over, the results of the group were as such:


    Ding Ran''s score was 616 points. It wasn''t know if Tang Yan''s excellent play had driven him. His performance in this competition was even better than team trials back in Zhejiang.


    Cao Yan''s score was 645. His strength was originally similar to that of Han Tianfu, but Tang Yan''s quick and accurate shooting method made his mind inevitably fluctuate, causing his score to fall.


    Tang Yan''s final score was a total of 661 points which shocked the audience. His score had passed the 660 points mark!


    He was the first person to achieve this threshold in China this year!


    "I... I don''t know how to express my feelings at this moment, but Tang Yan, the young man of our provincial team, has just shocked everyone with a qualifying score of 661 points. He will be the future of the Zhejiang Province. No, he will be the future of Chinese archery. He is only 18 years old, folks, 18 years old!" When the results came out, Shi Min became excited and incoherent.


    "Yes, 661 points: the best results of the qualifiers this year! I really want to see how he will perform in international competitions. It will certainly be worth looking forward to!" Lin Yibin also added with the same level of excitement.

 27 Worries

    After Tang Yan''s qualifiers were finished, Tian Zhenzhe turned around and said something to Li Lao. The two quickly began chatting, smiling from time to time.


    Song Feng''s smile became even bigger. Although he couldn''t quite hear the contents of the two''s conversation because of the distance, the words "Tang Yan" and the smiles on their faces was enough.


    In contrast, Qiu Anguo and Lai Yongxing''s faces were quite ugly. After the qualifying session ended, they immediately got up and left the judges'' area.


    After the men''s qualifiers, the audience didn''t leave, but became even more excited. Because coming up next was the women''s archery qualifiers.


    The women''s archery team was far superior to men in terms of strength and attention. This can be seen from the contestants and the female audience which were twice as many as men.


    The excitement caused by Tang Yan was quickly overshadowed by the appearance of the women''s team. Especially after the Olympic champion Zhang Hao appeared, the atmosphere on the scene became truly electrifying.


    Tang Yan went back to his camp, and he was warmly welcomed by Ding Ran and Dong Jie, especially Dong Jie, who didn''t usually like to speak, spoke now in volumes full of excitement, shocking Tang Yan.


    In contrast, Pan Yu seemed to be somewhat out of place with the rest of the group.


    When Tang Yan came back, he didn''t greet him like Ding Ran and Dong Jie, and when they started to celebrate, he even stepped back a few steps, excluding himself.


    Tang Yan and Dong Jie had no good feelings towards him.


    Naturally, they wouldn''t take the initiative to approach him.


    Ding Ran''s situation was less severe, but it didn''t mean he had goodwill towards him either.


    As a result, he seemed to be alone.


    He clenched his hands, his body shivering slightly, his eyes looking out to the arena; no one knew what he was thinking.


    "Haha~"


    At this moment, a burst of laughter came from afar heading in their direction. Song Feng''s big frame soon entered their vision.


    His laughter attracted a strange look from the other provinces'' coaches, but he turned a blind eye to them as he was truly excited at this moment.


    "You, my boy have really given us glory today!" As soon as he arrived in front of them, Song Feng did not shy away, laughing and rushing to Tang Yan, patting him continuously on the shoulder.


    Tang Yan just simply smiled. According to his personality, he would have taken the opportunity to bathe in praise, but Song Feng''s change in attitude made him feel uncomfortable. So he just smiled.


    "Dong Jie, you also did well today. Ding Ran, you should also be proud of yourself too. Your future is worth looking forward to..." Song Feng generously praised them all.


    Thenhe swept his gaze around for a while, only to find Pan Yu standing three meters away. Seeing Pan Yu, his tone changed as he shouted, "Come here!"


    When Pan Yu heard Song Feng call him, he barely managed to squeeze out a smile and walked over.


    "What the hell was that earlier? What an atrocious performance! You actually performed even worse than Don¨C" He originally wanted to say Dong Jie, but he quickly changed his words. "...worse than those newcomers. You are a veteran archer. You''re meant to be leading the team, not holding it back! It seems I''ve been pampering you too much."


    Song Feng didn''t leave him the slightest bit of face, directly scolding Pan Yu in front of all of them.


    During this time, Pan Yu showed his forbearance. No matter how Song Feng reprimanded, he just nodded earnestly and did not say anything back.


    After scolding for quite some time, Song Feng finally finished and said, "Tomorrow, I want to see better. Use tonight to get your head in the game."


    Tang Yan looked over at Pan Yu, and he could not help but worry about Pan Yu''s state of mind. His experience of more than 30 years of life told him that this kind of treatment by Song Feng may just have made things worse.


    "You all go back and rest early. Prepare for tomorrow''s final. The women''s round will start soon, so I have to go." Song Feng snorted, then turned and left.


    The final score of the team was made up of the scores of the top three archers in each province. Tang Yan''s 661 points successfully helped the Zhedong Province get a total score of 1920, making them 4th place overall, securing their place into the knockout rounds tomorrow.


    When Song Feng left, Pan Yu barely squeezed a smile and without saying anything, he turned and left.


    The three of them took a taxi back to the hotel and took the afternoon off as a rare break.


    Tang Yan took a shower, wrapped up in a duvet and was about to go to sleep when the doorbell suddenly rang.


    He went to the door and looked out through the peephole to see that it was Dong Jie outside the door.


    He opened the door, and asked with some doubt, "Dong Jie, why are you here?"


    Dong Jie probed his head forward and looked inside.


    "Come in, there is no beauty hidden behind me." Seeing Dong Jie obviously had something to say, Tang Yan joked.


    Dong Jie smiled and then walked in.


    Tang Yan brought out two cups of tea: one for Dong Jie and one for himself, then he sat on the sofa.


    Although it was only a qualifying session, the state of being in high tension was still very exhausting. It was a pleasure to take a shower, sit down and take a break.


    "I am a bit worried about the team competition tomorrow." Dong Jie didn''t drink the tea, but instead began to speak.


    "What do you mean?" Tang Yan asked, holding the tea, blowing it, and taking a sip.


    "Old Song didn''t give Pan Yu face today. Pan Yu''s reaction was also abnormal. I think his state of mind tomorrow may worsen." Dong Jie didn''t beat around the bush and answered straightforwardly.


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    "Yeah..." Tang Yan said with a sigh. This Song Feng really had a temperamental nature. He knew Pan Yu''s character, yet he still didn''t save him face.


    "I am coming to you because I hope that when Old Song comes back, you will go with me to talk to him. I hope he can calm down Pan Yu''s emotions. The team competition is a matter of three people. If he is out of it, it will affect our scores as well." Dong Jie directly explained his purpose.


    "Okay, that sounds fine, I''ll come along." Tang Yan didn''t hesitate and agreed.


    The team competition was based off the qualifying round.


    The top three players from each province would form the team for the knockout round. In today''s qualifiers, Tang Yan''s 661 points won him first place, Dong Jie''s 640 points ranked 26th. Pan Yu performed abnormally and ranked 112th among 200 archers. Even so, his performance was three points higher than Ding Ran, which meant that he would be the third member of the team.


    Tang Yan, Dong Jie, Pan Yu: the list of participating team members for the Zhejiang Province tomorrow was fixed and couldn''t be changed. If Pan Yu really performed abnormally again tomorrow, it would make things extremely difficult for them.


    "Damn! who came up with such abnormal rules?!"


    After he sent Dong Jie off, Tang Yan took up the hot tea and took a sip, and he couldn''t help but swear out loud.

 28 Quarter-finals

    The Zhejiang Women''s team performed decently and managed to enter the knockout rounds after ranking 15th.


    Both the men''s and women''s team managed to reach the knockout round. This was the first time in the history of the Zhejiang Province. Song Feng was in a great mood. After Tang Yan and Dong Jie told him about their worries, he agreed without much thought.


    As the championship entered the knockout stage, the audience''s interest also rose, and the attendance rate increased greatly.


    The next morning was the quarter finals.


    After the qualifying rounds yesterday, the top 16 teams were announced. With the outstanding performance of Qiu Tian and Han Tianfu, the Shanghai Team maintained their first place without suspense, the Guangdong Province also retained second place because of their excellent average strength.


    After that, in third place was the Macao team. Archery and equestrianism were deeply in docurated into the Macao culture and as the general wealth of civilians increased the popularity of the sport increased tremendously, allowing them to occupy the top three.


    The Zhejiang Team led by Tang Yan ranked fourth.


    In the knockout stage, the competition was conducted in the order of 1st vs 16th,2nd vs 15th and so on.


    The winner entered the next round and it continued in that fashion.


    As they ranked fourth, the Zhejiang Provinces first round opponent was the 13th ranked Gansu Provincial team.


    Song Feng and Zhang Feng looked at each other in disappointment they hadn''t expected to encounter each other in the first round of the knockout stages.


    In addition to Li Haoze, there were two veteran archers from the Gansu province, but their performance in this competition so far had been average. Things weren''t looking good for the Gansu Province.


    In the knockout round, there were 3 rounds with 8 arrows per round each archer would shoot a round each, the two sides would alternately shoot rounds.


    Dong Jie and Tang Yu were in excellent condition. Even in the face of the weaker Gansu province, they didn''t hold back. The two archers scored 73 and 75 points respectively.


    And Pan Yu, after ''encouragement'' from Song Feng yesterday, seemed to have returned to form, and shot 75 points.


    The three''s score totaled 223 points and successfully eliminated the Gansu Province and advanced to the second round of the knockouts.


    This seemed to be expected. Zhang Feng, in his judge''s seat, didn''t seem to mind. Instead, it was Song Feng, who comforted him with a few words.


    At the end of the first round of the knockout round, most of the top ten teams had successfully eliminated their opponents. Only the fifth-ranked Jin Province performed abnormally and lost to the 12th ranked Hu Jian province causing an upset.


    According to the rules, after the end of the round, the winner between the 1st and 16th will face the winner between the 8th and 9th, and the winner between the 2nd and 15th will face the winner between 5th and 12th etc.


    So as the Zhejiang Province ranked fourth, their second round of opponents just happened to be the Hu Jian Province.


    Tang Yan and Dong Jie were in excellent condition, and Pan Yu also performed normally. They eventually eliminated Hu Jian, with a score of 223 to 216, and won the contest between the two black horses.


    After defeating the Hu Jian''s province, Tang Yan and team were into the semi-finals.


    After the men''s team''s event was over, the next group was the women''s team.


    Because the semi-finals and finals were in the afternoon, most of the players did not go back, but stayed to watch the women''s.


    Compared with male archers, women''s archery had a slower rate of fire, but this didn''t affect their appreciation. The women''s unique curvaceous beauty and skill was more than enough to make the audience excited.


    Compared with the men''s team, the Zhejiang women''s team didn''t have great luck being eliminated in the first round.


    They encountered the Shanghai women''s team and were cleanly eliminated 226 to 201.


    The well-known female archer Zhang Wei''s shot a super-score of 77 points. The Shanghai teams dominance in women''s archery was far superior to other provinces.


    As the women''s team came back to camp Tang Yan walked up to the ladies to comfort them.


    "Tang Yan, make sure you show them what''s what in the afternoon!" Lin Biao''s said eyes slightly reddish, being easily eliminated by the Shanghai team, their hearts were naturally unreconciled.


    After Lin Biao''s words were finished, Pan Yu made a fist. Tang Yan was now the representative of the team taking the position that once belonged to him.


    "Yes, just because of their arrogant attitude yesterday, we will definitely give them something to consider." Tang Yan said in a firm tone.


    ....


    In the afternoon, the semi-finals and finals of the men''s and women''s groups would be held. The attention on the tournament also rose. The audience at the scene had risen from around 5,000 people to well over 7,000 people, alongside the audience, there was also a lot of media presence on the sidelines.


    This included not only the Provincial TV stations, but also the CCTV Sports channel, which meant that the semi-finals and finals would be broadcast live nationwide.


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    The provincial teams looked around as scene became packed and so.Some arches couldn''t hide the tension on their faces, while others were eager to show off their strength at such an opportunity.


    "Since we have already managed to make it this far, let''s try to go further!" After the women''s team was eliminated, Song Feng''s attention was all on the men''s team.


    As he finished his ''speech'' the whistle sounded on the side of the field, and the referee signaled for them to enter the arena.


    Seeing the archers entering, there was a burst of excitedcheering at the scene.


    The cheers of more than 7,000 people shook the sky, Tang Yan could clearly feel his heartbeat begin to accelerate, this was the atmosphere brought by the large stage, his adrenaline began to kick in.


    The four final teams lined up together, on the left side of the Zhejiang Team was the Shanghai Team and to the right side was the Guangdong Team.


    "Hey, rookie, you were lucky yesterday. If you run into us today, you won''t have any such luck." Walking forward, Han Tianfu shouted at Tang Yan.


    Pan Yu heard the voice of Han Tianfu, turned his head to glance over, snorted before ignoring the pair.


    Tang Yan was his movements at the corner of his eye and shook his head.


    Tang Yan seeing Pan Yu didn''t pay attention to Han Tianfu, did the same.


    Han Tianfu, on the other hand looked at Tang Yan then at Pan Yu, his mouth showing a hint of an imperceptible smile.

 29 Semi-finals 1

    After the national anthem, the semi-finals of the National Archery Championships men''s team competition officially started.


    First up was the Guangdong team who ranked second in qualifiers and the Macau team who ranked third. The two teams were of roughly equal strength. The game left everyone anxious until the end. At the crucial moment, Cao Yan showed his role as an ace and shot two 10 pointers, helping the Guangdong Province to beat the Macau team by 226 to 225.


    The first game was a wonderful showdown which acted as a strong appetizer, making the audience''s excitement extraordinarily high.


    Next up was the current champions, the Shanghai team vs the shocking dark horse that is the Zhejiang team.


    The champions Vs the underdogs such a showdown filled the audience with expectations.


    There was a 10-minute interval between each round of competition. After the break interval, under the gazes of the audience the team members of the Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces finally debuted.


    "It finally begins, although this is only the semi-final, such a showdown between the current champions and the rising underdogs is undoubtedly thrilling.


    Will Zhejiang Provinces, Tang Yan be able to carry on the miracle and carry his team to victory or will he be suppressed by the behemoth that is the Shanghai Team." In CCTV''s broadcast room, the well-known sports commentator Yang Jian said emotionally.


    "This game is indeed worth looking forward to. The Shanghai Team has two major forces, Qiu Tian and Han Tianfu. This year, they have once again managed to neatly eliminate their opponents. If they can defeat the Zhejiang Team they will be through to defend their title in hopes of achieving their third consecutive Championship." came a strong reply.


    Next to Yang Jian, was the former national men''s archery team captain, now the current vice president of the Archery Association, Zhao Qiuhe. It was he who had just spoken.


    "Now that would be a sight to behold wouldn''t it. No team has ever managed to win three in a row. I''m sure the Zhejiang Province will try it''s utter most to prevent it especially that Tang Yan of theirs. Whose had an especially stunning tournament so far. From the information we are hearing it''s his first official tournament debut as well, now you can see why many are comparing him to the likes of Han Tianfu, Cao Yan. Today''s matches should be especially exciting," Yang Jian added.


    "That might not be so, there''s a huge difference between the qualifiers and finals." Yang Jian''s voice just fell, when Zhao Qiuhe said shaking his head.


    "What do you mean?" Yang Jian didn''t think that Zhao Qiuhe would suddenly say so, as such he looked over at him with a puzzled look.


    "Archery is a sport that pays great attention to skill and talent but especially mental fortitude." Zhao Qiuhe said with a proud attitude. "The qualifiers reflects more of the player''s skill and talent, just like you said Tang Yan is talented, although I didn''t see his performance yesterday there have been many like him. Young player''s with blockbuster performances in the qualifiers though not many now our days, there are plenty in history but..."


    "The finals and qualifiers are different. In the finals of the team competition, only those with strong psychological qualities can become the final winners, people like the likes of Ning Yuyu, Qiu Tian and Han Tianfu. Will have an absolute advantage in the finals. In other words, even a once in a lifetime genius might only be able to preform to 60% of their ability due to the pressure.Whereas archers though less stunning in some areas can preform at 100%. With more time and experience Tang Yan will have a great future after gaining more fortitude but I don''t think this will be his competition."


    "But... Tang Yan performed very well in the quarter-finals..."


    Zhao Qiuhe didn''t wait for Yang Jian to finish, and directly reached out and interrupted him. "Do you think that the Shanghai Team with Qiu Tian and Han Tianfu will lose to a rookie? Rember as well this is a team competition other than Tang Yan who else can match up to them. Also the Zhejiang Team had been particularly lucky managing to avoid all the stronger teams up till now. "


    Although Yang Jian still wanted to refute, Zhao Qiuhe was a former national team captain, he couldn''t really continue arguing in the studio, so he changed his tone and said: "Well, Zhao Qiuhe''s analysis is very reasonable, then let us watch and see how the two teams preform."


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    "Of course!" said Zhao Qiuhe, he knew Yang Jian''s heart was not convinced, and so he shook his head with a smile.


    When the two people in the studio were in a heated discussion, the archers from the Shanghai and Zhejiang Provinces had already entered the competition venue.


    The team competition, as the name suggests, looks at the combined strength of a team of three people.


    A good archer could raise the upper limit of the whole team, but the same was true for the opposite as well.


    Because the team competition was a one-on-one contest, the order of appearance had a considerable impact on the team, and each team was very cautious in setting a formation.


    Among the three positions, the third archer was the most important, because in a high-level competition, after the two players before shot, it was likely that there would be leveled scores, or the scores would be very close. At this time, the third archer could make or break the game.


    In the Zhejiang Team, Song Feng fulfilled his promise to Tang Yan and arranged him as the third archer.


    Of the remaining two spots, Dong Jie, who played more stable yesterday, was placed in the first spot and Pan Yu automatically became the second player to shoot.


    In the Shanghai Team, the order was: Ning Yuyu, Qiu Tian and Han Tianfu.


    The teams would play a total of 4 rounds. In each round, each player alternately shot 2 arrows according to the order of appearance. So there were 6 arrows in total per round. The team with the most points won.


    The first to appear were Ning Yuyu and Dong Jie, two veterans known for their stability.


    As the players got ready, the audience became quiet.


    Ning Yuyu took the lead in shooting after a coin flip. The veteran who was over 30 years old,scored 17 points and made a good start to the game.


    After Ning Yuyu finished shooting, next was Dong Jie. He took a deep breath and went to the court. He also shot 2 arrows and 17 points under the pressure, which led to a cheering scene.


    At the beginning of the game, the atmosphere at the scene was already ignited.


    After the two arrows, the two sides were tied, and up next was Qiu Tian and Pan Yu.


    The order of the Shanghai Team was somewhat unexpected, but Qiu Anguo had arranged for Qiu Tian to shoot second, apparently hoping to establish a leading edge earlier.


    And Qiu Tian showed why he had his reputation by shooting two 9 pointers, and the result of 18 points also attracted a burst of exclamation from the audience.


    After the 4 arrows, the Shanghai Team had 35 points. Which was a very good result reflecting the absolute strength of the defending champions.


    Next up was Pan Yu for the Zhejiang Province.


    After Song Feng''s private talk yesterday, although Pan Yu''s mentality was still somewhat fluctuating, it was much better than yesterday. He managed to shoot two 8 pointers earning 16 points which was neither good nor bad overall but it meant they fell behind by 2 points.


    The score was 35-33.


    Both sides brought out their last archers.


    Tang Yan vs Han Tianfu.


    "Tang Yan is up." In the studio, Yang Jian said with some excitement.

 30 Semi-Finals 2

    Perceiving Yang Jian''s mood, Zhao Qiuhe couldn''t help but shake his head and say: "Shanghai''s lineup is very targeted."


    "What do you mean?" Yang Jian still excited, paused slightly at Zhao Qiuhe''s remarks and turned his head.


    "In theory, Qiu Tian is the strongest force in the Shanghai team. As such he should be last in the lineup, but Qiu Anguo has placed himsecond. The purpose is very clear, that is, to get the lead as soon as possible." Zhao Qiuhe said.


    Yang Jian nodded, it was indeed obviously the case.


    "And the arrangement of Han Tianfu in last place is probably to pressure Tang Yan as in terms of strength, the two are pretty similar. However, in terms of experience, Han Tianfu surpasses him. The trick is to use the most experienced opponent to deal with the opponent''s most inexperienced opponent, in order to win a blow!" Zhao Qiuhe said.


    "The last archer is always the most burdened and being behind won''t help his situation. As I said before, maybe next year Zhejiang will have their chance, but this year Shanghai will be able to defend their title." Zhao Qiuhe said divisively.


    "Yeah." Yang Jian didn''t retort and resumed his gaze back to the big screen.


    Facts were more convincing.


    Han Tianfu was first to shoot.


    Han Tianfu and Cao Yan were good friends, but the characters of the two were completely different. Cao Yan belonged to the kind of people who were straight forward and passionate, his talent was the backbone of his abilities. Han Tianfu was more of the forbearance type willing to suffer bitterness to achieve his goals. He had reached this far due to his hard work and attitude.


    After the referee signaled the start of the set, he took a deep breath, adjusted his heartbeat and breathing to a gentle rhythm, and then took a arrow out of the arrow pot.


    There was 4 minutes in a round, 2 minutes for each arrow. He had more than enough time to adjust.


    Knocking the arrow, pre-tension, drawing the bow, aiming.


    His movements were slow but sturdy.


    The audience was watching with their breath held.


    "Twang!"


    After aiming for nearly ten seconds, Han Tianfu finally shot the arrow in his hand.


    The arrow was like a meteor.


    "Boom!"


    10 points!


    After the number of points was displayed on the screen, a burst of applause sounded.


    "That''s it! Just like that!" In the studio, Zhao Qiuhe looked excited and Han Tianfu''s performance seemed to affirm everything he had said before!


    Han Tianfu was also showing a smile, as he turned around and looked at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan also smiled seemingly without care.


    Han Tianfu shook his head and continued to his second arrow.


    The next arrow was less impressive but still a good score.


    8 points!


    2 arrows and 18 points, Han Tianfu shot the same score as Qiu Tian in the second round!


    The smile on Qiu Anguo face was complete, his strategy was working!


    Song Feng at the side of the field couldn''t help but make a fist. Dong Jie and Pan Yu weren''t a problems, but the just fell short compared to the Shanghai Team. In the face of hard power, there wasn''t much that could be done.


    But he didn''t totally despair after all at least there was now hope of them rising in the future with Tang Yan and after all it was still the first round.


    At this moment, Tang Yan walked up to the shooting gallery,pulled out the arrow from the arrow pot.


    Song Feng''s eyes trailed Tang Yan''s movements, a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes.


    Although he had already resigned to defeat he couldn''t help but retain some hope.


    He slowly released his clenched fist.


    More than 7,000 pairs of eyes on scene looked at the slightly thin figure at the center of the venue.


    A suffocating silence.


    At this time, Qiu Anguo turned his head and looked at Tang Yan, his face could not hide his smile.


    The suffocation on the spot was too familiar to him. It was like an invisible pressure. The greater the audience, the greater the pressure. This is where older archers gained the advantage over newcomers.


    ...


    Tang Yan stood still arrow in hand not making a move.


    He released a sigh of tension, although he wasn''t too nervous but the atmosphere of the scene still infected him slightly.


    "Yang Jian, you see it now? This kind of pressure, only experienced people know that this is not something an ordinary person can withstand. It takes a special kind of mindset and time." Noticing Tang Yan''s move, Zhao Qiuhe said with a proud face.


    After Tang Yan slowly exhaled, his mentality was adjusted back, the arrow was wound up, and the bow pre-pulled. Then the recurve bow was lifted the position parallel to his cheek, and aimed at the target in the distance.


    After gaining 60% of Li Guang''s abilities and systematic training, his performance had now stabilized. As a top class archer in China, plus his 30-years of experience it could be said in this kind of domestic competition few could actually compete against him if he went full out.


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    He slowly flattened his breath, then suddenly drew back the bow string, aimed and then loosened his hand.


    Tian Zhenzhe in the stands suddenly narrowed his gaze at this time!


    "Very fluid movements but too fast, yes if it was slower..."


    "Boom!"


    A muffled sound.


    After Zhao Qiuhe began the second half of his sentence, he swallowed back his words, his eyes widened and his face was unbelievable.


    Tang Yan''s shot was obviously faster than Han Tianfu, almost recklessly so but....


    10 points!


    "Beautiful!" Yang Jian in the studio almost shouted.


    The scene followed bursting into applause.


    Song Feng was also excited, you could see his slightly chubby body shaking.


    Only Qiu Anguo, had the look of a ghost.


    How can this be?!


    Qiu Anguo, Zhao Qiuhe in the studio, were both questioning and reviewing the shot in their minds.


    But soon, they were relieved.


    This must just be luck.


    Archery involved a tremendous amount of skill, but luck could also determine the results, especially in high-level competitions.


    "This Tang Yan seems not only to have good talent, but also good luck." Zhao Qiuhe smiled and eased the atmosphere in the studio.


    Yang Jian smiled and said nothing. He continued to look at the live screen watching to see the next arrow.


    Whether the first arrow was really luck or not the second arrow should be able to clear that up easily.


    On the court, Tang Yan didn''t show too much excitement. After doing a few breathing adjustments, he took out the second arrow in the arrow pot. After completing a series of technical movements, he then pulled the string and straightened his eyes. Looking at the target 70 meters away.

 31 Envy

    Tang Yan''s mentality was more stable than most of the archers on scene, not only because of his mental age being more than 30, but also because of the bearishness gained from experiencing life and death.


    Therefore, his mentality was stronger than others.


    After adjusting the angle of the arrow, he did not wait any longer, and directly loosened his hand.


    "Twang!"


    The arrow soared out and made a clear whistling sound.


    Zhao Qiuhe stared intensely at the big screen, his heart unconsciously nervous. He had spoken so much if he had to go back on his words, where would his face be...


    "Boom!"


    The arrow hit the target with a heavy thud. Although the force of the recurve bow was fixed, it was not known whether the force used by Tang Yan exceeded the preset. But even after hitting the bullseye, the tail of the arrow was still violently shaking.


    10 points!


    Another 10 pointer!


    Tang Yan''s 2 arrows were both 10 pointers!


    "F*ck Yesss!! Hahaha!" Song Feng couldn''t help but swear.


    Accompanied by this curse, the cheers on the scene reached the highest point since the start of the round.


    Tang Yan, was the first player to shoot two 10 pointers in succession.


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    Tang Yan finally showed a reaction also seemingly excited. He turned back and returned to camp, he was greeted by a thumbs up from Dong Jie.


    Originally, in most people''s eyes, a newcomer like Tang Yan would definitely struggle in his first final.


    But he was among the best.


    Qiu Anguo couldn''t help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.


    Just the first round, it''s only the first round...


    He was constantly comforting himself in his heart.


    Qiu Anguo could still calm down. But Zhao Qiuhe in the studio was completely red-faced. He talked so much before and now it was all coming to slap him in the face and with Yang Jian''s excited rambling it only went to cement his loss.


    Dammit he was meant to be the expert...


    Yang Jian didn''t even bother to try help him dig his way out of his spot, he just continued praising and excited rambling about Tang Yan.


    "Beautiful shooting! Absolutely beautiful!" When Tang Yan came off the court, Song Feng shouted twice over at him. Tang Yan''s performance made him feel overwhelmed with excitement.


    The Zhejiang Province had been under pressure for so long, but look at them now they were holding their own against against Shanghai, the current champions.


    Now the score was 53: 53


    Even Pan Yu was startled, he was also excited. Even Song Feng''s constant praise to Tang Yan was accepted. After all, Tang Yan''s two arrows counted as a turnaround.


    There were four rounds in the finals. There was a minute of rest between each round. Song Feng still wanted to continue to say something, but the rest time was coming to an end. So he finally put away his excitement and after some encouragement. He walked back to the coach area and sat down.


    The second round was almost the same as the first round. Dong Jie and Pan Yu both performed normally. After the two, Shanghai led by one point.


    Han Tianfu felt frustrated at heart. This round was poorer compared to the first round. He shot 8 and 8 making the total 16 points.


    In contrast, Tang Yan''s play was more stable, although not as stunning as the first round before, but the results of the 2 arrows was 18 points helping the Zhejiang Province to successfully surpass by 1 point.


    During this round of rest, Song Feng didn''t go forward again. Each round for the archers was a psychological game. At this time, the players needed to adjust their mentality.


    In order to make the game more enjoyable, the targets of the two teams in the final stage were close to each other. Only one white line was drawn between the players'' preparation areas, which meant that the archers were sat next to each other.


    Just when the final two returned to the rest area, Han Tianfu suddenly turned to look at Pan Yu and said in a low volume: "It seems your times up, are they already stating to edge you out the team?"


    When Han Tianfu said this, Pan Yu''s body jerked slightly.


    This simple sentence was like a sharp arrow, it poked right at his pain.


    He was arranged as the second appearance, indicating that Song Feng was not very optimistic about him this year, and the Shanghai Team arranged for Qiu Tian to be second as well. They were using him to gain a lead. This was the first time he was being disregarded.


    From the main force to becoming supporting role and the less important one at that, this had made him feel very uncomfortable, losing his place to a newcomer of all things made him feel humiliated, if not for Song Feng talking to him yesterday. He may have given up today''s game directly.


    It was like a wound, that hard to heal and just as he was beginning to deal with it, it was torn open by Han Tianfu.


    Noticing Pan Yu''s face changing, Han Tianfu''s mouth showed a smile that was not easy to detect.


    From the beginning of the game, he had been observing Pan Yu. He was clearly able to sense the aura of depression and rage on him.


    To win it wasn''t just about getting the most amount of points but also making the opponent get fewer points, Pan Yu''s existence was the perfect gateway in. It would be foolish to let the opportunity go.


    "If it was me, I''d rather lose this game than let some rookie use me and get all the glory." Han Tianfu said with a scoff of disdain will looking at him. After he finished, he noticed Dong Jie looking over. So he edged back and joined his camp and began to talk to Qiu Tian.


    "What was he saying?" Dong Jie noticed, moved over and asked.


    Pan Yu shook his head, saying nothing, just looking around the competition venue.


    On the big screen, in addition to displaying the scores of the two teams in large fonts, below, was the scores of each player so far in smaller font.


    The most conspicuous name was Tang Yan. After two rounds, his total score was 38 points , which was 2 more points than Qiu Tian. He was the most dazzling star of this championship.


    His name was also very conspicuous, but it was to the other extreme. His total number of points was a less than dazzling 32 points, ranking last


    He was trying to control his emotions, but he couldn''t shift his gaze from the big screen.


    Once, twice, and when he looked at the glaring score for the third time, his breathing was heavy like a gasping old crow.


    He clenched his fists and made a decision in his heart.


    "Archers please get ready, the third round is beginning!"


    __________________________


    *Target: Ranked Top 100


    Reward: Two Bonus Chapters (Released on Sunday)

 32 Six Points

    After the referee signaled, both opponents stood up from their seats one after another.


    Dong Jie''s performance in this round was excellent, shooting two 9 pointers for a score of 18 points, and Ning Yuyu for Shanghai fell short only shooting 17 points.


    But Qiu Tian came through the next set shooting 19 points.


    This time, the performance of Pan Yu was particularly important.


    Everyone looked over at Pan Yu.


    Pan Yu looked at the big screen and then back at Song Feng. Then the last trace of hesitation in his eyes disappeared.


    ....


    As Pan Yu prepared to shoot, Song Feng looked over nervous.


    Twang!


    The first arrow hurtled through the air.


    Boom!"


    It struck the target with heavy weight.


    The scene was deadly silent.


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    Song Feng was stunned.


    6 points!


    Pan Yu had actually shot 6 points!


    In a top level tournament such as the National Championships, there was actually a archer who shot 6 points!


    "It seems that Pan Yu has completely collapsed in front of Qiu Tian''s 19 points." The commentator at the scene couldn''t help but sigh.


    Song Feng body couldn''t help tremb, this Pan Yu, actually gave him a 6 pointer at a crucial moment like this, this drop of points, may make the last round directly lose suspense!


    Pan Yu noticed the reaction of the crowd and his heart shook unconsciously, but grinding his teeth, he took out a second arrow from the arrow pot.


    Although he intended to prevent Tang Yan from clinching victory, he didn''t dare to do too much. The second one shot was an 8 pointer. The final score of 2 arrows was 14 points, 5 whole points less than Qiu Tian.


    The scores were now 89:85 to Shanghai. Zhejiang was four points behind !


    In a team competition, this was already a considerable lead. As long as the next round of competition was normal, Shanghai had already won the game.


    As Han Tianfu saw the score on the field, his face broke into a huge smirk.


    Sure enough, he didn''t misread Pan Yu, and the situation changed dramatically in a flash.


    In the last set of the third round, after Han Tianfu succeeded, his mentality was greatly relaxed. He shot two arrows for 18 points again. Although Tang Yan bravely shot 19 points, the gap between the two sides was still 3 points. With only one round it was too difficult to reverse the circumstances.


    As they went into the break before the final round, Song Feng stormed over:


    "Pan Yu! What the hell are you doing! You son...!"


    After two sentences, remembering that this broadcast was live across the country. He lowered his voice and said: "What the hell are you kidding! 6 points! 6 points!"


    He was so mad he became incoherent.


    Pan Yu struggled in his heart, he felt the anger of Song Feng''s sorrow, but his resolve stayed firm.


    During the first round of rest, Song Feng smiled and praised Tang Yan for a minute, and now, he vented a minute of anger on Pan Yu.


    When the final round was about to begin, he pointed to Pan Yu and in a cold voice said, "Go back and wait for me," then turned and walked back to the stool, then sat down hard.


    Tang Yan and Dong Jie face each other, and they couldn''t help but show a hint of helplessness.


    The coach''s temper and character are really no one.


    When the rest time of this round passed, the players from both sides returned to the venue again and began the final round of the contest.


    Shanghai led by third points. The score was 107 : 104.


    Ning Yuyu, the first debut in the Shanghai Team market, still played a stable role. The score of the 2 arrows was 17 pointsan insurance for defending their championship.


    Song Feng saw Ning Yuyu''s achievements and couldn''t help but shake his head. They were so close to ato historical win. But now everything was for nought.


    Qiu Anguo was smug, although Tang Yan''s performance was amazing and surprising, but in the end, it was still Shanghai''s game.Three-time championship here we come, hahaha.


    At this time, a sudden reversal occurred out of nowhere Dong Jie banged out a 9 poiner and a 10 pointer for 19 points closing down the gap to 1 point difference bringing them back in the game.


    The game became suspenseful again.


    This change was beyond the expectations of everyone. After seeing this, Song Feng was stunned for a long time. Then he jumped up and screamed along with the crowd.


    ....


    Then came Qiu Tian and Pan Yu.


    "Ultimately, this is a battle between Qiu Tian and Tang Yan. All of us are just side characters." Han Tianfu seized the moment when Pan Yu got up, and whispered quickly.


    Pan Yu got up and didn''t stop, but after the rise, he paused slightly hearing Han Tianfu''s words.


    Qiu Tian''s play in this round was not ideal. Only scoring 17 points, which gave the Zhejiang Province an opportunity.


    "Please kid, don''t mess this up." Song Feng looked at Pan Yu, couldn''t help wipe the sweat of his forehead. "This was a chance to make history, come on Pan Yu."


    Pan Yu took the first arrow from the arrow pot and carefully poised himself to shoot


    Twang!


    Boom!


    9 points!


    "Beautiful!" Song Feng saw the number of points, made his fist and jumped from his seat.


    Han Tianfu''s body tightened up.


    Had this arrogant guy suddenly matured?


    Under the surprise gaze of everyone, Pan Yu took out the second arrow and after a series of technical moves, he aimed at the target.


    Song Feng stared at Pan Yu with his eyes motionless.


    "9 points, as long as he shoots another 9 pointer, Zhejiang Province will be able to tie the score" said a comentator


    Pan Yu breathed out slowly.


    Song Feng squeezed his hands together, he could feel the sweat on his palms.


    At this moment, Pan Yu looked over to the side of Qiu Tian, ??and his mouth showed a strange smile, then he loosened his hand.


    Twang!


    The arrow cut through the void and made a clear sound.


    The next second.


    "Boom!"


    The arrow was heavily inserted into the target.


    The scene was awkward.


    Song Feng was dumbfounded.


    Qiu Anguo couldn''t help but laugh out loud.


    Han Tianfu was stunned and couldn''t help but laugh.


    "Hahaha!"


    He couldn''t help but smile and curse.


    The number of points displayed on the target was 6!

 33 His All

    Archery was a sport that heavily depended on the moment. Therefore, it wasn''t impossible to shoot a 6 pointer after shooting a 9-pointer.


    But in the same way, archery was also highly dependent on skill.


    In a large-scale event like the National Championships, it was rare to see someone shoot a 6 pointer, let alone two consecutive 6 pointers.


    If it wasn''t Pan Yu''s mentality fluctuating greatly, then it was him that was the problem.


    At this point, Han Tianfu was naturally the most well-informed.


    Song Feng was scared at this time. He didn''t expect that his ace on which he had relied on the past few years. The main force of the team, would make fatal mistakes twice this year.


    On the last 6 pointer, Dong Jie had played his socks off to pull the score back, but now after this 6 pointer, they were on the back-foot again a difference of 3 points.Let alone winning it would be difficult to tie.


    After all, Han Tianfu was also one of the elite archers in the country. In the case of such a steady lead, there was no psychological burden.


    When he realized this, his whole person became discouraged.


    In the end, all the efforts were for naught.


    When Pan Yu came off, he took a look at Song Feng. Although there was some regret after the impulse, there was also morbid satisfaction.


    The last group to appear was Han Tianfu and Tang Yan.


    The coaching staff of the Shanghai Team already had a relaxed face. Although it wasn''t shown, everyone could see that they were awaiting for the final victory.


    "A gap of three points, the Zhejiang Province has stumbled at the last hurdle." In the CCTV studio, Yang Jian said with great regret, Tang Yan''s performance was amazing, but he had been brought down by his teammates, this was the hardest part of team competitions.


    "It seems that championship is already ours?" Han Tianfu couldn''t help but say as he walked to the arena.


    He was like a winner, with his head high looking down at Tang Yan.


    "That''s on the premise that you don''t lose 3 points to me." Tang Yan said faintly.


    Han Tianfu was stunned, but then he couldn''t help but burst into laughter.


    With such a big gap, how could he lose?


    As the two reached the competition venue, communication stopped.


    After Han Tianfu walked to the playing field, he was ready to shoot.


    After the referee indicated that the game could continue, he took an arrow from the arrow pot and knocked it to start pretension.


    Just then, a breeze suddenly burst into the venue.


    Large-scale archery competitions were conducted outdoors. Although they were in semi-enclosed venues, a breeze was uncontrollable.


    Unless it was excessively windy, archers just had to adjust and account for wind when shooting.


    Han Tianfu frowned slightly, this was not the time for this gust of wind.


    But he was a more experienced player. After adjusting the angle of the arrow, he shot.


    Twang!


    "Boom!"


    A muffled sound, he had successfully judged the wind, the shot was 8 points.


    Qiu Anguo got up and made a fist. He certainly felt the breeze on the scene. Han Tianfu being able to shoot 8 points considering it, was definitely a top play.


    The breeze continued, and Han Tianfu made persistent efforts to gauge it. The second arrow was also a 8 pointer.


    Although the results of the 2 arrows was only 16 points, but in the case of the impact of the breeze to achieve such results, it was already quite good.


    At the end of his set, Qiu Anguo came down and gave Han Tianfu a big hug.


    The breeze was still on going.


    The last person to shoot was Tang Yan.


    In theory, Tang Yan had the opportunity to tie the game, even take the win.


    But in the case of a breeze, this was definitely harder than normal.


    To win, he must shoot two 10 pointers like in the first round, but even under normal circumstances, it was quite difficult to do, let alone with wind.


    This was basically impossible!


    Tang Yan took a deep breath and didn''t start right away. Instead, he began to adjust the draw weight of the bow on the spot.


    There were several types of recurve bows, most of which needed you to change the bow or adjust the length of the string to change the pounds on the bow, but since this was a national competition they were using the most advanced adjustable recurve bows, the pounds could be adjusted.


    However, very few players would make adjustments in this regard especially during a game because it didn''t add much unless adjusted greatly, which would extremely affect the player''s play.


    Usual archers trained with a fixed draw weight in order to master the feel and Tang Yan adding more pounds at this time, seemed even more meaningless, more pounds would only make the archer consume more strength and strain their muscles.


    His move attracted the curiosity and doubts of everyone.


    Tang Yan adjusted the pounds in-front of the eyes of the public.


    The Shanghai Team couldn''t help but laugh.


    Tang Yan''s purpose seemed to be to increase the number of pounds to rule out the impact of the breeze, but an arrow was too light and at 70m''safter a certain distance it would lose its influence.


    However, Tang Yan seemed to be very confident. He took a deep breath and then took the arrow from the arrow pot, knocked it and began pre-tension.


    He drew the bowstring fully back, his muscles were straining and his hands were blue, but his bow was steady.


    This attracted everyone''s gaze. How much did Tang Yan adjust the draw weight by?


    After completing pre-tensioning, Tang Yan then firmly leaned the bow against his cheek and blinked and began to aim.


    His arms and shoulder were groaning.


    After finding the best trajectory for the arrow, he didn''t hesitate and directly loosened his hand.


    "TWANG!"


    "Woosh!


    The arrow hurtled through the air, like a meteor, the arrow''s flight path was stable.


    "Boom!!"


    The scene was followed by a burst of cheers.


    10 points!


    Tang Yan had actually shot 10 points!


    In the case of a breeze, Tang Yan actually shot 10 points!


    Qiu Anguo and the rest of the Shanghai Team were all dumbfounded.


    How can this be? !


    With the breeze, how could Tang Yan shoot 10 points?!


    After Tang Yan shot the first arrow, he unconsciously massaged his arm and adjusted the number of pounds from 60 to 70. His muscles were becoming fatigued and if he didn''t take care it was just asking to get injured.


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    If he didn''t have 60% of Li Guang''s ability, he wouldn''t dare to try.


    However, he had no other choice now. After all, he hadn''t obtained 100% Li Guang''s ability. This was the only trick he could come up with.


    Fortunately, he had successfully shot 10 points.


    There was just one more arrow.


    When the audience saw Tang Yan taking out the second arrow from the arrow pot, they immediately quietened down.

 34 The Future

    Tang Yan took a deep breath and zoned everything out placing himself in an empty field. The target became his prey in this moment.


    He seemed to have returned to the grasslands of Nigeria, and the voice of Jafari came into his ear.


    "Brother, show me your shooting skills again!"


    He knocked the arrow, drew back the bow string, aimed and the distant target became the running antelope.


    "My destiny, changes here!"


    He screamed in his heart and let go with his index finger and thumb.


    "TWANG!"


    The arrow broke through the air and flew toward the target.


    "Woosh"


    Seeing the trajectory of the arrow, Tian Zhenzhe at the judges'' seat suddenly stood up, and Li Lao next to him showed a small smirk.


    Qiu Anguo and the Shanghai team were all wide eyed following the arrows flight.


    "Boom!"


    There was a heavy thud as the arrow hit the target, because of the strength behind it, the arrow burrowed into the target.


    Right at the center of the target.


    There was a burst of explosive cheers from the crowd.


    "10 points! Tang Yan with 10 points!" In CCTV''s studio, Yang Jia instantly screamed and exclaimed.


    The audience all stood up from their seats and applauded excitedly.


    The shouts one after another, were deafening.


    The audience was rarely as excited as it was today.


    But Tang Yan''s performance was truly shocking.


    Under the interference of wind, behind by 3 points, he actually shot two 10 pointers, helping Zhejiang dethrone the current champions.


    This was simply a heroic existence.


    Tang Yan heard the deafening shouts around him, and his adrenaline was also soaring.


    In the city trials, he felt that his own destiny had changed, and at this moment he felt more clearly that his life was going to be the opposite of his previous life, the road he had been looking forward to.


    He held the bow and lifted it up.


    The cheers on the scene skyrocketed.


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    Since he was already a hero, then he might as well enjoy this moment.


    "This young man is truly interesting." Tian Zhenzhe looked at Tang Yan, who was holding the bow in the center, and couldn''t help but smile.


    After Tang Yan''s exit, he was greeted by Dong Jie and Ding Ran''s excited clambering. Even Song Feng came down to give him a big hug.


    Eliminating the Shanghai Team was more satisfying than winning the championship.


    The Shanghai Team were all still dumbfounded, Han Tianfu was still stood frozen murmuring:


    "How is this possible" to himself .


    However, the results were already settled, and the Zhejiang Province had successfully eliminated the two time champions Shanghai to advance to the team finals.


    Tang Yan''s eight arrows had scored a total of 77 points, this score directly broke the men''s archery semi-final record!


    After ten minutes of rest, the men''s archery finals would be held, the province of Guangdong vs Zhejiang.


    With their performance in the semi-finals, the audience and the media no longer had doubts about the championship going to the Zhejiang Province.


    At this time, Song Feng, the head coach of Zhejiang, submitted an application to the organizing committee. Because their team member Pan Yu was injured, they wanted to substitute in Ding Ran, from the bench.


    When a archer was injured, or when there was a sudden accident, they were allowed to change them out.


    The organizing committee approved the request and in came in Ding Ran.


    The only major archer for the Guangdong Province was Cao Yan. Their overall strength while still formidable fell below Shanghai''s and with Tang Yan and his team having eliminated the Shanghai Team , they had in fact, pretty much already won the championship.


    Although Ding Ran''s strength was much worse than Pan Yu''s, he was able to play to 100% of his abilities, which Pan Yu couldn''t compare with.


    In the end, with 75 points from Tang Yan and 72 points from Dong Jie, the Zhejiang Province defeated the Guangdong Province.


    216 : 213


    For the first time in history, they had won the championship of the team competition.


    From the stands, Pan Yu watched as they won the championship and his lips were bleeding due to biting at them.


    The media was all over the Zhejiang Team after their victory. Everybody loved a underdog story, the outstanding performance of Tang Yan became the main highlight. The media spent a lot of effort spreading his name as a prodigy.


    It was no exaggeration to say that Tang Yan had became a household name overnight and became the focus of people''s discussion after a meal.


    "The future of Chinese Archery"


    ....


    Back in Zhejiang.


    "Old Tang, we have to burn some incense at the ancestral grave. Who knew he had such talent for archery, hahaha!" Laughed Tang Yan''s mother sat at the dinner table.


    "Our son, has grown up." Old Tang smiled slightly and took a swig of the tea next to him.


    ....


    Although he had established himself as a ''prodigy'' he knew that it wasn''t over yet.


    In China, there were two hard indicators that must be achieved in order to participate in higher level international competitions.


    According to the rules of the International Archery Association, only players who had reached the MQS (Minimum Eligibility) could participate in higher-level events. For the Youth Olympic Games and the Asian Games: the minimum was to be able shoot a score of 630 points and 610 points receptively in 72 arrows.


    Tang Yan had already reached that level, but this didn''t mean that he was eligible to participate, because this level of international competitions had limited places, each country could only send up to three archers to participate.


    He had to reach the top three in the individual competition tomorrow, in order to participate in the Asian Games.


    The good news was that after winning the team championship, the system had given him two more honor points.


    After winning the championship, he was invited into the heterogeneous space of the system by Celia, but after seeing the system rewarded two honor points, he asked about this detail.


    "Because the National Archery Championship is an Olympic-recognized national event, the rewards will naturally be higher." said Celia


    But no matter the reason, the difference between the 2 honor points and the 1 honor point was very obvious, because to get more of Li Guang abilities, he needed more honor points.


    This time, he needed exactly two honor points.


    He unlocked 70% of Li Guang abilities.


    Although he didn''t feel physically different, he knew that on the court, it would be an absolute qualitative change.

 35 With Ease

    The charm of the archery individual competition was that compared with the team competition, it was simple and direct, the most direct confrontation between players.


    This was also the reason why viewers preferred to watch individual matches compared to team competitions.


    A total of 16 teams participated in the team competition, while the individual competition was 64 archers.


    Compared with the team competition, Tang Yan was even more dominant in the individual competition. He encountered little to no resistance in the qualifiers.


    The other stars of the championship Cao Yan, Han Tianfu, and Qiu Tian also came to perform.


    After losing the team competition yesterday they were looking for blood.


    Before the next round, Cao Yan spoke directly and explained his desire to defeat Tang Yan and educate him.


    Although Han Tianfu and Qiu Tian didn''t directly express their feelings, you could see from their dignified looks during training before the game that they would never easily admit defeat.


    In contrast, Tang Yan was in the most relaxed state of mind, this kind of relaxation stemmed from self-confidence in his own strength, he felt like no one nationally could challenge him any longer.


    The individual competition also attracted a large audience. The stadium was packed full of people. After watching the team competition yesterday many swarmed over.


    This was the same as when Liu Xiang made a breakthrough on the 110-meter hurdles. When a sport that was originally a weak sport gained a top-level athlete, it instantly gained a lot of attention.


    In particular, this time the athlete was only 18 years old.


    This time, the single-arrow alternation system was used in the knockout round, that is, archers would alternately shoot one arrow each.


    They had 30 seconds for each arrow.


    Tang Yan was first in qualifying and he naturally became one of the first archers to appear.


    His opponent was Zheng Zhun from Hu Jian, a young player with great talent and potential.


    Like Tang Yan, Zheng Zhun was only 18 years old. In the qualifiers, he managed to scrape the win by one point. He was expected to compete for a place in the Youth Olympic Games. It was quite lucky that he made it past the first round but he was unfortunate to run into Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan had it easy, eliminating his opponent in 3 minutes and easily advancing to the next round.


    In the second and third round, Tang Yan performance was exactly the same as that of the first round. A discerning eye could see that he didn''t use a lot of effort, but he still easily eliminated his opponents.


    Tang Yan''s relaxed and freehand style charmed the audience and filled them with a sense of expectation.


    After the third round, the quarter-finals began.


    Tang Yan, Qiu Tian, ??Han Tianfu, Cao Yan, Dong Jie, Ning Yuyu and other famous players all successfully broke into the quarterfinals.


    Tang Yan''s opponent in the fourth round was Dong Jie.


    The two famous archers of Zhejiang both entered the quarter-finals, but they actually encountered each other in the first round. Song Feng, who was on the sidelines, felt a little dumbfounded.


    But all this, in fact, had been destined since after the qualifying rankings.


    The audience and the head coaches of the other provinces even thought that Dong Jie would give up selectively and send Tang Yan to the semi-finals.


    But after the start of the game, they found out that this was not the case.


    Dong Jie''s play was as good as in yesterday''s team competition. The first eight arrows shot totaled 74 points, which was quite similar to Tang Yan.


    This kind of display motivated Tang Yan to shoot earnestly. Under the gaze of the audience, he shot 78 points eliminating Dong Jie.


    After the game, the two hugged, which attracted a cheer from the audience.


    After eliminating Dong Jie, Tang Yan successfully broke into the semi-finals of this year''s National Archery Championship. As long as he won another round, he would break into the top three and secure his place for the Youth Olympics.


    And his opponent in the semi-finals was Cao Yan.


    In the team qualifiers, the two people had a similar direct contest. Tang Yan had shot 661 points with 72 arrows. He crushed Cao Yan with an advantage of nearly 20 points. Now they met again in the semi-finals.


    Cao Yan was eager to re-prove himself this game.


    Under the instruction of the referee, the two entered the arena for the competition.


    Cao Yan paced it to the arena, then turned to look at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan''s expression was relaxed. After experiencing the game with Dong Jie, he didn''t only become focused, but returned to the ease of the start.


    Cao Yan''s brows wrinkled up.


    After the referee signaled, the two people''s duel followed.


    The audience at the scene were all looking forward to it. Because of Cao Yan''s arrogance, they were looking forward to how Tang Yan would respond.


    Tang Yan shot first.


    After the referee signaled, he pulled the arrow out of the arrow pot and directly applied it to the string.


    Twang!


    "Boom!"


    One fluid movement.


    There was a burst of excited cheering at the scene.


    10 points!


    Tang Yan''s first arrow gave Cao Yan pressure.


    Cao Yan''s brow wrinkled unconsciously.


    Tang Yan only took less than 10 seconds. After he shot, it was Cao Yan''s go.


    Cao Yan adjusted his breathing and settled his mind. After the bow-string was pre-pulled, he took aim for a while before he shot.


    Twang!


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    Boom!


    9 points.


    After seeing his score, he made a fist in front of him.


    9 points and 10 points, the difference wasn''t large.


    Tang Yan''s second arrow was still a series of skilled technical moves, still completing the action within 10 seconds, seemingly not even aiming.


    Twang


    Boom!


    Another 10 pointer!


    The scene was tense as everyone watched in excitement.


    Cao Yan took a deep breath and then walked quickly to the arena.


    He constantly comforted himself in his heart. After adjusting his breathing, he aimed at the target and let his whole person calm down and let go.


    Twang!


    "Boom!"


    9 points!


    Another 9 pointer!.


    Two 9-pointers, he had already achieved his best. He didn''t believe that Tang Yan could shoot three 10-pointers and he was only behind by 2 points. With 12-rounds, he still had a chance to catch up.


    Tang Yan came up for his third arrow.


    This time he obviously adjusted his speed of shooting. Although he gained 70% of Li Guang''s ability to increase his strength, it was not a simple matter to shoot consecutive 10 pointers.


    After adjusting the angle, he held his breath and let the arrow and the target lie on a parabolic trajectory, and then he let go.


    "Twang!"


    The arrow made a burst of sound.


    "Boom!"


    A muffled sound, the scene was followed by a burst of cheers.


    Song Feng stood up, applauding.


    10 points!


    It was a 10 pointer!

 36 Worthy Opponen

    The cheers of the crowd came to a stop.


    Truly a magnificent display.


    Archery was a very ancient sport. It dated back to the feudal era,as one of the six noble arts of China.


    Archery was a skill that Chinese people were proud of, but in modern times, interest and focus on the sport had waned. With China now being more renowned for gymnastics than archery. South Korea had taken over the sport, dominating both the men''s and women''s events.


    Both countries had a deep history in archery and a rivalry to match. But China always fell short, in fact, South Korea''s biggest challenger was probably Chinese Taipei which represented Taiwan. Chinese Taipei had emerged in the past three years as a powerhouse of Asian archery.


    But now, China had their own hope an 18-year-old ''prodigy''.


    The game was suspended for ten seconds because of the cheers of the audience. After the stewards calmed the crowd, the game continued.


    Tang Yan''s continuous 10 pointers coupled with the reaction of the audience, finally made Cao Yan''s mentality fluctuate. His third arrow fell short being a 7 pointer under heavy pressure.


    Tang Yan''s fourth arrow also fell, only an 8 pointer.


    Cao Yan cheered himself up, and his fourth arrow was also an 8 pointer.


    However, Tang Yan followed up with a 10-pointer.


    This time, his mentality completely collapsed.


    In the end, Tang Yan took 2 minutes and 40 seconds to eliminate Cao Yan with 113 points.


    The audience was unusually excited, not only because Tang Yan had advanced, but because of the relaxed state which he seemed to do it in, a state that seemed that he still wasn''t using his full strength. They were waiting for someone to force him to perform.


    Tang Yan made it into the finals and successfully won a place in the Youth Olympics. The process could be said to be quite...easy.


    Compared with Tang Yan, Qiu Tian and Han Tianfu''s game could be said to be fierce and even tragic.


    The two drew even after 12 arrows with scores a 111 points, they went into extra time and continued to match each other with 9 points in the first round and 8 points in the second round.


    It wasn''t until the third round of overtime that Qiu Tian won shooting a 10 pointer to eliminate Han Tianfu who had shot a 9 pointer.


    Because he was the first to finish, Tang Yan watched their contest. After analyzing it, he also reflected over his match. Their game was very fierce, but he could feel that the state of Qiu Tian, ??was much better than yesterday.


    They had five minutes of rest before the final.


    Qiu Tian vs Tang Yan.


    The current number one domestic archer vs the biggest black horse of this competition.


    The battle for the championship not only affected the ownership of the championship, but also influenced people''s expectations for the upcoming Asian Games, even the London Olympics which was upcoming.


    Compared with Cao Yan and Han Tianfu, Tang Yan didn''t have such strong hostility towards Qiu Tian. This genius was only one year older than himself and although he was the relative of the head coach Qiu Anguo, he was very low-key and extremely focus on the sport.


    Tang Yan felt pleased and excited he wanted to test his skills against a true genius and Qiu Tian was a great choice.


    Of course, these were his fleeting thoughts. When the two came onto the field, he threw those trivial ideas behind him and puts his concentration on the arena.


    After the referee signaled the start of the game, the match between the two began.


    Qiu Tian''s strength was obviously stronger than that of Cao Yan. When he came up, he shot two 9-pointers and one 10-pointer, which was comparable to Tang Yan.


    The number of points between the two was very small.


    When the game reached the 9th arrow, Tang Yan was on 87 points, only one point more than Qiu Tian.


    The game entered the break between the rounds.


    The audience couldn''t help but whisper as the archers were resting.


    Some speculated that it would go to overtime like the previous semi-final between Qiu Tian and Han Tianfu.


    Tang Yan sat on the ground at this time, his hands gently rubbing the recurve bow.


    Qiu Tian''s strength was indeed not bad. He had used 90% of his strength but Qiu Tian was almost tying the game. If he wanted to win this final, he had to use his full strength in the next round, while he had unlocked 70% of Li Guang''s abilities, it had just sharpened his instincts, muscle memory and increased the potential of his body. To fully get a hundred percent of the benefits from the upgrade he had to do further training.


    Half a meter away, Qiu Tian looked around the stadium. As an athlete who had started archery from the age of 6, he was more familiar with this venue than anyone else. Since picking up a bow, he had been undefeated in China. Outside of Han Tianfu, he had no opponent domestically. Dominating China had never been his dream, that was too easy, he dreamed of challenging the international stage.


    He didn''t intend to be disdainful but apart from Han Tianfu, who he somewhat appreciated he had looked down on everyone else even Cao Yan was no exception. They were too weak to challenge him, it was a harsh truth but while they were viewed as talented in China they were average internationally.


    Tang Yan''s sudden appearance was like a glimmer of hope to him, finally someone who could pressure him and make him go all out. Someone who could compete alongside him at an international level. He had never been this excited competing domestically.


    ...


    A minute later, the referee quickly signaled the start of the final round.


    Tang Yan stood from the ground, then took the bow with his left hand and walked toward the venue.


    Qiu Tian also stood up while taking up his bow.


    With the two were getting up, the coaches on both sides, the judges on the panel, the audience in the stands, and everyone at home watching set their eyes to the center of the venue.


    The last three arrows.


    Tang Yan took a look at the target and then took the first arrow from the arrow pot.


    He didn''t immediately knock the arrow, but found his center of gravity before picking up the bow.


    Seeing this movement, the audience became excited.


    Tang Yan, was going all out.


    Gently clasping the arrow, Tang Yan adjusted his breathing, and after leaning the arrow on his cheek, he made his breathing almost stagnant.


    Everything around him was zoned out, only the sound of his heart beat could be heard.


    Soon, the speed of his heart beat slowed.


    When the frequency reached the lowest, he released his hand.


    "Twang!"


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    The arrow flew away from the bowstring and went straight to the yellow point at the center of the target.


    "Boom!"


    10 points!


    No surprise.


    After Tang Yan shot, he looked back at Qiu Tian.


    Qiu Tian wasn''t nervous, he even showed a faint hint of excitement.


    After Tang Yan saw this he showed a smile, this Qiu Tian was truly interesting.


    Qiu Tian''s debut attracted the attention of the audience. 1 point behind, with the opponent shooting a 10-pointer. They were eager to see how this domestic champion would perform.


    Like Tang Yan , Qiu Tian''s first arrow seemed very cautious. Of the 30 seconds, he spent 20 seconds adjusting.


    As the audience began looking at the timer in urgency, he finally knocked the arrow, aimed in one fluid movement and fired.


    "Twang!"


    The arrow whistled through the air.


    "Boom!"


    Another arrow through the bullseye.


    10 points!


    Like Tang Yan, it was also a 10-pointer.


    There was a burst of applause on scene.


    This decisive battle between the two top archers was truly a sight to behold!

 37 Tian Zhenzhe

    Tang Yan came up for the next arrow, his movements were still stable.


    Twang!


    The arrow''s parabola was perfect, but the drop point was slightly off, and the arrow dipped too much.


    Boom!


    9 points.


    After shooting, Tang Yan couldn''t help but lick his lips. With his current strength, it was still difficult to stabilize his shooting at 10 points.


    Qiu Tian came up. He gently massaged his forearm as he was walking up. The exhaustion from his previous rounds were rearing their heads. His arrow count was higher than Tang Yan due to taking longer to defeat his opponents.


    But this was his chance. Currently he was still behind by a point. If he could shoot a 10 pointer, he could tie the score.


    The audience all watched and looked at the field, fearing that a little sound would affect the performance of Qiu Tian.


    Qiu Tian''s movements were perfect, the parabola was comparable to Tang''s previous arrow.


    Twang!


    But similarly the arrow''s falling point was too low.


    Boom!


    8 points.


    He actually fell even further behind from 1 point to 2 points.


    He couldn''t help but shake his head after seeing the target, and you could see that his mood was becoming frustrated.


    In fact, this was also normal. Tang Yan, who had gained the strength of Li Guang, was unable to continuously shoot 10 points. Naturally he couldn''t do so too.


    The last arrow.


    Seeing Tang Yan preparing, the audience''s faces unconsciously revealed faint looks of expectation.


    With only one arrow left and his lead at 2 points. As long as he didn''t shoot less than a 8 pointer, he couldn''t lose.


    In other words, they were likely to witness the birth of a new national archery champion after the next arrow.


    After Tang Yan fixed his posture, he pulled out the last arrow from the arrow pot.


    Qiu Tian looked at him with a slight nervousness.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath, then nocked the arrow, and after pre-pulling the bowstring, he aimed at the target in the distance.


    During the break between each round, there would be a special staff member to clean up the arrows on the target, that is to say, in a round, there would be at most 3 arrows on the target.


    Because this was the last arrow of this round, there were already two arrows on the target from his previous shots, one in the 9 points ring and the other in the 10 points ring.


    So adjusting his aim to account for the arrows, he lifted his aim upwards slightly, held his breath then fired.


    "Twang!"


    The arrow burst through the air and went straight toward the center of the target.


    "Boom!"


    A muffled sound.


    There was no expected cheers from the scene, but instead a steady intake of breath occurred.


    The arrow hadn''t directly hit the bullseye.


    But instead the first arrow! The arrow split the original arrow and became inserted in it...


    The referee on the side of the field saw this scene and indicated to suspend the game, and then went to the target to take a look.


    The scene suddenly fell into a series of discussions, this situation was nigh impossible to predict or replicate.


    Just as arguments arose, the referee raised his hand and gestured to the technical station.


    Tian Zhenzhe watched the commotion from the judges'' seats and his eyes were full of incredible expressions.


    Robin Hood, the hero of British folklore, known as the Earl of Hamilton, his story was widely circulated. Even today, Robin Hood was a famous historical figure.


    A hero who robbed the rich and helped the poor,famous for his archery shooting. He was known for his ability to split an arrow using another arrow.


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    The arrow that Tang Yan had just shot exploded the previous arrow, and the referee observed the arrow as a 10 pointer.


    With the advent of this Robin Hood-esque arrow, the final results were out, Tang Yan had won the individual championships.


    The crowd broke into thunderous applause. But they soon quietened down.


    Because Qiu Tian still had an arrow left, the emotions on the scene gradually cooled. Whilst he had lost they all felt respect for his performance.


    The last arrow of Qiu Tian.


    Although the outcome was decided, he still sincerely shot his last arrow.


    With an arrow of 9 points, he also completed his set.


    After this arrow, the cheers on the scene couldn''t be stopped, the excitement of the audience seemed to fill the entire venue.


    Not only did they witness the birth of a new champion, but the final moment of the championship ended with a rare Robin Hood shot to end off a perfect performance.


    If it weren''t for the two-meter gap between the stands and the stadium, the audience in the front row would probably rush over to take a photo with him.


    Qiu Tian on the side was also applauding Tang Yan.


    Losing to such an opponent wasn''t a pity for the former domestic archery champion.


    Tang Yan felt the enthusiasm of the audience, and also raised his bow and arrow, laughing and waving to the audience.


    The cheers on the scene became even louder.


    At this moment, Tang Yan was the focus of the venue.


    Even the female archers who were preparing for the women''s finals next door were looking over and even Shanghai''s female ace Zhang Wei, clapped along with the crowd.


    What''s worth mentioning is that in the finals, Tang Yan shot 116-points breaking the 115-point domestic archery final record that had been maintained for ten years.


    The women''s competition was still to go, but after this day, the name of Tang Yan wasn''t only famous in Zhejiang.


    His performance occupied the headlines of all the major sports channels and newspapers.


    He was painted as the archer who would recapture archery, for China. With the Asian Games and Youth Olympics upcoming the media started to paint him as a hero.


    However, Tang Yan had no time to pay attention to all of this, he was brought to the National Archery Association by Song Feng.


    There, he saw the very person he had been hoping to see.


    The national face of Chinese archery.


    The middle-aged man who summoned him was the head coach of the former Kyoto women''s archery team and the current head coach of the national archery team,Tian Zhenzhe.

 38 Youth Olympics

    Tang Yan didn''t seem too surprised to see the person who summoned him.


    "Tang Yan, your Robin Hood today truly shocked me and everyone!"


    What surprised Tang Yan was that Tian Zhenzhe didn''t act older and superior instead after seeing him come in, he smiled and walked over and patted him on the shoulder.


    "Tian Zhenzhe, about what we discussed yesterday...." Tang Yan didn''t say anything instead Song Feng spoke up first.


    Tian Zhenzhe''s brows slightly wrinkled, but he quickly said with a smile: "You can rest assured, I will fulfill my end of the deal, you go back first, I have something to discuss with Tang Yan."


    "Okay." After Song Feng got a promise from Tian Zhenzhe he said "good luck" to Tang Yin and left.


    Tang Yan didn''t care too much. It seemed that Song Feng had made an agreement with Tian Zhenzhe for some benefits.


    After Song Feng left, Tian Zhenzhe said with emotion: "To be honest, I didn''t expect that Song Feng, that corrupt bastard of all people would actually bring out a genius."


    Tang Yan was slightly stunned, he didn''t expect Tian Zhenzhe to say so directly, although Song Feng was indeed such a person.


    Noticing the change of Tang Yan''s expression, Tian Zhenzhe said: "I am a man who speaks my thoughts directly, you don''t have to care too much. From today onwards anyway you are no longer a person of the Zhejiang Province but a member of the national archery team."


    The national team?


    Although the conversation between Song Feng and Tian Zhenzhe made him suspicious, hearing it confirmed made him feel like he was in a dream.


    In his past life, he had played amateur archery for more than ten years never being able to take it further than as a hobby. He didn''t expect that in a little more than two months after he was born again. He was directly selected for the national team.


    But soon, he was relieved. All this change was entirely due to the system. For how the rest of his life would change he would have to find out step by step.


    After seeing Tang Yan didn''t speak, he thought that he was shocked. Tian Zhenzhe smiled and said: "Come and take a seat, let''s talk about your next arrangement."


    When he heard Tian Zhenzhe''s words, Tang Yan smiled and nodded, then sat down by his desk.


    After Tian Zhenzhe returned to his seat and sat down, he said directly: "I have discussed with the other coaching staff and with your strength, entering the national team directly is entirely possible, so you don''t have to worry about going to the Youth Olympics. Instead report directly to the national team, instead begin training with Qiu Tian and Ning Ze. This time the Asian Games will be our main focus. What do you think of this arrangement?"


    When he finished, he looked at Tang Yan.


    As Tian Zhenzhe spoke, Tang Yan had been thinking. When Tian Zhenzhe asked him what he wanted, he actually had an idea in his heart. He said directly: "Coach, I actually want to participate in the Youth Olympic Games."


    Tian Zhenzhe was stunned. Tang Yan hadn''t spoken this whole time so he had taken him as timid. He didn''t expect him to disagree with his arrangements.


    "Why?"


    "I want to have more chances to get in touch with Korean archers. This kind of opportunity is more effective than indoor training." Tang Yan said in reply.


    When he heard Tang Yan''s words, Tian Zhenzhe laughed and said: "Good! Good! You have aspirations good! Maybe you can even bring back a medal!"


    Tang Yan smiled and nodded, his heart was relieved.


    This Tian Zhenzhe seemed to be more reliable than Song Feng.


    After explaining some details of the national team to Tang Yan, the exchanges between the two was over.


    .....


    Tang Yan walked out of the office. Rays of sunshine beamed onto him as he walked out giving off warmth.


    The reasons he gave Tian Zhenzhe for wanting to go to the Youth Olympics were only secondary. The main reason was because he still needed more honor points to further upgrade.


    Now he had obtained 70% of Li Guang''s abilities. So at 70 meters with 72 arrows he could shoot between 660 and 680 points.


    This achievement was probably enough for the Youth Olympics. But it was obviously not enough to deal with the main team of South Korea.


    In this national championship, he had won both the team and individual competitions. He won a total of 4 honor points, and 2 honor points were used to upgrade. Only 2 surplus points were left, and according to the system he needed 4 honor points to upgrade to 80% of Li Guang''s abilities.


    With the Asian Games so imminent, the Youth Olympics was his only choice.


    ....


    On the first day of reporting to the national team, Tang Yan was warmly welcomed by his teammates. Except for Han Tianfu and Cao Yan who deliberately didn''t come over, everyone else seemed very enthusiastic. From this, you could see that Tian Zhenzhe''s ability to lead was absolutely stronger than Song Feng''s.


    However, he didn''t get to spend much time with them because after a few weeks of training he was off to Singapore.


    In February 2008, the IOC President Rogge announced that the first Youth Olympic Games would be held in Singapore.


    As the first Youth Olympic Games, all countries and delegations attached great importance to it. According to the registration list of the organizing committee, this Olympic Games had more than 5,000 athletes from 205 countries and regions. The scale wasn''t much smaller than the Olympic Games.


    Take the Chinese team for example, a large lineup of 68 athletes was sent. The flag bearer was the well-known domestic badminton player Huang Yuxiang. The head of the delegation was also the Vice Chairman of the Chinese Olympic Committee, Cai Zhenhua.


    On the plane, a group of teenagers are talking. Obviously, when they were out for the Olympics at such a young age, most people were very excited. After all, for most athletes, they had been practicing for 4 years even 8 years. This group of people were the more fortunate of their peers.


    Although Tang Yan didn''t show it, but in his heart he was also excited. Although he had watched many Olympic Games in front of the TV set,experiencing it personally, even participating in it. This feeling was completely different.


    "Attention all passengers, our plane is about to reach Singapore Capital Airport, please get in your seats and fasten your seat belts..."


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    After about six hours of flight, the flight attendant''s intimate tone sounded in the cabin and the aircraft began to dive to a lower altitude.


    Tang Yan turned to look out the window, and in a short while, Singapore''s iconic skyline appeared.

 39 Mix Up

    Although the Youth Olympic''s wasn''t the formal Olympic Games, the Singaporean government still attached great importance to it.


    After getting off the plane, patrolling police cars could be seen everywhere on the street. The roads were also quite clean and tidy. Coupled with the pleasant climate here, it was a pleasant arrival.


    However, they didn''t have time to waste. They went straight to the Olympic Village and after registration they quickly entered the area where they were staying.


    This time, the archery team was originally prepared to let the Deputy Head Coach Guo Wenfeng lead the team, but after adding Tang Yan to the team, Tian Zhenzhe decided to come along to Singapore with the team.


    This time, the archery team sent a total of three people to participate in the competition. In addition to Tang Yan, there were two other people namely Li Haoze from the Xinjiang Province and Zheng Zhun from Hu Jian.


    They were grouped into two''s and given rooms to share, Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun were arranged together in a room, while Tang Yan was put together with a boxing athlete.


    .....


    Dragging in his luggage, Tang Yan began to unpack. After sorting out everything and taking a shower, he was preparing to rest.


    When his roommate finally entered, compared with Tang Yan''s small body, this boxer could be said to be made of solid muscle.


    As he entered he seemed to be lost in thought, looking somewhat down.


    "Are you Tang Yan?" Just as he was about to lie down,the boxer on the other side of the room took the initiative to say hello to him.


    "Yeah I am,your here for boxing?" Tang Yan asked.


    "How did you know?" the boxer asked in confusion.


    Tang Yan pointed to the backpack on his bed, and a pair of boxing gloves hung on the side of the backpack.


    The boxer looked back and saw it, then he laughed and reached out saying, "Hello, I am Lu Yun from Guangxi Guilin."


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    Tang Yan reached out and shook hands with Lu Yun, and couldn''t help but say: "Oh a light hand shake. Wow."


    Lu Yun smiled and couldn''t help but laugh. This little joke seemed to bring the two closer together.


    "Can''t afford to injure that hand of yours or the whole of China will be after me, " said Lu Yun with a smirk.


    "Hahaha your exaggerating, at most Coach Tian will come at you with a broom." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "Either way can''t risk that, especially not with the ''Hope of Chinese Archery''.


    "With all the news on you,you would forget that there are other sports.


    Like damn people, I won the national boxing championship, where''s my love." Lu Yun said with a smiling grimace.


    "Haha~ Well, they are just using me as a poster child." Tang Yan said with a small smile.


    After laughing for a while, feeling his earlier words weren''t suitable. Lu Yan said with reluctance: "Sorry."


    "It''s just boxing in this country, especially amateur boxing doesn''t get any love or attention." Lu Yun said with a look of frustration.


    Boxing was very hot in the United States, but in China, it''s popularity in 2010 wasn''t so great, listening to Lu Yun''s tone, this should be a young and talented boxer who wanted to revitalize domestic boxing, although he couldn''t tell him that he knew that boxing would prosper in the future, but at least he could reassure him there was a future in it.


    " I''m sure interest will pick up once they see what you''re made of and you win. After all the same was true for archery till now."


    "Well I don''t know how much longer I can hang on, my family situation isn''t great, I wanted to pick a career that could make money. My dad also thinking this let me learn boxing. But I didn''t expect the domestic boxing scene was so bad. How am I meant to make money at this rate?" Lu Yun said looking at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan was shocked by Lu Yun''s reply.


    However, if he thought about it, Guangxi was a relatively poor place in China. It was also reasonable to want to change your fate through sports.


    "You are worried about this?" Tang Yan asked.


    "Wouldn''t you be?"


    "In fact, we are very lucky." Tang Yan said with a touch of emotion. "There are many people who have the same desire as us, who have dreams and may have put in all their effort. But they can never reach our stage in life, they can only treat this as a hobby, we now have the opportunity to move further to a higher level."


    He said as he looked at Lu Yun: "So I feel that in this case, worrying about this isn''t necessary, rather than thinking about this, it is better to think about how to secure yourself a medal. After that I''ll be surprised if people aren''t throwing money at you to continue boxing."


    Lu Yun''s expression brightened up and he smiled and said: "Sure enough, old age brings wisdom."


    "How do you know I''m not younger than you."


    "Your eighteen right?"


    "Yeah."


    "Then your older, I''m seventeen, it seems I''ll have to call you older brother."


    Tang Yan smiled, unconsciously he had become accustomed to Lu Yun''s direct nature.


    ...


    After a day of rest, the next day, Tian Zhenzhe took them to the training hall to prepare.


    The group went to the entrance of the training hall, but they were caught off guard by the fact that their area inside was already taken.


    The Singapore government had built a special training hall for the Youth Olympics. Because there were many teams participating in the competition, each team''s training schedule time was staggered. Like from 8:00 am to 10:00 am, the training hall was the Chinese teams.


    But now, they found another team occupying their training slot.


    Tian Zhenzhe''s brows wrinkled, going inside with the translator he went to find out what was up.


    After about five to six minutes, Tian Zhenzhe came back with an angry expression, and began to swear.


    Tang Yan and the others looked at each other confused.


    They looked at the translator in a tone of inquiry.


    Song Yu explained: "The venue that was originally arranged for us is being used by the South Korean Team. The South Korean coach said that the organizing committee informed them to come here to train, we are gonna have to communicate with the organizers."


    "Communicate my ass, this group of Koreans are clearly occupying our slot on purpose, no, I have to call Chairman Cai." Tian Zhenzhe said taking out his phone and dialing a number.


    After the phone call was over, it took about two tothree minutes but then some staff members rushed over to the venue. First, they promised to solve the problem. But after talking with the Koreans inside.


    They came back and said: "I am sorry, but the venue was indeed arranged for them to train. There is a conflict of schedules which is due to an issue on our part, I will arrange a new venue for you to train, in the suburbs. Can you wait just a while?"


    "Why do we have to move!" After Song Yu translated, Li Haoze was the first to disagree.


    "We are truly sorry for the mix up. You can rest assured that our organizing committee will be responsible for your transportation expenses." The man patted his chest and promised.

 40 Unfair Reality

    "That''s...." Li Haoze wanted to continue arguing but Tang Zhenzhe signalled him to be silent.


    Tian Zhenzhe didn''t speak at this time, indicating that he had already acquiesced. The fact that Chairman Cai couldn''t get them the training hall likely meant not much could be done.


    So he turned and began to leave.


    "Coach Tian, Coach Tian..." the staff member shouted.


    Tian Zhenzhe ignored him and continued.


    Tang Yan signalled Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun and they went out after him.


    Just as they were going out, there was laughter from the training halls. Tang Yan looked back and saw a few young archers pointing at them, saying something in Korean. Though he didn''t understand, but he could tell it definitely wasn''t anything pleasant.


    The group went out of the training hall, and Song Yu contacted the other venue. Then they took a car and started heading over.


    There was silence in the car. After ten minutes, his anger having quelled, Tian Zhenzhe looked up and looked at the players sitting behind him and said, "Do you know why we lost the training ground?"


    As Tian Zhenzhe spoke everyone focused on him.


    "The organizing committee messed up the schedules." Li Haoze said tentatively.


    Tang Yan took a look at Li Haoze and shook his head.


    Sure enough, Tian Zhenzhe shook his head and said: "If they can''t even arrange a little thing like this properly. How would the Singapore government dare to hold the Youth Olympics."


    Tian Zhenzhe had just finished talking, when Tang Yan noticed that the driver was looking up.


    Tang Yu coughed, then used his eyes to signal his head coach, after all they were in a taxi in Singapore.


    Tian Zhenzhe moderated his volume and said: "If we were the ping pong team or the gymnastics team, then it would be the Korean Team leaving not us. The sports world and the real world will never change, the truth is that strength is the biggest factor in determining the right to speak."


    Hearing this, they nodded and their hands unconsciously made fists.


    Today, if the Chinese team''s archery level was the best in the world, whether it was a conflict or if the Chinese team had delayed the training schedule, the organizing committee would find a way to make room for them. However, it was a pity that the prerequisites weren''t true. They were not the top team, the South Korean team was.


    "Coach, we will win this time round." Tang Yan said calmly.


    Tian Zhenzhe glanced at Tang Yan and nodded. Then he said, "You all should get some rest in the car." Then he took a rest and closed his eyes.


    After more than an hour of driving, they finally arrived at the additional training venue.


    The size of the venue was similar to that of the indoor training hall. But the area seemed slightly more run down.


    Some African teams could be seen training. When they saw the appearance of the Chinese team, they all had strange looks in their eyes. Obviously, they didn''t expect that they would come over here to train.


    The staff of the venue were very enthusiastic. When they arrived, they took the initiative to lead them.


    There were three vacancies prepared in advance for them, and they could begin training directly when they arrived.


    The facilities here were relatively old, archers would feel a lot worse regardless of their status being downgraded like this.


    When Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun were training, they showed hints of frustration.


    All of this entered Tian Zhenzhe eyes, he could understand, what surprised him was Tang Yan, this 18-year-old newcomer, didn''t show any signs of dissatisfaction and continued to train seriously. You could feel his continuous desire for improvement.


    This made his heart feel excitement.


    Originally he allowed Tang Yan to come to the Youth Olympics in order to make him accustomed to competing internationally and allow him to experience the Olympic atmosphere in advance, plus train his mentality, but it seemed that might be completely unnecessary.


    Tang Yan was in a hurry to find his rhythm like before the upgrade, although his level of archery had improved, he still needed a lot of training to stabilize the results.


    He needed to stabilize his score from the previous 660 points to 680.


    Even if there was a system, he still needed training to improve and become consistent.


    After his arrival in the national team, he had been continuously training.


    Seeing them all focused Tian Zhenzhe took Song Yun to the training hall office.


    ¡­.


    Two hours later,


    The were all sweating hard and then they all sat on the field and gasped for breath.


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    At this time, Li Haoze and Zheng Zhucai realised that Tian Zhenzhe and Song Yu were gone.


    "Hey, where is coach and the translator?" Li Haoze got up and looked around not seeing them. He couldn''t help but ask.


    "The coach should be talking with the people in the venue to give us more training time." Tang Yan said.


    "Oh, coach is really doing his best." Li Haoze said with emotion.


    "Coach Tian is well-known for doing his all for his team, but the Koreans today were really too arrogant." Zheng Zhun suddenly said.


    "Yeah, although they are stronger currently, it was really too much to steal our venue." Li Haoze said indignantly.


    "More than that." Zheng Zhun glanced at Tang Yan and Li Haoze and said, "When we left, the Korean archers were also laughed mocking us."


    "Mocking?" This time, Tang Yan was puzzled and looked at Zheng Zhun. "You speak Korean?"


    Zheng Zhun nodded: "My parents forced me to learn when I was young."


    "What did they say?" Li Haoze followed.


    "They..." Zheng Zhuang was ready to say, then suddenly changed his mind and said, "It''s probably not worth getting angry over them."


    "No, I wanna know what they said!" Li Haoze urged.


    Tang Yan also nodded, he was also curious.


    "They said that we don''t have much skill but our temper is still so large and we should stop wasting our time training and just quit while we can and not embarrass our country¡­.."


    Zheng Zhun paused there, seeing Li Haoze gnashing his teeth and Tang Yan with his brows furrowed..


    "Continue!" Li Haoze saw Zheng Zhun stop, and urged him on.


    "I heard them say that they deliberately went to training late because they knew we were next and they would get double training time..."


    "Bastards!" Zheng Zhun''s voice hadn''t fallen when Li Haoze screamed and slammed into the floor with a punch.

 41 Motivation

    The muffled sound attracted the attention of the other archery teams.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but smile and say: "Interesting."


    "Interesting?" Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun heard what Tang Yan said, and looked at him with confusion.


    "Do you think that our level is that different from that of the South Korean team?" Tang Yan smiled and looked at them.


    "Well¡­.." Zheng Zhun said with a slight frown, South Korea was the absolute ruler in the field of archery, almost all events whether large or small events, except for the 2008 Kyoto Olympic Games where Zhang Hao grabbed a gold medal, were dominated by them.


    "What''s wrong with us, we... still have a chance to win." Li Haoze''s first half was very imposing, but the latter half wasn''t so emboldened.


    Tang Yan didn''t refute the two and said instead: "I have seen the Korean team''s games before. The Koreans are very skilled and their mentality is stable, but they are also very low-key and calm normally. These elements are the reason why they have always dominated, but this time, those archers seemed completely opposite attitude wise. Don''t you find that very interesting?"


    "Maybe they''re arrogant because they have the strength to back it. After all they know they are probably gonna win." Zheng Zhun said with some despondency.


    "Well, archery is more than ability, it''s also mentality. The Koreans have been at the top of the pyramid for too long, and their mentality has naturally changed. This is a good opportunity for us to capitalize on their overconfidence and sneak through while they have their guard down against us." Tang Yan said in a conclusive manner.


    "Yes, you''re right." Li Haoze nodded sternly.


    "Oh Coach is back." Tang Yan saw Tian Zhenzhe and Song Yu walking over and stood up whilst talking.


    Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze also stood up and looked back.


    "We have an extra hour of training time, so make the most of it." Tian Zhenzhe said when he came back, obviously, he was not satisfied with the status of the archery in the first two hours.


    "Got it, Coach." Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze said in unison.


    Tian Zhenzhe was slightly surprised at their energy, and looked suspiciously at Tang Yan, then nodded.


    The three quickly picked up the bow and arrow and began to train. Compared with before, they entered a state of focus very quickly and were obviously more serious and determined.


    The doubts in Tian Zhenzhe''s eyes grew even stronger. Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun were archers he had had his eye on for a very long time and he hadn''t seen them adjust their mentality so quickly before.


    Seems like they got a motivational boost from Tang Yan?


    Training in the suburban training hall was fine, and they could get more time. But the troublesome thing was that it took nearly three hours to go back and forth.


    After another hour of training, they were all drained and after returning to the hotel, they took a shower and slept.


    Like the national championship system, the archery event for the Youth Olympic Games was also divided into individual and team competitions. The only difference was the arrangement of the events, because the Youth Olympic Games were interspersed, the archery events were on the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th day.


    ¡­.


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    The first event was the Qualifiers on the 10th.


    When Tang Yan and his teammates came to the archery competition venue, the audience seats were already crowded.


    Archery was a high-profile sport in Singapore. Although it was early in the morning, the sun was beginning to emerge which brought warmth to the venue. The stadium could accommodate 10,000 people and there seemed to be about six to seven thousand people.


    After Tang Yan entered the venue, he looked around. People of different ethnicities and cultures could be seen all around.The sounds of different languages intermingling also filled the area. The only similarities were the tenderness of their faces. The young archers from various national teams were gathered together.


    After entering the arena, the teams from each country followed the signs to their designated rest area.


    Though it was said to be a rest area, it was a square area that was temporarily separated by a screen.


    Although the Singapore government had invested a lot of manpower and resources in these Youth Games, after all, their national strength was limited plus it was a smaller competition.


    Coincidentally, the Chinese and South Korean team were next door to each other separated by a screen, and they could be heard next door when they spoke loudly.


    After the archers of all countries completed their pre-match warm-up, the qualifying competition began.


    This year''s archery competition consisted of a total of 96 contestants from 32 countries. They were separated into groups of 6 there were 16 groups in total.


    On the Chinese team''s side, Li Haoze, was placed in the first group.


    "Just calm your mind and do your best." Tian Zhenzhe said kindly patting Li Haoze on the shoulder as he stood up.


    Li Haoze nodded and turned his head, glancing at Tang Yin.


    Tang Yan reached out and gave him a thumbs up.


    He took a deep breath and then turned to the venue.


    After the first group of archers were ready, the referee immediately announced the official start of the game.


    The teams and spectators on the side of the field also turned their attention to the arena.


    Li Haoze started of by shooting an 8 pointer with his first arrow, the second arrow was a 9 pointer, the third arrow was a 10 pointer, after the first round of 6 arrows, the final score was 54 points.


    After the end of the first round, Li Haoze ranked second among the six players with his outstanding performance. The person in first was Bradley Adess from USA.


    Li Haoze shot more than 50 points, but some archers fumbled under pressure and fell short, the most obvious one was an archer from Finland called Alaric Yvte.


    Finland is a country known for its athletics, wrestling and nordic skiing events but their level of archery wasn''t very good.


    The fact that Alaric Yvte was here meant that he naturally met the MQS. But perhaps having not experienced such a big event before, after the start of the second round, Yvte actually shot a 6 pointer and one off target.


    This kind of performance didn''t attract the laughter of the audience, but instead their sympathy.


    But next door Tang Yan could hear sniggering and chatter.


    Tang Yan''s brows couldn''t help but wrinkle.


    Although he couldn''t understand what the Koreans were saying,listening to the tone he felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

 42 Appeal

    "This group of Koreans are really too much." said Zheng Zhun also frowning.


    Tang Yan turned to look at Zheng Zhun, remembering that he understood Korean,lowering his voice he asked: "What did they say?"


    "They are slamming the Finish archer, saying that with such skills he should stick to skiing."


    Tang Yan frowned, they were really being too much.


    The first group of games continued, and the Koreans'' voices were heard from time to time. This made Tang Yan''s interest in watching the game greatly wane, but after the first group of games ended, Li Haoze''s play was quite good.


    72 arrows down, his final score was 636 points, he ranked in the top three of the six players, this was a good start for the Chinese team.


    After Li Haoze finished, the Chinese team had left only Zheng Zhun and Tang Yan, and the two were divided into the eighth group and the sixteenth group.


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    The second to seventh groups had similar games with the results meeting expectations. Most of the archers had average strength. The most important thing to watch was the Korean archers.


    Park Tae-an was the first Korean archer up. As the champion of the Korean domestic championship, he was also the absolute main force of the South Korean team. His performance in qualifying was also quite amazing, 72 arrows down, his final score was 670 points, a score that was close to the world''s top level.


    After the end of his qualifying session, the audience also whistled and cheered.


    According to the predictions before the game, Park Tae-an was the main candidate to win the Archery Event.


    When Park Tae-An finished, the remaining two Korean archers were excited and when Park Tae-an came down, the other two rushed and hugged him, just like they had already won the championship.


    "These guys¡­..." Li Haoze saw this scene and couldn''t help but pretend to vomit.


    Perhaps he was slightly to loud in his actions but the Koreans turned their heads toward the Chinese team''s rest area.


    The Koreans flashed a hint of doubt in their eyes, exchanged a few words, and then went back to their rest area.


    Li Haoze realizing that he had been caught and showed a cheeky smile at Tang Yan, who was shaking his head at his immature actions.


    After the end of the seventh group, Zheng Zhun got up and got ready to go up.


    Zheng Zhun''s strength was the weakest among the three. His debut also attracted Tian Zhenzhe attention. It can be said that Zheng Zhu''s play determined the lower limit of the Chinese team''s ranking in the team competition.


    At the beginning of the first round, Zheng Zhun''s play was fairly stable. The final result of the 6 arrows was 49 points, ranking third in his group. It was an average performance.


    The best player in this round was a player from Nigeria named Ezekiel Jafari who scored 54 points and ranked first in the group.


    In the second round, Jafari continued his outstanding performance. His total score at the end of the second round was 108 points surpassing second place by a full five points.


    Zheng Zhun may have been under too much pressure. But his second round score was only 45 points and his state was already going downhill.


    When they were resting between rounds, Tian Zhenzhe tried to give Zheng Zhun some advice, but the effect wasn''t satisfactory.


    In the third round, the Nigerian archer Jafari continued his thrilling performance.Six arrows for a total of 56 points to send the audience into marvel.


    Even the Koreans were amazed and regarded him as a worthy competitor to keep an eye on.


    The more Jafari performed, the further Zheng Zhun seemed to crumble under the pressure.


    In the fourth round, he shot a 6 pointer and then even missed the target.


    This kind of performance also attracted laughter and teasing from the Koreans.


    Song Yu was next to them, and after he translated to them, Li Haoze almost jumped up, but he was pulled back by Tian Zhenzhe.


    After the end of the eighth group, Zheng Zhun final score was 600 points.


    However, Tian Zhenzhe didn''t blame anything on him and just let him reflect in his mind.


    After the eighth group was over, the men''s qualifier in the morning was also over. The Chinese team had already completed two matches. Although Tian Zhenzhe didn''t blame Zheng Zhun, his achievements did little to help the Chinese team qualify. Tang Yan would be under great pressure in the afternoon event.


    At the end of the morning event, the archers from all over the world were ready to leave the venue.


    Tian Zhenzhe took Tang Yan to the side to discuss the afternoon event.


    After that, joining backup with them Tang Yan comforted Zheng Zhun with a few words as they began to leave the venue.


    Just then, they heard a bit of awkward mandarin from behind them.


    "Oi, were you laughing at us before, when we were celebrating, pretending to be sick?"


    Tang Yan turned to look back, and saw that it was Park Tae-an of the South Korean team.


    When he heard what Park Tae-an said, he realized that the Koreans knew Chinese, that is to say, many of their previous exchanges were heard by them.


    Li Haoze was also stunned, he didn''t expect Park Tae-an to understand Chinese either.


    "You are very rude. If you apologize to us now, we will consider accepting your apologies. Otherwise, we will appeal to the organizing committee." While Park Tae-an''s mandarin wasn''t very good. They could understand the basic meaning of what he was saying


    "Hahaha, are you kidding me, get the f*ck out of here with that bullsh*t." Li Haoze reacted and shouted without showing weakness.


    "You!" Park Tae-an apparently didn''t expect Li Haoze to show such a reaction. He clenched his hands into fists, and the other two Koreans also moved up.


    "What, do you want to beat people? Hit me then! Come on then, try it!" Li Haoze also stepped up not backing down.


    Park Tae-an and the other two furrowed their brows in anger, but didn''t move to hit him, they weren''t stupid after all.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but laugh, this Li Haoze was truly a hooligan.


    "You! You!" Park Tae-an looking at Li Haoze and Tang Yan, said with anger, "I will appeal to the organizing committee and make you lose your qualification!"


    After that, glaring at Li Haoze, he turned and walked away.


    "Wait a minute, I will go with you." Tang Yan said also walking the same way.


    Tang Yan''s words halted Park Tae-an and his entourage and Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun were puzzled: What the hell is he doing?


    "It seems that you are afraid!" Park Tae-an saw that Tang Yan really came over and his face showed pride.


    "Zheng Zhun, you come with me as well." Tang Yan ignored Park Tae-an, but turned back and yelled at Zheng Zhun.


    "When the Finish archer, Alaric Yvte was up, you remember what they said right, good. We will also go and appeal then, if we are gonna get banned then they will have to ban them as well."


    After Tang Yan finished speaking, he looked back at Park Tae-an with a calm and collected look. Then nodded at Zheng Zhun.


    Zheng Zhun repeated the conversation he had overhead earlier from the Korean Team back to them in standard Korean.

 43 Ace

    "You!" The color on Park Tae-an''s face disappeared. He didn''t expect anyone in the Chinese team to understand Korean, and they were significantly more proficient than him with his mandarin.


    If Tang Yan really went to the organizing committee with them, then they would be sacrificing themselves just to take down their enemy. It wasn''t worthwhile.


    "Hahaha, fine just one more team to beat. Wait till the finals, you can watch us win the championship!" Park Tae-an said whilst backing down.


    "You can also rest assured that you don''t have to watch our victory from the audience stands." Tang Yan said faintly.


    "Good! Good!" Park Tae-an said then turned and left with the two other Koreans.


    "Haha, you were acting all big now look at you scrambling away!" Li Haoze looked at the three figures leaving and shouted.


    Park Tae-an''s body stopped temporarily, but then he carried on walking.


    Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun burst into laughter.


    "Let''s go back, and prepare." said Tang Yan seeing that half of the venue was already empty.


    Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun nodded and followed after Tang Yan.


    This was just a small episode in the scheme of things. Although they won the argument, all three people including Tang Yan knew that it wouldn''t be an easy fight with the South Korean team.


    .....


    When they came back in the afternoon, the audience had increased a lot compared to earlier in the morning.


    The afternoon game was also a lot more intense than in the morning, archers from all over the world were competing for positions in the team competition.


    When the 15th group finished, the top 64 rankings were basically out.


    The strongest was the South Korean team. Park Tae-an ranked first among all the players with an absolute score of 670 points. Kim Chung-gi ranked seventh with 649. The worst score of the three was obtained by Quan Zhiping with 640 points ranking 26th among all the archers so far.


    In addition, Italy, Germany, the United States, Russia and other strong archery nations were in the top 16.


    After the end of the 15th group, Tang Yan got up from his seat and stretched, he had been sat down for almost a whole day. It was finally his turn to shoot.


    "You''ve got this, just take your time." Tian Zhenzhe couldn''t help but say when he saw Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan smiled and nodded, then went up to the field.


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    Tian Zhenzhe''s anxiousness wasn''t without reason. After the 15th match, the results of each group was basically out. The South Korean team ranked first with a score of 1962 points, they were 30 points ahead of the USA team, in third was the German team followed by the Russian team.


    Of the 16 teams currently qualifying the Japanese team was currently ranked 16th with 1886 points. If the Chinese team wanted to squeeze into the top 16, Tang Yan must score 650+ points.


    Although Tang Yan had shot 661 points in the previous national championship, this wasn''t exactly a reliable difference.


    "It seems that we have overestimated our opponents. They can''t even make it into the knockout stages." When Tang Yan got up, Park Tae-an next door deliberately said in Chinese.


    Tang Yan smiled at him and went to the archery field.


    The organizing committee used past achievements as a reference when conducting personnel arrangements. Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun had participated in the Global Youth Championships before, so they had a relatively high order of appearance but for athletes like Tang Yan who had no international achievements, they were placed last.


    In fact, the head coaches of each team focused their attention on tomorrow''s knockouts and began to discuss the next match.


    Even the referee showed signs of fatigue after working for a day.


    It can be said that the appearance of Tang Yan and the five other archers received the least attention.


    In fact, it was true. Except for Tang Yan, the other archers looked nervous and tender. They were the weaker archers of the bunch.


    After the referee started the game, he then stood aside and yawned.


    In the entire arena, the most concerned people were the Chinese team and the Japanese team but even they were beginning to relax discussing how to deal with the other team in the knockout stages.


    Tang Yan looked around the stadium then refocused his gaze. The audience didn''tseem to be paying attention, but that made him feel a lot easier at mind.


    He did all his preparations, took out the recurve bow and took an arrow from the arrow pot.


    He nocked his arrow, after the arrow was wound, he drew back the bowstring and aimed.


    This time, his movements were obviously slower than in the national championships.


    There were already archers on their next arrow. As expected, the results were very disappointing and average at best. The best arrow was from Senegal with only 8 points. Two archers even missed the target crumbling at the first hurdle.


    Seeing this result, the audience couldn''t help but shake their heads and some of the viewers who stayed to watch till the end sighed.


    Some teams began to pack up in order to leave early to prepare for tomorrow''s game.


    After starting to aim, he could clearly feel his progress.


    After gaining 70% of the strength of Li Guang and after many training sessions, his level had improved significantly compared with the national championships.


    Controlling freely both bow and arrow, he had reached a state of integration to some extent.


    He slightly raised the arrow a bit, after the parabola reached the expected level, he loosened his hand.


    "Twang!


    Boom!"


    10 points!


    When Tang Yan shot the first arrow, the entire stadium suddenly quietened.


    After seeing the results area updated with the archer''s scores, the scene was followed by discussion.


    The Japanese team flinched seeing the score.


    Tian Zhenzhe released out a sigh of relaxation, with Tang Yan''s 10 pointer his mind was finally at ease. With his ace at work what was there to worry about.

 44 Focus

    Tang Yan''s 10-pointer arrow also attracted the attention of the teams in the rest area, especially several members of the Korean team. They showed interest and began to focus.


    Tang Yan didn''t stop after shooting the arrow, he followed up with the second arrow, after completing a series of technical moves.


    Twang!


    "Boom!"


    A muffled sound.


    An arrow straight to the bull''s eye.


    Another 10 pointer!


    Before the audience and the other archers reacted, Tang Yan immediately shot the third arrow.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 pointer!


    Another 10 pointer!


    Tang Yan shot three 10 pointers! !


    His first shot wasn''t fast, and even the adjustment could be said to be the slowest of all the archers, but his next arrows were in rapid succession and more importantly, he shot 3 arrows all 10 pointers.


    "What a shocking scene!" Tang Yan''s magical performance also attracted the surprise of the on-site commentator.


    After these three arrows, the audience, the archers, and even a lot of viewers in front of the TV had re-focused their attention on the scene.


    It was no exaggeration to say that Tang Yan only used 3 arrows, to draw back the audiences attention.


    The game was still ongoing. After Tang Yan''s three arrows the follow up was less astonishing but all the while still impressive of the 6 arrows, four of the arrows were 10 pointers, for a total score of 58 points.


    This score was even better than Park Tae-an''s!


    After a round of competition, each resting area began to become lively.


    Originally, the scores of Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun added up to 1236 points. The possibility of the Chinese team entering the knockout round wasn''t great, but the sudden appearance of Tang Yan made it all possible again.


    This variable had forced all the teams to re-focus on the game on the field, because no one knew what score Tang Yan would end up with.


    At this time, the most nervous was the Japanese team. They were originally locked in for advancement into the next round. But now they were back on the chopping block facing the chance of being eliminated.


    In the next few rounds, Tang Yan''s play was still stable. When he entered the intermission in between sets, his score was an amazing 350 points.


    This score was 5 more points than Park Tae-an''s!


    This time, the tension was affecting more than the Japanese team, many other teams felt extra pressure, even the South Korean team quietened down.


    At this time, the most happy person was Tian Zhenzhe, although the game was only halfway through, but Tang Yan''s excellent performance in the first half was a relief.


    They were forced to a dead end, but Tang Yan''s performance brought them from the cliff edge to a path of hope.


    "Tang Yan, thank you man, I really feel ashamed." When Tang Yan came down, Zheng Zhun couldn''t help but smile.


    "You shouldn''t have this attitude. I''ll try hard to help us enter the knockout round. But it''s useless to rely on one person in a team competition. It depends on everyone. Don''t forget the conflict with the Korean Team next door. We have to do more than just this to win." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    Zheng Zhun nodded hard.


    At this time, Tian Zhenzhe stared at Tang Yan for a while. He suddenly felt that the child in front of him had helped the team more than him.


    After a 10-minute break, the second half began.


    At the end of the fifth round his score was 623 points. Even with one less round than others, he had already rushed into the top 64.


    The whole audience is watching on the edge of their seat. They were feeling disappointed when the saw that the Chinese team was going to be eliminated, they felt like their younger generation was too weak but now look at this hidden ace.


    "The last round." After Tang Yan''s last walk from the rest area to the field, Tian Zhenzhe unconsciously made a fist. He had come here not thinking much of this Youth Olympics but now he felt so invested.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath, 66 arrows down, his arms were also feeling tired.


    What he had to do now was to stabilize his state.


    Nocking, no problem.


    Pre-pull, perfect.


    Drawing the bowstring, perfect.


    Aiming, the parabola was perfect.


    He slowly inhaled and steadied his breath and heartbeat .


    "Twang!"


    "Boom!"


    Another 10 pointer


    For the average archer, the results of 72 arrows normally showed a downward trend. After all, the more tired your muscles were, the harder it was to be accurate.


    However, Tang Yan is the last round, still managed to shoot 10 pointers. This level was really too much!


    The South Korean team''s rest area, South Korea''s head coach, former national team''s main archer Wu Quantai took out a notepad and began to write, Tang Yan had replaced the American archer Bradley Adess to become the biggest threat to them.


    5 arrows down, Tang Yan''s score was 47 points, his current score had exceeded Park Tae-an.


    The excitement of the audience on scene was beyond words. Many people stood up from their seats to witness the last arrow from Tang Yan.


    Tian Zhenzhe''s body was trembling with excitement he couldn''t control himself.


    The last arrow.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath and let his mind become calm.


    When he completed a series of technical moves and finally aimed at him, he had never been so focused.


    "Thump, thump, thump...thump!"


    His heartbeat gradually stabilized.


    "Twang!"


    With the rhythm of the very last heartbeat, he fired.


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    Twang!


    The eyes of everyone on the scene looked at the arrow that flew at the distant target.


    "Boom!"


    9 points!


    "680 points, 680 points! The highest score in the qualifying round of this year''s competition. Tang Yan, the 18-year-old player from China, has done it! To take his team into the next round" The live commentator was full of excitement and shouted.


    The audience at the scene could no longer hold back, and the violent cheers seemed like a storm, drowning out the entire venue.


    Park Tae-an saw Tang Yan''s performance and his face showed a focused look. There was a sharp glint in his eyes.


    It seemed this wouldn''t be as easy as he thought.

 45 Fateful Coincidence

    Tang Yan smiled and waved to the audience, then walked straight toward the rest area.


    He wasn''t as excited as Park Tae-an in the morning, more calm and relieved.


    Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun came up and celebrated though.


    Tian Zhenzhe didn''t stop them this time, sitting there, smirking.


    At this time, the most ugly look was on the South Korean team''s Park Tae-an. His eyes were locked on Tang Yan.


    Wu Quantai looked at Park Taian and couldn''t help but sigh.


    These newcomers were far from maturity, they still had a long way to go. Letting himself get so easily affected by an opponent.


    Tang Yan became the highlight of this session. His qualifying performance not only made him first among the rankings but also helped the Chinese team succeed at the final moment. Their total score was 1916 points so they now ranked 8th among all the teams, an absolute comeback.


    The audience was still immersed in the amazing performance of Tang Yan, but the teams from all over the world quickly left the stadium. Teams who missed out on qualifying for the team competitions could relax tomorrow but the other teams needed to go back early and prepare for the team playoffs.


    Based on the rankings they knew their opponents so they headed back to plan strategies.


    The next round opponent for the Chinese team''s was the 9th ranked Nigeria team.


    Similar to the situation for the Chinese team, Nigeria also broke into the knockout stage due to the excellent performance of Ezekiel Jafari.


    The confrontation between the two teams could actually be regarded as the personal confrontation between the two.


    Going against Jafari, this caused a wave of fluctuations in the heart of Tang Yan.


    That fateful day that he had died in his previous life he had been hunting with the mercenary leader Nick Jafari when they drove off a cliff.


    This kind of encounter was truly odd as if destined in the stars.


    When returning to the Olympic Village to rest, Tian Zhenzhe put the focus of his work on Zheng Zhun''s psychological adjustment.


    After some exchanges, he could clearly feel that Zheng Zhun''s mentality was relaxed.


    The match between the Chinese team and the Nigerian team was in the afternoon, in the morning four other teams were competing.


    Tian Zhenzhe didn''t arrange training in the morning, but took the players to the audience stands to watch the competition.


    The first to play was the South Korean team vs the Bhutan team.


    Bhutan was a small country in South Asia by Nepal and Bangladesh, but their archery skills were fairly strong. They put on quite a good performance to break into the knockout stages.


    However, they were unfortunate to encounter South Korea in the first round.


    In the first round the Korean team, showed their strong dominance.


    The score was 58:49.


    In the second round, they shot a perfect score of 60 points and went on to easily eliminate the Bhutan team and make it into the next round.


    At the end of the game, when the players left, Park Tae-an noticed the Chinese team in the stands and cast a provocative look at them.


    According to the rules of the game, the next round opponent of the Korean team was the winner between the eighth and ninth ranked team, so the winner between China and Nigeria.


    This gaze was a kind of show, almost to say I''m already waiting for you. If you are qualified to compete with me, then see you in the next round.


    Li Haoze cursed seeing Park Tae-an looking over.


    After seeing it, Tang Yan smiled and calmly stared back.


    The two locked eyes for a while but then Park Tae-an turned his head away coldly.


    "Well, now we have seen what we could be up against, it''s time to go back to prepare for the afternoon game." Tian Zhenzhe reminded.


    "Okay!" Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze responded, and they stood up from the stands.


    At the end of the morning knockouts, the South Korean team, the German team, the Italian team and the Russian team all reached the quarterfinals. They waited to see the afternoon games to determine their opponents.


    "The strength of the Nigerian team isn''t too strong, but everyone must go all out in order to completely secure our position."


    The players nodded and reached out putting their hands together they shouted "One, two, three China!" and then went to the stadium.


    In the afternoon, there were quite a lot of overseas Chinese who came to watch, there were at least seven to eight hundred people. Singapore was located in South Asia, so there was at least a turn up of supporters.


    When they heard the Chinese Team being announced they cheered, standing up waving the flag.


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    Tang Yan''s emotions also became fascinated with the atmosphere on the scene.


    This was the feeling of fighting for your country.


    After China''s reform and opening up, China''s national strength had greatly increased. Overseas Chinese were all over the world. There were so many overseas Chinese supporting their away games. This was definitely a huge motivating factor.


    Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze were also emotional and couldn''t help but reach out and wave their arms.


    This also attracted a burst of cheers.


    After both teams entered the venue, the knockout round began.


    The rules of the Youth Olympic Games knockout matches were the same as the national championships. It was also 6 rounds with 6 arrows per round. Each archer shot 2 each in a round. They would alternate and the final winner was determined according to the final total number of points.


    The order of appearance for the Chinese team was Li Haoze, Zheng Zhun and Tang Yan.


    On the other side on the Nigerian team, Jafari was also the final archer.


    After the referee saw that both sides were ready, the referee signaled the start of the game.


    Tian Zhenzhe arranged for Li Haoze to take the lead, he had taken a fancy to his courage and he lived up to expectations. In the first set, his two arrows totaled a score of 18 points and suppressed the Nigerian Team.


    Next up was Zheng Zhun, who redeemed himself somewhat with a score of 17 points.


    After the four arrows, the Chinese team temporarily led by 3 points with the score being 35:32.


    The last team members of the two teams were up next Tang Yan and Ezekiel Jafari.

 46 Elimination

    Before shooting, Tang Yan turned around and looked over at Ezekiel Jafari, trying to find some similarities between him and Nick Jafari.But after looking over for a while, he found that there was nothing similar about the two.


    It seemed to be purely a coincidence.


    Recognizing this, he put away his thoughts and focused his attention on the court.


    Because the Chinese team''s performance was better than the Nigerian team, this time Tang Yan was first to shoot.


    He adjusted his posture, followed up with no politeness, starting with a 10 pointer then a 9 pointer. The performance of the 19 points was also the most direct manifestation of his current strength.


    Such an outstanding performance also attracted a burst of cheers from the audience.


    After the amazing performance at yesterday''s qualifiers, Tang Yan''s popularity on the court had reached a high level.


    However, this cheer didn''t last for long and was replaced by a burst of exclamation.


    Jafari under pressure, had also shot two arrows for 19 points as well.


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    In Tang Yan''s heart, he paid tribute to Jafari in his heart. The psychological quality of this Nigerian archer was really good.


    With Jafari drawing their round, the score of the first set ended as 54 to 49, with the Chinese team in the lead winning one game.


    The second game was exactly the same as the first game. Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun performed well which caused them to lead 34 to 29 after four arrows, followed by the personal confrontation between Tang Yan and Jafari again.


    At this time, the audience were all looking on anticipation. They weren''t concerned about the scores of the two teams at the moment, but the personal contest between two top archers. This was like a preview of the individual competition tomorrow.


    The excellent performance of Jafari made his adrenaline soar and his whole body and spirit reached a state of excitement.


    Before meeting the Korean archers, Jafari was undoubtedly the best person to push him.


    After Tang Yan gained 70% of Li Guang''s ability, his score at 72-arrows was around 680 points. His probability of scoring 9 to 10 points was relatively high.


    After he concentrated, he entered a calm state and his two arrows were both stable 10 pointers, which immediately attracted the excitement of the audience.


    This kind of play also showed that his performance yesterday wasn''t accidental. Tang Yan was definitely the biggest dark horse in this year''s archery competition.


    After Tang Yan''s shot many people subconsciously believed that Tang Yan had won this match up.


    But what everyone hadn''t imagined was, that although the speed and beauty of the shot wasn''t perfect, both the two arrows from Jafari was also two 10 pointers!


    This time, the entire venue detonated in excitement.


    The biggest charm of the archery competition wasn''t how many 10-points the archers shot, but the match up between the players. Although it wasn''t a personal match, the level of excitement was better than an individual match.


    The excellent performance of Jafari also boosted the morale ofthe Nigerian archers.


    In the third game, the two other Nigerian players performed supernaturally. After four arrows, they had pulled back the game and drawn the score to 34-points to 34-points.


    In this way, the final winner of this game was to be decided by Tang Yan and Jafari.


    The mood of the audience rose to another level. Perhaps before the start of the game, no one expected that a normal knockout would evolve into such a situation.


    Tang Yan turned his head and looked at Jafari before shooting. The corners of his mouth showed a smile, the game was really becoming more and more interesting.


    Noticing that Tang Yan was watching him, Jafari also showing his white teeth gave a kind smile.


    At this moment, there was a feeling of camaraderie between the two people.


    Tang Yan nodded, then turned his head and took out the bow and arrow from the arrow pot.


    The first arrow was a steady 10-pointer.


    The second arrow, hit veered of slightly but still hit the edge of the 10 pointer ring, but because more of the arrow was in the 10 pointer ring, it was ruled as a 10 pointer.


    Counting this, that was four 10 pointers in a row!


    This strong performance made the audience more excited, and also caused the South Korean Coach Wu Quantai to show a dignified look.


    If yesterday''s qualifiers was amazing, then today''s performance was even more threatening.


    The South Korean Team had not tasted defeat in the international arena for a long time, especially the men''s team. If they set a precedent here, the pressure on him after returning home would be unimaginable.


    Jafari couldn''t continue the magic this time. Although his strength was excellent, there was still a gap compared with Tang Yan. The final score of his set of arrows was 18 points, which also caused Nigeria to lose the third game.


    "We are going back to the Olympic Village." said Wu Quantai. The South Korean Team membersdidn''t stay to watch the rest of the game, but returned in advance.


    He couldn''t control the individual matches tomorrow, but at least for the team match with the Chinese Team, he had to make sure that he could win it.


    With the outstanding performance of Tang Yan''s 116 points, the Chinese Team finally eliminated the Nigerian Team winning all six rounds and advanced to the second round of the knockout stages.


    After the game, Tang Yan took the initiative to shake hands with Jafari.


    Jafari''s final score was 110 points, although less than Tang Yan''s the two''s match up in the Youth Olympic Games was bound to become a hot topic for the audience and the archers.


    After the Chinese Team eliminated the Nigerian team, their next round opponent was the strongest opponent in the world of archery, South Korea.


    Although the Youth Olympics was for young athletes, they still couldn''t change the absolute dominance of the Korean team. This was bound to be a hard battle.


    What is even more intriguing is that in the mouth of Park Tae-an and Tang Yan, both sides mentioned that one party would sit on the sidelines and witness another team to win the championship. This kind of early encounter made this an inevitable result.


    After the group finished their game, they returned to the Olympic Village to rest.


    Tang Yan arrived back and saw Lu Yun holding a cold compresses on his forehead.


    "Your back, I just finished watching your game, you are too strong!" Seeing Tang Yan back, Lu Yun said getting up from watching tv. His face was full of excitement.


    Seeing Lu Yun''s reaction, Tang Yan said with a smile: "What about you, what happened to your head?"


    "I was up against a Thai boxer, he caught me with a few good punches." Lu Yun cursed and said.


    "But you still won?" Tang Yan asked with a smile.


    "Of course, I won, by a KO!" Lu Yun said, waving his arm and doing an uppercut motion.

 47 China vs South Korea 1

    Boxing, a sport built on confrontation, the most primitive and bloody competitive sport.


    "Congratulations." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "Hahaha, thank you brother. If I don''t have a boxing match tomorrow, I will definitely come to see your game." Lu Yun said excitedly.


    His large movements upset the bruise on his forehead and caused him to groan for a while.


    After seeing this, Tang Yan couldn''t help but laugh.


    "Tang Yan, coach is calling for you, to discuss tactics." Just then, there was a shout at the door, followed by a knock on the door.


    Tang Yan heard Li Haoze''s voice and Lu Yun said hello, put on his top and went out.


    The Chinese teams strength was there and there wasn''t much room for adjustment now, what they need more of was psychological adjustment.


    However, Tian Zhenzhe did some fine-tuning on the order of appearance. Considering the targeted tactics that the South Korean team may have, he adjusted Zheng Zhun''s appearance order from second to first. This was also a great test for him.


    However, after experiencing the game with Nigeria, Zheng Zhun''s mentality had obviously improved a lot. When he heard that Tian Zhenzhe arranged him to be the first to shoot, he wasn''t too worried rather he was excited.


    This emotional change also made Tian Zhenzhe more confident in tomorrow''s game.


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    In order to win in the team competition, it depended on the performance of all three people. If all three archers adjusted to their best form before the game, they may really beat the Korean team.


    On the second day of the team competition, there was a lot of people at the venue. In addition to a large number of Chinese, there were many Koreans on the scene.


    The two teams'' competition attracted the most attention since the start of the tournament. Although it was only the quarter finals, the Chinese team''s outstanding performance yesterday and Tang Yan''s surprise display of skill, the contest between them and the South Korean team was an event to see for many people.


    A large number of TV media and online media had gathered and the Youth Broadcasting Station of the Youth Olympic Games also began to live broadcast the game.


    The South Korean team''s odds were 1 to 1.1 and for the Chinese team it was 1 to 4.


    It was extremely rare for an archery competition to attract such a large degree of attention.


    However, at this time Kallang, Singapore wasn''t able to show it''s beauty, and the stadium was filled with pattering rain.


    Although the rain didn''t affect the audience watching the game, it was a big test for the archers.


    After the final warm-up, the referee indicated to the two sides they would start soon.


    The TV media and journalists on the scene also focused their attention on the field.


    The South Korean team''s first appearance was Kim Chung-ji, his strength was second only to Park Tae-an, the South Korean team sent him to play, apparently hoping to occupy a psychological advantage in the opening.


    Kim Chung-ji didn''t disappoint the trust of the head coach. Even in the case of the rains disturbance, his score was 18 points, showing the superb level of the Korean team.


    Zheng Zhun, was the first Chinese archer to shoot.


    Seeing Zheng Zhun as the first appearance, the South Korean, Coach Wu Quantai was obviously surprised. He obviously didn''t expect Tian Zhenzhe to make such an arrangement.


    "When you shoot your arrow, angle the arrow slightly higher than usual, which can offset the impact of the rain to a certain extent." Before Zheng Zhun played, Tang Yan deliberately yelled at him. After gaining the ability of Li Guang, his understanding of the sport of archery was constantly deepening.


    Zheng Zhun nodded and went to the archery field.


    According to Tang Yan''s advice, Zheng Zhun angled his arrow slightly higher than usual. The score of the two arrows was 17 points. Although it was less than the Korean team, he basically played to his own level.


    Zheng Zhun was also very excited. After the shot, he punched the air in happiness.


    The second appearance for the Korean team was Park Tae-an, and for the Chinese team it was Li Haoze.


    Seeing the arrangement of the Korean team, Tian Zhenzhe showed a smile, he was right.


    Wu Quantai wanted to use Qiu Anguo''s method to make Park Tae-an expand the lead against Zheng Zhun. However Wu Quantai''s psychology was firmly grasped by Tian Zhenzhe.


    Wu Quantai''s face was gloomy at this time.


    However, at this time, he could only hope that Park Tae-an could extend the lead a decent amount against Li Haoze.


    Park Tae-an really deserved to be the leader among the young Korean archers. This rain seemed to have no effect on him. His two arrows were a first-class score of 20 points.


    After completing the game, Park Tae-an shot a very provocative look at Li Haoze.


    Li Haoze just rolled his eyes after seeing Park Tae-an''s provocative look.


    Li Haoze''s level was still much stronger than Zheng Zhun. Taking on Tang Yan''s advice as well he scored 19 points, only one point less than Park Tae-an.


    4 arrows down, the Chinese team was just behind the South Korean Team by 2 points, which also excited the audience.


    But the Chinese Team still hadn''t played their strongest archer Tang Yan while South Korean had already sent out Park Tae-an.


    The situation changed dramatically after Tian Zhenzhe''s inadvertent order adjustment.


    This was probably the first time that the Korean Team had encountered a real challenge this year.


    The last appearance for the South Korean team was Quan Zhiping, he was probably the weakest in the South Korean Team but he was still a high level archer.


    Quan Zhiping''s mentality was well adjusted, and his play was quite stable. Two arrows for 18 points.


    As a result, the number of points in the first set from the South Korean team was finally fixed at 56 points.


    The final debut of the first set was naturally Tang Yan, who was highly received by the audience.


    Before the game, Tang Yan directly adjusted the number of pounds on his recurve bow, from 50 pounds to 80 pounds, just like in the National Championships.


    The original attempt at the National Championship made him understand that this method was effective, he even upped the pounds compared to before. Naturally, the impact of the rain was much larger than the breeze.


    Of course, this trick was only done by him. Most of the young archers at the Youth Olympics couldn''t pull an 80-pound bow.


    After upgrading Li Guang''s abilities he had unlocked more of his body''s potential especially his arm and back strength had grown a great amount after intensive strength training. Allowing him to take more liberties.


    After adjusting the pounds, Tang Yan held the recurve bow in his left hand, adjusted his posture before getting into position, and then pulled an arrow out of the arrow pot.

 48 China vs South Korea 2

    Tang Yan''s movements attracted the attention of the audience and the media.


    They were eager to know whether Tang Yan, who was a blockbuster in qualifying, could still continue his myth in the face of bad weather conditions.


    Tang Yan pulled out the arrow from the arrow pot, and after the bowstring was drawn, he began to pre-pull.


    Because the pounds were adjusted to 80 pounds, his movements were significantly slower than usual, and the muscles on his arms showed the effort of this arrow.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s move, the audience''s faces were all stunned.


    In fact, let alone the audience, the archers of the South Korean Team were also look on intrigued.


    "This.. he''s over-straining his muscles" Quan Zhiping saw that Tang Yan was slightly struggling and couldn''t help but say.


    "Looks like it." said Park Tae-an nodding calmly.


    "He doesn''t seem to be considering the long game, he will tire out faster or even directly hurt himself." Kim Chung-ji said.


    "He''s willing to risk it for a gold medal, after all it would be a glorious achievement for them." Park Tae-an smiled and said, intensely following Tang Yan''s movements


    "Twang!"


    At this moment, Tang Yan released the arrow in his hand after aiming.


    "Swoosh!"


    The arrow made a whistling sound, which clearly showed its strength.


    The audience in the stands was also amazed at this time.


    This arrow had almost no parabola!


    Archery was first introduced to the Olympics in 1900. It was included at the 1904, 1908 and 1920 Games, then had a 52-year hiatus from the Olympic Programme. In 1972, archery returned to the Games and it has remained an Olympic sport ever since. Archers had gradually dwelled on the 50-pound draw weight and shooting on a parabola path as the best way to compete.


    The South Korean team also established its dominant position in the field of archery after the 1990s with its mastery of this draw weight and techniques to go with it.


    However, this arrow of Tang Yan was not on a parabola path at all, although it had a certain arc it was infinitely close to a straight line.


    "Boom!"


    With the audience''s exclamation, the arrow hit the target.


    After the arrow hit the target, the tail trembled fiercely and made a creaking sound.


    10 points!


    The audience saw the number of points displayed on the digital display screen and followed with a burst of cheers.


    Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun in the rest area of ??the Chinese team also jumped up.


    However, the South Korean team''s bench was in dead silence.


    The three players of the Korean team and the coach Wu Quantai were all looking on focused and observing Tang Yan.


    At this moment, Tang Yan shot the second arrow in the same way.


    The result was the same as the previous one, and it also heavily hit the target.


    Another 10 pointer!


    The cheers on the scene climbed up one dimension in an instant, and the Chinese audience waved the Chinese flag in their hands.


    Tang Yan, matched Park Tae-an with a perfect score of 20 points.


    With this 20 points, the Chinese Team was on 56 points! The same number of points as the Korean team!


    In the first game, the two sides shot to a draw!


    The audience was immersed in an anxious game, but in the Korean team''s rest area, everyone''s face was showing solemn looks.


    "He used more than 60 pounds?" Kim Chung-ji asked unconsciously.


    "According to the trajectory of the arrow, at least 80 pounds." Wu Quantai said with a smile.


    "80 pounds! How is it possible! He..." Park Tae-an stopped halfway, regardless of whether they believed it or not, Tang Yan completed the game under their eyes, and Wu Quantai was the Head Coach of the Korean team. His judgment wouldn''t be wrong.


    "This...guy.. he''s not simple..." Quan Zhiping said very mutely.


    "Yes, He''s not simple at all. For a shot like that it requires a lot of brute force." Wu Quantai noticed the changes in the face of the archers, and under the pressure of his own heart, said, "No matter how many pounds he uses, the bigger the pounds, the higher the physical exertion.


    To last for six rounds will take a lot but since they are willing to carry out a tactic like this they must have some confidence of success. This goes to show you like I said, never underestimate your opponent or you will regret it.


    Only celebrate and feel proud once the medal is around your neck. So go out there and earn that medal. Prove why you are on this team. There is no place for pride any longer. "


    Wu Quantai''s words were like a reassurance and a spark. The fire on the faces of the Korean team members slowly returned. The players followed each other and nodded.


    Indeed, even if Tang Yan could shoot 2 arrows, it was almost unrealistic to shoot 12 arrows with 80 pounds of force. As long as they played stably, the Chinese team should still lose.


    The order of the archery team competitions was submitted to the organizing committee before the game. Wu Quantai ate a loss on this, there was no room for adjustment. All he could do now was to calm the players'' mentality.


    After a one-minute break, the second game started.


    The South Korean team had superb archery so after Wu Quantai''s appeasement, the players'' minds stabilized. Not only was it not affected by Tang Yan, but their play improved compared to the first game.


    Both Kim Chung-jiand Park Tae-an scored a perfect 20 points in the second game. Although Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze played a stable role, they were suddenly opened up by the South Korean team with a two-point lead.


    The last archers of the second game.


    Quan Zhiping glanced at Tang Yan, who appeared on the other side, and made a fist unconsciously. Obviously, with a confrontation against Tang Yan, he felt the pressure.


    "Quan Zhiping! Focus!" Wu Quantai saw this and shouted to him.


    After hearing the shout, Quan Zhiping nodded hard and focused himself.


    The first arrow was a 9 pointer, the second arrow was 9 points, 2 arrows for 18 points such a performance was already quite good.


    After it''s completion Quan Zhiping excitedly yelled twice.


    Wu Quantai was also very excited. He gave him a big hug when Quan Zhiping came off.


    The final result of this round for the South Korean team was 58 points.


    At this time, the Chinese team''s 4 arrows was 38 points, to tie it Tang Yan needed another 20 points.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath and then took up the bow and walked to the white line.


    The bowstring was pre-pulled and his actions were the same as the previous one.


    The rhythm was the same.


    But this time he pulled the tail of the bowstring all the way back on the side of his face, gritting his teeth as he fought to maintain his position.


    Blinking at the target in the distance, and after aiming, he released his right hand.


    "TWANG!"


    "Whoosh!!"


    There was a burst of air, the arrow was like a meteor.


    "BOOM!"


    "What?!" The live commentator was also shocked.


    In the player''s rest area, Wu Quantai and Tian Zhenzhe both jumped up.


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    It was not because of the amazing achievements of Tang Yan''s arrow but because of how the arrow hit


    It.....


    Was shot through the target....

 49 China vs South Korea 3

    The archery target was an important part of the archery competition. The material used to craft them was very particular, that is, in order not to damage the arrow. It was also required to be hard and firm.


    In the early archery competitions, even in the 2008 Olympic Games, the target used was made up of straw and linen. However, this material was easy to penetrate which led to great controversy. After that Olympic Games, the more solid eva foam sheet was used more often to create the target. Like this time, the Youth Olympic targets were made of this material.


    This foamed sheet could withstand almost twice the penetration force than before, and it was precisely because of the use of this material that an arrow penetrating through the target in an archery competition was almost extinct.


    But just now, Tang Yan actually shot through the target!


    According to the rules of the archery competition, there was still a score for shooting through the target, and the number of points was merely determined according to the position of the hole through the target.


    The referee ran to the target at this time and read out Tang Yan''s score.


    The arrow passed through the yellow area in the center of the target.


    This was a 10 pointer!


    Tian Zhenzhe was revealing a look of curiosity.


    In theory, even if Tang Yan adjusted the recurve bow from 50 pounds to 80 pounds, it was unlikely that an arrow would pierce through the target. But the problem lies in the target itself.


    In the first game, Tang Yan shot two 10 pointers at the center of the target. Because the target for the second game wasn''t replaced so when Tang Yan shot this 10 pointer in a similar location as before, this occurred.


    After all, even water droplets could wear away rock if it constantly fell on the same spot let alone an arrow moving with 80-pound of force hitting a plate a few centimeters thick. The shot was reasonable.


    Of course, all of this had a premise. Tang Yan using 80 pounds of force.


    The staff at the scene quickly replaced the target with a new one.


    Tang Yan didn''t loosen up and shot another 10-pointer.


    4 arrows all 10 pointers, Tang Yan used his excellent performance to prove his consistency.


    With the 10 pointer, the Chinese team once again managed to tie the game with the South Korean team.


    It was obvious that at the end of this game, the mood of the Korean team members had obviously changed.


    No one could keep a calm heart seeing something so shocking, let alone a group of teenagers who were only 17-18 years old.


    When they found out that one of their opponents could shoot 10 pointers with an 80 pound draw weight and even shotthrough the target, their self-confidence was inevitably affected.


    Wu Quantai could feel the emotional change. He was trying hard to maintain his players mental state.


    The third game started very quickly. Kim Chung-ji''s play was abnormal. His 2 arrows ended in only 17 points, which was worse than his previous two games.


    In the wake of this change, Zheng Zhun''s performance in this round was pretty good. Two arrows for 18 points, which attracted a burst of applause from the audience.


    Park Tae''an performed normally, maintaining his 2 arrows for 20 points.


    Li Haoze also played a stable game, 2 arrows for 19 points.


    In this way, after 4 arrows, the Chinese team tied the game for the first time.


    In this case with Tang Yan having not yet played, the Chinese team was very likely to win this round before the end of the first half!


    This time, Quan Zhiping really felt the pressure.


    Wu Quantai cheered on Quan Zhiping as usual, and Quan Zhiping also patted his chest hard.


    However, this kind of thing couldn''t be adjusted by a few words. Under tremendous pressure, Quan Zhiping''s play also fell short. Although it was not a major mistake, his score for 2 arrows was 17 points. The Chinese team had a huge opportunity.


    Tang Yan could help the Chinese Team win this game by shooting at least 18 points.


    According to the performance of Tang Yan before, the 18 points was simply a matter of shooting.


    Tian Zhenzhe was sitting in the rest area at this time, watching Tang Yan enter the competition venue, his whole person was already unable to control the excitement.


    Beating the Korean Team, could happen right in front of his very own eyes.


    On the other side of the Korean team, in addition to Coach Wu Quantai, all three archers were heads down. Quan Zhiping took the cross hanging around his chest and put it on his forehead, as if he was expecting God to curse Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan looked relaxed and calm.


    Although the 80-pound draw weight puts some burden on his body, under the influence of Li Guang''s ability, it was within an acceptable range.


    After he walked to the venue, he actively moved his body and took an arrow from the arrow pot.


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    The South Korean Team members were nervous and anxious at this moment, and Tang Yan had an unprecedented relaxation.


    The relaxed mood made his performance more stable and outstanding.


    Two arrows for 20 points


    The Chinese team won 56 to 53. By 3 points!


    The cheers of the audience blew up.


    The most exciting thing was that Tang Yan who was enjoying his teammate''s cheering at this time, had shot a perfect game so far enough to make him the absolute focus on the field.


    Archery wasn''t the national sport of Korea, but it was a competitive sport. Its outstanding achievements were derived from the national system, the government supported it, companies and colleges even universities used archery as a compensatory examination method. It was a bit like China in the nineties when they invested heavily in weightlifting.


    Although this kind of mechanical cultivation was somewhat rigid, the archers trained were superior to average archers in overall quality.


    In the third game, the three young players of the South Korean Team were obviously shocked by Tang Yan''s performance, but after a half-time adjustment, their mentality adjusted back.


    In the fourth round Kim Chung-ji scored a 19-pointer in the second round with 2 arrows, while Park Tae-an showed his strength. He had a perfect 20-pointer although both Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze both shot two 18 pointers. However, the gap of 3 points was enough for them to win this game.


    "It''s not over yet." South Korean Coach Wu Quantai looked at his team''s play, staring at the archery venue whilst biting his nails.

 50 China vs South Korea 4

    Quan Zhiping maintained his calm relatively well, although the pressure was still huge, he shot 18 points in this round, so the Korean Team won the round in advance.


    The South Korean Team scored 57 points in this game.


    However, on the Chinese side, Tang Yan still played a stable role.


    It stands to reason that in the case of already losing, his mentality would fluctuate somewhat, and there would be fluctuations in his performance.


    However, he shot 2 arrows both 10 pointers.


    This was.... a bit too much.


    The South Korean team won the fourth game with 57 to 56.


    However, because they lost by 3 points in the previous game, they still lagged behind by 2 points in the total number of points.


    The fifth game was a reprint of the fourth game. Although Tang Yan shot two 10 pointers again, but the Korean Team still recovered 1 point from their overall lead. In the case with one game left and behind behind by one point, it was hard to say who would or lose.


    Filled with many possible outcomes, the mood on the spot was very anxious.


    At this critical moment, God seemed not to be satisfied and made things even more hectic.


    The rain intensified from light rain to a shower.


    Singapore was close to the South China Sea and the weather was very fickle. The organizing committee prepared the rain gear in advance, and the staff was sent to the audience.


    The audience began to wear rain gear, but the players apparently didn''t get such treatment. They were simply given rain-proof hats and they started the final round of the contest.


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    As the game entered the deciding round, the scene became more and more anxious, any arrow may affect the final result.


    The speed of Kim Chung-ji''s archery was obviously much slower than before. Both arrows were almost shot after the specified time of 30 seconds, and the final result was also relatively lower than the previous rounds. The final result was 17 points but it was satisfactory.


    It could clearly be felt that this sudden increase in rain had a considerable impact on the archers.


    The South Korean players were affected, and the Chinese team also suffered. Zheng Zhun''s two arrows came down, and the final result was only 16 points.


    Park Tae-an played relatively well, and the score of 2 arrows was 19 points he was not affected much.


    Li Haoze was a newborn, not afraid of tigers. The results of the 2 arrows was 18 points which kept the Chinese Team''s hopes of winning still alive.


    After Li Haoze finished, the total number of points on the court between the South Korean Team and the Chinese team was 313:312, and the South Korean team temporarily led by a point.


    The final set of competition between Quan Zhiping and Tang Yan became the absolute focus of this round.


    This minute of inter-round break seems to have become extraordinarily long.


    Whether it was for Quan Zhiping and Tang Yan, these two arrows carried tremendous pressure.


    Quan Zhiping even took a few deep breaths before shooting. Obviously, the last two arrows could be said to be an absolutely crucial moment for him.


    If he shot well, maybe he would have the opportunity to compete for the quota for the adult team. If he was to play abnormally, the Korean Team was fiercely competitive, one mistake was enough to be replaced in a blink of an eye.


    Wu Quantai didn''t say anything to encourage Quan Zhiping this time. This time, he needed absolute peace of mind.


    Quan Zhiping''s face looked very calm.


    The first arrow was a 9 pointer.


    The second arrow was another 9 pointer!


    After shooting the second arrow and seeing the final number of points, Quan Zhiping, who had a calm face suddenly fell on the grass and took the cross on his neck and kissed it twice.


    Obviously, he was thanking God.


    The South Korean Team''s rest area also burst into excitement. In such heavy rain, Quan Zhiping''s 18 points was good.


    At the same time, some viewers were also excited.


    Those who bet on the Korean team before the game began stir slightly.


    Before Tang Yan played, Tian Zhenzhe wanted to say something encouraging, but in the end he only gave him a meaningful pat on the shoulder.


    "Coach, don''t be nervous, believe in me." Tang Yan serenely smiled and comforted him.


    Tian Zhenzhe glanced over, smiled and nodded.


    Tang Yan went to the venue and began to adjust the pounds on the recurve bow.


    Although the number of pounds on a recurve bows could be adjusted, because of the design relationship, each bow had his limit pounds. For the one in Tang Yan''s hand, the limit was 100 pounds, and Tang Yan adjusted the pounds to the limit.


    Before Tang Yan walked to the target position, he pulled the string with his hand and felt it in advance.


    Sure enough, it was a lot. He flicked the string a few times to remove the water droplets.


    After he stood in position, he made a fist to wake up his muscles and then took the arrow out of the arrow pot.


    When the arrow was wound, it was extremely difficult to draw when pre-pulling.


    Even with Li Guang''s ability at 70%, it was clear that 100 pounds was his current limit and he was struggling to maintain it.


    The bowstring was pulled a little bit, and many viewers were able to see the blue veins on Tang Yan''s hands.


    Wu Quantai''s eyes were completely occupied by shock.


    He didn''t expect Tang Yan to dare to add more pounds.


    This was definitely a madman!


    This was just asking to be injured.


    Tang Zhenjian heart was on strings, he could the sound of the entire recurve bow creaking, and it was apparent it had reached its limit.


    Tang Yan aimed at the distant target. This time he didn''t have any angle, but he was aiming straight at the target.


    The rain was still falling, slowly becoming heavier.


    This situation would inevitably increase the weight of the arrow. It was quite difficult for the average player to maintain a high level score but Tang Yan knew that under the 100-pound bow, this was negligible.


    He finally glanced at the target and aimed. Drawing the bowstring back he struggled intensely the resistance was fierce but he forcefully forced his way through.


    Finally drawing back the bowstring a decent distance, he quickly adjusted his aim and before he lost control he fired.


    "TWANG!"


    The arrow shot off the bowstring, penetrating the rain screen,its flight path was straight into the target.


    It was a truly straight flight path.


    "Whoosh"


    The audience all opened their eyes, and their mouths became a big O shape.


    "BOOM!"


    The arrow hit the target and drilled through it again.


    Straight through the target...


    The scene was awkward.


    The archery targets used in large-scale events were vertical and placed at around a 15-degree angle with the center of the target placed at 48 inches off the ground.


    That was to accommodate archers shooting on a parabola curve and since arrows were shot at on a curve they lost a lot of their force but his straight shot carried all its force.


    So you could imagine how powerful this arrow was.


    And the referee confirmed the number of points after viewing the target.


    The hole was centered at the center of the target.


    Undisputed 10 points!


    There was a cheer on the scene. Tang Yan''s 11 arrows were all 10 pointers. Nothing was more exciting than this.


    Tang Yan''s second arrow, this arrow, he only needed to shoot a 9 pointer to ensure that the Chinese team didn''t lose, there was an opportunity to go to overtime, if he once again hit another 10 pointer, then he could end the South Korean team.


    The audience was all quiet and at this moment, only the heartbeats of each other could be heard.


    Tang Yan took a breath and then took up the second arrow.


    The rain turned into a full on shower, it was pouring it down.

 51 Interview

    Tang Yan''s heartbeat was somewhat uncontrollable.


    Even though his soul was in its thirties, even if he had actually experienced life and death, when he had the opportunity to beat the Korean team, he still couldn''t suppress his own emotions.


    His breathing was a bit heavy.


    He took a deep breath, aiming at the distant target.


    The target that had been shot by him with a hole stood quietly 70 meters away, and he aimed at the location of the hole. His first arrow had taken out a decent section of the 10 point ring.


    Feeling that his arm was about to reach it''s limit, he released his right thumb and forefinger.


    "Twang!"


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    The arrow was straight off the string and flew.


    All the eyes on the scene moved with the arrow that broke through the air.


    This last arrow would determine the final fate of the two teams.


    "Whoosh!"


    An empty sound.


    There was no sound coming from the target as before.


    Off target?


    Many viewers had this thoughts flash through their head, but soon, the audience in the front row screamed with excitement.


    After the referee observed it, he followed by signalling the number of points.


    10 points!


    This wasn''t off target, but it went through the previous hole, without even touching the edge!


    When the referee gave the results, the entire venue instantly boiled.


    Many Chinese on the scene burst into tears.


    The Chinese team, with Tang Yan''s winning streak, defeated the unequaled South Korean team in the men''s archery team competition!


    "China has clinched victory! What an extraordinary shot!" said a commentator shouting excitedly.


    "China, China, China" The scene developed into resounding shouts.


    Listening to the shouts of the Chinese people, feeling the surrounding atmosphere, Tang Yan didn''t control his emotions, holding up the recurve bow, and unconsciously shed tears of excitement.


    As an archery enthusiast, he knew what the team''s victory over the Korean team meant for Chinese archery.


    This was something that no one else dared to think about. It was destined to be a moment in the annals of history.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    When Tang Yan walked to the rest area of ??the Chinese team, Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun yelled his name and then rushed toward him.


    Tian Zhenzhe was also emotional and his eyes were red.


    At the same time, the rest area of ??the South Korean team next door was in dead silence, including Wu Quantai. They were unable to accept the facts. They....lost.


    Park Tae-an was even more emotionally slammed, squatting on the ground and punching the ground with his hands.


    Tang Yan defeated the South Korean team''s body and mind with the perfect score of 12 arrows for 120 points.


    Tang Yan also fulfilled his promise and made the Korean team a spectator in the team competition.


    This was also the first time since the twentieth century that the Korean archery team missed the finals in a major event!


    The German team and the Swiss team were also up to battle. So the two teams began to withdraw from the venue after a brief emotional adjustment.


    ....


    Tang Yan and the Chinese team just left the venue when they were surrounded by reporters. The South Korean team was particularly deserted. Even some Korean reporters who had arrived chose to leave early.


    "Tang Yan, Tang Yan!" There was a beautiful reporter who squeezed out from the crowd, holding a microphone in her right hand, and constantly yelling the name of Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan glanced over. She looked familiar and after careful thought, he remembered she was the host of the Zhejiang Provincial TV station that he saw at the National Championship. If he remember correctly, she was called Shi Min.


    Shi Min noticed that Tang Yan looked over and immediately asked: "Tang Yan, can you share with us your feelings after defeating the South Korean team?"


    Tang Yan paused and said with a smile: "Well... very exciting, you know, this is the first time our Chinese team has beaten South Korea in a big event in many years. I''m filled with exhilaration having been able to compete with some of the best archers of my age group today."


    After that, he added another sentence: "It was a good battle you know and we all fought hard for the victory and we are all overjoyed to make it to the next round. Hopefully we can go all the way to the end and win a gold medal"


    This supplementary sentence attracted a smile from the reporter.


    "Can you share with us what you think gave you the edge over the Korean team today?" Shi Min seized the opportunity, and asked another question not letting other reporters but in.


    The opportunity for general reporters to ask questions was very limited. Shi Min stealing more time to ask questions attracted some dissatisfaction. However, seeing Tang Yan already answering, they could only endure.


    "Well today''s weather was rather bad, affecting the players'' performance to a certain extent. I think we adjusted better and were able to seize our opportunities which allowed us to win." Tang Yan analyzed.


    Tang Yan''s answers made the reporters feel a bit surprised. This should be the first time Tang Yan interviewed with a media reporter, but it he was so direct and concise not rambling on in excitement like you would expect from someone of his age group.


    "Today you shot through two archery targets. The organizing committee used three targets just for you. What do you want to say about this?" Another reporter asked.


    "Well, this...." Tang Yan paused. If he told them he had adjusted the number of pounds from 50 to 100, it would definitely scare people. He thought about it and smiled. "Probably... the quality of the targets weren''t very good...haha a lucky break on my part."


    When the words came out, the reporters smiled again, and then they couldn''t help but laugh.


    Tian Zhenzhe saw Tang Yan give more and more nonsense answers. He took a step forward and reached out and said: "Today''s interview ends here guys. Tang Yan is tired from the game and needs to go back to rest earlier."


    After Tian Zhenzhe finished, he took Tang Yan and walked to the side. The reporters didn''t stop asking questions. Of course, they refused to give up. They tried to squeeze forward, but at this time the venue staff came over and quickly stopped them.


    The reporters saw Tang Yan gradually disappearing into the passage, those who didn''t get the opportunity to ask a question felt frustrated they looked over for Shi Min but her figure was nowhere to be found she was long gone.


    "Look at you being all energetic answering questions, look at that massive grin on your face." When they left the athlete passage, Tian Zhenzhe couldn''t help but say.


    "Coach, when you defeat the Koreans, you can be a celebrity like me." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "You...haha" Tian Zhenzhe chocked in laughter then went to flick Tang Yan on the head.


    But Tang Yan''s reactions were faster, he ducked away and ran forward.


    "This kid!" Tian Zhenzhe looked at Tang Yan but didn''t go to chase, he smiled and snorted, but from his eyes you could see he was becoming more and more fond of Tang Yan.

 52 Medal Ceremony

    One of the charms of sports was that it was full of possibilities. When the Chinese team defeated the normally invincible South Korean team, it was like breaking a barrier over their heads. Breaking the stigma and cracking the reputation of the South Korean team as undefeated champions of archery.


    For the Chinese team members who broke this haze, they had experienced a metamorphosis, and both their spirit and strength had qualitatively improved.


    The strength of the South Korean team was undoubtedly the strongest in this Youth Olympic Games. Others, whether it was the US team, the German team, the Italian team or the Russian team, they were inferior in terms of strength to the South Korean team.


    After defeating the South Korean team, the Chinese team''s morale was high. They carried on that energy and eliminated the German team. They successfully reached the finals which was against the US team.


    After Tang Yan''s 120-points in the game against South Korea, in the final match against the US team, he shot again in full points and led the team to sweep up their opponent with a score of 6-0. Winning all six rounds.


    He successfully won the Youth Olympic Games. The champions of the team competition, they created a new milestone for Chinese Men''s archery.


    After the Chinese team won the championship, the entire stadium was at boiling point.


    Finally, it was no longer the South Korean''s adding another trophy to the cabinet. Such a scene had already made people feel a little numb.


    At the same time, domestic archery enthusiasts were also caught in a whirlwind of emotions.


    After the Chinese team defeated the South Korean team, almost all the people involved in Chinese archery put their attention on this young team. When the championship was really won by the Chinese team, they could no longer control their excitement.


    Li Lao was overjoyed watching in front of the TV, and tears fell from his wizened face.


    He didn''t look away, even he had ''underestimated'' Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan not only helped Lotus City, Zhejiang Province, but this time he also helped revitalize the national team.


    The award ceremony was held after the end of the finals.


    Tang Yan and his teammates changed out of their competition gear in the locker room.


    Because the men''s team finals were followed by the women''s team finals, the audiences at the scene wasn''t reduced at this time, and the entire stadium could be said to be overcrowded.


    The audience was full of expectations and looked at the stadium, waiting to welcome the birth of a new champion.


    The second and third runners-up of the Youth Olympic Games were announced on the spot. They were the American team and the German team. The two teams got on the podium.


    "The winners of the Men''s Archery Team competition for the Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010, are¡­.. China!" The live host announced aloud.


    As the voice of the host fell, Tang Yan holding the hands of Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun, jumped from the backstage onto the podium, and held up their hands together.


    The scene was followed by a burst of crazy cheers.


    The guest who presented the gold medal for this Youth Olympic Games was O. Vazquez, the current chairman of the International Archery Federation, he was more than 70 years old with light gray hair.


    "Congratulations to you, young people, your performance is something to be proud off." Vazquez said to them, they smiled and shook hands.After which he went down the line hanging the gold medals around their necks.


    The cheers on the scene went up again.


    The new Youth Olympic champions were born at this moment.


    At this time, the most unsettled ones belonged to the South Korean team. They really did, as Tang Yan said before, watch on as spectators as the Chinese Team won and enjoyed the victory.


    After taking a photo with the Chinese team members, Vazquez left the podium.


    At this time, the host''s voice came again.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, please quieten as we play the national anthem of The People''s Republic of China."


    The Flag of China flew up high and with the voice of the host, audiences from all over the world stood up from their seats.


    Tang Yan also put down the gold medal in his hand, turned to look at the direction of the waving flag, looked serious and unconsciously straightened his back.


    All the athletes in the world were working hard to do their best to gain honor and money for themselves. However, compared with this, it was more important to get your national anthem played in the stadium. The glory of the country. The original motivation for the Olympics.


    When the audience all became silent, the familiar prelude sounded.


    "March on, heroic peoples of all ethnicities!


    The great Communist Party, lead us to continue the Long March!


    Millions of but one heart we run towards the Communist tomorrow!


    Build our homeland, guard our homeland, and fight gallantly.


    March on! March on! March on!..."


    As the national anthem sounded in the Singapore Capital Stadium, Tang Yan felt that his emotions could not be completely controlled, and tears of excitement rushed out.


    Not only him, Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun beside him, Tian Zhenzhe in the distance, and even many people who loved archery couldn''t control their tears.


    This was a moment in history.


    After the award ceremony, Tang Yan and his teammates held the medals in their hands and went back to share with Tian Zhenzhe.


    .....


    "If you don''t want to be known as sinners when we go back, the individual competition tomorrow is your last chance to redeem yourselves." In the corner of the audience area, Wu Quantai, who forced the archers to watch the awards ceremony, turned back and said to his team.


    Failure was not something that the Korean team had experienced, but since they failed, he hoped his players could grow from this failure, which is why he made them stay.


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    The South Korean team members, including Park Tae-an, slowly walked out of the stadium after watching the medal ceremony. After listening to Wu Quantai''s words, they all nodded hard.


    At this time, Park Tae-an was looking at the direction of the Chinese team. He whispered to himself, "Tang Yan, just wait I will get my revenge in the individual competition!"


    ....


    Tang Yan and his teammates celebrated, they were preparing to go back.


    But just as he had just turned back, he felt himself being warped.


    "What the¡­."


    He instinctively cursed, and when he looked up again, he once again found himself in the heterogeneous space of the system.


    Celia stood right in front of him, almost scaring him.


    "Damn... can''t you warn me before you pull me in next time?" Tang Yan said, calming his heart.


    "There is no other way, the system is set up like this." Celia said sticking out her tongue at him.

 53 New Characters

    Tang Yan looked at Celia and just rolled his eyes.


    Celia was the system administrator, so he had no choice but to believe her.


    "Master, you''ve just won the team championship for this Youth Olympic Games and won 3 honor points!" She said.


    When he heard that he had received 3 honor points this time, Tang Yan''s attention went back to the past.


    At the archery national championship, he won two championships both the individual and team event for a total of 4 honor points. Two of them were used to unlock more of Li Guang''s abilities, but then he needed 4 honor points to upgrade to 80%.So he had 2 honor points remaining idle still.


    Now he had gained 3 honor points in one go, which meant that he had 5 honor points, not to mention the ability to upgrade Li Guang''s abilities, he could unlock new characters.


    Just as he thought about it, Celia pulled up the system interface in front of him.


    Because he had accumulated 5 honor points, this time he could not only see the original character options of Dian Wei, Xiang Yu and Lu Zhishen, but also three new options.


    Bruce Lee, Ge Nie and Dai Zong.


    Although Tang Yan in his past life was a small security guard, he still knew something about current affairs and history. When these three people came out, he quickly found out which sports they could be associated with.


    Bruce Lee was naturally boxing or martial arts.


    Gai Nie, the ancient swordsman, recorded to have stared down the assassin Jing Ke, of course the world was more familiar with the anime ''The Legend of Qin'' which featured him,the corresponding sport should be fencing.


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    Dai Zong, a practitioner of Taoist magical arts, he could travel on foot over long distances at superhuman speed by securing to his legs a pair of magic talismans, which increase his travelling speed to about 800 li a day. This would be most fitting for events like long distance running etc.


    These three sports, compared with the sport he was currently engaged in, didn''t have much popularity in China compared to abroad.


    It seemed that the system was quite hierarchical, and it hoped that Tang Yan could grow one step at a time.


    Tang Yan thought about it, but when he saw that the honor points required for unlocking them was two honor points, he immediately interrupted his own thoughts without hesitation.


    Perhaps, after winning the individual competition tomorrow, he could consider it. But for now he wanted to upgrade his abilities to 80% of Li Guang''s abilities in preparation for the Asian Games.


    So he didn''t hesitate to upgrade Li Guang''s abilities.


    He felt a current flowing through his body.


    When he opened his eyes again, Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun reappeared in front of his face.


    The celebration didn''t last long. After the women''s team began to enter the venue, Tang Yan and his Chinese team left the stadium with the cheers of the audience.


    Because the knockout match for individual competition would be held tomorrow, Tian Zhenzhe did not let Tang Yan accept questions again, but left with him directly after the game.


    The rules of the Youth Olympic Games were the same as those of the national championship. There were 64 players in the qualifying round. Compared with the team competition, because there were more players, the duration was naturally longer.


    Among the three Chinese players, Li Haoze and Tang Yan were able to qualify for the individual event. Tang Yan was ranked first in the qualifiers.


    However, the individual competition was different from the team competition. It relied entirely on personal ability. If you wanted to win, you must defeat at least 6 opponents to win. In the face of masters from all over the world, the difficulty was much higher than the team competition.


    After a night of adjustment, the early morning of the next day, Tang Yan arrived at the stadium, and he would face an archer from the island country of Japan. Hiroki Ichiro.


    Tang Yan did not give Ichiro too many opportunities.


    After 12 arrows, he easily eliminated his opponent to make it into the next round with 115 points.


    He only used 2 minutes, it was quite easy.


    After watching this round of competition, the audience smiled and shook their heads. It was unfortunate for Hiroki Ichiro to run into him.


    ....


    Because there were many players in the first round, many games were still ongoing so Tang Yan didn''t return to the Olympic Village, but watched the other players'' games from the sidelines.


    He thought that the three archers of the Korean team would not be able to survive the team competition, but what he did not expect was that without the interference of outside factors, the three players of the South Korean team played quite well, among which Park Tae-an in the first round, scored an amazing result of 118 points. This was a big comeback by them.


    The outstanding performance of the Korean team had reawakened the memory of the players and the audience that at archery, the South Korean team was super-natural.


    The next two days of competition and the first day were exactly the same.


    Tang Yan continued to win, and the German and Italian players were easily eliminated by him.


    The three players of the South Korean team, Bradley Adess of the US team and Ezekiel Jafari of Nigeria all advanced to the quarter-finals.


    The day before the final day, the quarter-finals took place. The competition was quite fierce.


    Tang Yan''s opponent in the quarter-finals was Karl Schneider from Germany, the absolute main force of the German team, and the fifth ranked player in the qualifiers.


    The competition between the two sides was also unusually close. Although Tang Yan had always been in the lead, but in the last arrow, he only shot 8 points causing his lead by 3 points to fall to only 2 points. He still got the win over his opponent and advanced to the semi-finals.


    This kind of performance also attracted a burst of arguments from the audience. Many people questioned the strength of Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan did not care. Schneider''s strength was much worse than his. His goal was to be number one, the final champion. As for the process, he didn''t demand perfection.


    At the same time, in the other group matches, the three players of the South Korean team defeated their opponents. Among them, Park Tae-an had once again shot the first-class score of 118 points, defeating Bradley Adess to advance to the semi-finals. After the end of the quarter-finals, in the four promotion places, in addition to Tang Yan, the other three people were all Korean.


    Although this result was somewhat exaggerated, this was the result of the current Korean team''s archery strength.


    However, just before this result came out, there was a surprise on the court, and it could even be said that it had a bad influence on the whole event.

 54 Hero

    South Korean archer: Kim Chung-ji''s opponent in the quarter-finals was Ezekiel Jafari, from Nigeria, who performed well in both the qualifiers and the previous team competition.


    Kim Chung-ji was second only to the presence of Park Tae-an in the Korean Team. His strength was stronger than that of Jafari''s.


    But the problem wasn''t the outcome itself, but in the performance of the archers on the court.


    The individual competition was divided into 4 rounds with 4 arrows per round.


    By the third round, Kim Chung-ji was winning by 4 points.


    89 to 85.


    It was looking pretty certain that Kim Chung-ji would win.


    But perhaps because of the semi-finals in the afternoon, he wanted to end the game ahead of time which was obvious from the speed of his archery.


    But Jafari, the Nigerian archer, obviously didn''t want to give up so easily. He was originally an archer with a slow rate of fire, almost leaving it to the very last moment before firing.


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    However, perhaps the pressure was too great but his performance wasn''t ideal.


    Kim Chung-ji tried to hurry things along as much as possible in order to finish the game soon, so he could rest longer and regain as much physical strength as possible for the next game.


    But Jafari didn''t want to give up and was still making final efforts. Seeing Jafari''s determination, Kim Chung-ji felt extraordinarily unhappy, as if Jafari was deliberately delaying time.


    In addition, Kim Chung-ji''s opponent in the next round was Tang Yan and feeling anxious he slowly became more and more frustrated.


    Tang Yan so far had quickly easily eliminated his opponents, most only perfunctorily shooting after he gained a substantial lead.


    There would be a break before the semi-finals in the afternoon naturally but archers who finished their games faster gained more time to rest than those who had drawn out games.


    ....


    Finally losing his temper watching Jafari shoot drawn out shot after another, Kim Chung-ji seemingly made a disrespectful comment after eliminating Jafari.


    Jafari who was originally leaving the scene, downtrodden turned back and the two seemingly began trading insults in English, back and forth.


    Then the audience saw Kim Chung-ji gesture a middle finger at him and then proceed to say something that seemed to especially infuriate Jafari.


    Who lost his temper and in the next moment rushed up and threw a punch, and quickly the two men became entangled in a fight.


    The organizing committee imposed penalties on the conflict, and the result of the punishment was also daunting but not in the manner many expected.


    Jafari was deprived of his qualifications, his previous results were made invalid, whilst Kim Chung-ji only received a verbal warning.


    The official explanation for this was that Jafari made the first move by escalating the situation to violence. This result was obviously unsatisfactory, but because Nigeria was not able to compare with South Korea in archery or national power they weren''t able to do much to refute. Corruption and bias wasn''t uncommon in these sporting bodies. A good example of this was Fifa with its multiple scandals.


    The results of the punishment weren''t changed and the audience having witnessed this all occur before them were naturally in righteous indignation.


    ....


    After a short break at noon, the semi-final of the men''s archery officially started in the afternoon. There were two groups. Park Tae-an played against Quan Zhiping and Tang Yan played against Kim Chung-ji.


    The semi-final between Park Tae-an and Quan Zhiping started first, but this Korean battle obviously wasn''t the focus of the audience and the media. Of course, the results were also expected. Park Tae-an easily defeated his teammate Quan Zhiping to advance to the final.


    After the end of this match, Tang Yan and Kim Chung-ji''s game was up next which was particularly eye-catching because of the previous fight.


    Perhaps because of the result of the punishment, Kim Chung-ji was relaxed and even smug as he came up.


    On the other hand, Tang Yan was serious.


    Originally against Kim Chung-ji, he did not have much emotional volatility. After all, after gaining the ability to use 80% of Li Guang''s abilities, he didn''t really place Kim Chung-ji in his eyes, even Park Tae-an also didn''t pose much of a threat to him.


    But all this changed because of the Jafari incident. Whether it was because of past lives or before the team competition, he had a good impression of Jafari. The obvious partiality of the organizing committee made him feel angry from the bottom of his heart and disgust.


    He couldn''t vent this emotion directly to the organizing committee, so he could only vent it out in the game in front of him.


    After the referee indicated that the game could begin, Tang Yan quickly pulled out the arrow and his actions were completed in almost twelve seconds and before anyone could even blink, an arrow had already hit the center of the target, which attracted amazement from the audience.


    Shooting the 10 pointer, there was no change in the face of Tang Yan. After unlocking 80% the biggest change he could feel was the control of his archery movement. The technical movements felt like they were engraved in his bones. The intuitive muscle memory caused an increase in his archery speed.


    Twelve seconds was his time without further training.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s metamorphosed rate of fire, Kim Chung-ji''s slightly swollen face was unconsciously pumping, followed by stinging pain.


    He took a deep breath to calm down his emotions and took up an arrow.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    9 points, a fairly good result.


    When Kim Chung-ji shot the first arrow, Tang Yan stepped forward and what followed was a series of fast movements.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    Almost instantaneously the sound of the arrow hitting the target could be heard.


    Another 10 pointer without any suspense.


    Kim Chung-ji''s face was already white at this time.


    Tang Yan''s previous close victory over Schneider led Wu Quantai and the South Korean team''s coaching staff to gain some hope of beating Tang Yan. They had even tried to create strategies.


    But the real confrontation was completely different.


    In only two arrows. He knew that beating Tang Yan was simply an idiotic dream.


    Tang Yan gave him a feeling of looking at something unreachable. A sense of inferiority that he only felt looking at the likes of Park Tae-an but it felt even stronger facing him.


    With Park Tae-an he only felt he was only slightly weaker than him but Tang Yan felt unreachable, like this competition would be his last chance to even be on the same stage as him let alone compete against him. He would reach a stage where he could only watch him from afar.


    Maybe this was what a true prodigy was...


    "Kim Chung-ji, focus!" Just then, the South Korean team coach Wu Quantai got up and shouted.


    Kim Chung-ji awakened at this moment, and after rattling his head to awaken himself, he took up his second arrow.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    7 points.


    At this , the audience screamed and whistled.


    The audience could not interfere with the archers during the competition, but their dissatisfaction with the organizing committee was strong and they used this as a chance to vent their anger.


    The reaction of the audience attracted the dissatisfaction of the South Korean team. Wu Quantai went directly to the sidelines to complain.


    The organizing committee really had no way. They couldn''t drive out the audience now could they?


    The on-site staff tried to placate the crowd but the result was as expected.


    As a result, the Korean team''s protests were ignored.


    This kind of behavior continued until it was Tang Yan''s turn, and when Tang Yan came up again, without the staff''s direction, the scene quickly quieted down.


    This made the South Korean team''s coaching staff feel like vomiting blood.


    What made them even more mad was that after Tang Yan shot another 10 pointer, the scene shook with deafening cheers.


    At this moment, Tang Yan was the hero who punished the villain.

 55 Ploy

    Kim Chung-ji''s strength was originally a lot worse than Tang Yan''s and like expected he eventually lost with a score of 106 to 119.


    After the semi-final match, Tang Yan didn''t depart straight away, but turned to Kim Chung-ji''s direction. Making a fist, he placed an arrow stood up between his middle finger and index finger, a standard example of a middle finger.


    As soon as this action occurred, it immediately brought cheers and whistles from the audience.


    Kim Chung-ji''s face became extremely ugly but he didn''t rush at Tang Yan but bowed his head and directly walk to the rest area of ??the South Korean team.


    This kind of performance suddenly attracted a burst of laughter from the audience.


    Tang Yan shook his head helplessly, he was ready, but Kim Chung-ji''s demure attitude was beyond his expectation, perhaps this was the style of most Koreans.


    After the end of the game, the finalists of the Youth Olympics Archery event were decided.


    Park Tae-an of South Korea and Tang Yan of China.


    Because of the previous team competition, this game had become particularly attractive.


    After his semi-finals ended, Park Tae-an accepted an interview with the media.


    The first few questions that the journalists started with were quite common. Most of them focused on the finals tomorrow. Park Tae-an also showed some absent-mindedness. However, when a reporter asked about the shouts of the audience in today''s game and Tang Yan'' gesture.


    "This is unacceptable. The Chinese team used this morning''s conflict to deliberately guide the audience and obtain the conditions for their own achievements. My team member was the victim of a conspiracy. The actions of Tang Yan are a blatant disregard for sportsmanship, the rules and the spirit of sports! It is an insult to South Korea! I hope that the organizing committee can seriously investigate this matter and give us a fair judgement!" said Park Tae-an.


    "But in the previous game, Kim Chung-ji did a similar action?" reporters from China asked.


    Park Tae-an was somewhat unprepared, but after a pause, he still vowed: "This is not the same thing plus for that matter the committee has already handed out judgement. I believe the organizing committee will give us a satisfactory answer, just like before."


    The archery final was in the afternoon of the next day.


    Before that, the Korean team submitted a report to the organizing committee, hoping to investigate the matter between Tang Yan and Kim Chung-ji and the malicious behavior of Tang Yan.


    This application was taken seriously by the organizing committee. However, in the subsequent investigation, it was confirmed that the audience''s behavior had nothing to do with the Chinese team. As for Tang Yan, he received the same punishment as Kim Chung-ji, a verbal warning.


    China wasn''t Nigeria. It was a lot stronger than South Korea in terms of national strength and influence. It was naturally impossible for the organizing committee to squint and twist things. Small things might slide but there was a limit.


    The results of the review attracted a lot of praise, and many people commented that the organizing committee had done a good job.


    However, such a result was obviously not satisfactory to the South Korean team. In addition to appealing to the Archery Alliance, the South Korean team also appeared to be indignant in the interview before the game.


    In an interview, Park Tae-an said in a straightforward manner: "The results of the organizing committee''s investigation are disappointing, but I will use my strength to prove that the Republic of South Korea''s archery team no matter who our opponents are, what unconventional methods are used, we will always come through."


    The Korean team''s attitude attracted the attention of the media.


    The reporters quickly threw questions to Tang Yan.


    The reporters hoped to get some tit-for-tat words from Tang Yan''s mouth, so that the news material before the final would be tense.


    However, what they miscalculated was that Tang Yan on hearing the comments of the Korean team ended up with a smile and didn''t even say a word.


    ....


    On the afternoon of August 13, the Singapore National Stadium would greet four archery competitions, namely the bronze and gold medal battles for the men and women''s individual event.


    The first thing to do was the bronze medal battle for men''s archery.


    In the afternoon of the four events, this game should be the least of concerns. The contest between two Korean archers, no matter who won, it wouldn''t have much influence on the ownership of the bronze medal.


    However, it was such a game that brought a surprise to the audience.


    In terms of strength alone, Kim Chung-ji was the favorite to win, but the bronze medal battle ended up being one-sided. Quan Zhiping took the lead and won with a 5 point advantage. Taking the bronze medal.


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    You could sense that this series of events had a great impact on Kim Chung-ji.


    This unexpected result was like a stepping stone, making the audience look forward to the next game.


    ...


    Tang Yan and Park Tae-an''s gold medal battle finally officially started.


    This game attracted more than 10,000 archery enthusiasts to watch the game, most of them hoped to witness the moment when Tang Yan won the gold medal.


    At the same time, as many as five domestic TV stations, including CCTV, Broadcast Live China came to live broadcast the game.


    Regardless of the outcome of the game, this would create a new history for Chinese men''s archery, people were looking forward to it.


    Tang Yan walked from the rest area to the stadium with the recurve bow.To his right side was his opponent of this game, Park Tae-an.


    "You won''t win." Walking forward, Park Tae-an suddenly turned his head and said to him.


    Tang Yan turned to look at Park Tae-an, this sentence, he felt sounded familiar.


    Oh, yes, if he remembered correctly, Han Tianfu seems to have said this during the National Championship.


    "There was the audience in the last game to help you win. The organizing committee didn''t punish you, but today''s game site is strictly controlled. Without the help of the audience, you can''t beat me." Park Tae-an said.


    "Oh." Tang Yan responded, then smiled and said to him, "Do you really believe that?"


    Park Tae-an stammered slightly looking for a response.


    "Tang Yan, to shoot first." At this moment, the referee signaled that Tang Yan could start the game.


    Tang Yan smiled and didn''t pay any attention to Park Tae-an, who went straight to his own target.


    The words that Park Tae-an said, he may not believe but he wanted to interfere with Tang Yan''s mentality.


    But this obviously didn''t have any effect.


    Tang Yan smiled, and at this time, thinking of the attitude of Park Tae-an in the interview before the game, he suddenly had an idea in his mind, an idea that would make this game meaningful.


    He pulled the arrow out of the arrow pot and then shot it quickly.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    A muffled sound, as the arrow hit the target.


    However, at this moment, there was a series of noise from the sidelines.


    It''s not because Tang Yan''s arrow hit 10 points, or shot through the target, but because this arrow, was only an 8 pointer!


    At this arrow, even Park Tae-an was stunned.


    When Tang Yan retorted, he thought that his attempt to interfere with Tang Yan failed, but after seeing the 8 pointer, he quickly laughed.


    After Tang Yan, Park Tae-an followed up and he was in a good mood. The first arrow was a 10 pointer.


    Seeing the number of points, he reached out and made a fist, punching the air.


    With only one arrow, he gained the advantage of 2 points.


    The second arrow, Tang Yan shot a 9 pointer.


    Park Tae-an''s second arrow also fell slightly, it was also a 9 pointer.


    After 2 arrows, he still maintained the lead of 2 points.


    This time, Tian Zhenzhe was worried. It seems that the investigation by the organizing committee affected Tang Yan and made him play abnormally.


    Just next door, South Korean coach Wu Quantai was completely unable to hide a laugh.


    Sure enough, the last gold medal was for the South Korean team.


    As long as they could win the gold medal in this individual competition, it wouldn''t be so important that they lost the gold medal in the team competition!


    They would have some redemption.

 56 In The Bag

    Tang Yan''s third arrow was the same as that of Park Tae-an. In this way, three arrows down, and his score was 26 points, which meant he was still behind by 2 points.


    Though 2 points didn''t look like much, but in the showdown of masters, this was already a considerable lead, because the finals had a total of 12 arrows, it was very difficult to catch up.


    "Like I said, you can''t beat me."


    Tang Yan smiled and still said nothing.


    Tang Yan re-entered the archery site.


    At this time, there was talk in the audience.


    His performance in the first round could be said to be a big surprise, which made some people who came to see him win gold begin to worry.


    Tian Zhenzhe was also nervous looking at the arena, hands sweating unconsciously.


    Tang Yan pulled out the arrow from the arrow pot. This time, after completing the technical action of aiming, he finally did not deliberately lower the arrow like the first round, but adjusted it to the normal position.


    There was an imperceptible smile on his lips and he let go.


    "Twang!"


    A clear sound, the arrow soared out.


    "Boom!"


    One arrow in the middle of the bull''s eye.


    10 points!


    Tang Yan shot his first 10 pointer!


    The scene became energetic.


    "Beautiful!" Tian Zhenzhe couldn''t help but wave his fist.


    Park Tae-an slightly frowned.


    "He''s recovered his state of mind?"


    After Tang Yan''s shot, it was Park Tae-an''s turn.


    When he was on his way to the court, Park Tae-an continued his psychological offensive hoping to put him off: "That shot was pure luck. Hahaha"


    He said to Tang Yan as the two walked past one another and exchanged places.


    When he heard the words of Park Tae-an, Tang Yan almost couldn''t help but laugh, but in order not to let his previous "efforts"go in vain, he still ignored him.


    Because of Tang Yan''s 10 pointer, Park Tae-an obviously slowed down his archery speed. He held the lead by 2 points and he didn''t want to squander it.


    Just before the 30 second limit was up he fired.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points.


    The same score as Tang Yan.


    Park Tae-an snorted after the shot and you could see that he was quite excited about the 10 points.


    The psychological pressure on the archers was much greater in the final. This was also the reason why the players with good performance in qualifying might not necessarily be able to win.


    "This game is so intense." Zheng Zhun saw this scene and couldn''t help but say.


    At this time, Tian Zhenzhe was also focusing intently on the field. Tang Yan''s strength had been proved in the previous games, but in the face of a master like Park Tae-an, the first round of erratic shooting made him at an absolute disadvantage.


    Tang Yan came up for his next arrow.


    There weren''t too many emotional fluctuations on his face. After making a series of direct technical moves, he quickly shot the arrows in his hand.


    Twang!


    "Boom!"


    One arrow flew straight into the target.


    After the audience saw the number of points on the electronic display, a burst of cheers followed.


    Another 10 pointer!


    Park Tae-an became intensely focused at this time.


    Tang Yan''s two consecutive arrows brought him some pressure.


    He couldn''t hit a 10 pointer again, but he scored a 9-pointer.


    As a result, his lead had been reduced to a point.


    Tang Yan came out with another 10 pointer!


    With three consecutive 10-point shots, the audience''s mood was completely ignited.


    The audience cheered and screamed wildly and vented their emotions.


    Tang Yan''s first round of abnormality made people feel depressed, but the feeling of erupting after this suppression was much more refreshing!


    Park Tae-an felt a heavy pressure.


    Archery was a very in the moment sport. This is why Park Tae-an was trying to interfere with Tang Yan''s mentality.


    But now, things were reversed, and Tang Yan''s contrasting performance had given him immense pressure.


    He was a leader in the younger generation of South Korea, his ability to withstand stress was excellent, but it was hard to achieve a perfect performance.


    His next arrow, he hit a 9 pointer under pressure.


    But even then, his lead had disappeared.


    After shooting this arrow and finding out that the number of points was tied, he was unconsciously oozing cold sweat on his forehead.


    This was only the second round and just the beginning.


    In the third round, Tang Yan was a clean and neat with shots 3 arrows all 10 pointers . In the case of Park Tae-an he shot two 10-pointers but fell behind on the third arrow.


    This time, Park Tae-an''s whole spirit was close to the brink of collapse.


    He worked hard, and he felt that he had exerted all his strength, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not stop Tang Yan''s pursuit.


    At the beginning he had the lead, but little by little he was caught up with. Now he was behind.


    However, Tang Yan continued.


    The three from the South Korean team entered the Youth Olympic Games and showed their sense of superiority and disrespect for other countries. There was no reason to soften his approach.


    In the fourth round, watching Park Tae-an look a little bit beaten, he still shot three 10-pointers.


    At the end of the 12 arrows, his score was 116 points.


    His opponent Park Tae-an, in the last round of play began to cave slightly, from 10 points to 9 points and then to 8 points.


    After the final arrow, Park Tae-an was finally unable to control his whole person. He had been sweating for a long time, and he fell down on the grass directly after and his whole person lay there defeated.


    Tang Yan looked at Park Tae-an and shook his head helplessly.


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    There was a deafening cheer on the scene, and the audience stood up from their seats and cheered for Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan became the first Chinese archer to have won an Olympic gold medal since 1984!


    The new youth archery champion, was born in Singapore''s Capital Stadium, under the gaze of more than 10,000 people, was born!

 57 Respec

    Tian Zhenzhe couldn''t control his emotions once again, he and all the Chinese archers had been waiting for too long.


    Tang Yan, a young teenager who hadn''t ever shot an arrow just a year ago, helped the Chinese team win the gold medal for the team event, and grabbed the individual event gold medal from the South Korean Team.


    At this time back in China, those watching in front of the TV were also going crazy.


    Many archery enthusiasts were so excited they jumped up, almost directly smashing their TV''s in glee.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    The sound of Tang Yan''s name being cheerd sounded at the scene. Although the nationalities on site were a hefty mixture, at this moment, everyone''s emotions were the same.


    Tang Yan held up the recurve bow and smiled at the audience.


    When he walked to the rest area, Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun were so excited like they were on stimulants. They both hugged and barreled on him taking him to the ground whilst hollering in celebration.


    Tian Zhenzhe also excited was somewhat stunned at the scene and began laughing by the side.


    But this was also in line with his character, although more than forty years old, he was not as restrained and dull as most people of his age.


    The cheers on the scene lasted for nearly ten minutes before stopping, even though it was only the Youth Olympic Games. After this juncture, the name of Tang Yan was not just limited to the domestic scene.


    After the end of the men''s archery finals, the women''s finals followed, and the male archers left the arena.


    When Tang Yan went out, the reporters who had already waited outside flocked over directly. If it was not for the security guards, it was estimated that the outer layer could be surrounded by several circles of reporters.


    "Tang Yan, Tang Yan, how are you feeling after winning yet another gold medal?" A reporter asked.


    "Well, I am very excited and very proud. I could feel everyone''s hope. Fortunately, I managed to live up to everyone''s expectations." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    He was back at it with short and concise answers.


    "In the first round of the finals today, your performance was a bit erratic. Why do you think that was...?" A reporter followed up and asked.


    Tang Yan smiled, he had been waiting for this question.


    "Maybe you may think that my bow was out of order, or I didn''t sleep well last night, or something else, but..." Tang Yan looked at the reporters'' curious eyes and said calmly. "But this is not the case, I just wanted to try to catch up the score."


    When the words came out, the reporters were dazed.


    Just to experience the feeling of chasing?!


    What the hell!


    This was the final of the Youth Olympic Games!


    Whether it was qualifying, team competition, or even the previous individual competition, Tang Yan''s first-class strength was obvious to all, why did he suddenly became a mischief in the final.


    Just because...he wanted to experience the feeling of chasing his opponent!


    "But, doesn''t this seem disrespectful to your opponent?" A reporter suddenly asked.


    When this question came out, it immediately attracted the attention of other reporters.


    Tang Yan also looked up to the direction of the source of the sound.


    It turned out to be a Korean journalist.


    "I guess it might come off like that." Tang Yan nodded and said.


    When this sentence came out, all the other reporters looked back and looked at Tang Yan puzzled?


    "But you have to know." With the reporter''s attention, Tang Yan said, "Respect is a mutual thing. I don''t think my opponent or more directly the Korean team showed much respect for the Chinese Team or even the other opponents on the field. Respect is earned after all."


    When the words came out, the Korean reporter frowned slightly.


    The other reporters smiled at his comment.


    In this competition, the loud talk of the South Korean team and the contemptuous actions of Kim Chung-jiwere notorious.


    South Korea had dominated for too long and needed a complete setback to be able to converge on their arrogant attitude in order fix it and keep striving for improvement instead of being complacent and content.


    After the reporter''s interview ended, Tian Zhenzhe didn''t say anything about what he said when he was interviewed. Although the words were somewhat direct, Tang Yan didn''t say anything wrong.


    But he frowned slightly at Tang Yan''s ploy of purposely falling behind, they would have to discuss that later....


    After the end of the women''s archery, the men''s and women''s individual event medals were awarded.


    When Tang Yan stood on the highest podium and on both sides stood archers of the Korean team.


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    Nothing was better than listening to the national anthem at the Youth Olympics.


    At the end of the award ceremony, Tang Yan was completely relaxed. After waving to the audience, he was ready to leave.


    At this moment, a familiar voice sounded in his ear.


    "Congratulations to the host, you''ve won the individual event at the Youth Olympics and gained 3 honor points."


    As soon as the voice sounded, his eyes lit up and he found himself jumping from the archery field to a world of white.


    Then, Celia''s head with a small ponytail appeared in front of his eyes.


    Sure enough...


    "Master, you now have enough to make a choice~" Celia said after he entered the system.


    When she finished, the holographic interface of the characters in the system appeared before him.


    Tang Yan looked forward and quickly understood.


    He had 1 honor point remaining after unlocking 80% of Li Guang''s abilities last time. Add in the three from today and he had 4 honor points.

 58 Decision To Be Made

    Unlocking more of the abilities of a character from the system went from easy to difficult.


    The number of honor points used to unlock 50% of Li Guang''s abilities was 1 honor point.


    The first upgrade used 1 point, the second upgrade used 2 points, the third upgrade was 4 points, and the next upgrade needed up to 6 honor points.


    In fact he had been relatively lucky that this year so many competitions had occurred, giving him the chance to win honor points or he would struggle greatly.


    He now had four honor points, one less than he had after winning the team event the day before, when he gave up trying to choose other sports.


    But now, the situation was a bit different.


    The biggest difference is that after gaining 80% of the abilities of Li Guang it was like a metamorphose, his archery level at a distance of 70 meters, was already among the best in the world. With further systematic training he believed he could take the number one spot.


    In fact, the archers in the Han Dynasty were good at shooting whilst riding.


    Let alone a general like Li Guang. You could imagine his exquisite shooting skills from that.


    You had to know that the straight bow used in the Han Dynasty had an effective range of more than 200 meters. In front of 70 meters, even if it was a recurve bow, there was the feeling of killing a chicken with a shotgun. It was just overdoing it.


    Next, there were only two large-scale archery events coming up, one was the Guangzhou Asian Games in November, and then there wasn''t another major event till the 2012 London Olympics. There was still quite a while till those competitionsand they were all 70 meter events.


    So, he now had an opportunity to choose other sports.


    There were two choices before him.


    The first choice, use 1 honor point to unlock those characters that existed from the beginning.


    Dian Wei, was a military officer serving under the warlord Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Famed for his enormous strength, Dian Wei excelled at wielding a pair of halberds, each of which was said to weigh 30 kg. He was killed in action at the Battle of Wancheng while covering Cao Cao''s escape from Zhang Xiu''s forces.For this character the javelin would be an easy event.


    Xiang Yu, a noble of Xiaxiang , Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynasty and became a prominent warlord. There are many records about him. He engaged Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, in a long struggle for power, which concluded with his eventual defeat at the Battle of Gaixia.Apart from being brave and fierce, the most well-known thing about him was his great strength and ability to lift enormous weights, he was said to be able to lift a ding one handed, unlocking Xiang Yu,weightlifting should be a breeze.


    Lu Zhishen, a hero of the peasants in the Song Dynasty, according to the records in the Water Margin Novel, when drinking in anger he would often get into brawls and he once directly uprooted a thick willow tree in anger. With him he could become the world''s top presence in wrestling.


    These three characters were among the first options given to him alongside Li Guang.


    If he made this choice, he would have 3 honor points to upgrade a character with. If he used them, he could get 70% of a characters abilities.


    The other choice was to use 2 honor points to unlock one of the previously analyzed characters Bruce Lee, Ge Nie or Dai Zong.


    If he made this choice he could upgrade to 60% of the abilities of the character he chose.


    Tang Yan looked at the characters in front of him, and his thoughts continued to fly.


    This wasn''t an easy choice.


    Although four honor points were a surplus, once he chose he would be in that sport for a long time.


    Before choosing archery was due to being forced by the situation, there were more factors to consider now.


    After thinking for a long time, he still hadn''t made a final decision, and he chose to put it aside.


    Fortunately, this wouldn''t disappear even if he didn''t make a decision now. After thinking a while about his options, he returned to reality.


    ....


    In fact, the end of the archery competition didn''t mean that the Youth Olympic Games were over.


    When Tang Yan returned to his room, he found that Lu Yun wasn''t back yet.


    But not long later Lu Yun was on his way, walking back to their suite. He was sweating and his brows and cheeks were slightly swollen, and a hemostatic gauze was attached to his forehead.


    It seemed that it had been a fierce fight.


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    When Lu Yun entered the house he saw Tang Yan sitting on the edge of the bed.


    He said with excitement: "Wow man, I heard what happened, you really got two gold medals, truly invincible brother!"


    Due to his excitement he had irradiated his injury.


    "Are you okay?" Tang Yan asked with concern.


    "Oh it''s nothing, I''m good." Lu Yun bit his lips, sitting on the edge of his bed, he said with a smile,


    "Brother you are now my role model. Haha"


    "Looking at your appearance, although you look a bit...roughed up, you won right?" Tang Yan asked.


    "Yeah, I caught a punch after the bell but the referee turned a blind eye.But I got him back with a beautiful right hook though." Lu Yun excitedly said, he was quite excited after getting his victory over his opponent.


    "Which stage are you at?" Tang said with a smile.


    "I''ve got the semi-finals tomorrow, in fact you should come? All your events are finished right!" Lu Yun said.


    "Yeah, sure I''ll come to watch." Tang Yan nodded and said.


    According to the itinerary, the archery events had ended. They would return to China after three days in the Olympic Village. Going to see Lu Yun''s boxing match would not affect his trip.


    "Good!" As soon as Tang Yan agreed to come, Lu Yun jumped up with excitement.


    "Be careful." Tang Yan couldn''t help but say.


    Lu Yun nodded again. After taking a deep breath, he said with a smirk: "With you getting double gold, I have to win tomorrow now."


    ...


    Lu Yun participated in the semi-finals for the flyweight class. In this weight class, Japan, Thailand and the Philippines were among the strongest countries.


    His semi-final match was against the famous young boxer Fernand Gonzalez from the Philippines.


    Fernand Gonzalez was of half Spanish descent, which made his body innately strong, although his weigh in was only 49 kg, but his solid muscles were not much worse than Lu Yun''s and more importantly although his height was only 5''6 his wingspan reached 1 meter 70. The amazing wingspan made him a talent in boxing.


    In the face of such an opponent, Lu Yun''s advancement wouldn''t be an easy task.


    When Tang Yan arrived at the boxing match, the scene was already crowded with people. Compared with archery, boxing obviously had a higher degree of attention.


    After knowing that Tang Yan was coming to watch the fight, Lu Yun helped Tang Yan get a seat in the front row through his coach.


    Sitting only a few meters away from the boxing ring, Tang Yan could see the ring clearly when he raises his eyes. The fight hadn''t yet started, but he felt the adrenaline in his body soar.

 59 Lu Yun vs Fernand Gonzalez

    After the audience arrived in succession, the boxers on both sides also entered the stadium from the channel passages.


    Tang Yan turned to look at the left side of the passage. Lu Yun walked out of the passage with the Chinese flag in his hands, which attracted a cheer from the audience.


    After Lu Yun, Fernand Gonzalez also walked out from the channel on the right.


    "Fernand! Fernand!"


    As soon as he came out, he attracted cheers from many of the audience on the sidelines.


    The Philippines and Singapore belonged to the South China Sea. Many Filipinos made a special trip to the Youth Olympic Games to see the fight. Together with the popularity of Gonzalez in Southeast Asia, it''s not an exaggeration to say that he was at home.


    Hearing the voice of the audience, his hands were raised like a hero, and the whole stadium was full of momentum.


    Tang Yan was an archery enthusiast, but as a security guard boxing and fighting were also in his purview. This Gonzalez seemed to be a typical European-style boxer which may be related to his general Spanish lineage.


    The host introduced the two boxers at the opening and then signaled the start of the fight.


    Tang Yan''s prediction was correct. After the two sides touched gloves, Gonzalez used his hands to protect his head in a defensive posture, a typical European boxing style.


    This style of boxing was built on defensive advancement, taking on the opponents'' attacks and then advancing step by step, a bit like a tank.


    Lu Yun on the other hand showed an offensive stance, contrary to Gonzalez, he had a typical American style, with his left hand in front of his body and his right hand in an offensive position.


    This style of fighting was also the style of the former Chinese boxing champion Zou Shiming.


    Lu Yun threw two jabs tentatively. After feeling out Gonzalez, he followed up with another jab which Gonzalez dodged and threw a jab of his, with his long reach forcing Lu Yun back.


    When Gonzalez went for another jab, Lu Yun with great speed slipped under it and launched forward closing the distance, he followed up with a right hook.


    It was a quick punch which stole through Gonzalez''s guard.


    "Bam!"


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    Although it was separated by a glove, the strength was real.


    Sure enough, Gonzalez took the initiative to retreat after the solid punch.


    This quickly attracted exclamation from the scene.


    At this time, Lu Yun seized the opportunity and followed up with a combination of punches.


    "Boff! Boff!"


    A burst of muffled sounds, Gonzalez was like a sandbag, swarmed by Lu Yun without a chance to get respite.


    Whilst Lu Yun was throwing a combination of punches, Gonzalez seized the opportunity to throw a body shot and forced Lu Yun to retreat.


    Tang Yan saw this scene, and the corner of his mouth couldn''t help but rise.


    Lu Yun''s performance was really worthy of his muscles.


    Most Asian boxers are weak, which is why most people choose to watch American boxing, but Lu Yun''s strength was superior to most , which was why Gonzalez was being passively beaten. His attacks were sharp and powerful.


    Lu Yun feinted him out of position, kept him off balance, speared him with cutting left jabs and ducked his ferocious returns, tied him up in clinches, nearly ripping his head off with his right uppercuts.


    The fight between the two sides was still on going . Gonzalez had always been at the level of taking a passive beating. Under the heavy blows of Lu Yun, his tank-style advancement couldn''t be played out. His punching speed was too slow. Nothing of a threat.


    Lu Yun became more and more fierce, putting Gonzalez more and more on the back foot. As he got close to KO-ing Gonzalez


    The bell sounded.


    For the end of the first round.


    As Lu Yun went to his corner, he was cheered by the audience.


    In the absence of optimism, the Chinese boxer used his strength to win the respect of the audience.


    However, at this time, Tang Yan noticed that Lu Yun was somewhat breathless.


    This style of boxing was extremely offensive, which is why Lu Yun had managed to get continuous KO''s, but it was a huge consumption of physical strength.


    Amateur boxing had a total of four rounds, accumulating points or a KO to determine the outcome. If Lu Yun wanted to maintain this intensity for four rounds, this was obviously not an easy task.


    The subsequent rounds also verified Tang Yan''s thoughts.


    Lu Yun''s offensive was still sharp, Gonzalez in the second round was no match, but Gonzalez stayed resilient staying alive.


    This situation continued until the third round, from there on Lu Yun significantly weakened due to the intense consumption of physical strength.


    That round was still fairly even but in the fourth round Gonzalez seized the opportunity to start counterattacking, and got several hits on Lu Yun many of which were heavy blows. Which shook him up.


    However, Lu Yun''s speed was still dominant. Although he was finally suppressed, he used his fast speed to dodge to keep himself from being hit. He insisted on surviving until the final bell.


    Nearing the end of the fourth and final round, Lu Yun was backed into a corner and feigning a body shot Gonzalez hooked three lefts to his head whilst he was guarding his body, and when he slewed around and swung, Gonzalez ducked and crashed his jaw with a right hook.


    Which had him groggy for the first time that night. Sensing victory, Gonzalez shot the same hand three times toward his head,but Lu Yan still slightly dazed managed to weave through and get himself out of the corner but he caught a body shot to the midriff on his way out.


    Then came the bell to signal the end of the fourth round, Lu Yun almost stumbled, but he stood firm and his face was full of excitement.


    Although he hadn''t been able to KO his opponent like in the previous rounds, he had the absolute upper hand in the first two rounds, and while he fell short in the third and fourth. He was still able to stand his own in the third, he had got some decent hits in there. That round was fairly even,if he counted points he felt he was absolutely dominant.


    The judges on the side of the ring began to score points. The three judges for this match came from Kazakhstan, Mexico and Singapore.


    At this time, Tang Yan was also preparing to stand up from his seat and prepare for another historic moment for Chinese boxing.


    The judges judgment quickly came to fruition, and the staff sent the result to the referee''s.


    The referee then picked up Lu Yun''s left hand and picked Gonzalez''s hand in his right hand.


    "The winner of the semi-finals of the Flyweight Division Youth Olympics 2010, is....."


    The referee hadn''t finished yet. Lu Yun filled with emotions couldn''t control himself he held his left hand high and his face full of excitement.


    On the other side, Gonzalez was a little lonely. He didn''t expect Lu Yun''s boxing to be so sharp before the fight. Although he held his own towards the end he didn''t know if he did enough to clinch it back.


    Many viewers at the scene also stood up and prepared to applaud Lu Yun.


    "Fernand Gonzalez!" The referee followed up with the announcement of the final winner, followed by holding up Gonzalez''s hand.


    Lu Yun shouted excitedly, but when he felt that his hand wasn''t lifted, and then saw Gonzalez, who''s hand was raised on the other side, he was crushed.


    In fact, it wasn''t only him, but the audience at the scene were also a confused. Was there a mistake?


    "Fernand Gonzalez!" The referee saw the reaction of the people around him and repeated his action raising the hand of Gonzalez again.


    Gonzalez was also embarrassed at the beginning, but when he heard the confirmation from the referee, he jumped up and screamed in excitement.


    Tang Yan''s brows wrinkled up, then looked at the three judges by the ring side.


    From the questioning sound of the audience on the scene, it was clear that this result was equivalent to treating everyone on the scene as a fool.


    Lu Yun obviously couldn''t accept this result. He turned around and spoke to the referee and kept confirming that Gonzalez actually won.


    "Give it up, I am the winner, Chinese pig, I am the champion!" Gonzalez saw Lu Yun constantly questioning the referee and shouted at Lu Yun in annoyance and glee.


    Lu Yun was even more fired up after hearing this, he rotated around in an instant and threw a powerful right hook at Gonzalez.

 60 Making A Decision

    The punch caught Gonzalez square on the jaw and directly brought him down to the ground.


    The scene suddenly sounded in cheers and shouts from the audience.


    Gonzalez picked himself up from the ground in the next second and raised his hand.


    At this time, the referee hurriedly pushed the two apart.


    The teams of both sides saw that the situation was going awry immediately rushed into the ring and pulled their fighters to separate corners.


    Lu Yun''s coach took him aside and said something to him. His body was trembling and the trembling turned into tears.


    Once the results of the boxing match were made final, it couldn''t be changed. Lu Yun missing the finals was already a matter of fact.


    Tang Yan seeing this scene was also greatly saddened.


    Lu Yun was finally prepared to leave the boxing ring under the persuasion of his coach and teammates. His eyes were full of tears.


    Although he said he fought to make money but after becoming a boxer, he couldn''t help but fall in love with it.


    When he was about to leave the boxing ring, Lu Yun suddenly fell down. His whole person was kneeling on the boxing ring, he bowed his head to kiss the venue on which he had fought.


    The audience who hadn''t left the scene gave him a round of applause and cheers.


    Although he lost the fight, there was no doubt that he won the recognition of the audience.


    The end of the fight was followed by the next set of matches.


    Tang Yan was waiting for Lu Yun in the rest area, and the latter was being interviewed by reporters.


    After waiting for about twenty minutes, Lu Yun finally came out with his coach.


    When he saw that Tang Yan was still there, he was a little surprised. After talking with his coach, he went out with Tang Yan.


    "Go, take a shower, then we''ll go out for a meal." Tang Yan patted his shoulder and smiled whilst saying to him.


    Lu Yun nodded and went off to shower.


    .....


    Singapore was one of the developed countries of Asia. It was located in Southeast Asia and had a pleasant climate.


    Tang Yan and Lu Yun walked along the Singapore River for a while, the mood was much better.


    After walking a little further, they saw Singapore''s iconic Merlion statue.


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    They saw it when the plane landed, but seeing it at close distance it was a different kind of scenery.


    The two walked down to the stone steps next to the Merlion.


    "In the first two days of the team competition, the South Korean team and the Nigerian team also had a conflict... The final result was similar to today. The organizing committee canceled the results of the Nigerian team and only gave the Korean team a verbal warning. "Tang Yan felt that Lu Yun''s emotions were still down, and he said after sitting down.


    Lu Yun was silent and didn''t speak.


    "China is rising rapidly, but it has not reached the level of fear. It has attracted many people''s anger. They dare not show it politically. They can only suppress us through other means. Your performance today was excellent and everyone knows it so don''t worry to much."


    Lu Yun turned to look at Tang Yan.


    "There are still three months till the Guangzhou Asian Games. You should focus your attention on that not this." Tang Yan looked at him.


    Lu Yun''s face finally changed, and the fighting spirit in his eyes were ignited again.


    "You''re right, I need to break into the national team, then I''ll beat him down firmly next time!" Lu Yun said, full of momentum.


    Tang Yan smiled and nodded. Then he got up and said, "Okay, now you should have an appetite, let''s go eat."


    Lu Yun nodded heavily and followed him to stand up.


    Food was also a major feature in Singapore. Bak Kut Teh, Shahtara Tea, Chili Crab and other specialties made people drool.


    ....


    Tang Yan and Lu Yun casually found a place to sit down and chat while eating, it was a relaxing time to ease their minds.


    Whilst he was eating, Tang Yan''s phone suddenly rang.


    He picked it up and realized that it was his mother calling.


    His mother was calling after she saw the archery finals. Her tone was very excited. She said that the neighbors were rushing over to the house, and even the TV station came.


    Hearing his mother full of glee, Tang Yan''s heart was naturally happy and full of warmth but he could feel his mother''s tone was a little embarrassed. Obviously, it was strange to suddenly deal with so many people.


    After he hang up, he remembered the things of his past life, and a dark cloud couldn''t help but float across his features.


    "What''s wrong?" Lu Yun noticed his change of expression, and asked.


    "Nothing." Tang Yan smiled, but there was already a decision made in his heart.


    After bidding farewell to Lu Yun, he returned to the Olympic Village and then directly entered the system space.


    Last time before he left, Celia actually informed him that he could actually enter the system without having to be pulled in by the administrator.


    "Master, you''ve made a decision?" Celia asked whilst pulling up the system''s interface of characters.


    Tang Yan nodded and then looked at the list.


    From the most rational point of view, it was wise to choose Dian Wei, Xiang Yu or Lu Zhishen because this would maximize the value of his honor points the most.


    But at this moment he was looking at the second row of characters.


    The character he was looking at was Bruce Lee.


    Today''s boxing match made him understand the weakness of Chinese boxing and his previous understanding of boxing could allow him to grow faster in this sport.


    Of course, these were only secondary factors. The most important factor was that, he like Lu Yun needed to make money quite rapidly.


    Archery had brought him a reputation but there was little monetary reward for the sport. The Archery Alliance was not as generous as other sporting bodies and with his mother''s cancer looming in the future he had to earn enough money to cover treatment and even possibly prevent it from appearing.


    Among the characters he could unlock, only boxing could satisfy his requirements.


    Although Chinese boxing was weak, boxing was the world''s undisputed money-making machine. The income from professional boxing and the amount earned from pay per view fights was unimaginable.


    Although there was a long way from amateur boxing to professional boxing, he had the confidence to get there step by step.


    "I choose Bruce Lee."

 61 Souvenirs

    The master of modern martial arts, Bruce Lee.


    Bruce Lee was the most well-known martial artist in modern China. The Jeet Kune Do style of martial arts was created by him. He was the father of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and the pioneer of Kung Fu Film''s.


    As the first Chinese to promote Chinese martial arts to the world, Bruce Lee''s influence was international, and his martial arts was also top level.


    For Bruce Lee, Tang Yan was not unfamiliar.


    As a martial artist, Bruce Lee was also the first person to distinguish between martial arts. He learned almost all Chinese martial arts and foreign martial arts. Hunchun techniques were greatly promoted because of him.


    Among the opponents he defeated, each one was a famous figure, the world judo champion Kimura Masahiko, the world karate champion Yamamoto Gump etc. It can be said that his martial arts was among the top in the world.


    What made these achievements possible was his Jeet Kune Do martial arts style of fighting.


    With the power of Jeet Kune Do, he was absolutely invincible.


    After Celia confirmed with Tang Yan, he was set to gain the power of Bruce Lee''s Jeet Kune Do.


    As the character was confirmed, Tang Yan felt a new completely different current flow through his body, and then he felt a powerful force in his body.


    It wasn''t only physically, there was a deeper understanding of martial arts in his mind, including the East and West''s various styles and of course most importantly Hunchun and Jeet Kune Do.


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    He gained 50% of Bruce Lee''s abilities after unlocking him.


    "Master, you still have 2 honor points." Celia reminded him.


    "Well, let''s save it for now." Tang Yan said, his boxing career had just begun, he was not eager to upgrade yet.


    Going back to reality, he found that there was a kind of impulsive impulse in his body to try out his moves.


    The feeling was really subtle.


    Lu Yun took a shower and saw the look of Tang Yan''s excitement. He was full of doubts and asked: "What happened?"


    "I suddenly thought of something. If someone wanted to participate in the boxing event for the Asian Games, is there still a chance?" Tang Yan got up and asked.


    "Yeah, there is a trial next month. This is the final opportunity. I''ve already asked the coach to sign me up." Lu Yun said.


    "This...your coach must register you?" Tang Yan asked.


    "Yeah, the Asian Games places are allocated by each country. The list was already set in April of this year. The trial next month is just to give people a chance to challenge those selected if they feel unsatisfied." Lu Yun explained.


    Tang Yan nodded, in the archery competition, the quota allocation was similar.


    "Well? How come you are suddenly interested in this?" Lu Yun suddenly asked.


    Tang Yan didn''t know how to answer. It would be odd to suddenly claim to be a boxer, he felt.


    However, after Lu Yun finished speaking, he immediately smiled and continued: "Are you worried about me, hahaha there''s no need to be worried about me, I''ve got this. No one can take a quota spot from me."


    The way Lu Yun talked was still so direct. Tang Yan smiled and didn''t speak.


    Although he had gained the power of Jeet Kune Do, it was only two months away from the Asian Games. Such a gap was theoretically impossible to bridge.


    "Damn! I nearly forgot!" At this moment, Lu Yun seemed to think of something, suddenly snapping his fingers.


    "What is it?" Tang Yan looked at him with confusion.


    "I need to buy souvenirs and gifts! Originally I was thinking....of buying them a few days later but now I''ve finished my ''run'' early, might as well go buy it now!" Lu Yun said looking at Tang Yan, "You wanna to come?"


    "Ahh thanks for reminding me." Tang Yan said.


    It was only two days till he returned to China. Since he came to Singapore, he had to return with some special gifts for his family. After he joined the provincial team, he hadn''t returned home for a long time.


    "Good, I saw a few good places in the last two days. They are cheap and close by." Lu Yun saw Tang Yan wanted to go and smiled.


    The two had just returned to the Olympic Village but didn''t rest for long and with two bags they went out.


    Lu Yun took them to a small local commodity market.


    Singapore''s specialties were plenty. For snacks, the local dried meat was very special. The Bak Kut Teh and dried mango that they had eaten before had to be brought back home. Besides that they also got Merlion pendants, crocodile leather products etc.


    They got some must get items for tourists.


    Although Tang Yan had won double gold at the Youth Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee didn''t give prize money, but many countries rewarded their medalists with a bonus.


    Unfortunately since it was only the Youth Olympics there was no bonus, he only received a small ''payment'' for his appearance from the Chinese Olympic Committee.


    But since the goods here were relatively cheap they were within his economic range, so he was in a good mood.


    The two bought enough items and prepared to return to the Olympic Village. They walked down the road heading towards the bus station.


    "Lu Yun, I saw your boxing match. I have a suggestion but I don''t know if I should say it." Tang Yan was in a good mood, plus having just got the power of Jeet Kune Do so he gained an understanding of boxing, so he couldn''t help but say.


    "Ah? Do you really understand boxing?" Lu Yun said with some surprise.


    "Well, I used to watch a lot of boxing matches on TV, of course it''s just a random suggestion."


    "Okay, brother what is it." Lu Yun said with curiosity.


    "Well, your boxing method should be derived from the Swarmer boxing style. This style advocates using speed for attack and defense. You have improved on this basis and that is why you can continue to KO opponents." Tang Yan said.


    After Tang Yan finished, Lu Yun''s face showed a look of slight surprise.


    "But the shortcomings and advantages of this style are obvious. Not only does it consume a lot of physical strength, but when you encounter opponents with strong defensive ability. Once you can''t break their defense, the result is that your hit by defensive counterattacks and even directly forced onto the back-foot after tiring out." Tang Yan continued to analyze.


    Lu Yun''s surprised look turned serious at this time. His coach had told him many times that he should focus his attention on defense and save his strength for later rounds. But the issue then was that his offensive momentum was bound to weaken. This was the contradictory issue.


    "So, what is your suggestion?" Lu Yun turned to look at Tang Yan.


    "Well..."


    "Help!" Before Tang Yan could say anything, a sudden shout sounded in English.


    They heard the shouts and looked up. Then they saw a woman running out from an alley, towards them. The woman''s clothes were torn by a large part, revealing her pearly white legs which were exceptionally eye catching in this dim lit night.


    The woman ran closer, and from her angular face she should be of Korean descent.


    Behind this woman, there were five to six bald headed thugs that were rushing after her.


    The area they were in was relatively remote, and the woman showed a look of distraught seeing the area so empty.


    Tang Yan looked at the scene in front of him and could not help but curse in his head.


    What the f*ck was this sh*t,had he just been pulled into the plot of a novel the legendary, hero saving the beauty?

 62 Saving The Beauty 1

    The bald headed thugs were all fairly tall about 5''8 with burly physiques and there were uniform tattoos on their right arm. They should be an organized gang.


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    In Singapore, there wasn''t much organised crime but every country had it''s underworld and it was no exception.


    Tang Yan in his past life was a security guard. So he was familiar with these things. Organized gangs like this, were very likely to have weapons on them, which made this situation rather dangerous.


    And seeing how persistent they were in pursuing this woman even at the risk of being exposed, the identity of this woman was definitely not simple.


    Tang Yan was analyzing the situation in front of him.


    His heart and morals were urging him forward to be the hero to save the beauty but his brain and logic said to back off and just call the police.


    He shouldn''t take the risk of trying to take them on.


    With this decision, he turned his head and took out his phone when....Lu Yun suddenly pushed him forward whilst rushing out.


    "Let''s go brother, we''ve got to help her!"


    "Leave...her alone!" Lu Yun shouted in crappy English, as he sprinted towards them.


    His boxing roommates, hero''s heart was obviously quite decisive.


    Seeing that Lu Yun went up, Tang Yan certainly couldn''t leave him here alone, and he rushed up.


    The woman saw Lu Yun and Tang Yan, especially Lu Yun who seemed quite built and hope ignited in her eyes, and she rushed towards them with even more gusto.


    Reaching them, the woman ran and rushed to the back of Lu Yun, her body shivered and she looked extremely frightened.


    The group of hooligans quickly caught up.


    The place they were at was quite remote, they were still a road away from a main road. The group of thugs also seemed to know this. So catching up, they slowly circled them.


    Blocking all their outlets, the leader of the group strode forward and let out a barrage of threats in English.


    The crappy English from Lu Yun had exposed the fact that he didn''t understand English well. So hearing this barrage of insults he didn''t understand it at all. He only subconsciously protected the woman.


    Seeing that Lu Yun and Tang Yan didn''t respond, the leaders tone became severe and even colder.


    As he spoke, the others followed in narrowing the encirclement.


    Lu Yun took a step back and then turned to ask Tang Yan: "What are they saying?"


    Tang Yan followed up and said: "They told us not to move and that as long as we give him the woman we can leave safely, otherwise he can''t guarantee our lives."


    Lu Yun was clearly stunned after hearing Tang Yan''s translation.


    Although in Tang Yan''s past life he was a small security guard, he still stayed in Nigeria for more than three years. Where he learnt English.


    The threats of the thugs confirmed his previous speculation that this woman''s identity was definitely not ordinary.


    "I have already called my sister. Some.....someone will come to save us....soon, very soon...please don''t leave ." Just then, the woman said trembling in less than standard Chinese, it seemed that she was afraid of them obeying the thugs and abandoning her.


    "Huh? You can speak Chinese?" Lu Yun turned his head and said with some surprise.


    "F*ck, get the girl!" Just then, the leader snorted and ordered his lackeys.


    Lu Yun couldn''t understand English very well but this simple statement he could still understand. He put his body in front of Tang Yan and the woman and quickly said: "Brother, take the girl and run. I''ll hold them off."


    Maybe afraid that Tang Yan would be worried about him, he added: "Don''t worry about me, I have a way to get away!"


    Tang Yan glanced at the gangsters around him. Although fortunately they didn''t have knives out, they were burly men and Lu Yun was a teenage child, even though he was a boxer it was impossible to do what he said. That was just leaving him to die.


    This was not a boxing ring. These hooligans wouldn''t follow any rules and wouldn''t stop at the sound of a bell.


    Lu Yun realized that Tang Yan didn''t answer, but still accelerated to directly rush forward.


    As he rushed forward, he quickly got into a fighting stance.


    The leader saw Lu Yun''s posture and was stunned, but he also waved his fist and rushed up.


    He threw out a heavy punch which Lu Yun dodged and followed up with a punch of his own and he hit the bald thug squarely in the face.


    The bald headed thug took a step back, but he quickly rushed forward after touching his cheek.


    Obviously, Lu Yun''s fist didn''t cause substantial damage.


    In fact, this was normal. Although Lu Yun had solid muscles, he was only a 49kg boxer. The bald headed thug was easily 80kg. He could use speed to attack his opponent, but the lethality was obviously not enough.


    The two men were soon entangled, although Lu Yun hit the thug from time to time, he wasn''t able to breakthrough the encirclement.


    At this moment, the remaining thugs quickly closed in on Tang Yan and the woman.


    Originally, they only saw Tang Yan and Lu Yun as small children but Lu Yun''s fierce actions made them more weary.


    "What do...we do..." The woman behind him saw that Lu Yun unable to open up a gap. The thin body of Tang Yan in front of her didn''t seem to be much of an opponent for them either. She was already nervous and incoherent.


    Tang Yan frowned, this woman was really noisy.


    "Get him!"


    He didn''t know which thug shouted. But several people rushed straight towards him.


    Obviously, in the face of Tang Yan who seemed relatively weak, they didn''t hesitate.


    Tang Yan saw the thugs rushing over and he placed his left foot a small step backward and his right hand was made into a fist in preparation.


    In Bruce Lee''s martial arts, Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do techniques were his best. After unlocking Bruce Lee''s characters, Tang Yan gained 50% of his strength.


    But in fact, his understanding of Jeet Kune Do was not comprehensive, on the contrary, perhaps since a large part of Jeet Kune Do was derived from Wing Chun, his understanding of Wing Chun was already very mature.


    The stance in which he got in was a Wing Chun one. Of course, there was a change. It wasn''t like the fancy ones in the movies, but one focused for actual combat.


    The first thug rushed at him and his hands shot out toward Tang Yan trying to grasp him.


    In his understanding, Tang Yan, a thin child, simply didn''t stand a chance.


    Tang Yan saw this and he wasn''t polite. He stepped forward with his right foot and followed through with a punch towards the thugs stomach.


    Tang Yan''s speed exceeded the expectations of the thug and he heard a sharp alarm in his head and tried to dodge, but it was too late.


    "Boff!"


    Tang Yan''s fist hit the pit of the stomach of the thug right in the solar plexus and made a dull sound.


    In the next second, the confident expression on the thugs face suddenly disappeared and became abnormal. He wanted to reach for Tang Yan but he found that he lost all his strength in an instant and his body fell backwards uncontrollably.


    "Boom!"


    The thug was directly put to the ground by Tang Yan.

 63 Saving The Beauty 2

    This scene happened too fast and was too strange.


    The other two thugs subconsciously stepped back, as if Tang Yan suddenly became a demon.


    No one believed that a child could beat a burly hooligan.


    Tang Yan himself was shocked at this scene, and after knocking down the thug, he looked down at


    his fist in amazement.


    Was this the strength of Wing Chun?


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    So strong!


    The 1 Inch punch was the most famous and most useful technique in the Wing Chun style. It required a lot of core strength and muscle control. The timed chaining of multiple muscle groups contributed to the punching power while being imperceptible to the attacker.The top-down force increased the strength of the punch.


    The exquisiteness of the technique was that a boxer who might only have a force of 200 kilograms normally, could increase their punching power to 250 to 300 kilograms after master it!


    Tang Yan hadn''t undergone systematic training, but after gaining 80% of Li Guang''s abilities his arm strength also followed suit and grew rapidly.


    This was equivalent to letting him skip the process of strength training in advance and directly possess the power of a first-class boxer.


    Just then, the situation of the fight changed.


    Lu Yun was only a boxer after all, he didn''t have much experience in street brawls. His offensive was fierce but after his physical strength declined he was quickly forced to retreat.


    The leading thug began to gain the upper hand. When he saw his lackeys stood still, he suddenly screamed: "What the hell are you doing, you morons? Grab the girl and lets go!"


    The shout was like a whip to the other thugs. They picked up their knocked down companion and rushed up together.


    The knockdown of their companion shocked them, but at the same time it made them realize that Tang Yan was not so easy to deal with, so they ganged up on him.


    Even if Tang Yan was strong, it was difficult to fight three people.


    Tang Yan saw the thugs rushing over together. Of course, he wouldn''t be stupid enough to stay in place. He changed from defense to attack and rushed towards the closest thug.


    This reaction was completely out of the expectations of the thug. He saw Tang Yan, rushing over and he swung a heavy right hook towards him.


    His purpose was very clear, that is, to defeat Tang Yan with pure power.


    The reason why Bruce Lee''s Jeet Kune Do was derived from Wing Chun was because the Wing Chun art was the closest to modern boxing, or modern martial arts. In addition to the 1 inch punch, Wing Chun''s two largest features were quick and precise arm movements and strong legs.


    Tang Yan quickly swayed to the side and directly avoided the fist and counter-punched.


    "Boom!"


    A muffled sound.


    Tang Yan''s fist was much stronger than Lu Yun''s. Causing the thug to sway backwards bewildered.


    The thugs bald head was wide open, and Tang Yan wouldn''t miss such an opportunity. After rushing in close to the thug, he threw a quick uppercut.


    "Thwack!"


    Tang Yan''s quick punch hit square of the thugs lower jaw.


    The lower jaw was the most vulnerable part of the human body. In addition, Tang Yan used all his strength, and the moment his fist connected, the thugs eyes turned white and then his whole person leaned back and fell.


    The other two thugs were shocked when they saw this scene, but Tang Yan didn''t give them time to react. After hitting the thug in front of him, his right foot stepped diagonally to the left and he lurched forward toward another thug.


    The thug stopped charging when he saw his companion downed in quick succession, he instinctively protected his body and head with his hands.


    Tang Yan saw the movement of the thug and followed up with a series of quick punches.


    A punch.


    Two punches.


    Three punches.


    ...


    Tang Yan completely used him like a sandbag, hitting him again and again.


    After the sixth punch, his fists were released, his hands were completely numb.


    Tang Yan followed up with a right-hook to the face of the thug.


    The thug seemed like he was hit by a train and fell directly to the floor.


    Everything happened too fast, in just a dozen seconds, he had dispatched two thugs.


    The last remaining lackey was obviously afraid.


    Even if Tang Yan looked small, he gave him immense pressure.


    He instinctively reached out and went to his waist for his knife.


    But Tang Yan didn''t give him a chance, with a quick rush forward he ducked in close and launched a barrage of body shots and when the thug keeled over he launched a stomp kick right to the side of his face.


    Knocking him out clean as well.


    Shocked the woman watched this all with awe and horror.


    She looked at Tang Yan like he was a monster.


    She couldn''t believe it or understand how such a force came from Tang Yan''s skinny body.


    "Run!" Tang Yan saw the woman in a daze, shouted at her, and then flew away toward Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun had been completely suppressed by the gang leader at this time, and it seemed that he may be forced to an end at any time. Unlike his usual fights, there were no rules here in a street brawl, the leader of the kidnapping crew aimed to seriously injure him, throwing punches for his throat and kidney. He swung his elbow and threw kicks aiming to maim him.


    At this time, the leader noticed Tang Yan rushing over and all of his men laid out cold on the ground.


    His face first showed shock then full blown anger.


    He swung a series of punches at Lu Yun and managed to clip him with a right hook. Causing Lu Yun to step back, reeling to the ground.


    After he hit Lu Yun and forced him back,he didn''t go forward but pulled out a knife directly from his waist and then walked toward Tang Yan with a look of fierceness.


    "Be careful! Knife!" Lu Yun saw this scene and shouted, wanting to get up, but he stumbled back down dazed.


    The woman also screamed and then instinctively receded back.


    The gang leader was initially hesitant to order knives to be drawn for fear of escalating things, it only took one sloppy move from one of his lackeys and they could have a murder charge on their hands but now that self restraint was gone.


    Soon the two came face to face.


    The leader didn''t hesitate and directly thrust his knife towards Tang Yan''s chest.


    Tang Yan saw this and his whole person swiftly dodged to the right, which was promptly followed up by a punch towards the back of the thugs hand.


    His actions were swift and all in one motion, and the leader felt a sharp pain at his wrist, his grasp around the dagger instinctively loosened and it fell to the ground.


    Tang Yan not stopping, followed through with a left hook straight to the side of his face.


    But the gang leader was more resilient than the rest of his men and swallowing his pain, he swung a wild right hook at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan quickly ducked underneath it, shifting rightwards then leaned up on his left foot and delivered a swift sidekick to his stomach with his right leg.


    Whilst he was backing up and keeling over from the kick to his stomach, Tang Yan showed no remorse and took a two step run up and directly kneed him under the chin with his left leg following through.


    "Boom!"


    Giving off a dull sound, the thugs head snapped backwards, and his whole person tumbled over.

 64 Running From The Beauty

    Lu Yun''s mouth was awide and you could even fit an egg in it.


    He didn''t expect Tang Yan to take down the gang leader in just three simple moves.


    And at this time, he saw the other thugs laid way side on the ground knocked cleanly out and the shock in his eyes grew even stronger.


    That is to say, Tang Yan an archer, had tidied up all the thugs....


    And he, a boxer, was turned over by just one of them...


    "Get up! Why are you still lying on the ground?!" Just as Lu Yun was feeling confused, Tang Yan said pulling him up from the ground.


    "You..." Lu Yun was pulled up and looked at Tang Yan like a monster.


    "We need to leave...first. These people seem like an organized group, and there will definitely be others." Tang Yan didn''t let Lu Yun finish and directly urged him forward.


    Lu Yun put away his shocked gaze, nodded hard and then looked over at the woman.


    "We''ll go to the main road,it should be safe there with the crowds." Tang Yan said.


    The woman nodded hard and then moved unconsciously.


    Tang Yan noticed that she had no shoes on, they should have fallen off whilst she was running.


    He didn''t say any nonsense, and took off his trainers and gave them directly to her: "The shoes are a bit big, but there is nothing else anyway, we have to hurry."


    The woman looked at Tang Yan with amazement, but Tang Yan had turned away, she quickly pulled on the trainers and tied the laces up.


    The three sprinted along the road, fearing that there would be other people chasing them. They ran for a while and soon ended up along the main road.


    There were a lot of vehicles and people coming and going along the road. They should be safe in such a big crowd.


    Tang Yan was originally prepared to stop a taxi, but before he reached out to hail one, a phone rang.


    After Tang Yan and Lu Yun turned back to face her, the woman smiled and took out a phone from her pocket.


    Tang Yan and Lu Yun looked at each other and the expression on their faces were dumbfounded.


    This woman, whose shoes were lost, still had her phone.


    The woman took the call and had the conversation in Korean.


    Tang Yan could understand English but he didn''t understand Korean but looking at the woman''s expression, it must be the sister she mentioned before.


    Sure enough, when the woman finished the phone call, she smiled and said to them: "Great, my sister is on the way to pick me up!"


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    "That''s good." Lu Yun sighed with relief, and turned to talk to Tang Yan but turned around and found that Tang Yan had reached out to stop a taxi.


    "What are you doing?" Lu Yun shouted at Tang Yan puzzled.


    Tang Yan didn''t pay attention to Lu Yun, waiting for a taxi to stop and when one did after a round ofnegotiating the price, he beckoned Lu Yun over.


    Lu Yun took a look at Tang Yan and then looked back at the woman. After laughing, he followed after the fast-moving Tang Yan.


    When he came up to him, he followed up and asked: "Brother, what are you doing, she said her sister..."


    "Do you think that group of thugs were normal? Do you think this girls identity will be normal? If what happened is exposed, what do you think will happen. Trust me, we don''t need that kind of trouble coming for us." Tang Yan said as he opened the car door and prepared to get in the taxi.


    Lu Yun didn''t say anything and he got in the taxi after pausing for a moment in thought.


    The woman was shocked looking at Tang Yan and Lu Yun.


    They really just hailed a taxi and got in without a word.


    Tang Yan called for the driver to go and they directly drove away before her eyes.


    The woman didn''t have time to call for them, she hurriedly took out her phone and hurriedly took a photo of the back of the taxi.


    Tang Yan and Lu Yun''s taxihad just left.


    When a short while, four blacked out cars came from the end of the road. Their speed was fast and they stopped directly in front of the woman.


    The car had just stopped, when a lady jumped out with a look of panic.


    If Tang Yan was still there, he would have been shocked, because the person who came down from the car at this time turned out to be one of the hottest female artists from Korea, Yin Xinhui.


    ....


    "Tang Yan, have you ever done boxing? No, have you ever studied martial arts?" After getting in the taxi, Lu Yun lost his interest in the woman. In contrast, Tang Yan''s strength was more interesting to him.


    "Well, I....did a few lessons when I was younger plus I always liked to watch boxing and martial art competitions." Tang Yan said and he suddenly found that although the system gave him abilities it was a struggle to explain them.


    "Ah? Oh is...it." Lu Yun didn''t ask further, Chinese martial arts, even boxing was very popular in the late 1900''s but in the 21st century it''s popularity had gradually weakened, whilst some martial arts techniques had been passed down. Many were kept secret as family heirlooms.


    He just thought that Tang Yan didn''t want to disclose how he learnt to fight, he felt he probably had a reason for this.


    When Tang Yan saw that Lu Yun let it go so easily, he was at ease.


    Arriving back to the Olympic Village, the two tossed around for a while but tired they quickly fell asleep directly.


    ....


    When Tang Yan woke up the next day, Lu Yun had gone out.


    He went out early every morning for a run.


    Tang Yan got up and washed, then he went down for breakfast.


    He didn''t expect to run into Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze when he was closing his door.


    "Brother Tang!" Seeing Tang Yan, Li Haoze shouted.


    Since Tang Yan took double gold, Zheng Zhun and Li Haoze began to treat him with respect and like their older brother.


    "Your also going for breakfast?" Tang Yan closed his door and said with a smile.


    "Yes." Li Haoze and Zheng Zhun both smiled and walked over to him.


    "Let''s go together then." Tang Yan smiled and nodded.


    "Right, did you guys see the news?" At this moment, Zheng Zhun said looking at his phone.


    "News, what news?" Tang Yan said looking at Zheng Zhun with doubt. He still felt sleepy, and his phone was back in his room charging.


    "Look....at this." Zheng Zhun said as he handed the phone to Tang Yan and said, "Someone saved Yin Xinhui''s sister yesterday from being kidnapped!"


    Tang Yan had tuned out Zheng Zhun at this point and his eyes were already wide.


    Because at the beginning of the news article, there was a photo of the taxi which he got back yesterday.


    Along side it was the headline:


    Two unknown hero''s save the sister of famous Korean actress Yin Xinhui.


    Beneath the title was a quote from the Weibo of Yin Xinhui.

 65 Little Bit Of Guidance

    2010 was the hottest time for Weibo and when the Korean Wave swept through Asia.


    Seo Yeon put up a post on Weibo to thank and find these unsung heroes. Causing the incident to blow up and go viral with even news sites reporting about it.


    "Brother Tang?" Seeing Tang Yan looking so lost in the article, Zheng Zhun stretched out his hand and waved it in front of his eyes.


    When Tang Yan came back to attention and returned the phone to Zheng Zhun, he said: "Wow that''s wild, at least it ended well... let''s go...get breakfast, I''m starving."


    "Yeah, lets go." said Zheng Zhun, putting away his phone as he followed after Tang Yan to the elevator.


    .....


    After eating breakfast, Tang Yan didn''t go back to his room right away, but found an empty space to practice the Wing Chun techniques in his mind.


    His first use of Wing Chun was in actual combat yesterday, which gave him a deeper understanding of the boxing method and directly saved him a lot of training time.


    After a run through, he felt himself becoming more familiar with the martial arts. He was ingraining it into his body.


    After practice, his whole person felt refreshed, and he headed back to his room.


    He would return to China tomorrow but he still had a few things to sort out.


    When he went back, Lu Yun had already returned. He should have just finished having a shower, he had a towel on his shoulder and he was holding his phone.


    When he saw Tang Yan was back, he pointed at his phone with excitement and said: "Have you seen this, look we are celebrities!"


    When Tang Yan heard Lu Yun''s words, he knew that he was definitely talking about the Weibo post.


    Sure enough, on the phone that Lu Yun handed over it showed the Weibo account of Seo Yeon.


    Lu Yun followed up and said: "There is a phone number on the Weibo post. They want us to call so that they can thank us. This is a great opportunity for....."


    "Your just asking for trouble." Without waiting for Lu Yun to finish, Tang Yan directly interrupted.


    "Trouble?" Lu Yun said.


    "Did you forget what I said to you that day? We already know their grateful so what else is there to gain from exposing ourselves. Think about it, if someone dared to try kidnap her sister, how do you think they will react when they find out we stopped them?" Tang Yan asked.


    "Ahh...that makes sense I guess...." Lu Yun nodded reluctantly.


    Tang Yan saw Lu Yun''s reaction and shook his head.


    These things,as a teenager Lu Yun naturally didn''t consider.


    Lu Yun put down his phone and then suddenly looked at Tang Yan seriously: "Brother, I won''t ask how you learned but do you really know martial arts?"


    Tang Yan glanced at Lu Yun and put on a serious face and nodded.


    "Can you teach me....?" Lu Yun was a little nervous and said with a little anticipation.


    "No," Tang Yan said decisively.


    Teach others? He didn''t learn martial arts systematically, it was just placed in his head that''s how he learnt it. He couldn''t pass it on, he hadn''t even fully comprehended it himself yet. It was just a bunch of knowledge crammed into his head right now.


    Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do weren''t arts that could be played around with you had to know what you were doing or all that waited was injuries and pain. It was best to learn from professional teachers and masters.


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    He knew instinctively what he was doing due to the system but he lacked the qualifications to teach others. It''s the same way an exceptional footballer might not be an exceptional football coach. They knew how to play but not how to teach others.


    "Okay." Lu Yun''s face showed a flash of disappointment.


    Seeing the change on Lu Yun''s face, Tang Yan paused and said: "But some suggestions are still possible."


    Hearing that, Lu Yun''s face immediately showed a burst of joy.


    "I originally wanted to give you some advice but we were interrupted at that time." Tang Yan said as he walked over to the bed and sat down.


    Listening to Tang Yan, Lu Yun immediately walked to the bed to sit down.


    Previously he didn''t care much about Tang Yan''s suggestion. After all, Tang Yan was just an archer. He thought of his suggestions were from a layman, but it was different now. Tang Yan used facts to prove his strength and his qualifications to give advice.


    "Under normal circumstances, boxers pay attention to a balance between offense and defense. Only in this way can you be invincible, but amateur boxing has only four rounds you aren''t wrong in your path either. It''s just that your attack hasn''t reached the top level yet." Tang Yan said.


    "Increase your punching power, when punching make sure to bend your knees. You need to ingrain it into your body like a reflex, you do it occasionally but it needs to be all the time.


    Since you depend on speed a lot, you have a tendency not to follow through with your punches in case you get caught out. But unless you''re fully committed to your punches, you cannot fully utilize all your punching power. Practice punching through heavy bags as opposed to just punching at it, and you''ll notice a big difference.


    Final thing I guess is to strengthen your fists.It''s actually underrated and uncommon to condition your hands in boxing but in martial arts, it''s not. I don''t know why you guys don''t but I recommend you do.


    A great way you can achieve durable fists without damaging them is to get a large tub of rice and constantly dig your hands through them with your fingertips first. Other excellent methods are punching through water or even placing a stack of newspapers against a wall and constantly but gently punch at the wall a few inches away.


    A lot of this is probably pretty common stuff your coach tells you,but they''re vital. So try focus more on them. "


    "Thank you." Lu Yun said taking in what he said wholeheartedly.


    Tang Yan had a good impression of Lu Yun, so he couldn''t help but try to give him some advice.


    But what Tang Yan didn''t expect was that after what he said. Lu Yun began shadow boxing and trying to practice all his tips right away.


    Seeing him focused, Tang Yan slipped out.


    He went out to meet Tian Zhenzhe, after the archery team won the gold medal, he became the busiest person. In addition to dealing with the media and reporters, the upcoming Asian Games was enough to keep him busy.


    When he saw Tang Yan, Tian Zhenzhe smiled and patted him on the shoulder. He said, "This time, when you return to China, you will definitely receive a lot of endorsements. If you don''t understand anything, please look for me directly. I will recommend several brokers for you."


    Tang Yan nodded.


    At this moment, the cell phone in Tian Zhenzhe''s pocket rang, he took a look at the phone and then answered the call.


    Tang Yan waited for a while and saw that Tian Zhenzhe still hadn''t finished talking, then he saw him gesture that he could go.


    Tian Zhenzhe''s words reminded him that although he had experienced a rebirth, he had never experienced many things. Like a broker''s endorsement contract, he probably wouldn''t understand it.


    After he came back, Lu Yun had recovered from his state of enchantment.


    "Oh, yeah!" Lu Yun asked, "You asked last time if there was a chance to enter the Asian Games for boxing. Do you want to participate?"


    Tang Yan nodded slowly.


    "So, it''s really like that." Lu Yun said excitedly.


    "Well?" Tang Yan looked at him with doubt.


    "I called my coach. He said that there is no problem in adding one more person. As long as they have enough strength." Lu Yun said directly.

 66 An Opportunity 1

    After listening to Lu Yun, Tang Yan''s heart was unconsciously ignited with hope.


    China was very particular about it''s system. Him doing boxing was outside the system. He had no qualifications to participate in this trial.


    But now, outside of his expectations, Lu Yun actually said that his coach was willing to give him an opportunity.


    This was really useful for him.


    "My coach has a wide network of contacts. As long as you can get his approval, he has a solution in terms of procedures, so..." Lu Yun said with his expression full of excitement. "Let''s make big money together!"


    "...."


    Tang Yan looked at Lu Yun without a word, this guy really... didn''t forget his original intentions.


    However, this was actually his purpose. After nodding his head, he agreed to Lu Yun''s proposal.


    ...


    Seo Yeon''s Weibo search got no-response from Tang Yan and Lu Yun. Due to this, it turned into an incomprehensible mystery, which gained more and more people''s attention as they became more curious, it spread more widely. Fans actively went about Singapore looking for clues


    Even at this craze, Tang Yan still chose to ignore it. The next morning, he and Lu Yun took the plane back home.


    Originally, Tian Zhenzhe arranged for him to attend the closing ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games but he insisted on returning home. So he let him.


    Arriving back home, they didn''t have much rest. They went straight to the Guangxi Boxing Center without stopping.


    Here, Tang Yan saw Lu Yun''s main coach, a muscular man who was a lot bigger than Lu Yun, he was in his forties, but he still looked youthful and powerful.


    "Tang Yan, this is my coach, Liu Lianglong." Lu Yun introduced with excitement then looked at Liu Lianglong, "Coach, this is the super genius I told you about!"


    Lu Yun looked excited, but Liu Lianglong was slightly frowning at this time, as he looked over Tang Yan with his eyes.


    Tang Yan smiled.


    When he first entered the boxing gym, he was looking around. When Lu Yun called Liu Lianglong out of the boxing ring, the latter was still very excited but when he saw him, his gaze changed.


    This was actually normal. Although he had the power of Jeet Kune Do, his body looked thin. From the perspective of Liu Lianglong, him being concerned about thiswas very reasonable.


    "It''s not a simple matter to box. First, you must have a strong enough body. Otherwise, it''s very likely that you won''t even survive a round. You will be killed by your opponent." Liu Lianglong said to Tang Yan, he was euphemistic.


    "No, coach, Tang Yan is really strong, he..." Lu Yun heard that Liu Lianglong was in doubt, and quickly said.


    Liu Lianglong directly reached out and interrupted his words. He followed up and said to Tang Yan: "If Lu Yun has recommended you, I can give you a chance, but whether you can grasp it or not is up to you."


    After that, he turned and yelled at the boxing ring: "Zhao Li!"


    "Coach!"


    After Liu Lianglong shouted, a boxer who was about 5''6jumped down from the boxing ring. His figure and Lu Yun''s were carved out of a mold. The only difference was that he looked to have more weight than Lu Yun. He was more bulked out.


    "Your gonna fight with Zhao Li, as long as you can last a round, I can consider taking you on for training." Liu Lianglong said.


    Liu Lianglong''s voice hadn''t fallen but Lu Yun''s face became embarrassed, he assured Tang Yan of an opening. After hearing about Tang Yan''s deeds, Liu Lianglong also guaranteed him a spot on the phone but now they met up, he changed his mind. Only offering him training, so he immediately said: "Coach..."


    Liu Lianglong frowned and glanced at Lu Yun. Lu Yun paused on his words.


    "The opportunity is here, are you willing to try." Liu Lianglong said to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan smiled and wasn''t angry. He said calmly: "I want to try."


    Liu Lianglong saw Tang Yan''s reaction, nodded and brought them to the boxing ring.


    Soon, people began to gather seeing the commotion.


    Lu Yun saw that the situation couldn''t be changed. He looked at Tang Yan with apologies.


    "This isn''t your fault, it''s my fault for being out of shape unlike you lot. Hahaha~" Tang Yan said and patted his little belly, jokingly.


    Lu Yun stunned and began to laugh. He followed and said: "Zhao Li is a 51kg flyweight boxer. Although he''s....not the strongest in the provincial team, he is very strong. You should pay attention to his offense."


    Tang Yan nodded and said nothing, then began to wear protective gear.


    The biggest difference between amateur boxing and professional boxing in addition to the number of rounds, was the need for protective gear like headgear. In addition to using extra padded gloves.


    Tang Yan put on this set of equipment, although still looking thin, he looked more like a boxer.


    Zhao Li was already wearing his equipment earlier and so was already stood in the boxing ring.


    As a boxer at the bottom of the provincial team''s strength, he usually had little chance to perform in the provincial team. More often, he acted in a sparring role. This role encouraged him to practice hard in private. Now he had a chance to prove himself in public. This chance was naturally cherished.


    Although his opponent looked very thin and unlike someone who had practiced boxing, it didn''t matter. As long as he showed his strength, he believed that coach would definitely see him differently.


    Tang Yan was wearing protective gear for the first time. After adjusting for a while, he climbed into the ring.


    Zhao Li saw Tang Yan coming up, and he couldn''t wait. He stretched out his hand and said: "Zhao Li."


    Tang Yan reached out and they touched gloves, "Tang Yan."


    The two men immediately completed the most basic greetings in a boxing match, and both of them took a step back.


    "Tang Yan? Why does this name sound familiar?" Just after the two men got ready to start, a boxer among the crowd which had gathered to watch asked.


    "He... is the one...the one who shoots...arrows I swear" Someone said.


    "Tang Yan, yes, it''s that Tang Yan, the one who won the double gold at the Youth Olympics!" Someone exclaimed.


    At this time, Liu Lianglong turned his head and looked at Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun nodded. Although he told Tang Yan''s story to his coach, he didn''t mention Tang Yan''s identity.


    "Wow, seriously! An archer who wants to box?" Someone who noticed Lu Yun''s nod said with disdain.


    "Crap! Really, when did boxing become the kind of sport anyone could play with? He''s not taking us serious!" said some people indignant.


    "Zhao Li! KO him! Show him what boxing is like!" Someone actually yelled out with volume.


    "KO him! KO him!" others in the crowd actually shouted in conjuncture.


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    After Zhao Li moved to his corner, he was just preparing to attack. When he heard the other boxers in the audience shouting.


    This was the first time he had been cheered on by so many people after he entered the provincial team.


    "Tang Yan, I am sorry!"


    He said in his heart and followed up by shifting his weight preparing to launch an attack.

 67 An Opportunity 2

    Hearing the shouts of the boxers, Tang Yan smiled bitterly. He didn''t do anything to fuel the hatred, but it came his way all the same.


    However, he didn''t care too much and got himself in a southpaw horse stance. He had his right hand and right foot forward.


    Although he gained the power of Jeet Kune Do and Bruce Lee''s understanding of boxing, it was all from the 20th century.


    Boxing had evolved to the present and the change in form weren''t small.


    When Tang Yan took this stance, it immediately attracted a burst of laughter from the other boxers.


    Liu Lianglong also frowned. He turned his head and looked at Lu Yun. He obviously had strong skepticism about what he said before.


    Lu Yun was also blushing at this time, he didn''t know how to explain it.


    Just then, Zhao Li finally launched an attack.


    Tang Yan''s ''amateur stance'' stimulated him. In the face of such an opponent, if he couldn''t end it in one round, it was an insult to his boxing identity.


    Like Lu Yun said, Zhao Li was known for his strength. At this moment, when he swung a right hook everyone could sense the power behind the punch.


    "Whoosh"


    If Tang Yan was hit, he definitely wouldn''t feel good. Whilst Tang Yan knew techniques his body was definitely not conditioned to take hits especially not hits like this.


    With this punch, the crowd of boxers also burst into excitement, although he was ranked near the bottom, Zhao Li''s punching ability was good, this punch could certainly knock down Tang Yan.


    At this moment, Tang Yan moved, of course he wasn''t stupid enough to brace this punch.


    He slipped to the left and directly escaped Zhao Li''s punch, then quickly rushed forward.


    After closing in a sufficient distance, he ignored the surprised look in Zhao Li''s eyes and unceremoniously threw a right hook of his own towards Zhao Li''s face.


    "He''s fast!" someone unconsciously exclaimed.


    Zhao Li wanted to block but because he used all his power to attack, he was out of position and he couldn''t form an effective defense in a short period of time. In a hurry, he only had time to reach out and flimsily try to block his face.


    "Bam!"


    Tang Yan punch came in from the inside, fast and heavy. When Zhao Li was hit, his whole arm was numb and from connecting right to his cheek.


    "Boom!"


    Zhao Li fell heavily on the boxing ring and struggled twice to get up, but in the end his whole person flopped down on the boxing ring and didn''t move.


    The boxers under the ring all looked dumbfounded, their mouths were wide, and their faces were unbelievable.


    Zhao Li was directly KO''d...


    Although Zhao Li was very inconspicuous in the provincial team, defeating Zhao Li was something to be proud of.


    After all he was still a provincial team boxer!


    Among them, except for a few main boxers, no one could guarantee they could knockout Zhao Li in a short time.


    Not to mention with just one punch.


    Tang Yan only used one punch!


    With that stipulation in the entire provincial team, no one could do it!


    Liu Lianglong also had shock written across his face.


    He also didn''t think that Tang Yan would resolve Zhao Li with just a punch, but he was the head coach after all and he jumped in the boxing ring the next second and quickly checked on Zhao Li.


    After a while, Zhao Li was helped by him, out of the boxing ring.


    Fortunately, with the protection of the headgear, coupled with the feeble block attempt with his left hand, Zhao Li was only experiencing temporary dizziness and there was no serious consequences.


    But even so, this was a real KO.


    Liu Lianglong helped him up and soon a boxer came over to help carry Zhao Li out.


    Liu Lianglong looked back at Tang Yan and said, "You have proved your strength. If you like, you can train with the boxing team today."


    "Coach..." There was dissatisfaction from among the boxers. Although he used a punch to knockoutZhao Li, they couldn''t accept this.


    "This is my provincial team, I have the final say." Liu Lianglong didn''t look back, his tone was full of pressure.


    Suddenly, the boxers fell quiet, and you could feel that Liu Lianglong had absolute authority in the provincial team.


    "No." At this moment, beyond everyone''s expectations, Tang Yan suddenly said.


    "No?" Liu Lianglong was also stunned, looking at Tang Yan with doubts.


    "You know what I want." Tang Yan said without disguise.


    "Do you really want to enter the trials for the Asian Games ?" Liu Lianglong looked straight at him.


    Tang Yan nodded and said with a smile: "You know, I am a native of the Zhejiang Province, but since Lu Yun said that you have a wide network of contacts I came all the way to Guangxi."


    "So what!" A boxer said in dissatisfaction.


    Coming to the Guangxi Boxing Team, just because Liu Lianglong had a wide network of contacts!


    Simply arrogant! What was the Guangxi Boxing Team and who was he that he could come here and just ask for favors?


    "Lu Yun, what the hell are you doing huh what do you mean by bringing people like this!?"


    "Just cause you got into the quarter-finals of the Youth Olympic Games? You think you can invite people to the provincial team willy nilly?"


    ...


    The boxers set off their anger on Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun was only a 17-year-old kid. When he experienced this kind of scene, the his person became awkward. He didn''t expect that things would develop to this current situation.


    At this Tang Yan looked at everyone in the crowd and couldn''t help but sneer, saying: "Is that all you know, how to bully kids."


    Liu Lianglong frowned and followed up by yelling: "Quiet!"


    After his shout, the scene slowly calmed.


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    "I can see that your punches are heavy and your reaction speed is very fast. Your a good seed for boxing." Liu Lianglong said.


    Tang Yan looked at Liu Lianglong, nervously his heart beating fast.


    "But..." Liu Lianglong turned his head. "You obviously have no experience in boxing. The main reason you could knockout Zhao Li, was because he showed contempt and underestimated you, if you fought once again, you might not necessarily be his opponent."


    Tang Yan nodded. This was a big truth. If Zhao Li had taken things more seriously and not looked down on him, he wouldn''t have been able to knock him out in one punch.


    Maybe, he would of had to use two?


    "In terms of your current match experience, don''t think that the Asian Games''s selection trials are like the national championships. You will find it extremely hard to qualify. Let me take you on as a seedling and I''ll let you train with the team. It''s not to look down on you, but to value you and your potential. Plus with my training, you''ll easily make your professional debut in no time."


    Tang Yan nodded, what Liu Lianglong said was indeed the case: "Coach, your right, but I don''t have that much time. I need to compete in this Asian Games, I have confidence in winning."


    Winning the Asian Games....?!


    The other boxers heard this and all looked at Tang Yan like an idiot.


    Even Liu Lianglong, also fiercely frowned.


    This Tang Yan was too young and conceited!

 68 Xiong Haojie

    "Well, at the very least you sure have courage, I will give you another chance." Liu Lianglong saw Tang Yan''s confident gaze and acquiesced.


    "Coach!" When they heard Liu Lianglong''s words, the following boxers were completely incensed.


    The Asian Games Trials were the very last chance to enter the Asian Games. Each country was allocated a certain number of places. Even the quota each province could send to the trial was limited, but now Liu Lianglong was giving out a chance to an outsider, this meant robbing them of their spot potentially, which was absolutely unfair to others.


    "Xiong Haojie!"


    However, Liu Lianglong''s next sentence instantly shut up everyone.


    This time it was Lu Yun''s turn to say: "Coach!"


    "Yes, coach." At this moment, the boxers under the ring consciously made a path, for a boxer who had a similar to Liu Lianglong. He came up and smiled looking at the ring.


    "He is the 51kg flyweight ace for the national team this time. I will give you a day to prepare. Tomorrow, as long as you can beat him, I can guarantee you 100% a place in the trials." He said in a firm tone.


    This time, the crowd was surprisingly quiet, none of the boxers were dissatisfied any longer. Instead, some of them were gloating in their hearts.


    Xiong Haojie was a boxer in the national team. Don''t mention victory, there was still the question of whether or not he could last a round.


    Liu Lianglong said all this but in fact he hoped that Tang Yan would retreat.


    "Okay, I''ll hold you to your word." Out of everyone''s expectations, Tang Yan said in agreement.


    Lu Yun looking at Tang Yan was about to speak but then bit his tongue.


    "To be honest." Liu Lianglong also smiled at this time. "I''m looking forward to seeing what your made of tomorrow."


    "I''ll try not to surprise you too much." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    Liu Lianglong shook his head with a smile, then did not say anything and immediately turned to the boxing ring.


    .....


    When they came out of the Guangxi Boxing Center, Tang Yan still had a relaxed expression but Lu Yun showed a dignified face.


    "Looks like I''ll be fighting your elder tomorrow." Tang Yan said to Lu Yun with a smile.


    "Your still in the mood to make a joke." Lu Yun wasn''t laughing at Tang Yan''s words. Instead, he said with a dignified face. "Do you know that Xiong Haojie is the younger brother of Xiong Chaozhong?"


    "Xiong Chaozhong?" Tang Yan was a little surprised this time.


    In Chinese boxing history, two names were extremely prominent and influential. One was the two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming, the other was the two-time defending WBC minimumweight champion, Xiong Chaozhong.


    Although it was only 2010 and Xiong Chaozhong hadn''t yet gone on to win his first belt, but he was already famous in China. It was no exaggeration to say that he was invincible in China.


    This Xiong Haojie was actually his brother.


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    "Now do you know what sort of trouble your in? Although he doesn''t compare to the strength of Xiong Chaozhong, in the flyweight class, he basically has few opponents in China, let alone you are probably only around 49kg to boot." Lu Yun said in a tepid tone.


    Tang Yan smiled and said: "This is interesting."


    "Interesting..." Lu Yun looked at Tang Yan without a word. "Coach is giving you the runaround."


    Tang Yan suddenly put away his smile, stopped and looked at Lu Yun: "Don''t you believe in me?"


    "I...." Lu Yun looked at Tang Yan''s serious expression. When he thought of the scene in Singapore, he nodded. "Trust you."


    "That''s good to here bro." Tang Yan immediately smiled again, followed by a light punch on Lu Yun''s shoulder, he said, "Let''s go back, I haven''t eaten Chinese food in a while, I''ve been missing it."


    Lu Yun sighed silently but quickly followed.


    ...


    The next day, Tang Yan once again went to the Guangxi Boxing Centre.


    Yesterday''s boxers were all present, even Zhao Li, who he KO''d yesterday was there, having recovered.


    When he saw Tang Yan, he couldn''t help but gnash his teeth.


    It was obvious that they were all waiting to see Tang Yan lose.


    Tang Yan noticed at Liu Lianglong''s side, next to him was a man wearing a tracksuit who was like 5''11 or so. Looking at the body posture of Liu Lianglong, he seemed to be a higher up.


    "Xiong Haojie not only has heavy punches, but also great footwork. You have to pay attention to it." Before the game, Lu Yun warned Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan nodded, Xiong Chaozhong was an avid follower of Muhammad Ali''s style, and his younger brother certainly learned some fancy footwork. To float like a butterfly.


    After Lu Yun helped him put on his protective gear, he jumped into the boxing ring.


    "I thought you wouldn''t come, since you dared to, at least it proves that you are a man." Xiong Haojie said to him.


    "I never run from a fight." Tang Yan said faintly.


    Xiong Haojie nodded with a look of appreciation.


    "You have great potential. If you train and take your time, you will definitely have a good future, just..."


    "Let''s just fight and not waste time. I''ve already made up my mind"


    Tang Yan didn''t wait for Xiong Haojie to finish and said directly, he was now thinking of fighting in the Asian Games, he had no interest in wasting saliva.


    "Good! Good!" Xiong Haojie''s speech was interrupted, and his tone changed. "I was gonna save you some face due to Lu Yun. But it''s best I teach you a lesson and get rid of that haughty attitude now!."


    Tang Yan didn''t pay attention to the words of Xiong Haojie, and stretched out his hand.


    Xiong Haojie also reached out and stepped forward. After they touched gloves, they stepped back one step.


    "Xiong Haojie, KO him!"


    "Xiong Haojie, end him with a punch!"


    The two sides opened up a distance and the other boxers couldn''t help but shout.


    After seeing Tang Yan''s attitude, they couldn''t bear it.


    Tang Yan ignored the disturbance from the audience, and stood sideways, still posing in the southpaw horse stance.


    Xiong Haojie was in a orthodox stance with his left foot farther in front of the right foot, thus having his weaker side closer to the opponent. His arms were up in a high guard position on either sides of his face but slightly in-front in an attacking posture.


    It seemed that he was really ready to knockout Tang Yan to the ground.

 69 Tang Yan vs Xiong Haojie

    Xiong Haojie took the lead by launching an offense. He leaned forward and followed with two tentative jabs.


    Tang Yan escaped the two punches with quick head movements.


    Although Xiong Haojie was somewhat irritated, after all, he was a national team boxer. His experience was obviously richer than that of Zhao Li.


    There was reservation in his offense.


    After two exploratory attacks, he followed up with a set of combination punches and after a while of attacking, Tang Yan was forced into the corner of the boxing ring.


    Tang Yan ducked and weaved to avoid the attacks of Xiong Haojie.


    "Kid, are you boxing or playing hide and seek!"


    "Stop running! Fight like a man!"


    "Are you a woman, stop hiding!"


    "Go home and practice some archery!"


    ...


    This kind of avoidance by Tang Yan quickly caused a burst of heckling from the boxers.


    Tang Yan didn''t pay attention to the heckling of the audience. He continued ducking and weaving.


    He was waiting for his opportunity.


    Xiong Haojie''s combo''s were very sharp, but he couldn''t quite catch Tang Yan with them, he knew Tang Yan was trying to tire him out. His speed slowly decreased after a while as he slowed the tempo.


    Tang Yan seized the opportunity, after slipping Xiong Haojie''s swinging fist he followed up by accelerating forward and threw a right hook towards the latter''s face.


    His speed was fast, it was a similar blow to the one which knocked out Zhao Li.


    Xiong Haojie was shocked but swiftly stepped back.


    Tang Yan''s fist flew past just before his face.


    Tang Yan didn''t follow up with another punch, his face showed a burst of surprise.


    Sure enough, as Lu Yun said, the footwork of Xiong Haojie was really not ordinary.


    Just then, the eyes of the person next to Liu Lianglong flashed a glint of curiosity.


    Xiong Haojie reached out and patted his face and said to Tang Yan: "Come again!"


    Tang Yan nodded and followed up with sudden acceleration to advance before him.


    He was pressed before and now it was his turn to fight back.


    Seeing that Tang Yan was no longer on the defensive, Xiong Haojie also showed a burst of excitement in his eyes, he beckoned with his arms then raised them into a guard position.


    Tang Yan came at him with cat-like speed.


    "Boff! Bam! Bam! Bam!"


    Tang Yan launched a continuous storm of punches.


    His punches were fast and heavy.


    Xiong Haojie originally wanted to block this round of offense and then fight on a defensive counterattack, but he soon found out that was a bad move.


    Tang Yan''s fists were too fast and too heavy!


    His muscles didn''t act as a buffer at all, and soon there was a feeling of numbness in his arms from blocking his blows.


    The boxers in the audience saw this scene and they all looked at it in awe. Xiong Haojie was actually being pushed back!


    That was a national boxer! One of the trump cards of the Guangxi Boxing Team!


    Now he was actually being beaten back by an archery athlete!


    "Xiong Haojie come on!"


    "Counterattack!"


    ...


    The boxers below the stage cheered for Xiong Haojie loudly, and they could not accept the situation at hand.


    This time, not only the person next to Liu Lianglong, but Liu Lianglong himself was shocked.


    Yesterday''s KO, just made him think that Tang Yan had potential but he didn''t expect such strong fighting power!


    Xiong Haojie listened to the cheers of the audience, and there was annoyance in his heart.


    He was a 51-kilogram boxer, his power was his dominant factor, Tang Yan''s speed was too fast, and he had no chance to fight back.


    He was almost out of breath from the constant pressure.


    He suddenly regretted why he didn''t continue his attack and let himself be pressed back, otherwise he wouldn''t be in such a situation with his excellent footwork.


    He firmed his heart and slowly dropped his guard slightly, he was making a bet here....


    Tang Yan saw the gap in his defense and naturally lurched forward and capitalized on it. He threw a left hook to his face, followed by a right to his body and then a left to his jaw.


    Bracing all this, Xiong Haojie simultaneously shot a extremely swift right hook towards his chin with all his power.


    "Bam!"


    Tang Yan was able to see the punch coming in his direction but lured in, he didn''t have enough time to dodge fully, he swept his head to the left in attempt to dodge.


    But he was still clipped, he became dazed in an instant, his head was spinning. He instinctively backed away.


    Xiong Haojie didn''t pursue either, after purposefully taking hits to lure in Tan Yan he wasn''t in great shape either. He breathed in and out heavily trying to recover from Tang Yan''s blows.


    Catching his breath he jumped forward and launched another right hook, which Tang Yan ducked under instinctively, whilst still slightly out of it.


    Xiong Haojie launched a series of punches which Tang Yan tentatively dodged weaving in and out.


    He was back on the back-foot.


    It returned into a cat and mouse game again, with Xiong Haojie chasing and Tang Yan running and dodging.


    He used the time to organize himself and calm his spinning head.


    After backing Tang Yan into a corner, Xiong Haojie missed with a looping left and Tang Yan firmed his heart and closed in.


    He shot a right hook to his ribs and landed hard under the heart with a left hook. He began working his arms like pistons¡ªleft, right, left, right, to the face and body while the crowd below went nuts.


    But Xiong Haojie grinned savagely and braced his feet, boring in and slugging hard with both hands. He swung for a uppercut forcing Tang Yan away then led for a right hook with his right foot out first.Which forced Tang Yan even further back.


    The two maintained the distance both breathing heavily....


    Xiong Haojie lowered his guard stance slightly in exhaustion.


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    Seeing this Tang Yan stepped forward then paused and stepped back tentatively. Seeing this Xiong Haojie smirked slightly, one bitten twice shy.


    He needed this time to catch his breath.


    Suddenly Tang Yan quickly flashed forward and didn''t allow time for Xiong Haojie to react.


    He nailed him with a straight right to the head, and followed it up with a hard left to the eye, but failed to land his next right as Xiong Haojie slipped under it.He retaliated with a wicked right hook to his ribs.


    Tang Yan braced himself too late and gritted his teeth in absolute pain, he stepped back slightly, fighting the urge to double over in agony....


    As Xiong Haojie straightend himself back up, Tang Yan drew his right hand back and rotating his whole body with it, he shot a blazing right hook right towards his jaw....


    "Whoosh"


    "Stop! Stop!"


    Caught off guard, Xiong Haojie had no resistance at all.


    "BANG!"

 70 Alibaba Boxing Tournamen

    Xiong Haojie was like a pillar losing its support, he slid directly along the ropes of the boxing ring to the canvas.


    By the time he hit the canvas, he had long lost consciousness.


    Xiong Haojie was directly knocked out by Tang Yan!


    Liu Lianglong quickly jumped into the boxing ring. First, he reached out and felt the pulse of Xiong Haojie followed by pouring water on him and lightly tapping his face.


    After a while slowly Xiong Haojie came to, but his face was pale, he obviously wasn''t feeling good.


    Seeing that Xiong Haojie woke up, Liu Lianglong sighed in relief and helped him out of the boxing ring to the infirmary.


    Seeing that Xiong Haojie was fine, Tang Yan was also relieved.


    Compared with other people, Xiong Haojie wasn''t too hostile to him, he didn''t wish him any harm.


    .....


    He looked over at Liu Lianglong and said, "Now, can I participate in the trials?"


    "You, come with me." Liu Lianglong said to Tang Yan.


    After that, without waiting for Tang Yan''s answer, he strode away.


    Tang Yan gave Lu Yun a look, then followed after him.


    The other boxers consciously gave way.


    Boxing was a sport that definitely looked at strength. Tang Yan directly defeated Xiong Haojie. This was enough to establish his strength. No one had the idea of looking down on Tang Yan anymore.


    Tang Yan followed Liu Lianglong and entered a small office. Inside, he saw the man who was stood by Liu Lianglong earlier.


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    Sitting on the sofa, with a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of him, when he saw him come in, he had a smile on his face, but didn''t stand up.


    "Old Qin, I''ve brought him to you." said Liu Lianglong after he entered, then he sat down on the sofa.


    "Sit, sit." The man on the sofa waved at him with a smile.


    "Thank you." Tang Yan said and followed by sitting in the chair opposite them.


    "Tan Yan, the future of archery, hahaha. That''s what those old guys from the Archery Committee are calling you."


    "So I''m a little curious, how come your here, boxing of all things?" The person on the sofa said whilst sitting up straight, with a smile, "I don''t mean to doubt you. I''ve just rarely seen a boxer like you."


    Tang Yan showed a bitter smile. He followed up and said: "It''s a hobby of mine."


    "Hobby..." The man on the sofa glanced at him then couldn''t help but laugh.


    "So..., can I participate in the trials?" Tang Yan wasn''t interested in playing about.


    "Yes and no." The man on the sofa stopped smiling and looked at him.


    Tang Yan brows wrinkled up, he turned his head and glanced at Liu Lianglong.


    This was not the same as what they discussed before.


    .....


    "It''s true with your strength you can hold your own in the trials. But the selection process has it''s own rules. Only boxers who have accumulated a certain number of fight wins under their belt can apply. That is to say, we are gonna have to get some fights under your belt. But your lucky, there''s just the perfect opportunity to do so. You''ll fight in the [Alibaba Boxing Tournament]


    "In fact, considering that the Asian Games is fast approaching. Shouldn''t you be preparing for the archery event. Tian Zhenzhe, doesn''t know what your up to does he?"


    Tang Yan was silent for a while and then nodded.


    This was indeed a problem. Although he had a 100% confidence that this wouldn''t affect his archery, Tian Zhenzhe might not necessarily think so.


    "Okay, that''s also another thing we have to sort out, but I''m looking forward to you joining our team." The man on the sofa smiled and stood up.


    "Oh, yeah, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the head coach of the national boxing team, Qin Hailong." After Qin Hailong got up, he reached out and said to Tang Yan.


    Listening to Qin Hailong''s words, Tang Yan was a little surprised. Although he had guessed that this person''s identity wasn''t simple, he didn''t expect that he was the head coach of the national boxing team. It seemed that what Lu Yun said wasn''t false, although Liu Lianglong was just a provincial team coach, his network of connections was really wide.


    "Thank you, Coach Qin." Tang Yan said politely.


    Qin Hailong nodded with a smile and then left the office with Liu Lianglong.


    Tang Yan followed and went out.


    When he went out, most of the boxers had already began practice, and only Lu Yun was waiting for him outside.


    "How was it?"


    "Not the same as I expected, I still need to fight in a tournament." Tang Yan said slightly frowning.


    "What tournament?"


    "The Alibaba Boxing Tournament"


    Out of Tang Yan''s expectations, Lu Yun smiled and clapped at this.


    "Why are you celebrating?" Tang Yan looked puzzled at Lu Yun.


    "Hahaha." Lu Yun said with a very positive tone. "This tournament is basically full of greenhorns. In terms of strength, they are nothing compared to Xiong Haojie, winning will be a breeze for you.


    "Really?"


    "Absolutely." Lu Yun said affirmatively with a smile.


    .....


    In the following week, Liu Lianglong gave special training to Tang Yan.


    He taught him: how to correctly take a punch effectively, common strategies and tricks to look out for, basically filling in any gaps in his knowledge and advising him how to improve based on his mistakes from the Xiong Haojie fight.


    Tang Yan was able to quickly grasp everything.


    In this process, Tang Yan''s progress made Liu Lianglong marvel.


    Tang Yan himself benefited a lot. Although the power of Jeet Kune Do was strong and the boxing elements from it were excellent, but because of the relationship between the times and modern day boxing had changed a decent amount. Liu Lianglong''s training helped actually make up for these aspects.


    A short week of training had quickly made him a qualified amateur boxer.


    Just after the preparations for this week, Tang Yan, Lu Yun and Liu Lianglong took the plane to Shanghai.


    The venue of the tournament was there.


    Unlike the national boxing championships, the tournament had a big difference in both the number and quality of the boxers.


    This time the tournament had a total of 86 contestants who were recommended by more than a dozen provinces. Of course, these 86 boxers were scattered in different weight classes, so in fact, the number of boxers per class was quite small.


    Take the 49kg class that Tang Yan wanted to participate in. In total, there were only 13 boxers participating in this class. He could win it all by winning at most three fights.


    13 boxers competed, so one person was given a free pass in the first round after a random selection.


    Unfortunately Tang Yan wasn''t so lucky, he didn''t get the free pass.


    His first round opponent was a boxer from the Fujian Province, named Song Nan a 19-year-old boxer.


    After going to his boxing ring, he saw a nervous cold sweat coming from Song Nan''s forehead.


    Because it was a formal match, the biggest difference compared to his previous two sparring sessions was the addition of a referee.


    The referee called them to the center and said: "Let''s have a clean fight, touch gloves, okay back to your corners"


    Then he signaled the start of the fight.


    The first round officially started.


    After the official start of the fight, the sweat on Song Nan''s forehead increased.


    Tang Yan obviously didn''t have any compassion for his opponent''s nervousness. He accelerated forward and closed the distance between them.


    Song Nan saw that Tang Yan was going to attack and stepped back and then his hands were up directly in a basic guard position


    But maybe due to his nerves, the positioning of his hands was obviously wrong and the distance between his hands was more than half the normal distance.


    Sure enough, Chinese boxing itself was very weak.


    The guard position was the most common defensive posture in boxing, with the goal of protecting the most vulnerable part of the human body.


    The lower jaw was one of the most vulnerable parts.


    Song Nan''s way of position his arms directly exposed this vulnerable section.


    Tang Yan was unceremonious and his right hand directly shot out for a uppercut.


    Song Nan noticed this and both hands tried to shrink in to resist this punch.


    But in terms of speed, Tang Yan was obviously faster.


    Before the formation of Song Nan''s defense, his right uppercut directly hit his jaw.


    "Boom!"


    A muffled sound, Song Nan as if his whole person was hit, violently trembled and leaning back fell down.


    All this happened too quickly.

 71 Invalid Chapter

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 72 Tang Yan vs Zhou Junhua 1

    Song Nan hit the canvas and was out for the count.


    The referee realized this and quickly looked down to check Song Nan''s situation. When he saw that he was only stunned instead of in shock, his face couldn''t help but relax.


    Soon after, the staff members lifted Song Nan away. The referee went to the center of the boxing ring and held up Tang Yan''s hand.


    To signal Tang Yan as the winner of this round of competition.


    At this time, the referee''s face looked complicated. It was reasonable to say that he got off working and his mood should be relaxed, but the KO was so fast he seemed redundant.


    The first round of the tournament ended in quick succession. Tang Yan and Lu Yun both successfully advanced to the second round.


    In this round, there were only 8 boxers left. It was the quarter-final stage.


    Tang Yan''s second round opponent was Guo Nuzhi from Shanghai.


    Guo Nuzhi was also a relatively new boxer. Like Song Nan, he was 19 years old. However, compared with Qin Nan, both his state of mind and strength was much stronger. He had also knocked out his opponent in the first round.


    ...


    After the two touched gloves and separated to their corners.


    The referee started the match, Guo Nuzhi took the lead by launching an attack on Tang Yan, which was a direct jab.


    Tang Yan slipped to the left and dodged it.


    Then two stepped forward and launched a left hook.


    Guo Nuzhi raised his guard and used his right hand to block the blow aimed at his head.


    However, Tang Yan launched a devastating right upper-cut almost simultaneously.


    "Boom!"


    Caught by Tang Yan''s right-handed uppercut, his head shot back and was reeling. He felt his center of gravity become unstable.


    After Guo Nuzhi fell to the ground, he struggled to get back up, but couldn''t orientate himself, he was out for the count.


    The referee followed up and signaled his victory raising his hand.


    "You really don''t give your opponent face at all." When Tang Yan came down from the boxing ring, Liu Lianglong couldn''t help but say.


    "We are here to win right, hahaha." Tang Yan said faintly.


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    This attracted a bitter smile from Liu Lianglong.


    But at this time, he followed up with: "The opponents in the first two rounds were relatively easy, but in the next round, you have to pay attention, this opponent may bring you some trouble."


    "Who?" Tang Yan looked puzzled at Liu Lianglong.


    To be honest, he wasn''t too worried about his opponents in this tournament.


    "Your next opponent is Zhou Junhua. There have been rumors that he had retired, so I didn''t expect to see him here."


    "An old boxer?" Tang Yan said.


    "Yeah, he''s 32, he came in the top eight of the national championship in the previous years. His experience is very rich, so pay attention to his flow. "Liu Lianglong shouted.


    Tang Yan nodded.


    The two walked towards Lu Yun''s ring to watch his fight.


    Compared with Tang Yan''s ease, Lu Yun''s fight wasn''t going so easily. He had finished a round but he still hadn''t beat his opponent yet.


    "Ding! Ding!"


    The second round began.


    After watching for a while, Tang Yan understood why Lu Yun couldn''t resolve this fight quickly.


    His opponent in this round was a defensive fighter who constantly moved to avoid his offense.


    Although Lu Yun occasionally connected a punch or two and held the advantage he couldn''t end it.


    Tang Yan saw this and knew that it would continue to all four rounds at this rate. Lu Yun''s physical exertion would definitely cause him to lose. He couldn''t help but shout: "Follow through with your punches. Commit to them and end this."


    Although Lu Yun was in the middle of fighting, Tang Yan''s voice still entered into his ear. He suddenly gave up all defense and put all his energy into attacking. From punching volume to just power.


    The situation changed in an instant. Lu Yun was a boxer who was known for his attack. After his full on attack, his opponent couldn''t keep up.


    It was completely different from before, Lu Yun was fully committing to every punch now instead of just using punch volume even though he missed one or two punches, his offensive was not reduced.


    Soon, his opponent was forced into the corner of the boxing ring, as he lost space to dodge.


    Lu Yun caught him with an almighty right hook for a clean hit.


    At this time, the other boxing fights had ended. When they saw this hard-hitting knockdown, there was a cheering sound immediately from below.


    Lu Yun was also very excited. After the referee finished the countdown, he excitedly screamed twice.


    Liu Lianglong turned to look at Tang Yan at this time, there was a thoughtful look in his eyes.


    With the end of Lu Yun''s match, the morning fights were done. The semi-finals would be held in the afternoon.


    When the tournament entered this stage, a large crowd slowly came in to watch.


    The competition between Tang Yan and Zhou Junhua attracted a decent crowd.


    With two KO''s it was difficult not to attract attention.


    ....


    "This is my final year before I go into retirement, I wish to fulfill my dream of competing internationally for my country, hopefully at the Asian Games. To do that I need to win this tournament. So, I''m sorry." Before the game started, Zhou Junhua suddenly said to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan looked at him puzzled.


    "Why are you telling me this." Tang Yan said faintly.


    "So you can understand my situation!" Zhou Junhua said.


    At this time, the referee went through the usual routine.


    Tang Yan and Zhou Junhua touched gloves and moved back to their corners.

 73 Tang Yan vs Zhou Junhua 2

    What he didn''t expect at all was that Zhou Junhua immediately took a step forward and then he rushed over with a punch.


    A handshake isn''t much of an option when you have 10 ounces of leather on your paws, so boxers touch gloves at the beginning of fights in a display of sportsmanship.


    It was common practice to separate and give time to adjust by backing to your own corner.


    However, Zhou Junhua''s attack right away didn''t give Tang Yan time to adjust.


    Tang Yan barely had time to react, he could only block hastily with his hand.


    With a bang, his arm trembled and he stepped back in panic.


    Seeing that Tang Yan was tricked by Zhou Junhua, several fighters watching on the sidelines couldn''t help but shake their heads.


    Zhou Junhua''s approach wasn''t honorable, but Tang Yan showed his lack of experience. This round was likely to end with Zhou Junhua''s victory they thought.


    Because of the lack of specialized strength and resistance training, Tang Yan was weak defensively, which is why he chose to retreat when he couldn''t dodge.


    But after retreating back, he was furious. So much for a respectable elder.


    His right foot slammed on the ground and his whole person rushed forward.


    His speed was very fast, Zhou Junhua had just got in position, when he saw the punch launched by Tang Yan.


    He responded quickly, getting in a defensive posture with both his hands up and his footwork changed simultaneously to prepare for the punch.


    Judging from his reaction, he wasn''t only experienced, but also had an obvious understanding of Tang Yan, knowing that his punch would be very heavy.


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    "Boom!"


    Tang Yan''s right hook was directly blocked by the arms of Zhou Junhua.


    He punched with not only his strength but also his inner anger.


    Zhou Junhua had already made all the preparations for the attack, but when Tang Yan''s punch hit him, he discovered a deadly thing.


    He completely underestimated the power of Tang Yan.


    The moment it hit him, he felt like he was hit by a car, his arm was numb,


    Driven to frenzy Tang Yan tore loose and shot a right swing to his body as a follow up. But Zhou Junhua instantly dropped his arms and blocked his blow.


    Zhou Junhua came back with a slashing left hook toward his body and Tang Yan shifted back to avoid it.


    Tang Yan continued forward and lurched to the right but then shifted to the left after Zhou Junhua moved along with him.He rushed in, ripped a right hook towards him, Zhuo Junhua tilted his head and was only caught on the ear.


    Tang Yan came with a combo: with a venomous right under the heart, he duckedZhou Junhu''s left swing and jabbed him three times on the nose in quick succession.


    He didn''t have the opportunity to react.


    Tang Yan whirled up for a right hook but Zhou Junhua hurtled forward and tied him up, hugging him.


    Under this hug, Tang Yan had no space to punch.


    At this moment, the referee ran to the side of the two and then signaled the two to separate.


    Tang Yan brows wrinkled up.


    After this Tang Yan quickly rushed forward and at close quarters they traded short arm rights and lefts to the body, Zhou Junhua was the first to back away.


    Tang Yan was right on top of him and instantly ripped in a right uppercut that loosened a bunch of his teeth and backed him into the ropes with a perfect whirlwind of left and right hooks to the head.


    Zhou Junhua blocked a few times, but he quickly couldn''t stand it.


    At this time, Tang Yan was in the zone, fired up.


    Zhou Junhua was on the back-foot.


    Such absolute suppression also attracted a burst of cheers from the boxers. Although Zhou Junhua''s reputation in the boxing world was far greater than that of Tang Yan, the sneak attack at the beginning didn''t win him any good will.


    Zhou Junhua suddenly opened up and wrapped up Tang Yan again as he was preparing to launch a left hook.


    Zhou Junhua clinched up and Tang Yan was tightly wrapped up.


    There was a buzz in the audience.


    There was frustration clear on their faces.


    However, Zhou Junhua didn''t seem to care about the reactions of others, and still continued clinching to him.


    "Separate you two!"


    "Ding. Ding"


    As the two began to separate the sideline staff rang the bell.


    There went the first round.


    In this way, Zhou Junhua actually managed to withstand a round.


    Tang Yan glared at Zhou Junhua, his heart was filled with frustration.


    This Zhou Junhua was really frustrating to the extreme.


    Going to his corner of the ring, Liu Lianglong gave him an ice pack and said, "How are you feeling?"


    "I''m good, he''s just frustrating to fight against." Tang Yan said firmly.


    "Yeah, he''s a sly one. Try to slow down the pace and wait for an opportunity. Just work him around. And when he tries to close in and clinch, step back and hit him with a few jabs." Liu Lianglong said.


    Tang Yan turned to look at Liu Lianglong and nodded.


    .....


    "Ding. Ding"


    The second round began.


    "Tang Yan, you''ve got this!" There were several boxers cheering for Tang Yan.


    After the referee indicated that the second round could begin, Tang Yan stepped forward and followed up with two consecutive jabs.


    Zhou Junhua still took on his previous tactic of blocking and retreating.


    His strategy was actually very simple, that is, to do everything possible to resist Tang Yan''s offense, to consume Tang Yan''s physical strength, so that he had room to possibly counterattack in the fourth round.


    This move had worked in the previous two rounds and helped him to reach the semi-finals.


    Tang Yan was continuously attacking and pressuring him.


    Zhou Junhua continued to block, but soon he found something wrong.


    After the second round began, Tang Yan had slowed down and just used light jabs. Seemingly slowing his speed down and conserving energy.


    After hardly any action, he felt that he could no longer hold back. He grit his teeth and stepped forward to close the distance with Tang Yan. Then he stepped forward with his right side and launched a right hook.


    But at this moment, Tang Yan''s mouth showed a faint smile.


    He was waiting for this!


    He didn''t retreat, but quickly approached, within the scope of Zhou Junhua''s fist.


    Slipping under his punch, he sent a right hook straight towards Zhou Junhua stomach.

 74 Tenacious

    "Whoosh!"


    Under the watchful eyes of everyone on the sidelines, Zhou Junhua''s cat like waist evaded Tang Yan''s swinging right hook.


    But....that was followed by an uppercut, which caught the latter off guard.


    The speed was so fast that he was too late to react.


    "Boom!"


    Zhou Junhua felt a square hit to his lower jaw, followed by another right hook which caught him right on the side of his face and then his whole person lost consciousness in an instant, and fell back.


    Zhou Junhua''s body slammed into the ropes, then bounced back and fell directly to the canvas.


    The audience were the first to scream in cheers.


    Tang Yan violently breathed up and down catching his breath.


    The referee went straight over and turned Zhou Junhua over. He saw his face was pale, and he reached out and felt his pulse, and quickly let the medical staff carry him away.


    When Zhou Junhua was taken away, the referee raised Tang Yan''s hand and signaled him as the winner.


    Tang Yan waved his right hand hard and patted his hand on his chest.


    Obviously, finally knocking out Zhou Junhua made him excited.


    After defeating Zhou Junhua, he broke into the finals.


    His last round of opponent was Lu Yun.


    After Lu Yun took on Tang Yan''s advice in the quarter-finals, his whole person seemed to transform. In the semi-final, the well-known boxer Liu Wei, who was worthy of his reputation was actually defeated by him in only one round after being hit with a storm of punches.


    The two boxers of the Guangxi Team both reached the finals, which was the equivalent of bringing the trophy back to Guangxi in advance.


    At this time, the happiest person was Liu Lianglong. In this case, in the Guangxi Province there were three people viable to participate in the Asian Games trials. The probability of one getting into the Asian Games Team was quite decent.


    "Brother, I know that I''m not your opponent but I can''t admit defeat." Lu Yun said to Tang Yan seriously.


    "That''s fine, lets go a few rounds." Tang Yan nodded and said.


    They didn''t have any reservations, both of them would attack wholeheartedly for the first tournament trophy in their careers.


    Liu Lianglong chose neutrality at this time. He stood in the corner of the boxing ring and was focused on observing the confrontation between his two disciples.


    After the referee repeated some of the precautions, the fight officially started.


    The two sprang at each other instantly and traded a storm of punches.


    This rhythm amazed the crowd.


    This was nothing, short of ferocious.


    "Bam! Bam! Bam!"


    In the boxing ring, there was a burst of muffled sounds.


    However, most of this sound came from Tang Yan''s fists.


    After trading blows, Lu Yun came off slightly weaker than Tang Yan especially in terms of boxing speed and reflexes.


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    However, Lu Yun''s biggest advantage was his muscles which he braced and used to withstand Tang Yan''s punches, resiliently fighting on.


    After the previous rounds of competition, everyone knew that Tang Yan''s full-fledged punch was no light thing.


    Tang Yan''s speed and reflexes were very fast, allowing him to dodge and weave some of Lu Yun''s attacks even at such close range.


    Slowly, Lu Yun''s disadvantage became more and more obvious. Tang Yan seized the opportunity.


    Lu Yan''s arms became numb after blocking a torrent of punches. So when Tang Yan forcefully tried to punch through his guard, he slightly stumbled back.


    And Tang Yan wasted no time to hit him with a storm of body blows, which made Lu Yun eventually succumb, keeling over with the air knocked out of him.


    Holding back slightly Tang Yan hit him with a right hook, sending him down for the count.


    The scene burst into cheers, with Lu Yun down the referee began the ten second count.


    Tang Yan was close to becoming the tournament champion.


    "One...."


    "Two..."


    "Three..."


    "Four...."


    "Five...."


    "Six...."


    Lu Yun, who was knocked down, began climbing back up. At the count of six.


    And he was firmly up by eight. His eyes were firm and determined.


    Tang Yan saw Lu Yun stand up again, nodded to him and gave him some distance.


    Lu Yun shook his face to awaken himself.


    Then he directly attacked Tang Yan.


    His offensive was even more crazed than before the knockdown, there was even a feeling of ignorance.


    However, this just left gaps for Tang Yan to exploit. He weaved in and out and then sent a left hook towards the right cheek of Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun''s body was uncontrollable and he was once again knocked down to the canvas.


    The referee quickly squatted down and began the count.


    Lu Yun swayed his head and tried to rise but fell back with disorientation.


    "1..."


    "2..."


    "3..."


    "4..."


    "5..."


    When the referee counted to 9, at the last moment Lu Yun stood up and stood strong.


    A cheer broke out on the scene.


    Regardless of winning or losing, this tenacity was definitely admirable. With the comparison of Zhou Junhua in the semi-finals, this final was particularly exciting.


    This kind of unyielding tenacity was especially valuable in many cases.


    Tang Yan also gave Lu Yun time to recover slightly and after he recovered somewhat, he set off for battle.


    Lu Yun''s fast punches came once again, Tang Yan quickly dodged and began to counterattack.


    He managed to catch Lu Yun with a decisive right hook.


    After being knocked down, he struggled to stand up again but he wasn''t superman after all and fell back down.


    The referees third countdown reached 10 and the cheers of the crowd rang.


    This time, Tang Yan really won.


    Tang Yan went straight to Lu Yun''s side and reached out and pulled him up from the ground, letting him stand by his side.


    Whether defeated or not, the resilience that Lu Yun showed on the ring, was worthy of his admiration.


    What was more interesting was that Lu Yun had also become the only opponent of Tang Yan''s, not to be lifted out from the ring.


    At this moment, Tang Yan took the first trophy of his boxing career!

 75 Multi-talented

    After winning the boxing tournament, he entered the system space. Although it was a low-level competition, it was still a national level tournament. So he still gained one honor point.


    In this way, his remaining honor points changed from 2 to 3 points.


    The Asian Games Trial would be held in mid-September.


    After he won the tournament, the plan was that he was to dedicate his time simply to training.


    However, this was the ideal plan. The reality however was that there was a problem in communication between Qin Hailong and Tian Zhenzhe.


    Tian Zhenzhe felt that his team had just acquired a genius, creating history at the Youth Olympic Games and after he returned to China, he actually that this person was going to participate in the trials of another sport and of all things, boxing. He couldn''t accept this.


    After all, the Asian Games was an international-level event. It wasn''t child''s play, it was a step up from the Youth Olympics. He had even planned out a training schedule for Tang Yan. Now suddenly he was hearing all about this boxing gibberish. All his plans had been disrupted.


    He was unwilling to give Tang Yan to Qin Hailong. So the two coaches fell into a stalemate over the matter.


    Eventually they agreed to all meet and discuss the situation.


    ...


    They met at a seaside cafe, you could see the sea and sky through the window, it was a peaceful atmosphere for the talk.


    After a short while, Tian Zhenzhe arrived.


    Tang Yan got up and smiled, but found that his coach had a sour face, it seemed that he was truly unhappy.


    He sat back down with helplessness.


    In fact, he found the situation extremely helpless, he knew if he had told Tian Zhenzhe in advance his plans before returning to China. He would definitely have refused and prevented him from doing so.


    "Unless Tang Yan withdraws from the archery team, I will never allow him to participate in two sports at the same time let alone something dangerous like boxing ." Tian Zhenzhe had just sat down when he said this with a stern face.


    Qin Hailong smiled bitterly, Tian Zhenzhe''s temper tantrum came as expected.


    "Old Tian, we are here to negotiate. After all, this matter hasn''t really been settled. If you come with this attitude, we won''t be able to find a compromise for everyone. You don''t want to see Tang Yan''s talent wasted right?" Qin Hailong said calmly.


    "You...." Tian Zhenzhe glanced at Tang Yan, sighed then nodded.


    "Okay, good lets order some food first, waiter." Qin Hailong said, shouting.


    The waiter came over and they ordered food.


    ....


    Tian Zhenzhe''s temper cooled and they had a peaceful meal.


    "Okay let''s get down to business. Doing what you want isn''t efficient. These two sports are too different. Their contents of training are also completely different. Doing things this way, the final results you can achieve will be weaker compared to if you had focused and specialized in one!"Tian Zhenzhe said.


    Qin Hailong nodded after listening to Tian Zhenzhe''s words, then turned his head and looked at Tang Yan.


    Although he brought Tang Yan, he wanted to hear the thoughts of Tang Yan''s heart. After all, not to mention domestically it was unprecedented in the international arena.


    "Coach, you are not completely right about this. Boxing and archery still have some interlinking points. At least strength plays a helpful role in both." Tang Yan saw that both coaches were watching him and followed up.


    Tian Zhenzhe wanted to refute, but when he remembered the Youth Olympic Games, Tang Yan managed to clinch the game by increasing the number of pounds on his bow.


    "Coach" Tang Yan said looking at Tian Zhenzhe, "In the past, no one has been able to achieve excellent results in two separate sporting events but why can''t I be a the first?"


    "This isn''t a problem of guts or not trying but a matter of energy, your time is limited and so is your energy." Tian Zhenzhe said.


    At this, Tang Yan helplessly smiled, he felt that to make others accept, he could only take the extreme route.


    He continued to look at Tian Zhenzhe: "Coach, I have been practicing archery for only a little more than half a year, but I won both the individual and team events at the Youth Olympics. I beat people who have practiced and trained for most of their life."


    He emphasized: "Half a year."


    Qin Hailong was shocked.


    Although he knew that Tang Yan had created history for archery, he didn''t think that Tang Yan had only practiced archery for a little more than half a year.


    After Tang Yan finished, he turned his head to Qin Hailong and continued: "You''ve always been very curious about where I learned from boxing? In fact, no one taught me. I just watched and studied it for myself, feeling my own way through it."


    Qin Hailong was once again surprised and cast him a inquisitive look trying to see if he was lying.


    Before he and Liu Lianglong, thought that his boxing method must have come from a well-known boxer. He didn''t expect it to be....self-study?!


    Tian Zhenzhe was also taken aback. Although he was Tang Yan''s first national team head coach and they experienced the Youth Olympics together, he was ignorant of Tang Yan''s details like Qin Hailong.


    Tang Yan looked at the reaction of the two coaches and faintly said: "Although I don''t know why, but in fact, I''ve always had an innate talent for sports. Maybe this is my gift but unlike other people, I can grasp a wide range of sports just as easily as sleeping."


    Tian Zhenzhe and Qin Hailong looked at each other and saw the same shock in each other''s eyes.


    Tian Zhenzhe recovered first and then he said: "Even if you are a genius, you should have heard that the success of geniuses is dependent on follow-up efforts. There are plenty of other talented people, you still need to train and focus..."


    "Coach, you still don''t believe me." Tang Yan smiled and stood up. "If I write a letter of guarantee and promise to win gold at the Asian Games, can you promise to let me do boxing at the same time?"


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    "You mean, you have the confidence to win gold at the Asian Games?" Tian Zhenzhe looked at him skeptically. Although Tang Yan showed enough strength and potential at the Youth Olympic Games, in the Asian Games they would face the true strength of the South Korean team. Their strength was on a completely different scale.


    "Coach, I''m really, not bragging." Tang Yan saw Tian Zhenzhe''s gaze and said firmly.


    "..."

 76 Harassmen

    "Look how crowded it''s getting, imagine if we had come at peak time." Lu Yun saw more and more people getting on and couldn''t help but say.


    Tang Yan smiled and was just about to reply when.


    "Ahhh!"


    Just then, a girl''s scream interrupted their conversation.


    The two looked over in the direction of the sound, then saw one of the schoolgirls at this time was squeezed between the two men against the handrail,her face looked angry and panicked.


    "What the hell are they doing!" Lu Yun watched the two men unhappily, and he quickly stood up.


    Tang Yan also stood up.


    After standing up, they found that among the two men, one had their hand touching the student''s thigh. The girl tried to push him away but was too weak. Because she was backed against the handrail, she couldn''t move away.


    The passengers next to them turned their heads unconsciously, and several people sitting behind the students got up and walked away, but no one actually came forward to stop them or help.


    In the past 10 years, the problem of crime on trains in the province of Guangdong had become very serious. Due to the hecticness of the underground subway, it was hard to spot and those that did spot crimes taking place were often too afraid of getting involved and turned a blind eye.


    "Oh, don''t be nervous, we just want to play with you." The man saw the panic look of the girl and said teasingly.


    Hearing this, and looking at this scene, Tang Yan''s face fell instantly.


    Lu Yun was virtually spitting fire from his eyes at this time. He looked completely livid.


    "...stop....stop!"


    When the two were about to approach, suddenly a trembling voice rang from the girl''s side.


    A thin guy who looked to be the age of twenty, his body shivering stood beside the girl, yelling at the two men.


    This feeble shout attracted the attention of the surrounding passengers, and also temporarily stopped the pace of Tang Yan and Lu Yun.


    "What? What did you say?" The shorter of the men approached the young man in two steps, and said in a fierce tone.


    Looking at the boy''s clothes, he should be a student at the nearby university. At this moment, his body slightly trembling, obviously nervous, he still had the courage to say: "This.... you are harassing her..... I can call the police on...you if you don''t stop."


    "Your gonna call who on us?" The shorter man said in slightly broken mandarin pushing him back directly.


    He fell back into his seat with a thud.


    When the boy tried to stand backup unsteadily, he was pushed down to his seat again.


    "Thud!" He hit his seat more harshly this time.


    He immediately bent over in pain, and it was clear that the man was fairly strong.


    "Hahaha, everyone just relax and focus on yourselves." said the other man and stopped his companion. As he spoke, he tried to once again touch the thigh of the girl.


    "Stop please stop~" The girl almost burst out in tears, and both hands forcefully pushed the man''s hand away, but in the face of pure power, she seemed very powerless.


    At this moment, the boy who was pushed raised his courage and stood up again squeezed past the shorter guy and slammed directly into the taller man, trying to push him away.


    The man took the hit but remained stable using the handrail to stay in place.


    His face was filled with anger and he motioned to punch the boy.


    But at this moment, his arm was suddenly grasped when he raised it.


    When he looked back, he saw Tang Yan and Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun had grabbed his arm.


    Tang Yan and Lu Yun had already come forward in advance when they saw that the situation was spiraling.


    "What the f*ck do you think your doing." Lu Yun said in a righteous manner.


    The man tried to break out of Lu Yun''s grasp, but he found that he couldn''t move his hand.


    At this time, the man realized that he had encountered a difficult opponent.


    He tried to punch at Lu Yun with his other hand.


    Lu Yun tried to grab the other hand and soon the two got into a grappling battle.


    What surprised Tang Yan was that Lu Yun didn''t have any advantage. The strength of this guy wasalso strong.


    The shorter guy saw this and turned around to help. Tang Yan also made a fist and prepared to teach the two bastards a lesson.


    "I have already called the police!" Just then, the boy''s voice suddenly rang again.


    The boy had already pulled the girl behind him, shouting at the men with his phone in his hand.


    The short man saw this and turned to grab the phone.


    Tang Yan quickly stepped forward and blocked him directly.


    The short man seeing this then turned to leave.


    "Hello, 110? I am on the No. 1 subway line, there are two guys here..." The boy moved fast, and he immediately said into his phone.


    The subway had policeman. If they acted fast, at the next station, they should be able to catch the two men.


    The two men realized their situation and fell into a panic.


    The taller fellow took the lead and directly threw a punch towards Lu Yun''s head.


    Lu Yun jerked back and dodged it.


    The tall man shunned Lu Yun and then turned around and threw a punch at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan dodged out of the way and looked over curiously at the man. That punch was very well structured, they way he moved was like that of a trained fighter.


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    Forcing Tang Yan back, the taller fellow pulled along the shorter one and they turned to run.


    "Don''t run, you son of a b*tch!" Lu Yun turned and grabbed toward the shorter man.


    However, at this time, the taller man threw an uppercut in his direction and Lu Yun was forced to back away.


    At this time, the subway was about to arrive at the next stop. It was slowly screeching to a halt.


    The two men took the opportunity to rush into the crowd, Tang Yan and Lu Yun chased after them, the men pushed other passengers directly at them and suddenly there was chaos in the compartment.


    After a while, the train stopped and the men took the lead to grab the door as it opened and they dashed out into the crowd outside on the platform.


    "Let''s get off and chase!" Lu Yun shouted as he tried to rush out.


    At this time, a large number of people tried to board the train and before they knew it they lost track of the men among the crowd. Tang Yan saw that they had lost them and pulled Lu Yun back and said: "They are gone."


    "We can''t let them get away with this, lets keep looking!" Lu Yun said as he squeezed through the crowd of people.


    "The man was Arjun Singer." Tang Yan suddenly said.


    "What?" Lu Yun was stunned by Tang Yan''s words, and turned his head to look at him with doubt.


    "The taller man should be Arjun Singer, if I am not mistaken." Tang Yan repeated and said.


    "Sing... Who is Singer? How do you know him?" Lu Yun looked at him puzzled.


    "I''m not a hundred percent sure if it''s him." Tang Yan shook his head and said.


    "But." Tang Yan said, "If it is, he''s my opponent in the first round."

 77 Tang Yan vs Singer

    "What?" Lu Yun didn''t understand.


    "When they got on the train, I felt like he looked familiar but I couldn''t quite remember where from but after he punched out, I remembered that when the coach showed us our opponents for the first round, my opponent was this person." Tang Yan said.


    "This... seriously?"


    Lu Yun glanced at the crowd of people and finally gave up the idea of ??continuing to chase.


    "Are they stupid, aren''t they afraid of getting caught." Lu Yun said.


    "They probably didn''t think they would be recognized, and without us here they probably wouldn''t have been. Either way they will regret this." Tang Yan then turned and went back down to his seat.


    The young man was still there trying to appease the crying girl, the girl leaned on the boy''s body sobbing deeply.


    Tang Yan glared at the other passengers in the carriage, and the others didn''t dare to meet his gaze and turned away unconsciously in shame.


    He looked over at the boy and the girl again.


    He nodded in appreciation towards the boys direction, at least there was still some people with courage and morals.


    Tang Yan took his eyes back from there and then closed his eyes and rested.


    .....


    The East Pavilion Boxing Gym could be said to be extremely lively today, because the Asian Games selection trial that everyone was looking forward to would be carried out in this boxing gymnasium.


    There was a total of nearly 200 boxers competing here.


    The attendance rate had reached 80%. It was absolutely rare as this was only the first round of the knockout stages.


    Tang Yan''s 49-kilogram class, this time had a total of 31 boxers, a total of five rounds of competition, the final champion would directly get the final ticket to the Asian Games.


    Competition could be said to be quite intense.


    "Although the person who will likely make it to the Asian Games is you, I will try to reach the finals." Lu Yun said confidently before separating to his section.


    "Then I''ll see you there."


    ....


    After separating, Tang Yan came to his area, the No. 10 boxing ring.


    Lu Yun''s first round opponent was Birzhan Zhakypov from Kazakhstan. Because of his strong opponent, Qin Hailong naturally followed along to supervise. By Tang Yan''s side, was the assistant coach Chu Yizhao.


    Both boxers prepared their protective gear and stepped into the boxing ring under the guidance of the referee.


    Tang Yan was first into the ring, he had a grave look on his face.


    Singer followed behind stepping into the ring. His mental state wasn''t very good. It seemed that he didn''t sleep well last night, and when he saw Tang Yan as he stepped in the ring, he was stunned.


    Even with the protective gear, he still recognized his opponent as one of the two "inconvenient" kids from yesterday.


    After realizing this, his face fell in dread.


    The two walked to the center of the boxing ring under the direction of the referee.


    "So it really was you, I didn''t get a chance to teach you a lesson yesterday but I''ve got you now." When he walked in, Tang Yan said fiercely in English.


    "I have no idea what you''re on about, do I know you." Singer said, acting confused.


    "Humph....keep denying all you wan''t. Now I''ve confirmed it''s you get ready for a police visit after this." Tang Yan said gnashing his teeth.


    As soon as he said this, Singer''s face changed."I don''t know what the f*ck your talking about."


    The referee saw the two swearing and bickering back and forth and quickly warned the two.


    After receiving the warning from the referee, the two didn''t speak again, but from the look of anger on both faces this would definitely be a match full of gunpowder.


    The referee went through some rules and announced the start of the fight and then he followed up by taking a big step back.


    Singer reached out his hand as to touch gloves but Tang Yan directly ignored him and went to his corner.


    Singer''s anger grew even worse. After he took back his outstretched hand, he went back to his corner.


    Ding Ding! The beginning of the first round.


    In a normal fight, Tang Yan would choose to defend first, use a dodge to get within range of the opponent and then go into attack mode.


    But this time, he didn''t hesitate for half a second, and he chose to go forward and attack.


    "Go to hell!"


    Singer''s height was around 5''7 and his arm reach was dominant. He also took the initiative to launch an attack. He screamed and slammed a punch directly toward Tang Yan. He was going for a first round KO to vent the fire in his heart.


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    He had absolute confidence. He was a well-known boxer in India.


    He swung with fierce punches but he missed.


    The only thing he hit was the afterimage of Tang Yan!


    At this time, he felt a punch to his right side, and he instinctively raised his guard.


    "Boom!"


    Tang Yan second punch was blocked directly by Singer''s arm.


    Singer immediately felt his arm become numb, he quickly stepped back.


    Tang Yan chased and quickly adjusted his position, he followed up with a right hook.


    Singer reacted, and his left hand went to block Tang Yan''s hook and his right hand also launched an attack.


    Tang Yan''s right hook hit Singer''s arm first, Singer''s face showed a painful appearance and his left hand became slightly numb.


    Singer''s right jab was halfway toward Tang Yan when he threw an uppercut towards his chin.


    Without his right arm to block, it was like being hit by a shell and he fell back.


    He completely underestimated Tang Yan''s power.

 78 Out For The Coun

    "Boom!"


    Singer fell heavily on the canvas.


    The small crowd around their ring burst into surprise.


    Because there were several boxing fights on going at the same time, the audience at each ring waslimited.


    Singer tapped his face to clear his head and it was clear that Tang Yan''s fist didn''t taste good.


    However, when the referee reached 3 on the count, he stood up again.


    The audience on the side of the ring saw this scene and couldn''t help but shake their heads. They thought they were about to see a KO in the first round.


    Tang Yan saw that Singer stood up again and wasn''t too surprised.


    In that punch, he couldn''t control his emotions and he almost used all his strength, but he managed to control it at the last moment.


    The things that Singer did in public yesterday, he didn''t intend to let him go so easily.


    "Son of a b*tch!" Singer screamed like a red-eyed bull.


    He had a very high reputation in the Indian boxing world. He didn''t expect to be knocked down by Tang Yan when he came here. This made him feel a great insult. He directly rushed toward Tang Yan.


    Jab, left hook, right hook, uppercut. A combination of punches, he was like a mad bull, launching a flood-like attack on Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan dodged and weaved through them.


    And just after Singer''s set of combo punches, he seized the opportunity and launched a smashing right hook under his heart, and it doubled Singer over. While in this position he clouted him heartily on the side of his face with a left hook and drove him to his knees.


    But Singer was up without a count, slipped the terrible swing Tang Yan threw at him and having clinched and tied him up. Tang Yan tried to break loose, and finally they both went to the canvas still clinched in a vise-like embrace.


    Driven to frenzy Tang Yan tore loose, arose and hit Singer in the left eye with a terrible right hook the minute he was on his feet. Tang Yan followed up with a slashing left hook to his body.


    Singer dropped his guard, blocked it and his arm became numb.


    In the next second, Tang Yan threw a direct right uppercut.


    Singer scrambled to block the punch and staggered back in retreat.


    Not letting up Tang Yan followed up with a left hook.


    Getting up close in, he managed to connect directly to Singer''s right cheek.


    Then he threw a right which perfectly connected, to his left cheek.


    This punch made Singer''s whole body crumble and consciousness was lost in an instant.


    Tang Yan''s punches were fast and heavy. The ordinary man couldn''t hack such punches. Singer''s skills were relatively decent, he managed to stave of two of the punches, stay alive through the third but was gone on the fourth.


    But Tang Yan didn''t mean to stop.


    He remembered flashbacks from yesterday, in another life that thin boy could have been himself or that girl his sister.


    His heart was full of anger, he threw a straight punch to the temple of Singer.


    The whole person of Singer was beaten and fell back and he slammed into the ropes of the boxing ring and then bounced back.


    Tang Yan swung a right hook which caught Singer in the chest again.


    Although separated by a glove, Singer''s chest took a solid hit.


    The referee saw that the situation was turning bad and he forced Tang Yan back.


    Singer had long lost consciousness and he tumbled to the canvas.


    There was no blood in his face and he looked bleak.


    The referee became nervous and immediately went over to check him out. He checked for his breathing but didn''t sense a breath. He felt for a pulse then jumped up.


    He immediately shouted: "No heartbeat! Medics!"


    The medical staff under the stage immediately jumped into the ring.


    The audience on the sidelines saw this scene and were stunned. This was no longer just a KO.


    This was too exaggerated, right?


    Immediately the medical staff took control, they began emergency manual resuscitation, and the scene fell into chaos....


    "Gasp..."


    After the medical staff worked hard for more than 30 seconds, Singer gasped for air...


    Hearing the gasp for air, not only the medical staff even the referee was relieved.


    The referee turned back to look at Tang Yan, he didn''t expect things to develop to this extent.


    The audience saw that Singer was fine and they all breathed a sigh of relief, but at this time they all looked at Tang Yan in the boxing ring. They didn''t know what to do, they didn''t dare to cheer.


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    This fight was too much of a scare.


    The referee saw that Tang Yan looked fine, even cold and apathetic and he slowly walked over and took his hand, raised it to signal him was the winner.


    With this he felt Tang Yan''s hand was lightly trembling.


    There was no cheering at the scene only mild applause.


    Tang Yan didn''t care about the reaction of the audience and directly climbed out of the ring.


    He was mildly trembling with anxiety over the situation but at the same time he felt no remorse.


    This boxing match would be the shadow of Singer''s life.


    With this he wouldn''t dare to do that kind of thing again.


    ....


    Tang Yan strode towards Lu Yun''s ring a while later, he had stilled his mind.


    Birzhan Zhakypov was making good pace and it seemed it was a hard fight for Lu Yun.


    Sure enough, when he arrived at the boxing ring, he saw that Lu Yun and Zhakypov were already in the third round. Both of them had some bruises on their faces. It could be seen that they suffered a lot of injuries, but neither man could put down their opponent.


    Lu Yun''s speed was much slower than usual. Three rounds in and it could be seen that his physical fitness was still problematic.

 79 Saved By The Bell?

    Lu Yun sat down breathless, his chest violently moving up and down.


    Zhakypov was the strongest opponent he has encountered in addition to Tang Yan since he started boxing.


    First-class speed, top-level footwork, rich experience, if not for Tang Yan''s existence, he would definitely be the most favorable contender for this year''s champion.


    "Keep in mind, you are still leading in points, this is the last round, as long as you stick to it, you can win!" Qin Hailong loudly cheered for Lu Yun.


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    Zhakypov''s strength was a lot stronger than he expected.


    "Didn''t you say that you want to fight me in the finals? You''ve got to at-least make it through the first round then, right?" At this moment, Tang Yan walked over to them and said.


    Lu Yun heard Tang Yan''s voice and turned to see Tang Yan''s encouraging smile, and his body became energized.


    "Ding! Ding!"


    Just then, the bell on the side of the ring rang again, and the fourth round was to start.


    There were only four rounds in an amateur boxing match. In the previous three rounds, the two boxers were evenly matched. This round would be the most decisive for both sides.


    Zhakypov in the first three rounds was defensive, hit hard and used his footwork to set up his offense but at the beginning of this round he quickly launched a fierce attack.


    Defense was not Lu Yun''s strength. Sensing this as his weak point, he pressed him.


    He went for him and battered him across the ring, Lu Yun showed little ability to block. He was


    pinned on a left jab and was wide open for a right cross to the jaw. The few times that Zhakypov let loose his vicious hooks for the body, they landed, too.


    In a somewhat panicky manner Lu Yun clinched to his opponent and held on until the referee intervened and warned him off it.


    Releasing his hold Lu Yun''s eyes fell on the disappointed Tang Yan under the stage and then he remembered what he said between the rounds, he suddenly felt a burst of energy from the soles of his feet.


    He simply gave up defense and watched Zhakypov''s uppercut coming towards him. He didn''t reach out to block as before, but followed up with a punch of his own at Zhakypov.


    Zhakypov saw this, took a hard step to the left and while avoiding Lu Yun''s punch, his uppercut also fell apart.


    After a distance was opened up, Zhakypov followed up with a sharp right hook.


    Lu Yun threw a left hook, the posture he took on was one of if you want to hit me, then get ready for me to hit you with one as well.


    He rushed forward purposely trying to forcefully trade blow for blow.


    At close quarters they traded short arm rights and lefts to the body, Zhakypov was the first to back away and he couldn''t help but swear.


    Relying on this desperate style of play, Lu Yun forced Zhakypov back slightly.


    However, Zhakypov, after all, had the advantage in experience. After slowly mastering Lu Yun''s style of play, he used his footwork to hit Lu Yun then skillfully retreated out of range of Lu Yun''s counter attack. He was just fighting for points now.


    With the case of just one round left, getting effective hits was an efficient method.


    Tang Yan saw that there was some helplessness here. Lu Yun had already reached his limit. It seemed that this Zhakypov was the opponent he would have to pay attention to next.


    However, at this time, Lu Yun launched a last ditch offensive, he rushed forward.


    Zhakypov seized the opportunity to hit him with punches continuously.One punch even hit Lu Yun in the head firmly, sending his head reeling back.


    However, Lu Yun''s offensive wasn''t reduced. He took the blows and forcefully backed Zhakypov into a corner of the boxing ring.


    With the ropes cutting into his back, Zhakypov rallied and steadied himself and smashed a right at Lu Yun.


    Who still marched on and swung a left of his own to his jaw.


    Which set him back on his heels and rattled his teeth like a maraca.


    Lu Yun hooked three lefts to his head whilst he was steadying himself and when he slewed around and swung, Lu Yun ducked and crashed his jaw with a right hook


    "Boom!"


    Lu Yun''s explosive punch directly slammed into Zhakypov.


    His eyes became unfocused and he fell on the ropes.


    "Ding! Ding!"


    The bell on the side of the ring rang to end the fourth round. He slipped softly from the ropes to the canvas.


    The audience at the scene, even the referees, looked over at it.


    At the last moment, Zhakypov was knocked down?


    The referee responded first and ran to check out Zhakypov''s situation and found that he still had consciousness and immediately began the count.


    "1"


    "2"


    Zhakypov struggled, even holding the ropes trying to stand up, he could win if he stood up.


    "3"


    "4"


    His coach, his whole team screamed and yelled for him to get up.


    "5"


    "6"


    However, Lu Yun''s punch was really too lethal. He kept fumbling back down to the canvas.


    "7"


    "8"


    "9"


    As the referee called for the final count he still failed to stand up.


    "10"


    The scene burst into cheers.


    This fight was really too exhilarating to watch, and this was just the first round of competition.


    However, in this burst of cheers, Lu Yun squatted down and fell down on the canvass.


    The cheers on the scene came to an abrupt halt.


    Tang Yan and Qin Hailong jumped into the boxing ring at the same time.


    Only to see Lu Yun lying there with a smirk on his face.


    The two men sighed in relief and lifted him up from the canvass.


    "I won... I will... make it to the finals like I promised, hahaha cough hahaha cough ...." Lu Yun leaned on Tang Yan''s body and said with great effort, laughing intermittently.


    "It was one hell of a win, you really are something." Tang Yan said laughing with him.


    Lu Yun''s face glowed with a big smile.


    At this time, Qin Hailong took a look at Tang Yan. Like Tian Zhenzhe, he also found that Tang Yan''s outstanding ability wasn''t only in his personal skills but in having a reinforcing effect on his teammates.


    Lu Yun could barely stand, whilst the referee announced him as the winner of the fight.


    After which Zhakypov came up for a handshake and said: "Well fought, you deserve this victory."


    Although at the last moment he was knocked down, Lu Yun''s resilience and commitment made him feel respect towards him.


    ...


    After getting some treatment for his injuries, Lu Yun came back his physical strength restored.


    After he came back he asked Tang Yan: "Brother, how was your fight?"


    At this moment, Qin Hailong humphed from the side.


    Lu Yun looked over puzzled at his coach.


    "He almost killed his opponent today." Qin Hailong said.


    Listening to Qin Hailong''s words, his mouth almost fell open.

 80 Tang Yan vs Fernand Gonzalez

    Tang Yan said with a sigh:" It''s the least of what he deserves."


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    Qin Hailong glanced over at him, narrowing his eyes.


    "Explain."


    Tang Yan then went on to retell what happened.


    "You should have told me earlier, not taken things into your own hands....sigh. Leave the rest to me I''ll handle it."


    "Well, you two head back and prepare for tomorrow''s fight." Qin Hailong said.


    Both of them nodded and after Qin Hailong left, Lu Yun couldn''t help but ask: "You really almost killed Singer?"


    "Not on purpose." Tang Yan said with a sigh.


    "Damn!" Lu Yun said giving a thumbs up to Tang Yan.


    .....


    However unknown to them, after the media caught scent of this fight they exaggerated the fight for views and clicks.


    Originally only a small number of sites and newspapers caught wind of the story but when the news came out, people realized that Tang Yan was the same Tang Yan who had created history at the Youth Olympics for archery.


    This caused various other stories to come out from other sites. Mocking him for attempting to do boxing as an archer.


    It brought some unexpected negative consequences to Tang Yan, some companies that were originally prepared to find him to endorse him were somewhat discouraged.


    Tang Yan and Lu Yun were unaware of all of this preparing for their next opponents.


    In the next two rounds, both of them showed absolute strength.


    Lu Yun had a great performance. He defeated boxers from Indonesia and Oman and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.


    Tang Yan showed even more dominance. He ended his fights within a round, each with a KO.


    At this point, both of them broke into the semi-finals.


    But the next fight for both of them was no small challenge.


    Lu Yun''s opponent was Katsuaki Okamoto from Japan. An opponent who was very similar to Tang Yan having a record of all KO''s in his previous fights. His strength didn''t seem to be much weaker than Tang Yan''s.


    Tang Yan''s opponent was the last of the three opponents Qin Hailong said to be vigilant of. Fernand Gonzalez from the Philippines. Who also managed to break into the semi-finals.


    As the event progressed, news of Tang Yan''s strong display continued to come out.


    Before the start of the semi-finals, a reporter had an interview with Gonzalez.


    "Tang Yan has had a strong performance despite cynicism of him joining the sport as an archer. He has shown great lethality having KO''d most of his opponents even causing cardiac arrest among one of them, does this worry you before your fight."


    Gonzalez immediately gave a hearty laugh.


    Gonzalez said with great disapproval: "I fought his team mate called Lu Yun and he was defeated by me during the Youth Olympic Games. He was an actual boxer, as for Tang Yan some wannabe boxer, his run will come to an end under my fist."


    After he finished speaking, he didn''t wait for the reporter to refute. He turned and went to warm up.


    This interview was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire, causing the interest on Tang Yan to sizzle to a higher level.


    Soon even Lu Yun and Tang Yan heard about it.


    Tang Yan hearing this didn''t have much of a reaction.


    These media comments were all irrelevant in his eyes. He was now familiar with these routines.


    As more and more news came out about him switching to boxing, a fierce discussion was sparked between boxing enthusiasts over whether he was legitimate or making a mockery of the sport. Weibo was on fire and netizens were going in, when someone put up a post about what happened in the subway.


    The boy from that time, Lu Yun and Tang Yan all appeared in a video where the situation played out, even the face of Singer was able to be made out clearly.


    The plot reversed in an instant. Tang Yan, who was originally criticized by people, for being a fraud and lacking sportsmanship, instantly became a hero to punish the villain.


    This caught the attention of sponsors and companies who had been keen on Tang Yan before, to become favorable to the idea of sponsoring him again.


    Of course, Tang Yan didn''t know all this. He was wearing protective gear standing in the boxing ring. On the opposite side of him was Gonzalez, who had defeated Lu Yun before.


    It was a very interesting match-up. Tang Yan saw Lu Yun vs Gonzalez as a spectator. He didn''t expect that a month later, he became the person standing opposite Gonzalez.


    Because their boxing matches were almost always done at the same time, Gonzalez didn''t have the chance to watch Tang Yan fight.


    But he found out from his coach the relevant information about what to watch out for, like his speed and power but he didn''t care too much. He was confident in his ability to face anyone let alone an archer turned boxer.


    He even felt that this guy''s previous opponents had to be trash to let him get so far to the semi-finals.


    It seemed that this time, he would be able to go further than in the Youth Olympic Games, breaking into the finals, and even qualify for the Asian Games.


    Tang Yan looked at Gonzalez.


    He didn''t expect much, he should have been defeated by Lu Yun last time if it wasn''t for the judges.


    After the referee introduced the two boxers, he then signaled the two to the center of the boxing ring.


    Because it had reached the semi-final stage, this match naturally became the focus of most people on scene.


    "Let''s see if you can last as many rounds as your friend last time?" Gonzalez said full of ridicule.


    "One round is enough." Tang Yan said faintly.


    "Hahaha, one round! Okay, lets see what you''ve got!"

 81 Defeated

    The referee said to the two: "Let''s have a clean fight, touch gloves and then back to your corners,


    "One round remember, show me what you got." Gonzalez said.


    Tang Yan smiled but didn''t speak.


    After the two touched gloves, they quickly separated back to their corners.


    Gonzalez was a typical slugger type, he had a heavy attack. His style was very lethal in the case of slower-moving boxers but more often he relied on defense to consume the physical strength of his opponent then he would counterattack.


    Gonzalez was quite confident in his defense.


    However this time he raised his guard and then slowly advanced towards Tang Yan, starting a tank-style attack.


    It seemed that he really didn''t put Tang Yan in his eyes.


    When he stepped forward, he punched out with a right jab.


    Tang Yan bobbed his head out the way and threw out a left hook.


    Tang Yan''s speed surprised him, despite the fact he was looking for it but he quickly extended his hand to block.


    "Bam."


    Tang Yan''s swinging fist hit Gonzalez''s hand, not waiting for him to breathe, a right hook followed. Gonzalez weaved under it and backed away.


    Gonzalez was slightly startled and his arrogance disappeared. He became focused.


    Tang Yan had gained experience and gotten fights under his belt and his offense was becoming more and more skillful over time.


    Gonzalez put away his contemptuous heart and immediately transferred to his best. As someone who was able to reach the semi-final his strength was by no means bad.


    Tang Yan saw Gonzalez take an even more defensive posture and his face became more intense. His punches didn''t connect with Gonzalez as he expected. He needed to feel out his opponent and look for gaps to capitalize on.


    He launched forward with a left jab, Gonzalez blocked, he threw a right uppercut,Gonzalez sidestepped it, he came with a left hook Gonzalez weaved under it, with a right hook Gonzalez blocked it.


    This continued for a while.


    Gonzalez felt the pressure. Tang Yan was also beginning to feel wound up and discouraged.


    When he went in for another left hook, Gonzalez ducked under it and launched a sharp right hook for a body shot which caught him cleanly before he could dodge.


    With the air out of him, Tang Yan backed away anxiously, staring him down Gonzalez smiled but didn''t chase.


    Tang Yan came back tentatively and launched a few probing jabs which Gonzalez blocked.Tang Yan forced him back slowly edging him towards the ropes with a continuous flow of punches.


    Then suddenly picking up the pace he launched a cracking right towards his jaw, Gonzalez stepped back to dodge, right into the ropes.


    Tang Yan leaped after him, pumping one, two, three powerful right-hand drives to his jaw, face and head. Gonzalez was rocked, stung and hurt.


    But he lived through this storm, taking on punches and throwing a flurry of his own as he forced his way out. He hooked a left to Tang Yan''s body and swung a right which just grazed Tang Yan''s jaw as he jerked his head back in the nick of time.


    Gonzalez moved out of the corner and made it back to the center.


    Collecting himself, Tang Yan slid out to the center and cautiously advanced, the two stalked each other for a moment without attempting a blow. Tang Yan feinted with a left and Gonzalez stepped back. Gonzalez snarled a laugh and gestured him to come in and fight.Another flurry of punches and dodges occurred, with both moving closer as they traded rights to the body.


    They were in close now, their armsmoving like pistons. Glove thudded against flesh. Gonzalez head down, stood toe to toe with Tang Yan and neither gave a step. Tang Yan sank a long left below Gonzalez''s heart and stiffened his muscles to take the return blow. But suddenly ¡ª out of nowhere, it seemed ¡ª Gonzalez''s right swept up in a fierce arc that ended with Tang Yan''s jaw.


    "Bam!"


    Tang Yan was dropped straight down to the canvas.....


    "Boom!"


    "1"


    "2"


    Tang Yan blinked his eyes heavily, his head felt groggy and like it was spinning.


    "3"


    Hearing the referee''s count he struggled to focus. He grabbed the ropes and began climbing up.


    "4"


    "5"


    At five he struggled to his feat and was back up. Blinking himself clear, he put up his guard.


    Gonzalez was straight over with his right drawn back for the kill. But before he could strike, Tang Yan launched forward and smothered him in a flurry of blows ¡ª driving him back to the ropes with left and right, left and right, in a mad barrage against his chest, jaw and ribs. Twice ¡ª three times Gonzalez drove with his right but Tang Yan bopped his head out of the punches and forcefully took the body blows like he didn''t feel it.


    He was in a zone of fury.


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    The scene burst into cheers. After all, it was his home ground.


    "KO! KO!"


    The exclamations calling for a knockout grew louder alongside his barrage of punches.


    Gonzalez had self-confidence in his defense, he trained to take blows for the chance to launch powerful blows. But his arms, after continuously taking on Tang Yan''s blows were feeling pain and numbness that he hadn''t experienced for a long time till now.


    If he stayed passive, he would just be letting himself get pushed into a corner.


    In desperation, he resisted two punches and then stepped forward and threw a right hook trying to break out of this suppressed situation.


    Seeing Gonzalez''s move, Tang Yan didn''t retreat and directly rushed in front of Gonzalez, he took the right hook to the body and threw a left uppercut.


    Gonzalez was shocked. He didn''t expect Tang Yan to be so desperate. He wanted to fight back but it was too late, and he could only attempt to hastily dodge.


    "Boom!"


    The heavy punch hit Gonzalez in the chest.


    Gonzalez''s face was instantly white, he threw a left jab to force distance as he tried to retreat.


    However, this rushed counterattack was of no use.


    Tang Yan side stepped it and chased.


    He threw a punch at the chest of Gonzalez. It hit just a little under his heart.


    Gonzalez felt a sharp pain in his chest.


    He wanted to cough, but soon he found that he had no strength, and then his whole person fell softly to the boxing ring.


    After falling to the ground, his whole mouth was wide and there was a feeling like he couldn''t breathe.


    The audience under the ring looked at this scene in wonder, was this a... KO?


    The referee saw this scene and rushed to see his situation. When he saw that something was wrong, he immediately waved to the ring side.


    Since the precedent of Singer, the medical staff was already prepared, seeing this scene they slid into the ring holding an oxygen tank.


    Gonzalez was first hit in the chest, and then by the heart, he was down wheezing and gasping for air.


    After a while, the medical staff finally got his breathing under control and helped Gonzalez out of the ring.


    At this time, the referee''s emotions were incomprehensible.


    He wiped the sweat from his forehead and walked over to raise Tang Yan''s hand and signaled him as the winner.


    "Tang Yan, Tang Yan , Tang Yan Boxing killer! Tang....Boxing killer,Boxing killer,Boxing killer!"


    The moment when Tang Yan''s hand was lifted, the audience began to cheer for Tang Yan loudly. It was unknown who started it but slowly the chant changed and he was given a sinister title.


    Tang Yan enjoyed the cheers of the people, and his whole person had a feeling of lightness.


    Sure enough, boxing was a thrilling sport, he was high on adrenaline.


    This kind of cheering scene was much more refreshing than in archery.


    The next step, as long as he defeats his final opponent, he would be able to get a place for the Asian Games.

 82 Lu Yun vs Okamoto 1

    Lu Yun and Okamoto were up to fight after Tang Yan and Gonzalez.


    After a short break and changing clothes, Tang Yan then sat next to Qin Hailong to watch the fight.


    In Asian boxing Japan was undoubtedly a powerful existence especially in the lighter weight categories.


    Only 17-years-old Okamoto was a potential starlet for their country and he showed this successfully reaching the semi-finals.


    Japan was known for its karate. The island country''s boxing style evolved from it. It was characterized as technically simple but sound, fast and precise. They were by the book fighters with an aggressive style.


    This fight was destined to be a wonderful clash of brutality.


    "One more to go till the final, you''ve got this." Tang Yan said as Lu Yun prepared to enter the ring.


    Lu Yun nodded hard, and entered the ring energetic.


    Okamoto also came in full of power, he was polite and nodded in greeting to Lu Yun.


    After the two people touched gloves they moved to their corners.


    Ding! Ding!


    Lu Yun took the lead in launching an offensive. His current style of fighting had become increasingly warlike and he put his whole body into attacking to defeat his opponent.


    Okamoto didn''t attack immediately but quickly turned to defense, bopping and weaving using elbow blocks to constantly resist Lu Yun''s offense.


    His flexible figure and strengthened elbows made him not inferior even on defense.


    Lu Yun''s first round of offense didn''t bring him any benefit.


    Seeing this, Tang Yan''s face could not help but become dignified.


    Okamoto seemed more rounded and stronger than Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun''s set of punches finished, but the action didn''t stop and the second set of combination punches was ready to go.


    However, at this time, Okamoto suddenly gave up his defensive posture, and threw a direct punch.


    Lu Yun was attacking with all his strength and Okamoto also had a quick punch. He didn''t have time to dodge and he gritted his teeth. He followed through with his heavy punch at Okamoto.


    It was this type of play, Lu Yun used to clinch the victory against Zhakypov. He didn''t want to have to resort to trading blow for blow so early but if he had to, he was willing to.


    However, what Lu Yun and the audience didn''t expect was that Okamoto facing his incoming punch didn''t mean to retreat. He just turned his head slightly to the right right at the last moment avoiding being hit and his swinging fist accelerated.


    "Boom!"


    Okamoto caught him right on his right cheek.


    Lu Yun was hit and his whole person leaned out to the left.


    He reacted quickly, and opened up distance then took two steps to meet Okamoto''s lumbering rush. He parried a swinging right and stabbed a light left into his earnest face. Okamoto missed with a short left but hammered a right home to Lu Yun''s ribs and used his weight to force him across the ring to the ropes.


    Okamoto stayed inside, pumping rights and lefts into his midriff. Lu Yun caught him across the top of the head, but Okamoto had his face against his chest, and Lu Yun didn''t know how to pry him loose.


    The audience roared seeing this scene.


    Many of the audience were Chinese and naturally wanted Lu Yun to win but it was obvious that Okamoto had the advantage in this confrontation with Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun brought up another short right and Okamoto grunted. Lu Yun pushed him away and danced out into the middle of the ring. Okamoto plodded after him. They traded long-range swings. There was a snap and speed in Okamoto that Lu Yun couldn''t match and he was beaten to every punch by Okamoto.


    Okamoto lanced out with a rapid straight left again and rocked Lu Yun just enough to keep him off-balance.


    But he didn''t pursue the attack and instead did a beckoning gesture at him. Whilst seemingly dropping his guard. It was clear he was trying to provoke him.


    It immediately attracted the buzz of the audience.


    And it gorged a reaction out of Lu Yun, who became red-eyed and rushed forward in anger.


    Tang Yan saw this scene, his brow slammed. It was an obvious attempt to provoke and lure him in.


    But Lu Yun was already provoked, he attacked with a violent storm of punches like a manic bull.


    Okamoto responded quickly and immediately plunged into defense.


    Lu Yun was an explosive boxer. In this round of attack, Okamoto was almost unable to lift his head.


    The audience went wild at Lu Yun''s offense, and the shout of "KO!" resounded in the boxing hall.


    However, at this time, Tang Yan''s brows were wrinkled and tightened.


    Although it looked like Lu Yun had the upper hand and even looked close to a KO, in fact, Okamoto''s defensive posture hadn''t changed. He lost only temporary momentum, but Lu Yun wasn''t able to deal any significant blows or do real damage. With his skillful dodging and blocking even the pointsLu Yun would get weren''t too great.


    It wasn''t sustainable either, he was wasting a lot of energy.


    So sure enough when the offense of Lu Yun was coming to an end, Okamoto immediately launched a counterattack.


    He glided under a right hook from Lu Yun, stepped in and belted him on the jaw with a long, looping right. It sent his head reeling back. Then he hit him with a body shot, Lu Yun was now the one half hazardously blocking and trying to retreat.


    "Ding! Ding!"


    Just then, in the nick of time when things were looking rocky the bell went.


    At the end of the first round, there was no KO but Okamoto succeeded in taking that round.


    During the rest interval, Qin Hailong said to Lu Yun whilst cleaning him up.


    "Stay calm and focused, this is a very difficult opponent, don''t let him under your skin." Qin Hailong continued to say to Lu Yun.


    Lu Yun nodded constantly, sweat drenched all along his forehead and body.


    Tang Yan didn''t know what to say at this time.


    "I will reach the finals." Before moving on, Lu Yun suddenly turned his head and said to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan paused for a moment and nodded hard with force: "I believe in you."


    Ding! Ding!


    The second round began.


    Knowing he was a round behind Lu Yun came out aggressive again, but Okamoto turned defensive and evasive. Mainly hitting and running not slugging it out with him like in the first round. It was looking to be a slow round with Okamotofighting carefully and methodically.


    ....


    Tang Yan sighed at the scene in front of him and suddenly stood up from his seat and said to Qin Hailong: "I''m going to the toilet."


    Arriving to the toilet, he instinctively reached into his pocket for a smoke, but when he touched it, it was empty and he smiled wearily at this. Sometimes he forgot he was back in the past.


    "You want one of mine." Just then a voice came, someone in the toilet saw his movement and handed him a cigarette pack.


    Tang Yan wanted to say that he didn''t smoke. When the man followed up and said, "Hey, aren''t you Tang Yan who fought in the semi-finals? How come you''re smoking at such a young age?"


    Tang Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and couldn''t help but look at the guy in front of him.


    He looked around the age of 30, with a neat appearance, he wore a suit which was extremely outplace. He looked like a government employee.


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    This was obviously an old smoker for him to recognize his mannerisms.


    He didn''t deliberately make a fuss, and he took a cigarette.


    The man didn''t say anything about him taking one and took the pack back whilst taking out a cigarette of his own, he lit his own and handed over the lighter to Tang Yan.


    Taking a puff, he said: "I''m Zhuang Jiajie by the way. The translator allocated to the Japan Team."

 83 Lu Yun vs Okamoto 2

    Tang Yan smiled and shook hands with Zhuang Jiajie, thanking the other party for the cigarette, but the conversation halted there.


    Zhuang Jiajie didn''t care, smoking to himself in silence, after he had finished he went straight out without a word.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but glance at the back of this person, he smoked two more cigarettes to ease his emotions. Then washed his face and went out.


    The fight outside was still ongoing but the momentum had completely reversed at this time.


    Lu Yun wasn''t a machine. His crazy attacks consumed most of his physical strength. As he tired, Okamoto capitalized more and more.


    The audience cheered loudly for Lu Yun, but to no avail.


    Lu Yun''s morale was good, but he had little strength left. He looked sluggish and languorous.


    Lu Yun had a blue lump under his jaw where Okamoto''s sharpshooting right had caught him in the previous round.


    He slowly eased off backing away slightly and Okamoto shuffled forward after him.


    He stepped in and belted him on the jaw with a long, looping right. It shook Lu Yun but it didn''t stop him from retaliating with a flurry of body shots. Okamoto clinched and tied him up.


    Then pushing the lumbering Lu Yun away from him, he stabbed him with a straight left to his injured jaw.


    They were in a neutral corner close to the ropes. Okamoto liked to work at the ropes. He was clever and fast and usually he could feint a man into any position, then duck out into the open without being hit. This time he feinted the enraged Lu Yun into leading with his left, and, as he did so, Okamoto nailed him with a stiff right to the jaw ¡ª and then it happened


    "BAM!"


    Tang Yan''s heart fell, although it was expected that Lu Yun would lose, but when he really saw him being knocked down, his heart was extremely uneasy.


    Okamoto also showed a faint smile, raising his hand in celebration.


    The audience shouted in exclamation.


    But after a while, the reason became clear.


    Lu Yun stood up from the ground after the referee reached the count of 5.


    Tang Yan unconsciously made his fist. When he was fighting against him, Lu Yun went down again and again.


    Okamoto was also ready to greet victory. He heard cheers and saw Lu Yun crawling up, his mouth twitched but he quickly smiled and put on a gesture of continuing the fight.


    Lu Yun gasped for a few breaths, roared and then continued to attack.


    He was swarming all over Okamoto, shooting punches wildly. They were mostly hitting Okamoto on the head and shoulders or missing him altogether.


    Okamoto jabbed with his left, jabbed and jabbed again, and circled to the right and then threw a quick left hook which caught Lu Yun high on the cheekbone. His leg slid completely from under him and he went down with an almost visible thud.


    But again with the crowds encouragement he once again got up.


    However, Okamoto was obviously impatient at this point and he increased his offensive leaving Lu Yun no time to recover.


    Lu Yun was swarmed as soon as he was up.He riddled him with body shots and hit him with two hooks, a right and a left.


    Sending Lu Yun down again, this time he didn''t get up.


    The scene was abuzz.


    Tang Yan reacted quickly and jumped into the boxing ring to see the situation.


    He felt for his breath and checked his pulse at his neck.


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    Fortunately, he should have just collapsed.


    Qin Hailong also came up at this time, knowing that Lu Yun was fine he was relieved.


    The two helped Lu Yun to prepare to get down.


    At this time, the referee raised the hand of Okamoto and announced that he was the winner.


    The team doctors of the Chinese team quickly took Lu Yun.


    .....


    Lu Yun didn''t have any serious problems, but his psychological injuries were significantly greater than his physical injuries.


    For a boxer this could be incredibly damaging and a great barrier to fighting again.


    When Tang Yan went in to see him, he looked so lonely and lost that watching him was heartbreaking.


    During the Youth Olympics, it was regrettable that he lost but he thought he could make a comeback in the trials. He even boasted about reaching the finals with Tang Yan but once again in the semi-finals he lost.


    Seeing Tang Yan coming in, Lu Yun barely squeezed out a smile.


    "You tried your best, Okamoto is very strong." Tang Yan said after coming in.


    "I...." Lu Yun went to speak.


    "I''ll settle him this time but you need to train and heal so you can get him next time, okay." Tang Yan said calmly.


    Lu Yun stared at him and then nodded.


    They two talked for a while and Lu Yun''s mood gradually improved.


    ....


    The next day, everyone arrived early to prepare for the finals, the competition for each weight class would be taking place today.


    Counting Tang Yan, there were 4 Chinese boxers who made it to the finals but the audience was extremely disappointed as the other three lost.


    In this way, all the expectations of the Chinese audience were on Tang Yan.


    Because of the various events that took place in the previous fight, this match had become the absolute focus of the audience.


    Many viewers had come with banners prepared in advance, such as ''Beat Okamoto'', ''Boxing killer'' and ''Tang Yan'', to cheer him on.


    Even CCTV sent a special commentator to broadcast the fight live.


    For the selection trials to have such a high degree of attention, was extremely rare.

 84 Final Match 1

    "In the white corner is Okamoto from Japan. Bronze medalist of the National Championships of Japan. Top ten placer in the Global Amateur Boxing Championships."


    "In the red corner for China, winner of the....the Alibaba Boxing Tournament, Tang Yan!"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    When Tang Yan''s name was shouted out by the host, the crowd followed with an explosive cheer.


    Tang Yan waved at the audience at his name.


    Okamoto did boxing motions at his name.


    The referee signaled to them.


    Tang Yan and Okamoto went to the center of the ring.


    They touched gloves then went back to their corners.


    Yesterday, Lu Yun''s defeat was unpleasant but through it Tang Yan gained understanding of Okamoto''s fighting style.


    The audience cheered with a burst of excitement.


    Without waiting for Tang Yan''s offensive, Okamoto took the lead in launching an offensive against Tang Yan.


    Okamoto was very quick, he threw out a combination of punches in just a few seconds.


    There was sporadic exclamation at the scene. Obviously, from the sharper offensive today Okamoto hadn''t showed his all in yesterday''s fight!


    Tang Yan was also slightly surprised but when Okamoto''s fist came in front of him he continued to dodge and avoid his attacks.


    Wing Chun was quick in offense and the same in defense.


    Okamoto felt it very quickly, he couldn''t get a clean hit on Tang Yan.


    Although he was young, he had a lot of experience in boxing. When he realized how inefficient it was, he stopped his attack and then quickly opened up distance between them.


    Tang Yan escaped the last blow of Okamoto. He prepared to fight back and suddenly found that Okamoto had already retreated to the other side of the boxing ring.


    In fact, it wasn''t just him, even the audience didn''t understand it. Why did he suddenly retreat, and so far at that?


    Qin Hailong saw deeper. Okamoto had realized that he couldn''t beat Tang Yan with speed. He didn''t want to waste his physical strength too much like Lu Yun did yesterday.


    Okamoto turned to face the confused Tang Yan, dropped his guard and taunted at him, beckoning him to attack with his hand.


    Yesterday, he did this same action to Lu Yun.


    Tang Yan first frowned and then followed it up with a smile.


    Okamoto thought it was better to save energy and stop chasing Tang Yan. He preferred to slug it out with Tang Yan directly trading blow for blow or just waste his energy by getting him to attack.


    Tang Yan was at home, the audience''s cheers were on his side so if Tang Yan didn''t move after his provocative action, he believed he would be drowned under spit.


    He wanted to force Tang to make a choice.


    Once Tang Yan hesitated, it would attract dissatisfaction from the audience.


    And the facts were indeed as he expected, the audience launched into a roar at Okamoto''s actions.


    Edging on Tang Yan to attack and finish him off.


    Tang Yan made a choice almost instantly. He chose to accelerate and attack.


    Okamoto saw Tang Yan''s choice and he was happy. He set up in a defensive posture. He would use his defensive speed and experience to work his opponent.


    Tang Yan guessed the intentions of Okamoto but he wasn''t afraid.


    The scene also quickly cheered.


    After advancing to a close enough distance, Tang Yan''s left hand directly punched out with a jab.


    Okamoto''s hands were held a little higher, protecting his head. He blocked the jab, ducked under a second but was caught by the third.


    Taking the hit he traded it with a left hook of his own to Tang Yan''s ribs. It jarred him.


    He followed up with a jab to Tang Yan''s face. Which connected, Tang Yan took a step back to the left and threw a looping right.


    Okamoto leaned his body away from the punch and edged away.


    "Whoosh"


    He managed to dodge to the right and distance himself just out of range of the left that followed.


    He looked at Tang Yan and showed a faint smile.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but smile back in appreciation before unceremoniously letting loose two fast left jabs, he peppered at Okamoto with a shower of featherweight rights and lefts, moving around a little faster now.


    Okamoto waited until he was sure he wasn''t going to run into anything solid, then stepped in, taking a light left to the jaw, hooked a savage right to Tang Yan''s cheek. He brought up his left and sank the right again working away at him. Tang Yan wheezed out air being caught on an exhalation, he was winded and he went back against the ropes on his heels.


    Okamoto lunged after him, grunting as he threw in a hard left and a harder right. Mist swam before Tang Yan''s eyes and he clutched at Okamoto''s arms, but Okamoto pushed him away, took a short step backward and drove a straight right to Tang Yan''s jaw. He hit him twice more with short hooks as he went down. Tang Yan sagged to his hands and knees and swayed, his head hanging. Okamoto gave him a short glance, then backed away.


    He stood in place and waited for Tang Yan to clear his head and get back up.


    Tang Yan was back up fairly quickly.


    He saw Okamoto stood back motioning him forward to attack again.

 85 Tang Yan vs Okamoto

    There came a burst of shouts and whistles from the audience, the decibels in the boxing hall reached a peak.


    Tang Yan was not only up, but his dancing brown eyes showed that he was ready for a fight. Okamoto grinned.


    He saw Tang Yan start striding towards him with determination in his eyes.


    Tang Yan bounded across the ring, coming in low and hard, mauling with both hands. The two roughly traded blows.


    But Okamoto accidentally fouled Tang Yan and the referee parted them.


    Tang Yan came out fast, stabbing Okamoto with a long left and before Okamoto could get set to throw a punch back Tang Yan threw a long right and Okamoto blinked as it smacked against the side of his jaw.


    Okamoto instinctively lanced out with a left to Tang Yan''s nose and a spate of blood showed on his upper lip.


    Okamoto lunged inside, taking another hook to the side of the head but he continued working both his arms lighting up Tang Yan with body shots.


    The color drained out of Tang Yan''s face, there was blood dripping from it. He took two more stiff joks to the ribs before he tied up Okamoto. For a moment his legs felt rubbery. This was the toughest fight he had fought so far. He couldn''t help but laugh at himself cynically, even with a system he was still struggling to match up.


    Okamoto pushed Tang Yan away with a surge of his shoulders and sent in a straight left that crashed between Tang Yan''s nose and cheek- bone. Tang Yan''s head went back as if on a hinge and Okamoto hit him again while his chin was still tilted.


    Tang Yan backed away, hectically retreating back.


    Okamoto put up his hands not chasing.


    Tang Yan calmed himself and ordered his mind.


    He knew this wasn''t the time or place to have such thoughts plus in this life he wasn''t just fighting for himself but his family, to change his fate and that of his mothers.


    He side stepped around Okamoto rapidly and threw a sharp left hook.


    Okamoto saw the left coming and he moved his head a little, intending to roll with it, then bore in with savage shots to Tang Yan''s midsection.


    But he was caught on the cheekbone. There was an explosion of sparks before his eyes. He was hit by an unsuspected right to his jaw from the other side and he grabbed desperately for a clinch. Something ripped into his body and he clung tighter. He threw his weight forward and locked together, the two staggered across the ring.


    But Tang Yan slipped out his hold and an uppercut crashed against his chin and he was down. Okamoto stayed there until his head cleared.


    His temper began to prickle. He was slightly annoyed at himself for allowing such a lousy feint to lead him on like that.


    He climbed slowly to his feet and crouched, holding a tight guard. Tang Yan came at him, weaving lithely. Okamoto didn''t throw a punch. He ducked and weaved through his attacks, waiting for a chance to get in close where he could do the most damage.


    Tang Yan''s left flickered time and again over his guard and there were punches that stung, but it was the right that Okamoto kept his eye on. He didn''t like the left, but he could take it.


    Tang Yan was grinning. He was heated up now and his gloves flickered in and out so effortlessly that there didn''t seem to be any real snap in them. They seemed to lick out, lightly touch Okamoto''s head and snap back into position for the next blow.


    Tang Yan went in with his hands a little higher, and this was just what Okamoto had been waiting for ¡ª a clearer shot at that midsection. He lunged in, pumping with both hands and felt them land.


    But almost simultaneously his head rocked back from two explosions that crashed at his chin. He fell with a thunderous thud and he felt darkness swallow his vision.


    .....


    The referee didn''t go for a countdown at this time and immediately called for the medical staff under the ring.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The medical staff were very skilled and a matter of seconds Okamoto was taken away.


    Counting this, this was the third boxer to be directly scrapped by Tang Yan in this trial.


    Tang Yan looked at Okamoto, who was being taken away.


    He was breathing erratically, he had felt his first sense of dread during this fight.


    The crowd became hectic launching into cheers and chants.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan! Tang Yan!" "Boxing Killer! Boxing Killer! Boxing Killer!"


    At this time, the most excited person was Lu Yun. After the referee announced that Tang Yan was the 49kg champion of this year''s trials, he rushed into the boxing ring and then like a child, holding up Tang Yan was shouting and cheering.


    After the fight was over, the award ceremony was held for each weight class.


    Most of the audience stayed behind to watch Tang Yan stand on the podium.


    Every time a Chinese boxer came up the crowd launched into wild cheers, when Tang Yan and Lu Yun were on stage, the scene was thrilling.


    The award was presented by the head of the AIBA (Amateur International Boxing Association), Val Chowdhury.


    But when the awards were given, the audience found another very interesting tidbit.


    The match for third and fourth place was cancelled and Lu Yun won the bronze medal.


    Because Gonzalez was in the hospital at this time.


    In a similar situation, Okamoto had a broken jaw, so he could only be replaced by his coach who came to receive his award.


    This all just added fuel to Tang Yan''s nickname as a ''Boxing Killer''.


    ...


    After winning the trials, Tang Yan also got a place for the Asian Games becoming the first athlete in history to participate in both archery and boxing.


    Although the attention on these two events in China wasn''t particularly high, because of this dual identity, the attention he received was unprecedented.


    There was a swarm of sponsors looking for the archery team and boxing team to talk about endorsements, but because the Asian Games were fast approaching the head coaches on both sides declined.


    Tang Yan''s schedule was to become extremely compact.


    For him who won two gold medals, neither the General Administration of Sports nor the Chinese Archery Association would treat him badly.


    The deputy director of the General Administration of Sports sent them a message promising, as long as Tang Yan won a gold model for archery, the country would definitely not mistreat him and would reward him immensely.


    For these verbal promises, Tang Yan didn''t care too much, he just laughed and agreed to do his best.


    However, the actions of the Chinese Archery Association made him celebrate in glee.


    This time, the association directly sent him £¤100,000 yuan as a reward for his achievements.,000

 86 A Visi

    In 2010,for visiting.


    His father nodded and agreed.


    "It is better to take the cash to the bank and be practical."


    "Mom, let''s choose the house. This time, the Archery Association gave me a prize of £¤100,000 . The bank interest won''t be much. Plus this house is too old, it''s time to upgrade. Plus, as for food shopping, isn''t there a vegetable dealer and a few stores on Xiyuan Road?" Tang Yan said with a smile,


    He couldn''t tell his parents that house prices would skyrocket, but he couldn''t really let them make the wrong choice.Symbol for yuan$28,000$28,000$14,000

 87 Training

    "Really choose a house?" His mother said with obvious hesitation.


    "Mom, believe in your son." Tang Yan said with confidence.


    "Okay, then we''ll take the house, anyway, it''s not like we have to move immediately."


    Tang Yan smiled and nodded. In another two years, it would be time for house prices to skyrocket. He believed that his mother would be very happy when it was time to cash in.


    When the house was selected, the visit from Deputy Zhang officially came to an end.


    As for thefor visiting.


    "Is there a problem with the tester?"


    "Yeah, that''s too much right?"


    Sure enough, the boxers soon questioned the results.


    "Song Qing, you go up and try." Qin Hailong turned and said.


    When he finished, a big man came out from behind. He was the main boxer of the 61 kg class for the Chinese team.


    Tang Yan gave up his position to Song Qing, Song Qing carried out a series of warm-up punches.


    Then he screamed and then slammed a punch onto the bag.


    "Boom!"


    With a dull sound, the tester soared and the final value was fixed at 760 pounds.


    Sixty pounds more than Tang Yan.


    The dynamometer was working fine.


    When this result came out, the other boxers were all dumbfounded.


    When Song Qing warmed up, he was obviously focused, he absolutely used all his strength but even then, whilst his value was more than Tang Yan, the comparison displayed just how impressive Tang Yan''s punch was.


    "Damn....man can''t you leave us some face."


    "Guess they don''t call him ''boxing killer'' for no reason...sigh''


    Tang Yan used this punch to win the trust of his teammates present.$14,00027kg

 88 Sparring Session

    With the test completed. Tang Yan was preparing to go back to training.


    However, at this time, Qin Hailong suddenly called: "Try with your left hand."


    Everyone had a dominant hand with the other hand being slightly weaker. Even Mike Tyson, who was known for his strength, was right hand dominant. His right punched aboutfor visiting.


    Tang Yan flickered left and right trying to dodge, feeling immense pressure.


    In the previous fights, his speed was always superior to his opponent, this was his biggest advantage.


    But now, his biggest advantage had become a disadvantage in front of Zou Shiming.


    He stabbed with his left, but Shiming bobbed sideways and hammered him on the ribs with a left. Tang Yan winced. Shiming could hit, he could hit harder than anyone he''d ever met. He covered and retreated slowly. All of a sudden, Shiming ducked his head, went in under Tang Yan''s right and dug into his body with both hands. Tang Yan tried to tie him up.1,543 lbs1,100 lbs480 lbs220 lbs

 89 Sparring: Tang Yan vs Shiming 1

    Zou Shiming slipped away before Tang Yan could clinch. He kept going in under Tang Yan''s right and slamming him with those jolting lefts. He rolled away from every left Tang Yan threw.


    Zou Shiming threw a sharp right and Tang Yan slipped to the left trying to dodge but it caught him on the shoulder and Tang Yan felt his shoulder become numb in an instant.


    Before he could catch his breath, Zou Shiming''s other hand immediately launched out. He could only take a big step back trying to evade.


    Shiming was unstoppable, he accelerated forward to attack again.


    "Stop!"


    Just then, Qin Hailong suddenly shouted.


    Zou Shiming slowed his momentum and drew his punch back.


    "The first round is up." Qin Hailong said looking at his watch.


    "Your speed is great and your defense is good but don''t let yourself keep getting pushed back like that. Break up your opponents flow even if it''s with feints, remember don''t let him get comfy" Qin Hailong said to him.


    Tang Yan nodded and rubbed his sore shoulder.


    .....


    After a short break, the second round began.


    After Qin Hailong signaled the round to begin, he rushed to attack before Zou Shiming could.


    Zou Shiming saw Tang Yan attack and immediately went on defense.


    Tang Yan''s hand speed was fast. Whether it was punching, hooking or swinging, it was almost played out in an instant, he didn''t give Zou Shiming a chance to breathe.


    However, in the face of Tang Yan''s stormy attack, Zou Shiming showed his top tier footwork and dodging ability. He weaved through Tang Yan''s attacks.


    They danced back and forth around the boxing ring, always in a state of tension.


    Tang Yan spent a lot of effort, but failed to form an effective attack.


    Moreover, showing the gap between them, Zou Shiming counterattack several times and forced Tang Yan back.


    This was the experience of a top tier boxer.


    Seeing that he was going to lose, Tang Yan dug in deep and shifted forward taking on two jabs to the face as he wound up for a heavy right hook.


    Closing in, he blasted out with his right.


    Whoosh!


    Shiming saw Tang Yan''s effort and shook his head internally, too obvious.


    He picked Tang Yan''s left off in mid-air and slipped in with a right that caught Tang Yan flush on the jaw. A razor of pain sliced into Tang Yan''s brain. Shiming grinned as he ducked under Tang Yan''s left and raged at his stomach with a combo of punches.


    "And stop, that''s the second round."


    .....


    "You shouldn''t leave yourself open like that, just in hopes of getting a blow. It might have worked against weaker opponents but if you do that at the Asian Games, they will end you before you can blink." Zou Shiming stopped and said to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan paused then nodded, he walked straight to the corner of the boxing ring and sat down, gasping for air.


    His breathing was erratic and his body was in a torment of pain from the body shots.


    Zou Shiming''s strength was indeed superior to his current strength.


    Tang Yan wasn''t stupid. He knew that if he went on like this, he was bound to lose. He wanted to see his current level and how far he could get through his own means without further upgrading his abilities with the system.


    He wanted to squeeze as much out of each upgrade and solidify his skills before the next one. He didn''t want to become too dependent on it but at the same time he knew his limits.


    He didn''t hesitate any longer and went directly into the system space.


    ....


    He had a total of 5 honor points now. The first upgrade for Bruce Lee required 2 honor points. He had more than enough.


    He glanced at the already unlocked Bruce Lee and directly upgraded to 60% of his abilities.


    He felt his understanding of boxing had deepened, but the upgrade was somewhat different from his imagination.


    Originally, he thought that with the upgraded abilities of Bruce Lee. His speed and reaction time would be greatly enhanced but this was not the case.


    His speed and response time did improve like he wanted, but it was limited. In contrast, he gained something else.


    ''Discharge Form''


    Unloading power was a very important skill in traditional Chinese martial arts. It was used most effectively in Taijiquan.


    Taiji philosophy emphasized the power of muscular relaxation, effective use of leverage and full body coordination, rather than the application of brute force.


    for visiting.


    Tang Yan didn''t speak. His physical strength was weaker compared to Zou Shiming, who had long-term training so even with the upgrade he didn''t have full confidence but he was excited to try out his new upgrade.


    ....


    "Start!"


    At the moment when Qin Hailong announced the start of the third round, Tang Yan and Zou Shiming both launched an attack on the other side almost simultaneously.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    The two didn''t hide, they resisted their opponent''s punch and hit their opponent with a blow of their own.


    Tang Yan was hit in the chest. The moment he was hit, he stepped slightly backwards, and with fine muscle control, he adjusted himself to easier dissipate the power behind the punch. It still stung but a great deal less than it likely would have before.


    Zou Shiming was hit on the right cheek, and took back two steps to stabilize his body. Tang Yan''s heavy punch didn''t taste good by any means.


    But when he stood firm and saw that Tang Yan had no reaction to his punch, his eyes flashed an astounding look.


    However, he didn''t think much about it. He accelerated and went straight at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan saw Zou Shiming attack and greeted him without retreating.


    The two men who were defensive in the first two rounds, like two lunatics launched multiple attacks against their opponents.Fact of the Day: Li Xiaolong was Bruce Lee''s real name.

 90 Asian Games: Opening Ceremony

    The sound of punches continued to ring in the boxing ring.


    Shiming came in, weaving and bobbing, swinging hard for the body. Tang Yan shuffled his left foot forward and swung for him aiming for the side of his face with a straight right.


    Shiming blocked with his left and jabbed out with a right, it caught Tang Yan on the jaw.


    Tang Yan caught him back with a sharp left jab of his own.


    Qin Hailong, who was the referee, was stunned after seeing this scene. The two were trading intense blows.


    Tang Yan with reliance on the unloading system wanted to use his own boxing strength to hold off Zou Shiming.


    Whilst Zou Shiming wanted to put Tang Yan down in this round.


    The physical strength of the two was rapidly consumed.


    Tang Yan''s strength wasn''t infinite. He felt his strength approaching it''s limit, he was starting to feel the effects of Zou Shiming''s blows so he threw out a series of jabs to try force back Zou Shiming.


    But Zou Shiming drove forward weaving through and forcing Tang Yan back into the ropes with a ferocious body attack and pinned him there, rattling his jaw with one-two''s, working down to the stomach again. Tang Yan clutched, holding himself together by sheer nerve, keeping himself on his feet somewhat weakly, he fought back.


    Shiming was not the kind of fighter you could merely block. You had to punch with him. He was too fast for purely defensive tactics, too smart.


    Biff! Bim! Bam!


    Zou Shiming was caught in a perfect whirlwind of punches; it was like being clawed by a panther. But, with a savage grin, he slugged it out with him. That was his game! Tang Yan hit him with three blows to his one, but his were the ones that counted.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The moment he found Tang Yan struggling, he rocked him with a volley of rights and lefts.


    Tang Yan went back on his heels and his hands flew up. Shiming stepped in, sank a left to his solar plexus and swung a right over the dropping guard.


    Tang Yan''s eyes went glassy, through the haze of pain, he saw Shiming''s face before him and he hooked a right into it.


    Boom!


    Boom!


    The two hit the other almost instantly.


    In the next second, the two stumbled back. Zou Shiming was rocked, Tang Yan''s right caught him cleanly on the jaw but he fought intensely to stay on his feet, despite wobbling a few steps back he stabilized himself.


    But Tang Yan dropped back onto the ropes and slowly slid down onto his back.


    Qin Hailong was about to end it right there but saw Tang Yan fighting to get up.


    So instead he began the count.


    Tang Yan''s willpower was extremely strong. He fought with his body in an attempt to stand.


    "4..."


    "5..."


    Tang Yan shivered in anguish and he gritted his teeth, as Qin Hailong''s countdown was about to end, he clawed his way up with one last push onto his feet.


    "...10!"


    He was up just before the count of 10.


    However, his willpower reached its limit, he could only do so much and like a puppet with its strings cut his body fell back uncontrollably and hit the canvas.


    Thump!


    When Qin Hailong saw that Tang Yan stood up, his face was inextricably excited. He found Zou Shiming to test the limits of Tang Yan. He didn''t expect Tang Yan to hold his own so well against Zou Shiming.


    When he saw Tang Yan fall, he rushed over and when he saw him lying there smirking, he was relieved.


    Zou Shiming was leaning on the ropes at this time. His head was still a little groggy. Staring at Tang Yan, he had the look of pleasant surprise on his face.


    This boxing match ended with his victory, but it was more hard fought than he expected.


    Zou Shiming returned directly to his personal training hall. This fight brought him some enlightenment that he didn''t expect.


    ....


    Tang Yan received intense one to one training from Qin Hailong.


    In such a training atmosphere, Tang Yan''s strength was constantly improving.


    When they were only three days away from the Asian Games, he finally reached his goals through hard training.


    In archery, his 72 arrow score became stable at 700 points and his rate of fire increased drastically.


    In boxing, after fully adapting the unloading system, his defensive ability had been substantially improved compared to before.


    After finishing all this preparation, he and his other teammates took the plane to the Guangdong Province, where the 2010 Asian Games would officially kick off.


    The host city of this Asian Games was Guangzhou, the capital of the Guangdong Province. The Games would be co-hosted by Dongguan, Foshan and Shanwei, the three neighbouring cities as well. But they headed to the host city of Guangzhou this time to attend the opening ceremony.


    The last time he participated in the Youth Olympic Games, Tang Yan also experienced an opening ceremony and saw the famous singer Lin Junjie singing the Singapore national anthem but after all, it was in Singapore, there wasn''t much sense of belonging or pride but this time it was at home, the feeling was different.


    Because the law and order in Guangzhou wasn''t as good as other big cities, they were strictly forbidden to go out after they arrived.


    On the second night in Guangzhou, they represented the Chinese team at the opening ceremony.


    For the first time in Asian Games history, the ceremony was not held in a traditional stadium setting. Instead, it was held at Haixinsha Island, using the Pearl River and Canton Tower as focal points.


    They were paraded in by boats along the Pearl River. The ceremony featured a water-themed arts show and showed off the culture of Guangzhou.


    The last torchbearer, diver He Chong lit up the cauldron and ignited traditional Chinese firecrackers, the flares shot up to the top of the tower where the cauldron was held. The flag bearer for China was Jin Ziwei the Olympic women''s rowing champion.


    Enjoying the sea breeze, it was an exceptionally smooth experience for the audience and the athletes.


    Then President Hu Jintao and the other members of the National People''s Congress appeared on scene, attracting a burst of cheers from the audience.


    For the first time, Tang Yan saw the national leaders up close.


    He took in how far he had come in this life.


    ....


    After the opening ceremony, Tang Yan and the rest left the venue together.


    Because the archery competition would be held on the second day after the opening ceremony, Tang Yan participated in the opening ceremony with his teammates from the archery team.


    They were now heading back in a group.


    When they heard someone call out: "Which one of you is Tang Yan?"

 91 Run In

    When they heard this they looked up to see several people wearing Korean Team uniforms standing behind them.


    The leader looked familiar. But Tang Yan couldn''t remember who he was.


    These people looked around their age group, the oldest one looked only 23 years old.


    "What do you want?" Ning Ze said, he was the oldest of the three and the captain of the team.


    The oldest Korean member said in an enraged tone: "I am Park Ji Hyun, Park Tae-an''s brother, because of you he''s abandoned himself after returning from Singapore. Every day, he just surfs the Internet to anesthetize himself. "


    After listening to Park Ji Hyun''s words, Tang Yan sighed in frustration and confusion he remembered the performance of Park Tae-an at the Youth Olympic Games.


    It seemed this genius was devastated after suffering one little loss and being taught a lesson by him.


    He felt it was disappointing that he couldn''t get over the loss and take it on the chin as a lesson but how was this related to him?


    If Park Tae-an couldn''t recover after one loss maybe he wasn''t built for the sport afterall archery required a strong mental fortitude.


    Seeing Tang Yan sigh, Park Ji Hyun was incensed and tried to grab him but Tang Yan stepped back and he missed.


    He stumbled and before he could go at Tang Yan again, the person who seemed to be the leader of the group, pulled him back and shook his head at him.


    "Just wait I''ll make sure you experience the same thing as him falling from heaven to hell!" Park Ji-hyun said with sorrow as he let himself be restrained.


    "Wait a minute." Tang Yan interrupted and said, "What does Park Tae-an falling into a slump have to do with me. It''s a competition, what do you expect to happen, for people to let him win."


    "He was the hope of the archery team, he''s meant to inherit my position, but now, because of you he''s given up, you ruined him!" Park Ji-hyun said ignoring him.


    "What kind of sh*t logic is that!" Tang Yan finally couldn''t help but curse. "According to your theory, I have to consider whether my opponent can handle it before I beat them."


    "I''m sorry to hear that your brother couldn''t take losing but in all truth he needed it, he''s way too arrogant overall it''ll do him good in the long run."


    "You!.... who the hell do you think you are!" Park Ji Hyun filled with rage stumbled over his words whilst pointing at Tang Yan.


    "Tang Yan, ignore them, let''s go." Ning Ze said and patted Tang Yan on the shoulder to walk ahead.


    "Stop! You can''t go!" Park Ji Hyun directly reached out and stepped in their way.


    Tang Yan didn''t stop, he reached out and pushed Park Ji Hyun out the way.


    Park Ji Hyun was a head taller than Tang Yan, but they weren''t on the same level at all. When he was pushed, his whole person went straight to the side. If he wasn''t caught by his team mate he would have fallen over.


    Qiu Tian and Ning Ze followed after him.


    "Yeah run! Just wait till later. Keep going! You b*tch!"


    Tang Yan just ignored Park Ji Hyun and carried on walking, he didn''t turn back.


    Park Ji Hyun''s face turned red and he kept on using profanities. But Tang Yan''s face never changed his indifferent expression was as if he couldn''t hear it. Anyway, this kind of childish matter was nothing to him.


    Seeing them walking off without responding, Park Ji Hyun turned his anger over to the leader of the group. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "What the f*ck was that Im Dong-hyun, why did you hold me back. Whose side....."


    Tang Yan with Qiu Tian and Ning Ze, directly disappeared into the exit.


    Out of the exit, Tang Yan didn''t speak, but there were some emotional fluctuations in his heart.


    As an archery enthusiast in his past life, he naturally knew some of the famous figures of the Korean archery team.


    For example, in the women''s archery team there was the star Park Sung-hyun who held the women''s world record for the 70m 72-arrow round, set at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. She also won a gold medal with her team in both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.


    Another prominent archer was the legendary male archer Im Dong-hyun.


    Before 2012, Im Dong-hyun like most of the Korean archery geniuses won all kinds of medals, but he wasn''t so prominent. He became really famous after 2012, because his vision dropped to 20/200. Many considered this to be the end of his career but miraculously he still managed to maintain competing at the highest level of archery after overcoming great difficulties. He went on to set a new world record score of 699 points in the ranking round.


    As an archery enthusiast, he naturally admired Im Dong-hyun.


    "Tang Yan, you can rest assured that we have been practicing in the Archery Hall for a few months. This time we will be able to defeat the Koreans." Qiu Tian said seeing that Tang Yan had become silent.


    "Well, we are very hopeful this time. Brother Qiu has made great progress and my status is stable. As long as you shoot at the same level as during training, we will be able to beat the Koreans again this time." Ning Ze also said.


    Hearing Ning Ze''s words, Tang Yan smiled and said: "Ning Ge rest assured, my state is no problem. As for the Koreans, they are just playing tricks."


    The Korean archery team sent this time were official members of the national team, but it wasn''t the main lineup, minus Im Dong-hyun there weren''t any other prominent names in the team. To deal with this team, there wasn''t much pressure in his heart.


    After the opening ceremony, the next day, various events kicked off.


    .....


    Shooting and archery were set to kick off on the second day.


    The first day for archery was the Team Qualifiers for the mens and womens events.


    Several members of the Chinese boxing team came down to watch and cheer them on. Although they had seen some reports of Tang Yan on TV, they still wanted to witness it in person.


    The Korean team although not the main members of the national team, showed off their strength. They were too strong and stream rolled through their opponents.


    They showed off their absolute dominance.


    South Korean veteran Park Ji Hyun, shot 72 arrows for a top level score of 685 points.


    Another player from the South Korean team, Kwang-seok, who was only 19 years old, was a little worse, but his score was still an impressive 680 points.


    The most impressive was Im Dong-hyun the team captain, who shot 691 points easily creating this year''s new record.

 92 Asian Games: Archery Qualifiers

    The South Korean team had a total score of 2056 points securing a seeding for the knock-out brackets.


    Also locking in a place for the next round was the Singapore team, although their overall strength was a bit weaker, but with the outstanding performance of their ace Ang Han Teng who shot 686 points, their total number of points reached 2020.


    For the Chinese team, the first to debut was Ning Ze.


    He was a veteran archer, who once scored in the top eight of the individual competition. He was the most famous archer in China except for Tang Yan.


    As a veteran team member and captain, his mentality was quite stable. The final result of his 72 arrows was 675 points. His performance also temporarily ranked 12th amongst everyone who had gone up so far, so it was a decent start for the Chinese team.


    At the end of Ning Ze''s game, after a round of separation, Tang Yan was up next.


    His appearance quickly attracted the attention of the audience and the national teams.


    The Youth Olympics had allowed him to introduce himself to the archery community.


    However, his incredible journey was still accompanied by doubt.


    "I heard that Tang Yan reported to the National Archery Team with only one month left before the Asian Games. As the hope of the Chinese archery team, you would expect he would use this precious time after the Youth Olympic Games to stabilize and improve his strength. However, he instead turned to boxing, which is completely unheard of and naturally everyone is curious to see the effect this has had on his performance." Before the game, CCTV commentator Zhang Meng analyzed.


    The Asian Games was an international event. In addition to domestic broadcast stations, there were quite a lot of TV and online media presence from foreign countries. Tang Yan''s debut not only attracted the attention of CCTV commentators, but foreign media was also quick to focus on him.


    "This is the No. 1 newcomer to the Chinese archery team not only that, he is also a newcomer to the Chinese boxing team. Yes folks, he will be participating in both boxing and archery events. No one knows where his confidence and in fact that of his coaches come from, but we will certainly be here to watch and see how this unusual situation unfolds." Anurak Saae-Lim, a reporter from BBTV Channel 7 analyzed.


    "The Republic of Korea once again locks in as the No.1 of the team and individual competitions in advance, this is a good start to the journey of bringing another medal home. Up next to shoot is the Chinese all-star rookie that has been causing waves in the sport after playing a vital role in South Korea''s Youth Olympics defeat. He''s walking up now, so we''ll soon see whether he can replicate that same form or will crumble after stepping up to the big leagues." said Park Moon-sung the commentator for KBS Sports.


    Among the praise and doubts, Tang Yan walked to the arena with the recurve bow.


    After arriving at the stakes, Tang Yan leaned forward and made preparations to shoot.


    The other archers started their preparations and Tang Yan only looked at the target in the distance.


    After gaining 80% of Li Guang''s ability, and a month of special training, his archery level had reached a distinct threshold. To be straightforward, within 70 meters, he not only could control the landing point of the arrow but also the speed and frequency of his arrows.


    "Begin!" The referee announced the start of the match after seeing the archers ready.


    Whizz!


    After the referee announced the start, the first wave of arrows were fired.


    The level of the Asian Games was obviously stronger than that of the Youth Olympics. Scores basically stabilized at 8 points or higher.


    Among them, Eiji Sato from Japan and Danilo Ameliya from the Philippines both shot a 10-pointer, demonstrating their level as top scorers.


    However, compared to these archers, Tang Yan''s actions made others feel confused and puzzled.


    Because Tang Yan was still looking at the target at this time, his hand in the arrow pot but he still hadn''t pulled out an arrow.


    What was wrong?


    Everyone on the scene was puzzled, only the Chinese team coach Tian Zhenzhe understood and held a smile.


    At this time, some archers had already shot the second arrow. The second arrow of Danilo Ameliya was still in the 10th ring, showing his outstanding skill.


    Tang Yan still didn''t move, his whole person seemed to be fixed there.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Ameliya took out his third arrow and was about to shoot.


    When, Tang Yan finally moved.


    His left hand always held the recurve bow steadily and his right hand was like a machine equipped with a high-speed motor, constantly pulling the arrow out of the arrow pot and firing.


    Twang! Twang! Twang!...


    Whoosh...


    Boom...Boom...Boom!


    All that followed was a series of sounds and muffled thuds as the arrows hit the targets.


    In just 30 seconds, he directly shot all six arrows for this round.


    What was even more shocking was that...


    These 6 arrows, without exception, all hit the center of the target!


    This was 60 points!


    "This..." Almost all the commentators had their mouths wide open at this time in shock.


    This was the first time that they had seen someone shoot all six arrows in just half a minute.


    An average of 5 seconds per arrow...


    This rate of fire was too dazzling.


    They all rubbed their eyes, but when they saw Tang Yan bringing the recurve bow to rest, they determined that this was not an illusion.


    Only Qiu Tian, Ning Ze and the rest of the Chinese Team were calm, after seeing this multiple times during training although they were still in awe of how he did it, they became somewhat numb to it.

 93 Sweeping Through

    In ancient times, archery was mostly used for warfare. Because of the suddenness and variability of warfare, the rate of fire was a vital component for an archer.


    In the event of a cavalry charge, being able to shoot one more wave of arrows would increase your survival rate tremendously.


    As a top tier archer naturally Li Guang didn''t suffer in this aspect either.


    After a month of intensive training, Tang Yan had made immense progress in this aspect. This rate of fire was far from the peak he could reach.


    He didn''t move not because he deliberately wanted to attract attention but in order to observe and adjust, just like on the battlefield, to integrate himself into the environment and then launch continuous and effective attacks on the target.


    This was normal for Tang Yan, but for other seeing this for the first time they were completely shocked.


    What the f*ck.... who the hell shoots like this in an archery competition!


    You have to know that the specified time for the round was 4 minutes!


    But Tang Yan only spent 20 seconds to adjust, 30 seconds to shoot, what was he gonna do the remaining 3 minutes....just sit down and take a break, like seriously.


    But that''s exactly what Tang Yan did, the audience just had to watch him sit and rest.


    Tang Yan himself was without a care in the world, in fact for him all he considered was the faster he shot the more time he had to rest and recover.


    For the other archers in his group this was the most stressful thing that could happen.


    The round started less than a minute ago and someone had already finished well ahead of schedule with a perfect score at that.


    Like seriously way to heap on the pressure.


    Tang Yan''s actions placed visible pressure on the archers.


    Danilo Amelyia, who had been stably shooting ten pointers before failed to shoot another 10-pointer in the remaining four arrows.


    At the end of the first round, Ameliya looked over at Tang Yan unconsciously.


    There were 12 rounds and in the next round, Tang Yan increased his rate of fire constantly stunning the other archers and the audience.


    At his fastest, he only spent 24 seconds in a round, so an arrow every four-seconds.


    Everyone''s expression was like that of seeing a ghost.


    Although his rate of fire slowed down after the sixth round due to physical exertion, most of the time, when the audience looked over, he was sitting down resting and waiting.


    By the end of the final round, his score was 696 points, which was 5 more points than Im Dong-hyun. This score was only 2 points away from the world record score for qualifiers!


    At the end of the game, the entire venue was at boiling point.


    In the past hour, they had witnessed not only an archery competition, but the revival of another aspect of archery.


    When Tang Yan came off the court, he shook his head unconsciously.


    According to his current level, he should have obtained 700 points but because he drove for a rapid rate of fire, his score fell short.


    At the end of the match, Tang Yan was greeted warmly by Qiu Tian and Ning Ze.


    Tian Zhenzhe was also excited at this time. He didn''t know how Tang Yan did it but he didn''t care as long as he could keep it up.


    When they came out of the competition venue, a large swarm of reporters were outside waiting.


    As soon as he went out, the reporters fired off questions like a chain of shells.


    "Tang Yan, can you share with us how and why you are shooting so fast?"


    "Tang Yan, can you share with us how you can maintain such a high level of archery whilst still practicing boxing?"


    "Tang Yan, we heard rumors that you had a conflict with the Korean archery team. Now you have clinched first place in qualifying. Do you have anything to say to the Koreans?"


    "Tang Yan, how are you feeling about this competition?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    ...


    "Well..." Tang Yan opened his mouth and the reporters below all calmed down.


    "I''m hopeful for this year, this was a good start but I still could have done better. I wanna keep striving ahead and see what this competition holds for me." Tang Yan said.


    There was a moment of pause as they took down and recorded his words but then they were back at it.


    "Tang Yan, can you tell us your personal best?"


    "Do you believe China has a chance of winning the team event? Any predictions on how you think you''ll place?"


    "Will you be striving for the London Olympics two years later?"


    "Is it true you got in a heated argument with the South Korean Team at the opening ceremony?"


    ...


    When Tang Yan heard the endless questions from the reporters and saw the rapidly increasing crowd, he frowned and gestured to Tian Zhenzhe and then rushed out.


    With the escort of security guards, they quickly left the reportes behind.


    The qualifying competition was a total of 2 days. After the end of the next day''s competition, the ranks of the teams in the team competition were out.


    The South Korean team was still the undisputed number one team but the Chinese team, with the outstanding performance of Tang Yan, squeezed out the Singapore team and ranked second which made them very hopeful to reach the finals.


    Since they were in different brackets the only way to run into South Korea was in the finals.


    Of course, before that, they needed to beat three countries.


    The overall archery strength of Asia wasn''t too strong. They faced Azerbaijan and then Japan. Their strength was superior and they didn''t give their opponents any opportunities. In the game against Azerbaijan, it ended with all six rounds going to China.


    They directly swept aside their opponents to advance.


    In the semi-finals, the Chinese team finally met their first difficult opponent in this Asian Games, the Singapore team.


    They became the last obstacle in the Chinese teams path to the finals.

 94 Citizenship

    Before the game, both teams were aside preparing for the match.


    Tang Yan was blocked by several reporters at the entrance because of his previously remarkable performance.


    Whilst Ang Han Teng was preparing, he looked up from time to time over to where Tang Yan was. His gaze was a bit complicated.


    He had just recently returned to the Singapore team, which would normally be a seismic-level event in the world of Asian archery. At this time, it should be that he was surrounded by reporters, but now Tang Yan''s performance in the qualifiers completely robbed him of his limelight.


    Just then the referee signaled the teams to make their final preparations. At this, Tang Yan was finally able to break through the group of reporters with the help of his coach.


    Ang Han Teng''s attention was still on him. Seeing Tang Yan looked impatient, it seemed he was uncomfortable being besieged by the reporters. This expression made him even more upset. This kid didn''t even appreciate the importance of the media coverage.


    Archery as a sport wasn''t widely popular like basketball or football, as such it wasn''t a highly profitable job. If anyone dreamed of becoming rich off it they would be greatly disappointed, in fact it couldn''t be done as a full time occupation for most with only the top few managing to make a living off it.


    Most had a side occupation and relied on sponsorship from companies and the government to subsidise them so they could compete. The sport had a relatively small audience so prize money and sponsorship deals weren''t a great amount and didn''t come around to often.


    As such any media coverage was warmly welcomed by the community, getting coverage meant increasing your chance of being sponsored. Being left out the limelight Ang Han Teng was naturally displeased, he was hoping his return to the Singapore National team would drum up interest and gain him air time. But the media was glued to Tang Yan, hardly bothering with him.


    Tang Yan made his way through the unrelenting reporters. When he looked up, he saw Ang Han Teng looking over at him with a disgruntled gaze.


    Ang Han Teng was a slightly well known archer in his previous life. His fame came from notoriety, being known for changing his nationality several times for money. He held three citizenships, he was born in Singapore but his father was American so he gained U.S citizenship at birth. Then in the later years he moved and lived in Canada where he gained a Canadian citizenship.


    There was nothing wrong with all this rudimentarily but instead of selecting and committing to a national team, he pawned himself off to the highest bidder each competition often joining which ever team had space or offered the most and as such although his shooting skills were superb, most archers were disdainful of him and his antics.


    He played up a villain persona a lot of times, once smashing his bow after a loss during the Asian Cup. He was also well known for making snarky comments during the post interview.


    The two continued to lock gazes with neither saying a word.


    Finally then Tang Yan moved his gaze from Ang Han Teng and went to the Chinese Team area.


    Ang Han Teng looked at Tang Yan and frowned.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    After that, he rushed to the preparation area of ??the Singapore team.


    After the final warm-up, the two sides went to the arena.


    With the debut of the two sides, the scene was followed by a burst of excited applause.


    This time it could be said that the Chinese team was truly at home. The number of Chinese fans in the stands was tremendous.


    On the Chinese side, Tang Yan was placed first in the order of appearance. As it happened, Ang Han Teng was also the first to appear on the Singapore team.


    The game entered the most intense confrontation straight out the gate.


    Because China ranked higher in the qualifiers than Singapore. They took the lead to shoot first.


    Tang Yan took the recurve bow to the arena. After the referee''s instructions, he was basically prepared. He took an arrow and shot directly.


    Twang! Whoosh!


    Twang! Whizz!


    Boom! Boom!


    He shot both arrows in succession, although not shooting as fast as in the qualifiers.


    Not surprisingly it was two 10 pointers.


    The scene followed with a burst of excitement cheers.


    This showed the popularity Tang Yan was enjoying at this moment, even if many people complained and played down his skill saying he wasted two months of valuable training time, he was still the most popular archer in the country at this time.


    Even outside the archery community he was still relatively well known due to the attention he received from the press, who painted him as the poster child for Chinese Archery and this Asian Games.


    After shooting, Tang Yan turned to look at Ang Han Teng, who was ready to shoot. The latter was watching him at this time, and noticed Tang Yan''s gaze. He snorted and then walked to the target with his recurve bow.


    Although there was an inexplicable sense of superiority about him, his strength was very apparent to all.


    After adjusting his breathing and rhythm, he also shot his two arrows for this round.


    Twang! Twang!"


    The two arrows flew into the center of the bull''s eye, for two 10 pointers.


    After shooting, he turned to look at Tang Yan with a provocative gaze.


    Tang Yan felt his gaze and slowly looked up at the big screen.


    Ang Han Teng turned to look at the big screen and saw the score which was 20-20, understanding what he was saying, he snorted and went back to his area.


    After two months of training, Ning Ze and Qiu Tian were in excellent condition. Both of them shot 19 points in this round, which evoked cheers from the audience.


    Making their score 58 points.


    However, the Singapore team didn''t fall behind too much either, the two other two archers were strong although not as ideal as the Chinese team. The two had a combined score of 37 points, allowing them to close the gap, they were only 1 point behind.


    The score was 58-57.


    The second and third round were almost carbon copies of the first round. Both Tang Yan and Ang Han Teng shot perfect sets causing the scene to become quite anxious.


    The Chinese team only led the Singapore Team by 2 points.


    172-170


    With three rounds left in the game, this left multiple possibilities.


    At halftime, Tang Yan turned his head and glanced at Ang Han Teng. Ang Han Teng''s performance was better than his imagination.

 95 Chain of Arrows

    The speed of Tang Yan''s archery had already been shown in qualifying, and it was a thrilling demonstration.


    But entering the team competition, in order not to place any second hand pressure on his teammates he didn''t do it again.


    But in fact, even in qualifying, he didn''t fully show his full speed.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    It''s not that he couldn''t but that he didn''t want to, because if that kind of extreme speed was displayed, it may bring unnecessary trouble to him.


    But now, Ang Han Teng''s strength was beyond his expectations, and every time he hit a 10 pointer, the provocative look in his eyes each time made him feel very uncomfortable.


    He didn''t know why but he felt a natural aversion and competitiveness towards him.


    So, he made a decision.


    He adjusted the draw weight on the recurve bow directly from 50 to the maximum, 100 pounds.


    "The next Chinese archer, please come up!"


    The referee signaled him up.


    Tang Yan walked to the venue with the bow.


    Unlike any previous round, there was a marked increase of intensity in his eyes.


    This kind of emotion couldn''t be touched, but the surrounding audience quickly felt it. All of them stared at the shooting gallery afraid of missing something.


    Under the eyes of the audience, Tang Yan walked to the target with the recurve bow.


    He didn''t rush to shoot, but he began to move back and forth, his right hand feigning the motion of grasping the arrow, nocking it and firing, over and over.


    "What is this guy doing?" Watching Tang Yan, Ang Han Teng was full of caution.


    Doubt also appeared in the hearts of the audience.


    After a few seconds, Tang Yan finally stopped and placed his hand on an arrow in the arrow pot.


    Seeing that Tang Yan was finally about to begin, the audience at the scene also immediately stopped talking and turned back to the field.


    Tang Yan moved, he yanked an arrow from the arrow pot, quickly struck the arrow, and then...


    Twang!


    He was moving too fast, the audience could hardly react or keep up.


    Tang Yan, even directly omitted the technical movements.


    Tang Yan didn''t stop after shooting the first arrow, he quickly pulled out another arrow from the arrow pot. It was all one smooth rapid movement, as his right hand released and the first arrow was fired, he instantly moved straight for the second arrow.


    Now people realised why it was Tang Yan kept moving his right hand back and forth before, it was in order to practice taking out the second arrow in the fastest time.


    But aware of this, another question appeared.


    Why all this hurry?


    There were 4 minutes in the round, the time given to each archer was very rich.


    This was already puzzling and what was even more so was that Tang Yan''s second arrow was lined up at a lower angle and he drew the bowstring back further.


    TWANG!


    The second arrow rocketed off the bowstring.


    WHOOSH!


    As expected, the arrows path was lower and its speed was significantly faster.


    Among the confused expressions of the audience, the two arrows appeared in the air in front of Tang Yan, the first arrow was in the front with the second arrow trailing behind.


    One was on a parabolic trajectory and the other on a nearly straight flight path.


    The distance between the two arrows was constantly closing, getting closer and closer.


    "Is that..." As the two arrows got closer and closer, Ang Han Teng realized what Tang Yan was trying to do, his face was incredulous.


    Sshhluck!


    BOOM!!


    Under the stunned eyes of the audience, the second arrow hit the first arrow just before hitting the target. The first arrow was directly pierced by the second arrow before slamming into the target.


    A Robin Hood!


    In ancient times, archery was mostly used for warfare, this kind of archery was called Manchu archery.


    Manchu was the Chinese martial arts form of archery.


    What Tang Yan just showed was a kind of high-end technique of Manchu.


    Adjusting the speed and angle of the arrow so that the first arrow was on a low-speed parabola and the second arrow was on a high-speed straight track. If it was done well enough, the second arrow would hit the first arrow. Then they all hit the target.


    This kind of arrow art was a chain of arrows. It was more common in military camp training, often demonstrated by military commanders to establish their prestige and credit.


    Li Guang as a general, knew how to perform this naturally.


    Because Tang Yan only got 80% of Li Guang''s power, he could just about finish this. In fact, he was originally preparing this for the Korean team, but he used it in advance.


    And because modern day arrows were made of carbon when the second arrow pierced the first there was a loud crack, like a silenced gunshot going off which just made the effects even more shocking.


    The scene was beautiful.


    Except for shock, I am afraid I can''t find another word to describe everyone''s expression and emotions at this moment.


    There was no sound on the scene for a long while, even the referee forgot to go up and confirm the number of points of his arrows.


    The first person to move was Tang Yan.


    Placing the recurve bow on his shoulder, he turned calmly walking to his rest area.


    When he arrived at the rest area, the referee finally snapped out of it and responded.


    10 points!


    Two 10-pointers!


    After the referee announced the result, the scene was followed by a mad cheer.


    The audiences reaction took time to buffer, but after being buffered, the emotional outburst was absolutely terrifying.


    The audience got up and screamed wildly, yelling and cheering.22kg45kg

 96 Teacher

    The shock and pressure brought about by this was phenomenal.


    Ang Han Teng shot a 9 pointer in the follow up and his score in this round was fixed at 19 points.


    He was disheartened seeing Tang Yan''s shot, not to mention the other two Singaporean archers. They only scored 17 and 18 points in this round.


    This greatly encouraged Qiu Tian and Ning Ze who once again shot 19 points. The gap between the two sides opened up.


    In the last two rounds, Tang Yan didn''t repeat his chain of arrows again. It was not that he didn''t want to but in order to perform it, he needed to adjust the number of pounds on the bow tofor visiting.


    After the end of the Korean match, the day''s archery competition came to an end.


    Tang Yan''s trick shot became the biggest highlight of the day.


    In the era of microblogging and social media, the video of his shot was spread across the country.


    The popularity of the name Tang Yan was rapidly spreading.


    .....


    A hotel in Guangzhou.


    Zhuang Jiajie looked over the news report about Tang Yan, he was lost in thought.


    In the end, he took his eyes off the computer screen and as if he finally made a decision.


    He picked up his phone and dialed a number.


    "Old Zhou, I have decided to resign from translating and interpreting."


    He didn''t give too much explanation. After he finished saying what he wanted to say, he hung up the phone directly.


    After he hung up the phone, he looked back to the screen, like a hunter watching his long-awaited prey.45kg

 97 Asian Games: Team Competition Finals 1

    November 22, Aoti Archery Range.


    Because it was the weekend, almost all the stands were filled. Although archery wasn''t a popular sport, but its viewership rate soared coupled with the birth of Tang Yan, the popularity of the sport was soaring in an incredible way. The audience arrived early to watch the finals of the team competition.


    However, things took a turn. Smog filled the sky.


    The word smog, became more widely known in China, in 2013, when there was severe air pollution that affected East China, including all or most parts of the municipalities of Shanghai and Tianjin, the provinces of Jiangsu, Henan, and Zhejiang.


    The lack of cold air flow, combined with the slow-moving air mass carrying industrial emissions, collected airborne pollutants to form a thick layer of smog over the region.


    It was one of the worst bouts of air pollution in the area, cutting visibility and causing major disruption in transportation and daily activities. Airports, highways, and schools were closed.


    Before this, China didn''t pay much attention to the effects of smog.


    Smog was a demonstration of just how polluted cities were becoming, even in London smog was a frequent guest from the beginning of the industrial revolution, it had lasted for more than 200 years, for China, it became a more prevalent issue since the beginning of 2003.


    As one of the most developed cities, Guangzhou was suffering from more and more air pollution.


    Originally, since there was the Asian Games, such a large-scale event, the government tried to carry out traffic control in the city, but despite their efforts to reduce day to day pollution it seemed to have little affect.


    Smog filled the air, greatly reducing visibility.


    This sudden situation caught the organizing committee unprepared, because the stadium was open-air, they were even preparing to change venues.


    However, this kind of thing was very difficult to implement. Foremost, there was not enough spare venues, second of all, the audience was almost all here, such a transfer would be a big issue.


    As a last resort, the finals of the team competition, which was scheduled to be held at 9:00 am, was to be temporarily postponed.


    As time went by, the psychological pressure on the archers mounted up.


    But there was good news after about an hour of delay, the smog finally showed signs of clearing or at least thinning out.


    After the visibility reached an adequate enough level, so they could push ahead the organizing committee announced the start of the finals.


    After such an episode there was a kind of hustle and bustle about the scene as everyone geared up for the long-awaited start.


    When archers from both sides walked into the arena, the audience was ecstatic, the previous wait became worthwhile.


    The audience was excited, but the archers were more dignified, the low visibility environment wasn''t exactly the best conditions for an archery competition.


    But as athletes, they could only try to overcome it.


    The performance of the Chinese team, especially Tang Yan, had caused the South Korean team to pay attention and naturally the Chinese team didn''t dare to be careless about the South Korean team.


    It was an anxious wait to hear the order of appearances from both sides.


    On the Korean team, Kwang-seok took the lead with Park Ji-hyun second, while their core Im Dong-hyun was the last to appear.


    On the Chinese side, Qiu Tian took the lead, Ning Ze was in the middle with Tang Yan at the tail.


    There wasn''t too much surprise at such a formation.


    Whilst Tang Yan and his teammates warmed up they could clearly sense the intense atmosphere around the venue.


    For the South Korean team this intensity was much stronger, they had more to lose as the defending champions.


    With the Chinese team''s victory at the Youth Olympics and Tang Yan''s performance so far a lot of doubt was being cast on their generation.


    South Korea had a heritage as archery champions and as doubt grew and discussions began many blamed this generation of archers.


    They labeled them as weaker compared to the former years. So they had a lot to fight for.


    "Archers, at the ready."


    After a brief warm-up, the referee quickly called the archers from both sides.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Qiu Tian and Kwang-seok went up to the gallery with their recurve bows.


    Both of them were young archers. Before the set, there was no verbal confrontation, they just walked up in silence. Each in their own minds, calming themselves.


    Qiu Tian''s 2 arrows shot for a result of 17 points, Kwang-seok shot for 18 points.


    After the two, Ning Ze and Park Ji Hyun were next. Compared with the previous two, they interacted talking on the way up to shoot. With both of them trying to disturb their opponents mental state.


    After the two arrived at the gallery, the confrontation began with both sides deliberately drawing out their time to shoot. Trying to throw the other off their game.


    In the end, Ning Ze''s 2 arrows  were 18 points and Park Ji Hyun shot for 18 points as well.


    Kwang-seok and Park Ji Hyun were both true archers of the Korean national team. In a normal match, their set scores would be basically stable between 19 to 20 points.


    But today, neither of them managed to shoot up to par due to the impact of the bad visibility.


    Up next was, Tang Yan and Im dong-hyun.


    Tang Yan took up his recurve bow and went to the gallery. Walking up neither cast any provocations, just slightly flashing the other a small smile.


    Because in the qualifiers the South Korean team finished first, Im dong-hyun was first to shoot.


    He took up his recurve bow and looking at the distant target, he took a deep breath. His body leaned forward slightly. After completing a series of preparations, he took out an arrow.


    His eyes are full of confidence.


    He had reason to be confident.


    He had already achieved a lot of dazzling achievements. Even an Olympic gold medal, which was the crowning jewel for most athletes had already been bagged by him in 2008.


    However the reality since then was that his vision was now on the decline.


    In the beginning, like everyone else, he thought that his career would come to an end after such a peak, but he was unreconciled so he insisted on training even if he couldn''t see the target like ordinary people, he would adapt in his own way in order to continue.


    Currently his vision wasn''t as bad as it would be in the future years but it had fallen by a huge margin from where it was in 2008.


    Originally this was his great disadvantage, but in this harsh condition, it became a big advantage for him.


    While other archers were reliant on their sight, he taught himself how to shoot without being dependant on it.


    He nocked the arrow and pulled the bowstring back to its upper limit. Looking at the hazy target in the distance, relying on muscle memory, he aimed at the target. After small adjustments, he fired.


    Twang!


    The arrow made a burst of sound and through a layer of smog on a parabola in the air flew towards the target.


    Boom!


    One arrow straight to the middle of the bullseye.


    10 points.


    The Korean team smiled in excitement and the Korean fans in the stands cheered.


    Im dong-hyun''s second arrow was still very slow, and like the first arrow, it flew straight to the center of the target.


    After the end of his turn, he nodded in Tang Yan''s direction.


    And just like that all the gazes fell onto Tang Yan, filled with concern.


    Although Tang Yan''s previous performance was amazing enough, in this smoggy weather, coupled with the outstanding performance of Im dong-hyun, they were anxious to see how he would reply.

 98 Asian Games: Team Competition Finals 2

    Whilst the audience was worried, Tang Yan, who was in the arena, was extremely calm. In fact, he had enough reason to be calm.


    He walked up, blinked and looked over at the target in the distance, he pulled out an arrow from the arrow pot, placed it on the bowstring and after he drew the bowstring back, he shot.


    Unlike Im Dong-hyun''s slow and steady shooting method, his shooting speed was the complete opposite.


    This quick shot attracted the audience''s wonder.


    The effect of the smoggy weather on visibility was large enough that even Im Dong-hyun had to prepare for a long time to shoot but Tang Yan didn''t even bother.


    Twang!


    The arrow shot through with a burst of air and flew straight towards the target.


    With the advent of the arrow, the fears and disappointments in the eyes of the audience gradually disappeared.


    Boom!


    After Tang Yan''s arrow hit the target, their dread was completely gone, and instead they were cheering in excitement.


    10 points!


    Before the audience calmed from their excitement, Tang Yan pulled out an arrow and followed it up.


    The arrow once again passed through the layers of fog, straight into the center of the bullseye.


    Another 10 pointer!


    Like Im Dong-hyun, 2 arrows for 20 points!


    And unlike Im Dong-hyun, he didn''t make any adjustments to his own rate of fire.


    This approach gave the impression that such hazy weather had no effect on him.


    Yesterday it was the chain of arrows, today he directly ignored the hazy weather, how could Tang Yan''s abilities be so abnormal...


    This performance from Tang Yan also attracted the focus of the Korean team, especially Im Dong-hyun. He knew how much effort he had made to overcome his situation. How many lonely days and nights he had spent training, but Tang Yan this 18-year-old made it look like nothing.


    He felt shocked and feared from the bottom of his heart.


    Tang Yan glanced at Im Dong-hyun''s expression, smiled faintly, then turned back.


    Li Guang fought in the northern grasslands of Xiongnu. Foggy weather there was a normal occurrence, after multiple military campaigns he was forced to adapt.


    Although the fog and smog were different, the effect on your line of sight was essentially the same.


    At the end of the first round, the South Korean team led 56 to 55, but such a weak lead did nothing to ease the tension.


    "Just maintain this rhythm, we have the leading edge." Before the start of the second round, Im Dong-hyun said to encourage his teammates.


    His position as captain came through at this time, the emotions of Park Ji-hyun and Kwang-seok quickly stabilized.


    After the start of the second round, the two of them still maintained their previous level.


    However, at this time, the Chinese team''s Qiu Tian and Ning Ze showed a different mental outlook.


    Archers weren''t machines, their emotions would fluctuate, from positive and negative. Tang Yan''s outstanding performance was obviously a positive motivator. After they came up for this round, they shot better than before. Shooting 18 points and 19 points respectively, actually allowing them to claim the lead from South Korea by 1 point.


    Then up came Im Dong-hyun. He took several deep breaths before he began. As a direct opponent of Tang Yan, the pressure he had to bear was naturally the greatest.


    However, Im Dong-hyun was a rare archery genius. Under the great pressure, maintaining his slow rate of fire, he still shot a score of 20-points.


    The pressure came to Tang Yan.


    Because of Tang Yan''s outstanding performance, the audience didn''t have any doubts at this time, but they were full of expectations.


    Tang Yan was still calm, holding up the recurve bow and aiming at the target and then raising his hand to shoot.


    There was no suspense, he went on to shoot two 10 pointers.


    Regardless of the opponent, or how his teammates changed, his rhythm and skill was still the same. He maintained his accuracy irrelevant of everything else.


    In the third round the two sides kept the balance and the Chinese team managed to maintain its lead, 168 to 167.


    After the third round, the two sides entered the halftime break.


    The atmosphere in the stadium at this time was exhilarating. Although the Chinese team was full of expectations, before the game, they didn''t actually think they would be in the lead at halftime.


    Even if the match was not over yet, their performance so far was enough for them to be included in Chinese archery history.


    "Keep calm and just stay stable, keep to your own rhythm." Tian Zhenzhe said to them during the break, he knew this was a critical moment. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked over at Tang Yan unconsciously. Tang Yan perked up to hear his guidance.


    "You....just keep doing what your doing, I believe in you."


    "Coach, rest assured." Hearing Tian Zhenzhe say this, Tang Yan broke into a smile.


    Tian Zhenzhe nodded then turned walking back to his seat.


    Now, he needed to calm his own mind down.


    .....


    After a short break, the match between the two sides continued for the second half.


    However, at this time the smog that was originally dispersing begun to suddenly thicken.


    But the match having reached this point, unless it was absolutely necessary, was unlikely to be suspended.


    Qiu Tian and Kwang-seok, took the lead to resume the show. The scores of the two were 16 points and 17 points.


    Ning Ze and Park Ji-hyun followed up also showing a decline in accuracy, with 18 points and 17 points.


    When the two''s set ended, there was a pause in play due to a situation by the side of the field.


    The head coach of the Korean team ran up to the technical station and applied for the suspension of the game. Siting the smoggy weather as an issue, he argued it was unsuitable conditions to continue as it was skewing the results and disrupting play.


    However, his request was rejected. With the reply that the conditions for both sides were the same and as such whatever scores came out depended on the archers themselves to show their skill.


    With the request rejected, the game continued.


    Walking up to shoot, Im Dong-hyun was frowning at this time.

 99 Asian Games: Team Competition Finals 3

    After Im Dong-hyun''s sight declined, he could no longer see the rings on the target. When he shot all he saw was the blurred colours of the target which he used to identify where to aim.


    But as the smog increased and further distorted his vision, it pushed his current limits. He had been training and adapting to shooting without clear vision over the last year and a bit but he was still far from his future peak.


    The effects of the thick smog on him was apparent after his first shot.


    The first arrow, he shot a 9 pointer.


    The second arrow, was yet another 9 pointer.


    After shooting, he kept shaking his head. Obviously, such a result was difficult for him to accept.


    After Im Dong-hyun, was Tang Yan.


    The appearance of Tang Yan attracted another peak of emotions.


    In the previous rounds, Tang Yan and Im Dong-hyun could be said to be equally matched but with Im Dong-hyun slipping from his perfect score the South Korean team became very anxious.


    It gave Tang Yan a chance to open up the gap.


    Although such bad weather had an impact on the archers, the expectations of the audience weren''t reduced.


    Tang Yan could clearly feel the emotions of the audience. He also felt excitement in his heart.


    The two sides were anxious, it was very likely that there would be a fundamental change in this round.


    Walking up with the recurve bow in hand, he stared at the distant target.


    The smog was indeed a lot thicker and it was no wonder that Im Dong-hyun''s shot fell short.


    However, for him, the extent of this impact on him was limited.


    Leading his army Li Guang had laid many an ambush in thick fog, for his enemies.


    Tang Yan pulled out an arrow from the arrow pot.


    Winding up, pre-tensioning, drawing the bowstring back and aiming.


    Twang!


    Like a meteor it soared straight toward the target.


    The arrow flew a perfect parabola in the air and fell right into the center of the target.


    Boom!


    10 points!


    The scene instantly boiled up.


    Tang Yan drew out the second arrow.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    The arrow once again hit the bull''s eye.


    10 points!


    After the audience saw the number of points displayed on the electronic display, they went completely mad.


    Im Dong-hyun, the ace of the South Korean team let out a small sigh, whilst shaking his head. Even with such bad weather conditions Tang Yan still seemed unaffected.


    He was truly incredible!


    And with that the Chinese team led the Korean team by a total number of 3 points!


    This was a historic achievement and they were so close to tasting victory!


    However, the game hadn''t yet reached its conclusion.


    It was no accident that the South Korean team could dominate the world of archery for such a long time.


    In the next two rounds, they showed their strength as archery''s hegemony. They didn''t allow China to open the gap further. Instead, they chased their lead down from 3 points to the 1 point.


    The situation became full of suspense in an instant.


    With that it was the final round, which would determine the final direction of the game.


    "Don''t think about anything else, just focus on yourself." Tian Zhenzhe said in a steady tone trying to calm their nerves in spite of his own inner nervousness.


    Both Qiu Tian and Ning Ze nodded.


    The first set of duels was Qiu Tian vs Kwang-seok.


    Kwang-seok did well, smoothly shooting a 9-pointer and then adjusting based on his last shot to barely edge in a 10-pointer.


    When he saw his score, he punched the air in glee, he hadn''t disappointed. At 19-years-old this was only his second major international competition, with the ball out of his court and the pressure off,  he walked back to camp, excitedly wiping his tears of joy.


    The audience at this time was holding their breath, and no one dared to make any sound.


    Tang Yan patted Qiu Tian''s shoulder and motioned for him to relax. The latter took a deep breath and then walked straight to the gallery.


    This was what he had hoped for, a chance to challenge and prove himself on the international stage, with Tang Yan they had finally created a team that could contend internationally.


    Now he just had to do his part.


    Under pressure, he stabilized his mind and shot both arrows.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    ...


    Twang!


    Boom!


    As the last arrow landed for 19-points! There was a burst of cheers on the scene.


    With that his taut body finally relaxed, his whole person was already soaked in sweat.


    Such a tie, let the Chinese team further stabilize the situation.


    ...


    Up next was Park Ji-hyun and Ning Ze, a confrontation between the two veterans.


    Not falling behind his junior, Park Ji-hyun withstood the pressure and matched him with 19 points.


    To which Ning Ze, did the same. Shooting 19 points.


    After the two finished, the final set was to begin and the Chinese team still led by 1 point.


    The audience were eager to watch. They all stood up from their seats, their faces excited.


    Now, they just needed Tang Yan to drive them home, for gold.


    Im Dong-hyun was deadly serious at this time, behind by 2 points. Although there was theoretical hope of winning the game, it was necessary to remember Tang Yan.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    However, he still had to do his bit. Under pressure, he shot two absolutely stunning 10 pointers, which kept hope alive for the Korean team.


    When the last arrow hit 10 points, many Korean audiences on the sidelines burst into tears.


    But when Tang Yan came on the scene, their hearts hung again.


    The commentators on scene watched nervously, many had their mouths already close to the microphone.


    Tang Yan looked calm and the first arrow was shot steadily.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    "10 points! Tang Yan''s first arrow is a 10 pointer!"


    The on-site commentator couldn''t help but shout.


    The South Korean team members on the side of the field were all taut and stood on the sidelines to watch Tang Yan.


    It seemed that for a time, his figure became tall, like a mountain they could never cross.


    Tang Yan pulled out the second arrow from the arrow pot.


    His heart was violently beating.


    Even if he had enough confidence not to make a mistake, when you had an arrow that could change the history of Chinese archery, it was impossible to keep calm.


    He took a deep breath and after a series of technical moves, he finally aimed at the looming target in the distance.


    "Come on!"


    He screamed in his heart and let go of his hand.


    Twang!


    The arrow broke through the air and flew toward the target.


    Boom!


    The arrow trembled as it hit the target.

 100 The People Sing

    "10 points! Tang Yan has done it! That''s it, it''s all over! The Chinese team have won the gold medal!"


    The on-site commentator said excitedly jumping up.


    The next moment, the entire stadium was boiling.


    This 20 points from Tang Yan completely obliterated the last hopes of the Koreans, helping the Chinese team win their first Asian Games archery medal!


    As the archery overlords, beating South Korea was an amazing achievement, to them this gold medal was no less than an Olympic gold medal.


    When the Chinese team won the championship, the audience who were already stood up, lost it in excitement. The audience shouted and cheered with whistles accompanying the cheers. The whole stadium was caught in an exhilarating atmosphere.


    Qiu Tian and Ning Ze rushed into the arena, holding up Tang Yan and constantly yelling with joy.


    This moment belonged to the national archery team and to all the archery enthusiasts in the country.


    The cheers on the scene continued for more than a minute, until Tang Yan returned to the rest area, when the momentum was reduced.


    However, no one left the scene at this time, because the award ceremony was to be held.


    The person handing out the medals this time was Mr. Chen Mingliang, Chairman of the International Archery Alliance (Asia Branch).


    When the medals were awarded, they were able to clearly feel the frustration and disappointment of the Korean team members, but obviously no one paid attention to this at this time. When Chairman Chen Mingliang walked before the Chinese team, the cheers on the scene were already deafening.


    "Congratulations, you are the pride of China." Chen Mingliang smiled and congratulated them after placing the gold medals around their necks.


    They kissed the medals in unison and followed up by raising the flowers, high in the air.


    The entire stadium once again fell into madness.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, please stand up for the national anthem of the People''s Republic of China." The voice of the host, Hong Liang came.


    More than 7,000 people in the audience brushed up and stood up from their seats, all looking to the five-star red flag in the center of the venue.


    When the prelude to the anthem sounded, there was a look of pride on everyone''s face.


    "Arise, Ye who refuse to be slaves!


    With our flesh and blood, let''s build a new Great Wall!


    After the song began, all the Chinese fans sang.


    The song echoed through the stadium, and everyone''s face was filled with a gleeful smile.


    "March on, heroic people of all ethnicities!


    The great Communist Party, lead us to continue the Long March!


    Millions of but one heart we run towards the Communist tomorrow!


    Build our homeland, guard our homeland, and fight gallantly.


    March on! March on! March on!!"


    When the song drew to a close, the scene was followed by a sea of ??cheers and applause.


    After the end of the award ceremony, Tang Yan accepted an interview. He was in a good mood and answered a few questions from reporters.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    At the end of the reporter''s containment, on the way to the hotel, Tian Zhenzhe suddenly took out the agreement written by Tang Yan from his pocket.


    "Now, this is already a waste of paper." Tian Zhenzhe said as he tore up the paper agreement before Tang Yan. "I look forward to seeing you become the first person in history to get gold medals across two different sports."


    "So do I." Tang Yan said in a humble tone.


    After the end of the team competition, there was still five or six days to go before the individual competition. Tang Yan was in first place in the qualifiers and naturally planned to compete but in three days the boxing competition would begin.


    Tang Yan''s real test officially begun. It was a big test for him to participate in two sports at the same time.


    Of course, this was what Tian Zhenzhe and Qin Hailong worried about but Tang Yan himself had a relaxed expression.


    The archery individual competition spanned a long time, the main reason was due to the amount of contestants but fortunately there was no conflict in timing with boxing. For him now, as long as he stayed aware there would be no problem.


    .....


    Because Lu Yun didn''t come to the Asian Games, Tang Yan''s training partner before the games became Xiong Haojie.


    The two got to know each other over time and became good friends.


    Although they were in different weights, it wasn''t too outrageous, so it was effective for the two to train together.


    The number of participants in the Asian Games was less than that in the selections, but the quality was obviously a grade above. The boxers who could come this far were all strong opponents.


    A total of 28 players participated in the 49kg class. The competition was divided into 5 rounds. To reach the finals, at least 4 rounds of opponents must be defeated.


    Tang Yan had good luck. His first fight wasn''t until tomorrow so he came down on the first day as part of the audience on the sidelines to watch and scout.


    After a day of observation, he had a basic understanding of his opponents.


    First of all, these opponents were much stronger than in the selection trials. Any one of them could have reached the final levels of the trials.


    In this group, he paid extra attention to several boxers.


    Ito Takeuchi of Japan, a boxer who was extremely fast, simply an enhanced version of Okamoto.


    Staly Karimov of Kazakhstan, a boxer who could quickly adjust and defend through his exquisite footwork, he also packed a heavy punch.


    South Korea''s Park Sang-jun, a boxer with a perfect combination of footwork, speed and defense, he was the defending champion.


    In addition, Thailand''s Bayu Luneng and North Korea''s Kim Chaowu were both good boxers.


    .....


    Tang Yan''s opponent was Cai Yuanfei from Taiwan, researching him he didn''t leave much of an impression. Tang Yan only remembered that he was an offensive boxer.


    Qin Hailong came to the stadium as the head coach for Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan put on his protective gear and waited to go up.


    When the fight was to begin, the referee signaled the boxers to the center and said a few words to them.

 101 Tang Yan vs Yuanfei

    Cai Yuanfei was taller than Tang Yan but not by a huge margin.


    Currently Tang Yan was only 5''4 but he knew his growth spurt was later than the average person. In his previous life, he had grown to 5''7 when he was 19 years old!


    Moreover, that was in the case of poor nutrition at the time, it was inevitable that in this life he would grow taller. As for his weight, that was adjustable!


    Cai Yuanfei reached out and touched gloves with Tang Yan and took a step back.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Boxers at your ready!" The referee shouted as he waved his hand to signal the beginning of the fight.


    Cai Yuanfei''s mouth showed a faint smile.


    Ding Ding!  The bell sounded.


    Cai Yuanfei was everything Tang Yan thought he was. He was short and slow but as thick-bodied as a wrestler and his small round head looked like a real knuckle- breaker. He liked to get in close and methodically rip the middle out of his opponents.


    Tang Yan went out fast and went three times around the stolid Taiwanese boxer, stabbing him with that long left, before Yuanfei could get set to throw a punch. He threw a long right and Yuanfei blinked as it smacked against the side of his jaw. Tang Yan lanced a left to Yuanfei''s nose and a trickle of blood showed on his upper lip.


    The crowd was on its feet instantly, yelling.


    Cai Yuanfei was a relatively well-known boxer. His biggest advantage was that he was a relatively heavy puncher.


    Yuanfei took another to the side of the head, then suddenly lunged inside, working both short powerful arms. Tang Yan''s midsection and arms glowed an angry red.


    Tang Yan took two more stiff joks to the ribs before he tied up the Taiwanese boxer. For a moment his legs felt rubbery. But before the referee could come to part them he pushed Yuanfei away with a surge of his shoulders and sent in a straight left that crashed between Yuanfei''s nose and cheekbone.


    Yuanfei''s head went back as if on a hinge and Tang Yan hit him again while his chin was still tilted. Yuanfei dropped leadenly to his hands and knees. Tang Yan stood over him, hands ready, until the referee pushed him away and indicated him to the neutral corner.


    Yuanfei was up at nine, but he was no longer the stolid, heavy fighter he had been. He looked around and he backed away as Tang Yan stalked across the ring at him. He tried to cover his head as Tang Yan came in savagely.


    In a moment he had lost all his ringcraft and he backed into his own corner. Tang Yan nailed him there with another left then, weaving from side to side threw everything he had, beating down Yuanfei''s guard, bouncing his round head from side to side with the fury of his attacks.


    Cai Yuanfei took the hits and concentrated all his strength on his right. His purpose was clear, that is, to break through Tang Yan''s defense.


    "Boom!"


    Cai Yuanfei punched Tang Yan''s arm and made a dull sound.


    The punch was solid, but Tang Yan wasn''t knocked back. He weaved in again ; took two jolting


    shots to the body as he missed a long right for the jaw.


    They went at each other like a couple of bulldogs. They came together in the center of the ring, bending forward to attack. It was Tang Yan''s right against Yuanfei''s left, and there was the thunder of Thor in each. Neither backed up an inch.


    They smashed and hooked and hammered. Each shooting in their punches straight and hard. Neither was trying to block.


    Intending to stop the other or be stopped themselves.


    And the crowd stood up and howled.


    Cai Yuanfei was shocked, this reality was completely different from what he expected, Tang Yan was taking on his punches.


    Tang Yan took the hits, using the unloading system to ease the burden his body was taking.


    He set himself up and threw a hard, roundhouse right that crashed on the side of Yuanfei''s face. Deliberately he swung his left and cut open from the opposite side. Yuanfei groaned, bowed behind his hands and fell back a step. Tang Yan followed him. He hooked his fist heavily into Yuanfei''s unprotected stomach, then rocked him with a right and left to the sides of the head again as his hands dropped.


    Yuanfei clutched at him, but his hands feebly slid down Tang Yan''s arms and he went to, his knees, clinging to the second strand of ropes, his head bowed.


    Thud!


    With a dull sound, accompanied by a crisp sound, Cai Yuanfei''s whole person fell like a broken kite to the canvas.


    At the moment of landing, his body trembled and his mouth vomited.


    When the referee saw Cai Yuanfei''s situation, he immediately ran over to check him out.


    He immediately called the medical staff to carry him down.


    The audience was dumbfounded.


    At this time, Tang Yan''s calm was restored.


    The referee looked at him a little, and got up to announce him as the winner.


    When he was out the ring, even Qin Hailong, threw some strange looks at him.


    "How come you went in so hard for him, did something happen?" Qin Hailong asked.


    "If I can end it faster, why draw it out." Tang Yan answered with a small smile.


    At this time, in a corner of the stands, Zhuang Jiajie had his eyes locked on him, the excitement in his eyes grew even stronger.


    ....


    Tang Yan easily breezed through his next fight as well. Making it to the third round.


    Ito Takeuchi, Staly Karimov, Park Sang-jun and the other boxers he noted, advanced to the next round, which was the quarterfinals.


    All with the exception of the North Korean boxer, Kim Chaowu


    Who matched up against the South Korean boxer Park Sang-jun.


    Kim Chaowu''s strength wasn''t bad, but Park Sang-jun was too much for him.


    However, the grievance between the two countries made it impossible for Kim Chaowu to easily admit defeat. As a result, in the three rounds of the contest, he stood back up after being knocked down three times. In the end, the fight was called after the third knockdown. His whole person was beaten and bruised but his willpower and tenacity was shown to the maximum.


    However, in the end, Park Sang-jun pulled through and secured the victory, even though the fight was drawn out. He showed his dominance as the defending champion.


    And with that Park Sang-jun was Tang Yan''s next opponent.

 102 Ring Snatching

    The matchups were decided by a random draw. As such the early encounter between Tang Yan and Park Sang-jun was completely random.


    Such an early encounter between the two for the audience was thrilling all the same.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    For this fight, Tang Yan didn''t show any emotional fluctuations.


    Park Sang-jun, after defeating Kim Chaowu, as the defending champion was also naturally confident.


    When interviewing before the fight, he bluntly stated that his goal was to once again win the championship. As for his opponents, he wasn''t too concerned.


    .....


    In the morning, the preliminaries for the individual archery competition was held. After defeating his opponent, he went to the training hall.


    Xiong Haojie also followed him to the boxing gym, he had also managed to fight his way into the top eight in the 52kg class, making it into the quarter-finals.


    Because there were many boxers, when they arrived, it was already crowded.


    However, this was the home of the Chinese team after all. As the home team, they got some preferential treatment and even though they came late they managed to quickly acquire a training area.


    He and Xiong Haojie both trained for a while, but suddenly they heard the sound of an argument not too far away.


    It was the Kazakhstan team arguing with some staff members.


    After the Kazakhstan team arrived, they found that there was no space. They immediately found the staff members and asked for somewhere to train.


    However, they had just given the last free ring area to the Chinese team.


    The leader of the group was the 60kg boxer Samat Bashenov, who was the 56 kg champion of the last Asian Games, he had just recently moved weight classes to 60kg.


    Samat Bashenov took the lead and quarreled with the people of the organizing committee.


    "Damn why are they being so noisy." Xiong Haojie heard the noise and couldn''t help but comment whilst frowning.


    Tang Yan looked over then shook his head. His next opponent Park Sang-jun wouldn''t be an easy one. Although he wasn''t very comfortable, the noise had yet to reach the level of interference, he directed Xiong Haojie to focus and they continued to train.


    The Kazakhstan team argued for a while, but the attitude of the organizing committee was firm. They didn''t gain any thing in the end and they didn''t dare to be excessive so they could only resign to their fate.


    Everyone thought, with that they would leave and return later but the Kazakhstan team didn''t leave, but instead they walked around. After a tour around, they found the boxing ring of the Pakistan team, who had very few people and tried to ''talk'' them into switching places.


    The Pakistani boxers naturally tried to refuse but the Kazakhstan team had a lot of people and continued trying to pressure them into switching.


    "What are they doing?" Xiong Haojie watching the hustle and bustle couldn''t stand it anymore. He threw down his palm pads and jumped down from the boxing ring.


    He shouted, "What are you doing!"


    Seeing the hero move, Tang Yan also jumped out of the boxing ring.


    Although Pakistan was a small country, Pakistan had a unique name in manderin ''Batie'', meaning ''iron brother'', which was testimony to the close relationship between the two neighbors.


    The Kazakhstan team turned to look at Xiong Haojie.


    "It''s a first-come, first-served basis. If you want to train, you should have come earlier, if you want a ring you''re gonna have to wait until a space opens up." Xiong Haojie said sharply in English.


    Hearing Xiong Haojie the Kazakhstan team showed dissatisfied faces.


    "This is our issue, you don''t need to get involved." At this time, the leader Samat Bashenov replied.


    "What if I want to get involved?" Xiong Haojie, who was a master of knowing no fear, stepped forward.


    "If you want to be nosy, then we can''t guarantee you safety, even if this is China." Samat Bashenov was full of threats and his arrogant attitude seemed to completely ignore Xiong Haojie and Tang Yan.


    Xiong Haojie became frustrated and moved to step up but at this moment, Tang Yan reached out and grabbed him. Holding him back.


    He said with a smile: "Your clearly trying to bully others, plus these two are our friends."


    "Isn''t that right, brothers?"


    The two Pakistani boxers paused then immediately nodded.


    "So, you are gonna cause trouble?" Samat Bashenov said, as the rest of his group of seven to eight boxers quickly stepped forward.


    At this time, Tang Yan looked over to the side where some staff members were. Because they were far away, they hadn''t responded yet but if things got too big they would definitely come over.


    "Come on then! Let''s go, training was getting boring anyway!" Xiong Haojie said cracking his knuckles unbothered by the fact they were outnumbered.


    The Kazakhstani boxers saw his move, and replied in kind, readying for a brawl.


    "Wait!"


    However, at this time, Samat Bashenov suddenly said, looking over at Xiong Haojie:


    "We aren''t hooligans now, let''s take this to the boxing ring?"

 103 Unnecessary Trouble

    Xiong Haojie narrowed his eyes hearing Samat Bashenov''s words.


    When Tang Yan heard this, he also had some doubts. However, when he saw that the staff members weren''t too far away, he immediately knew the reason for this.


    "Fine then! Come let''s go a few rounds I''m not afraid of you!" Xiong Haojie said.


    At this time, Tang Yan took a step forward and stopped the hero. He said, "Don''t bother with him, he''s just trying to bait you."


    "Humph, I''ll like to see what he can do." Xiong Haojie said in a low voice.


    In boxing, fighting across weight classes was very difficult, especially a lower-weight boxer challenging a higher weight boxer, although lightweight boxers were faster than their counterparts in a fight they would be crushed in terms of power. They would only need one clean punch to put them down.


    Tang Yan saw the anger in his eyes, shook his head and said straightforwardly: "You can''t beat him."


    Tang Yan was very straightforward by nature. Xiong Haojie was only 52 kg, and he may have a chance against 56kg opponents but against someone like Samat Bashenov who was a veteran boxer, two weight classes above him and the defending champion of the last competition, that was just looking to get beaten.


    "Come on then are you gonna fight or not? Who is coming up, my fist is already itching!" Samat Bashenov shouted at them.


    "What are you doing!" At this moment, one of the staff members of the organizing committee came over and shouted.


    "Nothing, we just decided to have a friendly sparring session". Samat Bashenov responded.


    "You can ask them if you want?" he added seeing the staff member looking at him with suspicion, he then cast a provocative gaze at Tang Yan and Xiong Haojie.


    The meaning was obvious.


    They had two options now, to either tell on them to the organizing committee or go along with his lie and agree to his fight.


    The two Pakistani boxers saw this scene and sighed with relief. It seemed like they were about to speak up.


    As long as things were made clear, the fault would naturally fall on Samat Bashenov and his group.


    But Xiong Haojie began to speak before they could: "We are just sparr....."


    "They are trying to snatch this ring from them." Tang Yan interrupted Xiong Haojie and said serenely.


    When his words came out, the two Pakistani boxers heaved a sigh of relief and many of the boxers on the sidelines secretly cheered for Tang Yan.


    With this the staff member turned and glared at Samat Bashenov and his group.


    "Didn''t I already tell you there are no more rings, you actually dared to go around trying to snatch other people''s rings.


    You lot are from the Kazakhstan team right, humph I''ll give you a minute to pack up and leave. You might have got away with this last time but not this time I''ll be reporting this to your coaches and the committee."


    "I....we weren''t snatching anything, we were just asking if we could switch as we have more people and need to train." Samat Bashenov said trying to weasel his way out.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "So why did you surround them and keep pressuring them when they clearly refused multiple times. Tang Yan timely interjected.


    "What..we didn''t pressure anyone, we were just making sure there was no way we could persuade them into switching. There''s a lot of us but we didn''t surround anyone."


    "Bullsh*t we all saw and heard you, surround and threaten them to give over the area." Xiong Haojie retorted in anger.


    "F*ck off, stop trying to frame us, we didn''t do...."


    "Okay okay, that''s enough from both of you, like I said earlier you lot need to pack up and leave....


    "But we didn''t do anything, why do we have to leave."


    "Well I beg to differ but either way there''s no space here and since you''re not training you need to leave because your disturbing others. You can argue your innocence at a later date but as a kind reminder there are cameras in here so I wouldn''t try it.


    The staff member said while pointing to the exit.


    Samat Bashenov glared at Tang Yan and then with a snort of anger he said:


    "Fine, we are out of here."


    With that they strode out but not before remembering to cast loathing glares at Tang Yan.


    The two Pakistani boxers were full of thanks at this time, and they thanked them constantly.


    Xiong Haojie having calmed down from his hot headedness smiled warily at Tang Yan.


    The two resumed training for a while longer before eventually heading back to camp.


    ....


    The next day Tang Yan ushered in his opponent for the quarter-finals, Park Sang-jun.

 104 Tang Yan vs Park Sang-jun

    Despite only being a quarterfinals fight, the budding fame of Tang Yan nationally and internationally combined with Park Sang-jun''s already existing fame and connections meant their fight ended up a big event with a rather star studded front row.


    Ranging from Chinese comedians and singers to Korean movie stars, who came to cheer for Park Sang-jun among which was the popular female movie star Seo Yeon.


    Returning home from the previous Asian Games, Park Sang-jun returned to Korea as a star, he was the only Korean boxer to win gold that year. Now he was hoping to repeat history but he acknowledged there were many strong contenders this year, Tang Yan the unexpected dark horse of this year''s competition was one.


    .....


    When the two sides entered the gymnasium, the reception was grand even for Park Sang-jun, though not many Koreans made a trip down but those who did made up for their lack of numbers by loudly cheering for him.


    After taking office, Park Sang-jun waved to the audience who supported him. His face was full of triumphant colors, which immediately attracted the hum of many Chinese fans.


    However, this seemed to make Park Sang-jun more excited. He threw some show punches in the direction of Tang Yan.


    This move attracted more dissatisfaction from the home fans, shouting for Tang Yan to knockout Park Sang-jun.


    Tang Yan didn''t show any reaction. What he was thinking about now was the game plan Qin Hailong came up with. He knew this was gonna be a tough fight, his hardest official fight yet.


    The two walked to the center of the boxing ring, touched gloves them moved to their corners.


    Then there was the gong ¡ª the signal for the beginning of the first round!


    .....


    At this time in the front row of the stands, Seo Yeon, dressed in a beautiful dress was sat down her eyes showing a nervous and expecting look.


    As a famous Korean actress, she normally wouldn''t have come to such an event, after all boxing wasn''t exactly the kindest scene but she came this time to cheer for Park Sang-jun.


    The reason being that her baby sister after nearly being kidnapped in Singapore became enthralled by boxing, martial arts and things of that nature after luckily being rescued by an unknown boy. Hearing about this fight she had pleaded to come and with some help from Park Sang-jun they had managed to get ringside tickets.


    "Unnie!" Just as the boxing match began, Seo Byeol finally arrived back with snacks and sat by her.


    Seo Yeon showed a sullen look seeing how much food her sister bought but when she saw her sister''s joyful smile, she sighed and let it go.


    Seo Byeol saw her sister''s look of disapproval and stuck out her tongue with a naughty smirk before she focused on the boxing ring.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    At this time, the two boxers were properly going at it.


    However, when she glanced over, she couldn''t help but do a double take, her eyes full of doubt.


    .....


    Back in the ring, Tang Yan and Park Sang-jun were trading blows.  They stood toe to toe for a full minute, arms working with the speed of lightning bolts. Tang Yan was playing for the face. Whilst Park Sang-jun was shooting for body shots.


    Tang Yan then danced away from a blow from Park Sang-jun.


    Park Sang-jun had his head down and bored in. He was a dangerous body-puncher. Low-hung, squat and hard-headed. He was coming in close, his arms working from his hips like tireless pistons.


    Tang Yan danced away; and then that lightning-like left of his flicked out and smacked against the almost unprotected face of Park Sang-jun. Each time it landed it damaged his face. Park Sang-jun managed to keep up relatively well and match his speed to the best of his ability but he was a tad bit slower. For one blow, he took two and soon he had one eye closed and purple.


    Tang Yan had Park Sang-jun''s nose battered flat and his lips raw and bleeding. But Park Sang-jun bored in.


    He measured Tang Yan carefully and let go a left and right to the head. They went home with a velocity of a mule''s kick. Tang Yan settled back upon his heels and shook his head rapidly to clear away the effect of the punches.


    Park Sang-jun''s left glove shot out like a whip-lash and the spat of leather on flesh sounded. There was blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.


    Park Sang-jun rushed forward, and again Tang Yan gave ground, shooting punches from underneath, up at Park Sang-jun''s covered head. He felt them going in ¡ª one ¡ª two ¡ª three!


    Tang Yan straightened up and Park Sang-jun drove a right cross to his temple that shook Tang Yan to his toes.


    But Tang Yan was soon back at it again like a gliding phantom with a punch of a bag of bricks in either hand.


    He evaded the slower-moving Park Sang-jun looking for gaps. When he tried to get close Park Sang-jun would hit him with a powerful body shot to the ribs.


    Commentator:


    "Tang Yan is dancing around him ¡ª peppering him with straight left jabs mixed up with a flock of hooks and short rights that reminds you of Dempsey or Tyson at their best. He doesn''t bore in like Tyson did ¡ª he''s a boxer, not a fighter ¡ª but, folks, he has about the stiffest punch in either hand that we''ve ever observed in a flyweight and he knows how to use that punch.


    "A couple of seconds ago he almost flattened Park Sang-jun with a one-two to the jaw. Park Sang-jun was hurt ¡ª no doubt about it ¡ª and Tang Yan went dancing away. He''s holding Park Sang-jun now. Park Sang-jun, the defending champion is struggling to match his speed and is slowly being led along. Things aren''t looking good but there''s the bell, folks ¡ª we are turning the ''mice'' over to our friend, Huang Jianxiang over in the booth for this break."


    Tang Yan walked to his corner.


    ....


    Ding! Ding!


    Tang Yan shuffled forward into the center of the ring. Park Sang-jun came out ¡ª a blue lump under his jaw where Tang Yan''s sharpshooting right had caught him in the previous round. His eye looked better. His cutman had been working on him furiously through the minute rest. His head was down, bobbing from side to side, his hands at his hips, his square jaw set in a snarl. He was shuffling forward, almost like a tank over rough ground. His little, deep-set eyes were fixed on Tang Yan''s face. He meant danger in large letters.


    Tang Yan stepped in and belted him on the jaw with a long, looping right. It shook Park Sang-jun but it didn''t stop him. Tang Yan clinched and tied him up and pushing the lumbering Park Sang-jun away from him, stabbed him with a straight left to the injured eye. Park Sang-jun muttered feelingly and charged like a mad bull.


    They were in a neutral corner with Tang Yan close to the ropes.


    Tang Yan feinted the enraged Park Sang-jun into leading with his left, and, as he did so, Tang Yan nailed him with a stiff right to the jaw ¡ª but then it happened.


    .....


    Commentator:


    "Tang Yan is trapped in a neutral corner. He''s grinning at Park Sang-jun. Park Sang-jun leads a left and Tang Yan crosses with a right to the jaw ¡ª Tang Yan ducks ¡ª Park Sang-jun throws a right for the heart. It hit Tang Yan under the heart and liftes him fairly off his feet.


    "Tang Yan''s eyes are glazed and his mouth is hanging open ¡ª he''s hurt ¡ª badly ! Park Sang-jun is all over him, throwing punches at his jaw. Tang Yan is trying to cover up. He''s sagging at one knee. Park Sang-jun lands a right on Tang Yan''s jaw!


    "Tang Yan is going down, folks ¡ª he''s folding up, kind of. Park Sang-jun shoots another right to the jaw of him as he is falling ¡ª he''s on the floor ¡ª Tang Yan¡ª a knockdown ! The timekeeper is counting ¡ª Park Sang-jun is being waved to the far corner of the ring. The count is up to three. He lifts his arm ¡ª listen ¡ª you can hear him count ¡ª''Four'' Tang Yan is still on the floor; Park Sang-jun is over in the neutral corner growling like a tiger that has tasted blood. He looks as if he''d like to kill the referee for keeping him off the fallen Tang Yan.


    "It looks as if Tang Yan is out cold ¡ª He''s trying to struggle to his feet ¡ª his limbs are trying to move ¡ª the referee is still counting ¡ª ''Seven''.


    "He''s struggling, folks. Tang Yan is trying to get to his feet. ''Nine!'' chants the referee. He''s up ¡ª Tang Yan''s up, people! ¡ª he is the first man who ever got up after Park Sang-jun hit with a short right to the heart and jaw! He''s up ¡ª he''s groggy ¡ª but he''s covering up and backing away.


    "Park Sang-jun is swarming all over him, shooting punches wildly. They''re mostly hitting Tang Yan on the head and shoulders or missing him altogether. He''s down again ¡ª down on one knee ¡ª taking another count for a rest ¡ª to let his head clear some more. The round has twenty seconds to go; Tang Yan will use nine of those precious seconds before he gets up. He''s up ¡ª at nine ! His head seems cleared. He''s tying Park Sang-jun up ¡ª Park Sang-jun is trying to tear himself away.


    Ding! Ding!


    .....


    Tang Yan staggered to his corner and threw himself wearily down upon the stool. Qin Hailong was on him in an instant. The team was around him as well with a cotton swab soaked in epinephrine, they applied it with pressure to under his nose which was showing signs of bleeding. A second was rubbing his stomach muscles. Qin Hailong came over and said:


    "He''s gonna want to take you out in the next round. You need to stay away from him, stay away until you feel yourself. Play to stay alive this round..."


    Tang Yan''s face was red and his breathing was almost normal again. A great red welt showed beneath his heart where Park Sang-jun''s plunging fist had almost shocked his heart into stillness.


    An egg shaped bruise was forming on the side of his jaw. His eyes were blazing. He seemed a fighter transformed. He leaned forward eagerly in his chair after fifteen seconds of the minute''s rest.


    "I can win this round, he got a lucky blow!" Tang Yan said through set teeth. "


    .....


    The bell rang.


    Tang Yan leaped halfway across the ring before the echo of the bell was still. He trapped the slower moving Park Sang-jun coming out of his own corner. He set himself, his fists at a slugging position, and greeted Park Sang-jun with a solid right to the jaw ; then he tore in, working both hands from underneath.


    The spat ¡ª spat ¡ª spat of gloves on flesh could be heard above the roar of the crowd. He was driving jolting bruising, man- killing body punches from his knees into Park Sang-jun''s midsection.


    Park Sang-jun tried to back away, to give ground, but the furious fighting machine that was Tang Yan smothered him under an avalanche of blows and drove him to the ropes, hands working tirelessly, pumping through Park Sang-jun''s weak defense ¡ª overhand rights, short lefts, left hooks to the jaw, jolting uppercuts.


    He stepped back and looked Park Sang-jun over coolly. There was no grin on his face now. It was drawn up into grim lines ¡ª the lines of a fighter ¡ª and his eyes were gleaming like the eyes of a wild-cat. His right flashed out.


    The punch, as it landed, jarred the audience and commentators below the ring. They were watching Tang Yan¡ª speech forgotten, cheering forgotten ¡ª at the sight of him transforming into a demon of scientific destruction.


    Qin Hailong''s words sounded in his head ¡ª "Hit him with a left then line him up for a right as a closer!"


    And like a signal, Tang Yan''s left flashed out. It tilted Park Sang-jun''s head backward a trifle; there was an almost imperceptible pause, then Tang Yan''s right lashed out.


    Boff!


    It did not travel more than eight inches. It went in, shoulder high, landing squarely on his jaw, the thud shook even Tang Yan''s body.


    Park Sang-jun stiffened on his feet while Tang Yan stepped back. He didn''t so much as look back at his handiwork. He deliberately walked away to a neutral corner and Park Sang-jun plunged face downward into the resigned canvass.


    Boom!


    No one was interested in the count. The referee might have counted to a hundred and ten. The seats back in the darkness away from the brilliantly-lit ring were rocking, screaming, yelling, bellowing. The reporters around the press tables were standing on their chairs, gazing at Park Sang-jun on the canvass.


    In the neutral corner, Tang Yan waited until he saw the referee''s hand rise and fall with the tenth count, then he walked straight to his corner, donned his black and gold bathrobe and climbed through the ropes.


    Seeing the situation in the ring,  Seo Yeon''s face was astonished.


    The Arena was in an uproar ! They were shrieking his name to the high heavens. His face had lost the grim look of concentration. A wide grin was present on Tang Yan''s face.


    The Korean media had called Park Sang-jun the strongest 49-kg boxer in the history of South Korea. Seo Yeon had expected Park Sang-jun to come through in the end with the victory.


    The gap between ideals and reality made this Korean actress dumbfounded.


    "Unnie, the Chinese boxer..."


    "It''s him, he''s the one from Singapore!" At this moment, Seo Byeol under the ring suddenly pointed to Tang Yan and shouted.


    The Chinese team grabbed him as he came down the steps from the ring. They lifted him high and danced away with him in the direction of the dressing rooms.

 105 Denial 1

    Although the audience''s cheers covered her shout but because Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol  were sitting in the front row, as Tang Yan was carried past by his team, her words fell on his ears.


    When he looked up and saw Seo Byeol , he was stunned.


    Because Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol arrived after Tang Yan had already done his ring walk and was already in the ring, he didn''t notice the sisters at ringside but seeing them now he couldn''t help but frown.


    The very reason he had avoided them was because he didn''t want to be caught up in someone else''s issues, so he chose to stay anonymous when Seo Yeon had posted on Weibo seeking to find him, but he didn''t expect to run into them again. Seo Yeon might not know it was him, but Seo Byeol, the woman he had saved obviously did!


    "It''s him! He''s one of the guys who saved me in Singapore!" Seo Byeol shouted excitedly. She was eighty percent sure it was him, whilst it had been a few months since the incident it was one she wouldn''t forget.


    "Wait¡­.what...him, the Chinese boxer?" Seo Yeon looked incredulous, but when she saw her sister nodding quickly, she suddenly felt like sighing in amazement, they had been searching for him for so long with no signs of finding them. But due to a last minute whim they actually managed to run into him.


    Tang Yan slightly frowned, turned around and didn''t care for the sisters.


    Tang Yan had successfully broken into the semi-finals.


    After Zou Shiming announced that he wouldn''t participate in this Asian Games, the performance of Tang Yan was undoubtedly a welcomed one for Chinese fans.


    Walking with his team they headed towards the tunnels.


    He had to change and go warm up for his upcoming archery competition later that day. Such was the disadvantage of doing multiple events. This round of competition was bound to be a painful one with his bruises.


    "Unnie, he is leaving!" Seo Byeol saw Tang Yan leaving and kept pulling the arm of Seo Yeon back and forth in angst.


    Seo Yeon didn''t care about being spotted in this moment. After she got up, they chased the group.


    It was so hard to find the savior of his sister but now they had, she had to thank him face to face.


    Tang Yan quickly arrived in his dressing room. After the boxing match, his whole body was sweaty. He didn''t have time to take a shower. He simply found a quick towel and dipped a little hot water onto it then wiped his body.


    Knock! Knock!


    Just then, there was knocking on the door.


    Tang Yan thought that Qin Hailong had come over. At this time, he tied the belt of his trousers and shouted directly: "Come in."


    "Oh yeah~"


    The door was pushed open and he turned his head and looked over, about to say "coach" when he stopped.


    Pushing the door open was Seo Yeon.


    Who edged her head around the door to see Tang Yan turn around topless.


    Her face instantly blushed red and she kept saying sorry as she instantly retreated and closed the door.


    Tang Yan''s face was speechless, but he didn''t have time to care about the details. He quickly put on a shirt.


    When he opened the door and went out, he saw Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol outside.


    With nothing but a quick glance over them, he tried to walk past like he didn''t know them.


    But Seo Byeol reacted quickly and shouted: "Wait!"


    As she rushed to catch up!


    He snorted in his heart, but still politely said, "Are you talking to me?"


    "Yes, don''t you remember me. It''s me, the girl from Singapore, the one you and your friend saved?" Seo Byeol said excitedly.


    "Singapore? Sorry, I have no idea what you''re on about, I have never been to Singapore. I think you''ve got the wrong person" Tang Yan interjected.


    "...Huh?" Seo Byeol looked confused at his words but then began again: "No...remember"


    "Sorry I can''t talk right now, I''m in a hurry." Tang Yan interrupted, turned and walked away rapidly leaving her no chance to react.


    Seeing Tang Yan rushing off, Seo Byeol wanted to shout.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Byeol, are you sure it''s him?" Seo Yeon said her face still hot. The image of Tang Yan topless lingering in her mind.


    After intensive training, Tang Yan''s body was carved with defined muscles.


    "Yes, it''s him. I''m sure it''s him. When I read about him defeating the Korean archery team I knew he looked familiar but seeing him in person tonight I realise why now, it must be him!" Seo Byeol said firmly.


    "Archery?"


    "Yeah, he''s competing in both events. We need to find him again!"


    Looking at her sister''s determined eyes, she said, "Okay, let''s go to the archery field."


    When she heard her sister''s proposal, Seo Byeol ''s face burst into joy, and she nodded with glee.


    In this way, the two hurriedly left the boxing gym and walked in the direction of the archery field.


    ¡­..


    Tang Yan''s opponent in this round was actually Kwang-seok from the South Korean team.


    At the beginning of the two rounds, Tang Yan''s arrows were perfect and cast pressure on Kwang-seok.


    Tang Yan held the lead.


    At this time, Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol were in the stands watching, having fixed on Tang Yan as their benefactor the two weren''t in a hurry. They were sitting on the sidelines and watching the match.


    The game entered the break period and Tang Yan walked to the side with his recurve bow.


    "Tang Yan, come on!" Just then, a cry came.


    Tang Yan heard the shout and looked up at the audience. He immediately saw Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol and his face fell.


    Dammit, why were these two still lingering?

 105 Denial

    Although the audience''s cheers covered her shout but because Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol  were sitting in the front row, as Tang Yan was carried past by his team, her words fell on his ears.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    When he looked up and saw Seo Byeol , he was stunned.


    Because Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol arrived after Tang Yan had already done his ring walk and was already in the ring, he didn''t notice the sisters at ringside but seeing them now he couldn''t help but frown.


    The very reason he had avoided them was because he didn''t want to be caught up in someone else''s issues, so he chose to stay anonymous when Seo Yeon had posted on Weibo seeking to find him, but he didn''t expect to run into them again. Seo Yeon might not know it was him, but Seo Byeol, the woman he had saved obviously did!


    "It''s him! He''s one of the guys who saved me in Singapore!" Seo Byeol shouted excitedly. She was eighty percent sure it was him, whilst it had been a few months since the incident it was one she wouldn''t forget.


    "Wait¡­.what...him, the Chinese boxer?" Seo Yeon looked incredulous, but when she saw her sister nodding quickly, she suddenly felt like sighing in amazement, they had been searching for him for so long with no signs of finding them. But due to a last minute whim they actually managed to run into him.


    Tang Yan slightly frowned, turned around and didn''t care for the sisters.


    Tang Yan had successfully broken into the semi-finals.


    After Zou Shiming announced that he wouldn''t participate in this Asian Games, the performance of Tang Yan was undoubtedly a welcomed one for Chinese fans.


    Walking with his team they headed towards the tunnels.


    He had to change and go warm up for his upcoming archery competition later that day. Such was the disadvantage of doing multiple events. This round of competition was bound to be a painful one with his bruises.


    "Unnie, he is leaving!" Seo Byeol saw Tang Yan leaving and kept pulling the arm of Seo Yeon back and forth in angst.


    Seo Yeon didn''t care about being spotted in this moment. After she got up, they chased the group.


    It was so hard to find the savior of his sister but now they had, she had to thank him face to face.


    Tang Yan quickly arrived in his dressing room. After the boxing match, his whole body was sweaty. He didn''t have time to take a shower. He simply found a quick towel and dipped a little hot water onto it then wiped his body.


    Knock! Knock!


    Just then, there was knocking on the door.


    Tang Yan thought that Qin Hailong had come over. At this time, he tied the belt of his trousers and shouted directly: "Come in."


    "Oh yeah~"


    The door was pushed open and he turned his head and looked over, about to say "coach" when he stopped.


    Pushing the door open was Seo Yeon.


    Who edged her head around the door to see Tang Yan turn around topless.


    Her face instantly blushed red and she kept saying sorry as she instantly retreated and closed the door.


    Tang Yan''s face was speechless, but he didn''t have time to care about the details. He quickly put on a shirt.


    When he opened the door and went out, he saw Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol outside.


    With nothing but a quick glance over them, he tried to walk past like he didn''t know them.


    But Seo Byeol reacted quickly and shouted: "Wait!"


    As she rushed to catch up!


    He snorted in his heart, but still politely said, "Are you talking to me?"


    "Yes, don''t you remember me. It''s me, the girl from Singapore, the one you and your friend saved?" Seo Byeol said excitedly.


    "Singapore? Sorry, I have no idea what you''re on about, I have never been to Singapore. I think you''ve got the wrong person" Tang Yan interjected.


    "...Huh?" Seo Byeol looked confused at his words but then began again: "No...remember"


    "Sorry I can''t talk right now, I''m in a hurry." Tang Yan interrupted, turned and walked away rapidly leaving her no chance to react.


    Seeing Tang Yan rushing off, Seo Byeol wanted to shout.


    "Byeol, are you sure it''s him?" Seo Yeon said her face still hot. The image of Tang Yan topless lingering in her mind.


    After intensive training, Tang Yan''s body was carved with defined muscles.


    "Yes, it''s him. I''m sure it''s him. When I read about him defeating the Korean archery team I knew he looked familiar but seeing him in person tonight I realise why now, it must be him!" Seo Byeol said firmly.


    "Archery?"


    "Yeah, he''s competing in both events. We need to find him again!"


    Looking at her sister''s determined eyes, she said, "Okay, let''s go to the archery field."


    When she heard her sister''s proposal, Seo Byeol ''s face burst into joy, and she nodded with glee.


    In this way, the two hurriedly left the boxing gym and walked in the direction of the archery field.


    ¡­..


    Tang Yan''s opponent in this round was actually Kwang-seok from the South Korean team.


    At the beginning of the two rounds, Tang Yan''s arrows were perfect and cast pressure on Kwang-seok.


    Tang Yan held the lead.


    At this time, Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol were in the stands watching, having fixed on Tang Yan as their benefactor the two weren''t in a hurry. They were sitting on the sidelines and watching the match.


    The game entered the break period and Tang Yan walked to the side with his recurve bow.


    "Tang Yan, come on!" Just then, a cry came.


    Tang Yan heard the shout and looked up at the audience. He immediately saw Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol and his face fell.


    Dammit, why were these two still lingering?

 106 Meddling Pigeons

    After a half-time break, the game between Tang Yan and Kwang-seok continued.


    Tang Yan also took his gaze back from Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol.


    It seemed that after the match was over, he had to leave early.


    "Archers come up, the third round is beginning!" At this moment, the referee called the archers.


    Tang Yan took up the recurve bow and went on court.


    When Kwang-seok came on scene, he reached out and patted his chest. Trying to hype himself up.


    Dreams were kind but reality was harsh. After the start of the third round, Tang Yan directly destroyed Kwang-seok''s dreams and psychological defense with two consecutive 10 pointers.


    Although Kwang-seok''s two arrows didn''t perform badly, the gap was further opened.


    Judging from the current state and strength of both sides, Tang Yan''s victory was already a matter of fact.


    At this time, the most speechless ones were the two sisters Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol who had just arrived at the scene. From watching him dominate in a boxing ring to dominating in an archery field.


    Looking at the calm and composed figure on the field, Seo Yeon couldn''t help but become fascinated.


    At this time a small episode suddenly occurred, some pigeons flew into the venue out of nowhere.


    After the development of human city''s, all kinds of birds had moved out of the human settlements in order to survive.


    Only the species of pigeons, because of the increase in outdoor food, had become more and more present in human settlements.


    The stadium was semi-enclosed and after the pigeons flew in, they didn''t go anywhere instead they landed by the targets and flew around seemingly fascinated by them.


    This sudden incident was completely unpredictable, and the match had to be interrupted.


    As a result, the contestants had to sit on the side of the field to rest, instead of archery they watched as a bunch of staff members tried to chase away the pigeons.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    The audience was crying with laughter watching this scene.


    The elusive birds would scattered when chased but then swiftly return.


    One particular staff member seemingly fed up, attempted to kick one of the birds only for it to fly away and his powerful kick to miss.


    Missing his connection, his leg carried on forward and he stumbled over. Which attracted a burst of laughter and applause from the audience.


    As for who they were clapping for, that was to be seen.


    Eventually under the efforts of the staff, most of the pigeons were eventually temporarily rushed away, but because the stadium was semi-enclosed, it was easy to get them out but it was impossible to keep them out completely.


    When the staff members retired, just five minutes later they immediately flew back.


    At this time, it was Kwang-seok shooting. Under the interference of the pigeons, he actually shot a 7-pointer causing him to swear in anger.


    Coming up next Tang Yan frowned, watching the movements of the birds. He adjusted his angle and completely ignored those pigeons, then fired an arrow.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    Right to the center of the bullseye, the group of pigeons who were shocked, flew up.


    At the end of the third round, Tang Yan''s lead was close to 10 points, and there was no suspense in him winning.


    ¡­.


    In the last round of the game, Tang Yan suddenly had an idea in his mind.


    After beating Ang Han Teng, the Singapore team actually appealed to the International Archery Alliance (IAA). The appeal also received support from the South Korean team and with their support, the IAA announced that he couldn''t use the chain of arrows in future games. This naturally left him very dissatisfied, but there was no way around it. They had already begun the process to appeal the decision but they didn''t expect much.


    Whilst the South Korean team was the only one to openly back the ruling, for it to pass naturally the other countries must have agreed.


    It was natural, if they could improve their own chances by hindering him, all the better.


    Looking at the group of pigeons in front of him, he had an idea in his heart


    With this idea in mind, he immediately began to act.


    After the referee announced that it was his turn, he didn''t aim at the distant target as before, but aimed directly up into the air.


    The audience on the sidelines were puzzled and intrigued.


    They were becoming accustomed to his antics.


    "What is he doing?"


    Even Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol were full of curiosity.


    Tang Yan aimed into the air for a while, adjusting the angle of his arrow.


    When Tang Yan felt that the angle was good, he loosened his hand.


    Twang!


    The arrow flew straight into the air.


    The eyes of all the audience on the scene followed the arrow.


    The weight of the carbon arrows used in the archery competition were low, due to this they could only get so much air before beginning to plummet back down.


    The audience watched the arrow soaring up.


    Then begin to plummet, because of the height the arrow got, its momentum on the way back down was great. It began to accelerate.


    The group of pigeons adapted to the straight arrows, didn''t notice the arrow racing down from the sky on top of their heads.


    When they sensed that something was amiss, they instinctevely began to scatter.


    But it seemed this time they were too late¡­.


    Whoosh!


    A pigeon that had just flown up, when it noticed the arrow falling straight toward it and in the nick of time dived it to the left barely dodging the brunt of the arrow, the arrow skimmed past and clipped off a feather from it.


    And carrying on its path¡­


    Boom!


    Right into the bull''s eye!


    It pinned the feather to the target.


    Tang Yan showed a faint smile.

 107 Tang Yan vs Karimov

    Of course, this was just a small episode in the game. Tang Yan and Kwang-seok''s match ended in Tang Yan''s victory. After his defeat, Kwang-seok shook his head helplessly, casting Tang Yan a complicated gaze.


    After the match ended, Tang Yan slipped directly into the players tunnel.


    Once the game ended, Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol came down from the stands. Held up getting through the crowd, they had to watch as Tang Yan disappeared.


    However, knowing Tang Yan''s identity, they weren''t in a hurry.


    After all a monk can run away, but the temple wouldn''t run with him.


    After the end of the day''s events, the final four for the 49-kilogram class was released: Staly Karimov, Bayu Luneng, Ito Takeuchi and Tang Yan.


    After a day of truce, the 49kg semi-finals finally began.


    The two sets of confrontation was Tang Yan vs Staly Karimov, Ito Takeuchi vs Bayu Luneng.


    After Tang Yan defeated Park sang-jun, the audience''s expectations of him were rising.


    The first fight was Ito Takeuchi vs Bayu Luneng. Tang Yan watched the whole fight as part of the audience.


    In the end, Ito Takeuchi defeated Bayu Luneng with a strange fast boxing style. The latter''s iron-like body was punished under the fast punches of Ito Takeuchi.


    "You should go get ready." Qin Hailong came over at this time to remind Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan nodded, then went back to the locker room to change.


    When he changed, he moved to the boxing ring.


    Because there wasn''t an archery competition arranged today, he didn''t have to be anxious.


    He was quite leisurely, but when he got into the boxing ring, he inadvertently looked into the front of the audience.


    For f*cks sake.


    In the front row, whilst he had gone to change. Seo Yeon and Seo Byeol had appeared.


    After the last time he got rid of the two sisters, Qin Hailong and Tian Zhenzhe told him that Seo Yeon had come looking for him.


    Isn''t it just saving you once, there is no need to go around chasing me.


    His heart was really quite speechless.


    However, speechless. He had a fight to focus on at this time. He didn''t care about the two women for the time being. He prepared mentally for the fight.


    The audience was full of expectations, looking forward to how Tang Yan would deal with Karimov.


    .....


    Ding!


    The sideline staff rang the bell and the first round officially begun.


    As soon as he came up, Karimov used his footwork to go back and forth, using his jabs to conduct tentative attacks.


    He danced around Tang Yan, poking him with a left jab, then slipping away. It was relatively new stuff to Tang Yan, though he knew the style.


    Till now most of his opponents had rushed at him as eagerly as he went at them. This was a different sort of game.


    He kept chasing, and Karimov kept sprinting and outboxing him. In the second round, blood spurted from Tang Yan''s nose under the continuous thumping. It made him wild with frustration, whilst he was fast, his opponents was a veteran who built his foundation on being slippery.


    Only in the clinches could he do any effective work. The rest of the time he was missing too frequently and when he did connect a punch it was a weak connection lacking power.


    But Tang Yan proved that he had ring knowledge as well as courage. He was beginning to get a little weary. So he laid back, and Karimov, under the impression that he was worn out, hastened to the slaughter. He stopped boxing and started to trade punches. That was where he made his mistake.


    Tang Yan met him with a volley of body blows that struck Karimov with panic and forced him to hang on. The bell saved him from further punishment.


    The crowd was all for him. They cheered every move he made. Even the reporters in the press row were praying for him.


    The third round saw the finish. Karimov came out pretty weak and tired. He tried to back-pedal, but Tang Yan was at him like a hyena, whanging away with both hands.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    A left hook to the jaw finally did the trick, and the veteran went down for the long count.


    ....


    Just after Tang Yan defeated Karimov, Seo Yeon in the audience held a strange look again.


    When the referee announced, Tang Yan as the winner, the audience cheered excessively. Although the finals hadn''t been fought yet, in their hearts, Tang Yan''s crushing performance was equal to winning in advance.


    When the fight was over, Tang Yan went to his locker room.


    But this time, there was no hiding. When he came out of the locker room, the two women were there hovering outside.


    At this time, there was really a feeling of powerlessness.


    "Sigh, what do you want now?" Tang Yan could only choose to face them.


    "Are you the one who saved me in Singapore that day, tell the truth, or we will continue to pester you!" Seo Byeol said with a rather obstructive expression.


    "Saved is a bit of an exaggeration, it''s not like I particularly had a choice in the matter. I highly doubt those men were going to just let us go after we saw their faces." ??Tang Yan said crassly.


    Seo Byeol was stunned but then she immediately said: "But...in the end, you still saved me!"


    Tang Yan looked tongue-tied for a second but then said, "Okay then I saved you, either way it makes no difference. You don''t need to continue chasing me around like this. I''m sure you''re grateful and everything so let''s just end it here."


    "No, you saved my sister, this kindness, I must repay." At this moment, Seo Yeon said with sincerity.


    Tang Yan looked helplessly at Seo Yeon.

 108 System Limits

    "You are truly grateful?" Tang Yan saw that Seo Yeon wouldn''t let him go and said.


    "Of course, Byeol is my only sister." Seo Yeon indicated her attitude.


    "Okay, then you can do one thing for me."


    "One thing?" Seo Yeon paused then immediately nodded and said, "Okay, as long as I can do it."


    "Of course you can do it." Tang Yan looked at the big star in front of him.


    Seo Yeon''s face was reddish, she became worried about what Tang Yan would ask for.


    "My condition is actually very simple, that is, lets keep this matter between us and settle everything here, OK?" Tang Yan said, glancing at the two sisters.


    Seo Byeol looked stunned.


    Tang Yan ignored the two sisters, then turned and left.


    The two sisters didn''t react until he disappeared.


    "Unnie, why does he seem to hate us so much?" Seo Byeol said with some grievances.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "He¡­. I will make him accept us!" Seo Yeon said filled with frustration.


    She originally just planned to give Tang Yan some money to thank him, but after watching Tang Yan the past few days and seeing his attitude towards her. She couldn''t help but feel some way about it.


    She was rarely treated so coldly, especially after she became famous, she felt like Tang Yan had a mysterious air about him and as he continued to ignore her, she couldn''t help but become more intrested and determined to gain his attention.


    She was inspired by a sense of potential challenge, even conquest in her heart.


    ...


    Tang Yan arrived back in his hotel room and he became somewhat idle. After languishing about for a while, he decided to enter the system space.


    "Welcome back!"


    As soon as he entered the space, the gray haired Celia flew to his side with her double ponytail bobbing about, there was a sense of expectation in her bright eyes.


    He suddenly had the illusion that this system administrator in front of him seemed to be more than just an administrator, she was more like a director watching her actors scramble about.


    But that thought was just a flash. After he nodded to Celia, he moved his eyes to the menu of characters.


    He had now unlocked two characters, Li Guang and Bruce Lee, he had 80% of Li Guang''s abilities and 60% of Bruce Lee''s.


    Because he won two honor points from the archery team competition that combined with the three honor points that had been left before. He had a total of 5 honor points.


    Planning ahead, if he won the individual archery and boxing events. He would have up to 9 honor points. This was definitely a huge fortune.


    He saw a lot of now lit up characters which could be unlocked:


    Dai Zong, Xiang Yu, Gai Ni, he saw the names of Zhang Shun and Shi Qian and there was even Ma Chao.


    Seeing this, Tang Yan mulled over his thoughts.


    He could now consider unlocking several new characters, Xiang Yu to increase his punching power which would be an essential improvement. It wasn''t impossible to transform his punch into something superhuman.


    Or he could unlock Dai Zong''s ability to travel thousands of miles, with such endurance, he could even skip the Olympic Games and go directly from amateur boxing to professional boxing.


    With such thoughts, he was ready to act.


    However, just as he reached out and was about to unlock Xiang Yu, Celia''s voice rang in his ear: "Master, there is something I need to let you know~"


    Tang Yan immediately knew that it was related to his choice, and he began to withdraw his hand.


    Sure enough, without waiting for him to ask, Celia said: "In order to prevent the host from being suspected, after you''ve unlocked three historical figures, the menu will be temporarily closed."


    "What?!"


    Tang Yan didn''t expect that the system would have this limit, this was equivalent to killing his previous fantasies.


    "Master, this is to protect you." Noticing the change of Tang Yan''s expression, Celia followed up.


    "...Well." Although somewhat unprepared, but thinking it over carefully, this limit seemed reasonable or else if he got involved in more than four or five, or even six or seven sports, he would be instantly brought to a lab to be dissected.


    "Then, when I have all three, what should I do if I want to start a new sport?"


    He threw out doubts.


    If he could only control three characters, not mentioning anything else the name of the system wouldn''t be correct!


    "As long as you announce retirement from the related sport, you can continue to summon historical figures and swap them in. You can also come out of retirement at a later date if you choose to return to that sport. You will keep all your upgrades." Celia quickly explained.


    "This....okay" Tang Yan nodded, it was fairly reasonable.


    Only his previous plan had to be shelved. It seemed that he would have to consider a new path after the end of the Asian Games.


    Thinking of this, he didn''t stay in the system space and returned to reality.


    Knock! Knock!


    He had just went back, when there was a knock on the door.


    Confusion and suspicion flashed across Tang Yan''s face. Who would be coming over at this time?


    He walked to the door in confusion and looked through the cat''s eyes.


    He felt a big headache come on.


    The Asian Games wasn''t as big as the Olympic Games. There was no such thing as an Asian Games Village. The athletes were all living in a unified hotel, and they were usually in two''s.


    However, Tang Yan lucked out and managed to get his own room.


    What he didn''t expect was that at this time, standing outside his door, was Seo Yeon.


    Only Tian Zhenzhe and Qin Hailong knew where he was, it seems that one of the coaches had betrayed him.


    "Open the door, I know you are inside." The voice of Seo Yeon came from outside the door.


    Tang Yan slowly retreated, but he didn''t open the door.


    The shouts and knocking on the door stopped after a while and he was relieved.


    It seemed that she had finally given up.


    He walked back to his bed but at this moment, there came a knock again.


    The intermittent sound almost made his scalp blow up. He jumped up and prepared to get angry but following the knock came a waiter''s voice: "Mr. Tang, your takeaway."


    Hearing this call, his anger was gone, his delivery was here.


    He walked to the door and looked out through the cat''s eye at the hotel''s staff. He followed up and opened the door.


    "Sir, your food." The staff member smiled and gave him his takeaway.


    He took the takeaway, but just as he was about to close the door, there was a familiar voice from outside the door, holding the door open a delicate but flushed angry face stared at him.

 109 In Awe

    Standing between the door was Seo Yeon.


    Seeing her face again, Tang Yan''s face dropped.


    He didn''t expect this woman not to leave.


    "It''s you again, what do you want?"


    Seo Yeon was feeling some way right now. She was a well-known female actor known around Asia. She didn''t expect to have the door closed on her by Tang Yan and the other party didn''t even say an apology.


    But as soon as she thought of her purpose today, she suppressed her anger and said, "I want to talk."


    Tang Yan just stared at her patiently.


    Seeing him making no move to invite her in, she gritted her teeth and said "Can we talk inside.....Please!"


    Tang Yan stared Seo Yeon down and then slowly opened the door.


    Seo Yeon entered the room.


    After Tang Yan closed the door, he didn''t intend to leave any good impressions.


    He opened his takeaway and began directly eating, deliberately slurping his food.


    Doing this he glanced up at Seo Yeon and found that she showed no care about his actions at all, instead she went straight to the sofa and sat down.


    Thinking, he said while eating: "Okay, so what did you want to ask."


    Seo Yeon not affected said, "Although you are not willing to accept our gratitude, I still have to follow through with it or else I won''t feel at ease without repaying you. So do you want money as repayment?"


    Looking at Seo Yeon''s serious appearance, he couldn''t help but tease her, saying, "Money, okay, but how much are you going to give me? Hundred thousand, ten million? If it is a hundred million, I can consider it."


    Seo Yeon, definitely had well over a few hundred million yuan, she could easily take out a huge sum of money but listening to Tang Yan''s tone, she knew that he was purely teasing.


    "If you don''t want money, then what do you want?" she asked.


    "No, I do. If you''re truly grateful, give me four...no...five hundred million, or just don''t bother me with all this. Well, I have to eat, you can leave at your earliest convenience, I won''t see you out." Tang Yan said graciously before going back to eating.


    He could feel Seo Yeon glaring at him, but he continued to eat completely ignoring her.


    After a while Seo Yeon finally losing it, stood up, took her bag and got up to leave.


    "Don''t forget to close the door on your way out." Tang Yan said.


    Seo Yeon stopped at the door and said, "I will be back tomorrow. I hope that you will really think it over."


    "Cough..." Tang Yan choked on his food, he thought that he had finally sent this girl away.


    When he had recovered from his coughing fit, Seo Yeon had left.


    "Dammit." Tang Yan got up and closed the door.


    ¡­..


    The finals for boxing weren''t until two days later.


    In that time the archery competition held the quarter-finals and semi-finals.


    After gaining 80% of Li Guang''s strength, the 70-meter event was no longer a challenge.


    Seo Yeon had indeed really come to him again the next day and even after he refused, she came again.


    And more than that, even at his games, Seo Yeon would run over to watch.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    However, all this only affected his mood, not his performance.


    In the quarter-finals and semi-finals, he easily eliminated ''Take me as your student'' Ang Han Teng and ''I''ll avenge my brother'' Park Ji Hyun, to reach the archery finals.


    Tang Yan was steamrolling through this Asian Games.


    What he didn''t notice was that Seo Yeon by the side of the field looked at him with a strange gaze.


    From time to time, her face blushing. Unlike a famous female star, but more like a brooding teenage girl in love from Huaichun.


    After the end of the days competition, Tang Yan returned to his hotel to take a shower and prepare for tomorrow''s boxing match.


    His next opponent was Ito Takeuchi.


    However, just as he was about to take a shower. There was knocking at his door.


    These days, he knew who it was without looking.


    Sure enough, looking through the cat''s eye, it was Seo Yeon.


    Seeing her again, he was truly frustrated and impatient. He opened the door directly and said, "This is the last time, I''m warning you..."


    "I''m not here for that." Without waiting for him to finish, Seo Yeon said swiftly.


    "I just have some questions, this is the last time I''ll come over."


    Seo Yeon had a pleading look in her eyes.


    Staring at her, Tang Yan said stiffly as he opened the door.


    "The last time."


    When Seo Yeon entered the room, Tang Yan politely poured a glass of water for her. After sitting down, he said, "Okay, ask your question."


    Seo Yeon''s face suddenly turned red: "I can feel that your attitude towards me and my sister isn''t pleasant. Is it because of¡­.where we are from?"


    Tang Yan sighed looking at Seo Yeon.


    Tang Yan''s answer was simple.


    "No."


    "Then why is it when I try to talk to you...you ignore me?"


    Tang Yan stared at her blankly, then said: "Because we have nothing to talk about, why force needless conversation."


    "It''s not needless¡­.it''s so we can get to know each other and become friends.


    Tang Yan looked her over incredulously.


    "Friends, you want to become friends. You stalked me around, to become friends."


    He said in awe of her as he reached for a drink.


    ".. .Well you kept ignoring me, I just wanna be friends. You know, get to.....know you better."


    "I...like you"


    Puff!


    A mouthful of water sprayed out directly.


    "Cough..."


    After a violent cough, Tang Yan quickly reached out and took out a paper towel to wipe the table and his mouth, he followed up by casting a very strange look at Seo Yeon: "Sorry, what did you just say?"

 110 Tang Yan vs Ito Takeuchi 1

    "You have a lot of personal charm, whether it is on the court or off the court, and you look at money very lightly, I want to try to associate with you, if you don''t mind our age gap." Seo Yeon said seriously looking frustrated at his reaction.


    This time, Tang Yan clearly heard it, this well-known Asian female star, wanted to be with him!


    Thinking of it now, Seo Yeon should three or four years older than him. Around twenty-one or twenty-two.


    When he was in South Africa in the past, he hadn''t touched a woman for a long time. Now this big star was sent to his door, like a lonely man with a widow in a room. His thoughts had already flown.


    He rushed to suppress these messy thoughts. Although his body was an 18-year-olds body his mind was it''s 30s, he wasn''t planning to be the kind of animal that thought with his lower body.


    This Seo Yeon simply wasn''t reliable.


    However, seeing Seo Yeon''s slightly reddened face, she was truly moving. It seemed that although the female star was very glamorous, her emotional life wasn''t as rich as imagined.


    He grit his teeth, and said with politeness.


    "I appreciate the compliment...but I just don''t feel the same way. I barely know you."


    "Ah?" Seo Yeon showed a look of disappointment in her eyes, and looked at Tang Yan with doubts. "We can¡­.get to know each other over time."


    "You''re not really my type?" Tang Yan said gently.


    "What is, I can change" Seo Yeon said steely.


    Tang Yan looked at Seo Yeon and said directly, "Face and breast augmentation isn''t my thing either.  I don''t like the taste of silicone."


    "You!"


    Seo Yeon''s chest violently heaved up and down.


    "It just won''t work out." Tang Yan added in a quieter tone.


    Seo Yeon''s body trembled, and she stood up with anger and slammed the door on the way out


    Bang!Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Sighing Tang Yan hoped this would be enough to stop her harassing him again.


    With how easily this woman latched onto to him he couldn''t help but suspect her mental state.


    ¡­...


    The boxing pavilion was full of people. After two days of rest, the finals of each weight class would be held today.


    The men''s finals for the 49kg class was arranged as the first event of the day.


    Ito Takeuchi ovs Tang Yan.


    After defeating Park Sang-jun and Karimov, Tang Yan undoubtedly became the crowd favourite.


    This was the first time that Tang Yan was the favoured party to win since he began participating in boxing.


    "In the black corner from Japan, the two time 49kg National Champion of Japan, 49kg Global Youth Boxing Champion and bronze medalist of the International Boxing Championships, Ito....Takeuchi!"


    "And in the red corner from China, the 49kg Alibaba Tournament Champion and this year''s dark horse...Tang...Yan!"


    Although at a slight disadvantage in terms of achievements, Tang Yan''s appearance still instantly ignited the audience, their cheers were deafening.


    "Boxers at the ready." The referee gestured to both fighters.


    Tang Yan and Takeuchi went to the center of the boxing ring.


    The referee introduced the rules of the game, neither of them spoke,but Tang Yan was able to see the battle intent from the eyes of Takeuchi.


    "Touch gloves, then to your corners!"


    The two touched gloves and backed away into their corners.


    Ding! Ding!


    Takeuchi took the initiative to launch an offensive, and a quick combination of punches directly blasted out.


    Tang Yan was dodging back and forth.


    The combinations and style of Takeuchi was different from all the other fighters that Tang Yu had previously encountered, not only fast but his rhythm was very different, making it difficult to have room for counterattack.


    Under the influence of these two factors, he went on the back foot and studied him looking for an opening.


    Tang Yan took on a passive defensive attitude. But he was quickly forced to the corner.


    But then he finally acted, he stung Takeuchi with a left, crossed with a right, moved off and threw another left.  Takeuchi drew back slightly and like flipping a switch Tang Yan went in, his shoulders bent, his head tucked in.


    Takeuchi throw a left. Tang Yan rolled under it and smashed his lips with a looping right.


    Takeuchi''s head shot back and Tang Yan pounced forward and threw short right...


    .....


    Ito Takeuchi perspective:


    A jolting short right took him under the heart. His mouthed jarred open and another terrific left to the same spot caused him to gasp. The world went black suddenly.


    A right hook landed on his jaw. He felt himself slipping ¡ª going down. He felt the soft surface of the canvas, was dimly aware that the shrieking maniacs out in the darkness were people ¡ª men and women. He knew that he had been knocked down and that the referee was counting.


    He knew that over in the far corner, Tang Yan was standing with his arms thrown over the ropes and probably over the moon thinking he had already won.


    He turned his buzzing head and, his eyes rested on the form of his coach, stood up motioning for him to get up. His head cleared a little. He saw the referee''s arm going up and down. He was saying "eight," and the voice sounded a mile off. He had to go on.


    Below him a frantic commentator was telling the world :


    "Takeuchi is down! His eyes are glazed and there is a look of pain on his face. Those terrific smashes over the heart literally drove him into the canvas. It will be a good night for everyone who bet for Tang Yan. It looks as if Takeuchi is not going to survive the round. . ."


    He was up! He threw himself to his feet as the referee''s arm was ascending for the tenth count. Tang Yan was all over him in an instant. His reeling brain told him that he had to cover and get away. He couldn''t. His legs were trembling. His arms felt heavy.


    He saw the punch coming and couldn''t duck it. It thudded home on his jaw. He stumbled back into  the ropes but prevented himself falling back onto the canvas, the fatal ten was barely avoided and the commentator was saying:


    "It surprised us all when Takeuchi got to his feet. He was still very groggy and badly hurt. He''s hit again with another right to the jaw.


    He''s terribly hurt. There is blood streaming from his mouth and his legs are like rubber. The ''Boxing Killers'' punches must be more terrible than we imagine, for Takeuchi''s body is quivering from the impact...!"


    Takeuchi tried to charge Tang Yan, but Tang Yan backing away landed two short lefts to the body and an overhand right to the top of Takeuchi''s head.


    He tried to box, but his arms were too heavy.


    He flicked out his left and saw the blood spatter from Tang Yan''s nose. He stepped back, feinted with his left, and crossed a heavy right to the Tang Yan''sjaw. It went home like a lightning bolt. It shook the Tang Yan from heels to head.


    He waded in close and ripped his right hand to the Tang Yan''s heart. Tang Yan wilted a little and gave ground.


    And Takeuchi followed after him ¡ª shooting short rights and lefts to the jaw and head of the man before him.


    He lashed forward and drove an upper cut to the jaw. At the same moment. Tang Yan side-stepped and, from a crouch, drove a body punch at him. It went home with terrible force. Takeuchi groaned aloud in his agony and started to double up. As he sank to the floor, the Tang Yan shot two rights to his jaw.


    When he went down Takeuchi though that he was done. He''d felt that pain before.


    The referee shook his head and began the count. And Takeuchi sank lower on the floor.


    In the corner, Takeuchi''s coach stood, his lips muttering curses. There was a towel in his hand. He was thinking that he had to save his fighter from further punishment. He had to save him from terrible injury. He blamed himself.


    In his grief he forgot that the rules would not permit a fighter''s manager to end the fight by throwing in the towel. The referee must end the fight ¡ª or stop it.


    The referee''s arm was going up for the ninth time. The scene was in chaos, and Takeuchi was still struggling upon the floor of the ring ¡ª near to his own corner.


    But with a shot of adrenaline, he seemingly lurched up from the canvas.


    Ding! Ding!


    The bell on the side of the field rang and the first round was over.


    Takeuchi turned to his corner. Two great welts showed on his flesh where the gloves of Tang Yan had left their trade-mark.


    "That guy can sure hit," he gasped to his corner staff.


    "Stay away from that right of his ¡ª as long as he''s on his feet !" snarled his coach.


    Takeuchi grinned softly at his coach.


    The scene was in turmoil.


    Ito Takeuchi was the first boxer one to get back back up after being knocked down by Tang Yan.

 111 Tang Yan vs Ito Takeuchi 2

    "You did a good job out there. Just don''t rest up, keep on him." Qin Hailong loudly reminded Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan nodded, the fierce light in his eyes showed his thoughts.


    Tang Yan stood up again and smiled at Takeuchi. He had grown too confident and underestimated him.


    .....


    A tremor shook Takeuchi. ''I had him for a bit there." he growled.


    "I had him going. I''ll take it if I have to get it, at least I''ll go down fighting!"


    His coach looked down at him. There was a light in his eyes that only a father could correctly interpret. He glanced up.


    "This is gonna be your hardest fight ever, if you plan to push through."


    Takeuchi''s body went tense and rigid.


    "I''ll take home this medal and then I would like to see how they''ll try to replace us then!"


    .....


    The commentator was talking again to his unseen audience:


    "That must have been one hell of a pep talk because except for the battered look you would never know that Takeuchi was on the floor two times during that last round with how energised he looks.


    The fire is back in his eyes and he''s glaring at Tang Yan. He''s shown more sheer grit here tonight than we''ve seen here in a blue moon. He''s leaping of his stool.


    Ding! Ding!


    He''s jumping across the ring. His old trick, folks ! He''s trapped the Boxing Killer coming out of his corner."


    With the gong Takeuchi had leaped out and he trapped Tang Yan in his own corner, close to the ropes. He was bobbing and ducking in front of Tang Yan, and his hands were flashing in and out, tying him up without touching him.


    Spat!


    Without him knowing it, his right flashed out and jarred Tang Yan''s head back. He sank his left up to the glove wrist in Tang Yan''s middle and, stepping back, crashed another right to his jaw.


    Tang Yan closed in and held. In the clinches he heeled Takeuchi under the chin with the back of his glove and the laces cut a deep gash in Takeuchi''s upper lip.


    The taste of blood from his lips gave new strength to Takeuchi''s weary arms. He lashed out with a straight right, and Tang Yan slipped to one knee. The referee waved Takeuchi away and the crowd was filled with so many screeching lunatics. He stepped back, panting and eager. He felt his legs trembling and his arms were powerless.


    Tang Yan was up and coming in.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    As he lunged in, Takeuchi jabbed him to the sore nose with three rapid lefts and laughed aloud as he saw the blood spurt anew. Tang Yan was slamming away at Takeuchi''s body, each blow hurting and each blow taking some of the little stamina left in the battered body of Takeuchi.


    Takeuchi knew that he was at the end of his rope.


    The thought drove him mad. In another round he would not have enough strength left to drive home a finishing punch, even if Tang Yan gave him the opening.


    He stepped in desperately and swung.


    Tang Yan swiftly side stepped it then crashed through his guard with a pounding left to the jaw.


    Again the world rocked and swayed, and a shrill cheer came to him ¡ª the crowd''s cheers.


    He bobbed his head and threw a right hook at the Tang Yan''s body. He heard him grunt.


    Takeuchi lashed out with an over- hand left and knew that it had found Tang Yan''s jaw.


    But then Tang Yan reached him with another of those pile-driving rights to the heart.


    In condition and hard as nails, Takeuchi would have laughed off such a punch- Tonight they landed with a crushing force. His knees sagged and his hands dropped to his sides. Quick as a flash Tang Yan leaped in, sensing the moment. His left and right thudded against Takeuchi''s jaw ¡ª even while Takeuchi was crumbling from the body blow. The world spun and the blinding lights were sickening. He felt his body lurche back and he stumbled like a ship at sea, rocking in the storm. Back against  the ropes, he could hear his coach''s voice pleading with him:


    "Straighten up, Ito! Stay up! You can''t take another count!"


    Takeuchi stirred up his pain racked body.


    To Takeuchi it was a titan effort to stay erect. His legs refused to work. His brain was dizzy.


    His lungs were like furnaces, burning him cruelly with each indrawn breath. He knew that he was done¡ª for the last time in his life. Out! Beaten!


    He was on his feet without looking around. He didn''t even know where Tang Yan was standing. He couldn''t see. The lights were still reeling. He felt the strength of ten giants. His heart was aflame.


    He groped about with his two hands. A thudding blow landed behind his ear and he whirled. Punches had lost the power to hurt him. A crashing left landed on his jaw and he shook it off, waded in. He had found Tang Yan. His gloves were touching him.


    His head was clearing a little. He could hear, hear the shouts and growls and cries from the crowd; hear the bedlam of noise as Tang Yan broke ground under his attack and retreated across the ring. Tang Yan had a puzzled look on his face. He couldn''t understand how he could keep going, blow after blow.


    Qin Hailong gripped his seat tight watching the spectacle. In anxiety for it to be over.


    The more Tang Yan looked closer to ending it and Takeuchi stayed alive, the more angsty he felt.

 112 Final Blow

    Takeuchi was fighting like an automaton. He was fighting with fury, driving Tang Yan back using just sear volumes of punches. Not many connected but throwing a never-ending storm of short rights and lefts. Tang Yan couldn''t close in.


    In the center of the ring he stopped short and gave Tang Yan time to open up. Then he stepped in and measured him.


    But in a flash Tang Yan''s left flicked out, a short snappy left jab.


    The left tilted Takeuchi''s head up so that his jaw was exposed for a fraction of a second, and then a crashing right drove home ¡ªfor visiting.


    The cheers grew higher again and were deafening.


    Qin Hailong, who was now inside the ring, also excitedly waved his fist. Although he had long been expecting it, but now Tang Yan had really won, he couldn''t believe that there was such a unique genius in the world.


    The cheers of the audience continued. In the cheers, the referee raised Tang Yan''s arm and indicated that he was the winner of the 49kg final.


    Tang Yan, won the 8th ever Asian Games (Boxing) gold medal for the Chinese boxing team.


    The cheers of the audience continued.


    ...


    Finally returning to his hotel room after celebrations he entered the system space and received the two honor points owed to him.


    He still had one more gold medal, left to claim from this Asian Games.


    The 70m Individuals event for archery.


    His opponent was Im Dong-hyun, a peerless genius from the Korean team.


    After the incident yesterday, Seo Yeon didn''t come to bother him again.


    This page was finally turned over.


    The night before the game, Tang Yan lay in bed, thinking about the future after the end of the Asian Games.


    The popularity of boxing in China wasn''t very high and it was even more limited for amateur boxing.


    The money making machine that was boxing wasn''t present for amateur boxing, but professional boxing.


    Tang Yan chose to start a boxing career from the national team because this road was the most smooth way for Chinese boxers to go pro, a good example of this was Zou Shiming.


    He needed to drum up a name for himself and a list of accomplishments. So his pro career would be smooth sailing.


    Now, he had won a gold medal in the Asian Games. He would gain a buzz in Asia but internationally he was still a no name boxer.


    In two years there would be the London Olympics which would give him a great platform.


    He needed a plan, a plan to fight professionally.


    Compared with amateur boxing, the biggest difference with professional boxing was the amount of rounds and the lack of protective gear.


    From four rounds to as high as 12 rounds.


    In the next two years, in addition to regular weight gain, fighting in higher-level amateur competitions, it was also important to unlock a new historical figure which would boost his boxing skills and open up a new path as well.


    He was looking for something to boost his physical strength and endurance.


    Among the characters he could unlock, Dai Zong, was an obvious choice.


    Dai Zong was a sacred practitioner of Taoist magical arts, he could travel on foot over long distances  by securing to his legs a pair of magic talismans. There was no doubt that his endurance was probably unmatched.


    Thinking of this, he looked at his honor points, 7 points.


    The number of points needed to unlock Dai Zong was 2 points.


    But just as he reached to unlock him, his mind suddenly flashed another thought.


    Unlocking Dai Zong, he could easily do long-distance running, but once again he would face the same problem. Long distance running wasn''t a very lucrative sport.


    Thinking this, he moved his eyes from Dai Zong''s character.


    Zhang Shun!


    Zhang Shun, nicknamed "White Stripe in the Waves" because of his powerful swimming and diving skills. He could swim for 7 days and 7 nights. Just due to the water resistance the amount of energy and endurance needed to do that was significant.


    Plus swimming was among the most high-profile sports of the Games, with star swimmers often earning big endorsement deals.


    Also 2011 was a very meaningful year for Chinese swimming.


    Because in this year, in the swimming world, a genius named Sun Yang was born. The latter became famous in the 2011 World Championships winning gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 metres to 1500 metres. Completely dominating and he remembered reading later on in the Forbes China Celebrity List for 2017, Sun Yang''s annual income was estimated to be in excess of 60 million yuan (9 million USD).


    This easily moved his heart.


    "Unlock, Zhang Shun."


    The moment he unlocked him, three honor points disappeared. Only four honor points remained.


    But just after unlocking him, he felt that the cells in his body were undergoing a strange change.


    Although still standing in the system space, he seemed to be able to feel the floating water in the air.


    He knew this was just an illusionary feeling but he really felt the urge to have a refreshing swim!Get it haymaker, it''s a pun hahaha

 113 Dragging It On

    The finals of the Individual Archery Competition attracted nearly 10,000 viewers to watch the match.


    After Tang Yan won the 49kg boxing event, the meaning behind this event seemed to become different.


    The audience went to the scene to watch the battle. They came hoping to witness Tang Yan, to become the first person to win both events that he participated in. He became the focus of the Asian Games.


    This match attracted great attention.


    The Korean archery team, the dominant team of world archery, lost the team event in the Asian Games after losing the Youth Olympics. The individual competition became their last straw.


    The Korean media before the game were still full of confidence. Although Kwang-seok and Park Ji Hyun were eliminated by Tang Yan, Im Dong-hyun ''the successor of the Archery Dream Team of the Republic of Korea'' still defended their hopes. It was their greatest guarantee.


    In contrast, the Chinese media was much more lower-key. After all, in the individual archery competition, the Chinese men''s archery team had never reached the semi-finals. They held hope in Tang Yan but slight tension still hung in the air.


    Guangzhou held clear skies, no smog and no rain, it was even warmer, a wonderful day for an archery competition.


    This kind of weather made the South Korean team at ease. After all, they lost their game in the past due to the smoggy weather, at which they were still dissatisfied at.


    Im Dong-hyun looked excited. Although the current mood in the archery team was very bad, for his this was an opportunity. If he could win, he would return basked in honor.


    Tang Yan was as calm and nonchalant as ever, even before the match, he was still thinking over how to start his swimming journey.


    "Archers at the ready!"


    After hearing the referee''s shouts, he put the swimming thoughts aside and took up the recurve bow to the arena.


    Because of his individual performance, he was first in the qualifiers, so he was the first to shoot.


    After he reached the gallery. He took up and shot his first arrow.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s casual look, the front row of viewers couldn''t help but breath easy seeing his confidence.


    Twang!


    The arrow crossed a parabola in the air and fell sharply onto the target.


    Boom!


    One arrow was in the middle of the bull''s eye.


    There was no suspense, 10 points.


    The scene was full of applause.


    The audience in the front row couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief.


    Im Dong-hyun still had a look of confidence on his face. He appeared after Tang Yan''s shot and went to the field to complete a series of standard technical moves.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    The Korean audience who came to the final were screaming with excitement.


    The first arrow and the two were tied.


    Tang Yan''s second arrow.


    He still had a calm face and walked to the target of the arrow and looks like a casual hand.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points.


    Im Dong-hyun still looked calm, as a quasi-main team member of the Korean archery team, he also had the confidence to shoot 10 points.


    He walked to the field and slowed down the speed of his shooting. He shot two seconds after aiming.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    Not only the Korean audience, but also the Chinese audience were amazed. Seeing the skills of the  Im Dong-hyun. The tickets for this final were definitely worth it.


    ....


    Tang Yan still looked very nonchalant, Im Dong-hyun''s rate of fire was getting slower, but the number of points they shot were exactly the same.


    10 points! 10 points! Still 10 points!


    Just like there was a magnet in the center of the target, the arrows they shot, all without exception, hit the center of the target.


    Boom!


    The 12th arrow from both sides, though Im Dong-hyun had almost shot at after the 30 seconds limit, was another 10 pointer.


    The audience was amazed.


    It was a tie!


    This was the first time in the Asian Games game that both archers shot full points!


    According to the rules of the game, the two sides would usher in overtime. For a sudden death round!


    The coaches on both sides couldn''t help but squeeze the sweat. No one expected that the game would become like this. In overtime, it was more than just strength, but luck.


    Before the start of overtime, the coaches on both sides left their archers alone. At this stage, whatever they said would probably interfere with the archers.


    Tang Yan was first to shoot.


    The archer who originally shot first had the advantage but at this stage, the pressure of the first archer was greater.


    The audience held their breath as if their breathing would affect the performance of Tang Yan.


    His coach was nervous, the audience was nervous and even Im Dong-hyun and the South Korean team were anxious, but Tang Yan still carried a casual air about him.


    It''s not that he didn''t take the match seriously, but because he had absolute confidence in himself.


    Unless someone removed the target, he really couldn''t think of the reason why he couldn''t continue shooting 10 pointers.


    Nocking the arrow, pulling the bowstring back and firing.


    Twang!


    The arrow drew a perfect parabola in the air.


    Boom!


    "Yes!"


    There was a burst of cheers at the scene.


    10 points.


    Im Dong-hyun took a deep breath, watching from the sidelines.


    He walked to the archery field, called his madly beating heart, aimed at the distant target, and adjusted his state, then fired.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    The same, also 10 points!


    The two sides went into overtime, it was a tie!


    The scene became awkward.


    According to the rules, the two sides would usher in another overtime!


    The same as before the best arrow to win!


    At this time, Tang Yan''s appearance finally changed. He looked at the arrow in the distance and looked helpless.


    Why can''t you shoot a 9 pointer and get it over with? This extra time was just dragging it along!


    Seeing that Tang Yan''s expression finally changed, Im Dong-hyun''s face showed a satisfied look.


    Finally, his chance came.


    The second overtime of both sides.


    Tang Yan walked silently to the front with his recurve bow.


    The Chinese fans couldn''t help but worry.


    "This is so tense, he''s actually pressuring Tang Yan too try, come on Tang Yan!"


    "He''s just hanging in, Tang Yan''s got this. He''s the new archery king. China to the top baby!!"


    "Damn I didn''t think it would come to this. This Korean archer is extremly strong!"


    ...Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Tang Yan pulled out his arrow and nocked the arrow. Drawing the bowstring back. This time, he took his time to aim and then shot...

 113 Shoot Off

    The finals of the Individual Archery Competition attracted nearly 10,000 viewers to watch the match.


    After Tang Yan won the 49kg boxing event, the meaning behind this event seemed to become different.


    The audience went to the scene to watch the battle. They came hoping to witness Tang Yan, become the first person to win gold in two different sporting events. He became the focus of the Asian Games.


    This match attracted great attention.


    The Korean archery team, the dominant team of world archery, lost the team event in the Asian Games right after losing in the Youth Olympics.


    The individual competition became their last chance for redemption this year.


    The Korean media before the game were still full of confidence. Although Kwang-seok and Park Ji Hyun were eliminated by Tang Yan, Im Dong-hyun ''the successor of the Archery Dream Team of the Republic of Korea'' still defended their hopes. It was their greatest guarantee.


    In contrast, the Chinese media was much more low-key. After all, in the individual archery competition, the Chinese men''s archery team had never reached the semi-finals. They held hope in Tang Yan but slight tension still hung in the air.


    Guangzhou held clear skies, no smog and no rain, it was even warm, a wonderful day for an archery competition.


    This kind of weather made the South Korean team at ease. After all, they lost their game in the past due to the smoggy weather, at which they were still dissatisfied at.


    Im Dong-hyun looked excited. Although the current mood in the archery team was very bad, for him this was an opportunity. If he could win, he would return basked in honor.


    Tang Yan was as calm and nonchalant as ever, even before the match, he was still thinking over how to start his swimming career.


    "Archers at the ready!"


    After hearing the referee''s shouts, he put the swimming thoughts aside and took up the recurve bow to the arena.


    Because of his individual performance, he was first in the qualifiers, so he was the first to shoot.


    After he reached the gallery. He took up and shot his first arrow.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s casual expression, the front row of viewers couldn''t help but breathe easy seeing his confidence.


    Twang!


    The arrow crossed a parabola in the air and fell sharply onto the target.


    Boom!


    An arrow to the middle of the bull''s eye.


    There was no suspense, 10 points.


    The scene was full of applause.


    The audience in the front row couldn''t help but let out a sigh of relief.


    Im Dong-hyun still had a look of confidence on his face. He appeared after Tang Yan''s shot and went to the field to complete a series of standard technical moves.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    The Korean audience who came to the final were screaming with excitement.


    The first arrow and the two were tied.


    Tang Yan''s second arrow.


    He still had a calm expression.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points.


    Im Dong-hyun still looked calm, as a quasi-main team member of the Korean archery team, he also had the confidence to shoot 10 points.


    He walked to the field and slowed down the speed of his shooting. He shot two seconds after aiming.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    Not only the Korean audience, but also the Chinese audience were amazed. Seeing the skills of Im Dong-hyun. The tickets for this final were definitely worth it.


    ....


    Tang Yan still looked very nonchalant, Im Dong-hyun''s rate of fire was getting slower, but the number of points they shot were exactly the same.


    10 points! 10 points! Still 10 points!


    Just like there was a magnet in the center of the target, the arrows they shot, all without exception, hit the center of the target.


    Boom!


    The 12th arrow from both sides, though Im Dong-hyun had almost shot at after the 30 seconds limit, was another 10 pointer.


    The audience was amazed.


    It was a tie game!


    This was the first time in the Asian Games that both archers shot perfect games!


    According to the rules, the two sides would usher in overtime. For a sudden death round!


    The coaches on both sides couldn''t help but begin to sweat. No one expected that the match would become like this.


    Before the start of overtime, the coaches on both sides left their archers alone. At this stage, whatever they said would probably interfere with the archers mental state.


    Tang Yan was first to shoot.


    The archer who originally shot first had the advantage but at this stage, the pressure on the first archer was greater.


    The audience held their breath as if their breathing would affect the performance of Tang Yan.


    His coach was nervous, the audience was nervous and even Im Dong-hyun and the South Korean team were anxious, but Tang Yan still carried a casual air about him.


    It''s not that he didn''t take the match seriously, but because he had absolute confidence in himself.


    Unless someone removed the target, he really couldn''t think of a reason why he couldn''t continue shooting 10 pointers.


    Nocking the arrow, pulling the bowstring back and firing.


    Twang!


    The arrow drew a perfect parabola in the air.


    Boom!


    "Yes!"


    There was a burst of cheers at the scene.


    10 points.


    Im Dong-hyun took a deep breath, watching from the sidelines.


    He walked to the archery field, calmed his madly beating heart, aimed at the distant target, and adjusted his state, then fired.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    10 points!


    The same as Tang Yan, another 10 pointer!


    It was a tie!


    The scene became awkward.


    According to the rules, the two sides would usher in another round of overtime!


    The same as before the best arrow would win!


    At this time, Tang Yan''s appearance finally changed. He looked at the arrow in the distance and looked helpless.


    Why can''t you shoot a 9 pointer and get it over with? This was just dragging it along!


    Seeing that Tang Yan''s expression finally changed, Im Dong-hyun''s face showed a satisfied look.


    Finally, his chance came.


    The second round of overtime began


    Tang Yan walked silently to the front with his recurve bow.


    The Chinese fans couldn''t help but worry.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "This is so tense, he''s actually pressuring Tang Yan."


    "Come on Tang Yan!"


    "Damn I didn''t think it would come to this. This Korean archer is extremely strong!"


    "He''s just hanging in. Tang Yan''s got this. He''s the new archery king. China to the top baby!!"


    ...


    Tang Yan pulled out his arrow and nocked the arrow. Drawing the bowstring back. This time, he took his time to aim and then shot...

 114 New Generation Surpassing The Old

    Boom!


    10 points!


    Im Dong-hyun moved to the gallery.


    Tang Yan''s 10 pointer made him feel pressure like he had never before.


    However, he had already experienced the baptism of the Olympic Games, and his mentality was much stronger than that of the average archer.


    He calmed the thoughts of his heart and put all his attention on the distant target. He took a deep breath, nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring back then aimed.


    But didn''t let go.


    The audience on the sidelines turned their heads from time to time to see the time limit.


    Finally, Im Dong-hyun loosed his hand right before the time limit.


    Twang!


    Boom!


    A muffled sound.


    The South Korean audience on the sidelines roared in glee.


    Im Dong-hyun''s emotions went out of control.


    This arrow was on the edge of the 10 points ring barely cutting in for 10 points!


    In the second round of overtime, the two sides still held a tie!


    They had to usher in an unprecedented third round of overtime!


    The mood of the audience at this time was quite complicated, there was faint excitement in the tension.


    Nerves rang high among the Chinese fans for fear of Tang Yan losing right at the last hurdle.


    Such a tense match was really rare to see.


    Tang Yan walked up filled with a variety of emotions.


    Confidence, indifference and a health dose of admiration for Im Dong-hyun. With a pinch of tension.


    Twang!


    The arrow was off the bowstring, making a parabola in the air and falling straight toward the target.


    Boom!


    Another 10 pointer!


    Im Dong-hyun''s face fell slightly.


    He could understand now why Park Tae-an had become so despondent after returning home from the Asian Games.


    It''s not that Park Tae-an''s psychological strength was weak, but such an opponent like Tang Yan could wear anyone down.


    Denting and destroying your hopes with each arrow.


    Only when you were really faced with him could you get a real sense of his horror.


    "Im Dong-hyun, please come up." The field referee reminded Im Dong-hyun pulling him back to reality.


    He shook his head and reverted back to a determined expression. Took up his recurve bow and walked up.


    "Im Dong-hyun, come on!" Perhaps sensing Im Dong-hyun''s change. The Korean audience on the sidelines shouted to encourage him.


    Im Dong-hyun heard the cheers from the audience and took a deep breath.


    He took out an arrow from the arrow pot and buckled the arrow.


    The audience behind him fell quiet.


    At this time, Tang Yan sat on the bench behind him, twirling two grass strands in his hand whilst watching.


    Twang!


    Im Dong-hyun let go, the arrow crossed a high parabola and fell straight toward the target.


    Boom!


    The scene fell silent, followed by a burst of cheers like a tsunami.


    9 points!


    Im Dong-hyun''s arrow hit the inside of the 9th ring.


    He couldn''t match Tang Yan''s arrow.


    After two overtime rounds, Tang Yan defeated his opponent by a point difference!


    The cheers on the scene were deafening, Tang Yan on the side was dumbfounded.


    He missed?? Oh sh*t


    He thought that Im Dong-hyun would continue to persist, he didn''t expect it to be over just like that.


    He shot up from the bench, too see his national teammates behind him had already rushed onto the court.


    He showed a bright smile and jumped into the incoming crowd, joining the cheers of his teammates and coaches.


    Im Dong-hyun was stood in a daze.


    The cheers of the audience sounded wave after wave. After winning this event, Tang Yan had won three gold medals in the Asian Games, becoming the athlete with the most gold medals so far.


    ....


    At the awards ceremony, when the national anthem sounded, the scene was electrifying as the "March of the Volunteers" resounded through the stadium.


    However, after the end of the awards ceremony, Tang Yan spent the next few hours celebrating with his team.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    Before eventually heading towards the swimming centre, the finals of the 200-meter freestyle would begin soon.


    Tang Yan''s luck wasn''t bad. When he arrived at the swimming pool, they had just begun the introductions.


    The attendance rate at the swimming pool was fairly high. But because in 2010 the Chinese swimming team didn''t have many achievements, most of them were foreign fans.


    Although Tang Yan arrived at the buzzer, he still found a good seat in the third row.


    In the 200m freestyle final, the Chinese team had a total of two swimmers advance to the finals, but it was clear that they were not the focus of attention, the most eye-catching star belonged to Korea, Park Tae-hwan.


    As an Asian swimmer and even a well-known player in the swimming world, Park Tae-hwan, who became famous in 2006 and shined in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had absolute dominance in the short-distance freestyle.


    The Chinese team''s current ace was Zhang Lin who won the silver medal in the 400-meter freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and he won the first World Championship for the Chinese swimming team at the 2009 World Championships in Rome. He was the most well known swimmer to the Chinese audience.


    However, Tang Yan''s gaze at this time was locked on another member of the Chinese team, Sun Yang.


    Sun Yang held a nervous expression.


    Sun Yang, at this time was still a relatively low-profile swimmer, his best result was achieved at the World Championships in Rome last year, but that was in the 1500m freestyle, the 200-meter freestyle was a new realm for him.


    Although Tang Yan didn''t specifically watch and keep track of swimming before he was born again, Sun Yang''s road to fame was quite clear.


    This final was the beginning of his road to dominance. He showed up his predecessor in this famous battle.


    Zhang Lin, the ace of the national team became a tale of old.


    Bang!


    After the swimmers were ready, the referee fired and the swimmers like penguins dived into the water.

 115 You Need An Agent?

    As the final started, the audience cheered loudly for Zhang Lin.


    Zhang Lin''s start was extremely fierce, he shot off the blocks, going head to head with Park Tae-hwan.


    The more fierce Zhang Lin was, the higher the cheers of the audience.


    However, Tang Yan unlike the rest had his eyes glued on Sun Yang, who was on the outermost side, in fourth place.


    The first 50 meters, Park Tae-hwan was the first to touch the wall and flip back around, followed by Zhang Lin.


    After the second 50 meters, Zhang Lin was still chasing after Park Tae-hwan who had gained a small lead, but at this time Japan''s Takeshi Matsuda was slowly gaining on them.


    By the third 50 meters, although the cheers of the audience were still high, Zhang Lin''s speed had obviously slowed down. His first 100m were too fierce. His physical strength at this time was waning and bit by bit everyone gained.


    With a heavy charge Matsuda surpassed Zhang Lin and chased after Park Tae-hwan.


    The Chinese audience grew quieter, seeing Zhang Lin slipping in to third.


    But soon, the cheers of the audience rose again, because at this time, in the eighth lane, the unnoticed martyr Sun Yang fought to catch up, surpassing his teammate Zhang Lin.


    Before beginning to chase Matsuda gaining inch by inch.


    "Who is that...


    "Sun Yang?"


    "He''s one of our''s...right?"


    "Yeah he''s also in the Chinese team! Come on!"


    "Come on Sun Yang!"


    ...


    Beside Tang Yan many viewers began to chant. Those who originally chanted for Zhang Lin, began to cheer for Sun Yang.


    Among the shouts, Sun Yang chased for the last 50 meters, succeeding in passing Matsuda and gradually narrowing the distance with Park Tae-hwan.


    However, it was too late.


    Park Tae-hwan steaming ahead, reached out an arm and touched the wall.


    He secured 1st and broke the Asian record for the 200-meter freestyle which he already held, all the while defended his title.


    But the most important thing for Chinese fans was the surprising performance of Sun Yang, who managed to snag second place and win the first medal for the Chinese swimming team.


    Tang Yan watching up to here didn''t wait for the award ceremony but instead got up and left the swimming centre.


    He had come to observe the strength of Sun Yang and get a feel for the atmosphere around swimming in advance.


    He went to find Qin Hailong.


    Qin Hailong was returning from the 81kg final. The Chinese team had regrettably lost. At this point, the Chinese boxing team''s trip to the Asian Games ended prematurely. Overall the boxing team didn''t perform all too well and the number of gold medals was limited.


    Seeing Tang Yan, Qin Hailong squeezed a smile and greeted him.


    Tang Yan was one of his treasured fighters.


    Tang Yan took Qin Hailong to the side and directly asked: "Coach, I want to try out for the swimming team, can you help me out?"


    "The...swimming team?!"


    Hearing this Qin Hailong was startled and looked at him with a look of confusion.


    "Can you even swim?" Qin Hailong said muddled.


    "Yeah, I learnt when I was younger. I just want to try my luck, is there any way you could get me a tryout." Tang Yan responded.


    Qin Hailong sank into thought, looking at Tang Yan who was staring back at him earnestly he sighed and said: "I know the coach of the swimming team. But I''m not very sure...."


    "Coach, I just want him to give me a chance, I can make him recognize me." Tang Yan said with confidence.


    "Sigh, I will give it a try, but this is all on the premise that your boxing training can''t fall behind." Qin Hailong said.


    "Coach, rest assured, I''ll make sure it won''t."


    "Also Coach, like we talked about before I want to start bulking and try for a higher-weight class."


    "Hmm okay, good but like I said last time we have to take it step by step."


    Qin Hailong said with a gleeful smile, although it would take time to transition, but if Tang Yan really changed weight class, then along with Zou Shiming, the Chinese team could aim to hit two weight-classes at the London Olympics, two chances for gold.


    Tang Yan after greeting Qin Hailong went to Tian Zhenzhe.


    What he needed at this time was an opportunity to enter the national swimming team.


    Coincidentally, Tian Zhenzhe and Qin Hailong''s answers were similar. He knew the head coach of the swimming team, Zhao Wei but he couldn''t guarantee an opportunity.


    Although the two head coaches didn''t give a positive answer, they promised him to try at least. With them both asking hopefully Zhao Wei would give him  a chance. Even if it was just to give them face.


    As he was walking out of the archery hall at this moment, he saw a man who looked familiar smiling whilst walking towards him.


    He was lost in thought as to why he was smiling at him.


    As the two approached each other, he finally remembered why he looked familiar. This was Zhuang Jiajie who gave him cigarettes during the last boxing match.


    Zhuang Jiajie walked up and said "Hey"


    "Oh hey, it''s you how are you doing."


    "I''m good, in fact I was just looking for you."


    "Oh, what''s up."


    "I have a proposal for you, as your reputation is getting bigger and bigger, there will be a lot of sponsors looking for you, don''t you think it''s time you got an agent...." Zhuang Jiajie said quickly.


    "You''re an agent? Aren''t you a translator?" Tang Yan heard Zhuang Jiajie out.


    "I previously used to be an agent before I retired, I took up translating after but I quit after I saw you, your talent is something rarely seen especially in China. I''m willing to place all my bets on you." Zhuang Jiajie said straightforwardly.


    Tang Yan was stunned but he slowly revealed a smile. He felt that this person was interesting beyond words, to place so much trust in someone who was virtually a stranger as to even resign from your  job.


    This was the definition of a desperate attempt.


    Although he valued his determination and courage, it was obviously impossible for him to agree just based on that.  He needed to know more about Zhuang Jiajie and his abilities beforehand.


    "Can you leave me your number? When I make a decision, I''ll contact you." Tang Yan said giving him a chance.


    "Yes of course, thank you." Zhuang Jiajie said taking his phone directly.


    "I will call you if necessary." Tang Yan reminded.


    "Yes, I''ll be waiting." Zhuang Jiajie nodded and said, he seemed very patient.


    Tang Yan took back his phone and then left.


    Hmm an agent, he truly needed one.


    Now his fame was growing, he should soon be able to secure sponsors, other deals and even fights.


    This Zhuang Jiajie seemed interesting but he also had his own considerations.


    ....


    Just as he was arriving back at his hotel, his phone rang.


    Taking out his phone, he saw that it was Tian Zhenzhe calling.


    "I talked to Coach Zhao Wei, he... said he''ll give you a chance to try out."Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.

 116 Here Comes The Money

    "But it''s only a tryout for the city team, your gonna have to start from the very bottom."


    Tian Zhenzhe''s follow up cut of some of Tang Yan''s hopes.


    It seemed that this head coach, Zhao Wei quite naturally didn''t trust him.


    However, that was normal come to think of it. Not everyone was as eager or as risk prone as Qin Hailong.


    After hanging up the phone, Tang Yan left his hotel and headed for the nearby Internet cafe. The popularity and use of private computers wasn''t as prevalent as it would be in 10 years. Creating the prosperity of Internet cafes.


    He booked a private room and researched some knowledge about swimming.


    After reading for more than an hour and having a basic understanding of swimming, he headed back to his hotel.


    Soon after he went back, Qin Hailong also called back. The result was the same as Tian Zhenzhe''s. He needed to head to the city swimming team to try out. The only difference was that he knew the head coach of the Lotus City Swimming Team so he helped him arrange everything.


    Hanging up the phone, Tang Yan took a deep breath and slowly breathed out. Everything was moving quickly, he took a moment to rest his mind and calmly consider everything.


    Starting from the city team was at least a starting point.


    Anyway, there was still more than half a year till the World Championships next year which was the next major competition. The city team would help him adapt and learn after all, compared with other professional swimmers, he was only a layman.


    The Asian Games lasted for another 15 days. On November 27th, the closing ceremony was to be held. The Chinese team finished in first place in the medal list with 199 gold medals. In second was Korea with 76 gold medal with Japan in third with 48 gold medals.


    Tang Yan took home three gold medals and won an additional unexpected award in the closing ceremony.


    He beat out, Lin Dan the ace of the Chinese badminton team, the original winner to take home the MVP award for the 2010 Asian Games.


    The MVP award was introduced in the 1998 Games in Bangkok, Thailand. The award was recognized by the Olympic Council of Asia and the Asian Games Federation (AGF).


    Winning this award meant that his performance in this Asian Games had been recognized by the sports world, such a grand achievement at the tender age of 18 years old.


    However, compared to winning this honor, the prize money was more exciting for him.


    In addition to a Samsung 3D TV complements of the sponsors of the games, Samsung.


    There was a $50,000 bonus!


    In 2010, the exchange rate of renminbi (£¤) against the US dollar was around 6.8 so $50,000 exchanged to about £¤340,000.


    This alone was more than he got from the Youth Olympics.


    It was also because of this award that he became the flag bearer for the Chinese team in the closing ceremony.


    Such an unexpected gain left Tang Yan overjoyed. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    After becoming the closing flag bearer, he had a group photo with many champions of the Chinese team.


    Especially when Chen Ruolin, Pan Xiaoting and He Zi, these beautiful women asked him to pose with them, he felt like he was floating.


    He took a great deal of photos and interacted with a great deal of people.


    This included members of the swimming team. Tang Yan naturally wouldn''t waste such an opportunity, getting familiar with them. He tried to build a good foundation for the future.


    After the closing ceremony, Tang Yan was commended by the General Administration of Sports. Compared with the previous verbal commitment, this time the reward was real.


    The archery team filed a special case for his breathtaking performance and he was rewarded with £¤300,000.


    He was also awarded £¤100,000 for his boxing performance, for a total of £¤400,000 in rewards from the General Administration of Sports.


    He also received another £¤200,000 in rewards from the Zhejiang Province and £¤100,000 from the Chinese Archery Association.


    For a grand total of £¤1.04 million.


    In 2010, 1 million yuan was definitely a large amount. He had made nearly $150,000 from a single competition.


    This time, Tang Yan didn''t send the money home but bought a house in Shanghai.


    He knew that Shanghai house prices would absolutely skyrocket and continue to do in years to come. If he held it for a year or two and then later resold it he could easily more than triple his investment.


    After processing the house, he headed back home. After two days lazing about at home.


    He finally reported to the city swimming team.


    Different from the try out for the archery team this time, in addition to his new found fame, he was more confident.


    The head coach of the city swimming team was called Guo Yong. When Tang Yan saw him, he was slightly surprised. He envisioned a slim in shape figure but once again he ran into an out of shape coach.


    Though not terribly fat, Guo Yong was visibly chubby and out of shape. He couldn''t help but have his mind cast back to Song Feng and his day''s under him in the provincial archery team.


    The two met in Guo Yong''s personal office.


    Guo Yong looked over him a few times and shook his head and said: "I can give you a chance to tryout considering all the effort you put in to pull strings but in all honesty, I don''t recommend swimming."


    Guo Yong''s first sentence took Tang Yan slightly aback.


    "You are now a sports star, a gold medalist in archery and boxing, training well and when the Olympics come you''ll have a mighty good chance at a medal.


    You won''t have to worry about anything in this life, with that around your neck. You''ll be set. You don''t need to keep adding things to your plate." Guo Yong said directly.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but frown ever so slightly, whilst he acknowledged that Guo Yong likely meant well.


    Nobody liked to be advised against their decision. Please he felt like he was being politely told to stay in his own lane.


    "Old Qin said that you could swim, I''ll reserve my own judgement of that for later but as a quick reminder if you still wanna go ahead with this, competitive swimming isn''t like amateur swimming to say nothing else, your height isn''t suitable." Guo Yong didn''t hide his thoughts from Tang Yan, saying it as he saw it.


    Though frowning Tang Yan acknowledged his words, the average height of Olympic swimmers was around 6''2. Being taller provided a significant advantage, having a length advantage ¨C longer arms, legs and torso, gives a greater surface area to propel yourself forward with.


    Even Sun Yan who was already 6''2 would grow to be a lofty 6''5.


    Though Tang Yan had grown over the recent months to around 5''6 heading 5''7 in terms of the swimming selection criteria. He held a significant disadvantage.


    Tang Yan nodded at his words and said:


    "I understand your point Coach Guo and I appreciate the concern but I still think I can surprise with my ability....I would like to go ahead with the trial."

 117 Fight For Your Spo

    Sighing mentaly, Guo Yong shook his head.


    Tang Yan was a native of Lotus City. As the head coach of the city swimming team, he was clear about the swimming seedlings in the city. He had never so much as heard a word about Tang Yan. He had no swimming achievements to speak off.


    Yes, you are an archery genius, a boxing genius, but you are a 5''6 guy with no history in competitive swimming standing in front of me asking to join my team.


    Though slightly peeved at Tang Yan not heeding his words, Guo Yong went ahead and said:


    "Fine considering Old Qin''s face, I can give you a chance but if you fail, sorry, that''s it. You have to put this behind you and focus on your other activitites" Guo Yong said straightforwardly


    "No problem." Tang Yan said smiling. He went off to change.


    Guo Yong glanced at Tang Yan''s back, with an imperceptible smile on his lips.


    Arriving after changing he went up pool side to find Guo Yong.


    When he entered, he saw a crowd in the swimming pool, around ten or twenty people.


    The Lotus City swimming team wasn''t large and this group should consist of almost everyone in the swimming team.


    He turned to look at Guo Yong.


    This coach was truly interesting. It seemed that he was prepared to make him tryout in front of everyone.


    However, this wasn''t bad. After all, a strong performance could win over the audience.


    "This is Tang Yan, most if not all of you should already know who he is. So I''ll skip the full introduction" Guo Yong said to his team.


    "So it''s really him."


    "Yeah"


    "I knew I saw him walk past earlier when I came in" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "I still can''t believe he''s actually around our age."


    The atheletes below broke out into chatter. Tang Yan had become a hometown hero, with the local newspapers and tv stations speaking nothing but positive things about him. Due to the Asian Games, he had become a star in Lotus City.


    "What is he doing here though?"


    "Well he''s from Lotus City right, maybe coach asking him to give us a speech and drum up morale?"


    "Oh, damn man this is so cool...." came on of the female swimmers.


    ...


    "Okay! Quiet down"


    Guo Yong smirked and said directly: "Today Tang Yan is here to prove one thing. He can swim faster than you lot."


    When his words came out, all the members of the swimming team suddenly stopped talking.


    "He wants a spot on this team and since we are a small city, if he succeeds that means someone might just have to abdicate their spot to make room. "


    Everyone fell into silence, this was completely different from what they had expected, Tang Yan was here to snatch a spot on the team...


    All their gaze flicked over to Tang Yan as if seeking a different answer from him.


    Tang Yan looked over at Guo Yong and saw him grinning at him. Turning back to the crowd, he slowly nodded.


    Seeing his movements, they all stiffened up and became alert.


    Tang Yan was the rising star in the domestic sports scene. The darling of the city and the media definitely higher placed than them.


    They felt pride knowing he was one of theirs.


    But everything was relative. When their own careers were challenged and by a layman. They were naturally uncomfortable.


    Even if he was the pride of the city so what, if he wanted their spot they were ready to defend it!


    Guo Yong saw this and there was a smile on his lips. This was the effect he wanted. Since Tang Yan still wanted to try out then he might as well use it to his advantage and motivate his swimmers.


    Seeing Tang Yan still looking calmly at him, Guo Yong nodded in slight appreciation and called:


    "Guo Ningfan come up, your first."


    A figure emerged from the crowd.


    He seemed to exude confidence which stood out from most of the crowd, who were tense with anxiety.


    He had dominant features, a commanding bone structure, tousled dark brown hair and a finely chiseled body and was about 6''1.


    Guo Ningfan''s appearance attracted the attention of some female swimmers.


    Obviously, this Guo Ningfan had very high popularity in the swimming team.


    Tang Yan looked over his opponent.


    Guo Yong had a smug look at this time.


    Guo Ningfan was his nephew but he made it into this team of his own right not depending on their relationship, he had real potential.


    He had qualified and placed 8th in the 200m freestyle at the Youth World Championships last year. Earlier this year, he came 2nd in the 200m freestyle at the National Swimming Championships.


    Guo Ningfan''s debut attracted everyone''s attention.


    Seeing Guo Yong putting Tang Yan against Guo Ningfan everyone was surprised. Surely this wasn''t a fair matchup by all accounts Guo Ningfan would demolish him.


    Unless Tang Yan was actually an outstanding swimmer in which case they were all still screwed.


    In truth they had expected for Guo Yong to start from the bottom of the team, not with one of its aces.


    "Your both gonna swim 50m freestyle sprint, as long as you can swim sub 30, so anything less than 30 seconds and I will allow you to join the team. Use Guo Ningfan as a guide." Guo Yong said.


    "As for the rest of you, we are gonna do another speed test. Anyone who hasn''t knocked off at least 2 seconds compared to last year. You can get ready to pack your bags."


    Guo Yong, really had no mercy!


    "This team only needs people who are willing to fight to win and strive to improve, not stragglers."


    When his words came out, many members actually visibly relaxed whilst a few cursed under their breaths.


    Freestyle was the simplest of the four Olympic swimming styles it was also the fastest. Even internationally famous swimmers like Park Tae-hwan and Phelps were all freestylers.


    When he heard Guo Yong said, Tang Yan smiled.


    Freestyle, ok!


    Aside from breaststroke, let''s not talk about butterfly strokes and backstroke. Although he had collected some information from the Internet and practiced it several times in private, he was obviously more at each with doing freestyle!


    "Okay! Everyone warm up and let''s get this show on the road.


    .....


    Guo Yong led them all through a ten minute warmup, then they began.


    Tang Yan and Guo Ningfan stood at top the platform.


    Both had anticipation in their eyes.


    "On your marks


    Guo Yong shouted from the side of the pool.


    Get set!


    The two men bowed down and grabbed the front of the platform with both hands.


    "Go!"

 118 Novice

    The two immediately the two dove into the pool.


    Their bodies hung in the air and then splash!


    They were off!


    Guo Ningfan''s tall figure snuck ahead into the water first, he sunk about half a meter and glided a for a few seconds using the momentum from his dive,  sneaking ahead a few meters.


    Then he smoothly transitioned into his first kick a flutter kick swiftly hitting the water and his arms came up in an overhand motion and quickly crossed forward.


    Although there was no imperative swimming style in the freestyle competition, Guo Ningfan was using the front crawl stroke.


    The swimming stroke was regarded as the fastest of the four front primary strokes. As such, it was the de facto style used during a freestyle swimming competition.


    His form was fluid and his speed fast.


    "So fast!"


    "Did you see how smooth his transition was, so smooth."


    "He''s actually a robot."


    "He is great shape today, do you think he can break his PB (Personal Best)!"


    ...


    Guo Ningfan attracted the praise of the other swimmers. As the absolute star and main force of the city swimming team, although his main forte was the 200m freestyle, his time for 50m was definitely among one of the best in the team.


    Shifting their focus from Guo Ningfan they turned to Tang Yan to find he had completely disappeared underwater!


    ...


    Tang Yan was wading forward incredibly fast, his rapidly kick up and down in flutter kicks.


    Guo Ningfan''s speed was awfully fast, he swam nearly 30 meters in a dozen seconds. According to his speed, his time could cut in sub 25 seconds, which was provincial level!


    Guo Ningfan held the lead still after his graceful start he had put a fair distance between him and Tang Yan.


    Where he had systemised training and knew what form to take to minimise drag and water resistance, Tang Yan was relying on the system and whilst he had gained a portion of Zhang Shun''s amazing swimming abilities, he had no such knowledge.


    Tang Yan was currently holding his breath underwater. Putting his all into forcing his arms and legs forward as fast as he could.


    Since the initial dive into the pool, he hadn''t surfaced for air maintaining his form underwater.


    Remaining completely submerged, using the knowledge he gained from unlocking Zhang Shun, he had been practising since arriving back in town and with his current abilities he could hold his breath for over 6 minutes.


    On the other hand Guo Ningfan had surfaced after the 14m mark.


    With that though he gained a tremendous lead in the beginning, Tang Yan was rapidly closing in.


    Swimming underwater meant you encountered less resistance than you would find on the surface due to the lack of drag created by surface waves.


    Since water is much denser than air, its resistance is 1,000 times higher than that of air. So by swimming underwater, his position favoured penetration into the masses of water, so he could more efficiently glide than he could on the surface.


    Swimmers at depths greater than 50cm avoid wave drag. The energy dissipated by surface waves slows down forward movement. By passing beneath this turbulence, underwater swimming is more efficient.


    With all this in his favour Tang Yan was encroaching on Guo Ningfan.


    But Guo Ningfan was fast approaching the end.


    "What the hell, how is Tang Yan so fast!"


    "I swear he hasn''t surfaced, how can he hold his breath for so long!"


    "He''s so fast!"


    But Guo Ningfan reached out his long arms and with one last kick, he touched the wall.


    With that though close, Tang Yan lost.


    Leaning up, Guo Ningfan asked:


    "Uncl....Coach, what time did I get?!"


    "24.3 seconds." Guo Yong said.


    "24 seconds!" The swimmers at the side couldn''t help but marvel. This achievement, was on the provincial team level.


    Whilst everyone broke into chatter, Guo Yong turned to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan gazed up and said: "My time...."


    "Forget your time, you''ve never had proper training right, that''s the only explanation for what you did right there."


    Seeing Tang Yan''s puzzled face, Guo Yong continued:


    "Qin Hailong said you had experience swimming."


    "Uhmm...not competitavely..."


    Sighing, Guo Yong looked him over shaking his head.


    "I''ll stick to my word, but you certainly need a lot of work. You have so many basic flaws. Your time was 26.02 seconds."


    Then turning to his team, he pointed at a kid in the front and said:


    "Fang Chu tell him what he did wrong."


    "...Ughh did wrong...Coach."


    "Yes, did wrong, you watched the race right, okay then tell him what he did wrong."


    "Ughh...he....ugh"


    "He..stayed underwater" came a whisper.


    "...Oh..he stayed underwater..Coach" said Fang Chu.


    With this everyone seemed to be enlightened, all realising the issue.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Finally, but that''s not explaining it." said Guo Yong.


    "Song Ma, explain."  Guo Yong said looking over to the kid, who had helped out Fang Chu.


    Song Ma timidly looked up then said clearing his throat.


    "The FINA has a 15m limit on how far you can swim underwater at the start and after a turn. This happened after Japan''s Masaru Furukawa won Olympic gold by swimming the 200m breaststroke underwater by only coming up to breathe in the turns. And then David Berkoff also did the same thing breaking world records so they put a limit in place to prevent it.  It can also put your life in danger, at least when done for longer distance events.


    Tang Yan was  stunned, he had bare bones knowledge on swimming even after trying to research it. He had no idea there was such a limit.


    "Exactly, in a proper race. Let alone a time, as soon as you passed the 15m limit you would have been disqualified. This is swimming not free diving or snorkeling!" came Guo Yong.


    "Ahhh, sorry Coach I really didn''t know. If you want....I can go again?"


    "Oh you sure well will do, since you wanted in, your in."


    Guo Yong then turned and shouted: "Tian Yang!"


    Out came a man from among the group. He looked a lot older than Guo Ningfan. About his mid twenties, twenty-five-six. Although he looked average, he was rather tall and 6''3 and well built.


    Tian Yang''s debut didn''t attract the female swimmers enthusiasm like Guo Ningfan, but it attracted a burst of words from the male swimmers.


    Because Tian Yang, was a swimmer retired from the provincial team!


    He had come down to the city team after an injury.


    He had torn his rotator cuffs and his biceps and with competition in the Zhejiang Province having been fierce in recent years. He choose to retire to the city team.


    But in peak form he had been one of the main forces of the provincial team!


    And more importantly, Guo Ningfan''s main forte was the 200-meter freestyle, but Tian Yang''s main event was the 50m freestyle!


    "Warm up and get ready."


    ...


    "On your marks


    Guo Yong shouted from the side of the pool.


    Get set!


    The two men bowed down and grabbed the front of the platform with both hands.


    "Go!"


    With the order, Tian Yang and Tang Yan successively dove into the water.


    .....


    Tian Yang''s hands began to alternately paddling back and forth.


    Like Guo Ningfan, his movements were also a standard front crawl style. The difference was that his arms were longer, so that the area of ??his stroke was larger and as such his speed was naturally faster.


    "He''s still got it, he''s even faster than Guo Ningfan!"


    "He definitely deserves to be on the provincial team. I still can''t believe he choose to come down!"


    "It looks like he''s recovered well from his injury, maybe he''ll go back up.


    "Do you think he''ll get sub...24 seconds?!"


    ...


    Tian Yang''s form attracted a round of praise from the sidelines.


    But at this time, they were attracted by a crisp sound of water.


    A figure, like a flying fish wandering in the water...

 119 Just Go

    "...So fast!"


    "Wait! Is he...doing the butterfly stroke?"Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.comfor visiting.


    "Butterfly?! What... Tang Yan''s actually using the butterfly stroke!"


    ...


    Even Guo Yong was stunned, his mouth so wide open you could fit an egg in it. Okay maybe not that wide open.


    Whilst the front crawl wasn''t the stipulated stroke for freestyle, it was the recognized favourite and for good reason. Even FINA recognized it as the fastest stroke, followed by butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke.


    But Tang Yan chose the butterfly stroke and whilst still trailing he was keeping up to pace with Tian Yang.


    One meter, two meters, three meters...


    In a blink of an eye, Tang Yan was beginning to match Tian Yang.


    Gou Yong''s face became scrunched up in confusion then realization, whilst studying Tang Yan''s stroke style.


    Tang Yan was doing a hybrid butterfly-crawl. A mixture of the two styles.


    He had changed from the front crawl he used in the first race.


    Guo Yong looked down at the stopwatch in his hand, looking down he sucked in a breath.


    This speed...!


    He looked over at the two again, Tang Yan seemingly becoming more comfortable was neck to neck with Tian Yang.


    It was indeed a butterfly hybrid, the speed of his movement was exceptional and what was more noticeable was his stroke distance. When he moved out, he travelled a greater distance than you would expect for his height. 5ft with each arm stroke.


    Having observed his previously flimsy understanding for the sport see him doing such a technically demanding style surprised Guo Yong greatly.


    He still showed novice level errors even now though.


    For example in his breathing, he was coming up to breathe late and consequently finishing breathing late and as a right side breather, his left arm came too far wide at the front causing a front crossover with his breathing arm.


    Even his start needed improvement. But seeing his aptitude Guo Yong was intrigued.


    But then suddenly Tang Yan seemingly trying to integrate another stroke into his pattern messed up his rhythm.


    He missed a half step throwing him off, though he tried to recover, it was enough to cost him.


    Tian Yang crept away slightly, seemingly fazed by this Tang Yan transitioned into the standard front crawl stroke in an attempt to close the gap.


    But with just 10 meters left, the damage was already done.  Tian Yang maintained the lead and won, touching the wall first.


    On shore, Guo Yong quickly pressed the stopwatch at the moment of Tian Yang''s touch.


    23 seconds 46!


    Then again for Tang Yan''s finish.


    25 seconds 47!


    When he saw this result, Guo Yong''s face couldn''t help but jitter.


    So fast!


    Even with errors!


    If it weren''t for the last few meters, he could have been even faster and if they buffed out his mistakes...!


    With his thoughts running high, Guo Yong had a bright smile.


    In the just-concluded Asian Games,  L¨¹ Zhiwu who won the 50m freestyle, had gotten a time of 22 seconds 37.


    Although the difference was more than 2 seconds, the key thing to remember was that Tang Yan himself had just knocked off 2 seconds off his previous time just now.


    Tian Yang swam to the poolside still panting. His performance this time was his best this season.


    "You are remarkably fast." He gasped looking over at Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan smiled and said "Right back at you" and then climbed up from the pool.


    Guo Yong was staring at Tang Yan as he got out, his fervent excitement cooling before turning to a reluctant gaze.


    Tang Yan walked up and said: "Coach, my time..."


    "25.47 seconds"


    "Oh wow!"


    "Yeah, wow indeed"


    "That one felt a lot smoother, I messed up...towards the end though."


    "Yeah I saw, you still have a lot of mistakes that need correcting."


    "I understand Coach, I am ready and willing to learn."


    "That''s good to hear, I''m sure they''ll be glad to hear that on the provincial team."


    Seeing Tang Yan''s confused and perplexed gaze.


    Guo Yong said: "You want to compete at a higher level right, I doubt you got Old Qin running around just to compete at a city level.


    With a time like this I''m sure they''ll be more than happy to have you. Knowing them I wouldn''t be surprised if they found you after and offered you a place. Bunch of vultures."


    "Anyway you want a place or what?"


    "Ughh...yes. Yes I want a place"


    "Good, it''ll save me training you up just to have you snatched away later."


    ....


    "Coach, how come Tang Yan isn''t entering the team? Such a talent, if we let him go it will definitely be a big loss to the team." Tian Yang said to Guo Yong after Tang Yan had left.


    "He''s off to the provincial team, that kid is too much of a monster to be kept hidden here. Those hyenas would sniff him out eventually anyway, better to report him in and get credit for sending him up."


    "Plus with him, it''s another boost to the dream team they''re trying to form. Anyway let''s talk about you, your time today was good. When are you gonna head back to the....

 120 Important Guests

    Tang Yan felt overjoyed and humbled over today''s events.


    He had treated swimming too flippantly.


    He saw some of the limitations of the system clearly today.


    Even though he knew, he was lacking in swimming knowledge, he hadn''t taken enough action to rectify that.


    He had paid a small price for that today but it could have been worse.


    He had to go back and go over all the rules with a fine tooth comb.


    This wasn''t like archery or boxing where he had preemptive knowledge on the sport.


    But inadvertently he had become too cocky and lazy after his recent windfall of success.


    He needed to put in the work and not become reliant on the system to strong arm his way through things.


    The system was the supplement not the core. Zhang Shun''s abilities were useful but only when used correctly.


    With the current season ending, he had till next season to prepare.


    With these thoughts and promise of the provisional team, he headed back.


    ...


    Tang Yan was to begin his weight-gain program.


    After a discussion with Qin Hailong, they had set out a plan and he was immediately set up with a professional dietitian.


    Time flew by and it was heading towards the end of the year.


    In less than a month, he had successfully gone from 49 kg to 52kg.


    In the process, he had to fight to maintain his body fat to muscle ratio but he managed to do so after sticking strictly to his training regimen.


    It was now heading towards the end of the year, New Year''s Eve was fast approaching and Tang Yan, like most other athletes finished his training program and prepared to head home for the new year.


    It had been a little over half a year since his rebirth.


    And what an earth shattering half a year, he had been through.


    From an unknown security guard of his previous life.


    To winning two gold medals at the Youth Olympics and finessing three gold medals at the Asian Games. With his name known across the country.


    .....


    His father and mother, had already moved into the new house.


    They had just begun preparations ahead of time for New Year''s Eve and Chinese New Year which would follow.


    Whilst his parents were busy buying things for both event''s and getting prepared. He snuck off looking for his friends and to chat with former classmates, to relive the experience in memory again.


    He had been grinding all year, now it was time to sit back and relax.


    ...


    Tang Yan was sat on his phone in the living room while watching TV.


    When the doorbell rang.


    "Mom! there''s people at the door." He shouted lying on the sofa unwilling to move.


    His mother was preparing food in the kitchen, when she heard his shouting, she shook her head.


    Quickly washed her hands and wiped them dry and called "Coming" whilst heading to open the door.


    She casually opened the door, before loudly screaming.


    Tang Yan hearing this lurched up and rushed over. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "Mom, what''s wrong?"


    "Secretary.....Zhang...you...how can I help you?" His mother stuttered to the guest at the door.


    Tang Yan looked past her and saw Deputy Secretary Zhang and with him were a few companions.


    "Hahaha, oh dear I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to frighten you."


    "Oh no, it''s just I was shocked..I didn''t expect it to be you."


    "Hahaha, well we were just passing through the neighbourhood and so we decided to make a short visit. I hope we are not imposing!"


    "No, no nothing of the kind..umm please come in."


    His mother stepped back and let the group in.


    "I''m sorry for the mess, we''ve been busy preparing for the New Year, we haven''t got round to clearing up." His mom said with excitement and slight nervousness.


    "It doesn''t matter, don''t mind us. This isn''t an official visit. We just came to visit you privately. Plus I know the struggle as well hahaha." Secretary Zhang said as he walked in.


    As he walked in, behind him in came his secretary carrying a bag of what seemed like gifts, which he placed on the table.


    However, Tang Yan''s gaze at this time was on those behind Secretary Zhang. Two other people came in and Secretary Zhang even waited for them to sit before he sat.


    This detail didn''t escape him, it clearly showed the status of the two.


    Tang Yan''s eyes showed a hint of curiosity. Who were they?


    "So Tang Yan, how long have you been back?" said Secretary Zhang, drawing back Tang Yan''s attention.


    "Just a few weeks now."


    "Good to hear, it''s important to spend time at home and rest up.


    How is everything though, training wise. Is it going well. Do you need anything?


    "Uh no sir, I''m good. Everything is going well, just finished everything off for the year. Now I''m back....you know relaxing and spending time with my family at home over the New Year."


    "Well, if you need anything just contact Xiao Liu directly, he will arrange it for you. Got to take care of our star athletes now" Secretary Zhang said whilst nodding over in his assistant''s direction.


    "Oh I nearly forgot, let me introduce everyone." Secretary Zhang smiled and turned to look at the two people behind him.


    "This is Deputy Director or just call him Director Gao of the Provincial Sports Bureau and this Shen Qing, Coach of the Provincial Swimming Team."


    When Tang Yan heard this, though he had already guessed they were important figures but a Deputy Director of the province really came to his house. This was unexpected.


    "Tang Yan, how are you." Director Gao said reaching out to shake hands with Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan got up and politely shook hands with him: "..I''m good, pleased to meet you Director."


    Shen Qing followed up and shook hands with Tang Yan. After sitting down, he followed and said: "I heard  you tried out for the swimming team?"


    "Yeah, the city swimming team." Tang Yan nodded and said.


    "Well Guo Yong told me about your situation." Shen Qing said with a little excitement.


    "Director Gao is responsible for the swimming division. We have already discussed it and directly recruited you into the provincial swimming team. If you agree, you can come and report in after the New Year. " Shen Qing said.


    "Thank you...sir, thank you both for the opportunity. I''ll report to the provincial team after the New Year." Tang Yan smiled and said.


    "Good to hear!" Deputy Director Gao said energetically.


    "Good, hahaha you know when Ye Shiwen and Sun Yang heard that you might be joining, they were very excited!" Shen Qing said.


    "Ye Shiwen and Sun Yang?" Tang Yan instinctively asked.


    "Yeah, they said they talked with you at the Asian Games. They seem to admire you!" Shen Qing said with a smile.


    Tang Yan laughed and smiled.


    These two swimming geniuses who would shine in the future were actually both from the Zhejiang Province.


    "Sun Yang! Wow." His mom said hearing Sun Yang''s name and her face was full of excitement.


    Tang Yan shook his head helplessly, he had forgotten that his mother had been a fan of Sun Yang since the Beijing Olympics.

 121 Arriving At The Provincial Team

    "Your son will be on par with Sun Yang in the future." Shen Qing said with a smile.


    "Maybe not on the same level but 2nd isn''t bad." His mother said in a teasing tone.


    Her reply immediately earned a burst of laughter from everyone present.


    After sending away the visiting Deputy Secretary and his party, Tang Yan settled down some plans for his next year.


    Considering where he was at with archery, it wasn''t too challenging for him. So he could set it aside and for next year, focus on boxing and swimming as his main priorities.


    Especially swimming, he was just getting started so he needed to create a firm foundation, plus next year''s World Aquatics Championships would also be very crucial.


    He called Qin Hailong and Tian Zhenzhe and explained the situation with the provincial swimming team.


    Qin Hailong was fine but Tian Zhenzhe wasn''t pleased but he didn''t really have much choice but to acquiesce, with the requirement that Tang Yan maintained his current form and stayed competition ready.


    ....


    Tang Yan enjoyed the Chinese New Year with his parents and surrounded by a sea of relatives.


    He was dragged along with his parents to the temple to light incense.


    After asking for some ancestral blessings, he set off again, for the provincial swimming team.


    Sports was all-encompassing, but whether for good or bad there was a link between performance and money.


    Which is why most top athletes for example in gymnastics and weightlifting were mostly from relatively economically-developed provinces.


    It was more obvious in sports like fencing, swimming and equestrian which showed the clear divide.


    As one of the more economically developed provinces, the Zhejiang Province was an absolutely dominating force in Chinese swimming.


    From the likes of Zhang Lin, Liu Zige, Jiao Liuyang who were proven veterans of the sports with a wide array of achievements.


    To Ye Shiwen and Sun Yang, who were rising stars, all were from the Zhejiang Province.


    So although Tang Yan was invited onto the provincial team, if he wanted to establish a foothold and earn his way into the main team, he would have to defeat some exceptionally skilled people.


    The provincial team was bound to be extremely competitive and intense with everyone vying for a spot.


    Strength would determine everything.


    The arrival of Tang Yan attracted some excitement from the provincial swimming team members.


    They saw Tang Yan''s performance at the Asian Games and were glad to run into him again.


    However, when Shen Qing announced that Tang Yan was joining the swimming team, their reactions changed.


    Sun Yang, Ye Shiwen and Liu Zige, those who he had talked with at the Asian Games were the exceptions but everyone else tensed up.


    Losing the smile they held previously at his arrival.


    More competition and another hand trying to grab their position.


    With his previous experience with Pan Yu. He had long expected such reactions.


    But he humbled himself and with a smile greeted everyone.


    After introducing Tang Yan to the team, Shen Qing made another announcement.


    The 2011 World Aquatics Championships would be held in Shanghai.


    It would be a home competition for the Chinese team.


    In order to select the team for the World Championships, they would hold a national swimming trial in April.


    If you wanted to participate in the World Championships, you not only have to win a spot on the team in the national trials but also meet the A grade criteria of the World Championships.


    According to the rules, if there were two swimmers in a country who achieved the A grade standard, China would get the two World Championships seats for the corresponding event; however if they only achieved the B grade criteria, only one swimmer could qualify.


    For the 50m freestyle, the World Championship A grade time was 22 seconds 35 but there were no Chinese swimmers who had achieved this, the closest was Lu Zhibin who scored 22 seconds 37 at the Asian Games.


    Because the A and B grades had to be achieved in a FINA-approved competition, it was particularly important they held the National championships before the World Championships.


    "The last World Championships, there were 5 swimmers from our team. I know a lot of you wanted a spot last time so take this as another chance to prove yourselves!" said Shen Qing.


    After dismissing everyone he waved Tang Yan over to his office.


    Shen Qing''s preferential treatment of Tang Yan attracted many eyes.


    "Come, sit."


    Tang Yan thanked him and sat down opposite Shen Qing.


    "So what event do you want to do." Shen Qing said directly, after sitting down.


    "I heard from Guo Yong that your 50-meter freestyle is quite strong. Do you want to set this as your main event for this year''s championship." Shen Qing asked with clear enthusiasm.


    In long distance events, the team had a new star in Sun Yang, but for short distance events, the talent pool was almost empty.


    Which is why after learning about Tang Yan''s strength, he was very eager to get him in.


    "That..." Tang Yan smiled a little embarrassed, and said, "Is there any restrictions on registration?"


    "Yes, but based on your performance at the city team, with a bit of work aiming for the 50m A grade shouldn''t be a problem." Shen Qing added.


    Whilst the World Championships had it''s criteria, likewise the national championships, also had an A grade threshold.


    However, the threshold was lower. For 50 meters, the A grade criteria was 23 seconds 55, over a second more than the World Championships.


    "But I missed the provincial team trials. Isn''t it too late to sign up?"


    "No, if you can cut down your time and meet the threshold, there will be no issue in getting you in." Shen Qing explained with a small smile.


    "Oh~" Tang Yan''s expression showed realization.


    "Of course, you have to cut down your time to meet the A grade criteria.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "So as long as I meet all the time standards, I can enter for an event."


    "Yeah."


    "Is there a limit on the number of events"


    "Limit on the number of events ??"


    "I mean...can I do multiple distances"


    Tang Yan''s mind was racing ahead, if he could achieve the time standards and compete in multiple swimming disciplines, how many honor points would that be then.


    Wouldn''t he be swimming in them.


    As he thought ahead, he didn''t notice that Shen Qing, who was sitting opposite him, was looking at him like he was a monster.

 122 Test Trial

    Coming out of his thoughts, Tang Yan looked up and saw Shen Qing''s gaze.


    Slightly embarrassed he said: "Is there a limit to the quota, if not, I''ll just report for the freestyle events first.


    There''s the 50 meters, 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1500 meters right ...I''ll sign up for those ones."


    He counted on his fingers and when he saw the increasing shock in Shen Qing''s eyes.


    He added: "If you can..."


    "Do you know what you are talking about?" Shen Qing finally recovered and said bewildered.


    "I know it''s a lot but I''m confident to reach the A grade standard for them." Tang Yan patted his chest and said.


    "You...." Shen Qing wanted to say that he was delusional but when he thought of Guo Yong, his words got held back.


    Any one who could win Guo Yong''s favor, that stingy bastard wasn''t ordinary.


    Before retiring to the city team, he had been a core member of the national team. Scouting and training a great number of talents.


    Finessing his recruits had become the favourite past time of the provincial team and the national team.


    "If it doesn''t work, I will just report for the 50 meters like you said." Tang Yan saw Shen Qing''s expression and said helplessly.


    "....Okay, I will arrange for you to participate in the test trial for all the freestyle events, but as for the National Championship that will depend on your performance." Shen Qing interrupted his words.


    "Really? Thank you, that''s great!" Tang Yan said overjoyed.


    Although he could not participate in the four disciplines at the same time, if he selected freestyle  stroke and participated at all distances, the amount of honor points harvested would definitely be astronomical.


    "Well, you can go. I am looking forward to your performance." Shen Qing controlled his expression.


    If Tang Yan failed to live up to his expectations, it would be a big blow to his prestige in the team.


    He was banking on Gou Yong''s judgment.


    ...


    After joining the provincial swimming team, Tang Yan quickly became close friends with Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen. He was easy going and tranquil so he was able to quickly mingle and join their group.


    The group was made up of the younger members of the provincial team.


    Ye Shiwen took greatly to him, she was the youngest member of the team at only 14 years old.


    Everyone saw her as the younger sister of the team. Her innocent ways made her extremely popular.


    Despite the tension and extreme competition on the team, she was the one team member everyone couldn''t help but smile at. She eased the tension with her antics.


    Perhaps drawn in by the fact he was the new guy and soothed by the serene maturity of Tang Yan she was drawn to him.


    Tang Yan was an only child but before he knew it he had caught himself a little sister. A mischievous little sidekick who loved to tag along.


    Tang Yan was quite happy with his days, after all an opportunity to get along with these future Olympic champions wasn''t something everyone got.


    Despite getting along with most people, Tang Yan''s performance during this time attracted many people''s criticism.


    After he joined the swimming team, he rarely traveled to the pool, he spent most of his time on shore observing the performance of his teammates.


    And when he did swim, he could be seen practising basic techniques and forms.


    This attracted a lot of attention.


    Many began to privately believe that he got in the swimming team by relying on connections and fame.


    These rumors and other gossip began to spread.


    On this day, after he ended his daily training session as usual, Ye Shiwen couldn''t help but say: "Brother Tang, how come you only practise the basic forms


    "Because it''s important to perfect the basics to create a firm foundation to build on."


    "....But....people are saying bad things...spreading rumors that..."


    "Don''t worry about them, I don''t need to prove anything to them.


    "But I hear them saying bad things about you, it''s annoying to hear."


    "You need to show them what you''ve got, okay! Because...then they''ll stop, yeah then they won''t mess with you." Ye Shiwen said tugging at his arm.


    "Okay, okay. Got it, there is the test trials coming up. I''ll show them what I''ve got then." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "Good, I''ll cheer for you from the sidelines!" Ye Shiwen hollered excitedly.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "Okay, calm down lets go get some lunch." Tang Yan said shaking his head in amusement.


    "Wait, can we please go to Quanjude. Please pretty please!"


    "Okay, fine but you can''t order too much."


    Athletes especially swimmer diets were strictly controlled.


    The canteen on the training grounds was highly regulated but it''s where they most often ate, with the exception of times when they snuck out for lunch, the Quanjude restaurant  down the road was the go to place for such occasions.


    As soon as she heard Tang Yan agree, Ye Shiwen excitedly clapped her hands and they went to gather the rest of their group and head for lunch.


    Tang Yan smiled walking after the excited Ye Shiwen.


    The reason why he didn''t practise intensely here was because he really wanted to observe others.


    The abilities of Zhang Shun were reflected in speed and body control but Tang Yan was striving to seamlessly blend the skills of the ancients with modern swimming techniques.


    So he observed and practised to perfect the basics. All the while taking in techniques he saw, as long as they proved helpful in him perfecting his own style.


    All he had to do now was to wait for the test trials to come.


    ...


    The amount of days till the start of the National Championships were quickly dwindling.


    So they decided to hold the test trial for the provincial team.


    Each team member of the provincial team was gearing up, eager to try.


    After all, with the World Championships looming again, everyone wanted the opportunity to stand on the big stage.


    The first discipline was the breaststroke events.


    The breaststroke had only 100 meters and 200 meters in the World Championships.


    For these events the strength of the Zhejiang Province was good. The participants in the test competition were also the main national swimmers.


    All three swimmers met the A grade requirements of the National Championship.


    After the breaststroke was the backstroke, after the backstroke was the butterfly stroke, the test results were similar to before.


    Tang Yan was sat by the sidelines and by now he looked a little sleepy.


    Although the level of the Zhejiang Province was already top-notch in the country, it was still slightly worse for wear internationally.


    After the end of the butterfly events, the freestyle trials began


    The first event to start was the 50m freestyle.


    The beginning of this team trial naturally attracted the attention of the other swimmers.


    Especially when Tang Yan appeared among the first group.


    Everyone was full of expectations.


    They wanted to see how Tang Yan would perform.

 123 Nothing To Prove

    Lu Zhibin, who won gold for the 50m freestyle event at the Asian Games, was also in the provincial team.


    However, since he had already achieved the A grade criteria, he wouldn''t participate in this test trial.


    "Come on, Tang Yan! You''ve got this Brother Tang!"


    As Tang Yan went up to the platform, Ye Shiwen could be heard loudly cheering for him.


    With a small smile, Tang Yan nodded to Ye Shiwen.


    "Everyone, line up!" The referee called.


    After the swimmers were ready, he pressed the buzzer.


    Buzz!


    Instantly the swimmers were off into the pool.


    After entering the water for about 10 meters, everyone floated to the surface alternately paddling left and right, feet kicking in the water and rushing forward.


    50 meters was the shortest distance in the swimming competition, it didn''t take too great a deal of tactics, relying mostly on explosive strength.


    The pool was churning with splashing with water, and the swimmers were like high-speed motors, flying towards the other end of the pool.


    The swimmers at the side of the pool were also heated up, cheering and shouting loudly for their teammates.


    "Come on Brother Tang" hollered Ye Shiwen


    After experiencing the opening 20 meters, Tang Yan stood out from the pack, he had opened up a slight lead, with the distance continuously widening.


    "What the hell look at Tang Yan!"


    When they saw this scene, the other swimmers were startled.


    Being able to enter the Zhejiang provincial team, everyone was a top tier swimmer in China at the 50m freestyle but at this moment, they were falling behind.


    Everyone was rushing forward without reservation!


    Tang Yan was slowly widening his lead. He slowly opened up metre away from the pack.


    This was truly terrible!


    In fact, not only the swimmers, even the referees couldn''t  help but check the stopwatch in their hands.


    This speed was much faster than the previous years of testing.


    At this point, Tang Yan''s speed began to slow.


    Seeing his speed slowing slightly, the shocked faces of the swimmers and the referees finally eased.


    Although Tang Yan slowed slightly with his previous advantage, he ended the race still with half a metre lead.


    As Tang Yan reached to touch the wall, everyone''s head flicked up to look at the display to see his time.


    "Oh sh*t"


    "Dam!"


    23 seconds 38!


    Not only had he surpassed the A grade criteria for the National Championships, 23 seconds 55.


    This time was only slightly slower than Lu Zhibin''s time at the Asian Games, by 1 second!


    At this time, Lu Zhibin on the sidelines was also shocked. When he saw Tang Yan''s full sprint, he was also among the people stunned.


    He thought that Tang Yan''s performance would be average at best but he did not expect him to be so fast!


    Tang Yan flicked over his gaze as well, seeing his time he nodded with satisfaction.


    He didn''t show any excitement and just slowly swam to the side of the pool climbing to shore.


    At this time, everyone was mesmerised following his figure.


    They watched Tang Yan calmly come ashore.


    Tang Yan walked back to the starting point after grabbing a bath towel.


    There weren''t many people who registered for the 50m event so they were the only group.


    The next event was the 100-meters freestyle.


    So he only had a few minutes to prepare.


    Seeing the beginning of the Tang dynasty, those who had been slagging him off before felt a burning pain on their faces.


    Ye Shiwen run over excited at this time to congratulate him.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    However, just before reaching him, she suddenly saw Tang Yan walking towards the starting point, she couldn''t help but feel dazed.


    It wasn''t only her but everyone else was also stunned.


    What was he doing? The 100 meters event was about to begin, why was he heading over there?


    Among the shock and doubts of everyone, Tang Yan and the other swimmers went up to the starting point and awaited to start.


    "Wait is he...."


    At this time, Ye Shiwen couldn''t help but turn red.


    Feeling awkward, she didn''t know whether to turn back or to just stay put.

 124 Choking?

    The most shocked person at this time was Lu Zhibin.


    He won the men''s 50m freestyle and came runner-up in the 100m freestyle in the Asian Games,  he knew how physically demanding it was to achieve high level results in both events.


    The other swimmers began to chatter.


    When Tang Yan really got on the platform, the chatter became even louder.


    "This is he really doing 100 meters as well, I thought he joined the team for 50m?"


    "I thought so too but I guess he wants to try for 100m as well."


    "Does he still have the stamina to do it though, he just completed 50m."


    "Well he did get a few minutes rest plus since he''s gone up he must have some confidence"


    "True, look how comfortably he won the 50m event."


    "Are you stupid, he only got like 5 minutes to rest, everyone else is fresh, he''s gonna get demolished."


    "Nah you never know"


    "I don''t think he''ll win but I still want to see his time."


    ...


    Tang Yan shook his arm and slapped his chest to get his blood flowing.


    The referee signaled him and he moved himself to the front of the platform.


    Zhang Shun could stay in the water for 7 days and 7 nights. For him 50 meters wasn''t even enough to warm up. Whilst Tang Yan hadn''t reached that level his stamina was still impressive.


    But this 100 meters would be a challenge to him. Not so much because of the distance, but because the pool was only 50 meters long, he would have to do a tumble turn.


    Buzz!


    With the start buzzer, Tang Yan and the others dove into the pool and began.


    Although 100 meters was also a short-distance event, the speed used was obviously slower than that of the 50 meters event. After all, it was necessary to go back and forth in the pool, so their stamina had to be retained.


    This was the general consensus.


    But just after the race began, the crowd on the sidelines watched with their eyes wide open and their faces were incredible to observe.


    Tang Yan maintained the same speed as that of his 50 meters, rushing forward and opening up a gap.


    "This...?"


    "He''s got the lead but will he be able to maintain it, at such a tempo."


    "I knew it, he was hiding his skill. I heard from others that the reason why coach invited Tang Yan was because he beat Tian Yang in the city team."


    "Do you think he''ll actually win."


    "Tian Yang is garbage, his era is over. He''s already been eliminated from the provincial team."


    "Woah! That''s a bit unfair Tian Yang used to be first pick before he got injured. If he hadn''t got injured, he would probably....."


    "But he did get injured, then he ran off just because they had to replace him. Like seriously did he expect us to give up the Eastern Provincial Tournament and wait."


    "Yeah but....."


    ...


    Shen Qing was taken aback.


    He hurried to the side of the referee to see the time on the stopwatch.


    21 seconds 75!


    He couldn''t help but suck in a breath, he looked up at Tang Yan who was fast approaching the 50m wall.


    He would have to turn soon.


    What Shen Qing saw next caused him to choke on his breath.


    Tang Yan, who was nearing the pool wall, seemed to be unsure of the distance.


    He instinctively couldn''t help but keep looking up to check the distance but tumble turns were meant to be done blind, you were meant to keep your head in line with your body. If done wrong you could straight up run into the wall.


    Tang Yan overrode his body''s instinctive hesitance, tucked in his chin, kicked one last hard kick and  pulled with his hands at his sides.


    He tucked his knees and chin into his chest as tight as possible and pull his feet towards his butt.


    He rolled over, somersaulted and began to straighten up.


    He began to launch himself off the wall by straightening his legs but due to his hesitation he had  turned too late. When he went to kick off, he carried too much momentum and the soles of his feet slipped and he almost swam into the next lane.


    ...


    Tang Yan''s blood turned cold and he fell into a cold sweat.


    Though he had practised turning multiple times, it was on his own and he had never done so at such a fast speed.


    His rhythm and speed weren''t right and he almost slipped out into the next lane.


    Fervently kicking, he twisted and slanting his body, he was able to complete the turn and then resurface.


    This scene astounded the crowd by the side.


    "Brother Tang!"


    With this mistake, the two swimmers in the lanes beside him were catching up and surging forward to close up the gap.


    When Tang Yan saw this and heard the laughter from the shore and he saw both sides closing in on him, he intently rushed forward.


    Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tang Yan moved like he was on stimulants and instantly opened up a gap.


    Under their gaze, the distance opened up little by little.


    Tang Yan quickly swam across and directly touched the wall with one hand.


    After touching the wall, he turned and looked at the two players who were still struggling to catch up. He took a deep breath.


    That was way too risky!


    On the electronic display, Tang Yan''s time was...49 seconds 32...


    "What is the A grade criteria?" Shen Qing turned to ask the referee.


    "51 seconds..." The referee mechanically replied still slightly dazed.Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "No, I mean for the World Championships." Shen Qing swallowed.


    "49 seconds 23." The referee followed up.


    "..."


    The crowd on the sidelines finally recovered.


    "This....did he just meet the A grade criteria for the World Championships?"


    "I think.... he did, yeah."


    "No....the requirement is 49.23 he just missed out by 9 milliseconds.


    "Wow, if he hadn''t slipped up turning he would have made it."


    "Nah, this isn''t an event recognized by FINA, it''s just a test match it wouldn''t have counted....."

 125 Learning Curve

    The official beside Shen Qing turned and said to him.


    "Sir...he''s beat the...Asian record..."


    In the 100-meter freestyle, the Asian record belonged to the Japanese swimmer Fujii Taro. He broke the previous record and improved on the previous time of 49 seconds 48 that was originally held by the Chinese swimmer Chen Zuo.


    The new record was 49 seconds 36. No one had managed to break this record in the past two years.


    Despite the development and popularity of high-tech swimsuits in the past two years, the record had remained elusive and this speed seemed to be the limit of Asia.


    What no one had thought or expected was that a no name in the swimming world would break this record in a test match.


    And Tang Yan even made a major mistake when turning around.


    If they set him up with a high-tech swimsuit, and corrected his mistake....


    Shen Qing was beaming and trembling in excitement realising this.


    Whilst it didn''t count as an official record, the fact that he had managed to even beat the time was enough.


    He would have to replicate it at a FINA recognized event for it to take effect.


    He suddenly felt that taking on Tang Yan was the most sensible decision he had made since he became the head coach of the provincial team.


    The strength of the Zhejiang Province was strong.


    Some people even called the Zhejiang Provincial Swimming Team the Chinese National Swimming Team.


    But in fact this was mostly in middle and long distance events.


    Shorter distances had always been their weaker side.


    Tang Yan was the perfect complement to this shortcoming of the Zhejiang Province and even the Chinese swimming team!


    Tang Yan didn''t react, and when everyone else went to shore, he followed the swim lane on the far side and grabbed the guardrail to climb up.


    "Brother Tang, you''re amazing!" Ye Shiwen screamed with excitement and ran up to him.


    Tang Yan reached out and patted her head with a small smile.


    "Tang Yan, that was a strong performance." At this moment, Lu Zhibin also walked over and commented.


    "Hahaha thank you, hopefully next time I don''t slip like that." Tang Yan smiled and replied.


    When he heard this, Lu Zhibin showed a bitter expression and shook his head.


    He didn''t say anything further but turned and left.


    Tang Yan looked extremely puzzled seeing his inexplicable move and turned to look at Ye Shiwen.


    "Brother...you need to watch your words, your words are too hurtful" When Lu Zhibin walked away, Ye Shiwen poked him and warned.


    "What?" Tang Yan looked puzzled at Ye Shiwen.


    "You just broke the Asian record and then complained about it and how you made a mistake. He''s the main swimmer of the 50 and 100 meters freestyle." Ye Shiwen whispered.


    "Ahh?" Tang Yan showed clear surprise all across his face. After realizing the meaning of Ye Shiwen''s words, he pointed to his time on the big screen. "I''ve broken the record?"


    "Yeah, you didn''t know?" Ye Shiwen said with amazement.


    "....Hahaha...." Tang Yan was speechless for a while, then broke into joyful laughter before suppressing it remembering Lu Zhibin.


    "Hahaha look at you, your beaming. This is the most emotions you''ve ever shown." Ye Shiwen said  teasing Tang Yan.


    "Hahaha is it, anyway, don''t you have a race to prepare for, off you go!" Tang Yan smiled and quickly sent Ye Shiwen to the pool. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    The test trials were two days long and the first day for the freestyle event there was only the 50m and 100m.


    Then there was the medley competition, which was Ye Shiwen''s main event.


    Waiting to send away Ye Shiwen, Tang Yan shook his head helplessly.


    "Tang Yan, take a shower and then come to my office." At this moment, Shen Qing walked over to him.


    Going to his office again?


    Tang Yan smiled and followed with a nod.


    He headed to the showers. At this time, many of the contestants were already inside. When they saw him coming in, they all came together and smiled.


    There were still a few gazes that seemed to hold unpleasant feelings towards him.


    But a lot of people''s attitudes seemed to have taken a huge 180 degree turn.


    For this kind of fake enthusiasm, Tang Yan held no affection for it.


    But he remained polite and conversed with them, then went off to shower, after which he went directly to Shen Qing''s office.


    When he got to the door, he knocked on the door and heard "come in".


    He opened the door and went in.


    There was a laptop on Shen Qing''s desk on which he seemed to be looking for something.


    He looked up when he heard Tang Yan enter.


    "You can take a seat, wait a second while I sort this out."


    Tang Yan nodded and walked to the side. Because the laptop was facing opposite him, he couldn''t see the screen.


    After sitting down, he couldn''t help but ask: "Coach, can I participate in the other three styles?"


    "Hmmm?" Shen Qing glanced at him and then shook his head.


    As soon as he saw Shen Qing''s attitude, Tang Yan''s originally expectful eyes disappeared instantly.


    After a while, Shen Qing turned the laptop around.


    Tang Yan looked up with a disappointed gaze and saw on it was an enlarged video of his race just now."


    "I saw your 100m"


    Shen Qing smiled and followed by moving the mouse to further enlarge the video:


    "This is the close up view of your turn, the action is actually not difficult, flipping forward, turning over, touching the wall, kicking the legs. But the speed and distance at which you do so is important."


    Shen Qing looked up at Tang Yan and saw that he was listening intently.


    He continued: "Your turn today, your technique was good but you were too close to the pool wall.


    Your coming in with a lot of speed much faster than the average person, if you don''t want to reduce your speed by too much then account for that by turning ahead of time."


    Listening to Shen Qing''s words, Tang Yan took it to heart.


    "As for after the flip turn, have your arms above your head when your feet touch the wall. No waiting, no fumbling around under the water to get organized, just a lovely little streamline already in place and ready to push off with." Shen Qing continued.


    "Wait after today''s training session, I will guide you."


    "Thank you coach." Tang Yan didn''t expect a one to one session with Shen Qing.


    "You need to perform well when the World Championships come around, strive to bring home gold. That is the best way to thank me." Shen Qing said with emotion.


    Tang Yan nodded hard.


    Shen Qing had said the World Championships instead of the National Championships, showing his recognition.


    Leaving his office, Tang Yan didn''t leave immediately, but returned directly to the pool, and up now was the women''s test match for the 200m medley.


    Ye Shiwen was in the second group.

 126 Butterfly Effec

    Tang Yan, who had never had siblings couldn''t help but treat her as a sister.


    When he went out, Ye Shiwen and the other swimmers were already doing their final preparations before the event.


    Seeing Tang Yan come to her match, Ye Shiwen''s face lit up in delight and she poked her tongue out at him.


    Tang Yan smiled and rolled his eyes in response.


    The test for the 200m women''s medley began very quickly.


    The medley event required swimmers to use all four strokes, in the order of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle.


    After the swimmers entered the water, Ye Shiwen quickly stood out and grabbed the first position.


    Although she was only 14 years old, her strength was already top-notch in the swimming team.


    After the butterfly stroke was the backstroke, Ye Shiwen still led everyone, and the distance was constantly expanding.


    It was clear to see that she was quite talented in the four strokes. Just with the first two strokes she had already opened up a gap.


    Tang Yan looked on with satisfaction from the sidelines, this was exactly the same Ye Shiwen of his previous life. She would become famous in the swimming world due to her talent and age.


    She would grow to be invincible at her peak.


    After the backstroke was the breaststroke, but at this time what everyone including Tang Yan didn''t expect was that when Ye Shiwen was about to reach the wall and needed to turned, she would fail to get in position in time and barely completing the tumble turn she almost swam into the next lane.


    Everyone on the sidelines gasped and sighed seeing such a huge mistake.


    Many turned and shot a questioning gaze at Tang Yan, she had seemingly committed the same mistake when turning as Tang Yan had.


    Tang Yan who was also watching, couldn''t help but knit his brows.


    In middle and longer distance races, turning was a very crucial link. The top swimmers basically relied on this to open up a bigger gap. Ye Shiwen''s mistake caused her previous lead to be ruined. The pack of swimmers swarmed in and caught up.


    Shen Qing saw this scene and was constantly shaking his head, disappointed.


    The breaststroke was the slowest stroke of the four strokes. After Ye Shiwen lost her lead, she was back among the pack.


    Coming up for the last turn and the last 50m, Tang Yan stared down at Ye Shiwen.


    Fortunately in this turn with Ye Shiwen exerting all her strength, she regained the lead and launched into the freestyle stroke, her skill at this stroke was evident.


    Within the last 50 meters, she regained the lead and opened up a gap and launched forward to touch the wall to finish first, which riled up cheers from the sidelines.


    In the end, her time was fixed at 2 minutes and 18 seconds 21, which was beyond the requirements of the A grade criteria of the National championships and reached the requirements of the B grade criteria of the World Championships.


    Even with such mistakes, she still achieved such a good result, cementing her status as a child prodigy.


    Tang Yan was also relieved.


    In his past life, he had seen a great deal of movies about the butterfly effect. If his intervention caused Ye Shiwen''s life track to change, then he would feel immensely guilty.


    After the game, Ye Shiwen smiled and climbed to shore, seemingly satisfied with her results but clearly Shen Qing didn''t feel the same way, as he directly pulled her to the side to talk.


    After some reprimanding, Ye Shiwen lowered her head and walked towards the showers.


    Tang Yan cast a worried gaze at her retreating figure.


    However, after a quick shower Ye Shiwen came back looking nonchalant.


    Tang Yan showed a smile, this little girl seemed to have a strong mental state.


    Ye Shiwen rushed over to Tang Yan.


    As the two left the swimming area, Tang Yan couldn''t help but ask: "Shiwen, what happened with your tumble turn back there?"


    "Ah? Nothing, I just wasn''t careful" Ye Shiwen said smiling bitterly.


    Seeing Ye Shiwen''s expression, Tang Yan knew that it was definitely not as she said.


    Tang Yan stopped: "If you''re gonna lie to me, I''m going to be disappointed."


    Seeing Tang Yan''s gaze, Ye Shiwen''s face turned panicked.


    "Really... it''s nothing, I just wasn''t careful..."


    "Shiwen!" Tang Yan called with a stern tone.


    Ye Shiwen glanced up and burst into tears.


    Seeing Ye Shiwen''s reaction, Tang Yan couldn''t bear it and his heart softened. He was ready to apologize when Ye Shiwen said reluctantly: "I....I just wanted to break a record like you."


    Listening to Ye Shiwen''s words, Tang Yan''s heart trembled further.


    Ye Shiwen wiped her tears and said with a smile: "But it doesn''t matter. I reached the requirement. I came in with too much speed and I turned too late..."


    "Shiwen!" Tang Yan interrupted Ye Shiwen''s words and said softly:


    "This is only a test match, it doesn''t matter even if you beat the record time okay, it won''t count for anything. It''s not worth the risk, if you failed to meet the criteria because of that you wouldn''t be able to go to the National Championships or the World Championships!"


    "I... I didn''t think of that but it''s okay...."


    "I still won anyway" Ye Shiwen said in a somewhat disregarding tone.


    "You!" Tang Yan didn''t know what to say to her.


    Ye Shiwen saw Tang Yan''s disapproving gaze and unconsciously bowed her head.


    Tang Yan went to continue reprimanding her but remembered that whilst Ye Shiwen entered the swimming team early, she was still only a 14-year-old girl, an athlete who had barely touched the outside world.


    He was reborn but Ye Shiwen wasn''t.


    His attitude softened and he reached out and patted Ye Shiwen''s head.


    Ye Shiwen looked up and her eyes were full of grievances.


    Tang Yan reached out and wiped her tears and said:


    "Okay, maybe I''m being too harsh but one thing you must remember, there are no redos. This trial is very important for you, you have to promise me not to treat it like a game. Otherwise, I will never talk to you again."


    "I..." Ye Shiwen nodded hard and said, "I won''t, I''ll treat it seriously!"


    When he heard Ye Shiwen agree, Tang Yan reached out and ruffled her hair and said, "Okay, let''s go get some cake."


    "Cake?" Ye Shiwe''s face lit up in glee.


    "Brother Tang''s the best!"


    Tang Yan had no choice but to smile.

 127 Shock To The System

    Ye Shiwen''s mistake was just another episode of the test trials.


    Tang Yan became more low-key, although he qualified for each event his times were just over the A grade criteria for the National Championships.


    The most dazzling person at this trial was Sun Yang. His events were the 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m. All of which he came in first for.


    This kind of outstanding performance sent Shen Qing into a frenzy.


    After this test trial, Tang Yan''s teammates''s views of him completely changed.


    As for Shen Qing, he took on Tang Yan, as a short-range swimmer with strong explosive power.


    Now they had a swimming dream team.


    After harnessing and sharpening this dream team in an intense month of training, the Zhejiang Provincial Swimming Team officially embarked on the road to the National Championships.


    A total of 47 men and women in the Zhejiang Province reached the A grade criteria for the Championships. They had the most dazzling team of all the provinces.


    Shen Qing was determined to dominate this Championship and cement their position as the best province.


    This time the Championship was held in Jiangcheng.


    Jiangcheng was the capital of the Hubei Province and one of the core cities in the west. It was adjacent to the Yangtze River.


    The Yangtze River and its largest tributary the Han River passed through the city.


    The swimming scene here was very strong, which is why the Championship was held here.


    The relay races and freestyle swimming events would be held towards the end of the championship.


    The first event for the Zhejiang Team was the preliminaries for the men''s 200m backstroke.


    The Jiangcheng Swimming Center that could accommodate more than 3,000 people was full with spectators.


    Tang Yan was on the sidelines with the rest of the team.


    For the 200m backstroke, the Zhejiang Province had the famous domestic swimmer Xu Jiayu, although only 16 years old, in the National Championships last year he picked up the 200m backstroke gold medal, his potential was huge.


    Sure enough, after the start of the race, he led all the way and achieved a time of 2 minutes 2 seconds 54, he won in his group and also reached the B grade criteria for the World Championships.


    If two other swimmers didn''t achieve the A grade criteria he would be awarded the seat for the World Championships in advance.


    Xu Jiayu made a great start for the provincial team. In the other morning events of the first day of competition, they showed unprecedented dominance and repeatedly grabbed the top positions of various swimming styles.


    However, sometimes a good start didn''t mean a good ending. In the finals held in the evening, things went awry and even Xu Jiayu failed to take gold in the 200m backstroke.


    In the end, he got a silver medal whilst the others failed to even grab a medal.


    This performance led to a burst of anger from Shen Qing, but also attracted a series of teasing from the other provincial teams.


    The kings of the preliminaries, jesters of the finals, these ridiculous names spread between the teams.


    The most dazzling team of the first match day was the Shanghai Team. Their number of participants was second only to those of the Zhejiang Team.


    But not only did they win gold in the men''s 200m backstroke and butterfly stroke but in the women''s events one of their swimmers, Faye Wong broke the national record and became the most dazzling star of the day.


    After the end of the first day, Shen Qing called everyone to the locker room and let them know loud and clear what he thought of the performance so far.


    It even attracted the attention of the other provincial teams.


    Older members took it on the chin and adjusted their focus but a large amount of the younger swimmers had their mental state fluctuate greatly. In the next day''s competition, several female swimmers didn''t even make it into their respective finals.


    Shen Qing was by the side, shaking his head in frustration.


    Fortunately, Ye Shiwen performed well. In the preliminaries of the 200-meter medley, she scored a time of 2 minutes, 13 seconds 20.


    Winning her group, she even reached the A grade standard, her seat to the Shanghai World Championships were obtained in advance.


    Ye Shiwen performed well and her win greatly uplifted the dark and gloomy atmosphere that was beginning to set over the team but sadly it also earned her some cold gazes.


    The most eye-catching event though was undoubtedly the 4X100m freestyle preliminaries.


    The 100m relay race was among the most popular races of track and field events and the 100m swimming relay race was the same.


    Shen Qing placed a lot of trust in Tang Yan. Although he was a newcomer, he was placed in the lineup and arranged to be in second place.


    This was Tang Yan''s first official swimming appearance.


    Before the race, the swimmers were introduced.


    When well-known swimmers such as Zhang Lin were introduced, there was a burst of excited cheering but when Tang Yan was introduced, the audience in the stands and even those at home in front of the TV were stunned.


    The audience was shocked and puzzled, and even the on-site commentators couldn''t help but make a comment.


    "Yes folks this is the same Tang Yan. Two time archery gold medalist and boxing champion, Tang Yan. As for how he''s appeared on the lineup for the Zhejiang Province, your guess is as good as mine?"


    "This is truly surprising. When I saw the lineup of swimmers for the Zhejiang Team, I thought it was just someone with the same forename and the same surname. I didn''t expect it to be him."


    "It''s crazy. This is already the third sport he''s participating in. In the previous two sporting events, he went on to win medals and even created history. Will swimming be the third sport he will conquer?"


    "Find out right after the....break!"

 128 4x100m Relay

    After the swimmers were ready, they walked to the boarding platform.


    There were 3 teams in the 4x100m relay preliminaries.


    The Zhejiang Province appeared in the first group.


    Buzz!


    With the sound, the swimmers all rushed into the water like dumplings.


    After entering the water, accompanied by a burst of cheers from the audience, the pool became full of waves, the swimmers glided and began to kick quickly and struggled to rush forward.


    The first swimmer for the Zhejiang Province was Qiu Ziyang. He started off strong, but he wasn''t first.


    In contrast it was Liu Boyu, a swimmer from the Hubei swimming team, who was pressing forward leading the pack.


    After the 50-meter turn, Liu Boyu greatly widened the distance from the pack and Qiu Ziyang fell into third after he was overtaken by a swimmer from the Guangdong team in the next lane.


    Shen Qing on the sideline was growing redder and redder in anger the further they fell behind, he had come full of confidence but at this rate he would be returning with his letter of resignation.


    Liu Boyu''s lead grew bigger and bigger.


    When he closed in to the 100-meter mark, the second place swimmer was already a sizeable distance behind.


    This outstanding performance attracted a burst of cheers from the audience.


    "Liu Boyu is in great form this year! The Hubei swimming team has a lot to look forward to this year!"


    The on-site commentator added seeing Liu Boyu''s phenomenal performance.


    Liu Boyu was the first to touch the wall and Li Yuhuan of the Hubei swimming team rushed into the water.


    Liu Boyu had accumulated a large lead for him. He had already dived in and began gliding when Qiu Ziyang touched the wall.


    Tang Yan was straight in, diving into the pool.


    After entering the water, he was able to see Li Yuhuan''s figure, but the latter had already begun to come up to the surface and began to kick forward.


    After the swimmers came to the surface, the advantage of the Hubei team became even more obvious. Li Yuhuan was ahead of second place by a full body length.


    They were well on their way to challenge the national record at this rate.


    "This..." The onsite commentator was still bragging about the performance of the Hubei swimming team when he looked incredulously at the pool.


    The screams of the audience at this time turned into amazement and cheers.


    In the pool, Tang Yan like a full-powered engine was catching up with the leading two at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    Left arm forward, kick with the legs


    Right arm forward, kick with the legs


    Splash!


    Tang Yan passed second place!


    Shen Qing shot up from his seat.


    Liu Yuhuan was well ahead. He could sense that he had already opened up a gap from second place, but he breathed out once to the right and then to the left and looked behind him.


    In the 4th lane two lanes across from him, someone was fast approaching in his field of vision.


    This sudden appearance left him startled. After sensing the threat, he gritted his teeth and tried to speed up, kicking his legs harder.


    He was confident that after this acceleration, he could increase the gap again.


    Pushing forward determinedly...


    He drew his left hand up and followed by tilting his face out of the water, then he looked to his right.


    He almost froze in surprise.


    The swimmer in the 4th lane had caught up with his head parallel to his chest!


    He screamed in his heart and accelerated the frequency of his kicks again.


    Swimming fervently forward was a quick way to consume physical strength and made you prone to cramps.


    But Liu Yuhuan was completely desperate at this time.


    He turned his head and looked over.


    The swimmer in the 4th lane was chasing and keeping pace with him!


    The cheers of the audience were already like a tsunami.


    Liu Yuhuan in the pool was shocked and the audience was inspired.


    Tang Yan was simply crushing it. Originally, he was a solid metre behind the Guangdong team.


    But within this short thirty to forty metres, he first easily surpassed the Guangdong swimmer and then began to close the gap with Liu Yuhuan.


    Shen Qing was filled with excitement, completely speechless his body trembled.


    Genius, absolute genius!


    However, the situation of keeping pace with each other only lasted for a while, because with another push  Tang Yan surpassed Liu Yuhuan.


    At this viewers couldn''t help but stand up and cheer.


    However many became worried that Tang Yan''s 50-meter rush was too fierce, and there would be a subsequent weakness after turning back.


    In swimming competitions, this phenomenon was not without precedent. The longer the distance was, the more obvious it was. As such swimmers would deliberately retain their physical strength for the second leg of the race


    At this time, Shen Qing also looked on, slightly worried.


    He wasn''t worried about Tang Yan''s physical strength after multiple training sessions, he had more than enough faith in him for that aspect.


    He was worried about Tang Yan''s turn.


    Although over the past month, he had been training Tang Yan on it, training and competition were two different beasts.


    Tang Yan held the lead by the distance of a head, his body somersaulted in the water, ready to usher in his tumble turn.

 129 Rise Of Talents

    During the test match, Tang Yan''s turning error was due to not accounting for his speed and judging the distance accurately.


    But after Shen Qing''s training and mentoring for more than a month, he felt like he had it on lock.


    Flipping forward, turning over, touching the wall and kicking his legs.


    Tang Yan successfully made the turn, he maintained a large amount of his speed and increased his lead coming out of the turn.


    His rapid turn further fueled the crowd.


    The second leg back was a test of the swimmers endurance.


    This wasn''t traditional long-distance endurance but sustained endurance.


    The audience was concerned for Tang Yan. He had spent his last 50m chasing hectically.


    In the first 10m of the second half, the distance between Tang Yan and Li Yuhuan didn''t change.


    This long-lasting performance attracted the attention of the other coaches, after such a violent front-end rush he was still able to maintain such a fast speed back.


    Suddenly then, like flicking on a switch several swimmers kicked it up a notch and began to exert their all.


    The pack began to gain on the front leaders and Li Yuhuan who was strong in the first half of the race had his lead gradually narrowed.


    This caused the mood of the audience to once again become ignited.


    Tang Yan seeing the pack completely exerted all his force and expanded his lead, he forced everyone to kick it up another notch to keep up.


    Liu Yuhuan, who was still struggling to catch up behind him, became distraught seeing this scene.


    Tang Yan managed to hold back the pack of wolves and touch the wall first.


    From behind to first, the strength of Tang Yan''s 100m shocked everyone at the venue.


    His individual time was difficult to calculate, but many coaches roughly calculated it to be around 48 seconds.


    His time should exceed the A grade criteria for the World Championships or hover just outside it.


    Third in the relay for Zhejiang was Sun Yang. Although his main events were long distance events, his main discipline was freestyle, 100m was no problem for him.


    Sure enough, after Sun Yang dived in, Tang Yan''s previous lead was further expanded. When he finished the lead was about a metre.


    Because of Tang Yan''s excellent performance, everything underwent a drastic change.


    The Zhejiang Province was looking poised to win this group, the final swimmer for them was Lu Zhibin.


    When Sun Yang arrived back and touched the wall Lu Zhibin was straight in.


    Although the third swimmer for Hubei had tried their best, when he touched the wall, they trailed by a significant amount.


    "It''s looking like we''ll have to congratulate the Zhejiang Province, especially Tang Yan, this rookie who has emerged from both the fields of archery and boxing, has once again shocked us."


    At this time, Tang Yan was staring over intently at a swimmer called Ning Xuantao in the second lane.


    He knew that this swimmer was among one of the strongest freestyle short-distance swimmers for China in the future. Just a tier below Sun Yang.


    Sure enough, although still behind, Ning Xuantao was narrowing in on Lu Zhibin.


    The now somewhat placid crowd heated up sensing another upheaval.


    This race had become more exciting than an action movie. There had been two reversals of the plot already.


    On the turn back Ning Xuantao didn''t slow, he continued to creep up on Lu Zhibin.


    Perhaps due to his stable lead, Lu Zhibin was too at ease but sensing the threat he hectically accelerated and instantly opened up the distance.


    However, at this time, Ning Xuantao accelerated again and continued to close in with speed visible to the naked eye.


    Lu Zhibin was quite experienced at the 100-meters freestyle but Ning Xuantao''s performance was completely beyond his expectations and what made him horrified was his speed.


    He put his all into dashing for the finish line.


    At the last 10 meters, the distance between the two was extremely close.


    At this critical moment, the audience stood up and cheered for the two.


    They were neck to neck.


    The two rushed towards the finish line and reached for the wall earnestly.


    Spat!


    Spat!


    The audience looked up stunned.


    This race was truly way too dramatic.


    On the electronic screen display,  it showed....Ning Xuantao had taken the lead at the last moment beating out Lu Zhibin by 0.03 seconds.


    This speed, which was undetectable by the naked eye, meant that Ning Xuantao reversed everything once again and clinched first place for the Hubei swimming team.


    The centre broke into ecstatic applause, this was just the group preliminaries but they had already seen such a thrilling race, what would the finals be like.


    At this time, the most disappointed were the four of the Zhejiang Team.


    The worst feeling was having victory at your fingertips and then having it snatched away.


    Lu Zhibin apologized to his teammates repeatedly and his teammates comforted him.


    Tang Yan was still focused on Ning Xuanta, who was still breathing heavily in the pool.


    He couldn''t help but wonder what would have happened if he was put last.


    Could he defeat Ning Xuantao at his current level?


    Maybe just about but unfortunately, coach chose Lu Zhibin.


    However, Ning Xuantao''s performance was also somewhat unexpected. In his memory, Ning Xuantao''s fame peaked around when he was 20-21. He didn''t expect such strength from him at this stage.


    He was younger than Tang Yan at 17 years old.


    He now began to understand where China''s rise in the swimming world had come from in his previous life.


    China had given birth to a great number of rising talents who would usher in a new age of swimming for the country.


    This is why the Zhejiang Province had suffered stunning defeats on the first day, as these talents filtered through their status quo would be challenged but luckily they had prodigies of their own...

 130 The Favourites

    Although they failed to win first place in their group, Tang Yan and his team alongside the Hubei team managed to break the previous national record.


    After completing the relay race, Tang Yan took a shower and then prepared to go eat.


    In the aisles Tang Yan met Ye Shiwen.


    "Brother Tang!"


    "You''re so amazing!" Ye Shiwen ran up laughing and pulling at Tang Yan''s hand full of smiles.


    Tang Yan shook his head at her nuisance and he smiled.


    "Not as amazing as you it seems, you''ve already qualified for the World Championships." Tang Yan said.


    "Hahaha of course, I''m amazing."


    "Now you just need to qualify so we can show everyone up together." Ye Shiwen said with excitement.


    Looking at her innocent face, Tang Yan smiled and nodded.


    After a simple dinner, Tang Yan returned to the swimming pool.


    Although the races hadn''t begun, the Jiangcheng Swimming Center was already crowded.


    The audience was even larger than in the daytime and many people were standing in the aisles.


    He was here for the 800m freestyle preliminaries, it was his first individual event.


    However, unlike the morning relay race, this 800m freestyle could be regarded as an internal battle within the Zhejiang Team.


    In addition to the newly-emerged Sun Yang,  Zhang Lin who won the 800-meter freestyle at the World Swimming Championships in Rome the previous year, the first male champion in the history of China was also in this event.


    This was bound to be an intense competition between the two.


    Sun Yang and Zhang Lin would be aiming for the A grade standard for the World Championships. According to the rules, a country could have up to two A grade swimmers in one event.


    These two spots were important to the Zhejiang Province


    Shen Qing took them all to the side to discuss matters but was basically speaking to the two of them as for Tang Yan said some words to him symbolically.


    Tang Yan didn''t react too much to Shen Qing''s attitude.


    After all, he wasn''t exactly eye-catching in the test trials for the long distance events.


    He had committed to just qualifying for his other events after all the attention from going all out for his 100m and 50m.


    He didn''t gain anything either way.


    Zhang Lin and Sun Yang began to exchange tactics, their lanes were adjacent.


    In contrast, Tang Yan was a little embarrassed. Based on the results of the test trials, he was in the eighth lane.


    In fact, because of the small number of long-distance players, in addition to the large-scale events.


    The 800m race was a tactical event which was physically draining.


    In the introduction of the swimmers, Tang Yan''s appearance once again attracted the audience''s exclamation.


    Many people had an incredible look on their faces, and some even wiped their eyes hard, wondering if they were going blind.


    His 100 meters relay sprint in the morning was amazing enough. Now the 800m race.


    After a warm-up before the race, the referee called everyone up.


    Tang Yan and the others went to their respective platforms.


    Tang Yan set his target to keep up with Zhang Lin.


    As for Sun Yang, that was another story.


    "Everyone ready."


    The referee raised his hand.


    The swimmers all stooped to grab the front platform.


    Buzz!


    All the swimmers dived into the water.


    As the swimmers entered the water, the commentator on the side began to discuss.


    "This 800m race will be a close one between between the two swimmers of the Zhejiang Province. Do you think Zhang Lin or Sun Yang is more hopeful to take this win?"


    "I think Zhang Lin has a greater chance. He is an experienced veteran at this event. Experience will play  a very important part in this event in knowing how to pace yourself and such."


    "I think Sun Yang has a good chance. He''s just created a new 1500m Asian record at the Asian Games. 800 meters shouldn''t be a problem for him."


    "Well one thing we do know is that it will certainly be a close race. Both of them are very hopeful to win this event. Zhang Lin will want revenge after his loss at the Asain Games."


    Whilst the commentators were talking, the audience was watching mesmerised.

 131 Different Route

    Unlike the other events, the start was very placid.


    Sun Yang and Zhang Lin entered the pool their speed fairly slow.


    For long distance events this was the norm, to start slow and finish fast. They would pace themselves and then pick up speed towards the last few laps.


    However, there was an alternative method a far riskier one.


    Needless to say, this was the route Tang Yan took.


    Tang Yan was launched in, he rushed forward at twice the speed of everyone else and a distance was opened in an instant.


    This move made the audience shocked and attracted a gasp of surprise from the commentators.


    Commentator 1- "What is Tang Yan doing? He''s rushing ahead unabashedly"


    Commentator 2- "He''s gaining a large lead but this an extremely risky strategy."


    Commentator 3- "It''s not a wise move. In the long distance events, speed and physical strength need to be properly allocated. This is complete chaos! Amateur, too amateur!"


    Commentator 2- "He''s betting on gaining a large lead now to hold him over but when he tires out later, he''ll be relying on others failing to catch up. Hoping your opponent is weak isn''t a reliable strategy."


    In fact, it wasn''t only the commentators but even Shen Qing was stunned because he categorised Tang Yan was more of a short-distance swimmer, he didn''t pay much attention to him for this event.


    But he didn''t think that Tang Yan would recklessly storm ahead from the beginning.


    This was simply chaos.


    Whilst Tang Yan was a genius, he was one without much experience.


    His overwhelming talent covered much of his inadequacies making it hard to believe he was a newcomer.


    In the first 50 meters, Tang Yan led the others by more than 10 meters going into the turn, after his rapid tumble turn, this advantage increased again.


    Seeing him continuously pulling away, the swimmers in the lanes beside him couldn''t help but unconsciously began to speed up.


    The swimmer in the 7th lane began to accelerate after turning and so did the swimmer in the 6th lane, he picked up the pace seeing the two beginning to pull away slightly.


    This pace change caused the head coaches of the 6th and 7th lanes to scream, if they could, they would have ran to the pool to shout at their athletes to stop.


    Zhang Lin and Sun Yang of the 4th and 5th lanes still maintained the previous pace.


    At the end of the first 100 meters, Tang Yan''s lead was more than 20 meters.


    The crowd watched in excitement, they didn''t pay much attention to tactical strategies. When they saw Tang Yan continuously pulling away from the other swimmers, waves of overwhelming cheers arose in the stands.


    In stark contrast to the audience, the coaches of each team were staring down at Tang Yan waiting for him to tire out.


    At the end of the second 100m, Tang Yan had opened up his lead to nearly a lap!


    And his speed still hadn''t slowed!


    Many viewers excitedly took out their phones and started recording.


    300m in Tang Yan''s speed hadn''t changed! The gap between him and the other swimmers had been widened to more than a lap!


    The emotions of the audience were completely ignited.


    Tang Yan''s performance completely overturned their understanding of long-distance swimming projects.


    The coaches of the other provinces were incredulous.


    How could he keep up such speed for 300 meters? If he were to participate in 400 meters wouldn''t he completely dominate!


    But completing 300 meters, Tang Yan finally began to reduce his speed.


    After unlocking Zhang Shun''s powers, Tang Yan''s short-distance events could be said to be great but his long distance was still relatively weak. After all, so far he had only unlocked 50% of his abilities.


    When he usually swam it for training his time was about 8 minutes or thereabouts.


    Seeing Tang Yan finally beginning to slow, the head coaches of the other provinces finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    If he did this the whole 800 meters, let alone winning the championship the world record would be a breeze.


    At 400 meters, Sun Yang and Zhang Lin began to accelerate.


    The swimmers who had followed Tang Yan in the 6th and 7th lanes began to show weakness and they were overtaken by Sun Yang and Zhang Lin.


    At 500 meters, they had narrowed the distance between Tang Yan to a lap.


    At 600 meters, Sun Yang and Zhang Lin began to really accelerate.


    Although they knew that Tang Yan''s speed had dropped, a lead of a lap was huge.


    By 700 meters, they had closed in a large amount of the distance.


    The emotions of the audience were once again ignited.


    In the last 100 meters, Sun Yang went super saiyan and began to pull away from Zhang Lin.


    He closed the gap to only 20 meters and he was still gaining.


    The audience stood from their seats, Sun Yang''s performance was too exhilarating!


    After the last 50 meter turned, Sun Yang had completely pulled away from Zhang Lin and the gap between him and Tang Yan was only 10 meters!


    The last 25 meters, the gap between him and Tang Yan was only 5 meters!


    Sun Yang fully displayed all his strength, it was clear to see why he had become the face of Chinese swimming in Tang Yan''s past life.


    The speed at which he was gaining was astounding!


    However, Tang Yan who was looking on the backfoot suddenly began to accelerate!


    Aiming for one last push.


    "This...." The onsite commentators who were excitedly screaming about Sun Yang''s performance a second before were shocked the next second by Tang Yan.


    But Sung Yang still had the slight edge.


    20 metres left, the gap was 4 metres


    15 metres left, the gap was 3 metres


    10 metres left, the gap was 2 metres


    5 metres left, the gap was 1 metre.


    They both kicked hard and dove for the wall.


    The crowd launched into cheers and applause.


    7 minutes 52 seconds 63!


    After seeing this result, the audience was completely ecstatic!


    Within 8 minutes!


    The A grade criteria for the 800-meter freestyle at the World Championships was 8 minutes and 10 seconds 26.


    Sun Yang, had qualified and clutched the win at the very last moment.


    Stealing it out from Tang Yan''s finger tips.


    Tang Yan''s time was 7 minutes 54 seconds 04.


    The Zhejiang Province had successfully won the two seats to the World Championships.


    Geniuses absolute geniuses, the pair of them!


    Shen Qing''s body trembled in excitement.


    Sun Yang''s time had taken some deviations from what he expected but it was within range and enough for now.


    Tang Yan''s performance on the other hand could be said to be completely out of his expectations. Although his method was up for questioning, his strength was evident.


    This race completely overthrew his previous view on Tang Yan.

 132 4X100m Freestyle Finals

    Tang Yan and Sun Yang took the lead to go ashore.


    After Sun Yang came ashore, he lay directly by the side of the swimming lane, his chest continued to rise and fall as he tried to regain his breath.


    In contrast, Tang Yan''s reaction was less striking. He sat beside him and took in deep breaths.


    It wasn''t until Zhang Lin finished the race and left the pool that Sun Yang was able to get up with the help of Tang Yan and in his place was Zhang Lin was lying there after coming ashore.


    At this time, Tang Yan who had to help Sun Yang up, waited again in the same place.


    This amazing performance from Tang Yan allowed him to acquire a large group of new fans. When the results were announced, the screams of female fans were particularly obvious.


    ....


    That evening, at the 800m finals, the three from Zhejiang won gold, silver and bronze. It was another intense competition as expected but the results were the same as before but the fierce competition wasn''t necessarily a good thing for the Zhejiang Province.


    Because tonight, in addition to the 800m freestyle final, there was also another finale.


    The 4X100m final.


    Most swimming competitions had preliminaries during the day and finals at night, and the 4X100 freestyle relay was no exception.


    The teams that broke into the finals of the relay were the Guangdong team, the Fujian team, the Beijing team, the Zhejiang provincial team, the Hubei swimming team, the Sichuan provincial team, the Liaoning team and the Hainan team.


    The best time in the preliminaries were by the Hubei team, who were placed in the fourth lane, in the third lane was the Zhejiang team.


    Because of Tang Yan''s strong performance in the preliminaries, Shen Qing adjusted the order and adjusted Tang Yan from the 2nd stick to the 4th stick.


    As 4th stick, he was the last swimmer a crucial role. This arrangement also reflected Shen Qing''s trust in Tang Yan.


    In addition to Tang Yan''s adjustment, Qiu Ziyang, who had a poor performance in the preliminaries was replaced by Zhang Lin.


    By the time the other events were over, it was 11pm. But the stands were still full of people. The next race was one they didn''t want to miss.


    The swimmers of each team were introduced again. Compared with the preliminaries, Tang Yan''s debut was no longer surprising. On the contrary, when he was introduced to the crowd, the audience gave him an explosive welcome.


    In the two races, Tang Yan had gained a very high popularity for himself.


    After the swimmers were introduced, the commentators on the side couldn''t stand the silence and began to talk.


    "It''s the most anticipated 4X100m freestyle relay. Which team do you think is more likely to win this gold medal."


    "Well, I think the most promising team is still the Hubei swimming team. Ning Xuan is on another level this season and his team mates have great acceleration enough to hold their own ground. This has already been proven in the preliminaries. Of course, Hainan and the Beijing teams also performed well in the preliminaries and they are also very promising."


    "Oh, why not the Zhejiang Province? They''ve now substituted in Zhang Lin to replace the Qiu Ziyang after his weak performance. With Zhang Lin, Lu Zhibin, Sun Yang and Tang Yan, based on their previous performance they''re definitely contenders. It''s an all-star lineup."


    "On paper maybe but if you look deeper, you will find that this is not the case."


    "How so?"


    "First of all, I think that using Zhang Lin to replace Qiu Ziyang isn''t the best option especially after that 800m final that we just watched, they''ve just swapped out a fresh swimmer for a fatigued one.


    Their team is now made up of three such swimmers and whilst they''ve had a few hours to rest, their bodies still won''t be in top condition compared to the others, who haven''t had any other events till now. After such a big consumption race, do you think they can still exert their full strength in the relay race?"


    "Hmm, in that case, it really seems that the Zhejiang Province might take a big loss due to the arrangement of the event."


    "This is a no-brainer. The Zhejiang Province is good at medium and long distance projects. They''ve always lacked slightly on short distance events."


    ...


    With the commentators argument, the 1st stick swimmers shook their arms to wake up their muscles and they all walked to their respective platforms.


    Seeing the race about to begin.


    Some of the audience took out their phones early and started to take pictures. Afraid of missing any detail.


    "Take your marks"


    "Buzz!"


    With the buzz, the swimmers bowed and dove forward into the pool.


    The audience looked over at the pool with a puzzled look, the swimmer from the Hainan Province in the eighth lane was looking downcast.


    It turned out they had jumped the start.


    The Hainan team that jumped the gun directly lost the opportunity to compete just like that.


    There rules were extremely strict any starts before the starting signal was an automatic disqualification.


    The audience was amazed. They didn''t expect a team to get disqualified so abruptly.


    It was clear to see tensions for the finals were high and this false start just added to it.


    All the swimmers returned to the starting platform for the second time. With the example of Hainan, everyone paid extra care this time.


    With the sound of the buzzer, the 4X100m freestyle relay race officially started!


    With the beginning of the race, the audience launched into cheering.


    The relay race like track and field was a stimulating adrenaline rush and many viewers stood up and began to cheer.


    Zhang Lin managed to grab first place of the bat.


    The Hubei swimmer and the Beijing team followed behind closely. On the other side of the pool, the swimmers of Fujian and Sichuan  also followed suit with negligible disadvantages.


    They were all caught in fierce competition with each other.


    But the first 50 meters not much changed but after 50m turn, the situation changed greatly.

 133 Reckless Perseverance

    Like a switch being flipped on, Zhang Lin was overtaken on the turn, the swimmer from the Hubei team took the lead, followed by the Beijing team then the Fujian team.


    With energy he couldn''t match, they all shot forward and in a blink of an eye and Zhang Lin fell into fourth.


    As Zhang Lin came back for the last 50m and touched the wall, Lu Zhibin dived in instantly.


    In the preliminaries, Lu Zhibin was eventually overtaken by Ning Xuantao after underestimating him.


    This time, he was determined not to make a similar mistake, as he used all his strength. After entering the water, he ignored everything and rushed forward.


    Lu Zhibin, who had just won the 50m gold medal and the 100m silver medal for the Asian Games, was quite powerful.


    He was the freshest member of the team, so they were somewhat reliant on him to stay in the race and gain a lead.


    At this point, with his full on rush, the distance from the Hubei swimming team and the Beijing team was being closed.


    This change attracted a burst of cheers from the audience.


    After 50 meters, Lu Zhibin had overtaken the swimmer for the Fujian taim and the swimmer from the Beijing team, ranking second.


    After the turn, Lu Zhibin successfully overtook the Hubei team after 10 meters and came into first.


    Shen Qing nodded with satisfaction. He had changed Lu Zhibin from fourth stick to the second in order to stimulate him and make him work harder.


    In the end, with his superior strength, Lu Zhibin not only recovered 1st place but also extended his lead by a small margin.


    The audience seeing this reversal felt a surge of adrenaline.


    In third stick for the Zhejiang Province was Sun Yang.


    Sun Yang had rather rapid acceleration so Shen Qing placed him in third as insurance for Tang Yan.


    After Sun Yang launched into the water, he sprinted the first 50 meters and his lead was expanded a little. After the turn he had already extended his lead to more than twice than before.


    At this moment, the Fujian team overtook the Beijing team and moved into third place.


    The situation in the pool was constantly changing, and the audience was all for it.


    Especially the audience in the front row, their throats were becoming sore from screaming and shouting.


    The female fans on the sidelines especially lost it, cheering and awing again and again.


    Sun Yang''s strength and handsome appearance was like a magnet.


    "Sun Yang is indeed a prodigy for the ages." A commentator said impressed by Sun Yang''s performance.


    So far they were being proved wrong by the Zhejiang Team.


    However, just as the commentator finished his sentence, there was a sudden change in the pool.


    Sun Yang, who had always maintained a leading position and even gradually expanded his advantage suddenly stopped and there was a look of pain on his face.


    This change happened too suddenly and even the cheers of the audience stopped.


    The audience couldn''t understand what was happening.


    Tang Yan seeing Sun Yang''s expression, swore in his heart.


    Sun Yang had cramped up!


    At the end of the 800m, Sun Yang''s exhaustion was clear for all to see, he had directly layed on the ground for more than a minute.


    To clinch the victory from Tang Yan had cost a lot.


    Now he had taken on the relay as well, on the same day. It seemed it was too much for his body.


    Sun Yang had cramped up and naturally the swimmers in the other lanes lunged forward seeing this opportunity, paying no heed to him.


    Sun Yang''s lead was swallowed up in a blink of an eye, the Hubei team and the Fujian team overtook him in an instant.


    Shen Qing''s face became pale, he was running towards the pool.


    This sudden situation directly sentenced the Zhejiang team to defeat.


    To him now the game no longer mattered, Sun Yang was his main focus.


    Sun Yang was grinding his teeth trying to overcome his cramp, his whole leg had seized up.


    It was an extremely severe cramp, all the muscles in his left leg seemed to have locked up.


    During all this, the Beijing team passed followed by the Sichuan provincial team.


    "What a catastrophe for the Zhenjiang Team, what a pity an absolute pity!" the commentator commented.


    The audience couldn''t help but feel regret. Sun Yang''s cramps didn''t only mean that he couldn''t finish the race but that they wouldn''t get to see Tang Yan''s performance.


    "What!"


    However, at this time, Sun Yang in the pool snorted, then turned directly gritting his teeth and completely disregarding his seized up leg, relying on one-leg he forced himself to swim towards the pool wall, but his speed drastically fell.


    The audience was shocked by the scene.


    What kind of perseverance was this.


    Tang Yan was also shocked by Sun Yang''s actions.


    He was truly something extraordinary to brave through the pain in such a manner.


    Shen Qing''s face fell even further and he began to shout for Sun Yang to stop.


    Pushing forward was just recklessly asking for injuries but Sun Yang whether he heard him or not, pushed ahead.


    In the end, Sun Yang grit his teeth and with one last kick reached to touch the wall.


    As soon as Sun Yang touched the wall, Tang Yan dived into the water.


    There were tears in Sun Yang''s eyes from the pain but he had a content smile on his face.


    Although Sun Yang had forged ahead, he was already last among the seven swimmers.


    At this point, even the previously last place Liaoning provincial team had surpassed them.


    And from the foremost swimmer Ning Xuantao, he was behind by at least six to seven meters!


    After Tang Yan entered the water, he felt his pores were opened up in an instant and a refreshing feeling fell over him.


    He was full of adrenaline.


    The reason for his excitement was due to the shocking performance of Sun Yang.


    Seeing him recklessly push ahead seemed to erupt something in him.


    The cheers of the audience disappeared from his ears. There was only one thought in his heart, catching up!


    He had to catch up!


    Ning Xuantao was in first place at this time and he had pulled away and gained a lead.


    The Fujian team and the Sichuan team had already fallen behind leaving only the Beijing swimmer Chen Zuo who was half a body''s distance behind him.


    Tang Yan was chasing, chasing after them all!


    He quickly hit the water and was off.


    20 meters.


    Liaoning team, overtaken!


    30 meters.


    Guangdong team, overtaken!


    Within a short distance of 30 meters, Tang Yan surpassed them both.


    His speed was like that of a flying fish, incredible!


    Tang Yan took fifth place all the way from seventh and after the 50m turn, he took fourth place from the Sichuan provincial team!


    With this, he was only half a foot away from the top three!


    "My God, this... this! This..." The live commentator became incoherent.


    Not only the commentator, but the coaches of the provincial teams all stood up together.


    His speed was simply inhuman!

 134 Tears

    Tang Yan''s catch-up wasn''t over yet. He accelerated again and flew directly past the Shanghai swimmer.


    He rushed into the top three!


    Ning Xuantao and Chen Zuo were at the forefront, and the audience instantly reacted when they saw Tang Yan chasing after them.


    Both swimmers were shocked seeing him closing in. This speed was crazy!


    Sensing the threat, the two made a mad dash for the finish line.


    For the last 30 meters, the three were all racing forward.


    As the ace of the Beijing team but also a famous veteran, the former freestyle 100 meters Asian record holder, Chen Zuo had his mind full of complicated thoughts.


    He was planning to retire soon, he viewed the World Championships as his last opportunity to compete at a high level with the very best there were.


    But he found that although he was going all out he could not stop the seemingly small figure behind him gaining on him.


    He was still putting his all in, when he was overtaken 20 meters from the finish line.


    At this moment, in the heart of the veteran, waves of emotions rushed over him like that of the waves of the Yangtze River. However, considering the two ahead were both young, there was some comfort in his heart.


    The audience''s emotions had reached a point of overturning. Tang Yan was like a high-speed motor, continuously surpassing the leading swimmers at a speed visible to the naked eye and what was more exciting in a race than seeing a great comeback!


    After surpassing the swimming star Chen Zuo, Tang Yan''s eyes were left on the incredible newcomer, Ning Xuantao.


    Ning Xuantao was indeed amazing in strength.


    However, even so, he still couldn''t stop the pace of Tang Yan''s pursuit.


    The distance from the finish was less than 10 meters but his lead had been greatly reduced to a metre.


    Ning Xuantao already felt a little exhausted, but he was still trying to accelerate.


    He couldn''t let the gold medal in front of him be taken away.


    The audience had all stood up by now and were loudly shouting both their names. No matter who won the race, it had been a phenomenal display and they were currently on track to beat the national record.


    9 metres, 8 metres, 7 metres, 6 metres, 5 metres.


    4 metres, 3 metres, 2 metres.


    Ning Xuantuo shot out a determined arm, reaching to touch the wall.


    At the same time, Tang Yan completely closed the gap and shot out his left arm.


    Tang Yan screamed in his heart and stretched out his hand.


    Come on!


    He struggled to touch the pool wall.


    The two almost touched the wall in synchronisation!


    Tang Yan instantly looked up at the jumbotron.


    The Hubei Province - 3 minutes 21 seconds 31.


    The Zhejiang Province - 3 minutes 21 seconds 23!


    Tang Yan had done it!


    The Zhejiang Province won the 4X100 freestyle relay championship!


    Tang Yan beat the water in glee and screamed in excitement.


    The scene was followed by an explosive cheer, he had chased down six people, completing an almost impossible reversal.


    This race, although only a domestic event had enough suspense to become the most classic scene of this year''s swimming season.


    The audience cheered for Tang Yan''s magical performance. The provincial coaches were shocked by Tang Yan''s speed. Although there was no accurate timing, they felt like for the final 100m his time had to have been within 50 seconds.


    As Tang Yan left the pool, the cheers of the audience rose again, and even many provincial team coaches stood up and clapped for him.


    Though he was a competitor of theirs and had just beat their team, his performance just now was nothing less than deserving of applause.


    Tang Yan was immediately surrounded by his teammates, even Sun Yang who had to be helped along limped up to embrace him.


    Although Shen Qing did not go up at this moment, he was also emotional. For the last few days the team hadn''t been performing as well as expected but Tang Yan''s performance tonight rekindled his hope.


    After the end of the celebration with his teammates, Tang Yan didn''t stay on the scene, but went directly towards the women''s section.


    During the men''s 4X100 relay race was the 200m women''s medley final, the race that Ye Shiwen was participating in.


    Because the two races were at the same time, he didn''t get to watch the race, but after he got ashore, he soon knew the result. Ye Shiwen''s 200-meter medley went abnormally, she failed to win gold.


    Tang Yan walked around looking for Ye Shiwen.


    When he found Ye Shiwen, her eyes were red and swollen. It was obvious she had been crying.


    However, when she saw Tang Yan, she quickly put on a smile and said: "Brother Tang, I heard that you made an epic comeback and won the relay. Haha sniff haha."


    "Hey, why do you look like you''ve been crying, what''s wrong." Tang Yan said and touched Ye Shiwen''s head.


    When she heard Tang Yan''s words, Ye Shiwen''s nose was sore and her tears began to fall again.


    Tang Yan quickly pulled her over and hugged her in his arms and patted her head and said: "Hey Shiwen don''t cry, calm down, breathe...what''s wrong."


    "I lost...crying sniff sniff I didn''t even reach the A grade criteria..." said Ye Shiwen crying in the arms of Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan''s heart quaked.


    He moved Ye Shiwen out of his arms and reached out to help her wipe her tears and said: "Hey don''t cry okay, you''re a big girl. It doesn''t matter if you didn''t get an A grade time. You were in second place. Plus you reached the A grade criteria in the preliminaries, you can still go to the World Championships."


    "But I..."


    Tang Yan interrupted Ye Shiwen and said, "What matters is that we qualified for the World Championships. This is the most important thing, so don''t cry anymore okay."


    "Sniff..okay...Sniff." Ye Shiwen saw Tang Yan''s kind gaze and she wiped her tears whilst nodding.

 135 Reaching For More

    The next day, Tang Yan had the 100m freestyle and 4X200m freestyle relay.


    However due to yesterday with Sun Yang severely cramping up. Shen Qing didn''t place Tang Yan, Sun Yang and Zhang Lin up for the 4X200m preliminaries.


    Instead out of the original relay team only Lu Zhibin remained in the new team.


    In the 100m preliminaries, Tang Yan didn''t encounter any strong opponents. He didn''t have to make too much of an effort. He advanced to the finals with a time of 50 seconds 35.


    However in the 4X200m preliminaries, Lu Zhibin and the substitute squad failed to get pass the preliminaries only achieving fourth place missing out on the relay final in the evening, it was a big upset.


    However, Shen Qing showed no reaction seeing this. After he made the decision to substitute the three out, he had basically given up the event. After all, without their three main swimmers and with how much the other provinces had improved and how many new talents they had acquired, he was being forced to accept the new pecking order that was being formed.


    However there was some good news, of which came from Ye Shiwen.


    As a female swimmer who dominated the medley, Ye Shiwen had greatly shined so far this competition and although she lost out on gold for the 200m medley, in the 400m medley final she showed reinvigoration.


    With absolute dominance she won the gold medal with a time of 4 minutes 30 seconds 21, an outstanding result.


    This time not only far exceeded the requirements of the World Championships A grade criteria, but also broke the national record she created last year.


    It was a strong rebound.


    Seeing that Ye Shiwen didn''t fall into a slump, Tang Yan felt relief and happiness for her.


    .....


    The 100m freestyle, like the 100m sprint in track and field was where global stars were built.


    Whether it was Park Tae-hwan in the Asian scene or the world famous Michael Phelps on the global stage. Their names were largely built on their absolute dominance at 100 meters.


    Winning this event alone would cause a swimmers worth to skyrocket, it was a gold-plated ticket to fame.


    The 100-meters freestyle competition always attracted the most attention out of all the events.


    The reason for such a high degree of attention was because of the high calibre swimmers it attracted.


    For example: Beijing''s Chen Zuo.


    When asked about Tang Yan, he expressed his appreciation but explained his dream to go on to win glory for the country at the World Championships.


    This was the hope of a veteran.


    Compared with Chen Zuo, Hubei''s Ning Xuantao showed his self-confidence as a young athlete. He admitted his loss in the relay race and expressed his determination to defeat Tang Yan in the finals tonight.


    It was worth mentioning that Ning Xuantao swam the preliminaries with a time of 48 seconds 71. This time was the best among all the contestants.


    In addition to those two there was Lu Zhibin, Liu Boyu a well-performing swimmer from the Hubei relay team and Sun Yunchao the Shanghai ace.


    All of them expressed their desire for gold before the race.


    The event hadn''t even started yet and the audience were already staring at the swimmers passage.


    The host introduced the swimmers as they came out one by one from the passage, and each one came out to cheers from the crowd.


    They were among the strongest swimmers in the domestic scene.


    Tang Yan was the last to appear. When he appeared, the cheers on scene went up a decibel.


    After his classic performance earlier, the audience''s expectations of him were high.


    ....


    The lanes were arranged according to the preliminary results. Ning Xuantao ranked first in the preliminaries. So he was in the 1st lane.


    In the second lane was Lu Zhibin, with Tang Yan in the 3rd lane.


    After the swimmers had completed their final preparations, they all boarded the start platform.


    The assistant referee also followed behind them.


    The eyes of everyone on scene locked onto the starting blocks.


    "On your marks"


    "Get set "


    The swimmers all stooped and prepared themselves.


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, the swimmers all dove into the water seemingly at the same time.


    Entering the water, Tang Yan emerged first from the water and seized the leading position.


    The audience followed with a cheer, sure enough, the race was developing in the direction that they expected.


    However shortly after the start of the race, they found that whilst Ning Xuantao was keeping up and maintaining proximity as to not allow Tang Yan to pull away too much. He was at a disadvantage.


    The strength of Tang Yan made the famous names of the other provinces hold no reservations and the pace of the first 50 meters was obviously faster than usual.


    Lu Zhibin in the 2nd lane was also chasing after Tang Yan.


    When they went to turn, the three of them slowly opened up a gap from the rest of the pack.


    With the 50 meter turn, Tang Yan came out of the water and looked sideways to see Lu Zhibin had been left behind him by half a metre.


    However, at this time, he found that the gap between Ning Xuantao and himself had narrowed.


    He was slightly taken aback.


    In his memories, Ning Xuantao had truly become famous after 2013 but it was currently 2011, it seemed that his strength was beginning to break out.


    Ning Xuantao''s potential was a good thing for Chinese swimming but Tang Yan wasn''t willing to let the gold medal go.


    Tang Yan didn''t hold anything back and began to accelerate all the way.


    Ning Xuantao insisted on keeping up, gritting his teeth and trying his best to pursue him.


    After another 10 meters, they had already broken away from Lu Zhibin.


    The cheers of the audience came in wave after wave.


    The two might have been unaware but they were on route at their current speed to beat the national record and even contend for the Asian record!

 136 Underbelly Of Sports

    Tang Yan was already half a body''s length beyond the shadow line for the Asian record.


    "This...! They are still accelerating! They are on track to beat the Asian record! After being taken away by Japan for two years, it will return to China again!"


    With the excitement of the commentator, Tang Yan and Ning Xuantao were heading straight towards the pool wall.


    What people didn''t expect was that Ning Xuantao, who was originally behind by a small margin, began to slowly close in on Tang Yan.


    The head coach of the Hubei team was shaking with excitement. Ning Xuantao had transferred to the 100-meters freestyle last year. His potential and explosive power made it clear instantly he was a rare genius that Chinese swimming had rarely seen before.


    "Come on, you''ve got this! Close the gap!"


    He was constantly screaming by the sidelines.


    Tang Yan also noticed the acceleration of Ning Xuantao and he accelerated in desperation to maintain his lead.


    The two flew together towards the pool wall.


    Ning Xuantao''s arm was longer but Tang Yan''s speed was faster. He hit the pool wall first, and the sensor on the wall followed up.


    Tang Yan''s time was displayed on the electronic screen.


    47 seconds 91!


    When they saw the results displayed on the screen, the entire venue lit up.


    "47 seconds! 47 seconds! This is a historical moment for Chinese swimming!" The live commentator excitedly shouted.


    In the 100m freestyle competition, surpassing 48 seconds had been a long term goal for Chinese swimmers, in fact for all Asian swimmers.


    The current Asian record was held by the Japanese swimmer Fujii Takuya at 49 seconds 36.


    Which was still a way from breaking through the 48 seconds barrier but now in a domestic trial, it was actually broken by Tang Yan.


    "Genius! Absolute genius! There is hope for swimming in China!" said the guest commentator sounding choked with emotion.


    "And Ning Xuantao only a tad bit slower has scored a time of 48 seconds 22 also breaking the record, what prodigies!" said the commentator full of excitement.


    Next to the pool, Ye Shiwen had long been cheering hysterically.


    Brother Tang was truly the best.


    In the swimming pool, Ning Xuantao breathed out with a sharp gasp. He took the initiative to reach out to Tang Yan and shook hands with him.


    He said with a look of acknowledgement: "Well played, good race."


    Before the race, he wanted to defeat Tang Yan but Tang Yan''s strength was enough to convince him and stir up his potential, which was more valuable than the gold medal.


    "I''ll catch you next time" said Ning Xuantao with a sly smile as he swam away.


    Tang Yan smiled and replied: "I look forward to it."


    When Tang Yan climbed out of the pool, the cheers of the audience were already deafening.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    He didn''t know who took the lead but soon more than 3,000 people began to shout his name in unison. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    The shouting seemed to be overturning the swimming centre.


    As the first Chinese swimmer to break the 48 seconds barrier, tonight Tang Yan deserved everyone''s cheers.


    At this time, Shen Qing came up to give Tang Yan a tight hug. In the test trials, Tang Yan had scored a time of 49 seconds 32 breaking the record unofficially and now he had replicated... no.....improved on his performance, surprising the whole country.


    Embracing Shen Qing, Tang Yan then saw Ye Shiwen jumping about excitedly. He reached out to pat her head and Ye Shiwen quickly laughed whilst evading him.


    .....


    Beijing Boxing Center.


    "Wow, this kid is really too much! Another one under his belt" Qin Hailong said with a bitter laugh looking at the live stream in front of him.


    He really didn''t know how to react to Tang Yan''s constant exploits. The more Tang Yan achieved the more pride he felt seeing him grow but seeing him taking on even more on his plate made him very hesitant.


    He feared Tang Yan''s attention shifting away too much. But there wasn''t much he could do or say, after all the very reason they had Tang Yan was due to him deciding to take on boxing alongside archery.


    Creak!


    Just then, his door was opened.


    He was in his office currently and most would usually knock on the door first. When he heard the sound of the opening door, his gleeful mood was interrupted.


    Who wasn''t sensible enough to understand basic courtesy and was entering without knocking.


    However when he saw the person who entered, he swallowed his words because the person who came in at this time turned out to be the head coach of the national archery team, Tian Zhenzhe.


    "Ahhh it''s you!"


    "Old Qin, ??have you seen the live broadcast, Tang Yan that kid actually swam under 48 seconds!" Tian Zhenzhe came in and rushed to say.


    "Yeah, that kid is certainly something else." Qin Hailong smiled and pointed to the computer, indicating that he was watching the live broadcast.


    "No, this isn''t a good thing!" Tian Zhenzhe said while walking to the opposite side of Qin Hailong.


    "Swimming the 100m freestyle under 48 seconds and breaking the Asian record. If this is not a good thing, then nothing is good." Qin Hailong said with a smile.


    "It''s a good thing but not for us. Tang Yan said after the new year, he would report in. But we''ve had to continuously delay everything. You said that he was trying to gain weight right, how effective do you think that''ll be with him swimming like this?"


    Listening to Tian Zhenzhe''s words, Qin Hailong put away his smile.


    "Look how complicated everything is with him doing boxing and archery at the same time, how is he gonna divide his time between three sports. I think we made a mistake allowing him to take on swimming."


    Qin Hailong''s face fell and he fell into thought, this was truly a troublesome issue.


    Tang Yan was a genius in every sense of the word.


    But he was human and only had so much time and energy.


    And after his display tonight the national swimming team would definitely be coming after him.


    Which would mean a three way split because at this point certainly no one would be willing to let him go, not after seeing what he could do.


    Tang Yan was beginning to look like a certified gold mine, printing out gold medals like it was nothing.


    And the truth of the matter was that every gold medal he earned meant another achievement on their records, another step closer to a promotion.


    The General Administration of Sports was an intense place and being a coach under it was like having a sword over your head at all times.


    The only way to gain safety and power came from being promoted into an administrative position within the bureau.


    A goal on which they all set their eyes on.


    All manner of thoughts whirled through Qin Hailong''s mind but he quickly calmed himself and said placidly.


    "This isn''t too big of an issue, as long as he can stay in shape and top form. Allowing him to do more sports is okay. Besides we can''t really stop him. "


    "But..." said Tian Zhenzhe about to argue.


    He felt that Tang Yan was becoming more distracted and was being drawn elsewhere and if it came down to Tang Yan having to give up something in favour of taking up another sport it would likely be archery which he dropped.


    After all it offered the least fame and money.


    As such if his suspicions were correct, he would take the biggest loss.


    "Let''s go out." Qin Hailong suddenly said interrupting him and turning off his computer and getting up, he pulled Tian Zhenzhe up and said "Let''s talk while walking."


    "I don''t think this is a big deal but I will remind him later not to forget his appointment with you. The kid''s face is thin, so don''t worry he won''t just run off. Not after everything you''ve done....."

 136 Vested Interes

    Tang Yan was already half a body''s length beyond the shadow line for the Asian record.


    "This...! They are still accelerating! They are on track to beat the Asian record! After being taken away by Japan for two years, it will return to China again!"


    With the excitement of the commentator, Tang Yan and Ning Xuantao were heading straight towards the pool wall.


    What people didn''t expect was that Ning Xuantao, who was originally behind by a small margin, began to slowly close in on Tang Yan.


    The head coach of the Hubei team was shaking with excitement. Ning Xuantao had transferred to the 100-meters freestyle last year. His potential and explosive power made it clear instantly he was a rare genius that Chinese swimming had rarely seen before.


    "Come on, you''ve got this! Close the gap!"


    He was constantly screaming by the sidelines.


    Tang Yan also noticed the acceleration of Ning Xuantao and he accelerated in desperation to maintain his lead.


    The two flew together towards the pool wall.


    Ning Xuantao''s arm was longer but Tang Yan''s speed was faster. He hit the pool wall first, and the sensor on the wall followed up.


    Tang Yan''s time was displayed on the electronic screen.


    47 seconds 91!


    When they saw the results displayed on the screen, the entire venue lit up.


    "47 seconds! 47 seconds! This is a historical moment for Chinese swimming!" The live commentator excitedly shouted.


    In the 100m freestyle competition, surpassing 48 seconds had been a long term goal for Chinese swimmers, in fact for all Asian swimmers.


    The current Asian record was held by the Japanese swimmer Fujii Takuya at 49 seconds 36.


    Which was still a way from breaking through the 48 seconds barrier but now in a domestic trial, it was actually broken by Tang Yan.


    "Genius! Absolute genius! There is hope for swimming in China!" said the guest commentator sounding choked with emotion.


    "And Ning Xuantao only a tad bit slower has scored a time of 48 seconds 22 also breaking the record, what prodigies!" said the commentator full of excitement.


    Next to the pool, Ye Shiwen had long been cheering hysterically.


    Brother Tang was truly the best.


    In the swimming pool, Ning Xuantao breathed out with a sharp gasp. He took the initiative to reach out to Tang Yan and shook hands with him.


    He said with a look of acknowledgement: "Well played, good race."


    Before the race, he wanted to defeat Tang Yan but Tang Yan''s strength was enough to convince him and stir up his potential, which was more valuable than the gold medal.


    "I''ll catch you next time" said Ning Xuantao with a sly smile as he swam away.


    Tang Yan smiled and replied: "I look forward to it."


    When Tang Yan climbed out of the pool, the cheers of the audience were already deafening.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    He didn''t know who took the lead but soon more than 3,000 people began to shout his name in unison.


    The shouting seemed to be overturning the swimming centre.


    As the first Chinese swimmer to break the 48 seconds barrier, tonight Tang Yan deserved everyone''s cheers.


    At this time, Shen Qing came up to give Tang Yan a tight hug. In the test trials, Tang Yan had scored a time of 49 seconds 32 breaking the record unofficially and now he had replicated... no.....improved on his performance, surprising the whole country.


    Embracing Shen Qing, Tang Yan then saw Ye Shiwen jumping about excitedly. He reached out to pat her head and Ye Shiwen quickly laughed whilst evading him.


    .....


    Beijing Boxing Center.


    "Wow, this kid is really too much! Another one under his belt" Qin Hailong said with a bitter laugh looking at the live stream in front of him.


    He really didn''t know how to react to Tang Yan''s constant exploits. The more Tang Yan achieved the more pride he felt seeing him grow but seeing him taking on even more on his plate made him very hesitant.


    He feared Tang Yan''s attention shifting away too much. But there wasn''t much he could do or say, after all the very reason they had Tang Yan was due to him deciding to take on boxing alongside archery.


    Creak!


    Just then, his door was opened.


    He was in his office currently and most would usually knock on the door first. When he heard the sound of the opening door, his gleeful mood was interrupted.


    Who wasn''t sensible enough to understand basic courtesy and was entering without knocking.


    However when he saw the person who entered, he swallowed his words because the person who came in at this time turned out to be the head coach of the national archery team, Tian Zhenzhe.


    "Ahhh it''s you!"


    "Old Qin, ??have you seen the live broadcast, Tang Yan that kid actually swam under 48 seconds!" Tian Zhenzhe came in and rushed to say.


    "Yeah, that kid is certainly something else." Qin Hailong smiled and pointed to the computer, indicating that he was watching the live broadcast.


    "No, this isn''t a good thing!" Tian Zhenzhe said while walking to the opposite side of Qin Hailong.


    "Swimming the 100m freestyle under 48 seconds and breaking the Asian record. If this is not a good thing, then nothing is good." Qin Hailong said with a smile.


    "It''s a good thing but not for us. Tang Yan said after the new year, he would report in. But we''ve had to continuously delay everything. You said that he was trying to gain weight right, how effective do you think that''ll be with him swimming like this?"


    Listening to Tian Zhenzhe''s words, Qin Hailong put away his smile.


    "Look how complicated everything is with him doing boxing and archery at the same time, how is he gonna divide his time between three sports. I think we made a mistake allowing him to take on swimming."


    Qin Hailong''s face fell and he fell into thought, this was truly a troublesome issue.


    Tang Yan was a genius in every sense of the word.


    But he was human and only had so much time and energy.


    And after his display tonight the national swimming team would definitely be coming after him.


    Which would mean a three way split because at this point certainly no one would be willing to let him go, not after seeing what he could do.


    Tang Yan was beginning to look like a certified gold mine, printing out gold medals like it was nothing.


    And the truth of the matter was that every gold medal he earned meant another achievement on their records, another step closer to a promotion.


    The General Administration of Sports was an intense place and being a coach under it was like having a sword over your head at all times.


    The only way to gain safety and power came from being promoted into an administrative position within the bureau.


    A goal on which they all set their eyes on.


    All manner of thoughts whirled through Qin Hailong''s mind but he quickly calmed himself and said placidly.


    "This isn''t too big of an issue, as long as he can stay in shape and top form. Allowing him to do more sports is okay. Besides we can''t really stop him. "


    "But..." said Tian Zhenzhe about to argue.


    He felt that Tang Yan was becoming more distracted and was being drawn elsewhere and if it came down to Tang Yan having to give up something in favour of taking up another sport it would likely be archery which he dropped.


    After all it offered the least fame and money.


    As such if his suspicions were correct, he would take the biggest loss.


    "Let''s go out." Qin Hailong suddenly said interrupting him and turning off his computer and getting up, he pulled Tian Zhenzhe up and said "Let''s talk while walking."


    "I don''t think this is a big deal but I will remind him later not to forget his appointment with you. The kid''s face is thin, so don''t worry he won''t just run off. Not after everything you''ve done....."

 137 Fighting For Records 1

    But Qin Hailong underestimated how thick faced Tang Yan could be.


    When Tang Yan got out of the shower, he received a call from Qin Hailong, who urged him to head back to training early. His answer was very short, he would be back soon but he had a few more records to break.


    Qin Hailong was speechless and he didn''t know how to react, he could only remind him to return as early as possible.


    Tang Yan hung up the phone and headed back to his hotel.


    Because of Ning Xuantao, his physical exertion today was greater than expected and tomorrow there would be the 1500 meters freestyle, so he had to get recharged.


    .....


    The championships were a total of 7 days.


    This was already the fourth match day, the championships were already halfway over.


    1500 meters was the longest distance event of all the projects, neither the swimmers nor the audience enjoyed this project but after the Asian Games last year where Sun Yang broke the Asian record.


    The project became Sun Yang''s exclusive event and was one of the few events on the world stage they had a great chance of winning gold.


    What followed was naturally a higher level of attention on the event, which was even greater this time due to Tang Yan''s appearance.


    Since swimming sub 48 seconds yesterday, Tang Yan''s every move touched the hearts of Chinese swimming fans.


    However, it was regrettable that as his test trial results were average for the 1500m at the time and with the top long-distance swimmers in the country having come to participate, Tang Yan failed to enter the top eight.


    Due to the amount of swimmers they were seperated into the fast group and the slow group and not being in the top eight he fell into the slow group.


    Tang Yan himself didn''t care. He only needed to exert his full strength, anyway the swimmers with the fastest time in the two groups would win the event.


    The 1500-meters slow group final, which normally had basically no attention paid to it, now attracted many viewers.


    Experiencing competing in front of such a large audience, the other swimmers emotions were high.


    Although they knew the crowd was here for Tang Yan, this was still an opportunity so they were eager to perform to their best standard.


    The focus of the audience was Tang Yan, who was already stretching by the sidelines.


    1500m vs 800m was a different concept. He had to do a more extensive warm-up to avoid getting leg cramps like Sun Yang.


    After finishing all his preparations, under the directions of the referee, he and the other swimmers all went to the start platform.


    "On your marks"


    "Get set"


    Buzz!


    As the buzzer went off, the swimmers were off.


    But because the distance was great, there wasn''t a mad dash right out of the gates.


    Even Tang Yan didn''t rush forward like in the 800 meters. After all, he knew what his limit were, if he tried to replicate a similar performance here, he would become burnt out and be left behind by everyone.


    However, although moving at a slower pace, Tang Yan made sure to maintain first place.


    The first 200 meters were no shock Tang Yan always maintained the lead being ahead by half a body''s length.


    However, after waiting 200 meters he sped up and the swimmer in second place tried to follow after him but there was a lack of success.


    And unwilling to risk burning out trying to chase Tang Yan, he slowed down and returned to his previous pace.


    After the race reached the 400m mark, all the crowd''s attention was on Tang Yan, who was continuously pulling away.


    10 meters.


    20 meters.


    30 meters.


    50 meters.


    1 lap.


    2 laps.


    ...


    The distance continued to increase and in the end Tang Yan passing the 1000 meters mark was already ahead of the rest of the group by 3 laps.


    At this point this was no longer a competition, he was owning this group.


    The focus of the audience''s attention also changed from him being able to take first place in the slow group to calculating the gap between him and the other swimmers.


    In the blink of an eye with only the last 200 meters left, Tang Yan started to sprint.


    At this point his real opponent was himself.


    He was constantly accelerating.


    The audience watched the time on the display and began cheering for him.


    Just for him alone.


    His speed attracted the excitement of the on-site commentator.


    "If he is a little faster, he will be able to catch up with the shadow line for the Asian record, the record maintained by Sun Yang!"


    Tang Yan began his final sprint.


    He was able to see the pool wall and accelerating with a strenuous kick, he reached to touch the wall.


    Ding!


    The referee rang the bell and marked the end.


    Tang Yan squatted on to the buoy, panting hard.


    The cheers of the audience at this time had become deafening and whistles sounded out across the scene.


    Because at this time, the rest of the group still had more than four laps left...


    After calming his breathing , he looked up at his time on the display.


    14 minutes 35 seconds 31!


    He broke the 1500-meters Asian record Sun Yang had just created at the Asian Games!


    No wonder the audience was so excited!


    After seeing this achievement, Tang Yan also laughed out full of excitement.


    To be honest this result was an unexpected surprise.


    However the costs were very obvious. His legs were a little weak from exhaustion, the final sprint had taken his all.


    After taking a full rest in the pool for half a minute he slowly swam to shore.


    The competition between the other swimmers in the pool continued, but after they finished and  came out the water, they received warm cheers and applause from the audience.


    The reporters also came over in a flash, lugging their cameras whilst taking a swarm of photos.

 138 Fighting For Records 2

    Winning the slow group and breaking the Asian record that Sun Yang set still didn''t mean that he had won gold because the fast group competition would be held later tonight.


    So slight tension still hung in the air.


    The good news was that it gave Tang Yan time to rest.


    He could sit in casual clothes on the sidelines and watch the swimmers of the fast group quietly.


    The fast group had Sun Yang and Zhang Lin. They were both former Asian record holders.


    Like most of the audience on the scene, Tang Yan''s main focus was on his teammates.


    Before the race, the reporter interviewed Sun Yang and Zhang Lin. Regarding Tang Yan setting an Asian record in the slow group in the morning, neither of them said much but it was obvious that Tang Yan''s performance had placed a lot of psychological stress on them.


    In fact, not just them the other swimmers who were participating in the fast group finals were also under great pressure.


    Tang Yan broke the record whilst in the slow group, without any major opponent but he relied on himself to complete the race.


    ....


    After the introduction of the swimmers, the 1500-meters freestyle fast group officially kicked off.


    Sun Yang was in the 1st lane, his next door neighbor was his teammate from the Zhejiang Province, Zhang Lin.


    After the buzzer went off, the swimmers dove into the water.


    At the beginning, Sun Yang and Zhang Lin didn''t rush to the forefront.


    Dai Jun, a famous swimmer from the Shanghai Province took the leading position, maybe influenced by Tang Yan''s 800 meters performance. He was unreserved at the beginning sprinting forward and the distance between him and the other swimmers was quickly opened up.


    The audience quickly burst into cheers for him.


    When Tang Yan saw this, he slowly shook his head. For 1500m even he didn''t dare to rush forward like this. He felt like Dai Jun''s choice was a big mistake.


    As a well-known swimmer, Dai Jun''s strength was still good. For the first 400 meters, he always maintained a lead of four to five metres.


    However, as Tang Yan envisioned, as the distance of the game continued to increase, his lead was inevitably eroded.


    At 700 meters, he was overtaken by Zhang Lin, he attempted to chase but he was too weak and burned out. Soon, Sun Yang also surpassed him.


    As the race reached the 800 meters mark, Zhang Lin and Sun Yang took to the position of first and second, the confrontation between the two men officially started.


    At 900 meters, Zhang Lin still maintained the lead and his speed was gradually accelerating.


    Sun Yang always closely followed.


    At 1000 meters Zhang Lin still led and the distance between the two hadn''t changed.


    1100m it was still the same.


    However when the race reached the 1200m mark, Sun Yang began a comprehensive acceleration.


    With only 50 meters, he relied on strong stamina and explosive power to overtake Zhang Lin in one fell swoop and he continued to open the distance.


    After the race reached the 1300m mark, Sun Yang had already left Zhang Lin thoroughly behind him.


    At this time, the audience quickly noticed another thing, Sun Yang was accelerating with all his strength and was constantly getting closer to the new Asian record created by Tang Yan in the morning.


    Sun Yang couldn''t tell his time in the pool but he could sense he was close.


    At this time, Tang Yan felt a trace of angst. He suddenly felt slight regret that he hadn''t been able to break into the fast group before. It would have been exciting to race Sun Yang again.


    Entering the last 100 meters, the shadow line for the Asian record was rapidly accelerating, representing Tang Yan''s sprint in the morning.


    However, at this time Sun Yang erupted with unprecedented speed and slowly gained on the Asian record line.


    "He''s gaining on the record! So close!" The audience was already crazy with awe and expectation.


    In the last 10 meters, Sun Yang''s speed reached the peak.


    With a few more powerful kicks, he reached out and shot his hand towards the wall.


    At this time, the advantages of his physical talent were clearly exposed.


    And just as he touched the wall, everyone''s gaze shot up to the screen display.


    "14 minutes, 34 seconds, 31! New Asian record! No, the new world record, from Sun Yang!"


    In fact, there was no need to look up, the live commentator had already shouted out Sun Yang''s time.


    After hearing the results, Sun Yang was incredibly excited. After slapping the pool a few times, his tears couldn''t help but fall.


    Tang Yan saw the scene and smiled. Sure enough, it was no accident that Sun Yang could rule the freestyle courses in his previous life. Losing to such an opponent was no issue.


    As Sun Yang left to the pool, Tang Yan went up and gave him a hug.


    Sun Yang was also glad to embrace Tang Yan.


    As they embraced, he said: "Brother you gave me motivation" and you could see that he was really humble and respected Tang Yan as a competitor.


    Tang Yan knowing how much Sun Yang had gone on to achieve in his previous life, was filled with pride, this was the biggest affirmation for him.


    Because of Sun Yang''s amazing display, Tang Yan missed out on the gold medal but including Zhang Lin the Zhenjiang Province swept up the gold, silver and bronze medals for this event.


    With the end of the fourth match day, Tang Yan also returned to his hotel to rest.


    However, he didn''t immediately sleep but entered the heterogeneous space of the system.


    Losing to Sun Yang twice now, although not bitter, it reminded him that he had only unlocked half of Zhang Shun''s abilities, which couldn''t guarantee that he would win gold, despite all his efforts and training and this was only a domestic competition. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    If he didn''t win, there would be no honor points, the process could lead to a vicious cycle.


    He had made it his aim not to become too dependent on the system but reaching the barrier with what he could do it was time to upgrade in advance for the World Championships.


    After he entered the system space, he moved his eyes to see how many honor points he had.


    At the end of the Asian Games, he had depleted three honor points to unlock Zhang Shun. So his remaining honor points then were 7 points.


    But now he had won gold in the 4X100 relay and in the 100m freestyle. Each win at this championship was worth 1 honor point, which meant he had 9 honor points now.


    This could be used to upgrade Zhang Shun''s abilities two levels. The first upgrade after unlocking the character always cost the same as it did to unlock them.


    So upgrading to 60% of Zhang Shun''s abilities cost 3 honor points.


    The second upgrade always consumed twice the amount of the previous upgrade so it would cost 6 honor points.

 139 Going At I

    Tang Yan didn''t plan to rise two levels at a time. It was important to stabilize and ingrain each upgrade before upgrading again as to not waste all the benefits gained.


    He upgraded the abilities of Zhang Shun''s with three honor points.


    After the upgrade, he could clearly feel that his body control and awareness had improved, it was easier to coordinate his movements with precision and his endurance seemed to have improved a great deal.


    The fifth match day was the most intensive day since the start of the championship. It was also the busiest day for Tang Yan. He had to participate in the 400m, 200m preliminaries and finals which was a big test for his physical fitness.


    Before game day began, Shen Qing came to look for him.


    After continuously harvesting two gold medals, Shen Qing''s attitude towards him became better and better and he was placed on the same pedestal as Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen, the super newcomers.


    Tang Yan was still rather humble. In 2011, most of the domestic swimming scene was just so and so. The real opponents came from abroad.


    "How are you feeling after the 1500m yesterday, is anything feeling uncomfortable?" Shen Qing asked with concern.


    "No, coach, I haven''t even used all of my power." Tang Yan replied with a small smile.


    Shen Qing said with a smile: "The 400 meters and 200 meters are in the afternoon but the finals in the evening are back to back. Have you considering giving up a project?"


    Tang Yan knew that Shen Qing was worried about him, but after the upgrade he gained more confidence in himself.


    "Coach, it doesn''t matter, just watch me break a few more records."


    Shen Qing smiled bitterly. If it was someone else, he would have berated them to no end but Tang Yan had surprised him so many times in succession. He couldn''t help but feel a sense of expectation and and give in.


    "Then save some of your strength in the preliminaries, you''ll need it for the finals." Shen Qing said.


    Tang Yan nodded, turned and prepared to head out.


    .....


    His first event was the preliminaries for the 400m freestyle.


    Although it was only the preliminaries, the crowd that gathered was rather substantial.


    His main opponent of this preliminaries, was the veteran Chen Zuo, who was crushed by Tang Yan in various competitions.


    However, he was held in high regard at medium and long distance events. He obviously didn''t want to give up easily on this event.


    Tang Yan shook his arms on the starting platform, to get his blood flowing.


    As the camera focused on him, there were screams in the audience, although the shortest of all the contestants everyone knew the energy contained in his body.


    Chen Zuo was in the lane beside Tang Yan. As the referee went through the motions, he took a deep breath and adjusted his body.


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, the swimmers shot into the water like a spear.


    As Chen Zuo entered the water, he glided through quickly. Tang Yan''s early rush was fierce. He didn''t want to fall behind right from the beginning.


    However, just as he emerged from the water with his first dolphin kick. He turned his head and saw Tang Yan in the next lane, the latter was still a step ahead of him.


    Because of the relationship between height and armspan whilst Tang Yan had faster twitch muscles than most,  the distance he could cover was shorter than others due to his arms.


    This was the reason why in previous races, Tang Yan always surfaced first and rushed into first place off the bat to gain a lead before everyone else got into their stride.


    Tang Yan didn''t pay much attention to Chen Zuo at this time. He was filled with excitement in his heart. After upgrading Zhang Shun, the distance covered when he dived off the starting platform was greater.


    He could cover 1.5m previously but after the upgrade the taxiing distance after he hit the water had increased significantly. The speed and power of his kicks also increased.


    After surfacing to the top of the water, he quickly opened up the distance between him and the other swimmers.


    Since, he intended to retain his physical strength, though he was leading it was by a smaller margin than usual.


    Chen Zuo besides Tang Yan seeing his relaxed expression, almost spat out blood.


    In the end, Tang Yan easily won the preliminaries, with a time of 3 minutes 51 seconds 20, his time wasn''t the best but he still ranked third among all the swimmers, successfully advancing to the evening finals.


    The 200m preliminaries were almost exactly the same. He scored a time of 1 minute 50 seconds 21 and successfully reached the finals although ranking fifth.


    ....


    The 400m freestyle final was first that night.


    In this final, in addition to the old rivals Sun Yang, Zhang Lin and Chen Zuo, the veteran swimmer Lei Jianyu from Shanghai also attracted attention. The latter swam 3 minutes 51 seconds 11 in the preliminaries, showing excellent form.


    Tang Yan appeared in the 3rd lane and to his right side was his teammate Sun Yang.


    This was a new event for Sun Yang as well, it was the first glimpse of his transition from just focusing on long distance events like 800m and 1500m to encompass all freestyle events.


    The two had conversed before coming to the pool.  Sun Yang after he won the 1500-meters gold medal felt a boost to his confidence. His relationship with Tang Yan was good and as teammates they had healthy competition.


    "I''ll take this gold medal."


    "Nah this one''s mine, I let you have the other ones but this one is mine." Tang Yan said with a small grin.


    "Oh is it now, I guess we''ll just have to wait and see."


    "The only thing you will be seeing is me, going to receive my gold medal."


    "You wish!" Sun Yang said with an imposing manner.


    The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.


    Just then, the referee signaled them to get into position.


    Both of them have stepped onto the platform.


    Although the interaction between the two before the game was benign but for the gold medal it was clear that neither of them was willing to give it up.


    "On your mark"


    "Get set"


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, the swimmers dove into the water almost at the same time.


    After gliding a dozen meters, they fell into each other.


    Sun Yang grabbed first place, although Tang Yan''s diving distance increased significantly but with a height of 6''5 the armspan on Sun Yan was amazing.


    However, what surprised everyone was Lei Jianyu, who performed well in the preliminaries. As they all surfaced, with sharp and quick kicks he followed after Sun Yang.


    Tang Yan was taken aback, Lei Jianyu had come out of nowhere and suddenly hopped onto his radar.


    However, this was a 400-meter race. He wasn''t in a hurry. At this moment, he stayed behind Lei Jianyu and kept moving at a constant speed.


    As the race passed the 30m mark, a fringe group was seemingly formed of Sun Yang in the second lane, Lei Jianyu in the first lane, Tang Yan in the third lane and Zhang Lin in the sixth lane.


    These four quickly opened up a gap from the other four swimmers. After the first 50m turn, the gap between them and the other four was widened to three meters.

 140 Turn Of Events

    "It seems that yesterday''s 1500 meters took a toll on Tang Yan''s physical strength."


    "Yeah, but Sun Yang still looks to be in top form, like he didn''t just have a race yesterday. It''s looking like he''ll go on to win this gold medal."


    "And Lei Jianyu, this veteran is looking extremely good today. Not only has he surpassed Tang Yan, who has been eye-catching the past few days, but it seems that there is a glimpse of him challenging Sun Yang!"


    "Haha, yeah, the veteran is looking rejuvenated this season, with his origin from the Hebei Province, it seems he''s come to reclaim his previous throne. His resurgence this season is somewhat of a surprise but a welcomed one especially for us older fans who remember him from his younger days!"


    ...


    The race passed the 100m mark and the rankings between the swimmers didn''t change much. The on-site commentator had to calm some of his energy and conversation trailed.


    Sun Yang also noticed Lei Jianyu. He made an effort to advance in the first half of the race. He wanted to open up a gap from Tang Yan in the early stages, what he didn''t expect was that Lei Jianyu would sneak out of nowhere and slip into second ahead of Tang Yan, this surprised him.


    As a last resort, he had to speed up again.


    As he accelerated, Lei Jianyu continued to accelerate and Tang Yan also accelerated. This left Zhang Lin bitter, watching the three slowly pull away from him.


    Passing the halfway mark of the race, the distance between the three still didn''t change much but Zhang Lin had fallen behind them by more than a metre.


    At this point of the race, Tang Yan was slightly surprised. This Lei Jianyu was so old but was still so long-lasting. This veteran had come completely out of left field.


    Thinking over it, he also began to speed up the frequency of his kicks.


    Originally he wanted to save as much energy as possible for the 200-meter final but the emergence of Lei Jianyu made him have to change his plan.


    The effects of him shifting up a gear was quite obvious.


    He surpassed Sun Yang and Lei Jianyu in an instant.


    The suddenness of this change caused the audience to be stunned.


    Even the commentator was shocked. They were still discussing the reason for Tang Yan''s placid performance today compared to his usually dominating attitude. Then in the blink of an eye he directly rushed into first place.


    After Tang Yan grabbed first, he quickly began to accelerate further to widen the gap between him and the other two.


    This made Sun Sun and Lei Jianyu anxious. The two men also began to accelerate hectically.


    All three suddenly picked up the speed, which caused the audience to cheer.


    Passing the 300m mark, Tang Yan maintained his first place position and he was already pressing the national record line.


    Sun Yang and Lei Jianyu behind him were also chasing. The three of them were preparing to break records and make a big commotion today.


    "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Tang Yan and Sun Yang the Zhejiang Province are set to guarantee they win this gold medal!" The live commentator looked down at the fierce competition in the pool and commented.


    "Look, Lei Jianyu has begun to speed up!"


    With the voice of the commentator, Lei Jianyu''s face was flushed and he began to speed up again. He sped up and surpassed Sun Yang in an instant and then chased straight after Tang Yan.


    At the start of the last 100 meters, Lei Jianyu and Tang Yan had shown a situation of keeping pace with each other.


    And Sun Yang who was among the favourites to win this event, because of being the advance force, didn''t have much physical strength left for the second half and was slowly left behind by the two.


    And to the wide eyed gazes of the audience, Lei Jianyu crept up and surpassed Tang Yan and grabbed first.


    The audience was completely stunned and even the coaches of the other provinces couldn''t help but leap to their feet.


    Sun Yang was leading then Tang Yan and now Lei Jianyu was leading and the three alternately made a great show.


    Lei Jianyu held the lead into the last turn and the race entered the final 50-meter sprint.


    Lei Jianyu was more than half a meter ahead of the national record line and there was even hope to hit the Asian record.


    The audience all stood up from their seats, Lei Jianyu, the newest black horse, truly surprised everyone.


    At this time, Tang Yan felt the pressure. This Lei Jianyu was too much, he couldn''t catch up at this rate.


    Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to the finish line, he grit his teeth and he shoved all thoughts of the 200m final to come and began to accelerate.


    Left leg kick, right arm over, right leg kick, left arm over....


    The effects were remarkable and he closed the gap between him and Lei Jianyu little by little.


    With only 20 meters left, the two were almost on the same page.


    Sun Yang tried his best to maintain the gap he had between the leading two and the other swimmers.


    The finish line was fast approaching. Tang Yan had no reservations at this time and the frequency of his kicks had even reached 8 times beyond the limits of ordinary people.


    Although he had only gained 60% of Zhang Shun''s abilities, Tang Yan''s strength was beyond the scope of the average person.


    With only 20 meters left, Tang Yan accelerated kicking with inhuman frequency, at a speed visible to the naked eye, he pulled ahead of Lei Jianyu.


    Lei Jianyu''s face was red and you could see that he was doing his best but he couldn''t stop what was happening.


    The last 50 meters of this 400-meter race were even more exciting than the 50m event.


    5 meters.


    4 meters.


    3 meters.


    2 meters.


    Tang Yan continued to pull away, when he was only one meter away from the pool wall his right hand shot out first and touched the wall.


    He won the 400m freestyle!


    Lei Jianyu finished immediately the next instant, followed by Sun Yang, the three of them led the other swimmers to complete the race.


    Their times came up on the Jumbotron.


    Sun Yang, 3 minutes 47 seconds 23, this time exceeded the World Championship A grade criteria by 2 seconds.


    Lei Jianyu, 3 minutes 44 seconds 13, only 3 seconds away from the Asian record!


    Tang Yan, 3 minutes and 43 seconds 12! ! Only 3 seconds away from the world record!


    All three had exceeded the national record!


    The audience saw the results and launched into thunderous applause.


    After Zhang Lin, finished he gasped for a few mouthfuls. Then he rushed to Tang Yan and Sun Yang and shouted: "You two just couldn''t hold back a bit and wait for me, huh."


    Tang Yan gasped at this time and then burst into laughter whilst looking over at Lei Jianyu.


    If he wasn''t so fierce, he wouldn''t have been forced to use his full strength.


    However, at this time, he found that something was wrong. Lei Jianyu''s face was completely pale and he had a ghastly look on his face.

 141 Scandal

    "Are you okay?" Tang Yan saw his situation and asked worried seeing how sickly he looked.


    Lei Jianyu nodded his head to signal that he was fine but it was clear he wasn''t in a good state.


    But Tang Yan''s attention was shifted, he noticed Sun Yang in his lane looking completely down trodden, he looked like he was about to shed tears at any moment but Zhang Lin quickly went over and comforted him.


    Only two swimmers could qualify for the World Championships so although his time had reached the A grade standard but because he was third, it meant he hadn''t qualified.


    This was undoubtedly a big blow for him.


    Tang Yan dove under the lane barriers and swam over, he  patted Sun Yang on the shoulders and tried to comfort him.


    As the other swimmers also completed the race one after another, they all quickly climbed out of the pool.


    After they took office, the audience gave them a warm cheer.


    Especially the female audience in the front row, who were madly shouting Tang Yan''s name.


    Tang Yan smiled and waved to the audience, from an ordinary guy to all this. He felt like a movie star.


    He reached for the swimming cap on top of his head and prepared to throw it into the audience.


    Seeing his move, the fans in the front row screamed in excitement.


    Tang Yan put up a pose, looked in the direction of the stands, and reached out and threw the swimming cap.


    However, at the last moment the swimming cap got hooked on his hand and the cap that was meant for the audience took a 180-degree turn and flew directly into the pool.


    There was a pause, then the audience in the stands burst into laughter.


    Tang Yan''s face turned awkward and a deep blush fell across his face.


    He had a sports system and he still couldn''t throw for sh*t.


    Fortunately, he reacted quickly, ran to the pool and picked it up and threw it out.


    Some uncle in the crowd jumped up and grabbed the swimming cap but was quickly robbed by a group of women next to him, the scene was a mess.


    Tang Yan scratched his head with bemusement and turned to leave.


    However, the situation poolside changed abruptly,  Lei Jianyu, who wasn''t far behind Tang Yan suddenly clutched his chest and with a look of pain, he stumbled and fell.


    The situation happened too suddenly but fortunately Sun Yang was right beside him and reacted fast catching him before he fell.


    Tang Yan also looked back at this time and immediately rushed over.


    Having been a security guard in his previous life, he responded quickly to the emergency. He felt for his breath when he reached out and he immediately knew that it was cardiac arrest.


    He quickly began to perform CPR on Lei Jianyu.


    Zhang Lin reacted and rushed to call the medical staff.


    This sudden change abruptly brought the audience''s attention back from the joy of victory and filled them all with concern.


    The medical staff were over in an instant, treating Lei Jianyu they quickly lifted him away.


    When he saw Lei Jianyu being carried away, Tang Yan shook his head in shock. The veteran had overstrained himself.


    He got to catch a glimpse of how cruel sports was.


    Though the situation with Lei Jianyu was unexpected, the show had to go on, Tang Yan and Sun Yang went up to the podium to receive their medals.


    When they received their medals, Tang Yan saw Sun Yang was still downtrodden and said, "Look at your appearance, it''s not like you lost the 400 meters, you still came third, think of how the other swimmers must feel, especially seeing you look so gloomy. Plus there is still the 200 meters!"


    Sun Yang was dazed for a second but looking up at Tang Yan, there was a determined glint in his eyes as he said: "Your right, I just have to win the 200 meters."


    "Woah, okay there let''s tone it down a tad, second will do right hahaha" Tang Yan said with a teasing smile.


    ...


    The 200m race became the stage for Tang Yan and Sun Yang and the final results were within expectations. Tang Yan and Sun Yang were awarded first and second, making the A grade standard, and they both qualified for the World Championships.


    After the 200m race, Tang Yan was knackered and prepared to head back to rest.


    He had a lot to review. His kick frequency was higher than the average person but he still wasn''t used to it. It seemed that it was necessary to strengthen this aspect in training.


    "Tang Yan, Sun Yang, both of you wait for me in the meeting room." But when he and Sun Yang were about to head out, Shen Qing called them back.


    The two were puzzled but Shen Qing had already rushed off.


    They looked at each other and shrugged helplessly, as they headed to the meeting room.


    As they entered the meeting room, Ye Shiwen came in looking for them and as they were chatting, Shen Qing entered.


    Ye Shiwen got up from the couch, stuck her tongue out at Tang Yan and began to head out.


    "Shiwen, since you are here too, you might as well stay and listen in advance." Shen Qing said stopping Ye Shiwen.


    Ye Shiwen came back and sat down with a puzzled look on her face.


    Tang Yan was also full of curiosity, listening in advance for what?


    "I just got back from a meeting, the organizing committee brought all the coaches together to discuss a very serious matter." As Shen Qing spoke, his expression became quite serious.


    Tang Yan and Sun Yang quickly put away their playful attitudes.


    "It''s related to Lei Jianyu of the Shanghai Team." Shen Qing said.


    "Is he okay?" Sun Yang asked at this time. Although he was a competitor, everyone here was competing for China afterall.


    Tang Yan felt his suspicion rise, he felt this matter wouldn''t be so simple.


    "He''s not in life-threatening danger for the time being, but...."


    "He made a huge mistake."


    When he heard  what Shen Qing said, Tang Yan suddenly had a hunch.


    "While they were running tests on him in the hospital, his blood came back positive....for drugs. It''s believed he took stimulants before the race and that''s what caused the sudden cardiac arrest." Shen Qing said with great seriousness.


    Sure enough. Tang Yan''s brows wrinkled unconsciously.


    "He was doping..."


    Upon hearing this sensitive word, Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen also became taut.


    Swimming was a racing-type sport. The effects of stimulants were particularly obvious, so testing was quite strict.


    This was also why there were strict controls on what foods they could eat because as athletes they consumed a wide variety of supplements such as protein powders/bars, isotonic sports drinks, creatine, recovery drinks and multivitamins as they helped increase their ability to train and also improved performance.


    With these supplements came the risk of accidentally testing positive for doping due to the intake of supplements, which had either poor labeling or were contaminated with banned substances.


    And whether accidental or on purpose, the majority of the time it would result in a ban.


    "There is evidence that Lei Jianyu was actively doping." Shen Qing added.


    As soon as this sentence was added, the atmosphere in the locker room became more and more dignified.


    It was no wonder that all the head coaches had been called, taking the initiative and accidentally consuming it were two completely different concepts.

 142 Passion For Speed ?

    Tang Yan''s expression outwardly didn''t change but his mind was running overtime.


    Since returning to the past, he had done many things to interfere with the timeline but so far he had felt the minimum effect, with things not differing too much in the grand scheme of things.


    This was the first time, he felt the consequences of his interference. Since he hadn''t followed swimming strictly before whilst he had his suspicions seeing the sudden emergence of Lei Jianyu in the preliminaries, he hadn''t been sure.


    But this confirmed it, whether he followed swimming strictly or not, a swimmer suffering a heart attack and then being found out to be doping was something that would have made the news and entered his field of view.


    He didn''t know how his interference had led to this but he was about 80% sure this hadn''t happened in his previous life.


    Now the main issue was what impact this would have on everything else.


    He turned his head and glanced at Sun Yang. Lei Jianyu''s results would definitely be invalidated, so Sun Yang would rise from third place into second, qualifying for the 400m like he would have done in his previous life.


    However, Sun Yang didn''t seem to realize this. His eyes were serious and he was listening to Shen Qing.


    "The organizing committee has attached great importance to this matter. All the urine samples reserved will be re-examined. Now....is there anything you guys wish to tell me?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    "No"


    The three shook their heads instantly in unison.


    Shen Qing nodded and didn''t seem to be in a hurry to say anything, he looked them once over then sent them off.


    .....


    The Lei Jianyu incident made the fifth day of the championships dignified, a cold chill set over the competition but fortunately in the re-examination, no other swimmers were found to be doping which set the organizing committee at ease.


    This matter, not only had the athletes afraid but also the organizing committee, after all this greatly damaged the image of Chinese swimming.


    By the time the episode was over, the National Swimming Championships also ushered in the penultimate day of competition.


    The events today were the 50-meter butterfly, 50-meter backstroke, 50-meter breaststroke and 50-meter freestyle and the 4X100 medley.


    Although it was not a weekend, the attendance rate of the swimming pool reached more than 70%. Many people went to the swimming pool to witness the exciting short-distance races.


    The first to start was the 50-meter butterfly.


    The relative speed of the butterfly stroke was slower than the freestyle stroke but the swimming style was beautiful. Phelps, who dominated the swimming pool, was a butterfly master.


    The butterfly stroke domestically was relatively low level. Like in the 200 meters, the Zhejiang province had some achievements in the competition.


    Li Zhuhao, the newcomer for the Zhejiang Province, had the best results in the preliminaries with a time of 25 seconds.


    This result made Tang Yan''s heart itch. Compared with freestyle, this event had virtually no rivals. Looking at the gold medals that were within reach but he couldn''t touch, he seemed to see the passing honor points and his heart hurt.


    However, at least for this year''s championship there was no way around it but he was thinking about a way to enter the other swimming disciplines.


    Next was the backstroke, which unfortunately the Zhejiang Province failed to win but in the breaststroke, Xu Jiayu of the Zhejiang Province swam a time of 25 seconds 21 and directly reached the A grade standard requirement for the World Championships.


    When the breaststroke race was over, the 50-meter freestyle competition began.


    Tang Yan''s 22 seconds 38 from the test trials was enough to get him the first lane.


    With the buzzer, the swimmers all dove into the water.


    Tang Yan used his high frequency kicks and quickly opened up a gap and the gap widened at a speed visible to the naked eye.


    In the end, he took the lead with a huge advantage over the other swimmers. His time was finally fixed at 22 seconds 41, which was similar to his time during the test trials.


    Of course, this was a result of him reserving his strength.


    Tang Yan won his group and the results of the other groups came out and as expected, Lu Zhibin had a time of 22 seconds 96, Ning Xuantao 23 seconds 11, they would be his main opponents in the finals.


    Up next was the finals of the 4x100m medley relay.


    Tang Yan wasn''t in the medley team. It wasn''t that Shen Qing didn''t believe in him, but that others also needed opportunities. So whilst the medley included freestyle, it wouldn''t do to give all the opportunities to Tang Yan.


    For freestyle, they had Lu Zhibin and with him they managed to win first place in their group and successfully advanced to the finals in the evening.


    But things took a turn when Wang Shun who was responsible for the breaststroke pulled a muscle.


    Compared to freestyle and backstroke, breaststroke was simply the soft underbelly of the Zhejiang Province.


    This sudden situation made Shen Qing anxious like an ant in a hot pot.


    This was a medal he was determined to win, they had the strongest team overall he felt.


    In the afternoon''s pre-match training, Tang Yan and his teammates had the final training session before the finals in the evening. He adapted to his upgrade and adjusted himself to his increased kick frequency.


    Although Tang Yan had the power of Zhang Shun, using his powered up kick frequency used a huge amount of physical strength.


    After doing a few laps, he felt his legs becoming sore, so he decided to stop. He used the breaststroke which was the most labor-saving stroke to swim to shore.


    Shen Qing was frowning and his eyes were dignified looking into the swimming pool. At this time, he saw Tang Yan who was swimming to shore.


    His eyes flashed as he suddenly remembered something.

 143 In Fact, What I Am Best At Is The Breaststroke

    Tang Yan swam to shore and took a break. He held the guardrail on the wall and was ready to climb up, when he looked up and saw Shen Qing stood above him looking down.


    "Damn Coach, I know that you are in a bad mood but can you not creep up on me like that." Tang Yan couldn''t help but instinctively reply.


    Shen Qing didn''t care and instead continued to stare at him with a smile.


    This strange move made Tang Yan''s hair stand to attention, he felt like he was about to be sold.


    "Tang Yan, come up first, I have something to discuss with you." Shen Qing strode back and said.


    Tang Yan didn''t object, he came ashore and grabbed the bath towel next to him.


    "Do you remember Tian Yang?" Shen Qing said.


    Tang Yan nodded and looked at Shen Qing with doubts.


    "If I remember correctly, you beat Tian Yang with the butterfly stroke right?" Shen Qing said.


    When Shen Qing asked, Tang Yan understood in an instant. It seemed that Shen Qing wanted him to replace Wang Shun in the relay race of the 4x100 medley tonight.


    In fact, before Wang Shun was injured, he had the idea to attempt to get into the medley team. However, Shen Qing had arranged for Lu Zhibin instead to take the freestyle stroke.


    Seeing Tang Yan nod, Shen Qing followed with a tentative question: "Do you know the other styles, such as the.....breaststroke?"


    Seeing Tang Yan nodded again, Shen Qing had a bright smile and followed up by saying: "I want you to swim in the medley relay race tonight, swimming the breaststroke!"


    After he finished, he looked straight at Tang Yan and saw that his expression hadn''t changed. He followed up and said, "I just want you to try your best. Keep up as well as you can and leave it to the other members to finish it off. I don''t want to have to drop out without trying!"


    He nodded and said: "Coach, don''t worry, in fact, what I''m best at is the breaststroke."


    Shen Qing heard Tang Yan''s answer, smiled and shook his head.


    Looking at his appearance, he obviously didn''t believe Tang Yan''s words.


    You broke the Asian record in freestyle and now you want to tell me that you''re actually better at breaststroke, who would believe that!


    But because he wanted Tang Yan to help out, he said nothing.


    Tang Yan didn''t refute, in ancient times swimming was more biased towards practicality, swimming on your side allowed the stroke to be used for towing casualties. The swimmers wouldn''t use the right arm because they would pull a casualty with it.


    In ancient times there were also soldiers called frog soldiers due to how similar the swimming stroke resembled a frog swimming in the water. The style gave you speed, low strength drain and smooth profile making soldiers less visible and harder to detect in the water. Allowing them to swim just under the water surface making it perfect for missions behind the enemy lines. It was also the oldest of the swimming strokes.


    "Okay, then I''m looking forward to your performance tonight." Seeing Tang Yan didn''t seem to be joking, Shen Qing also put away his smile and patted him on the shoulder.


    After Tang Yan agreed, the list for the evening medley for the Zhejiang Province was finally finalized,  backstroke Xu Jiayu, breaststroke Tang Yan, butterfly swimming Li Zhuhao, freestyle Lu Zhibin.


    .....


    6 o''clock in the evening, Tang Yan placed on his swimsuit and headed to the pool. In the morning the butterfly preliminaries were first, but in the evening finals, freestyle was the first event.


    Compared with in the morning, the swimming centre was already full. The audience had already arrived more than an hour earlier, afraid that their seats would be taken by others.


    After the final warm-up exercise before the race, the swimmers went up onto the starting platforms.


    The audience immediately gave a burst of cheers.


    Tang Yan''s performance was ranked first among all the swimmers. He was in the second lane. First lane on his right hand side was Lu Zhibin, who came first in the preliminaries and in the third lane was Ning Xuantao, who came third in the preliminary round.


    The two men sandwiched Tang Yan and formed a siege around him.


    "Come on Brother Tang!"


    When Tang Yan stepped onto the platform, he heard Ye Shiwen cheering for him on the sidelines.


    Ye Shiwen''s 200m and 400m medley events were all over.


    Tang Yan reached out and made an ok gesture, then got into position.


    "On your marks!"


    "Get set!"


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer sound, Tang Yan and the others dove into the water.


    Compared with the preliminaries, Tang Yan was obviously more focused. This time, disregarding everything else, he used all his strength.


    He was first to surface out of the water.


    "Tang Yan''s out the blocks with an amazing start. He''s showing no holds barred tonight as he leads everyone in an instant!"


    Grabbing first place, Tang Yan''s speed didn''t decrease. He increased his kick frequency and his whole figure was like a fish gliding forward in the water.


    "My God, Tang Yan is still accelerating. Lu Zhibin and Ning Xuotao, who were predicted to be able to challenge him before the race, have been completely left behind in his dust."


    With the commentators passionate explanation, the emotions of the audience were fully raised.


    Reaching the 20 meters mark, Tang Yan''s lead was already half a metre which was absolutely rare in a 50m race.


    "Come on Ning Xuanta, catch him!!"


    Just then, several female audience members in the front row shouted with a sharp voice.


    Ning Xuantao had the adonis look going on, he was slim, muscular with an almost perfectly symmetrical face which was strong and defined and his excellent debut performance this championship caused his popularity to skyrocketed and there were many female fans who supported him.


    Hearing the cheers from the audience, Ning Xuantao began to accelerate intensely. He overtook Lu Zhibin and succeeded in taking second place.


    At the 30 meter mark, Tang Yan still led everyone by more than half a metre, Ning Xutao exceeding Lu Zhibin made the effort to narrow the gap between him and Tang Yan.


    "They are already more than halfway done but Tang Yan''s speed is still showing no signs of decline! No, he is still accelerating, still speeding up!" The commentator was filled with excitement.

 144 Persisten

    But accelerating again Tang Yan once again stretched his lead to half a metre.


    Ning Xuantao had reached the limit of his own speed, let alone increasing his speed maintaining it was already very difficult, he could only watch Tang Yan pull away and a gap formed between them.


    By the time they entered the last 5 meters, the audience had already stood up and were cheering for Tang Yan.


    "Tang Yan is already under the Asian record! This will be his third time to break an Asian record in this championship!" The commentator roared with excitement.


    In the last 5 meters, Tang Yan didn''t slow down and rushed to touch the wall at full speed.


    "21 seconds, 91, a new Asian record! Tang Yan has become the holder of the 50m Asian record!" As he touched the wall, the commentator had already shouted his results.


    22 seconds, just like 48 seconds for the 100-meter freestyle, was a difficult hurdle to overcome, but Tang Yan broke these barriers one after another. After this championship, his name as the king of China''s freestyle was solidified.


    After seeing the results, Tang Yan shook his head.


    "You''re truly strong." Ning Xuantao touched the wall a second later and after seeing Tang Yan''s results, he couldn''t help but sigh.


    "Our Tang Yan is now the king of freestyle." Lu Zhibin smiled and patted Tang Yan''s shoulder.


    After a few words from the others, they followed one another and went ashore.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!" When walking to shore, fans were already shouting Tang Yan''s name by the fence.


    Ye Shiwen was also loudly chanting his name from the sidelines and the icy image he had previously established collapsed instantly.


    Tang Yan waved to the crowd and went directly beside Ye Shiwen and patted her head and said "little fool".


    Ye Shiwen smiled back at him with a mischievous grin.


    The award ceremony for the 50m freestyle was performed and presenting the medal to Tang Yan was Song Yuyu, the president of the Chinese Swimming Association. His gaze towards Tang Yan was full of appreciation and he was close besides Tang Yan as the press took photos.


    This was the case with competitive sports. Competition was very cruel and like everything that involved money it had a dark side but once you climbed up the rungs and became a A* athlete and one of the faces of the sport. There were many benefits to be gained.


    When the award ceremony was over and Tang Yan held up the gold medal, the audience gave a warm cheer.


    Media reporters also filmed the scene, when the championships ended, the news reports on Tang Yan would once again be overwhelming as both the government and the association pushed him forward as the poster child.


    Tang Yan took his medal and headed towards the locker room, waving to the crowd while walking.


    Just then, he noticed a familiar figure.


    Staring at him in a very inconspicuous position in the back row of the stands, was Zhuang Jiajie, the guy who resigned from his job and came asking to be his agent.


    He had either been racing or training in recent months, which was why he had forgotten about him.


    Seeing he had followed him all the way here, he likely hadn''t given up and was still paying attention to him.


    He remembered liking Zhuang Jiajie a lot. After all, he agreed not to harass him and stuck to it, not bothering him over the last few months.


    After the 50m freestyle final, the other finals would follow.


    After changing his clothes, he went to watch the women''s 100m medley relay.


    As he came out, the race was already underway.


    Off the bat the Zhejiang Province was very strong and grabbed first place, but the second slot swimmer for the backstroke and the third slot for the breaststroke performed poorly and they fell from first to third, the last swimmer was Ye Shiwen.


    Ye Shiwen specialized in medley swimming but her strongest stroke was freestyle.


    After getting into the water she started the crazy chase.


    The average runner was paddling twice in one breath, but she was able to do four strokes in one breath by relying on her lung capacity, which greatly increased her speed.


    With the cheers of the audience, she surpassed the swimmer in second place in the first 50 meters, and after turning, she quickly surpassed first place. When entering the last 20 meters, she was already pulling away.


    In the end, Ye Shiwen performed an absolute reversal to help the Zhejiang Province win the gold medal.


    After the race, Ye Shiwen was ecstatic. After accepting the audience''s applause, she walked from the swimming pool to the entrance of the aisle and seeing Tang Yan she jump straight at him.


    And Tang Yan was forced to catch her and hold her up.


    After a few words, Ye Shiwen''s emotions stabilized


    After talking with her and her teammates for a while, Tang Yan headed back to the locker room to rest.


    After the other finals were completed, the men''s 100-meter medley relay final started immediately.


    Tang Yan appeared with his teammates, and when he appeared again, the mood at the scene reached a new high.


    "I''m looking forward to his breaststroke. I heard from a friend''s friend that when Tang Yan was in the city team, he defeated a former freestyle swimmer of the provincial team with the butterfly stroke.


    "What, beating the freestyle with the butterfly stroke?!"


    "Yep, that''s what I heard, so he clearly knows the other strokes fairly well and seeing that there are so many talents in the Zhejiang Province. But Shen Qin still arranged for him to swim the breaststroke. It seems that his breaststroke is definitely a force to be reckoned with!"


    ...


    Tang Yan had just finished warming up, when the referee called:


    "Swimmers come up!"


    As the referee''s instructions were issued, the backstroke swimmers of each team went up. Xu Jiayu was up for the Zhejiang province.

 145 No More Doub

    Xu Jiayu was 3 years younger than Tang Yan, he represented the new generation of backstroke swimmers in China.


    In the previous 100m backstroke, he won the bronze medal but he successfully won gold in the 50m. It could be seen that he was in good shape this season.


    Backstroke was the only one of the four strokes to begin in the water.


    The swimmers grabbed the fence of the pool wall and kicked off.


    Buzz!


    With the sound of the buzzer, the swimmers kicked off the wall one after another, Xu Jia shot forward and grabbed first place.


    In swimming competitions of more than 50 meters, swimmers could pace themselves slightly and chase in the second half. Or charge straight away and preemptively gain the advantage in the early stages and psychologically suppress their opponents, Xu Jiayu belonged to the latter.


    Xu Jiayu was very fierce and he kept the lead going into the 50m turn.


    But on the turn, the veteran Chen Cheng from the Shanghai team had overtaken him and grabbed first place.


    After being overtaken, it became difficult for Xu Jiayu to chase again. He maintained second place and touched the wall.


    Because there was no baton transfer like in track and field, the swimmers needed to stay on the take-off platform for at least 0.03 seconds after the previous swimmer touched the wall before taking off.


    Too early and it was a direct disqualification and too late you would fall behind, so it was important to grasp the timing.


    This was the first medley relay for Tang Yan, he lacked experience and his take-off was slightly slow. As a result, he was overtaken by the swimmer from the Hubei Team in the next lane.


    Entering the water he fell from second to third.


    "... He took to long diving in there, Tang Yan''s fallen into third"


    "Maybe he was nervous, after all it''s his first time swimming the breaststroke!"


    ...


    Tang Yan was now undoubtedly the focus of the sidelines, every move affected the hearts of the audience.


    After Tang Yan entered the water, he kicked his legs and started to move forward with a swipe of his hands.


    His speed for 50 meters was less than 20 seconds. However, the breaststroke was different from freestyle and such speed was impossible.


    But he wasn''t slow either. His kicking strength and stroke rhythm was higher than others. His kicking distance was dozens of centimeters more than others.


    Breaststroke was more technique intensive.


    He had the same number of kicks as the Hubei swimmer, but just 10 meters later, he had successfully passed his opponent and grabbed second place.


    " Tang Yan''s kick distance is so far?"


    "The way he wades through the water is particularly smooth!"


    ...


    Swimming enthusiasts watched the race and Tang Yan''s amazing gliding distance soon attracted their opinions.


    The head coaches for the other provinces were also surprised, and even Shen Qing was slightly surprised.


    Although he knew that Tang Yan had once beat Tian Yang with the breaststroke, Tang Yan didn''t usually display his breaststroke, he had only put him in this time to try his luck.


    After 20 meters, Tang Yan was completely stunning him.


    After watching for a while, he lost his thoughts and tried to see how Tang Yan''s gliding distance was being achieved, but he couldn''t comprehend it.


    In fact, it wasn''t just him, the head coaches of various provinces were analyzing and coming up empty.


    And at this time, some smart reporters had already picked up their cameras and started filming this amazing scene. Already thoughts of tomorrow''s headlines flickered in their minds: King of the Pool, Forget Phelps Remember Tang Yan.


    At this time in the pool, Tang Yan successfully grabbed first place after overtaking Chen Cheng of the Shanghai team.


    At this time, swimmers of the other provinces could only stare.


    They wanted to chase, but what could they do ...


    Tang Yan reached the pool wall, then touched the wall with both hands, followed by kicking the wall with both legs. After turning, he had already pulled ahead by nearly a metre.


    Shen Qing was uncontrollably excited at this time. He remembered the words Tang Yan said before, "In fact, what I am best at is the breaststroke." At the time, he felt that Tang Yan was bragging, but now it seemed he was the real thing.


    He suddenly felt extremely guilty. Before Tang Yan said that he could swim freestyle, he didn''t believe it. Tang Yan said that he was good at breaststroke, and he didn''t believe it.


    Tang Yan treated him frankly, but he doubted him again and again!


    At this time, the distance between Tang Yan and the other swimmers was completely widened. By 60 meters, he was already 1 and a half metres ahead of the second place!


    Compared to freestyle, the effects of his upgrade were more obvious!


    With the audience''s amazement, Tang Yan opened up the gap and finally touched the wall with a 2 metre advantage over others.


    As Li Zhuhao entered the water, he even passed by swimmers from the other provinces as he started his lap.


    This was a rare scene in a relay race.


    At this time, some sharp-eyed audience members noticed the time before and after Tang Yan. Although there was no accurate timing, his speed was definitely within 1 minute, or even about 59 seconds, which was very close to the world record!


    "Wait what the hell! Why didn''t Tang Yan swim in the 100-meter breaststroke event?"


    Li Zhuhao didn''t squander much of the lead and Lu Zhibin finished it off easily on his go, to create a new national record.


    Hearing that they broke the record, all of them were lost in excitement.


    "I can''t wait till the Olympics,  I want to see Tang Yan vs. Kyosuke Kitajima!" Some audience members said expectantly.


    Speaking of breaststroke, Japan had absolute dominance in Asia. Kitajima Koji was one of the best. He won the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke gold medal in the Beijing Olympics. Tang Yan''s performance today directly made the audience ''s expectations soar.


    "I would like to see what kind of scene Tang Yan would cause at the Olympics"

 146 King Of Sports

    With this final gold medal, Tang Yan''s championship journey was officially over.


    A large number of new talent had emerged in this championship. The likes of Sun Yang, Ye Shiwen and Ning Zetao performed well but the most dazzling star was undoubtedly Tang Yan.


    He participated in a total of 6 single events and 2 relay races. Except for the two losses to Sun Yang, in all his other events he won gold, demonstrating his dominance in Chinese swimming.


    He broke 3 Asian records.


    After the award ceremony, Tang Yan celebrated with his teammates and then left the swimming pool. After he went out, he directly called Zhuang Jiajie and asked him to meet at a nearby cafe.


    ....


    Zhuang Jiajie was fast. Tang Yan had just sat down, when he entered right on his heels.


    It could be seen that he was anxious.


    "You finally called me!" He said excitedly as soon as he sat down.


    Suddenly, Tang Yan couldn''t help but smile.


    Who was acting like the 18 year old.


    "What do you want to drink?" Tang Yan reached out and called the waiter.


    "Let''s have a latte." Zhuang Jiajie said politely to the waiter.


    Tang Yan didn''t mind, he began the conversation: "I''ve thought over your offer and I''m interested but I need more detail on what you have in mind."


    "Yeah sure I already have a plan in mind." Zhuang Jiajie was obviously prepared.


    "Your reputation is on the rise but because of you frequently changing sports, this accumulation isn''t continuous, which will lead to a problem. There are many people who know you, but relatively few people like you." Zhuang Jiajie said straightforwardly.


    "Your coffee." At this point the waiter had returned with the coffee they ordered.


    "Thank you." Tang Yan took the coffee, looked over at Zhuang Jiajie and motioned him to continue.


    "Most of your fans have one sport they follow rigorously which is likely how they know you and whilst they might pay attention to your other activities every now and then. Most of the time they don''t because they don''t have any particular interest in that sport." Zhuang Jiajie continued.


    Tang Yan nodded sipping his coffee.


    "The issue with this, is that when you switch sports your relevance and popularity falls in all the other fields but that relevance and popularity is how you appeal to advertisers and promoters. You need to build a following that doesn''t just follow you as a boxer but you as an athlete."


    "They''re here to see your overall journey not just your swimming, boxing or archery career."


    "This problem would have been difficult to solve in the past, but it''s different now. With the power of social media, you can have a place to concentrate everyone who likes you and craft a persona around your cross-sports gimmick. "Zhuang Jiajie said, taking out his mobile phone.


    Tang Yan looked down and saw what was displayed on the screen.


    "Weibo?"


    "Yes, Weibo, it''s a relatively big social media platform and is extremely trendy among the new generation. I believe it will continue to grow and become one of the biggest assets in terms of creating a following in the future. With the platform, your fans will have a gathering place and you can easily interact with them to continue to raise your popularity. Your fans will only grow.


    "The more fans and followers you have, the more attractive you will be to advertisers and promoters. It''s not just about being the best athlete, that is important as well but you need to be able to create a brand around it!"


    Zhuang Jiajie said a little excited, "It''s essentially a popularity contest, as long as there is popularity, it means there is a market and as long as it is a market they can sell to, your endorsement fees will soar!"


    Tang Yan nodded thoughtfully, Zhuang Jiajie''s idea essentially described how things would be in the future. In his previous life, there were plenty of Weibo celebrities who built a massive following and used that to earn a living just based on sponsorships.


    Zhuang Jiajie''s thinking was actually very advanced. Weibo had only been up for two years now being launched in 2009 but he had clearly been able to ascertain its future potential.


    "Of course, this is only the first step." Zhuang Jiajie''s next sentence once again aroused Tang Yan''s interest.


    "Next, you need to use your spare time to appear in entertainment programs. That is the second step of the plan. For example programs like Wilderness Survival. With your ability, it shouldn''t be a problem at all. "Zhuang Jiajie continued.


    Tang Yan nodded in agreement with Zhuang Jiajie. This was the standard growth path of celebrities and online stars in his previous life but this was a trend that began to occur four or five years later.


    "Well, what do you think my Weibo name should be?" Tang Yan asked with a smile.


    As soon as Zhuang Jiajie heard these words, his face was immediately delighted, he understood the indirect meaning of the question, Tang Yan was accepting him.


    "Anything really is fine. It''s probably better to use your real name, so it''s easy to search."


    "Okay, got it. I''ll make an account tonight. I will also put your name and contact information on it, but you need to remember I''m apart of the national team, which represents the country. Take these factors into account when screening endorsements. "Tang Yan reminded solemnly.


    In his previous life, an athlete was kicked off the team and buried under criticism because of one of his endorsements, he didn''t want to repeat the same mistake.


    "I know, I plan to make money together, I won''t push you into the fire pit." Zhuang Jiajie said.


    "Well, let''s end it here for today." Tang Yan said, he was beginning to feel fatigue set in, after a long day, he took a sip of his coffee and then stood up.


    "By the way, after you go back, please send me a schedule of the events you are going to participate in. I need to adjust my plans according to your schedule." Zhuang Jiajie said after he got up.


    "You''ve settled into your role very quickly." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "No time like the present." Zhuang Jiajie said confidently.


    "Okay, I''ll send it over when I get back." Tang Yan nodded.


    .....


    Back at the hotel, he took out his phone and started to register for Weibo. He originally thought of the username Official Tang Yan but when he thought about it, it seemed too corporate. After a thought, he entered:


    KOS-(King of Sports)


    Looking at the words typed, the corner of his lips turned up slightly.


    Sure enough, the name looked domineering.


    He registered and went through the authentication process and soon he was verified. He followed up by adding Zhuang Jiajie''s contact information in his bio.


    Immediately after doing this, he suddenly found that he had dozens of followers, this speed surprised him.


    Clicking to see, he saw it was a mixture of Weibo sponsors and normal users, it seemed they had been waiting for a long time.


    After a while, someone started to comment.


    "Is this Weibo fake?"


    "He''s verified so it should be real."


    "Really? King of Sports. I like it but he''s still missing a few events, right?"


    "Hahaha, Brother Tang, when will you start track and field? I want to see you racing Bolt!"


    "I still expect Tang Yan to switch to football. China''s very own Messi!"


    "Imagine China winning the World Cup, I would die happy!"

 147 Tight Schedule

    Closing Weibo, he felt sleep begin to set in, he put his phone aside, and lay down to sleep.


    Getting up the next day, he felt completely relaxed after a thorough sleep, finally he didn''t have a race to attend or train for.


    He woke up and stretched, relaxed.


    He got dressed, picked up his phone and looked at it, and was shocked.


    There were all sorts of missed calls on the screen. Shen Qing, Tian Zhenzhe, Qin Hailong and even from his mother...


    He ignored the first three directly and dialed his moms number and walked towards the bathroom.


    As soon as he squeezed out some toothpaste, the call went through.


    "Ahh, Son you''re finally awake" His mother''s voice rang over the phone.


    "No, your son is busy dreaming. He didn''t pick it up."


    "....."


    "Oh, mom, what''s the matter?"


    "I watched the news last night. The provincial station said that you won 7 gold medals? It seemed that Sun Yang only took 2 gold. You stole his gold medals?"


    "...Mom, am I still your son..."


    "Of course you are, but can you leave people a little bit as well, they have to feed their families as well, you know."


    "Okay, fine I''ll take it easier next time. Plus it was only 6 gold medals, not 7 so don''t worry."


    "...."


    "Okay mom, I''m going to brush my teeth. I''ll call you back when I''m free."


    Hanging up the phone, he scrolled down and saw a message from Zhuang Jiajie asking him about his schedule.


    He patted his head in annoyance, he got tired and slept yesterday and forgot to send it.


    He put his phone aside and washed his face, after he was completely awake, he returned to his room and before turning on his laptop, the phone rang again.


    It was Qin Hailong.


    He hesitated, and then answered the phone.


    "Tang Yan, congratulations, 6 gold medals." Qin Hailong said.


    "Thank you coach, I just woke up and saw your missed call, I was literally about to call you back now.


    Tang Yan said, opening up his laptop.


    "Well, after so many swimming sessions, you must be tired. I hope you got a good night''s sleep."


    Tang Yan smiled slightly but in his heart he had already guessed what Qin Hailong would say next.


    "Now the championship is over, when will you report for the boxing team? Next month is the trials for the Boxing World Championship. This World Championship is an Olympic trial. It is directly related to your Olympic qualification. "Qin Hailong said directly.


    Boxing wasn''t the same as swimming. In swimming as long as you reached the A or B grade time criteria in a large-scale event approved by the Olympic Committee, you could participate in the Olympic Games for the event.


    Boxing was different. Boxing you had to rank a certain position in the designated trials. For example, in the boxing world championship, only the top 10 boxers could advance to the Olympics.


    "Coach, I know. I will report to the boxing team when I finish handling everything here. It should be a week at most, I''ll be back soon I promise."


    "Well, I''ll wait for you then." Hearing that Tang Yan finally gave a positive answer, he was finally relieved.


    Tang Yan then called Tian Zhenzhe to make an appointment to report in and arrange his schedule.


    Once this was done, his schedule for the next half of the year was laid out.


    Boxing World Championship trials, Swimming World Championships, Boxing World Championships, followed by Archery World Championships.


    This would take him basically to the end of the year.


    Seeing such a tight schedule, he suddenly felt that the three sports restriction from the system was justified.


    If it was four or five sports together, not to mention whether he could achieve good results, this constant back and forth would leave him completely drained and muddle headed.


    After sending the schedule to Zhuang Jiajie, he put on his clothes and went directly to the swimming team.


    Although he had no competition today, he naturally had to go show his support for the rest of the swimming team like they did for him plus he also had to tell Shen Qing that he would be reporting to the boxing team next week.


    ¡­..


    After the last few races of the competition Tang Yan went directly to Shen Qing and told him about leaving for the boxing team.


    "Hmm I understand but you have to come back a month and a half before the World Championships. The training time for the national team will take a month."


    "No problem." Tang Yan nodded.


    "Also, before you told me that you wanted to try out for all the different strokes¡­.. after the World Championships, we can talk about it." Shen Qing continued.


    "Thank you, Coach." Tang Yan was pleased to hear Shen Qing mention this, because the Olympic Games would drastically cut  down the amount of medals he could win.


    Take the men''s freestyle as an example, the Olympics didn''t have the 800m event, which was equivalent to directly missing out on a chance to win honor points.


    Even if the relay races were counted, he had a total of 7 chances to win medals. With the Olympic Games being once every four years, this was obviously too wasteful, but if he could register for the other strokes this number would surge greatly.


    "But this isn''t a simple matter. You have to consider the schedule. After all, some events are carried out in a row. Even if you have the ability, you might not have the physical strength. Even Phelps only signs up for 8 events, of course he won all 8 gold medals in the end. "


    "Coach, I will be stronger than Phelps."


    "...."


    After finishing his talk with Shen Qing, Tang Yan was in a great mood.


    Hopefully next year at this time, he could participate in the other strokes and reach the corresponding A standard.


    However, what Shen Qing said was also true. How many events could he actually sign up for? That would have a lot to do with what the schedule would look like and his physical fitness. For events like 1500 meters, he might have to give them up selectively.


    Of course, this was all still too early for him. His focus was now on the Boxing World Championships.


    Moving up the weight class meant a new start for him, especially in the upcoming World Championships. Compared with the Asian Games, the strength of his opponent''s would directly increase a tier.

 148 Returning

    Shortly after the championship, the Sports Bureau issued a training notice for the 2011 World Aquatics Championships national team, which included a swimming list and Tang Yan''s name was listed.


    The release of this document also meant that Tang Yan had officially become a member of the national swimming team.


    However, one week after the end of the swimming championship, Tang Yan set foot north on the way to Beijing, reporting to the boxing team and archery team.


    The purpose was to participate in the upcoming boxing World Championship trials, which was the National Boxing Championship and another purpose was to further his weight gain plan.


    When he saw Tang Yan, Qin Hailong was startled. If it weren''t for Tang Yan''s face, he wouldn''t have recognized him.


    From when they broke up last year to now, Tang Yan had spent 4 going 5 months in the swimming team. During this time, his nutrition was absolutely top-tier and even with his intense training schedule there had been some development, his whole person had undergone great changes.


    When he first joined the swimming team, his height was around 5''6 meters but now he had grown to 5''8 meters and his weight had soared from 52 kg to 57 kg.


    And because he was training every day, his body fat percentage was strictly controlled and all that extra mass was solid muscle.


    This change surprised Qin Hailong and at the same time it led to some worry.


    In boxing, whilst it was common to move or drop a weight class, most changes were within a small range, such as from 49kg to 52, or from 52 to 49kg.


    This was because substantial changes in weight resulted in the body undergoing considerable changes in terms of performance, such as speed, strength, explosive power, etc. It even affected reaction time. This would all take time for any boxer to adapt to.


    And they were currently only half a month away from the start of the National Championship.


    Even if Tang Yan performed well in the previous Asian Games, Qin Hailong felt the pressure.


    He immediately started targeted training for Tang Yan.


    In the lower weight classes, speed was the most critical factor and good footwork to accompany it was a must and this had been the main aspect of Tang Yan''s training before the new year.


    But now the emphasis of his training changed more so to focusing on defense and durability, timing and conditioning, all of which require targeted training.


    At the 56 kg level, offensive and defensive tactics became more critical.


    So with half a month, Qin Hailong began to instill the tactical system of modern boxing into Tang Yan.


    Bruce Lee''s boxing philosophy was based in the last century. Qin Hailong instilled in him corner tactics and long-range tactics etc.


    The training sessions passed by fast and soon it was time for the National Boxing Championship.


    This time the championship was held in Zhengding, Hebei, the hometown of the three time gold medalist Zhao Yun.


    Zhengding wasn''t too far from Beijing.


    The World Championship was an intercontinental event. Each country or region could only send one boxer per event to participate. Only those who won their respect events at the championships could qualify for the World Championships.


    Because the top 10 of the World Championships could qualify for the Olympic Games, this time almost all the well-known boxers in the country had arrived.


    Zou Shiming, Zhang Xiaoping and Zhang Zhilei, all of whom were 2008 Olympic medalists were some of the more major names.


    After winning the 49kg event in the Asian Games, Tang Yan could be said to be quite famous in the Chinese boxing scene, his transition to the 55-57kg featherweight class, surprised many other boxers.


    Zou Shiming especially was quite surprised, after their past sparring session, he had been looking forward to fighting Tang Yan again and seeing how the kid had improved but now it seemed that was out of the picture.


    At this time, the happiest were the boxers in the 52 kg class. Because of Zou Shiming''s existence, many had worried that Tang Yan would put on weight in order to avoid facing Zou Shiming.


    In which case if he moved up to the next weight class, it would be their weight class, the bantamweight class but luckily he soared straight to 56kg skipping over their weight class.


    However, the boxers in the 56kg class didn''t have the same tension. Two weight classes up, they didn''t think much of Tang Yan''s dominance in the 49kg class.


    There were a total of 13 people in his weight class.


    They were allocated their opponents by picking lots, with one boxer getting a bye into the semi-finals.


    Though he didn''t obtain the bye, he was the fourth fight so his first fight wouldn''t be until tomorrow. So he took to the stands and observed his future opponents in the ring.


    After a while, he suddenly shook his head. Although they were national-level boxers, their strength was far worse than those of the Asian Games boxers.


    It seemed that this time, he had basically made the cut.


    But compared with Tang Yan''s calmness, Qin Hailong seemed a little nervous.


    Originally his plan was to have Tang Yan participate in the 52kg class, so he and Zou Shiming wouldn''t clash and they could have the opportunity for two gold medals instead of one but now things had strayed.


    ...


    On the first day of the competition, due to the large gap between the boxers, there was no upset. Zou Shiming, Zhang Xiaoping, Zhang Zhilei and Tang Yan all easily advanced to the next round.


    In fact, because the domestic boxing level wasn''t high, there were very few spectators at the tournament this time. The boxing hall, which could accommodate more than 3,000 people, wasn''t even full.


    What surprised the organizers was that on the second day of the preliminary rounds, the number of spectators suddenly doubled and almost two-thirds of the seats were full.


    And many of these new audience members were carrying special banners and the words on them were quite eye-catching.


    The Boxing Killer Returns, Tang Yan!

 149 Quick Turnaround

    Needless to say, these new audience members were here for Tang Yan. Since Tang Yan opened his Weibo account, his boxing fans flooded over and his moniker as the Boxing Killer was solidified.


    In fact, their presence was planned by Zhuang Jiajie. With the Weibo platform, Tang Yan''s fan club was established in one go  and it was constantly expanding. Organizing such a small-scale event was simply easy.


    However, the effect was immediate, chanting fans, eye-catching banners, the media reporters on the sidelines had no shortage of news topics.


    Seeing the audience supporting him, just made Tang Yan take the fight more seriously.


    The fights were in the order of weight classes.


    Zou Shiming''s fight was first, which attracted a lot of excitement from the sidelines, after that was the 52kg fights.


    After the 52kg fights was the 56kg fights, when Tang Yan appeared for his ring walk, the audience burst into cheers. The mood soared to the peak.


    As his opponent walked out, even he couldn''t help but be overwhelmed by the atmosphere.


    But even so Qin Qiong was full of excitement.


    Every boxer dreamed of reaching the peak and earning fame and fortune. Defeating a famous boxer was undoubtedly a shortcut. The famous professional boxer Frazier was defeated by Foreman, who reached the peak in one battle.


    For Qin Qiong, Tang Yan, who leaped from the 49kg class to the 56kg class, was his ideal opponent.


    The boxers from both sides came to the center of the ring and the referee went through the rules.


    With the increase in fights, Tang Yan had already memorized this sequence. At this time, he focused on his opponent.


    Seeing Qin Qiong''s anticipation and excitement, he quickly understood his opponent''s thoughts.


    After the referee went through his sequence, he signaled the start of the fight.


    The two touched gloves and then backed away.


    Qin Qiong didn''t immediately launch an attack, instead retreating as he began to circle around Tang Yan counterclockwise.


    In the world of boxing, European and Russian boxers were good at straight line attacks, Caribbean and American fighters were good at straight and horizontal cross attacks, Asian boxers were good at round attacks, they moved clockwise and counterclockwise in round attacks.


    Because the right hand was always on the left side of the opponent when moving counterclockwise, it was a boxing style that was biased towards attacking. It could be seen that Qin Qiong wanted to take the initiative from the beginning.


    Just after the fight started, the side commentators began to talk.


    "Qin Qiong is using his standard counterclockwise style but he doesn''t look too eager to attack. His experience is quite rich, I think he might give Tang Yan some trouble.


    "It''s normal for young boxers to aim for higher weight classes but if the weight gain is too fast it can sometimes become quite troublesome. In addition, Tang Yan has encountered an experienced boxer in the 2nd round. It will be a hard fight. "


    Just as the commentators started talking, Qin Qiong, who had been in a wandering state, suddenly attacked and launched a round of jab attacks on Tang Yan.


    A jab was a straight punch. The purpose wasn''t to knock down the opponent but interfere with him, keep him on his toes and at a distance.


    Tang Yan instantly put up his arms and blocked the blows.


    Unlike in his previous 49kg fights, Qin Qiong''s series of jabs were extremely compact.


    The beautiful set of jabs immediately attracted some cheers from the audience.


    At this time, Qin Hailong couldn''t help frowning. Tang Yan hadn''t launched an attack.


    "Qin Qiong is swarming Tang Yan with his jabs, he''s smothering Tang Yan''s sight!"


    With the voice of the commentator, Qin Qiong suddenly shot out a right hook amidst his jabs.


    It flew towards the left cheek of Tang Yan.


    It came down suddenly, but it was obviously premeditated. The previous series of tentative jabs were to pave the way for this punch.


    It looked like a fatal punch.


    He was tryna win with one blow!


    Many audience members exclaimed, seeing that Tang Yan didn''t even have time to make a block.


    Their hearts dropped. It looked like Tang Yan had blindly promoted up a class and now it looked like his winning streak was set to end here.


    "No!" At this moment the commentator suddenly exclaimed, Tang Yan wasn''t moving but waiting!


    The next moment after Qin Qiong punched out, Tang Yan who hadn''t punched out yet, suddenly threw a punch.


    His right hand was flying fast and after a straight punch, he smashed directly into Qin Qiong''s right hand.


    The timing of his punch was extremely tricky and his reaction time had to be perfect.


    Qin Qiong didn''t even have time to adjust his punch, when...


    Boom!


    With a muffled sound, Tang Yan''s right fist hit the inside of Qin Qiong''s right hand.


    A moment of numbness came, and Qin Qiong''s right hand instantly lost consciousness!


    What a heavy punch!


    Tang Yan''s left foot suddenly took a step forward, followed by a left hook.


    Qin Qiong''s right hand was numb and he couldn''t lift it to block.


    Boom!


    Tang Yan''s left hook slammed into Qin Qiong''s right cheek. He suddenly took a few steps back to the right. He shook his head and tried to control his body, but found that he was constantly staring at the stars and finally with his body off balance, Qin Qiong tried to grab the ropes but grabbed air, and fell directly to the canvas.


    He was down!


    The audience was still.


    The commentators paused.


    Even Qin Hailong didn''t respond.


    The situation in the ring instantly reversed. With one punch, Tang Yan broke through all of Qin Qiong''s moves.


    "3 ..."


    "2..."


    "1..."


    The referee finished the countdown and Qin Qiong was still down, shaking his head and trying to stand up.


    "From the Zhejiang Province....your winner is Tang Yan!" The referee raised Tang Yan''s hand.


    The audience burst into cheers.


    The next second, Tang Yan''s fans were up on their feet struggling to wave the banners in their hands, as a neat chant rang through the boxing gymnasium.


    "Boxing Killer! Tang Yan!

 150 New Style

    Qin Hailong let out a deep breath.


    Tang Yan''s outstanding performance proved that he was far too concerned, he had underestimated his proud disciple.


    Tang Yan didn''t care much about this kind of thing, if anything surpassing people''s expectations time and time again was one of the joys of life.


    The tournament had a tight schedule, and the fights continued on the third day. For example, the 56kg class directly entered the semi-finals, and the winner would be through to the final tomorrow, thus qualifying for the AIBA World Boxing Championships.


    Tang Yan''s opponent in this round was Zou Chen from the Henan Province. The Henan province was the home province of Shaolin Kung Fu. Zou Chen coming out from here had a strong in boxing style and his strength was good.


    However, compared to his strength, Zou Chen''s real magic weapon was his style of fighting, he was a left-handed boxer or a southpaw in boxing terms.


    In boxing, southpaws were very rare and even fewer were present the higher up the ladder you went but once they reached a certain level, they held the advantage in a fight.


    This was due to a matter of habit. If in all your previous fights, your opponents all attacked from your left side and you suddenly faced an attack from the right. It would be quite difficult to adapt and Zou Chen''s strength wasn''t weak, especially since his left punches would be heavier than others, which was the key to his continuous KO of his opponents.


    This type of opponent was a challenge for Tang Yan.


    "His left punch is very heavy. It will throw you off slightly when you go up. At the beginning, you should circle appropriately to observe his offensive routine." Qin Hailong specifically told him before he entered the ring.


    Tang Yan nodded, wearing his protective gear.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s debut, the mood of the audience was quickly ignited.


    After yesterday''s fight, the video of Tang Yan KO''ing Qin Qiong quickly spread through his Weibo and soon brought a positive impact. Today, the boxing hall reached full capacity for the first time since the start of the championship, needless to say, most of them came to support Tang Yan.


    When Tang Yan entered the ring, the cheering was deafening.


    Most of the audience were fans of Tang Yan. So such cheers were understandable, but the fans who came to support Zou Chen couldn''t stand it.


    "These lot are so annoying, such a plastic fanbase, no skill at all."


    "Fully, they just support him because he''s been winning so far. Look at Zou Chen waiting for him and he''s busy acting like a star!"


    "Zou Chen, come on!"


    "Zou Chen, come on !!"


    Grumpy, more than a dozen fans started cheering for Zou Chen. Although they were trying their best, they couldn''t beat the momentum of Tang Yan''s fans.


    The audience on Tang Yan''s side grew even louder in an attempt to drown them out.


    The fight hadn''t even started yet, but the audience on both sides started to clash.


    The on-site staff rushed up and stopped things from getting out of hand.


    By the time the audience''s emotions were under control, the referee and the boxers from both sides had settled into the ring.


    Zou Chen waved his hands to the crowd, which immediately attracted a burst of cheers from his fans.


    Tang Yan didn''t respond. He didn''t feel anyway about Zou Chen. He had only one purpose and that was to defeat his opponent to reach the finals tomorrow.


    The introductions were over and they touched gloves then took a step back.


    After Zou Chen opened up the distance, he circled carefully and didn''t rush to attack.


    Tang Yan didn''t take the initiative to launch an attack. After gaining a new understanding of Jeet Kune Do and adapting to fight at a higher weight class, he now fought defensively and counterattacked.


    His style had adapted from his previous sharp frenzied attacks to a more calculating style, where he bided his time, stalking his prey and aiming for the perfect moment to strike and end it as fast and efficiently as possible.


    Both boxers circled and observed looking for gaps, while their respective fans were chanting heavily for them to defeat the other.


    After a while seemingly giving into their shouts, Zou Chen took the initiative to launch an offensive.


    He dashed in front of Tang Yan, guarding with his right hand and attacked Tang Yan with straight left jabs.


    Zou Chen was quite confident in his boxing ability.


    Tang Yan not used to Zou Chen''s left-handed offense, blocked two of his jabs then took the initiative to distance himself from Zou Chen, slipping away from his blows.


    Zou Chen hit empty air, startled he quickly retreated.


    His movements were fast and his distance from Tang Yan was widened at a glance. It could be seen from this that his reaction time was also quite fast.


    However, his fans immediately shouted encouraging him to attack.


    Zou Chen then launched an attack again.


    But with Tang Yan''s continuous dodges, Zou Chen''s offensive failed.


    After five-six consecutive punches, Zou Chen still couldn''t even touch Tang Yan''s hair. He immediately felt something was wrong.


    Tang Yan''s dodges were too fast, it wasn''t like that of a 56 kg boxer at all!


    When he realized this, he once again opened up the distance between them and wanted to organize an effective attack through observation.


    "Swing! Hit him! Kill him!" The dozen fans saw Zou Chen take the initiative to retreat and immediately shouted again.


    Zou Chen held back but then launched an attack again. This time, he started with a right jab then a left jab continuously alternating. Then he suddenly shifted to the right and launched a left hook straight towards Tang Yan''s right side.


    In order to block Tang Yan had to use his right hand and once he did so, his right hand could attack Tang Yan''s jaw directly with an uppercut.


    This was an adjustment he made after his previous attacks were fruitless.


    In a sense, Zou Chen''s adjustment was a manifestation of his boxing talent, but he obviously underestimated Tang Yan''s strength.


    While Zou Chen was testing the waters, Tang Yan was also adapting to his southpaw style. This sudden attack was a threat to Tang Yan but at the same time it opened Zou Chen up.


    Seeing this, Tang Yan didn''t choose to hold frame and block but directly punched out with a left swing towards the inside of Zou Chen''s left arm.


    Zou Chen was originally slower than Tang Yan. Coupled with depletion from his constant attacks, this time he reacted too late to dodge.


    Boom!


    Hit on the arm, his left hand became numb and was pushed aside.


    Before he could retreat, Tang Yan took the initiative to step forward with his left foot and followed with a right hook directly towards his face.


    He didn''t have time to dodge at all.


    Boom!


    Zou Chen absorbed the full blow onto his left cheek, his head shot back and his body followed.


    Zou Chen''s consciousness was chaotic after falling to the canvas. Even with the referee''s countdown of 10 seconds, he was unable to stand up.


    There was an uproar at the scene.

 151 Helping Hand

    Since boxing entered the modern era, because of the continuous improvements in technology and tactics and the pursuit of athletes in this area, KO''s had become relatively rare in boxing competitions. Take the 2008 Beijing Olympics, for example, only a total of two KO''s occured.


    Although the national championship wasn''t on the same level.


    Knocking out opponents in two consecutive rounds, was quite shocking to the audience.


    But just then, an unexpected scene occurred.


    Tang Yan walked in front of Zou Chen and then reached out and pulled the latter up from the canvas.


    This scene attracted a blast of exclamation from the audience.


    Taking the initiative to help up your opponent wasn''t a rare thing in boxing, but seeing it from Tang Yan was stunning, it had never occurred before.


    Tang Yan lifted up Zou Chen from the ground, said a few words of concern and after he was sure he was okay to stand, he let go.


    The audience burst into cheers.


    Some of the crowd still shouted some less than flattering words but the fighters in the ring were harmonious.


    This was a measure of slapping the faces of the audience.


    Some fast-acting reporters filmed the scene. Such positive news was favored by the public.


    After the referee announced Tang Yan as the winner, Tang Yan helped Zou Chen out the ring and they left.


    Tang Yan didn''t suddenly feel any sympathy, but Zou Chen''s actions of supporting his fans before the fight, as well as the skills and tactics shown in the ring showed that he was a good boxer. Although they were competing now in the end everyone was fighting to represent China. It was necessary to help each other out where possible.


    After the fight, Tang Yan had a shower and headed back.


    ....


    Zhuang Jiajie was indeed a top-level agent. He called Tang Yan after the fight and congratulated him on a good job and how he handled the matter after the fight.


    When the news of tonight''s fight went out, it helped improve Tang Yan''s image. Although Tang Yan rarely did this kind of thing before, it was overlooked as they praised him and fed the hype.


    Tang Yan took a shower and lay down to see how many Weibo fans he had gained. In just a few days, it had changed from the first dozen to more than 100,000 followers. He had to admire his agent, he wasn''t all talk.


    After scrolling through Weibo for a while, he turned his attention to his opponent for the next round.


    His opponent in the next round was a well-known 56kg class domestic boxers.


    Zhang Jiawei


    This name, had a bit of an impression on Tang Yan from his previous life.


    Chinese boxing wasn''t very high level, as such there were only a few famous boxers tossing around. Zou Shiming and Xiong Chaozhong were among the most well-known, while Zhang Jiawei was a tier below.


    The peak for the boxer was in 2015, when he was 27 years old. He defeated the WBO Featherweight Champion, Laurent Djokir and made a name for himself.


    Although Zhang Jiawei was only 23 years old at this time and had yet to reach his peak, he already had a considerable reputation in the domestic 56kg class.


    Tang Yan read all the information collected by Qin Hailong and gained a general understanding of Zhang Jiawei, he was a boxer who was good at long-range attacks.


    At this time, he had to say that he had a great advantage. After all, if the opponent was famous, he had the benefits of the national teams resources to investigate their style, while he remained still relatively unfamiliar to his opponents.


    .....


    The last day of the National Boxing Championships. The audience filled the auditorium early. This time, not only fans of Tang Yan, Zou Shiming, Zhang Jiawei but also general boxing fans. The whole gymnasium was filled.


    The first to fight was Zou Shiming.


    After hard training, Zou Shiming''s strength was even better than that of 2008. Within one round, he suppressed his opponent so much so he couldn''t afford to raise his head. Although there was no KO, in the second round the referee called it off and he won by TKO.


    The fight left the audience in a good mood.


    The next fight, the 52kg class clash was a close match but in the end, Chu Weiguo of the Henan Province won the gold medal.


    Immediately after the 52kg finals, the audience couldn''t help getting restless.


    The match between Tang Yan and Zhang Jiawei was up next.


    When introduced before the fight, Zhang Jiawei''s series of domestic titles showed that he was a well-known veteran of the battlefield. On Tang Yan''s side, although there weren''t many honors, a 49kg Asian Games gold medal was noteworthy enough.


    The boxers on both sides finished their introductions and were putting on their protective gear while the on-site commentators discussed the upcoming fight.


    "Who do you think will be the winner of this fight?"


    "I would have to place my bets on Tang Yan. I feel like he is in first gear while everyone else is stuck in second. He''s in a calibre of his own."


    "I would have to agree with Wang Chao, a lot of people suspected that his transition from the 49kg class to the 56kg class wouldn''t suit him, but after two consecutive one-punch KO''s he''s proved those worries are groundless. "


    "Tang Yan is indeed a strong boxer but his opponent Zhang Jiawei also isn''t weak. Two years ago, he won the World Championships Bronze Medal. He has steadily improved his strength. Today, the position as the number 1 domestic featherweight boxer is unmanned and ready for the talking!"


    "They are both excellent boxers. Unfortunately, we only have one ticket for the World Championships. It''s a pity."


    "Well it''s good news for the audience. Now we get to see both fighters give their all for that World Championship spot!"


    ...


    Just as the commentators finished talking, Tang Yan and Zhang Jiawei both wore protective gear and followed the referee''s instructions to stand in the ring.


    "Good luck" Zhang Jiawei said to Tang Yan with a smile after taking office.


    "Same to you." Tang Yan replied with a smile.


    Zhang Jiawei nodded back.


    The referee ran through the basic rules, the audience cheered and the two touched gloves before backing away.


    The bell for the first round rang.


    Ding! Ding! Ding!


    "And we are off, the finals for the 56kg class begins. Tang Yan vs Zhang Jiawei."


    .......


    "Come place your bets, Tang Yan vs Zhang Jiawei."


    "Can Tang Yan continue his miracle run"


    "The odds are 1/3! The best in the house"


    "I wanna bet £¤500!"


    "I got a £¤1000!"


    At this moment a disheveled figure made his way to the front and said:


    "I wanna place £¤200,000 on Tang Yan!"

 152 Nickname With A Twis

    After they touched gloves, Zhang Jiawei stepped back two steps widening the distance from Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan didn''t take the initiative to attack, but took a defensive posture.


    "Zhang Jiawei is a typical long-distance offensive boxer. His punches are fast and accurate and because of his reach he can maintain his distance, making it difficult for his opponent to defend or attack."


    "Tang Yan has taken up a defensive posture, seeing who will take the initiative to attack will be interesting."


    Zhang Jiawei saw that Tang Yan didn''t launch an attack off the bat and followed up by reaching out and beckoning Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan saw Zhang Jiawei''s movement and rushed forward.


    "Ohh! Zhang Jiawei made it clear that he was trying to lure him in and Tang Yan has still gone in!"


    "The young man still couldn''t hold back his eagerness."


    In the boxing ring, Zhang Jiawei was also slightly surprised. He didn''t expect Tang Yan to be baited so easily. Seeing that Tang Yan didn''t take the initiative to attack, he thought that Tang Yan would sit back in defense, but I guess not.


    Zhang Jiawei took a step back and then with the force of his right foot kicking back, he launched a straight jab towards Tang Yan''s jaw.


    Tang Yan raised his guard to block.


    Zhang Jiawei looked so happy that he was practically beaming.


    His right jab didn''t continue towards Tang Yan, in a flash his right jab was pulled back and a left-hook was blasted out.


    Zhang Jiawei used his right jab to force Tang Yan into a guard position. Leaving his side and stomach unguarded.


    The commentators on the sideline took in a deep breath, Tang Yan had performed well before but in the face of an experienced boxers such as Zhang Jiawei, he seemed too impulsive.


    The audience supporting Tang Yan on the sideline also exclaimed when they saw Zhang Jiawei''s left hook.


    Just then, Tang Yan released his guard.


    "Too late!"


    Zhang Jiawei whispered in his heart and his left-hook accelerated toward Tang Yan''s left side.


    But at this moment, he suddenly saw Tang Yan smile at him, the smile held the same slyness he had shown Tang Yan before the fight.


    He panicked inexplicably.


    Just then, he saw a punch coming from the side.


    "So fast!"


    Tang Yan threw a straight forward right jab towards his left hand.


    He had watched Tang Yan''s previous fights. He was impressed with Tang Yan''s method of cutting off his opponents'' punches.


    Tang Yan''s punch was thrown out reactively so it should be impossible for him to have accumulated much strength whilst his left-hook was geared up with power.


    With this, Tang Yan shouldn''t be able to block his punch.


    Zhang Jiawei had enough confidence in his punch and so decided to followed through not attempting to dodge, if he dodged he would be giving up the opportunity to follow up with a combo and end the fight there and then.


    Tang Yan would be on guard next time for his feint.


    Bam! A muffled sound.


    The two fists met in the air, and before Zhang Jiawei''s left-hook hit him, Tang Yan''s punch hit the inside of his arm.


    The moment Tang Yan''s punch hit, Zhang Jiawei''s complexion suddenly changed, and his confident expression disappeared in an instant, replaced by extreme panic.


    He felt a sharp piercing pain in his wrist and a numb tingling sensation spread across his arm.


    He sensed a punch coming from his left and showing his conditioning as a boxer, instinctively his right and left hand rose up into a guard posture, at the same time he stopped rushing forward and attempted to withdraw.


    But before he could solidify his stance, he felt the punch arrive.


    His two-armed brace wasn''t finished.


    Boom!


    A heavy punch broke through his guard and hit his left cheek and he felt his entire body shaking, followed by the heavens and the earth spinning.


    All of this seemed drawn out but it actually happened in an instant.


    The commentators who were anxious for Tang Yan a second ago were shocked and the audience was stunned.


    Zhang Jiawei, who was hit, turned red on the entire left side of his cheek, and his body was shaking from side to side, as if he had lost his balance.


    He worked as hard as possible to reach for the ropes, but in the end he caught air and he fell to the canvas.


    The referee saw this seemingly familiar scene and hurried over to start the countdown.


    By the last few seconds, the audience could not help counting down as well.


    "3!"


    "2!"


    "1!"


    Even until the last second, Zhang Jiawei was unable to stand from the canvas.


    The scene was followed by an explosive cheer.


    One punch!


    Tang Yan defeated Qin Qiong and Zou Chen all with one punch and now facing the most dominant 56kg boxer in the country, he once again only used one punch on his opponent.


    Too crazy!


    If they weren''t witnessing it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it.


    "Boxing Killer! One Punch Killer! One Punch Killer!"


    The next second, the audience at the scene began to shout Tang Yan''s nickname, mixing in a new twist.


    Tang Yan took a breath.


    After so many boxing matches, he wouldn''t be so easily challenged by Zhang Jiawei. In fact, he had already predicted Zhang Jiawei''s feint, it had just been a matter of countering.


    Zhang Jiawei thought he had baited Tang Yan but in fact, he had already become a fish hooked by Tang Yan.


    Zhang Jiawei still failed to stand, he seemed to be concussed. Soon the referee and the medical staff helped him out.


    Then the referee came over and grabbed Tang Yan''s hand, and raised it into the air.


    Along with the deafening cheers on the scene, Tang Yan successfully won the 56 kg trial becoming the current national champion and secured his place in the 56kg class for the World Championships.


    .....


    A swarm of people fracticaly ran down from the stands to collect their winnings from the betting booths.


    After collecting their money, one figure laughed looking up at the ring:


    "Hahaha one punch, hahaha One Punch Killer indeed, I knew you wouldn''t let me down. To the top we go!".

 153 The Girl Next Door

    Getting a 56 kg boxing ticket for the World Boxing Championships meant that Tang Yan''s weight gain plan was successful.


    For Qin Hailong, Tang Yan''s performance once again refreshed his trust in him and made him full of confidence for the upcoming Boxing World Championships.


    But Tang Yan was a busy man. As soon as the boxing match was over, he had to rush to Shanghai.


    This time the World Swimming Championships held a great significance to the Chinese swimming team. The Chinese swimming team started training directly one and a half months in advance.


    Tang Yan arrived in Shanghai one week in advance.


    At the end of the Asian Games, he used his £¤1 million reward to buy a house in Shanghai. The transfer had been completed sometime last year but because he had been busy training and competing, he hadn''t had time to arrange everything else.


    However after Zhuang Jiajie became his agent, he had given a helping hand and solved the problem of furnishing the house.


    Because it was quite close to the swimming centre where the national team was training, Tang Yan headed for his house directly.


    It was a standard suite with 3 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen etc. The location was fairly picturesque, it was located on the edge of the Huangpu River. Through the north window, you could see the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower.


    Currently one million could still buy you a house in such a prime location, but in a few years house prices would skyrocket as land value rose sharply in Shanghai.


    The decoration style of the house was very sporty, there were even hanging sandbags and treadmills, everything was adjusted to meet the needs of Tang Yan.


    Looking around the house left Tang Yan inextricably satisfied.


    Because there was still some time before the training sessions began, Tang Yan used his last two-days to lazily lounge about, reading novels and playing games.


    After two days like this, a call from his mother caused ripples in his peaceful life.


    "Do you remember the little girl that used to live next door when you were a kid....Bing''er."


    "Bing''er....do you mean Xiao Bing? I swear Xiao Bing didn''t live next door to us?" Tang Yan''s memories stayed with him after his rebirth but his early childhood memories he had long forgotten.


    "Yan Bing, Uncle Yan''s daughter, you remember Uncle Yan he used to drop you off at school." His mother said with a trace of annoyance.


    Yan Bing!


    As soon as his mother mentioned the name, Tang Yan''s memories came back.


    When he was a kid, him and his group of mischievous friends used to play catch the dragon''s tail and knock over, often coming home sweaty and dirty.


    There was no distinction between men and women. Everyone was always dirty. Due to this he suffered under his dad. Yan Bing was 2 years older than him. The girls favorite thing to do after his beating was to secretly sneak him some candy, this was enough to move his young heart so much he proclaimed he would marry her when he got older.


    But this was just childish bragging. Later on, around the time he started the second grade of elementary school, the Yan family moved away. After crying for two days, he slowly forgot about Yan Bing.


    In fact, this was life, time blurred many seemingly important things.


    However, listening to his mom mention the name, Tang Yan felt some doubt and suspicion.


    Why was she suddenly mentioning her after all these years.


    "She''s studying at Fudan University in Shanghai. I remember when you were young, you got on well pretty easily. If you have the chance, you should meet up with her and talk. I always knew she was a bright one and now look at her going to Fudan University the third best university in the country. Hmmm she''ll do just right, she''s got a good head on her shoulders. "His mom muttered.


    Listening to his mom''s words, Tang Yan suddenly felt a big headache set on.


    Why was her mind already setting off to match making.


    He hadn''t had this issue when he was a little security guard in his previous life, she wasn''t so anxious back then.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll ask your dad to send you the number later. You can contact her when you have time. Hahaha I remember when she used to secretly give you candy, hahaha what a sweet girl. You were both so cute thinking I didn''t see it!"


    "Yawn, ahhh look at the time, mom, it''s late, I should head to bed." Tang Yan said trying to end the call before she carried on.


    "Hmm, it is getting late, okay goodnight. Don''t forget to message her, okay...haha."


    "....Ok I will....when I have time."


    Tang Yan quickly hung up.


    Because of his past life, what he wanted to do after his rebirth was to make money and turn his life around. As for women and getting hitched, he hadn''t really given it much thought.


    As for Yan Bing, they hadn''t seen each other for more than ten years. Who knew what the other person looked like now and what they were like. Plus he had the World Championships to focus on.


    So when he saw the text message from his mother, he didn''t even read it and jumped directly into bed heading to sleep.


    ....


    Tang Yan was the first to report to the national swimming team.


    Arriving at the swimming centre he got his first view of the head coach of the national swimming team, Song Xiaocheng, an energetic old man who was about 60 years old.


    Song Xiaocheng had led the swimming team for three going four years. In the past few years, the Chinese swimming team had also shown strong potential in the international arena. Seeing the talented members in the team, this coach was indeed a level above the rest.


    However, the swimming team was different from the previous archery team and boxing team, because there were many events, the head coach had several assistant coaches and the assistant coaches had supervisors below them. There were also various other staff members as well.


    In addition, several swimmers were selected to have one-on-one coaches, Sun Yang was paired with a coach called Zhu Zhigen.


    Tang Yan having shined at the National Swimming Championships was also included in this list and the coach assigned to him was Shen Qing.


    Shen Qing had moved up from his post as head coach of the provincial team to an assistant coach in the national team. This was a gamble in itself, but the benefits brought by winning the gamble would be worthwhile.


    Of course, Tang Yan didn''t think much of it. Shen Qing''s presence saved him a lot of unnecessary trouble.


    Compared with training in the provincial team, the national team appeared to be more targeted, and the fully equipped coaching team was very helpful for the adjustment onto the world stage.


    Time passed unknowingly, and the training time of a month and a half quickly passed by.


    In this time period, after maxing out what he could achieve through training, Tang Yan directly spent 6 honor points to upgrade from 60% to 70% of Zhang Shun''s abilities.


    This allowed him to undergo a qualitative improvement and after a period of hard work, he felt confident for the upcoming World Aquatics Championships.

 154 World Aquatic Championships 1

    In recent years, the performance of the Chinese swimming team had vastly increased, which also increased the country''s investment into the sport.


    Take the World Championships this time, the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center was specially constructed for the Shanghai World Aquatics Championships, the Shanghai municipality had invested nearly 2 billion yuan on the stadium, it could accommodate up to 15,000 spectators.


    A lot of attention was paid to the World Championships. The amount of volunteers recruited alone was nearly 5,000 people and they also set up several hotlines in upwards of 16 languages. A strong WIFI connection was also set up in the venue to fully meet the audience''s needs during the competition.


    Including the accommodation for athletes, everything was done in accordance with the standards of the Beijing Olympics. In addition to showing the government''s emphasis on this World Championships, it also showed the wealth of Shanghai.


    Tang Yan hadn''t been able to experience the Beijing Olympics so he was inexplicably excited to compete in the new sports center.


    Compared with the 3,000-scale pavilion for the National Championships, this time there would be more than 10,000 people watching his race. Such a thought was enough to make him excited.


    In addition to the main hall, there were several training halls nearby. After the national swimming team arrived, they quickly began to adapt to the stadium under the leadership of Song Xiaocheng.


    Having met all the requirements for the freestyle events, Tang Yan had gained the unprecedented achievement of being registered for all the freestyle events, including the 4x100m relay race but unfortunately he had to abandon the 4x200m relay race due to a schedule clash.


    But in total he would be participating in a total of eight events exactly the same as that of Phelps at the Beijing Olympics.


    Of these eight events, the 400m and 4x100m freestyle relay were on the first day and the champion would be decided that day. This was definitely a challenge for Tang Yan.


    After all, in the international arena, his opponent''s strength would be absolutely superior to those he faced nationally.


    Take the first event, the 400m freestyle that he was going to participate in. In his previous life, Sun Yang''s enemy, Park Tae-hyun, had been the dominant force in this event. As a gold medalist in the 400-meter event at the Beijing Olympics, he was in excellent form and maintained his title as champion three years later.


    In addition to Park Tae Hyun, there was the German swimmer Paul Biedermann, who was also an elite freestyle swimmer. At the Rome World Championships 2 years ago, he broke the world record to win the event and officially established his position in the middle distance freestyle events.


    In addition, the American swimmer Pete Van der Kay and Tunisia''s Kosia Meroli were strong swimmers, who had already proven themselves in past competitions.


    It wouldn''t be easy to stand out from so many star athletes.


    After attending the opening ceremony, Song Xiaocheng found Tang Yan and Sun Yang and had a discussion with them.


    When the two were training, they had already made psychological preparations. At this time, they mainly adjusted their mentality, just like the night before the college entrance exams.


    Nearly 5,000 athletes from more than 180 countries had come to participate in the Shanghai World Aquatic Championships.


    On the first day, more than 2,000 journalists from around the world conducted follow-up interviews in the venues. The venues were filled in no time, highlighting the popularity of the World Championships.


    The 400m were divided into the morning preliminary and evening finals. Sun Yang was in the first group and Tang Yan was in the fourth group.


    Coincidentally, Sun Yang and Park Tae Hyun, two lifelong enemies, met directly in the group stages.


    Naturally Tang Yan didn''t miss such a good opportunity to scout out the competition.


    In the end, the preliminaries of the first group of the 400m ended with the cheers of the audience. Sun Yang won first place in the group with a time of 3 minutes 44 seconds 07, while his old opponent Park Tae-hyun only swam 3 minutes 46 seconds 21, ranking second in the group.


    This result greatly increased the confidence of the audience and the expectations on Sun Yang skyrocketed.


    However, Tang Yan who was eating melon-seeds in the crowd, saw through it. Park Tae-hwan had clearly retained his strength in the first 200 meters of the preliminary round. Although this result was unexpected, this definitely wasn''t his all.


    Compared to the race itself, what really caught his attention was the enthusiasm of the audience. The cheers of more than 10,000 people was deafening, it was goosebumps inducing.


    There were no major surprises in the second and third groups. Van der Kaye and Bidelman both won their respective groups.


    What was exciting was that, Sun Yang''s time still ranked first among all the swimmers so far. This meant that in the evening finals he would be in an excellent position in the fourth lane. Their chance of winning gold soared.


    ....


    Tang Yan appeared in the final group.


    At this time, most of the favourites had already competed. Tang Yan''s group was the least star studded and because it was the last race before noon, many people left early to eat.


    Most of those who remained at this time were either Tang Yan''s fans or those who had already eaten their fill.


    Although Tang Yan beat Sun Yang for the 400-meter gold medal in the national championships, in terms of overall strength, Tang Yan wasn''t so impressive in the middle distance event.


    In fact, some of the international swimmers who had originally stayed to observe their opponents had already left. They left after the end of the third group. But Sun Yang was still by the sidelines, waiting for him, so they could return together.


    The sudden drop in attention made Tang Yan a little unhappy, but it also calmed his racing  thoughts.


    The swimmers stepped onto the take-off platform as instructed by the referee.


    After taking office, Tang Yan turned to look at Meroli, who was in the lane beside his. The Tunisian would be his main opponent in this group.


    Looking at the pool of water in front of him, he was actually looking forward to it, looking forward to what kind of results he would have in the competition.


    "On your marks!"


    "Get Set!"


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, the swimmers were off, diving into the pool at about the same time.


    Tunisia''s Meroli showed a strong start and grabbed the top spot directly.


    Tang Yan ranked fourth among all the swimmers after entering the water.

 155 World Aquatic Championships 2

    For the first 100 meters, Tang Yan didn''t rush forward like in the national championships because of the 4x100 meters relay preliminaries in the afternoon.


    In contrast, the performance of Meroli was very eye-catching. He grabbed first place from the beginning, he had the lead and opened up a gap.


    Tang Yan was now in fourth place in the group.


    "Meroli is really strong. It looks like his final result will be among the top five finalists!"


    "Sun Yang is still on the scene. I wonder if he''ll make tactical adjustments for the finals after seeing his performance."


    "Tang Yan is still struggling to catch up, it doesn''t look very promising for him."


    "It''s hard to say what will happen, the swimmers of this session have performed very well. Although Tang Yan performed well in the national championships before, he doesn''t seem to be at his best today. "


    "Tang Yan, come on!"


    Seeing Tang Yan at the back, the audience on the sidelines couldn''t help but cheer for him loudly.


    He smiled hearing the audience cheering for him. After turning again at the 200 meter mark, he began to increase the frequency of his kicks.


    The effect of this change was quite obvious. Tang Yan began to pursue those ahead of him.


    "Tang Yan is accelerating! It looks like he was saving his physical strength in the first half!" The side commentator said with excitement. Although he had doubts about Tang Yan''s performance before, he still looked pleased after seeing Tang Yan speeding up.


    "He''s passed third, the Australian John Williams!"


    "He''s still accelerating, he''s ahead of second, the Canadian George Wells!"


    "He''s chasing the last opponent in the group, Melori! My God!" With Tang Yan surpassing his opponents one by one, the commentator went into quick fire mode.


    "Tang Yan''s cheated his opponents and we were also deceived." The other commentator said with a laugh at this time.


    Tang Yan in the pool also seemed very excited at this time, not because he had overtaken his opponent one after another during this time, but because he found that his level and his current form after the national championships had truly undergone a qualitative leap.


    Originally, he chose to upgrade the power of Zhang Shun in order to better master and increase his kick frequency to nine times. However, after the upgrade, his kick distance and physical fitness had been greatly improved.


    Merori still led at the 250m mark, and when he turned his head, he found that the swimmer behind him was gaining, his brows wrinkled slightly.


    When he turned around at the 300m mark, he found that the swimmer was Chinese, and he was even more surprised.


    There were very few well-known swimmers from China, and in freestyle events it was even more pitiful. The best they had in his opinion was Sun Yang. In fact, he didn''t know the name of the Chinese swimmer who was chasing after him little by little.


    But after sensing the threat, he chose to start accelerating ahead of time, and the frequency of his kicks increased significantly.


    In the final 100 meters, Meroli made every effort and maintained his lead touching the wall first with one hand. After touching the wall, his whole person sunk tired in the pool, his face blushing and his heartbeat racing.


    Tang Yan, on the other hand, was in better condition, when he turned for the last 50 meters, he already knew that he had already secured a place in the finals in the evening in advance, so he chose to retain his strength.


    Their times came up on the display screen.


    Meroli had a time of 3 minutes, 45 seconds 11, his time ranked fourth overall.


    Tang Yan''s result was 3 minutes 45 seconds 31, ranking fifth overall.


    Counting Sun Yang, who came first in the preliminaries, it was the first time two Chinese swimmers made it into the finals.


    This result made the audience full of expectations for the evening race.


    The schedule for the swimming competition was compact. At 12:30, the 4x100m freestyle preliminary competition began.


    There were two groups in the preliminary round and the top four overall would enter the final.


    The Chinese team was made up of: Ning Zetao, Lu Zhibin, Sun Yang and Tang Yan.


    In the end, with the outstanding performance of Sun Yang and Tang Yan in the second half, the Chinese team ranked fourth in the group and advanced to the evening finals.


    Unfortunately it wasn''t all good news for the Chinese team, the women''s team didn''t reach the finals.


    ....


    Different from the relatively dull daytime competition, at night, the atmosphere in the entire venue changed a lot. The biggest difference was the media. Various media outlets from various countries came to the venue early and various live broadcasts were ongoing.


    The reason for this apparent change, was because the finals tonight would give birth to 4 gold medals for the first day of competition.


    The Chinese media was also very excited at this time, because the first final in the evening was the 400-meter freestyle, in which they had two athletes in and to make it better it was Tang Yan and Sun Yang.


    Because there were no events in the afternoon, many swimmers went to the pool in advance to re-adapt to the venue.


    They didn''t come up from the pool until an hour before the race.


    As soon as the swimmers came up, the media swarmed up, this was the last chance for an interview before the race.


    The German star and 400-meter freestyle world record holder Paul Biedermann was the first to go ashore. As soon as he went up, he was surrounded by reporters and found no way out.


    "Paul, tonight you will be greeted by a double team from Park Tae Hyun and Sun Yang. How are you feeling?" A Chinese reporter who seized a favorable position asked.


    "Sun Yang''s form was very good this morning, Park Tae Hyun didn''t look as dangerous in the morning but I think he will kick it up a gear in the finals, but no matter who the opponent is, my goal is still the same as before, I came here for gold." Biederman said with a polite smile.


    "What''s your impression on the other Chinese swimmer who made it into the finals? He defeated Sun Yang in the recent national championships and scored 3 minutes and 45 seconds in the preliminary round." Another reporter asked.


    Biederman displayed a blank look.


    The reporter seeing that Biederman was unresponsive, he finally said, "The Chinese swimmer, Tang Yan."


    "Tang Yan?" Biedermann shook his head. "Who is that?"

 156 Make Them Remember The Name!

    Seeing Biederman''s response, the reporter was dead. It seemed that Biederman really didn''t know about Tang Yan, he could only helplessly say: "Tang Yan, he came in fifth in the preliminaries, he''s the other Chinese swimmer who made it into the final alongside Sun Yang. "


    "Oh, is it?" Biederman still didn''t seem to recognize Tang Yan but he continued and said, "I don''t really notice these things, I try to focus on my own thing but since he was able to reach the finals, he must be very good. I wish him the best of luck tonight. "


    Having said this, the head coach of the German team called for him. Seeing a way out he said sorry and he left.


    In fact, most of the finalists would recieve look at the list for the finals. Biederman however didn''t seem to consider anyone apart from Sun Yan and Park Tae Hyun as competitors.


    After a while, Sun Yang and Tang Yan got out of the pool.


    As soon as they came up, the group of reporters hurriedly changed direction and all rushed over.


    "Sun Yang, are you confident of winning tonight?"


    "Sun Yang, do you have anything to say about the abnormal performance of Park Tae Hyun?


    "Sun Yang, Biederman said earlier that his goal is to win gold. Do you have anything to say?"


    ...


    After being surrounded, the reporters bombarded them in turn.


    Tang Yan was slightly awkward standing next to Sun Yang at this time.


    Sun Yang''s outstanding performance made the reporter''s spearhead their questions to him, but no one bothered with Tang Yan.


    Sun Yang quickly began to answer. His charismatic personality shown through, he had the reporters laugh from time to time, but the central message was very clear, he wanted gold.


    After they finished questioning Sun Yang, the reporters finally seemed to notice Tang Yan standing beside him.


    "Beidelman said in an interview earlier that he didn''t know who you were. What do you make of this?" Just then, the reporter who had previously questioned Beidelman finally squeezed in and asked.


    Tang Yan glanced up at the reporter, cursing him internally.


    What a loaded question, he had to tread carefully.


    "Paul Biederman holds the 400-meter world record, right?"


    "Yes, he set a world record at the 2009 World Championships in Rome." The reporter replied affirmatively.


    "Oh." Tang Yan nodded thoughtfully.


    The other reporters looked at him in doubt.


    "He''s a veteran in the field with global achievements whilst I''m a newbie, it''s to be expected. I''ll just have to work to make sure they remember the name." Tang Yan said steadily.


    "Perhaps one day I can eventually break a world record, maybe even his"


    The reporter who asked the question almost dropped the microphone in his hand and the other reporters looked at him startled.


    Sun Yang looked surprised.


    Breaking his world record?


    Biedermann''s world record was 3 minutes and 40 seconds, let alone Sun Yang or Park Tae-hyun, Biedermann himself had no confidence in achieving it again.


    Tang Yan wasn''t bragging. His half-hearted moves in the morning had been enough to make it into the top five. He believed in the future with the system, he would have a shot at breaking Bidelman''s record.


    "Is this a response to Biedermann remarks?" The reporter who first asked the question responded, and asked.


    "No, this is just a goal I''ve set for myself. The aim tonight is to make sure the Chinese flag rises in the Shanghai Sports Center."


    After Sun Yang and Tang Yan, Park Tae-hyun, Van der Kay, and Meroli were all interviewed by the reporters. Without exception, their goal was to win gold tonight.


    ....


    Before the race started, the atmosphere was already tense.


    "Relax, don''t take on too much pressure, just exert your full strength." Shen Qing said encouraging Tang Yan in the locker room.


    Tang Yan nodded with a small smile.


    The swimmers appeared one by one from backstage, and the appearance of each famous swimmer caused the audience to cheer.


    Park Tae-hyun''s debut ignited more than half of the stadium.


    After Park Tae Hyun, was Tang Yan.


    With Tang Yan''s debut, the audience''s response was very one sided with only the Chinese audience responding to his appearance.


    After Tang Yan was Sun Yang, Sun Yang''s debut completely ignited the entire venue. The cheers were deafening, showing that the audience had the highest expectations for him.


    After the swimmers came out, they peeled down to their swimming suits and wore their swimming goggles. After everything was ready, they then stepped onto the take-off platform.


    Just as the swimmers came up, the media broadcasters on the sidelines also started to follow up.


    "Tonight is likely to be a historic moment for the Chinese swimming team. The Chinese team will be hoping to hit a medal possibly even gold." The commentator for the Chinese station CCTV could hardly hide his inner excitement.


    "Biedermann has showed good form in the preliminaries. Even though the finals hold many powerful opponents, he''s still a strong contender. " A German commentator said appearing confident.


    "The reigning champion, Park Tae-Hyun will be up tonight to defend his gold medal tonight. A South Korean commentator said also full of excitement.


    ...


    "On your marks!"


    "Get Set!"


    Buzz!


    As the commentators finished up, with the sound of the buzzer, the swimmers dove into the water.


    At the beginning of the race, Park Tae-hyun took the lead. Although he was in an unfavorable position in lane 1, it seemed to have no effect. He didn''t observe his opponents and chose a full sprint method.


    After Park Tae-hyun, Biederman and Van der Kaye were ranked second and third respectively and Sun Yang was fourth.


    Because of his height disadvantage, Tang Yan ranked behind Meroli after diving in and gliding, when they surfaced out of the water, he was in sixth place.


    "Sun Yang! Come on!" The Chinese commentator at the scene yelled out seeing such a skewed start.


    "A disappointing start, Sun Yang need to pick up the rhythm!" The commentator said emotional.

 157 Pick Up The Pace

    Park Tae-hyun led with an absolute advantage. He maintained the advantage after opening up a half metre lead in the beginning. Neither Biederman nor Van der Kay could surpass him.


    "Park Tae Hyun is truly strong, Sun Yang is going to need to work harder!"


    "There is still a chance. Sun Yang''s speed is excellent as long as he maintains this distance and doesn''t allow them to pull away, there is still a chance to come from behind."


    "Yes, Sun ... wait! Tang Yan, Tang Yan has rushed out!"


    Nearing the 50m mark, Tang Yan suddenly accelerated over passing Romeri and Sun Yang grabbing fifth place.


    And he didn''t stop. Before the turn, he had already caught up with Van der Kay.


    Tang Yan in the pool was accelerating at full speed. Compared with domestic swimmers, these international swimmers were much better. Because of his inferior height, it took him 20 meters to catch up.


    Entering the first turn, he launched into a half-somersault, tucked in, glided and then he kicked off the wall and launched forward.


    This series of actions were perfect. After more than a month of hard training, he had mastered the appropriate turn distance.


    There was a burst of cheers from the audience, because at this time on the display, Tang Yan had been shown to be the third person to touch the wall.


    Tang Yan, an inconspicuous person who was ignored by them, including the media and his opponents was now showing a strong competitiveness.


    After the 50m turn, feeling Tang Yan chasing, Park Tae-hyun and Biedermann both started to accelerate and Van der Kaye also accelerated to keep pace.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    With the rise of Tang Yan, the Chinese fans switched chants.


    The first 100 meters passed and everything had settled down, the rankings didn''t change. Tang Yan only led Van Der Kaiy by a slight margin.


    Entering the second 100 meters, Tang Yan suddenly kicked it up a gear again. His kick frequency increased 6 to 7 and his speed sharply increased, he began to further pull away from Van Der Kay.


    "Hahaha karma! Tang Yan''s gaining on Biedermann!" Shouted one of Tang Yan''s loyal fans with excitement.


    "Karma? What happened between them?" Asked the guy beside him asked.


    "Didn''t you see the interviews before the race?" The loyal fan asked in shock.


    The guy beside him eating melon seeds shook his head.


    "You!! Well, listen closely then, he said..." A loyal fan suddenly said with indignation.


    The interview with the swimmers was done an hour before the race. Except for those who were dedicated enough to stick around for an hour beforehand know, most people didn''t know what happened.


    As word spread, the crowd settled into two camps.


    "Come on Tang Yan, Catch him!"


    "Come on, Biedermann!"


    ...


    Tang Yan was also enthusiastic at this time. There weren''t many spectators during the preliminaries. Although the emotions of the spectators who stayed were also very high, how could that compare to more than 10,000 people shouting in unison. He sped up and chased Biedermann.


    Seeing Tang Yan accelerate again, his fans cheered even louder.


    At this time, Biedermann who was trying to catch up with Park Tae-hyun, always had his sights focused on lane 1.


    He hadn''t even caught Park Tae-hyun yet and he was being gained on.


    And when he saw the swimmer in lane 2, he immediately felt uncomfortable, his coach had pointed out to him who Tang Yan was.


    Even though they hadn''t even passed the 200m mark he also started to speed up.


    As soon as he started speeding up, Park Tae-hyun also started speeding up.


    As a result, the 400 meter race which hadn''t even reached 200 meter mark began to look like a 50 meter sprint.


    "Crazy! Absolutely crazy! Tang Yan has forced Park Tae-hyun and Biedermann into a sprint and he is still managing to narrow the distance between them. Too fierce! "


    "I heard that Tang Yan said he wanted to break Biedermann''s record before the race. When I heard the news, I felt that he was just a newborn calf not afraid of tigers. But now it seems that we completely underestimated Tang Yan and didn''t consider enough his victories at the national championships. Maybe he will be our biggest surprise tonight! "


    The commentator''s attention had completely shifted from Sun Yang to Tang Yan.


    ....


    Nearing the 300m mark.


    Biedermann soon felt the signs of excessive physical exertion. He had been forced to pick up the pace for the last 100m in order to stay ahead of Tang Yan in lane 2.


    He was being led into a corner.


    After swimming for a while, he felt that this pace was reckless and wasn''t maintainable, so despite Park Tae-hyun pulling away in lane 1 and Tang Yan gaining in lane 2, he began to slow down intentionally.


    As he slowed down, the distance between Tang Yan and him narrowed at a speed that was visible to the naked eye. According to this trend, in 50-meters Tang Yan could easily go overtake.


    "Amazing! Just incredible!"


    The commentator was speechless with excitement.


    "I feel like Biedermann has slowed down intentionally, after all, there is still more than 100m left in the race." The guest commentator worriedly interjected .


    "That''s right, there are still more than 100 meters left in the race." The commentator replied calmed down by his guest''s words. No matter whether Biedermann intentionally slowed down or was physically weak, the same thing could happen to Tang Yan.


    However, the audience didn''t delve into this. When they saw the distance between Tang Yan and Biedermann kept getting closer, their cheers filled the stadium in waves.


    Listening to the cheers from the surrounding audience for Tang Yan, Biederman stayed firm and continued to pace himself. He was confident in his sprint and saved his remaining strength for the last leg of the race.


    Tang Yan narrowed the distance with Biedermann little by little and when there was less than 10 meters left before the 300 meter turn, he finally got on a par with Biedermann.

 158 For The History Books 1

    Reaching the 300-meter turn, Tang Yan passed Biedermann to enter second and hit a first-class turn.


    The cheers of the audience overturned the ceiling of the sports center.


    Along with the overtake, the assistant referee rattled the bell on the sideline reminding the swimmers that only 100 meters remained.


    But after entering the last 100 meters, the audience''s attention was pulled away by Sun Yang.


    In the final 100 meters, Sun Yang finally launched forward.


    He narrowed the distance between him and Biedermann bit by bit.


    Biedermann felt anxious at this, after Tang Yan passed him he hadn''t showed signs of exhaustion or slowing down!


    Damn it!


    After sensing Sun Yang''s beginning to catch up, he couldn''t care less that he hadn''t reached the last 50 meters and began to erupt in advance.


    Biedermann as he exerted his power, felt a kind of powerlessness stuck between a rock and a hard place.


    "Come on Sun Yang!" Seeing Sun Yang catching up with Biedermann, the audience shouted for him.


    However, this cheer didn''t last long before their attention was stolen away by Tang Yan.


    Who had started to accelerate again!


    His kick frequency changed directly from 7 to 8!


    Kicking eight times in one breath!


    Tang Yan shot forward surpassing Park Tae-hyun after the turn for the last 50 metres.


    As he surpassed him, his palm had touched the virtual world record line!


    With their lanes side by side, watching Tang Yan overtake him, Park Tae-hyun who was beginning to feel the effects of sprinting most of the race felt powerless and could only watch Tang Yan surpass himself.


    The audience at the scene went completely crazy, one by one standing up from their seat.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!" The casual fans had long been bewitched by his loyal fans, they joined in with the chants, it felt as if they really wanted to break the sky.


    The audience went crazy cheering as he rushed towards the finish.


    "Tang Yan is on par with the world record!"


    "Tang Yan is already past the world record line!"


    "My God! The world record line is decelerating and Tang Yan is accelerating. He has already stepped past the world record line!"


    Tang Yan launched forward and touched the wall.


    And just after he touched the wall, his result instantly appeared on the display.


    3 minutes 38 seconds 91!


    1 second faster than the world record!


    The moment his time appeared, the whole venue went completely crazy.


    "Record-breaking! Tang Yan broke the 400-meter freestyle world record!" The commentator screamed.


    The paparazzi on the sidelines aimed at Tang Yan firing of their cameras afraid to miss any details.


    The Chinese team was ecstatic.


    Several assistant coaches enthusiastically embraced each other and even the head coach Song Xiaocheng was unable to restrain himself.


    This was the first time in history that a Chinese swimmer had broken the world record of middle distance freestyle event.


    It was a historic moment.


    After touching the wall, Tang Yan took a few breaths. In the end, due to physical exhaustion, he was still unable to show the nine time kick frequency he had trained during this time but this result was enough to satisfy him.


    After he calmed down, he looked back at Sun Yang and Park Tae Hyun.


    Park Tae-hyun''s physical strength was declining. Sun Yang had surpassed Biedermann. Two of his enemies of their lives are still chasing you, but at this moment their goal wasn''t the gold medal, but the silver medal.


    Tang Yan even had time to turn around at this time, leaning on the wall of the pool for a while, if he could, he even wanted to get Erlang legs up.


    Of course, his speed hasn''t been that low, at least, no one is worth his time.


    In the end, perhaps inspired by Tang Yan, Sun Yang staged a Jedi counterattack, and finally by virtue of his height advantage, he beat out  Park Tae-hwan by 0.05 seconds touching the wall first and snatching silver.


    Park Tae Hyun only won bronze in the end.


    But Biedermann and the rest of the group were a little farther away. When Biedermann touched the wall, he was nearly 1 second slower than Park Tae-hyun.


    But in fact, his time was 3 minutes 44 seconds 14, which was enough for him to get the medal.


    To be more precise, if Tang Yan hadn''t purposedly raised the tempo drastically halfway, he should be able to get a bronze medal.


    And this is the opponent he didn''t care about, as he said before the game, he broke his record and made him unable to forget his name in this lifetime.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!" The audience shouted the name with great pride.


    This wasn''t a domestic race, it was the international arena, but on such a big stage Tang Yan had proven himself again.


    This was a moment of pride that belonged to China.


    Sun Yang also smiled at this time. Although he failed to win the gold medal, watching his compatriot win the race and having finally beat out Park Tae-hyun, he was overjoyed.


    Park Tae-Hyun still maintained his demeanor, congratulating Tang Yan and Sun Yang before going ashore.


    After a break, Tang Yan and Sun Yang climbed up to shore.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    After they came up, the audience cheered once again for Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan waved and gestured to the audience.


    He didn''t know which over-excited audience member it was but someone threw the Chinese flag into the auditorium seemingly to him but it fell short.


    The scene was a little awkward, but after seeing this Tang Yan trotted over and took off his swimming cap while running.


    When he reached the flag, he threw the swimming cap to the audience, who clambered for it and then he picked up the national flag off the ground and then he ran for a while with his hands raised above his head holding the flag.


    The national flag fluttered above Tang Yan and the five-star red flag was shining.

 159 For The History Books 2

    Tang Yan and Sun Yang enjoyed the cheers of the audience and walked along the swimming lane all the way back to the athletes tunnel.


    "Brother Tang! You were so good!"


    Ye Shiwen rushed up seeing them and shouted.


    Tang Yan smiled and hugged Ye Shiwen.


    "Brother Sun, you were good as well." Ye Shiwen reached out and gave a thumbs up to Sun Yang.


    Sun Yang smiled and returned a thumbs up to Ye Shiwen.


    "Where is our love, we cheered for you as well Brother Tang"


    At this moment, Fu Yuanhui, who was the same age as Ye Shiwen, muttered.


    "Yeah, Brother Tang is too biased!" Xian Jing the 100m backstroke swimmer echoed.


    Tang Yan glanced up at Fu Yuanhui.


    "What do you want?" Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "Well...I don''t know~" Fu Yuanhui said and held out her hand. "At least give us a high five!"


    Tang Yan stretched out his hand with a smile, ready to give a high-five to Fu Yuanhui.


    But at this moment, Fu Yuanhui suddenly took advantage of his raised hands and ran up to hug him.


    It happened so suddenly, Tang Yan couldn''t respond in time.


    Sneaking a hug and taking advantage of Tang Yan, Fu Yuanhui retreated, shouting as she ran: "Sister Jing, I told you I could get a hug as well, haha you owe me £¤60!"


    "...."


    Tang Yan was speechless, he looked over to see Xian Jing''s face flushing. Needless to say, these little girls must have made a bet.


    He smiled wryly and shook his head.


    ".....Uhhh...it was.." Xian Jing blushing, tried to explain.


    "It''s fine haha let''s go back first. "Tang Yan shook his head with a light smile.


    Tang Yan smiled and then went back to the locker room with Sun Yang. They had to participate in the award ceremony.


    ...


    After gaining 70% of Zhang Shun''s powers, his body was undergoing subtle changes.


    The system gave him the potential, knowledge and abilities of historical figures but in order to achieve this, his body underwent auxiliary changes accordingly, quietly adjusting his physique in order to improve his speed, power and stamina.


    His current body was that of solid streamlined muscles, so when he wore thin clothes although his appearance hadn''t changed, his charm attributes had skyrocketed.


    After changing, Tang Yan and Sun Yang went out.


    The men''s 400m freestyle final would be followed by the women''s 400m freestyle final. The men''s awards ceremony was in between the two.


    The award ceremony was about to be held so Tang Yan, Sun Yang and Park Tae-hyun headed to the waiting area under the lead of a staff member.


    The waiting area was under the eastern stands. The presence of the three of them quickly attracted cheers and screams from the audience.


    Tang Yan didn''t look around much, after all, the award ceremony was about to begin.


    "Okay, you can head over now." After everything was in place, the staff member guided them over.


    "Tang Yan, I want to have your babies!" Just then, a bold female voice rang out from the crowd.


    Tang Yan had just stepped out, hearing this shout he almost stumbled over himself, he looked back and saw a young woman with half-green and grey hair. After seeing him turning back, the girl turned and shouted excitedly to her companions around her: "He looked at me! He looked at me!"


    Tang Yan quickly turned his head. It seemed Zhuang Jiajie''s fan scheme was going way too well!


    Sun Yang laughed while covering his mouth.


    Park Tae-hyun also looked back and smiled.


    Tang Yan coughed awkwardly and walked forward as if he hadn''t heard it.


    The medals were presented by the FINA President Julio Margolione, a 75-year-old grandfather still full of joy. Although his steps weren''t fast, his face was full of smiles.


    First on stage was Park Tae-hyun, the bronze medalist.


    Park Tae-hyun smiled. Although he lost out slightly, his mentality was well adjusted and there was no frustration on his face.


    Sun Yang followed, his debut immediately attracted cheers from the audience.


    Sun Yang was also very excited. After receiving the medal, he raised it to the audience as soon as possible.


    The last person to receive his medal was Tang Yan, he received his flower bouquet and walked up to the top of the podium.


    Julio Margolione relaxedly walked up.


    "Congratulations, I look forward to your future." Julio Margolione smiled sincerely before hanging the medal around his neck.


    "Thank you," Tang Yan said, reaching out and shaking hands with Margolione.


    When Tang Yan straightened up, the whole stadium instantly boiled, and the chants of "Tang Yan" were deafening.


    Tang Yan raised his gold medal amidst the cheers to the audience.


    "Hey, you''ve got another beauty admiring you." Sun Yang suddenly came over and said to him.


    After hearing this, Tang Yan followed Sun Yang''s gaze and saw one of the female emcees who gave him the flower bouquet just now.


    She had shining straight blonde hair and freckles dotted on her naturally blushed cheeks with a perfect hourglass body most women would kill to have.


    Seemingly sensing their gaze and seeing Tang Yan looking at her, instead of blushing, the beauty smiled at him then turned around and strode away.


    "Interesting" Sun Yang said with a smile at this moment.


    Tang Yan looked over at Sun Yang and they both burst into laughter


    Shen Qing shook his head slightly with a small smile watching them both up there.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, please stand up for the national anthem of the People''s Republic of China." Just then, the host''s voice came over the speakers.


    The audience stood up and looked in the direction of the rising flag.


    Tang Yan and Sun Yang also stopped communicating, looking solemnly in the direction of the national flag.


    With a heated prelude, the flag rose slowly.


    The dazzling five-star red flag was hung from the highest and second highest positions.


    With the rising of the national flag, everyone looked proud.


    This was a historic moment that belonged to Chinese swimming!

 160 First Day Finale 1

    "Arise, Ye who refuse to be slaves!..."


    As Tang Yan stood under the national flag, the audience sang with him the national anthem or at least hummed along, as their voices filled the stadium.


    Some of his teammates burst into tears not even controlling their emotions.


    Brave the enemies'' gunfire! March on!


    Brave the enemies'' fire! March on!


    March on! March on!....."


    As the ''March of the Volunteers'' ended the national flag rose to the highest point, and a burst of excited cheers sounded out.


    This cheer lasted for almost half a minute.


    "Come over please, lean in the middle and take a group photo." When the mood of the audience stabilized, a staff member moved up and called to them.


    Julio Margolione stopped at the centre of the podium.


    Because Tang Yan was relatively short, Park Tae-Hyun and Sun Yang were both half-bent, this coupled with Julio Margolione in front, Tang Yan smiled to himself looking at the star studded entourage he now found himself among.


    ....


    According to the schedule, the men''s 400m freestyle final would be followed by the women''s 400m freestyle then the women''s 4x100m freestyle relay. Tang Yan could take a break after the award ceremony.


    He gained a world record but sacrificed his physical strength. This race had taken a lot out of him.


    Him and Sun Yang headed back and went to change clothes. The two rested in the locker room, fortunately there was a flat-screen TV in the locker room and they could watch the events outside.


    The women''s 400m freestyle event wasn''t a strong event for the Chinese women''s team. Tang Yi, who made it to the finals, wasn''t even considered a contender for a medal.


    The final result was as expected. Although Tang Yan and Sun Yang yelled their full support in the locker rooms, Tang Yi only finished 5th despite all her hard work.


    "Ugh!"


    The two sighed in unison.


    Right then, a bunch of their teammates entered the locker. When they saw the two of them watching the broadcast, they soon surrounded them and squeezed together in front of the TV.


    The women''s 400m freestyle final was followed by the women''s 4X100 freestyle relay final.


    Ye Shiwen was the first swimmer for the Chinese team. Entering the water, Ye Shiwen showed off her strong freestyle ability, launching forward and entering the top three straight off the bat. In the final 20 meter sprint, accompanied by the wild cheering of the locker room group, Ye Shiwen went all out to surpass second place and was the second to touch the wall just behind the Australian swimmer in first.


    After Ye Shiwen touched the wall, her time came out as: 53 seconds 12. This time broke the Asian record held by her teammate Pang Jiayin.


    In fact, the charm of the relay race lied in this, it stimulated the athlete''s potential.


    "That''s my Xiaowen!" Tang Yan couldn''t help but shout out, which immediately attracted Sun Yang''s gaze.


    Ye Shiwen''s performance put the team off to a great start but the next few sticks were average. Tang Yi, the last swimmer could only bring them in for fourth place.


    After the race, the girls of the women''s team cried together.


    Looking at this scene, the men''s relay swimmers couldn''t help shaking their heads.


    In fact, whether it was the men''s or women''s team the Chinese 4x100m relay team was a one grade worse than the world''s top level.


    "Hey, why y''all are looking so dejected. Shaking your heads like that?" Tang Yan stood up and said seeing everyone becoming dejected.


    As he spoke, everyone looked over at him.


    "We haven''t even raced yet and you''re all losing hope, what is the difference between you and those who forfeit?" Tang Yan continued.


    "Yeah, we need to do our best. Who says we will lose. Look at Tang Yan didn''t he win 400 meters!" Ning Zetao said reacting first.


    "Yeah, we can''t be discouraged. As long as we swim well, we still have a chance." Lu Zhibin followed.


    "This is our last shot of the day to win a medal, how can we go out without a fight!" Sun Yang said with a hint of ridicule, but also impassioned.


    After a quick team chant, they were ready to compete with confidence.


    The 4X100m men''s relay was the finale of the first day.


    By the end of the women''s awards ceremony, the audience was already hungry and thirsty, as they waited to watch for the race.


    A 100 metres measures the dominance of a swimmer, while a 100-meter relay race measured the dominance of a country''s overall swimming level.


    Tonight''s 4X100m freestyle relay race, each team that reached the finals was among the most powerful swimming countries, such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, etc.


    They were swimming teams with a glorious past.


    Such a race was naturally a cluster of stars.


    When the teams came out of the tunnels, the audience cheered.


    Phelps, Magnussen, Rezac, Menal, Manado Jr. and other world-renowned swimmers all appeared in the lineup.


    The Chinese team appeared last. Although in the preliminaries they didn''t rank high, the appearance of the boys instantly ignited the stadium.


    This was the beauty of being home.


    The swimmers soon started to undress down to their swimsuits and wore goggles.


    On the Chinese side, when the process was done, Lu Zhibin brought everyone together. The four circled for one last chant before the race, Ning Xuantao, the first bat, immediately stepped onto the takeoff platform.


    "Come on China!"


    "Come on, Ning Zetao!"


    "Come on, Lu Zhibin!"


    "Come on, Sun Yang!"


    "Come on, Tang Yan!"


    There was cheering from the Chinese audience on site, their enthusiasm not discouraged by the defeat of the women''s team, instead it rose.


    "I wish all the best for the Chinese team tonight! They are all young and represent the future of the Chinese swimming team!" The on-site commentator said excitedly.


    After the referee signaled, the first bats of each team stepped onto the take-off platform.


    The Chinese team finished seventh in the preliminary round, and their lane was also the worst lane 1.

 161 First Day Finale 2

    The importance of the first swimmer was second only to the last one in the relay race.


    In the British team was the 100m backstroke world record holder Liam Tankock. His freestyle strength was also among the top in the world. The Great Britian team ranked fourth in the preliminaries and were in lane 6.


    The Australian team''s first bat was the strongest this year and also the strongest contender for the 100m freestyle gold medal, James Magnussen, they ranked second in the preliminary results and were next to the British team, in lane 5.


    On the other side was the United States team with the "Old Thunder" Jason Lezak at first bat for them. They ranked third in the preliminaries and were in the third lane.


    The 100m freestyle world record holder Alan Bernard was who the French team sent up, they had scored first place in the preliminaries so were naturally in the fourth lane, the most optimal lane.


    It could be said that every opponent, regardless of whether it was reputation or a strength, was a lot stronger than the Chinese team.


    Although the team members were confident, there was no doubt that China''s 100-meter freestyle relay team was an absolute underdog in terms of strength.


    "On your marks!"


    "Get set!"


    As the referee issued the countdown, the swimmers all bent over and got in position.


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, the swimmers leapt into the pool.


    Entering the water, the Australian Magnusson showed his form, he took the lead followed by France''s Bernard, America''s Lezak, with Britians Tankcock ranked fourth, followed by a German swimmer in fifth.


    Ning Xuantao worked hard and surpassed the Canadain swimmer to rank sixth.


    50 meters in, this ranking still hadn''t changed, Ning Zetao still held his sixth place.


    "Come on Ning Xuantao!"  "Come on James Magnussen!"  "Come on Jason Lezak!"


    The audience at the scene all launched into their own chants for their respective countries and swimmers, try to their best to cheer loudly, hectic noise filled the whole venue.


    Perhaps infected by this atmosphere. Ning Zetao made a strong push the last 50 meters after the turn, he surpassed the German swimmer before the finish line and raised the Chinese team''s position to fifth.


    After touching the wall, he coughed violently, it was clear to see that he had really gone all out this  time.


    The Chinese team''s second swimmer was Lu Zhibin, who won the Asian Games men''s 100-meter freestyle gold at the Asian Games last year.


    Different from the way Ning Zetao broke out, Lu Zhibin was a fiercer swimmer who rushed forward in the early stages. Entering the pool, he immediately started to accelerate madly.


    Amidst the excitement of the audience, he successfully surpassed Britain''s Simon Blatter moving them up from fifth to fourth.


    The whole venue was boiling.


    Lu Zhibin was still speeding up but it seemed fourth place would be his limit.


    America''s Garnet Weber, France''s Gayle Manado and Australia''s Matthew Abboud maintained their leads.


    And in the second leg of the race, his weakness was highlighted. When he reached the last 20 meters his speed slowed due to fatigue allowing Britian''s Simon Blatter to catch up and retake fourth place.


    In the end, Lu Zhibin wasn''t able to build on Ning Zetao performance but he maintained fifth place.


    Touching the wall, the veteran''s face was pale and he looked exhausted.


    Such a high-intensity event was hard to deal with, let alone when competing against the world''s top freestyle swimmers.


    However, it could be seen that Tang Yan''s words before the race had moved them, seeing how hard they were trying.


    Lu Zhibin was followed by Sun Yang.


    The 100-meter freestyle wasn''t Sun Yang''s strong point but he was still among one of the best in the Chinese team.


    After entering the pool, Sun Yang exploded forward directly. This wasn''t the time to conserve energy, he had to keep them in the race as a real contendor so Tang Yan could have a glimpse of a change of pulling something off.


    "Sun Yang! Come on! Sun Yang!"


    The Chinese fans at the scene shouted Sun Yang''s name loudly, cheering for him.


    Entering the 50-meter turn, Sun Yang''s height advantage was demonstrated. Demonstrating his excellent turning skills, Sun Yang launched of the wall, successfully closing a large amount of the gap between him and forth.


    Reducing the distance between him and Britain''s Grant Turner.


    The waves of cheering overwhelmed the sound of the waves, and Sun Yang was desperately charging forward.


    Looking at the resolute figure of Sun Yang and listening to the wild chants of the scene, Tang Yan''s adrenaline soared straight up.


    With less than 10 metres left, Sun Yang was rapidly gaining on Turner.


    They both launched for the wall with a final quick.


    Sun Yang touched the wall with a disadvantage of 0.05 seconds behind Turner.


    Touching the wall, Sun Yang almost slipped but fortunately latching onto the top of the pool wall and pulling himself in, he didn''t affect Tang Yan''s dive in.


    He felt more exhausted after this 100-meters than after his 1,500m races.


    Tang Yan after entering the water was still in fifth place but maintanined the distance Sun Yang had closed down.


    At this point, the top four leading teams were Australia, United States, France and the United Kingdom.


    The Australian team was arguably the team with the highest probability of winning the race. Their three previous swimmers, although not superior, had always been leading. This advantage combined to give them a full two metre lead over the second place American team.


    The last spot for the US team was given to superstar Phelps. He had been trying to catch up after entering the water, but the last spot on the Australian team was given to another superstar, Eamon Sullivan.


    Behind the US team with a slight disadvantage was the French team, with their last swimmer Fabien Gilot who was launching a fierce pursuit of Phelps.


    In fourth place for the British team was Adam Brown, he was half a metre behind Gilot.


    After that, was Tang Yan followed by Germany''s Biedermann. Tang Yan was ever so close to Adam Brown with Biedermann trailing less than half a metre behind.


    "Tang Yan set a new Asian record in the national championships just gone and became the to swim the 100m freestyle under 48 seconds. This is the last shot of the relay race, it''s time to see what kind of result can he produce!"The Chinese commentator said nervously and expectantly.

 162 First Day Finale 3

    After Tang Yan got into the water, he started to kick 8 times in two breaths, his speed picked up.


    The Chinese team was in lane 1 and the German team was in lane 2. The Chinese team''s last shot was Tang Yan and Germany''s team''s last shot was Biedermann. It was beginning to look like a grudge match, everyone had forgotten they would meet again in the relay.


    Tang Yan''s goal wasn''t fifth or forth, he was after a medal.


    Biedermann seeing Tang Yan determinedly rushing forward. He accelerated the frequency of his kicks to prevent Tang Yan from pulling away.


    The audience saw them in the two lanes on the left side accelerating frantically and the distance between them and the fourth-ranked British team instantly decreased.


    "Tang Yan is accelerating! He''s off again!" The on-site commentator shouted with excitement.


    The British team''s Adam Brown was on the other side, in lane 6, although they were far apart after the first 20 meters, he noticed that the two were approaching quickly, nearly in line with him.


    He had enough physical strength to start his sprint so he chose to dash in advance.


    The three swimmers accelerated at an instant and the distance between them was drawn down to one click.


    This continuous burst of sprints attracted crazy cheers from the audience.


    Reaching the 30 meter mark, the three and the third-ranked French swimmer Fabien Gilot were only less than half an arm away.


    Surprisingly, the French swimmer didn''t choose to accelerate in advance, and maintained his speed.


    As they continued forward, when they reached 40 meters, Adam Brown, then Tang Yan and Biedermann all surpassed Gilot.


    The next 10 meters, both Brown and Biedermann chose to reduce their speed, while Tang Yan maintained his original speed heading straight into the 50m turning, he flipped ahead of time.


    This quick action surprised the audience on the sidelines, and even the assistant referees'' eyes were wide.


    Turning at such high speeds made it easy to skid. Tang Yan was a bit brave to do so!


    With his speed following through, Tang Yan stepped firmly on the wall with his legs and then launched off, shooting forward.


    Just then, the audience burst into a cheering burst of excitement.


    Third!


    Tang Yan grabbed third before Biedermann and Brown!


    Finally hope for a medal!


    However, surfacing after the turn, Tang Yan was overtaken by Brown and fell into fourth due to his height disadvantage.


    Right after the turn, Fabien Gilot began his sprint in the second leg.


    His momentum was extremely fierce and in just 5 meter, Biedermann was passed immediately followed by Tang Yan.


    Gilot was a well-known late-breaker.


    At this time, both Biedermann and Brown found it difficult to maintain their original speed.


    "Come on Tang Yan, Tang Yan! Come on!" Shouted the host.


    This was their best chance to get a medal but even if they couldn''t can''t get a medal, getting fourth was already making history for the Chinese team.


    Gilot faintly surpassed Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan also felt the pressure at this time. The strength of these top freestyle swimmers couldn''t be underestimated.


    He didn''t make any more reservations. He pushed his kick frequency from 8 to 9 times, his training sessions shown through.


    His speed increased sharply and Gilot was thrown back.


    This sudden change made it impossible for the audience to control their emotions. They stood up from their seats, waving their arms and cheered wildly at the pool.


    When they saw Tang Yan rushing at the beginning, they were excited, but at the same time they were worried. After all, the disadvantage of being behind was so great, Tang Yan was helpless and had to sprint off the bat, to be a contender.


    If he could persist for the remaining 50 meters was the most worrying thing.


    Tang Yan passed Gilot and then passed Brown after 5 meters.


    He rushed to third place!


    He had pulled them back into a medal position!


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    The cheers echoed around the swimming pool, Tang Yan was using his full strength to create a miracle belonging to China!


    At this time, the distance to the finish was less than 20 meters. There were still two men ahead of him, leading was Eamon Sullivan, who was more than two metres ahead of his position and Phelps was more than a metre ahead.


    Heading into the final sprint, whether Sullivan or Phelps, they were sprinting for gold with all their strength.


    Tang Yan was gaining slightly but the distance between him and Phelps being largely maintained.


    With less than 10 meters to the finish, Phelps looked back whilst taking a breath and the two''s gazes interlocked for a few split seconds.


    "Come on! Come on Tang Yan!"


    "Come on! Come on Phelps!"


    "Come on! Come on Sullivan!"


    The cheers of the audience in the venue had ran unprecedented peak.


    It was less than 5 meters to the end.


    Sullivan had a clear lead and unless Phelps could pull a miracle it was looking like he would have to settle for second this time round.


    Whilst Tang Yan was gaining slightly on Phelps, it was too late.


    Sullivan with one final kick was the first to touch the wall. Phelps and Tang Yan both straightened their hands and turned up their hands. With the cheers of the audience, the two respectively made their finishes and touched the wall with Phelps taking 2nd and Tang Yan 3rd.


    After Tang Yan and Phelps touched the wall, they both turned and looked at the electronic display.


    (Aus) Lane 5, 3 minutes 11 seconds 14.


    (US) Lane 3, 3 minutes 13 seconds 28.


    (CHN) Lane 1, 3 minutes 15 seconds 04!


    "Third! The Chinese team won bronze! Hahaha! From last to 3rd! The first Chinese bronze medal for the men''s 4X100 freestyle relay! The Chinese team has created new history! They did it They did it!!! "The Chinese commentator went completely crazy, excitedly shouting.


    At this time, the scene was already full of tears of excitement among the audience.


    The 4X100m freestyle relay was a race they normally found difficult to reach the finals for let alone to get a medal, even if it was bronze, a medal was a goddamn medal.

 163 Slip Of The Tongue 1

    The moment he saw the results, Tang Yan slowed his fierce panting and exclaimed in excitement, punching the water.


    In the face of many world-class freestyle masters, he could still clinch third even with a disadvantage, which was already the limit he could currently achieve.


    "This is a historical moment that belongs to Chinese swimming. This is a historical moment that belongs to Asian swimming. The boys of the Chinese team have proved with their strength what Asia can do!" The on-site commentator excitedly rambled. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.


    The audience all stood up and looked at the pool with great excitement, applause and whistles were heard one after another.


    In countless corners of China, families watching the race were all shouting in excitement. The kind of honor belonging to the nation made everyone proud.


    "You''re an incredible swimmer, I look forward to confronting you later." Phelps swam over at this time and said to Tang Yan.


    "Thank you, I look forward to it." Tang Yan said politely.


    Although Phelps mainly swarm the butterfly stroke, he did take part in some freestyle events like this relay and the 200m event which was scheduled for the fifth match day.


    "Congratulations!"


    At this time, France''s Fabien Gilot also came over to congratulate him.


    The group of swimmers all then climbed up from the pool.


    After they came to shore, they received warm cheers and applause from the audience.


    Eamon Sullivan and the rest of the Australian team received a loud round of applause for their win.


    Whilst Tang Yan, who went from fifth to third, had become an undisputed hero for the Chinese fans.


    After they got to the starting point, Sun Yang, who had been waiting by, came up to give Tang Yan a hug. Their efforts were obvious to all, but the existence of Tang Yan directly transformed their efforts into the fruits of victory.


    The bronze medal would definitely be among the headlines of tomorrow''s news reel.


    Enjoying the cheers from the audience and teasing each other with the women''s team members, Tang Yan and his teammates took a shower and went to change their clothes, then they got ready to  participate in the award ceremony.


    .....


    The awards ceremony hadn''t begun yet and chants one after another filled the scene.


    When the award ceremony began, when Tang Yan, Sun Yang, Lu Zhibin, and Ning Zetao stood on the podium, there was a deafening cheer.


    The bronze medal was awarded to them by Huang Yiwen, the vice chairman of FINA and the chairman of the Asia-Pacific region. He was very excited when he presented the medals, it looked like this result had shocked even someone at his level.


    When receiving the medal, Tang Yan unconsciously looked around to see if the beauty Sun Yang had pointed out last time was there.


    Not seeing her, he was a little disappointed, not sure why, he felt like she looked familiar.


    At the end of the awards ceremony, the four held up the medals, which attracted the audience to scream and cheer again.


    On the first day of the World Championships, one gold and one bronze medal was harvested. This was definitely a satisfactory answer for both the audience and the government hosting the expensive competition.


    "Tang Yan has led the Chinese swimming team to create Asian history and won bronze by leveraging his 100 meters!"


    ...


    The news was published among the headlines of major websites by the media stations.


    Under the surge of news, the comments were overwhelming, as the netizens went to vent their inner pride.


    Tang Yan''s Weibo following rose sharply from 600,000 to 700,000.


    Even if it was just a news report, it attracted countless comments from netizens.


    "Tang Yan is actually to Op. I bet in the 100 meters freestyle in two days. He will definitely surprise us again!"


    "Who is Tang Yan? Here, there is only the One Punch Killer!


    "One Punch Killer more like Asia''s Green Arrow!"


    "Well, I just wanna say, boxers who can''t swim aren''t good archers."


    ...


    Tang Yan''s name began trending on Weibo.


    The World Championships was different from the National Championships. There was press conferences after each race. Tang Yan and his teammates appeared at the press conference together.


    At the press conference, swimmers from other countries expressed their congratulations for the outstanding performance of Tang Yan and the Chinese team. The atmosphere of the entire press conference was quite harmonious.


    Tang Yan also showed his mature side, responding to reporters ''questions one by one, his calm and polite demeanor attracted the favor of many media stations.


    After the press conference, Tang Yan and Sun Yang left the conference site with cheers and laughter. Although it was impossible to go out to eat and drink, they still enjoyed their medal.


    The swimmers from the other countries at the conference site had already left, leaving only the Australian team who had an exclusive interview with an Australian station.


    "Hello, James, Matthew, Eamon, Matthew hahaha. Thank you for accepting our interview. How do you feel after your win?"


    "Of course, we are proud to have grabbed gold." James Magnussen replied with a smile.


    "Yeah, it was a hell of a run with, Michael on my ass (referring to Phelps). Fortunately, I didn''t disappoint." Eamon Sullivan echoed.


    "The most surprising thing today is the Chinese team. Managing to clinch bronze right at the end after a fierce battle for third, Tang Yan their last swimmer looked like he was even gaining ever so slightly on Phelps. A lot of Chinese swimmers have been rising through the ranks lately, what do you think of the emergence of China as a competitive swimming nation?"


    Matthew Abood - "Well more competition is always welcomed, it keeps the sport interesting."


    Matthew Targett - "Yeah as long it''s fair competition its always welcomed."


    Reporter - "Speaking of fair competition what are your thoughts on the Brazilian swimmer Cesar Cielo, who managed to avoid a doping ban, getting the green light to compete."


    "Well let''s just say there''s not many happy people around but the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) has already announced it decision so there''s not much to be done but move on and compete normally." Abood said with a hint of derision.


    "Heck maybe that''s why everyone''s suddenly ''improving''" Magnussen murmured snidely.


    "Oh, you think the Chinese team are doping?" Catching his comment, the reporter pounced sensing the chance for a more interesting headline.


    "What, no, I didn''t say that....I..." Magnussen stammered.


    "He meant that the organizing committee could strengthen drug testing across the board. So there''s no doubts or claims of unfairness from other countries." Sullivan swiftly interrupted.

 163 Slip Of The Tongue

    The moment he saw the results, Tang Yan slowed his fierce panting and exclaimed in excitement, punching the water.


    In the face of many world-class freestyle masters, he could still clinch third even with a disadvantage, which was already the limit he could currently achieve.


    "This is a historical moment that belongs to Chinese swimming. This is a historical moment that belongs to Asian swimming. The boys of the Chinese team have proved with their strength what Asia can do!" The on-site commentator excitedly rambled.


    The audience all stood up and looked at the pool with great excitement, applause and whistles were heard one after another.


    In countless corners of China, families watching the race were all shouting in excitement. The kind of honor belonging to the nation made everyone proud.


    "You''re an incredible swimmer, I look forward to confronting you later." Phelps swam over at this time and said to Tang Yan.


    "Thank you, I look forward to it." Tang Yan said politely.


    Although Phelps mainly swarm the butterfly stroke, he did take part in some freestyle events like this relay and the 200m event which was scheduled for the fifth match day.


    "Congratulations!"


    At this time, France''s Fabien Gilot also came over to congratulate him.


    The group of swimmers all then climbed up from the pool.


    After they came to shore, they received warm cheers and applause from the audience.


    Eamon Sullivan and the rest of the Australian team received a loud round of applause for their win.


    Whilst Tang Yan, who went from fifth to third, had become an undisputed hero for the Chinese fans.


    After they got to the starting point, Sun Yang, who had been waiting by, came up to give Tang Yan a hug. Their efforts were obvious to all, but the existence of Tang Yan directly transformed their efforts into the fruits of victory.


    The bronze medal would definitely be among the headlines of tomorrow''s news reel.


    Enjoying the cheers from the audience and teasing each other with the women''s team members, Tang Yan and his teammates took a shower and went to change their clothes, then they got ready to  participate in the award ceremony.


    .....


    The awards ceremony hadn''t begun yet and chants one after another filled the scene.


    When the award ceremony began, when Tang Yan, Sun Yang, Lu Zhibin, and Ning Zetao stood on the podium, there was a deafening cheer.


    The bronze medal was awarded to them by Huang Yiwen, the vice chairman of FINA and the chairman of the Asia-Pacific region. He was very excited when he presented the medals, it looked like this result had shocked even someone at his level.


    When receiving the medal, Tang Yan unconsciously looked around to see if the beauty Sun Yang had pointed out last time was there.


    Not seeing her, he was a little disappointed, not sure why, he felt like she looked familiar.


    At the end of the awards ceremony, the four held up the medals, which attracted the audience to scream and cheer again.


    On the first day of the World Championships, one gold and one bronze medal was harvested. This was definitely a satisfactory answer for both the audience and the government hosting the expensive competition.


    "Tang Yan has led the Chinese swimming team to create Asian history and won bronze by leveraging his 100 meters!"


    ...


    The news was published among the headlines of major websites by the media stations.


    Under the surge of news, the comments were overwhelming, as the netizens went to vent their inner pride.


    Tang Yan''s Weibo following rose sharply from 600,000 to 700,000.


    Even if it was just a news report, it attracted countless comments from netizens.


    "Tang Yan is actually to Op. I bet in the 100 meters freestyle in two days. He will definitely surprise us again!"


    "Who is Tang Yan? Here, there is only the One Punch Killer!


    "One Punch Killer more like Asia''s Green Arrow!"


    "Well, I just wanna say, boxers who can''t swim aren''t good archers."


    ...


    Tang Yan''s name began trending on Weibo.


    The World Championships was different from the National Championships. There was press conferences after each race. Tang Yan and his teammates appeared at the press conference together.


    At the press conference, swimmers from other countries expressed their congratulations for the outstanding performance of Tang Yan and the Chinese team. The atmosphere of the entire press conference was quite harmonious.


    Tang Yan also showed his mature side, responding to reporters ''questions one by one, his calm and polite demeanor attracted the favor of many media stations.


    After the press conference, Tang Yan and Sun Yang left the conference site with cheers and laughter. Although it was impossible to go out to eat and drink, they still enjoyed their medal.


    The swimmers from the other countries at the conference site had already left, leaving only the Australian team who had an exclusive interview with an Australian station.


    "Hello, James, Matthew, Eamon, Matthew hahaha. Thank you for accepting our interview. How do you feel after your win?"


    "Of course, we are proud to have grabbed gold." James Magnussen replied with a smile.


    "Yeah, it was a hell of a run with, Michael on my ass (referring to Phelps). Fortunately, I didn''t disappoint." Eamon Sullivan echoed.


    "The most surprising thing today is the Chinese team. Managing to clinch bronze right at the end after a fierce battle for third, Tang Yan their last swimmer looked like he was even gaining ever so slightly on Phelps. A lot of Chinese swimmers have been rising through the ranks lately, what do you think of the emergence of China as a competitive swimming nation?"


    Matthew Abood - "Well more competition is always welcomed, it keeps the sport interesting."


    Matthew Targett - "Yeah as long it''s fair competition its always welcomed."


    Reporter - "Speaking of fair competition what are your thoughts on the Brazilian swimmer Cesar Cielo, who managed to avoid a doping ban, getting the green light to compete."


    "Well let''s just say there''s not many happy people around but the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) has already announced it decision so there''s not much to be done but move on and compete normally." Abood said with a hint of derision.


    "Heck maybe that''s why everyone''s suddenly ''improving''" Magnussen murmured snidely.


    "Oh, you think the Chinese team are doping?" Catching his comment, the reporter pounced sensing the chance for a more interesting headline.


    "What, no, I didn''t say that....I..." Magnussen stammered.


    "He meant that the organizing committee could strengthen drug testing across the board. So there''s no doubts or claims of unfairness from other countries." Sullivan swiftly interrupted.

 164 Green Arrow

    This was an exclusive interview on Optus Sports an Australian channel. It was being broadcasted exclusively back home in Australia.


    The interview immediately sparked debate and spread online as everyone hopped on and camps were quickly formed, some called the Australian team petty and jealous whilst others defended them and demanded for everyone to get drug tested.


    After the video spread online, it quickly hit Weibo and began making the rounds in China.


    It immediately aroused fierce protests from Chinese fans, they filled Weibo, calling jealousy and discrimination.


    Major figures even came out and said some strong words for the Australian athletes. The dissatisfaction was clear.


    But both Sports Bureaus were still to make an official statement, so Australia''s and China''s official stance as a whole was unclear. So it was just self-righteous outrage from fans on both sides.


    Seeing this the coaches instructed them to be silent and ignore the matter, the team naturally felt a little slighted hearing this but could only accept it.


    The reason why the Australian teams opinion was even considered was largely due to their outstanding performance. If those words come from a team that couldn''t even make it to the finals, it probably wouldn''t draw indignation but the ridicule of everyone.


    At this time, Tang Yan was headed to the swimming pool with the men''s team. He was wearing a full set of casual clothes. He didn''t have an event today. He could have a leisurely time along with Sun Yang as they became apart of the audience.


    The Chinese swimmers up today were Zhou Jiawei and Shi Yang who were going to participate in the 50m butterfly event.


    Zhou Jiawei was currently the record holder of the 50m butterfly in Asia. Although reaching the end of his career, he still broke into the World Championships.


    "Little Yang, you better be preparing, I''m getting too old, the butterfly will probably have to depend on you in the future." Zhou Jiawei said earnestly.


    "Ah? Me?"


    Sun Yang who was playing on his phone and suddenly looked up.


    His teammates couldn''t help but laugh seeing his reaction, Sun Yang and Shi Yang were sat next to each other.


    When Sun Yang saw Zhou Jiawei besides him, he quickly understood, he scratched his head embarrassed.


    This episode made the originally indignant swimmers feel more relaxed, which would be a great benefit for their approaching race.


    "Thief! Someone grab him!" Just then, a sudden shout came.


    "Catch him!" Followed by another woman''s shout.


    Everyone looked over with the shout, they saw a woman in the stand at the entrance, she looked helpless. To the left they saw a scruffy figure carrying a ladies bag in his hand, sprinting forward.


    He was fierce, and as he ran, he pushed through the crowd.


    What was even more surprising is that at this time, there was a woman right behind him pursuing him.


    "You guys head to the pool first." Tang Yan ran out.


    He didn''t expect someone to actually have the audacity to rob someone in such broad daylight. The thief looked fierce and he was as rampant as a tank, he would soon be clear into the main corridor. At that time, it would be almost impossible to catch up.


    "Tang Yan, don''t go! We are athletes!" Zhou Jiawei called after Tang Yan.


    Zhou Jiawei''s meaning was obvious.


    The country put a lot of investment into training athletes.


    Tang Yan didn''t stop and rushed out.


    His speed wasn''t fast, but fortunately, because he cut across and joined the pursuit.


    The thief dodged left and right and barged through those who attempted to block his path, he was only 10 meters away from the corridor at this moment.


    He even had time to look back and taunt them with a mocking smirk.


    Tang Yan was still more than 20 meters behind. If he had unlocked Dai Zong this would have been lightwork, unless he tripped up it looked like he could only watch the thief get away.


    But at this moment, he saw that there was a stall next to up ahead selling children''s toys, which contained a relatively high-end bow-and-arrow toy.


    He shouted "I''ll return it" while running, he grabbed the bow directly, hung the quiver on his body, removed the sucker on the arrow while running and drew the bow back while running.


    He drew back the bowstring as far as he could, straining the toy.


    For safety, the draw weight on toy bows and arrows weren''t more than 10kg, although he removed the sucker cup off the arrow tip, it was almost unrealistic to cause damage.


    But fortunately whilst he drew up the bow, he had closed the distance to only ten meters.


    The bow moved up and down as he ran. At that moment, he seemed to be back on the prairies of Nigeria, but this time, what he had to do was completely different.


    He relaxed, took aim and fired.


    Twang!


    There was a burst of air, and the plastic arrow shot straight ahead towards the thief.


    Running, he heard the whistle of the arrow, looking up and seeing something flying towards him, the thief jumped instinctively to the side.


    When he looked over and saw it was a toy arrow, his heart recovered.


    Tang Yan saw him dodge and didn''t stop, he took up another arrow from the quiver whilst running and fired.


    This time aiming for his feet.


    Because the distance was closer, the sound of the arrow breaking through the air was more obvious.


    Sensing something flying over again, the thief dodged as he looked back.


    As he avoided the arrow, he smiled inexplicably.


    Tang Yan didn''t bother removing the sucker cups anymore and quickly drew arrows from the quiver, he began launching a barrage of them, firing them at the thiefs feet hoping to tangle him up.


    His movement was fast and because it was a straight bow, the movement was extremely elegant, which immediately attracted a burst of exclamation from the crowd.


    This action, this archery speed, this elegance, simply the Chinese version of Green Arrow!

 165 Fateful Encounter

    The thief was less than 10 meters away from the corridor at this time. Although the toy arrow fired by Tang Yan wasn''t lethal, it still managed to slow him down as he had to watch for them.


    Tang Yan finished shooting all the toy arrows in his hand. He was less than 5 meters away from the thief. He threw out the toy bow in his hand launching it at the thief''s head.


    When the thief avoided the bow and turned to see that the person who had fired at him was out of ammo, his eyes lit up as he ran forward.


    However, Tang Yan was gaining.


    Estimating the distance between them, he rushes forward, he kicked off the ground with his right foot and jumped forward with his left foot kicking out directly.


    As the thief began to turn back for one last glance, he saw the horizontal kick coming from the corner of his eye.


    Bam!


    The kick caught him firmly in the face and he was sent back reeling, stumbling back his head spun like a tabletop.


    His mind was completely disorientated.


    When some consciousness came back to him, his face was full of anger, he threw the bag he had grabbed to the ground yelling:


    "Since you have a death wish then I''ll give it to you"


    When Tang Yan saw the thief rushing forward, he rushed forward.


    The thief tried to grab at Tang Yan, his eyes full of fierceness.


    Tang Yan easily side stepped his grasp.


    The thief missing, threw a right hook at Tang Yan instinctevely but as soon as he threw out his punch, Tang Yan ducked under it, shot up his elbow into the underside of his arm. He felt a sharp pain shooting through him and before he could react, Tang Yan grabbed his arm, squatted bending over and lifted pulling his arm forward and threw him straight over his shoulder.


    ....


    "Catch him! Don''t let him run away!" At this time, there were a few daring people among the crowd also chasing.


    But in the next second, a look of astonishment appeared in their eyes, and the bodies rushing forward stopped unconsciously.


    The thief who had grabbed the bag earlier was flying back towards them.


    Literally flying!


    Bang!"


    The thief hit the ground right before them and you could visibly see the air get knocked straight out of him.


    He was sprawled out, grimacing in pain but knowing he needed to escape he desperately tried to get up.


    "Pin him down, quick." Seeing the thief struggling to get up, a voice from the crowd shouted immediately.


    With this cry, the other people reacted immediately and went forward to push down the thief.


    Already in extreme agony with his whole body throbbing, the thief couldn''t resist at all as he was pinned by like five, six people.


    Tang Yan saw the thief being pinned and sat on and smirked as he went and picked up the woman''s bag that was thrown down by the thief, patting the dust off it as he went back.


    Reaching the crowd, he saw the woman who was chasing thief earlier.


    When he saw the woman''s face, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.


    Because he had only caught a side profile earlier, he didn''t see who it was very clearly, but seeing her head on now, he recognized her.


    She was the female emcee Sun Yang pointed out that day!


    There was an odd feeling in his heart.


    Was this the legendary fateful encounter?


    The beautiful lady stared straight back at him with a small smile on her face. Her smile was filled with warmth and happiness mixed with expectation.


    Tang Yan''s heartbeat accelerated inexplicably.


    He walked up to the beauty and reaching out the bag said with a slight smirk, "Here''s your bag."


    "It''s not my bag." The beautiful lady shook her head, then turned back and pointed at her companion who was hurriedly approaching in the distance.


    "..."


    Tang Yan took another look at the beautiful woman and said with a smile: "You''re a hell of a friend chasing down a thief for her, can I ask your name?"


    "You really don''t remember me."


    Tang Yan looked back at her with clear confusion


    "Uhhh.... I remember you from the award ceremony but I don''t think I ever got your....."


    "Hahaha you''ve forgotten all about how you used to run around calling me, Big Sister Bing."


    Hearing her sentence made Tang Yan''s jaw fall wide open.


    He carefully looked at the beauty in front of him and said in an uncertain tone: "Yan Bing?"


    "Oh I guess you haven''t forgotten me completely afterall, now that you are a star." Yan Bing replied with a smile.


    "This...wow... what a small world" Tang Yan didn''t know what to say. The beautiful lady who presented him the flower bouquet at the awards ceremony turned out to be the girl his mom called  him about.


    No wonder he felt she looked kinda familiar!


    "You don''t sound excited to see me?" Yan Bing said with a smile, her kind eyes studying him, exactly the same way as when he was a child.


    "Cough... I''m it''s just...wow this is a heck of a coincidence." Tang Yan coughed twice, and he suddenly found that in front of Yan Bing, his previous life experience was negligible.


    "Imagine how surprised I was when I saw you on the podium that day, I glanced up a few more times and went back and called aunty to find out what happened. I didn''t know you had become such a big sports star now." Yan Bing said with a smile. Although they hadn''t seen each other for more than ten years, she acted so naturally it seemed like there had been no gap at all.


    "Bing''er, you...." Yan Bing''s companion came over at this time but when she saw Tang Yan standing in front of her, the anxiety on her face disappeared and turned into a burst of excitement. " Tang Yan?! "


    "Yeah, your Prince Charming is here." Yan Bing said with a smile.


    As soon as her word came out, Tang Yan froze and her female companion flushed red.


    "This is my roommate Zhu Xiaoying." Yan Bing explained with a smile.


    "Hello." Zhu Xiaoying said flushed.


    "Hello." Tang Yan said with a smile, "Here''s your bag."


    Seeing Tang Yan handing over the bag, her face became even redder thinking of the fact she let her bag get stolen.


    "Bro, are you okay?" Just then, Sun Yang came over.


    "Sun Yang..." Zhu Xiaoying looked over at Sun Yang and Tang Yan could have sworn he saw her eyes daze over for a second.


    Sun Yang nodded and seeing Tang Yan unscathed, he said, "Zhou Jiawei and Shi Yang have headed over to the pool. Let''s head back before they start and we get surrounded."


    Tang Yan nodded.


    "Give me the bag and give me your phone number too." Yan Bing said taking the bag in place of the star struck Zhu Xiaoying.


    "010 6552..."


    ...


    "Well that was quick, she''s the girl from the other day right hahaha" Sun Yang began to tease as they walked back.


    Tang Yan smiled and didn''t explain.


    ...


    "Ahhh! No, I should have got a photo with them!" Zhu Xiaoying cried, breaking out of her daze.


    "Hahaha, don''t worry, you''ll get another chances for a photo." Yan Bing said with a smile.

 166 World Championships Day 2

    Tang Yan and Sun Yang, headed back to their section in the stands.


    Their arrival instantly detonated the auditorium. On the first day, they won 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal altogether, attracting fans'' wishing for signatures and group photos.


    Tang Yan also experienced the feeling of being truly sought after for the first time.


    It was extremely flattering.


    It wasn''t until the race was about to start, that the surrounding fans returned to their original seats under the guidance of security guards, but from the gazes cast over from time to time, it was clear to see that they all wanted to sit with Tang Yan and Sun Yang.


    The upcoming race was the men''s 50-meter butterfly which would be followed by the women''s 200-meter medley competition. Zhou Jiawei and Shi Yang were up for the men''s team and Ye Shiwen for the women''s team.


    Shi Yang appeared in the first group. The only other well-known swimmer in the group was Australia''s Matthew Targett, one of the swimmers from the Australian 4X100m freestyle relay team.


    Shi Yang''s debut attracted a cheer from the audience, but Targett''s debut instantly drew booing from the Chinese fans.


    From this, the audience''s dissatisfaction with Targett and the Australian team could clearly be felt.


    This hissing and booing also quickly attracted Targett''s dissatisfaction and his deeply frowning expression showed that he was trying to control his emotions.


    After the swimmers got ready on the take-off platform, they all dove into the water with the sound of the buzzer.


    The cheers of the audience then sounded, deafening.


    Both Tang Yan and Sun Yang being among the stands felt the brunt of the cheers, they felt their  eardrums tremor, the enthusiasm of the audience was extremely contagious.


    Shi Yang''s talents and strength was very outstanding. With the cheers of the home audience, he showed off his skill and swam a personal best score of 23 seconds 67, ranking second in the group, and smoothly entered the semi-finals.


    It was the Australian Targett who won the group. The latter was naturally pleased with himself and made sure to bask in the glory after his victory. After the race, he didn''t forget to get back at the crowd, stunting and flexing in front of the pool, venting his inner dissatisfaction.


    This soon drew another round of booing from the audience but the Australian this time enjoyed himself and kept mocking those booing.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but frown.


    He had watched the interview video yesterday. Their speech was full of disdain and disregard, he thought that after the backlash from online and the media, they would try to keep a low profile, but instead they maintained the same attitude and showed no regret.


    The 50-meter butterfly stroke preliminaries continued, but unfortunately showing his age the veteran Zhou Jiawei performed poorly coming forth in his group, missing out on the semi-finals, and ending his run.


    After the 50-meter butterfly group stages were over, the preliminary round of the 200-meter freestyle followed.


    Because of Ye Shiwen''s debut, the mood of the audience was ignited again.


    Ye Shiwen''s strength in the medley had been revealed at the national championships. She easily and happily completed the group stage. She won her group with a time of 2:11:21 and advanced to the semi-finals.


    After the race, Ye Shiwen waved in the direction of Tang Yan and Sun Yang, which caused the audience to cheer again.


    There was also the men''s 100-meter breaststroke and the women''s 100-meter butterfly stroke later on in the morning but Tang Yan and Sun Yang didn''t stay, they left the gymnasium before the race began. China''s strength in these two projects was relatively poor,


    Although the coach had given them a day''s rest, in order to maintain form, they still had to train in the afternoon.


    In the semifinals in the afternoon, Shi Yang performed abnormally and ranked fifth in the end missing out on the finals that night.


    Such a result was unexpected, but this was Shi Yang''s first time participating in the World Championships. It was inevitable that there would be some fluctuations in his performance and  mentality, so whilst disappointing no one was too hard on him.


    However, in an interview before the finals, the Australian Tagget seemingly couldn''t help but stir up more trouble, a reporter digging for a headline asked him about Shi Yang and Zhou Jiawei both failing to make it into the finals and instead of ignoring him and moving on.


    Having already been booed twice, Tagget actually answered: "Well this is the strength of Chinese swimmers. Without the help of something extra, they can''t even reach the finals. This is the best proof."


    Instantly the internet blew up and as did the new stations smelling controversy.


    His remarks quickly attracted hate from netizens. Well-known sports personel directly affiliated with the China Swimming Federation on Weibo lashed out, insulting him, firing off post after post. After continuous fermentation, dissatisfaction had reached a peak and many ignored internal orders not to respond.


    But all this fell to the background as during the 50-meter butterfly final that night, Australia''s Tagget and Geoff Huegill were overpowered, as the Brazilian swimmer Cesar Cielo came in and snatched gold from them.


    The audience and netizens'' went wild mocking the situation, with many calling him a "Friend of China".


    However some netizens responded negatively, what was everyone cheering for, this just proved that there was no one in Chinese butterfly swimming who could stand up for them and they could only rely on others for revenge.


    Fortunately, in the 200-meter medley final, Ye Shiwen performed well. She beat Australian star Alicia Coutts and American star Ariana Kukors to win gold, their only medal that day.


    ....


    It was against this background that the World Championships ushered in the third day.


    The third match day was compact with a total of 5 events, the schedule was quite compact, and more importantly, the highly anticipated 100-meter freestyle was today.

 167 100m Freestly Battle 1

    At the national championships, Tang Yan became the first Asian swimmer to swim 100 metres sub 48 seconds and Ning Zetao inspired broke his limit and swam 48 seconds 23, they both entered the World Championships.


    In addition to Tang Yan and Ning Zetao''s participation, Australian star James Magnussen,  also attracted attention.


    In the group stages in the morning, Tang Yan and Ning Zetao both performed well and successfully reached the semi-finals in the afternoon. However, in the semi-finals, Ning Zetao faced the same situation as Shi Yang, facing off against Magnussen in the adjacent lane, he performed abnormally seemingly put off and unfortunately missed out on the finals in the evening.


    Tang Yan swam 48 seconds 13 in the semi-finals and ranked fifth making it into the evening finals.


    Netizens and fans were filled with expectations, more importantly, this was completely different from the 50-meter butterfly stroke last night. Yesterday, the audience could only rely on others to save the situation, but today they could put all their emotions on Tang Yan, especially since from the first day, he had proven himself worthy of their trust and expectations.


    The 100-meter freestyle was scheduled as the third final of the evening.


    China''s female star Liu Zige won bronze in the 200-meter butterfly stroke, launching off China to a good start for evening finals.


    For the men''s 200m medley, American star''s Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps won 1st and 2nd. They would be most important opponents in the 200-meter freestyle the day after tomorrow.


    After the men''s 200-meter medley race, the audience cheered for the long-awaited 100-meter freestyle battle.


    With the cheers of the audience, the swimmers appeared one after another.


    American star Nathan Adrian, French star William Meynard, Brazilian star Cesar Cielo who previously won the 50m butterfly and Canadian star Brent Hayden all appeared in the finals alongside Magnussen and Tang Yan, the 100m freestyle battle was star-studded.


    The appearance of the swimmers attracted screams from the audience, but it was no surprise that despite the organizers calling for restraint before the match, Magnussen''s appearance caused booing.


    During the day, the Chinese Sports Bureau had finally issued a statement, asking the Australian swimming team to apologize for it''s comments and refrain from making baseless accusations, they also urged the Australian Swimming Federation to rein in their swimmers and conclude the incident.


    To which both the Australian swimming team and the swimming federation chose to respond to by remaining silent.


    Seeing this the audience''s thoughts were simple and direct. Since you won''t apologize, we don''t need to respect you.


    Magnusson''s face was gloomy as he entered, clearly dissatisfied with the audience.


    He was the penultimate appearance and when Tang Yan finally appeared, the audience''s cheering in contrast with the booing and hissing he received made him feel like punching a wall.


    ...


    The swimmers went for a final warm-up before the race and the on-site commentators started discussing the upcoming race.


    "Tonight''s 100-meter freestyle battle gathers three to five players who all have the ability to win gold. This is bound to be an intense race."


    "Yes, it''s worth mentioning that this is the first time in the history of the Chinese team that a swimmer has entered the 100m freestyle final in the World Championships!"


    "Tang Yan swam a time of 47 seconds 91 setting an Asian record at the national championships and became the first Asian swimmer to swim under 48 seconds. His performance tonight will definitely attract the attention of all China and even Asia as a whole. Lin Li , what kind of results do you think he will have tonight? "The main commentator asked, turning to look at his guest, former female swimmer Lin Li.


    "That''s difficult to predict, after all everyone is a world-renowned swimmer. If the psychological pressure is too high, they may perform abnormally. Tang Yan is a swimming genius. He already brought us a surprise in the first day of the game. I believe he will surprise us again in the final. "Lin Li said with excitement, as a former swimmer, she naturally hoped to see China''s swimming development get better and better.


    "Well, being able to reach the finals has already demonstrated strength. In fact, as long as he beats Magnussen next door, I''m pretty sure the majority of us will be pleased."


    "Yeah, haha that would do it." Lin Li nodded, looking at the pool in front of her.


    With the cheers from the audience, the swimmers had completed their preparations before the race, and stood on their respective take-off platforms.


    The assistant referee stood behind the swimmers.


    The 100-meter freestyle battle was imminent.


    At this time in the stands, Ye Shiwen, Fu Yuanhui, Shi Yang and the rest all nervously watched from the stands.


    In fact, it was not just the audience at the scene. There were countless Chinese people sat waiting in front of the TV, to see the first 100-meter battle in which the Chinese participated.


    There was a sudden silence at the scene and the smell of gunpowder seemed to permeate the air.


    "On your marks"


    "Get set"


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, the swimmers were off.


    Splash! ''


    In a flash, the swimmers all entered the water.


    The sound of cheering exploded on the scene.


    Entering the water, Tang Yan gilded forward and launched into rapid kicks.


    In the face of a number of world famous swimmers, he didn''t restrain his strength.


    His smooth transition from his dive in, put him in a relatively forward position after surfacing and the disadvantage from his height was made up.


    "Let ''s go! C¨¦sar Cielo is in the lead, followed by Meynard, Adrian in third, Magnussen in fourth, and Tang Yan in fifth. The opening distances between them is very close, and the gap between each one doesn''t exceed 0.5 seconds. This will definitely be a close race! "The commentator said with surging emotions.


    In the first 10 meters, the distance between the swimmers remained basically the same. The only change was that Magnussen surpassed Adrian and rose to third place.


    "Australia''s doing a good job tonight, and it looks like there is hope to win a medal, even if it isn''t a  gold medal," the commentator said.

 168 100m Freestly Battle 2

    At 20 meters, James Magnussen went one step further, only a palms distance from France''s William Meynard.


    Just then, the audience burst into cheers.


    Because Tang Yan closely followed Magnussen, he also surpassed USA''s Nathan Adrian and rose to fourth place.


    "Tang Yan is very smart, choosing such a tactic. Magnussen''s condition is excellent. As long as he keeps up, by the last 20 meters, he can challenge for a medal." Lin Li began to analyze.


    "However, this will be a great exhaustion of physical strength." The commentator said slightly worried.


    At 30 meters, Magnusson surpassed Meynard and rose to the second position. It could be seen that the Australian swimmer was extremely capable.


    Tang Yan was still in the fourth position.


    "Come on, Tang Yan!" The audience on the sideline cheered Tang Yan loudly.


    Entering the 50-meter turn, Tang Yan didn''t slow down, flipping over ahead of time using his speed to carry him forward, he touched the wall and kicked his legs, launching off the wall.


    Coming out of the turn his kick frequency increased sharply, the speed and intensity of his leg strokes pushed him forward as he began to accelerate.


    In fact, it wasn''t only Tang Yan, swimmers such as France''s Fabien Gilot and Canada''s Brent Hayden also started to accelerate significantly after the 50m turn.


    "Tang Yan has finally began to kick it up a gear! He is accelerating!" Lin Li said with great excitement.


    "He''s rapid! Tang Yan''s overtaken Meynard! He''s risen to third place!" The commentator is the same.


    Rising to third, this meant that Tang Yan could win a medal, the first 100m freestyle medal for China and Asia!


    "Hayden has caught up! The Canadian''s looking equally explosive in the second half!" Lin Li said nervously.


    "Magnussen has taken first! He''s overtaken Cielo. C¨¦sar Cielo was too slow to react to the change in pace, the Australian has taken first!" The commentator said in horror.


    At this time, the audience''s enthusiasm fell a notch. Although Magnussen was also a famous swimmer, whether it was compared with C¨¦sar Cielo, Meynard or Adrian, his popularity fell slightly short, no one expected that with only the last 30 meters left, he could rush into first.


    At the forefront, second-place C¨¦sar Cielo fell an arms length behind Australia''s Magnussen.


    Cielo was still struggling to maintain second place.


    In third place was Tang Yan. He was still half a meter away from C¨¦sar Cielo, followed by the Canadian Brent Hayden, who had also broke forward in the second leg. He had overtaken Meynard and Adrian and rose to the fourth. He was only a palms distance away from Tang Yan.


    "With less than 30 meters left! The swimmers are all accelerating! Everyone is sprinting! This is the final decisive battle! The final few metres!" The commentator shouted with excitement.


    "Wait! Tang Yan is accelerating! His speed has kicked up again! Maybe... just maybe!" The narrator shouted, seeing the changes in the pool, his eyes widened and his face was incredible.


    In the swimming pool, after entering the last 30 meters, Tang Yan forcefully upped his kick frequency from 8 times to 9 times, instantly raising his speed.


    Because of the huge physical consumption and the intense strain it put on his body, he rarely used a nine kick frequency.


    Risking an injury during such a high-level competition wasn''t a risk he was willing to take lightly so he reserved it until the last few meters.


    With this acceleration, he rushed forward and instantly overtook Cielo.


    "My God! Tang Yan has rushed into second! He''s really second!" The commentator''s excited lips trembled.


    "This kick frequency and kick distance! Amazing, what a prodigy! He''s like the incarnation of Zhang Shun! The Flash of the Waves!" Lin Li said with great excitement.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    At the same time, the audience yelled at Tang Yan.


    In the swimming pool.


    Magnusson was rushing forward, looking left and right when he looked up to breathe he couldn''t see anyone close.


    His mind was spinning with thoughts of victory.


    But the next moment, he heard wild cheers from the audience.


    When he looked up to breathe and turned his head, he saw a red swimming cap closing in.


    Tang Yan!


    He was shocked in his heart, how could this be possible!


    He threw his all into trying to pull away!


    When he came up for another breath and turned, the red swimming cap crossed his sight.


    Tang Yan, surpassed him!


    "First! He''s first! First! There is still 20 meters left to the finish. Tang Yan has surpassed Magnussen,  he really rushed into first!" The commentator was wild with joy.


    Magnussen was shocked but at the same time, he was already powerless, because at this time he was already working at max speed, putting his all in, he could only watch Tang Yan surpass him, and then pull away from him.


    "Crazy! Crazy! Tang Yan is still pulling away from Magnussen! Is he going to catch the world record line?" The commentator yelled.


    "I.... Damn it!" Sun Yang in the stands couldn''t help but utter a swear word after pinching himself, what was happening in front of him was too dreamy.


    "Last 10 meters! Brother Tang, come on!" Ye Shiwen looked at the pool and shouted feeling anxious and overjoyed.


    10 meters.


    9 meters.


    8 meters...


    ...


    Tang Yan was getting closer and closer to the pool wall. At this time, he had opened up half of metre lead from Magnussen.


    After entering the last 5 meters, although the race hadn''t ended, all the spectators on the scene had already stood up, because Tang Yan was about to create unprecedented history.


    Tang Yan took his last breath, followed by straightening his arms and sliding straight towards the wall of the pool.


    "Gold! Tang Yan has won! Tang Yan has won the men''s 100-meter freestyle event! Chinese history has been made, hahaha gold, the first Asian 100m freestyle gold medal!" The moment the Tang Yan touched the wall, the commentator directly jumped up and shouted.


    At the same time, a deafening cheer burst into across scene.


    At this time on the display, Tang Yan''s final time was shown.

 169 Advice

    47 seconds 48!


    "Incredible, truly incredible. Such talent no wonder the Australian''s are jealous" said the commentator losing himself in excitement.


    "Tang Yan is an unprecedented genius in the history of Chinese swimming. No, he can be said to be an unprecedented genius in Chinese sports." Lin Li said with a wide grin, shifting focus.


    "Yeah, I think the audience must be like me. They are all looking forward to Tang Yan''s performance in the rest of his events. I believe he will surprise us again!" The commentator responded quickly and changed the topic.


    In the pool, Magnussen touched the wall for second place. His final time was 47 seconds 81, which was 0.3 seconds slower than Tang Yan.


    After touching the wall, he turned to look at Tang Yan, seeing Tang Yan beaming and overjoyed, forcefully he said nothing and turned his head away.


    "Your speed right at the end was amazing. You truly deserve gold." The Canadian swimmer Brent Hayden touched the wall for third place. He saw Tang Yan''s achievement and congratulated him sincerely. Despite being competitors, he was impressed by Tang Yan''s burst of speed.


    "Thank you, congratulations on bronze." Tang Yan replied in fluent English, causing Hayden to be surprised again.


    The other players touched the wall one after another, and the final rankings were settled.


    This 100m freestyle competition was the most eye-catching in the recent World Championships. The favourites such as Cielo, Meynard and Adrian all missed out on medals. Tang Yan, Magnussen and Hayden could all be described as dark horses.


    After Tang Yan and Hayden climbed up from the pool, they immediately received applause and cheers from everyone at the scene.


    No matter whether it was the Asian Games 49kg event or winning double gold in archery, compared with the current World Championship they fell a tier below.


    Tang Yan reached out and waved to the audience. He was excited and enjoying the moment. With the power of Zhang Shun and his own hard work, this championship was beginning to go his way.


    The audience on site was cheering and they didn''t calm down for a long time. Online, the website crashed due to too much traffic. The major sports websites and media stations launched into praise of Tang Yan.


    In this moment, nothing was more interesting and exciting than this.


    When returning to the locker room, Tang Yan was madly celebrated by his teammates, and the roaring cheers carried on in the locker room.


    "The next time Tang Yan races we must prepare champagne, we have to spray him!" Fu Yuanhui exclaimed, as the women''s team members come over and joined in the celebrations.


    Before he knew it, Tang Yan was lost in a mosh pit of shouting and selfies.


    He was pulled over everywhere and made to do various poses.


    After trying to escape futilely Tang Yan soon gave up resistance as he became a mascot for the women''s team as they took hundreds of photos.


    Soon a staff member came in to remind Tang Yan to head out for the award ceremony, he desperately escaped.


    "Damn he got away, I only got two good photos" Fu Yuanhui said flickering through her album.


    "We''ll get him after the award ceremony, the lighting in here sucks."


    ...


    When he was out of the locker room, he breathed a sigh of relief.


    The award ceremony of the 100-meter freestyle event was set up quick.


    The audience at the scene still didn''t give the Australians face. When Hayden came on stage, there were scattered cheers. But when Magnussen appeared it was accompanied by boos and whistles, the Australian was blushing and helpless. He already lost the race, why were they still targeting him.


    When Tang Yan went up to the top of the podium, the FINA President Julio Maglione placed the gold medal around his neck and the entire Shanghai Sports Center completely boiling, launched into a sea of cheering.


    This was definitely a milestone for Chinese swimming and even Asian swimming history.


    "Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!..."


    With the high singing voice, the five-star red flag rose in the stadium for the third day in a row.


    Holding a gold medal in his hand, Tang Yan looked intently at the five-star red flag.


    After the award ceremony, Tang Yan had just stepped off the podium, when he was instantly surrounded by reporters. He became the first Asian swimmer in history to win gold in the 100-meter freestyle at the World Championships. They sure as hell wouldn''t let him escape.


    "Tang Yan, can you share with us your emotions right now after your victory?" A CCTV reporter grabbed the lead and launched off his question.


    "Well, I''m very excited. I want to thank Song Xiaocheng and Coach Shen Qing, as well as the staff and teammates of the national swimming team. Thank you to all my fans and my family. It is their constant support and training that gave me the opportunity to win this medal."


    Tang Yan was very official when he answered their questions. He had gotten some standard responses to learn from Zhuang Jiajie. According to the latter''s words, he was now becoming more and more famous and needed to create a positive image, not answering so offhand and casually like before.


    "We all know the previous remarks of the Australian swimming team. What''s your opinion on their remarks and any words for them after such a thrilling victory?" When he gained another opportunitunity the CCTV reporter came in again, this time from a rather difficult angle, and the second question went straight to the topic.


    The other reporters instantly stopped shouting their questions and pointed their microphones at Tang Yan


    "There''s nothing to say really."


    "Drug testing is the most standardized procedure in swimming competitions and there is always a FINA commissioner supervising them. To doubt this is not only to doubt the organizing committee, but also to question the ability of FINA. Their words could potentially be misconstrued as defamation and slander.


    If I remember correctly, in China, defamation is subject to legal liability so care should be taken by all parties."

 170 Voicemail

    As soon as this remark came out, the reporter was disappointed. Tang Yan''s attitude seemed quite tough.


    "Tomorrow''s 800-meter race, you will be facing your teammate, Sun Yang, who do you think will win between you two?" the CCTV reporter followed up.


    "I...." Tang Yan was trying to answer. When he suddenly felt a cramp in his heart, followed by a twitch in his right eyelid.


    ...


    "Old Tang, look, our son is prosperous now, he''s even more famous than Sun Yang, even the news channel is reporting on Little Tang."


    CCTV News Channel was replaying the clip of Tang Yan receiving his gold medal over and over again, seeing this Tang Yan''s mother was filled with pride and glee.


    Watch how she would show of tomorrow:


    "Oh your son finally got a promotion, haha congratulations."


    "Oh mine, hehe he''s not doing bad either he just won another gold medal, you know the usual."


    "This stinking kid, he''s finally doing something promising." Tang Yan''s dad picked up his cup taking a sip of tea with a small smile.


    "Haha, look at you being arrogant living in our hou....se"


    Thump!


    Smiling Old Tang turned back to reply, his smile fell followed by the cup in his hand, as he rushed out of his seat.


    His wife was flushed and fainted on the sofa.


    "Chunhua, what''s wrong?" Old Tang screamed anxiously, and seeing his wife didn''t respond, reached out and touched her neck checking for a pulse, he hurriedly hugged her, placed her on his back, grabbed his car keys and rushed out.


    He ran out so fast, he accidentally knocked over the fish tank in front of the TV. But he didn''t have time to care.


    The carp was left in place desperately tossing on the ground.


    ...


    Tang Yan felt his heart suddenly drop, he hurriedly ended the interview, rushed into the locker rooms.


    There was an ancient Chinese superstition that if your left eye twitched, it indicated good fortune was coming, while if your right eye twitched, it indicated the arrival of bad news. Although he didn''t believe in superstitions, he couldn''t shake the unsettling feeling that had suddenly set on him.


    Returning to the locker room, his teammates came to congratulate him one by one, but he seemed a little absent-minded.


    After waiting a while, he still couldn''t shake the feeling, he picked up his phone and headed out of the locker room.


    "Tang Yan, where are you going? Coach is calling for us to gather." Shi Yang reminded him when he saw him heading out.


    "I''m making a call," Tang Yan said, as he left the locker room.


    Going to the corner of the passage, he rang his mom.


    He had just bought his mom the new Iphone 4, and wasted a solid two hours downloading some ancient song for her as her ringtone.


    But no one answered the phone as it rang and he was sent to voicemail.


    The agitated feeling in his heart grew stronger.


    Rebirth was a new opportunity for him. Thanks to the existence of the system, he had made a gorgeous turn in his life. Compared with his previous life, he was a million times better off but  worries about his mother''s looming illness always lingered like a nightmare. He was beginning to put things in motion but now...


    With him mom not answering. He followed up and dialled his dad. No one answered.


    This made him more and more worried, his demeanor began to crack as he began panicking.


    He dialled and called all his relatives nearby but no one knew where his parents were, on his last leash he received a call from his neighbor.


    His entire mind was flustered.


    His father rushed to the hospital with his mother on his back, which is why he couldn''t get through to them on the phone. These words alone were enough to scare him.


    But preventing himself from becoming a complete mess. He immediately called his uncle and urged him to rush to the hospital. Then he ran back to the locker room.


    He had to go....what if something happened to his..., God forbid.


    No, he had to go home, these games would not make any sense to him.


    None of this had happened in his previous life, this was too early.


    Song Xiaocheng and Shen Qing were chatting in the locker room and their faces were filled with smiles. Tang Yan had won the 100-meter freestyle race. They could almost taste the praise and  promotions they were in for after this competition.


    "Tang Yan, you''re back, where have you been? Song Xiaocheng has been looking for you!" Shen Qing said when he saw Tang Yan enter.


    "Coach, I need to talk to you." Tang Yan nodded to Shen Qing, and then spoke to Song Xiaocheng.


    "What''s the matter?" Song Xiaocheng, turned serious, seeing the pressing look on Tang Yan''s face, he signaled Tang Yan to head out.


    Outside the locker room, listening to Tang Yan''s story, Song Xiaocheng''s complexion feel and became complicated, but he quickly said: "So you don''t actually know what happened to her, she could have fell and sprained her ankle, I think we should wait for news from your uncle before we make any major decisions, I understand how your feeling, but you''re being too anxious, you have a race tomorrow, a chance at another medal,  it''s not wise to make decisions based on emotions."


    "Coach, compared to my parents, a scrap of metal is worthless. I didn''t come to discuss things, I''m letting you know because I respect you but I''m going whether you agree or not. "Tang Yan said with an icy tone.


    Everyone had something or someone they cared about and his mother was the person he cared about the most after his rebirth.


    Song Xiaocheng frowned and stared at him steely, before finally nodding and saying, "Good, filial piety first, this is what you should do, rest assured, I will arrange things for you."


    "Thank you, coach." After finishing Tang Yan, without any delay, went straight back into the locker room to pack his things.


    After packing, under the doubtful eyes of his teammates, he ran straight out of the locker room carrying his bag.


    When he went out, he made a phone call to his uncle; he still hadn''t found out which hospital Tang Yan''s parents were at and was he was rushing to try the next hospital.


    Hearing this, Tang Yan became even more anxious. He arrived at the train station. Fortunately, there were many trains from Shanghai to Zhejiang. He bought a ticket and caught the train right before it set off.


    The high-speed rail was extremely fast, but anxious it felt like the train was crawling along.


    After sitting for about 20 minutes, his uncle called back, he had found the hospital.


    Luckily Chun''an county wasn''t very big. There were only three or four major hospitals. It was only a matter of time to find someone.


    He brought good news. His mother had woken up. The reason why they didn''t answer the phone, was because they rushed out and left their phones at home.


    However, they hadn''t found out what caused her to faint, so they were running some checks, he told Tang Yan not to worry too much.


    Hearing the news, Tang Yan was relieved, but the hidden anxiety in his heart was still there.


    After switching trains twice, when he arrived at Chun''an No.2 People''s Hospital it was already two going three in the morning.


    When he got to the ward, he saw his mother lying there quietly, and his Dad asleep beside the bed. He was finally relieved.


    There were nurses on duty working and just as he was about to ask where the doctor was, he spotted the office.


    After he entered, he closed the door and directly asked, "Doctor, have you discovered why my mother fainted?"

 171 Undetermined

    The doctors on duty at the hospital were all in rotation. The doctor in front of him, Song Qiuping, was an old man in his 50s wearing reading glasses.


    After listening to Tang Yan, he checked his chart and he said with a smile: "Don''t be so anxious young man, the specific cause of your mother''s illness cannot be fully determined, but the possible reasons aren''t a major problem."


    "Undetermined, how isn''t that a big problem?" Tang Yan replied unconsciously.


    "There are many reasons for a person fainting. It can be as severe as leukemia, all the way to things such as standing up too quickly, but neither are these cause behind your mother fainting. There are three possibilities, carotid sinus hypersensitivity, vasovagal syncope or orthostatic hypotension. "


    "I don''t understand." Tang Yan shook his head.


    "In regular terms, it was because of low blood pressure that lead to the sudden syncope. Which one of the three caused her to faint still hasn''t been determined yet because it varies from person to person, but you can be rest assured that it isn''t a major illness. Everything will be fine. "


    Although he didn''t know professional terms, he was relieved to hear the old doctor say it wasn''t a serious illness. However, thinking of his past life experience, he asked: "Dr. Song, I want to ask, could the orthostatic hypotension thing lead to the occurrence of certain malignant diseases, such as cancer? "


    "Cancer?" Song Qiuping froze for a moment, followed by a sudden laugh, as he said, "You young people think too much, let me explain, you mother is getting older, hypertension is common among people of her age group but using that to jump to cancer is too much. "


    "There is no link at all?" Tang Yan asked.


    Song Qiuping shook his head without hesitation.


    "Is there any way to prevent tumors and cancer?"


    Hearing Tang Yan bring up cancer again, Song Qiuping looked at him in confusion and asked, " Has your mother been diagnosed with cancer or a tumor before?"


    "No, I''m just asking casually." Tang Yan shook his head.


    "In fact, tumors are extremely common but most are benign, malignant tumors are the ones which cause cancer by invading other tissue and organs. As for how to cure or prevent tumors and cancer that is impossible even if you''re a millionaire it can''t guarantee you peace and safety throughout life but you can reduce your risk by; reducing the amount of pressure you take on, don''t smoke, maintain a healthy weight, get vaccinated and get regular medical examinations. That is the best you can do. "


    Listening to what Song Qiuping said, Tang Yan sighed.


    Even in his previous life, cancer was still incurable. In his previous life, because of their finances, his mother had laboured away for a lifetime and her health was a poor but now his life had changed, he had set up his mother for a better standard of living, getting her set up for regular checkups, would have to be next.


    As long as she was in good health now, it gave him time to figure out his options and get things on track.


    "Thank you, Dr. Song." Tang Yan stood up and said lost in his thoughts.


    "You are very filial. Your parents should be proud to have such a considerate son." Song Qiuping said with a happy smile on his face.


    Tang Yan nodded and said nothing, heading directly back to the ward.


    He set an alarm for himself. He took a hoodie out of his backpack and covered himself and fell asleep on the chair outside.


    After he fell asleep, two nurses on duty walked past him.


    The two nurses were talking about Tang Yan''s previous freestyle races. Their eyes were full of excitement.


    Obviously, Tang Yan after winning the 100-meter event had his popularity soar.


    As the two walked past Tang Yan, one of the nurses stopped and looked down at Tang Yan who was sleeping.


    "Ying Yue wait look, doesn''t he look like Tang Yan? What the hell!"


    "Huh what, Tang Yan is competing in Shanghai, how could he be here at a hospital....Wow, he really does look like him."


    "I know, they look so similar. He could literally be his twin." The nurse said, whilst taking out her phone, making sure the coast was clear and he was asleep. She took a photo of Tang Yan.


    She posted it to her Weibo, captioning it: "I met Tang Yan''s twin on duty".


    "Wow, I can''t believe you just did that, you freak, imagine if he woke up you hooligan!"


    "Hehe what he doesn''t know won''t hurt him"


    At that moment, Tang Yan in his sleep turned over, the two nurses froze in place, when they heard him resume snoring, they gestured to each other and immediately ran away.


    Tang Yan was awoken by his alarm. He set an alarm to wake him up so he could go get food for his parents.


    He went out and brought some porridge and came back, he walked past two nurses on his way back upstairs. The nurses shot him a strange look. He smiled friendlily and took the porridge into the ward.


    His dad had woken up first and when he saw Tang Yan''s. He froze for a while, then said, "You came back last night?"


    Tang Yan nodded and motioned not to wake up his mother, and whispered, "It''s been a while."


    His dad nodded, but didn''t talk anymore, that was his character, taking the porridge that Tang Yan had brought, he went outside and drank it directly.


    Tang Yan had already eaten, so he sat by the bed waiting for his mom to wake up.


    In his previous life, because he was young and ignorant, he wasn''t able to appreciate all the things his mother had done for him.


    The most gratifying thing for him since being reborn was being able to be filial.


    When his mother woke up, she looked radiant. Although she was in the hospital, she seemed to have had a comfortable sleep. When she woke up, she was smiling.


    But when she saw Tang Yan, she still froze. She wiped her eyes in confusion, then her face changed:


    "Son? Why are you here, aren''t you participating in the swimming competition in Shanghai?"


    "Yeah but I haven''t got a race today, I heard what happened, so I came back to see you ahead of time." Tang Yan knew his mother was worried about him, so he didn''t mention that he was missing the 800m freestyle race today.


    "No race?" His mom relaxed slightly but then immediately said, "So what if you have no race today. What about tomorrow! What are you doing back here, you better pack up and head back! "


    "Mom, I''m fine. It''s nothing. Come, you must be hungry, drink some porridge." Tang Yan said and handed over the porridge.

 172 Stubborn

    "If you don''t go back, I won''t drink it." His mom suddenly got angry.


    "Okay, I''ll head back after you finish porridge." Tang Yan knew his mother wanted him to go back soon.


    "I won''t drink it, you need to head back now. It takes half a day to get to Shanghai by car. You have to get a good rest when you get there." His mother continued refusing to eat.


    "Mom, I rushed back all the way to see you, the least you can do is drink the porridge before I go back, right?" Tang Yan said playing up a childish temper.


    Hearing Tang Yan''s words, his mother finally relented and drank the porridge.


    Of course, Tang Yan wouldn''t leave so early. After drinking the porridge, his mother reminded him, but he just asked her to wait and stuck around.


    However when it came time for lunch, his mother was truly hard headed. She refused to eat till he headed off. With a defeated sigh Tang Yan told her, he would call to check up on her later and began to head out.


    When he went out, he gave a gift to the doctor, and got his mother upgraded into a new room, only then did he head back on the train southbound.


    After another round of transfers, it was already night time when he arrived in Shanghai and completely drained he didn''t even get to watch the 800m final which was about to start.


    As soon as he got home, he fell asleep, out for the count.


    Getting up the next day, he felt mostly refreshed, after doing some warm-up exercises to get his body going, he washed his face and brushed his teeth then took a look at his phone.


    Picking up the phone, he saw several missed calls, from Shen Qing, Zhuang Jiajie, Ye Shiwen and Fu Yuanhui. To his surprise, there was even one from Yan Bing.


    When he saw the name, he couldn''t help but smile slightly.


    He called everyone back, except for Yan Bing, which he left it for the time being.


    He let them know he was back and would report to the swimming team later.


    After making the calls, he got ready and grabbed some food before calling for a car and heading to the swimming centre with his stuff. On the way, he took out his phone and brushed up on the news while on the road.


    Sun Yang won the 800-meter freestyle taking gold with a time of 7 minutes 38 seconds 57.


    Seeing this, Tang Yan smiled unconsciously. Sun Yang was truly a genius he had to watch out for. Although he wasn''t here, at least the medal was still captured by the Chinese team.


    In addition to Sun Yang, the veteran Wu Peng won the 200-meter butterfly bronze medal, one gold and one bronze medal. Although Tang Yan wasn''t present, the swimming team''s performance wasn''t inferior.


    "Looks like I need to work harder!"


    Tang Yan whispered in his heart, then put his phone away and hit the swimming pool directly.


    When he arrived at the training hall, Shen Qing was there waiting and seeing him return, Shen Qing felt relieved as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.


    "You''re finally back, luckily you have time to warm up. There''s an hour till the 200m freestyle group stage." Shen Qing said hurriedly.


    Tang Yan nodded, without much nonsense, and headed to the locker room to change.


    After more than six hours of traveling back and forth within a day. If it was an ordinary person, they would most likely still be out of it and it would take them a long time to recover. Fortunately, whether he was participating in boxing or swimming, his training schedule was always packed and  double others. After so much conditioning his recovery speed was swift, most of his fatigue was gone, although not in absolute peak form, he had largely recovered.


    After training in the pool for a while, seeing that Tang Yan was basically the same as before, Shen Qing was relieved.


    Unlike the 100-meter freestyle, although the 200-meter freestyle was not as hyped up, the starlight of the swimmers had not dimmed at all.


    It was a jam-packed event, with the likes of Ryan Lochte the famous medley swimmer, world record-holder and Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, and his old rival Paul Biedermann. In addition, there was also Sun Yang and Park Tae-hyun the two stars of the Asian swimming world.


    After a brief warm-up, Tang Yan headed out to the swimming pool to prepare. The group stages started immediately, and he appeared in the first group.


    The main opponent he encountered in this group was the world famous medley swimmer Ryan Lochte.


    Although not as famous as Phelps, Lochte''s popularity and strength in the swimming field was definitely not low. As the most well-known male medley swimmer, he could be said to be a master of all strokes.


    To put it plainly, the average person majored in medley swimming because they had small achievements in various strokes, but they would still have a long way to go in achieving good results in the individual strokes, but Lochte was different. Because he had reached the top level in each individual stroke, it was unreasonable not to participate in the medley.


    It would not be easy for Tang Yan to defeat such an opponent.


    "Hey, Tang Yan right. Michael said, you understand English?" After entering the venue, Tang Yan was somewhat surprised, as Lochte took the initiative to speak to him.


    "A little bit," Tang Yan nodded.


    "You''re an excellent swimmer. Michael also thinks highly of you, I look forward to racing against you." Lochte said with a smile.


    "I''m looking forward to it too." Tang Yan was somewhat indifferent to Lochte''s kindness. Maybe Lochte was a humble person, maybe he was just trying to get into his head, but it didn''t matter. His only concern was the race at hand.


    Lochte didn''t say anything else. After a while, the referee came up and signaled the swimmers to come on stage.


    The World Championships entered its fifth match day, but the enthusiasm of the audience hadn''t fade away at all. Although it was a working day and it was only a group match, there were at least a few thousand people on scene watching.


    And not having seen Tang Yan for a day, the enthusiasm of Chinese fans seemed extremely high.


    Sensing the atmosphere, Tang Yan waved and gestured to the audience.


    ...


    "On your marks."


    An electronic prompt sounded soon at the scene.


    Tang Yan retracted his hands and grabbed the front edge of the starting platform with both hands and got into position.


    "Get set!"


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, he, like everyone else, dove into the pool.


    After entering the water, he glided forward and then his legs were off, kicking steadily.


    After surfacing, he saw Lochte leading in front.


    In terms of height, these top swimmers were much taller than him, which made him always lag behind at the beginning.


    However, he quickly began to draw closer to Lochte relying on his fast kick frequency.


    In the first 50-meter turn, Lochte still maintained his fast speed, widening the gap with everyone, and by the 100-meter turn, his lead had expanded to more than half a metre. Showing off his dominance.

 173 Choices & Sacrifices To Be Made 1

    Tang Yan was in third place. It wasn''t that he didn''t want to chase Lochte but after he used the 8 kick frequency for a period of time, he found his calf muscles began to tighten and feel sore.


    A heavy frown set across his face and nervously he changed from 8 drafts to 7 and the feeling gradually faded.


    By the time he entered the third turn, Lochte was ahead by a metre.


    Although Tang Yan lowered his kick frequency, his kick distance was much higher than that of other players. At this time, he had risen to the second place.


    In the final 50 meters, Lochte was still a metre ahead of Tang Yan. In the end, his time was 1 minute 45 seconds 31 and he easily won the group.


    Tang Yan troubled was restricted, only being able to use 80% of his strength with a time of 1 minute 47 seconds 21, ranking second in the group.


    By the end of the race, Lochte''s gaze towards at Tang Yan had changed. Although he didn''t speak, it was clear to see that he felt disappointed with Tang Yan performance.


    At the end of the group match, Weibo was also in uproar about Tang Yan''s lackluster performance today compared to usual.


    A Weibo user named "The First Tear Tears My Heart" received support from many fans.


    "Tang Yan won consecutively 400 metres and 100 metres. In theory, his freestyle ability has covered short and middle distances. 200 metres shouldn''t be a problem for him but in fact isn''t so, 200 meters requires a swimmer with continuous explosive power. This is where western swimmers are better Asian swimmers. I''ve seen Tang Yan''s performance at the national championship, no one''s perfect at everything and I think 200 meters is a weakness of his."


    After this comment came out, it quickly received support from the majority of netizens, even some fans who followed Tang Yan''s Weibo reposted this post.


    Even some swimming experts endorsed this view.


    Even by the afternoon semi-finals, Tang Yan still hadn''t fully recovered, despite receiving a round of leg massages.


    He didn''t dare take the risk to forcibly use his 8 kick frequency. The end result was that his semi-final time wasn''t particularly outstanding. In the end, he "just" won third place in the group. Ranking 7th among all the swimmers and advanced to the evening finals.


    This result further confirmed people''s thoughts that 200 meters was Tang Yan''s weak point and many adjusted their predictions.


    And with Sun Yang failing to enter the finals after unexpectedly losing in the semi-finals. The audience''s expectations for the evening finals plummeted.


    In addition, Zhao Jing of the women''s team had great hope of winning gold in the 100m backstroke. For the first time since the World Championships began, the audience ''s expectations of the women''s team exceeded the men''s.


    It was against this background that the 200m freestyle ushered in its final.


    Lochte, Phelps, Biedermann, and Park Tae-hyun, the appearance of these stars attracted cheers from the audience. Tang Yan''s debut still ignited the scene, but compared with the previous 100 meters, the momentum was a long way off.


    After the swimmers entered the arena, the final preparations before the race began and the side commentator also started to follow up.


    "The 200m freestyle is arguably the most dazzling star since the start of the World Championships. Lochte and Phelps, a pair of world-class swimmers, will compete in the pool. This is the first head-to-head confrontation of the two teammates. "The commentators began to focus on the American swimmers.


    "Another to watch is the current world record holder Paul Biedermann who bluntly stated in the pre-match interview that he wanted to rectify his name in this race, I believe he will surely have an eye-catching performance in the race." The commentator nodded.


    "Ahh Biedermann, it''s natural that he wants to go home without just the Tang Yan escapade to his name. With Tang Yan having broken his 400-meter world record. I believe he must be impressed now!"


    "Haha, definitely, Tang Yan is very interesting swimmer. His performance was one to look forward to but he hasn''t looked as sharp this 200 meters. Plus with Biedermann and Park Tae-hyun, it will be a tough battle to get a medal. "


    "I believe he will surprise us again. It looks like the swimmers are ready now." The commentator said, looking at the pool.


    At this time the swimmers had all took their place on the take-off platform under the referee''s instructions.


    Tang Yan ranked 7th so he was in the first lane on the far right. Next to him, having restrained his strength in the preliminary rounds was "Flying Fish" Phelps.


    In lane 3 was Lochte, who ranked third in the preliminary rounds. Biedermann had the best time in the preliminary rounds, so he was in the fourth lane with the best position and Park Tae-hwan was in the fifth lane.


    Before they started, Phelps greeted Tang Yan with a smile, despite his poor performance in the preliminaries, Phelps recognized his strength.


    On the contrary, Lochte scoffed at this practice of his compatriot.


    After the swimmers were on stage, an electronic prompt sounded soon.


    "On your marks."


    The swimmers all bowed and bent down to make the final preparations before entering the water.


    "Get set!"


    Buzz!


    With the buzzer, the swimmers all dove into the water.


    As soon as the swimmers entered the water, a tsunami of cheering sounded.


    Phelps was the champion of the 200-meter freestyle in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He quickly grabbed the top spot after entering the water. Although not the butterfly stroke, his movement and kick frequency was superb.


    Phelps so far had won 14 Olympic medals and 21 World Championship gold medals. He was the undisputed king of swimming. After taking the lead, he was immediately greeted by the audience with cheers.


    Immediately following Phelps was his national teammate Lochte, who was less than a hands distance away from Biedermann.


    Behind Lochte, Biedermann and Park Tae Hyun were in third or fourth place.


    Tang Yan was in seventh place at this time. His own physical talent was worse than these top swimmers and his kick frequency of seven was not dominant.


    The first 50 meters passed without change in the pool, Phelps continued to lead.


    At 100 meters this hadn''t changed, Phelps was looking likely to win gold.


    Gritting his teeth and muling his choices, Tang Yan made up his mind.


    "Tang Yan has started to accelerate! He''s surpassed Chad Bobrosky of Canada and risen to sixth!" The narrator caught the scene and immediately shouted out.

 174 Choices & Sacrifices To Be Made 2

    Speeding up, Tang Yan felt soreness run up his legs as they began to strain and tighten. It was a constant reminder to him of consequences to come.


    He was pushing his limit and he knew it.


    However, Tang Yan steeled his mind, there was only 100 meters left. If he didn''t rush forward, he would have no chance at all.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    As Tang Yan accelerated, the audience cheered loudly for him.


    Although Phelps'' popularity was high, compared with Tang Yan at home, the audience was obviously more willing to support the latter.


    With this cheer, Tang Yan rose to fifth place and began to gain on Park Tae-hyun in fourth.


    He could feel his calf tightening gradually as if a knot was forming. He grit his teeth and accelerated, and now he had to defeat his opponent and himself.


    During this, the front of the pack underwent a huge change as Lochte burst out and suddenly caught up and surpassed Phelps, taking first. Sending the audience into upheaval.


    Entering the final 50 meters, he carried forward his speed heading into the turn, he somersaulted over and reaching out his legs, he kicked off wall but in an instant he felt his right leg knot up and cramp up but his momentum forcefully broke him through.


    Tang Yan grimaced as his face scrunched up, he accidentally took in some water as a sharp pain rang through him.


    Coming out the, Tang Yan had squeezed in front of Park Tae-hyun and took fourth.


    He gritted his teeth and forged ahead, he felt soreness spread to his waist and his hands.


    Still unwilling to accept his situation, he changed from 8 fetches to 9 fetches.


    All the swimmers had switched into their final sprints, but at this time almost everyone''s attention was focused on Tang Yan.


    Because he was accelerating, accelerating madly!


    "It''s a familiar scene again. Tang Yan has finally started sprinting. It''s a race to see if he can catch up with Biedermann in the last 30 meters!"


    "Tang Yan is gaining on Biedermann. He is like a flying fish in the water! It''s the last 25 meters!"


    "Oh my god! Tang Yan is crazy! He is speeding up past Biedermann! He''s chasing Phelps! Only 20 meters left!"


    "200 meters, this isn''t Tang Yan''s weakness! Tang Yan has no weaknesses! Phelps is speeding up! Only 10 meters left! Lochte, Phelps and Tang Yan, all three are head for medals! "


    Along with the cheers of the commentator, Tang Yan staged a shocking chase in the last 50 meters. He reached second from fifth. At this time, the gap between him and Phelps was closing at a visible rate.


    Tang Yan completely forgot the feeling of soreness. It didn''t mean that it disappeared, but it was transformed into adrenaline.


    At this moment he had only one thought on his mind, and he needed to catch up!


    For the last 10 meters, he was completely crazy about fetching water.


    "The distance between him and Phelps is getting closer! Closer and Closer! 10 meters left!"


    "Tang Yan has caught up! He and Phelps are almost on track! Last 5 meters! Phelps is accelerating! The American is fighting! He doesn''t want to lose silver!


    Many spectators stood up excitedly at this scene. Tang Yan''s crazy scene quickly burned their enthusiasm.


    "Tang Yan! Come on Tang Yan!" At the last moment, the commentator stood up from the commentary seat and shouted frantically at the swimming pool.


    The audience''s eyes were all looking towards the pool.


    Then as if a lightning bolt had hit, Tang Yan was struck.


    Both his legs clammed up and his arm stiffened.


    The pain was like a knife being sliced through a nerve. It shots up fast, erasing every thought from his head and paralyzing his body.


    Lochte shot forward and touched the wall.


    Phelps launched himself forward to finish.


    Tang Yan''s eyes squeezed closed as his face contorted. He felt his legs go to lead, they ached. No matter how he moved them, they were impossibly numb.


    Biedermann swept past, kicking with his all.  A look of confusion and glee across his face.


    His arms were throbbing in refusal but mechanically through the pain, he paddled forward.


    To reach the finish line and touch the wall.


    The audience all looked up to the display screen directly in front of the pool.


    (USA) Lochte: 1 minute 44 seconds 41.


    (USA) Phelps: 1 minute 44 seconds 45


    (GER) Biedermann: 1 minute 46 seconds 41.


    (CHN) Tang Yan: 1 minute 48 seconds 12


    2 seconds!


    Tang Yan lost!


    He lost both silver and bronze.


    After the live results were played out, the sports center instantly boiled.


    His magical reversal!?


    What the hell just happened? He was so close to second! Inches from the finish.


    Why did he suddenly freeze up....


    ......


    With the race over, Tang Yan leant against the pool wall. Pain was racking through his head. His face was a harsh grimace.


    Leaning on the wall he attempted to massage his leg.


    A sharp pain lanced through his head and colorful spots flashed in front of his eyes, it felt like his whole body had been beaten and every movement caused some muscle or bone to ache.


    "Are you okay." Phelps turned and reached out to him, seeing him gritting his teeth.


    "I''m fine." Tang Yan raised his shaking hand and waved off Phelps.


    "You don''t look it." Lochte said also coming over from the next lane at this time.


    Tang Yan didn''t speak and extended his hand beginning to pull himself out of the pool.


    Climbing out of the pool, Tang Yan almost fell, Phelps rushed up to catch him.


    His right leg had given way.


    Phelps seeing Tang Yan struggling helped him walk forward.


    The Chinese swimming staff ran up, a stretcher in hand. Tang Yan was loaded up and carried out.


    With that, Tang Yan, the darkhorse of this year''s competition, was carried out, after a desperate race with no reward.

 175 Aftermath

    Tang Yan once again made headlines on major sports websites.


    "Tang Yan Fumbles!"


    "Magical Reversal to Magical Choke!"


    "What Really Went Wrong With Tang Yan"


    "Hidden Injury? End Of A Legend In The Making!"


    The internet was littered with articles, some informative others pure clickbait...


    ...


    The reports about Tang Yan were overwhelming to say the least. People were anxious and afraid of something happening to Tang Yan. He was their hope of gaining a world-class swimmer.


    In Lotus City, propaganda about Tang Yan was being spread out. The council was working hard in order to turn it into a tourist destination and build a tour around him. They had even added Tang Yan to the city''s promotional video.


    Even the local companies hopped onto the scheme and whilst his loss had slowed down the momentum of his fame, his achievements so far motivated them to push forward.


    It was no exaggeration to say that with the continuous breakthroughs of Tang Yan in sports, his reputation and status in the country was skyrocketing.


    Whilst things were simmering as people awaited news from the swimming team.


    Weibo which was already filled with commotion, a post suddenly exploded and began trending.


    A post by a female account called "Max Lvl Healer Biyu" received crazy retweets and likes on Weibo.


    It was a photo of Tang Yan from a day ago, asleep on a chair in a hospital.


    With the caption: "I met Tang Yan''s twin on duty".


    But what really sparked the netizens was a post on (Baidu) Post Bar forum. From a user claiming to be connected to the swimming team, which claimed that the reason that Tang Yan was absent from the 800-meter freestyle race and performed so abnormally today was because he went back home to check on his mum who was in the hospital.


    After this information came out, paired with people finding the photo of him asleep. Netizens glued everything together and begun discussing:


    "No wonder Tang Yan lost, imagine how tired he must have been"


    ? "Yeah it''s like a 6 hour journey I swear, to come back from that and go straight into competing after 4 days straight of intense competition as well. Especially after such an intense 100m freestyle race, he must be knackered, I reckon he just didn''t have anything left in him, which is why he lost."


    ? "Yeah, I can understand why he lost now. It''s really unfortunate but at least he tried his best, he looked in bad shape when he was carried out though, hopefully it''s only like a cramp not a pulled hamstring or something worse. #FamilyFirst #ComeBackPending"


    ? "No excuses, what the hell is he doing going back anyway! Now look how the Americans are celebrating. What a piece of trash. You get paid for one job so do it right. #TangYanFail"


    ? Shut up you unfilial, hating ass, oxygen wasting, talentless, unwanted piece of human excrement.


    ? (?_?)©¥¡î?.*???


    ? Oh sh*t, you didn''t have to violate him like that


    ? (?¡ö-¡ö)


    .....


    Tang Yan was taken straight to the team doctor.


    He got evaluated whilst Shen Qing watched anxiously and Song Xiaocheng held a cold look across his face.


    The doctors final evaluation was that there was no major injury but he had heavily worn his body out especially his hamstring and calves by forcefully powering through his cramps and pushing ahead. He had muscle fatigue, nerve fatigue and slightly strained muscles.


    Whilst nothing major, he had to rest for a day or two to allow his body to recover properly or he would be pushing himself onto the knife edge, heading out completely with a pulled hamstring or calf if not careful.


    So he was sent home with strict instructions to stay off his feet and rest, luckily he didn''t have an event tomorrow.


    He had just initiated his plan to stay in bed when he got a call.


    The caller Id showed it was Yan Bing, he picked up with a small smile.


    "Don''t you know it''s rude not to call back?"


    "...."


    "But I know you''re busy, so I guess I can give you a pass, where do you live now, I''ll come to you."


    "You''re coming to see me?"


    "Yeah, Auntie told me you got a place in Shanghai. I wanna see it."


    "...urmm, sure..." Tang Yan hesitated for a second but told Yan Bing the address.


    He laid about for an hour and just as he was getting sleepy, the doorbell rang.


    He got up and walked to the door, and looked out through the cat''s eyes. Yan Bing was wearing a casual dress, she was standing outside with a thermos cool box in hand.


    He opened the door and said, "You got here so late, how are you gonna head back later? It''s getting dark."


    "I''ll walk back, it''s not too far. Besides, what''s a little bit of darkness, are you forgetting who protected you when you were a kid." Yan Bing shook her fist as she entered the room with a smile.


    Tang Yan said nothing and closed the door and said, "I''ll call you a taxi to take you back later."


    "It''s okay, come taste the mapo-tofu I cooked for you." Yan Bing didn''t consider herself an outsider. After she came in, she walked directly to the sofa and opened up the cooler box she brought. Taking out a bunch of dishes.


    It took Tang Yan a moment to notice that Yan Bing had brought in food.


    "I''m not hungry, plus my diet is very strict."


    "I know, but you can rest assured, it''s vegetarian just spicy sauce made with fermented black beans and fermented broad bean paste, along with hot red pepper and Sichuan pepper, there''s no meat." Yan Bing seemed to have done her homework before coming.


    Tang Yan scratched his head. To be honest, he didn''t expect Yan Bing to come over suddenly.


    He moved down to the sofa.


    "Come, it took me more than an hour to cook it. Just try it, give me face." Yan Bing said with a smile.


    Tang Yan nodded and took two spoonfuls after moving over, spicy and soft.


    "Wow not bad."


    "Okay, obediently eat, it''s very helpful to reduce physical fatigue."


    Tang Yan smiled, and nodded, even though he was a big name now, in Yan Bing''s eyes, he was still the little kid who followed her about.


    "I heard about Auntie, is she okay?"


    "Yeah, she''s okay, it was just a small mishap, nothing major." Tang Yan swallowed the food in his mouth and said.


    "Ok, that''s good. You know I still can''t believe you''ve suddenly become a professional athlete, I don''t remember you being so sporty." Yan Bing said, looking around the room.


    "Hahaha things change. Look at me now, I''m not the same as when I was a kid." Tang Yan replied.


    "True. We haven''t seen each other for more than ten years. It''s been a long time and a lot of things have changed." Yan Bing said with emotion.


    "Yeah, what are you studying again?" Tang Yan asked, looking up.


    "Well, I''m studying Economics and Management but I don''t like it. I plan to graduate next year and try to get a post as an intern reporter."


    "Oh, I''m sure you''ll get it." Tang Yan continued eating, no matter if it was the Yan Bing in his memory or seeing her as a volunteer at the World Championships. Compared with working as a manager in an office, being a reporter profession seemed more suitable.


    "Do you remember the time when you tried to steal a bird''s nest and almost got caught by your dad? Actually thinking about it now, the fact you were able to climb such a tall tree is actually very athletic!"


    "Haha yeah I remember, if you didn''t stop me in time, my dad probably would''ve peeled off a layer of skin of me..."


    "Haha Uncle let you off easy, that tree..."


    While eating, the two talked and the sense of distance between them began to fade.

 176 Fueling The Flames 1

    After finishing the food, the two continued chatting till it got late and Yan Bing had to head back.


    Tang Yan walked her out to the taxi.


    As he headed back in, he suddenly realized that he should buy a car.


    ....


    After a day of just laying about, his body and mind had mostly recovered. The next morning, he headed to the swimming pool to train.


    Yesterday was the 6th match day of the World Championships. It was also the darkest day for the Chinese Swimming Team since the World Championships began.


    In the first five days, Tang Yan personally won 3 gold medals and 1 silver, plus Sun Yang, Jiao Liuyang, Ye Shiwen and Liu Jing had each won a gold medal. The Chinese national anthem could be heard ringing through the swimming center every day.


    However, on the sixth match day, the Chinese team only won a bronze medal in the men''s 4x200 meters relay race.


    Although it still added to the medal list, with the US team winning gold they took first on the medal table.


    The 7th day of the World Championships was the day with the most events since the start of the competition. There were a total of 6 events to be held: women''s 50m butterfly, men''s 50m freestyle, women''s 200m backstroke, men''s 100m butterfly, women''s 800m freestyle and the 4x100m medley relay.


    Among these 6 events, the 4x100m medley relay was the most promising event and with his previous outstanding performance in the individual freestyle events, Tang Yan was a clear competitor for the 50m freestyle.


    Although not as star-studded as the 200-meter freestyle, the 50-meter freestyle never lacked highlights.


    Short distance events could always ignite the passion of the audience in an instant.


    .....


    The Brazilian star C¨¦sar Cielo, who had just won the 50-meter butterfly event, was his biggest competitor.


    But in addition to him there was also (USA) Nathan Adrian, (AUS) Magnussen, Italy''s Luca Dotto and French star Alain Bernard were all strong contenders for gold medal.


    In fact, the predictions before the race took a shift as the Chinese Swimming Team announced Tang Yan would be back to compete after recovering. Whilst some seemed skeptical about how he would perform everyone understood he would have a strong impact on the race and the medal order.


    There were 8 groups in the 50m freestyle. Tang Yan was in group 1 and Australia''s Magnussen was in group 4.


    Tang Yan''s performance was stable. He scored a time of 22 seconds 10 in the group stage and advanced to the semi-finals as the group leader.


    In the group stage of the fourth group, Magnussen performed well and scored a time of 22 seconds 20. He won the group and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.


    According to the schedule, the first two of the first four groups would form the first group of the semi-finals, which meant that after the 100m freestyle final, he would once again face head-on with Tang Yan.


    Because of the previous interview incident, and after the fact that Tang Yan snatched the 100-meter freestyle gold medal from him, the two had a tense relationship.


    When a reporter asked whether meeting Tang Yan again in the semi-finals would have psychological pressure on him, the Australian was clearly unhappy and displeased but having learnt his lesson and been warned. He avoided the question but towards the end of the interview, he seemingly couldn''t help but shoot an indirect comment.


    "It''s a standard race for me. I''m focused as always and now it''s just about going out there, performing like usual and reaching the finals. Unlike others nothing can distract me from the real goal, gold."


    Although not precisely mentioning Tang Yan''s name it was obvious what he meant.


    The previous interview incident was full of controversy and with the silence from the Australian side, things still hadn''t been resolved. Now Magnusson remarks undoubtedly fuelled the fire, blowing up the incident that had just calmed down.


    Netizens who were originally targeting the Australian swimming team immediately pointed their finger at Magnussenand demanded him to make an open apology for the incident.


    But the result was exactly the same as before. The Australian swimming team and Magnussen chose to respond with silence again.


    Obviously, this method didn''t satisfy Chinese netizens, so the originally ordinary freestyle semi-final, attracted a lot of attention.


    Many indignant fans held up kt boards which said "Australia Must Apologize" and "Malicious Slander Should Be Punished".


    However, Magnussen seemed prepared to turn a blind eye to all this. Ignoring the behavior of the audience. He deliberately glared at Tang Yan, seemingly looking for a reaction.


    Tang Yan ignored him, paying him no mind. For him, the antics of his opponents were meaningless to him, as long as he performed like normal, it would certainly not be a problem to make it to the finals.


    After finishing the final warm-up, the swimmers all stepped onto the take-off platform.


    The audience stared down at the pool.


    The winner is king, the loser an outlaw. This was an eternal truth. As long as Tang Yan won this event, Magnussen would eventually become a laughing stock.


    After the swimmers got ready, with the sound of the buzzer, the swimmers dove into the pool.


    The race began.


    Magnussen entered the water and grabbed first place. Although big mouthed, he still had ability.


    Tang Yan ranked third in the group. Because of his height, he always lagged behind slightly in the beginning.


    The various lanes in the pool were splashing with water at this time, and everyone was accelerating forward.


    Magnussen turned to see that Tang Yan still hadn''t caught up, and his heart was rejoicing. He rushed forward speeding up.


    At 20 meters, he was still in the lead.


    At 30 meters, he was still in first place.


    Just then, the audience burst into cheers.


    What attracted them to cheer was naturally Tang Yan.


    After the 30 meter mark, Tang Yan kicked up his speed to eight draws and launched forward flying, Magnussen, who was ahead, was easily surpassed.

 177 Fueling The Flames 2

    Magnussen had already learned in the 100 meter freestyle to watch out from Tang Yan''s crazy acceleration. Magnussen sprinted forward hoping to extend his lead as much as possible.


    But in the end, it turned out to be useless.


    After Tang Yan surpassed Magnussen with unbridled momentum, he continued to widen the gap between them.


    At this moment an unexpected scene occurred, Magnussen in the pool was hugging close to the lane dividers and whether intentionally or unintentionally his arm fell into the next lane and hit the arm of Tang Yan in the next lane.


    But fortunately, Tang Yan reacted fast enough and quickly adjusted his posture, sprinting to the end to touch the wall first.


    At the end of the race, Tang Yan''s time was 21 seconds 72.


    And just after the race, Magnussen who had lost seemed a little embarrassed, he lashed out and punched the water, splashing water over Tang Yan and another swimmer who had just finished.


    Tang Yan being constantly splashed again and again, was beginning to feel annoyed with Magnussen''s childish behaviour especially when he had crossed into his lane earlier hitting him.


    Fortunately, the assistant referee stepped in, in time.


    The head referee also came over. First, he gave Magnussen a warning.


    But on his way back, he was accosted by the Chinese team, who watching back the replay on the jumbo screen, realized that Magnussen had actually swung his arm into Tang Yan''s lane, hitting arms with him.


    Receiving protests from the Chinese team, the referee went back and re-watched the footage and confirming that Magnussen crossed lanes deliberately attempting to bstructing Tang Yan''s race, his results were cancelled .


    When this call was announced, the audience at the scene flipped out, whistling and cheering, the incident was being played on loop on the jumbo screen.


    Magnussen who was disqualified, stood on the sidelines looking distracted before he was swiftly herded off the scene by a staff member from the Australian team.


    Physical contact was extremely rare in swimming competitions, due to lanes being seperated by pool dividers which acted as clear borders. Crossing lanes even if it was just slightly accidently floating an arm into the next lane was a disqualifiable offence.


    After the race ended, Tang Yan didn''t leave the scene immediately, but stayed to watch the second group.


    The swimmers in the first group were weaker, this group had a higher average strength with multiple strong swimmers such as Cesar Cielo, Luca Dotto and Nathan Adrian who were all in this group.


    After the swimmers were ready, they got in position.


    Buzz!


    They all dove into the pool.


    Tang Yan saw Cesar Cielo''s dominance in short-range events for the first time. His final time was 21 seconds 40, a superb time.


    After watching C¨¦sar Cielo''s race, Tang Yan felt the pressure. The Brazilian swam like he was born to dominant short-distance events In his current state, even if he exerted his best, he didn''t have full confidence.


    The semifinals of the two groups are over, and the final list of the 50m finals was released. All the favourites such as C¨¦sar Cielo, Nathan Adrian and Alain Bernard all made it to the the finals in the evening.


    After the semi-finals, Tang Yan returned home to rest. After hesitating for a long time, he entered the system space.


    Prior to the World Championships, he had accumulated 10 honor points at the Nation Championships but he spent 6 honor points to upgrade and unlock more of Zhang Shun''s powers going from 60% to 70%.


    He had only 4 honor points remaining but since the World Championships started, he had successively won the 400m and 100m freestyle events. Each medal at the World Championships was worth 2 honor points, so he had accumulated 8 honor points.


    Choosing swimming had greatly boosted the amount of honor points he earned just due to the vast number of events. It was a good sport to collect honor points.


    But like with everything else, you reap what you sow.


    He didn''t hesitate any longer and spent 8 honor points at once, raising the powers Zhang Shun from 70% to 80%.


    After the upgrade, he could clearly feel that his entire body had changed. The feeling was not only limited to control of his body but also gave him a new understanding of swimming.


    In previous races, physical control and superman tier kicking distance and frequency allowed him to overcome his height disadvantage compared to the top swimmers but that meant he needed a distance of about 20-30 meters to catch up.


    After this upgrade, he gained another method to upgrade his swimming style.


    In swimming, in addition to the aforementioned skills, there was another factor that greatly affected final performance, lung capacity.


    Generally, swimmers with large lung capacity could reduce their breathing rate. Ye Shiwen and Park Tae-hyun were representatives of such characters. C¨¦sar Cielo, was also such a swimmer. Lower breathing rate meant saving time and physical energy turning to take a breath, just like running, the further you could travel travel per breath the better.


    Before the upgrade, Tang Yan didn''t dare to try this, because his own lung capacity wasn''t enough to support him, but after this upgrade, he could feel the increase in this area. Zhang Shun was nicknamed White Streak in the Waves, he was a master swimmer and could stay underwater for long periods of time, his lung capacity was tremendous and with this upgrade Tang Yan was better able to tap into that.


    When he realised this, he didn''t rest and quickly contacted Shen Qing, he headed down to the swimming centre to train.


    Meeting him there, Shen Qing couldn''t understand Tang Yan''s intentions, but he couldn''t bear Tang Yan''s demands and finally arranged a training hall for him through relationships.


    Tang Yan knew that this time was precious, and after a brief warm-up after arriving at the training hall, he started training back and forth.


    Adjusting his style to incorporate his new breathing style, his overall speed increased quantitatively.


    Watching Tang Yan flying across the pool, Shen Qing was stunned. Unfortunately he didn''t have his stopwatch, to record Tang Yan''s time.


    Although he didn''t know the reason for this change, but after seeing that Tang Yan''s speed increased sharply, he increased his expectations of the finals tonight.


    C¨¦sar Cielo, the 50-meter short-range king, was probably about to face the biggest challenge of his career tonight.

 178 Return Of The _____

    Tang Yan''s session lasted for about an hour. Although he couldn''t claim to be the strongest in this aspect, after an hour he had adapted the upgrade into his swimming style.


    Because the 50m freestyle final was the first event of the evening finals, he had a light meal and waited around with Shen Qing before heading out.


    At this time, the Sports Center was already nearly full. The men''s 50-meter final fully mobilized the excitement of the audience right of the bat, bringing the evenings finals off to a climatic start.


    After the final warm-up before the race, the athlete introductions began.


    From behind the scenes to the stage, the swimmers were cheered on by the audience, and with Magnussen eliminated, the Chinese audience was appeased and came to watch the race purely.


    C¨¦sar Cielo was the second-to-last appearance. His appearance attracted extremely loud cheers from the audience.


    Last was Tang Yan. Although not the biggest star, but relying on the popularity accumulated by several previous freestyle champions, his appearance was met with explosive cheers from the audience.


    Tang Yan felt the enthusiasm of more than 15,000 spectators and he felt a shot of adrenaline rush through his body.


    He waved and gestured to the audience, who responded with another round of cheers.


    Cesar Cielo turned his head and smiled at him. It could be seen that he also regarded Tang Yan as his main opponent.


    Tang Yan nodded in response, before looking away.


    Just then, the side commentators began conversing:


    "Tang Yan is once again back on stage. This World Championships seems very important for him, and it''s also meaningful for Chinese swimming!"


    "Yeah, in the four projects he''s participated in, he''s won 2 gold and 1 silver medal!" A commentator said with excitement.


    "The title of ''King of Freestyle'' is becoming his, he can''t run away. It''s clear to see, he wants to resume his path towards the top." Taking in the swimmers final preparations, the commentator turned his head and commented.


    "For this 50m race, he''s a strong contender but it will be difficult. After all, Cesar Cielo is here. He holds the world record with a time of 20 seconds 91! This is an extremely terrifying time. Although he may not be able to repeat this time, Cesar Cielo is a beast at the 50m butterfly.  This competition he''s also proved that he is in good shape." The main commentator analysed.


    "The 50 meters short distance has always been the Brazilian''s strength. Cesar Cielo''s non-breathing stroke style is not something that ordinary people can compete against. If Tang Yan wants to grab this gold medal from his hands, it will be a difficult race. "


    "On your marks!"


    At this moment, the electronic speakers sounded on the sidelines, the 50m freestyle final was about to begin.


    "Get set"


    "The race is about to start." The three in the commentary booth stopped communicating and looked over at the pool.


    "Buzz!"


    With the sound of the electronic buzzer, the swimmers dove into the pool.


    "This distance of 50 meters is short, and the details at the beginning will probably determine the final result. Tang Yan has a natural disadvantage in height.


    "Tang Yan''s rushed up!" Before the commentator''s words were finished, he was interrupted by the guest commentator.


    In the swimming pool at this time, Tang Yan pushed up to the limit of 9 strokes straight from the beginning of the race. After upgrading the power Zhang Shun to 80%, he became more and more proficient at stroke frequency easing the limit on him.


    As his speed picked up, he could make up for his previous height disadvantage.


    After swimming for less than 10 meters, he had successively surpassed Luca Dotto, Alain Bernard and other well-known players, closely following Cesar Cielo.


    However, Cesar Cielo was worthy of being the king of 50 meters. From the moment when he surfaced out of the water, he had established a leading position of half a metre.


    "Crazy! Tang Yan''s rushed forward with all his strength, and it isn''t much worse than Cesar Cielo''s!" The commentator said with a look of amazement after a brief daze.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    The audience couldn''t stop excitedly chanting. Many people stood up from their seats and cheered wildly at the pool.


    Because at this time, Tang Yan in the pool didn''t slow behind Cesar Cielo but continued to close the distance between him and Cesar Cielo!


    "Truly crazy!" The narrator swallowed drooling. Although he was lagging behind because of his height advantage, Tang Yan was now drawing closer and closer at a speed clear to the naked eye.


    After 30 meters, Tang Yan brought the distance down to only an arms length.


    35 meters, the distance between Tang Yan and Cesar Cielo was already difficult to distinguish with the naked eye!


    At 40 meters, Tang Yan and Cesar Cielo''s heads were next to each other, and they were already on a par!


    "Wait a minute, Tang Yan hasn''t turned for a breath?!"


    "What? Do you mean Cesar Cielo? Wait! Tang Yan actually hasn''t turned for a breath!" The main commentator exclaimed after thinking back.


    Only those with strong lung capacity and high fitness levels could hold their breath for 50 meters especially whilst swimming at such a high speed. Cesar Cielo was famous for holding his breath during 50m races, being able to do so for the entirety of the race. But Tang Yan, the Tang Yan they were familiar with, had never shown such an ability or swimming style!


    This was simply striking!


    "I think it may be that our understanding of Tang Yan is not deep enough, I think, this time he has shown what he has reserved!" The second guest commentator said with emotion.


    "Tang Yan!


    "Cielo!"


    The cheers of the audience were already ringing through the venue.


    Entering the final 10 meters, Tang Yan and Cesar Cielo ushered in their peak speeds.


    Although he couldn''t see his opponent as he didn''t turn for air, as the world''s top 50-meter swimmer, Cesar Cielo could still sense the approach of someone.


    Such crazy acceleration....Tang Yan, it must be Tang Yan.


    The last 5 meters, the two still rushed forward hand in hand!


    "It''s crazy! The two men are in a head-to-head duel! They are evenly matched! This is definitely the most exciting 50-meter freestyle duel of the year!" The main commentator shouted with excitement.


    "No, Tang Yan is already ahead. Look, he is already ahead!" When the competition entered the last 5 meters, the guest commentator suddenly got up from his seat and roared.

 179 Make A Choice

    In the swimming pool, as the competition reached the last 5 meters, Tang Yan''s fast kick frequency finally gave him a leading advantage and he continued to expand this advantage.


    In the end, Tang Yan touched the wall first with a distance of half a palm ahead of Cesar Cielo.


    After touching the wall, the audience at the venue went crazy.


    Not only on scene, but countless Chinese fans watching in front of the TV set went completely crazy.


    50 meters! In this project, which was mostly dominated by Westerners, not only did a Chinese swimmer appear for the first time in the final, but he also won gold!


    And his results!


    Everyone stared up to the LED screen!


    21 seconds 21!


    When the times came out, all the audience in the venue did not make a sound of exclamation.


    This result was only 0.5 seconds away from the previous world record set by Cesar Cielo.


    This was the best time so far this year for the 50m freestyle!


    "You''re such an incredible guy!" Said Cesar Cielo with admiration in his eyes after seeing Tang Yan''s achievements.


    Although Australians have been advocating that Tang Yan may be taking stimulants, as the top 50m freestyle, he knew that Tang Yan''s performance was natural. After all, stimulants are just stimulants. It''s impossible to say that an athlete could be transformed from a second-rate athlete to a first-rate athlete, or from a first-rate to a top-notch athlete. They still needed talent and skill.


    "Thank you, that was a close one." Tang Yan replied politely.


    As they came out of the pool, the scene was full of excited screams and whistles, and the chants that appeared from time to time showed the excitement of the audience at this moment.


    "With this gold medal, from 50 meters to 400 meters, Tang Yan has won a medal each race. I believe that after tonight, he will receive unprecedented attention. He is the best athlete in the history of Chinese swimming. There is none other. "The commentator looked down at Tang Yan and praised without hesitation.


    The 50-meter awards ceremony attracted unprecedented attention from the audience. Many netizens recorded this scene and posted it online, and it quickly spread on the Internet like a virus.


    Tang Yan''s popularity was skyrocketing with an absolute blowout, and matchingly his Weibo following skyrocketed from a few hundred thousand to over a million in just one night, all real users, the number of likes and comments grew exponentially.


    It was no exaggeration to say that if the current Tang Yan had the opportunity to participate in a reality show or something, it would directly make the show popular.


    Of course, this was not Tang Yan''s focus. This was for Zhuang Jiajie to consider and arrange.


    .....


    There was no time for a reality show, but just after the award ceremony, Zhuang Jiajie came looking for Tang Yan with a laptop and a bunch of documents.


    Although he had become Tang Yan''s agent, in the past two months, he had basically been doing miscellaneous tasks and making suggestions. Naturally, he had no substantial income. So usually, Zhuang Jiajie rented a temporary Officetel.


    Tang Yan proposed to let him stay with him but he refused saying: "There is no success without hardship, afterall success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance and sacrifice"


    Looking at the pile of documents brought by Zhuang Jiajie, Tang Yan''s eyes were full of curiosity.


    "It''s just some details on the contracts. If you are interested, you can look through it." Zhuang Jiajie saw Tang Yan''s look, and explained.


    "Contracts? What contracts?" Tang Yan asked with confusion.


    "Endorsement contracts. Because of your popularity, we''ve finally received some worthwhile endorsement offers, this time you performed extremely well. We received a lot of contracts, I have selected some suitable ones. But you still need to choose which one you want. "Zhuang Jiajie said and turned his laptop to Tang Yan.


    Zhuang Jiajie showed him a powerpoint slide, which should be to screen out and select which contracts he wanted.


    Tang Yan looked at the display in front of him but when he saw the first slide, he looked up shocked.


    The first page of the slide, this product....


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but call out: "Are you kidding me?"


    On the screen was a picture of Jissbon packaging, next to it a description of product features everything was carefully laid out by Zhuang Jiajie, he even described some possible advertising points such as size, comfort and preventing premature.....


    "Jissbon''s endorsement fee is the highest at the current stage, £¤10 million yuan a year. This fee makes me unable to exclude them and adult products are a necessity, it''s easy to get sales, plus your sports attributes, I think there is some relevance. "Zhuang Jiajie calmly explained .


    At this time, Tang Yan was vigorously shaking his head, just thinking about his former classmates seeing him endorsing condoms made him uneasy, now imagine if his parents saw him doing so.....


    Just thinking of his mother''s reaction was enough to put him on edge, yeah this one was a hell no, he valued his life.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s strong disapproval, Zhuang Jiajie didn''t say any more, and clicked the mouse a few times moving past his first pitch.


    "The second one is the American firm Hoyt Archery, while a relatively unpopular brand, their sports equipment has great synergy with you, but because archery is not a hot sport, sales aren''t really high. The endorsement fee isn''t very high, it is $800,000 dollars a year, which is about £¤5 million yuan. "Zhuang Jiajie continued to introduce.


    Tang Yan nodded then shook his head.


    Archery equipment, this was highly suitable for him to endorse, but this endorsement fee seemed too low especially in comparison with what Jissbon offered.


    Seeing Tang Yan contemplating, Zhuang Jiajie went through his points before cutting to the next offer.


    "Jinba Menswear, this one is a bit troublesome, because their spokespersons are many, and their spokesman in China is still on contract, their contract would take effect next year, and it would have to be renewed on a yearly basis based on the advertising effect. The current endorsement fee is £¤7 million a year. "Zhuang Jiajie introduced.


    "Jinba Menswear, hmm not a bad option." Tang Yan pondered.


    Jinba Menswear was a high-end brand, it was a good option for endorsement.


    Zhuang Jiajie nodded, and then continued.


    They went through a group of high-end brands and a variety of products such as watches, cars, and mobile phones. Generally speaking, the endorsement fees offered fluctuated between 5-7 million yuan.


    Tang Yan considering his options was leaning towards Jinba Menswear even though there were other clothing brands, he favoured them slightly more.


    When Zhuang Jiajie moved to the last few slides, the last brand was displayed.

 180 Youre Not You When Youre Hungry

    Snickers.


    Seeing the familiar brand, Tang Yan suddenly felt inexplicably hungry.


    Taking note of Tang Yan''s expression, Zhuang Jiajie followed up and said, "This is a relatively well-known chocolate brand in the United States. It sells very well in China. Of course, it''s not comparable to those well know-brand but it''s a fast-growing brand. Since they are expanding into China, their advertising budget is fairly substantial, the advert they proposed is creative and seems creative. It''s said that this idea has existed for a long time, but they lacked a suitable spokesperson."


    "They are marketing Snickers as a high-calorie chocolate. Their advertising point is its ability to quickly replenish energy. The slogan for the campaign is "You''re Not You When You''re Hungry".


    "The idea is to have someone doing one of your sports, swimming, archery, boxing. So for example he''s having sparring match but is struggling about to lose but then all of a sudden during a break he''s given a Snickers bar, takes a bite and transforms into you and goes on to defeat his opponent." Zhuang Jiajie explained while clicking through the powerpoint, maybe it was because of the interest shown by Tang Yan, he introduced the ad concept in great detail.


    "How much is the endorsement fee?" Tang Yan asked.


    "£¤16 million for three years, only £¤1 million more than Hoyt Archery would give." Zhuang Jiajie said.


    "Yeah it''s a bit low, relatively speaking." Tang Yan said.


    "Yeah that''s why I put them last, but they said they could shoot a series of advertisements, an individual ad for each sport although I don''t know if you will be involved in other sports in the future, if you took it on for archery, swimming and boxing it would be a great fit. Especially since it''s a well known international brand."


    "Hmm, then it doesn''t matter if it''s less money, but you have to renegotiate the contract length, try lower it from 3 years to 2 years. After 2 years, my value will have soared." Tang Yan said confidently.


    Zhuang Jiajie didn''t seem too surprised by Tang Yan''s self-confidence. He nodded and said, "I thought so as well,  the time period is too long."


    Tang Yan nodded. Zhuang Jiajie chose mainly contracts with a short period of one year or two years.


    "Well you should discuss the details of the contract, and when it is finally negotiated, send it to me to review." Tang Yan instructed.


    "Okay, it should only take a few days to renegotiate." Zhuang Jiajie said with a smile, seeing that their first endorsement deal was close to being signed, he was in a good mood.


    He had reason to be in a good mood as well. His income as an agent was based on securing contracts and getting a cut as commision. The percentage take for domestic agents was much higher than that of foreign countries. If they signed the contract, he was set to take home hundreds of thousands.


    After discussing a few more details, Zhuang Jiajie took the opportunity to remind Tang Yan that he should post more on his Weibo, before he left.


    When Zhuang Jiajie left, Tang Yan took his phone and looked at his Weibo thoughtfully.


    Because he was so busy, after creating his Weibo account, Zhuang Jiajie had basically been operating and running it for him. As a result instead of feeling like a personal Weibo account, it was shaping up to feel like an official Weibo information centre for Tang Yan news. Fan interaction was very limited and gave off a corporate feel.


    He hadn''t paid enough attention to this before but this wasn''t the path he wanted to take and Zhuang Jiajie''s reminder came timely.


    Thinking of this, he opened Weibo and found a photo he took with Sun Yang from his photo album and attached the caption: 1500 meters tomorrow, between Sun Yang and I, who do you think will win gold?


    After editing the caption, he uploaded it and sent it out.


    As soon as the post went up, the comments surged in from dozens at the beginning, to several hundred, to thousands. Tang Yan''s Weibo engagement rate proved itself extremely high.


    ? "Wow, Tang Yan actually made a proper post? Finally! Ps: Edit, I was so excited, I forgot to see what was posted!"


    ? "Haha, choosing between you and Sun Yang, what an impossible question! Just draw and get two gold medals and add it to the collection. If you get enough medals maybe you can summon a dragon!"


    ? "Draw my ass, what do you think the camera''s are there for? Plus why only get gold when you can get gold and silver and cocklblock others. Hahah if only we had another swimmer we could get a trifecta!"


    ? "...Okay, I was wrong, then, Tang Yan day, win and summon the dragon!"


    ? "Ah! The sting on your faces is gonna be painful if Sun Yang or Tang Yan don''t win!"


    ? "Bullsh*t, what sting, Tang Yan, the king of freestyle, will crush everyone!"


    ? "But Sun Yang defeated Tang Yan at the national championships and broke the Asian record.


    ? "Yeah it''s hard to say, who will win."


    Tang Yan looked through a few comments, liking and replying to a few before heading to sleep.


    .....


    The World Aquatics Championships entered the 8th day, which was also the last competition day of the swimming events. On this competition day, there were a total of 7 events for the evening finals,  the schedule was tight.


    It was going to be a challenging day for Tang Yan, he not only had the 1500m race but also had to represent the national team in the 4X100-meter medley relay, it was gonna be a high-intensity day.


    Many of his fans even suggested that he give up one of them on Weibo.


    Tang Yan didn''t pay much attention to this. On one hand, it was due to his self-confidence after upgrading Zhang Shun''s powers. On the other hand, since he had made it so far, he didn''t have any reason to give up at the last moment.


    For the 1500 meter and the 4x100 meter medley relay, he would go all out.


    Because it was the weekend, the occupancy rate at the Sports Center was unprecedentedly high, and even the aisle was full of spectators. KT boards with slogans supporting Tang Yan could be seen everywhere. Because of the success of Tang Yan and the Chinese swimming team so far, interest in the sport was soaring.


    This sudden increase in audience members drew the attention of the organizing committee, and the number of security personnel at the scene doubled.


    It was against this background that the eighth day of World Championships officially kicked off.


    Tang Yan appeared in the 1500m freestyle group stages.

 181 The Charm Of Competitive Sports

    The existence of Tang Yan and Sun Yang, a former world record holder, and a current world record holder, gave the 1500 meters additional attention.


    When warming up before the race, the two naturally couldn''t escape the pursuit of the reporter''s.


    Because Tang Yan also had the medley relay race that same morning, he went ashore after two laps.


    Immediately after coming up, he was surrounded by reporters. Most of them were domestic reporters, but there were also foreign reporters.


    "Tang Yan, there are many netizens and experts, suggesting that you selectively abandon an event. What''s your opinion on this?"


    "Tang Yan, your main opponent today is likely to be your teammate Sun Yang. Previously he defeated you at the national championships, are you confident in defeating him or is the plan to strategically give up and leave this gold medal to Sun Yang whilst keeping your strength for the 4X100 medley relay?"


    ...


    Tang Yan didn''t show much interest in the questions from the reporters, but the last question made him frown.


    He looked over at the reporter who asked the question.


    It was a foreign reporter and the press card on her chest showed that she was a reporter for beIN Sports - Australia.


    Faced with this pitted question, Tang Yan answered unceremoniously.


    "The biggest charm of competitive sports is competition. Better opponents inspire stronger self. Just because the opponent is my teammate I have to give up? That''s not my style even if others prefer to rig their races, I don''t.  I compete to the best of my ability everytime no matter the situation."


    The Australian reporter frowned, but not waiting for her to answer. Tang Yan continued and said "As for 1500m and the 4X100 relay race why would I quit one and pretty much give away a medal!"


    As soon as this remark was made, the reporters looked surprised.


    1500 meters needed long-distance endurance, while the 4X100 relay race needs super explosive power for a short period. Most could never consider completing the two projects in succession, their physical fitness would be stretched to its limits but Tang Yan talked about it with ease.


    How confident would you have to be to speak like that!


    The Australian reporter was speechless for a while. She originally wanted to use this chance to sow discontent between Tang Yan and Sun Yang and get some negative info about the Chinese swimming team but Tang Yan''s answer flipped her question and insinuations back on her, ruining her plans and stuck for a retort.


    Coming out of the pool, Sun Yang was also surrounded. When the reporter recounted what Tang Yan had said in the previous interview, he expressed the same sentiment as Tang Yan. Only with strong opponents could you pressure and motivate yourself to perform better.


    There were four groups for the 1500-meters group stage. According to the rules, the eight best performers would advance to the evening finals.


    Sun Yang placed in the first group, while Tang Yan was in the fourth group.


    Maybe it was because of the interview before the match or because he didn''t have the pressure of  participating in the 4X100m medley relay after Sun Yang chose to come out full force and his outstanding performance attracted a loud round of cheers and applause.


    In the end, his time was fixed at 14 minutes 38 seconds 35, just 3 second away from the world record he set at the national championships.


    This outstanding performance caused netizens and experts to solidify their stance. Sun Yang has bound for gold.


    Compared with the first group, the second and third groups were a bit dull. The swimmers were somewhat reserved. Canadian star Ryan Cochran and Hungarian star Gergi Kish, both advanced to the finals in the evening.


    Tang Yan was in the last group, a perfect setup for him.


    With the previous three groups already finished and their results out, he only needed to ensure that he reached the finals, allowing him to minimize his physical exertion.


    His final time was 14 minutes 45 seconds 23, ranking second in the group, and seventh overall to sneak into the evening finals.


    After the 1500-meter qualifiers, Tang Yan had a couple hours to recover. By the end of the afternoon, he ushered in another crucial qualifier.


    The focus of relay events was to reflect the overall swimming standard of a country.


    Among the three relay events, the one with the highest attention and the highest appreciation was the 4X100 medley relay.


    Because it included four swimming styles, in order to win gold, all four swimming styles required expert swimmers.


    It was prime for countries such as Australia, Italy, Russia.


    And there were special cases, such as France and the United States. The former''s backstroke and breaststroke were top level, and they could often gain an advantage in the first 200 meters. The United States team was reverse dominating butterfly and freestyle strokes to achieve the final victory.


    The 4X100m medley relay had two groups. The top four teams overall would qualify for the evening finals.


    In the Chinese group was the US team, the Japanese team and the French team all in one group. It was bound to be an intense journey to the final.


    .....


    Locker room:


    Song Xiaocheng: "Great moments are born from great opportunity and that''s what you have here today, a chance to really stamp your names into people''s minds but it starts from here, qualifying for the finals. Our group is a tough one but it''s nothing we can''t overcome. You feel those butterflies in your stomach now...when we walk out that door, they turn to dragons. Because they get bigger and they get stronger and we use them. And those dragons are going to breathe fire."


    He finished his speech whilst locking eyes with Tang Yan.


    Following Song Xiaocheng''s gaze the others also looked over and sensing their gazes Tang Yan nodded looking back with confidence.


    Tang Yan was now their backbone. As long as this backbone was present, they had the confidence to fight.


    This time the Chinese team sent up a youth-oriented lineup. The backstroke and breaststroke swimmers were Xu Jiayu and Li Xiang. Of the four, only the butterfly swimmer was a veteran, Zhou Jiawei.


    The lineup was made to help assimilate these up and coming fresh faces into the team as the older swimmers were being slowly phased out.

 182 Dead Weight 1

    Before the start of the preliminaries, the stations for each country gave their outlook on their respective teams.


    NBC Sports, a well-known American sports channel: We lost to the Australians in the freestyle relay. But now with the medley, it''s a chance to get that 14th gold medal.


    beIN Sports (Australia): With the freestyle relay in the bag already it''s time to add the medley relay to it.


    J Sports: In the past World Championships and Olympic Games, we have won too many bronze and silver medals. This time, our team members are at their peak. It is time for us to win gold!


    ...


    Based on the report, it was clear to see that everyone was targeting this gold medal, Especially the Japanese national team. The lineup was the same as the Beijing Olympic team, where they previously came third.


    During the training sessions at noon, Japan''s breaststroke star, Kojima Kitajima, the current men''s 200m breaststroke world record holder, who won gold for 100m and 200m at the Athens Olympics and Beijing Olympics, seemed very confident. Saying only gold would do and bronze and silver medals would be a failure for them.


    What was worth mentioning as well was his response when a Chinese reporter begging for a headline asked what he thought of Tang Yan and the Chinese teams chances, his answer was rather intriguing.


    "Well Tang Yan is a talented swimmer no doubt, I''m looking forward to his performance, especially in the 1500m....I expect it will be an intense race between him and Sun Yang, it''ll be interesting to see who will come out on top. As for the relay, well it''s always been an intense ''team'' competition but I wish the Chinese team the best of luck."


    Kitajima spoke in euphemisms, saying little whilst implying a lot. Praising Tang Yan''s talent whilst highlighting his 1500m race beforehand, wishing the Chinese team the best of luck whilst emphasising the team aspect of the relay an element in which the Chinese team suffered in, being weaker comparatively with the exception of Tang Yan.


    After the interview video went out, it soon attracted a lot of chatter online along with some indignation.


    Some implored Tang Yan drop out of the 1500m race, which attracted hate from other netizens who disagreed and the situation devolved into three camps:


    - Those who wanted him to sacrifice 1500m


    - Those who wanted him to sacrifice the medley relay


    - Those who wanted him to do both events


    ? You lot are so dumb! Wtf should Tang Yan drop out of the 1500m. At least with 1500m he can win a medal without people holding him back, hate to say it but Kitajima is right the rest of the team is trash. He''s literally the only person in the team who''s actually won a medal. Guaranteed medal or trying to carry a weak group of rookies.


    ? He can do it though, if he drops 1500m I reckon he could easily help secure 3rd or 4th, look at the freestyle relay, him and  Sun Yang carried. Honestly it comes down to whether he wants individual glory or team glory.


    ? Exactly with or without him, we will win gold in 1500m it''ll just be with Sun Yang instead of him


    ? Yeah but why should he have to sacrifice a chance at gold/silver for 3rd or potentially even lower just because his teammates can''t keep up. Like that doesn''t seem like a fair thing to ask of him. In fact the fact people are tryna make him choose despite him saying he wants to do both events is dumb. Hey maybe he''ll pull it off and get "individual and team glory".


    ? Is it really team glory though, if he literally has to carry them on his back every time.


    ....


    The Chinese team ranked 14th among the 16 teams. In their group, they ranked second to last in the group.


    As a result, they were in lane 7.


    Their group was made up of three other notable teams, France in lane 4, the US team in lane 5 and Japan in lane 3.


    The final warm up began, swimmers from the other nations were warming up whilst chatting. The strong teams being next to one another found a common topic and chatted with ease. The weaker teams were less carefree.


    The Chinese team in the corner was in such a state at this time, even the Dutch team besides them were turned around, chatting with the British team on the other side.


    The home team was watching on in silence.


    However, although the Chinese team was limited in strength, the youth team was strong in fighting spirit.


    Soon, the referee came over to signal the swimmers to prepare for the race.


    The medley relay order was backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. The first swimmer for the Chinese team was Xu Jiayu.


    Xu Jiayu took fifth place in the 100m backstroke. He was the strongest at backstroke with the exception of Tang Yan.


    The swimmers got onto the pool, for backstroke the swimmers started in the pool


    "On your marks."


    "Get set!"


    The swimmers grabbed the edge of the platform and got into position.


    Buzz!


    With the sound of the electric buzzer, the swimmers dove into the pool and after a distance of underwater snorkeling, they started to kick forward.


    "And we are off! Xu Jiayu has made a very good start. He''s ranked third behind the Japan and French team!" As the race began, the live commentator followed up with excitement.


    Japan''s team first stick was the world-renowned backstroke swimmer Ryosuke Irie. He was the world record holder for the 200-meter backstroke. As the race continued, his lead continued to increase and expand as he pulled away from Xu Jiayu.


    However he lagged behind Frances, Alain Bernard who was pulling away little by little. Xu Jiayu tried hard to catch up, but he was struggling to close the gap.


    Entering the 50-meter turn, the swimmers from the US and the British team began showing their might, successively surpassing Xu Jiayu.


    The audience on the sideline saw Xu Jiayu falling behind and began chanting.


    "Come on! Xu Jiayu!"


    The shouts of thousands seemed to have an effect as Xu Jia desperately went all out, surpassing Britain''s Adam Brown in the last 10 meters, taking fourth as he touched the wall.


    This performance attracted a burst of excited cheers from the audience. According to this trend, the Chinese team was looking hopeful to break into the finals.


    But soon, the second-stick Li Xiang showed how weak the Chinese team''s breaststroke was.


    Not just struggling to catch up, he actually fell from fourth to fifth, then to sixth, and after 50 meters turned, he had fallen to seventh.


    This result almost made the Chinese fans throw up blood in shock.


    In the end, Li Xiang, who did his best to maintain his seventh position, touched the wall.


    In one move the disparity in the Chinese team was shown and Kitajima''s remarks were proved true.

 183 Dead Weight 2

    "Come on China! Come on!"


    Although it seemed that hope was already slim, the Chinese fans clearly did not give up hope. After seeing the Chinese team lag behind, they still shouted for their team with their all.


    The Chinese team''s third swimmer was the veteran Zhou Jiawei.


    After Zhou Jiawei entered the water, he sprinted forward without reservation.


    Zhou Jiawei''s strength itself was good. After a full sprint, he first closed the distance between him and sixth, reaching the 50 meter turn, he successfully overtook the Dutch team and took sixth. Then in the second half, you would expect he would have been tired after such a sprint but he seemed to have found strength from somewhere, speeding up again, successfully surpassing the British team, taking fifth.


    With only the top four qualifying for the finals, Zhou Jiawei''s magical play greatly brought back hope for the Chinese team.


    But the cost was also huge. When the veteran hit the wall at the end, his left hand desperately grabbed the buoy to prevent himself sinking. His right hand was clutching his back, he had exerted too much force. It seemed like his old body was feeling the pain.


    Tang Yan was the last swimmer and their last chance. He launched off the starting platform diving over Zhou Jiawei, catching the attention of everyone on scene immediately as he entered the pool.


    Whilst all this was happening, in first place the Japanese team was overtaken by the US team. With Phelps'' performance as third bat, they were able to close the gap and Nathan Adrian came out as the last swimmer and was able to overtake, beginning to create a gap.


    After the Japanese team, in third and fourth was the German team and the French team.


    Tang Yan and the French team were a distance apart.


    After entering the water, Tang Yan switched up to a 8 kick frequency without any reservation.


    After eight draws came out, he was advancing forward at a speed that was visible to the naked eye, narrowing the distance between him and the French swimmer bit by bit.


    As the distance gets closer, the mood of the audience continued to rise, and the cheers were overwhelming.


    Sure enough, it turned out that their wait was totally worth it.


    After the 40 meter mark, Tang Yan successfully surpassed the French team.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!" The audience could not help shouting out loud.


    The German swimmer was only half a metre ahead.


    They were only four or five meters away from the 50m turn. Tang Yan did not slow down, but flipped in advance.


    After gliding to the pool wall, he kicked his legs and launched off the wall, his whole person shooting forward under water.


    When he came out of the water, the audience of the whole stadium was boiling again.


    Because of Tang Yan, he had surpassed Marco di Carli!


    He had reached third place, leaving only the Japan and the United States in front of him.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    At this time, he and the American team star Nathan Adrian were a short distance away, while leading Tang Yan, there are only half a position left.


    Tang Yan was still accelerating. When there were 30 meters left, he changed from 8 kicks to 9 kicks, and his speed increased dramatically.


    "China! Tang Yan!"


    When Tang Yan finally touched the wall, the cheers of the audience were boiling, as if to overturn the ceiling of the swimming centre.


    The Chinese team received another cheer from the audience. Many people got up to applaud the Chinese team.


    Xu Jiayu and Li Xiang both seemed very excited. They took off their swimming caps and kept waving, and then threw them vigorously into the crowd, yelling with excitement.


    This was the vitality of youth.


    The four headed into the player''s passage together, but at this moment, Tang Yan noticed that Zhou Jiawei was leaning against the wall, and his face was a grimace.


    "I can''t support my waist." Zhou Jiawei gritted his teeth as he struggled to walk.


    After leaving the sight of the audience and other swimmers, he finally couldn''t hold it any more.


    The excitement on Xu Jiayu and Li Xiang faces disappeared and was replaced by deep worry.


    They knew the reason they made it into the finals this time was Tang Yan''s heroic performance in addition to Zhou Jiawei comeback which brought them from 7th to 5th. Relying on Tang Yan alone, even if he was strong, it was impossible to chase from the seventh to the top three.


    Tang Yan quickly responded and said, "Xu Jiayu, Li Xiang, help Zhou Weige to the medical room."


    Hearing Tang Yan''s voice, the two teenagers finally zoned back in. After nodding, they hurriedly helped Zhou Jiawei to the medical room.


    Tang Yan turned to call the team medics. As he moved forward, he was lost in his thoughts. If Zhou Jiawei really couldn''t participate, then they would really be in trouble. He might have to sprint the whole race with a 9 kick frequency and even then he wasn''t sure if that would be enough to make up the difference.


    ....


    The results of Zhou Jiawei''s checkup showed that he had sprained his lumbar spine, he would be out for at least 2-3 weeks, taking him out of the finals.


    With Zhou Jiawei unable to participate, they could only rely on the youngster Shi Yang for the butterfly stroke.


    This result shocked the Chinese fans, filling them with regret and anxiety.


    The characteristics of this medley Chinese team were similar to those of the US team. Their backstroke and breaststroke were weak so they could rely on the butterfly and freestyle strokes. Which proved viable when it was Zhou Jiawei on the butterfly but now with only Tang Yan left, even if he was strong, there was only so much he could do.


    They felt their hopes of a medal being dashed.


    From taking third in their group to Zhou Jiawei''s injuries, the Chinese fans experienced big ups and downs.


    But as the evening finals came around, they could only temporarily put this aside, because the first final of the evening was the 1500 meters.

 185 1500m Final 2

    Entering the 1300m mark, Tang Yan''s leading edge was reduced to 2 meters.


    Just then, Sun Yang with 200m left began his sprint.


    As he rushed forward, he really accelerated. With the naked eye, you could see the distance between him and Cochrane narrow down.


    But what caught most people''s attention was Tang Yan... who started to accelerate!


    "This....this..."


    Tang Yan had spent the last 600m swimming at a relatively fast pace in order to maintain first and his lead. But he instantly kicked it up a gear without hesitating.


    Sun Yang had overtaken Kis by the 1400m mark and taken second place.


    Data showed that when he took the turn at the 1400m mark, he was ahead and faster than when he set the record. According to his speed, if he could maintain it, he would be in with a chance to break the world record.


    However, in reality, the direct distance between Tang Yan and Sun Yang was still more than a meter, and when entering the last 100 meters, Tang Yan, who was swimming at a 7 kick frequency was actually beginning to pull away a little bit.


    Both Tang Yan and Sun Yang were ahead of the world record line.


    But the world record line hurried forward, already catching up with Sun Yang in the pool at this time, which showed how fierce Sun Yang was when setting it.


    However, the world record line couldn''t catch Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan''s feeling at this time was as if he was swimming at a leisure centre, he still had energy to spare.


    Tang Yan turned back and saw that Sun Yang was about a meter and a half away from him.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t want to rush for better results, but he had to be conscious of the medley relay to come.


    Moving forward he truly took the chance to observe around himself.


    Nature had created a lot of beautiful scenery. From the beginning of time, humans glanced at the mountains and took steps to see greater views. Taking planes to overlook the panorama and rockets to overlook the entire planet, each place had its own unique scenery.


    Just like the swimming pool in front of him.


    During a race, the swimmers were struggling to move forward. In the high-speed sprint, in addition to the surrounding opponents, they had no time to take in everything around them.


    The cheering, shouting, and blood-pumping scene of the audience on the sidelines could only be seen after the race.


    But this time, Tang Yan deliberately slowed down, and looked around slightly.


    Because of Li Guang''s abilities, his vision had also been improved to a certain extent. He could clearly see the audience cheering for him. There were college students with sharp trims, uncles with big bellies, all screaming crazily.


    Although they were all different, their expressions were exactly the same at this time. They all stood up, raising their arms, cheering and shouting wildly for him.


    This was really the most beautiful scene in the world!


    In the last 10 meters, Tang Yan retracted his gaze, took a sigh of relief, and kicked up to the limit of a 9 kick frequency. His speed rose dramatically and he raced to touch the wall among the audience''s crazy cheers.


    Sun Yang was still about 2 meters behind. Even though he was trying his best, he hardly got closer to Tang Yan.


    However, at this time the audience''s attention was no longer on Sun Yang or any of the other swimmers. All of them almost looked instinctively at the jumbo screen.


    In short-distance events, because the swimmers'' all touched the wall at almost the same time the results came out after everyone finished.


    But for long-distance events, because the time it takes for a swimmer to finish varied greatly, the first-come swimmers got their times displayed right away.


    Shortly after Tang Yan touched the wall, his final time was put up on screen.


    When the results came out, the scene was inexplicably silent, followed by an unstoppable exclamation.


    "Oh my god, I can''t believe my eyes!" The guest commentator said instinctively, and stretched out his hands and rubbed his eyes.


    "Truly incredible!" The main commentator stared at the big screen in a similar manner.


    At this time, don''t talk about the two of the on-site commentators. The commentators for the other countries on the sidelines all had dull expressions and their open mouths could hold an egg.


    14 minutes 30 seconds 02!


    It was more than 4 seconds faster than the 14 minutes, 34 seconds and 31 record held by Sun Yang!


    The reason why the world record is called the world record is because those who created them were among the best in the world and were pushing the limits of human ability.


    Tang Yan not only broke the record but demolished it by 4 seconds.


    What a concept!


    "What stimulants, tell me which stimulants have such an effect and I''ll buy a dozen to go!" The audience shouted excitedly from the sidelines, Tang Yan''s strong performance gave them the opportunity to finally fight back.


    Sun Yang was second to touch the wall. His final time was 14 seconds 34 seconds 14, which also broke the previous world record.


    Tang Yan wasn''t just powerful he was pervertedly strong.


    Seeing the times of himself and Tang Yan after touching the wall, Sun Yang was there panting and shaking his head. Obviously, Tang Yan''s time made him feel perturbed.


    But it was just a moment of emotion. After he calmed down, he said with a bitter smile: "Do you have motors in your legs or something?"


    "Yeah, don''t you. They even came with propellers." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    Sun Yang was amused and shook his head with a bitter smile.


    "Congratulations."


    At this time, Kis and Cochrane had reached the end, and both came to congratulate Tang Yan.


    After competing with Tang Yan, as opponents, they were able discern Tang Yan''s strength. This congratulation came from the heart out of respect for Tang Yan.

 186 The Finale 1

    Tang Yan and Sun Yang went ashore together, and as they walked up the venue lit up again.


    As expected, the Chinese team won the 1500-meter freestyle event taking gold and silver. Though against some expectations it was Tang Yan who took gold not Sun Yang not that it mattered much to the fans onsite, they cheered and celebrated the moment wildly.


    At the award ceremony, after the 400-meter freestyle, two five-star red flags were rising simultaneously.


    "Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves!"


    The Chinese fans proudly sang the March of the Volunteers, they were no longer squirming their mouths but instead singing all out.


    When the five-star red flag rose, they had no reason not to sing.


    After the award ceremony, Tang Yan and Sun Yang kissed their respective medals and then lifted them up into the air.


    The audience cheered excitedly.


    "Tang Yan, Sun Yang!" Fans screamed.


    After participating in 6 competitions and winning 4 gold and 1 bronze medal, Tang Yan was undoubtedly the most shining star in the stadium. His light had crowded out everyone else''s even Phelps and Roche.


    This World Championship was his stepping stone onto the world stage.


    However, the Chinese teams victory lap was soon cut short, because in the following projects, the US team won 3 gold medals. Winning the women''s 50-meter breaststroke, the men''s 400-meter medley and the women''s 400 meter medley, for a total of 14 gold medals. Putting them ahead of China in the medal table by 1 medal.


    America was basically locked in as the country with the most gold medals in advance, just like in the past World Championships.


    Under that umbrella the final event of the 2011 World Aquatics Championships, the men''s 4x100m medley relay was about to be underway.


    The TV stations were fired up, with each trying to inspire hope for their respective teams.


    Polsat Sport Extra: We have reached the finals for the first time in history, history has been made for Polish swimming!


    J-Sports 1: The team performed very well in the preliminaries, but it''s now time for the hard part, securing gold and bringing it home. I''m looking forward to Kitajima and the team''s performance!


    ...


    The media stations of various countries expressed their opinions before the race. It could be seen that although the US team were the favorites to win, the other countries also cherished the opportunity to enter the finals and strove to bring a medal home for their respective countries.


    In contrast, the coverage for the Chinese team was a lot more low-key, it''s not that they didn''t want to be high-profile but there wasn''t much to be high-profile about.


    The main reason for this was naturally because of the absence of the veteran Zhou Jiawei. According to arrangements before the race, Song Xiaocheng chose Shi Yang to replace him after careful consideration. Wu Peng, who had just won bronze for the 200m butterfly was the expected choice, but in the end Song Xiaocheng chose Shi Yang for his explosiveness which was suited for such short distances.


    Since the 4x100m medley was 100m per swimmer he felt he was better suited than Wu Peng who swam 200 metres, had a slower rate of acceleration and suffered in terms of explosiveness right off the bat.


    There was nothing wrong with such an arrangement per say, but now all four swimmers were young swimmers without very much experience. And three of whom whilst dominant nationally struggled to stack up against the top athletes from other countries.


    The Chinese media just talked about the hard work these young swimmers had put in. Even quoting Tang Yan''s words from an interview: "A man must have a dream if not what''s the difference between him and a salted fish." They congratulated them on getting so far but didn''t seem to place much hope on them anymore.


    Under this somber tone, a video appeared online of the beIN Sports France host seemingly a little bitter having a small rant: "Without Zhou Jiawei, even with Tang Yan, the Chinese team cannot avoid becoming the weakest team. At this point they don''t even have a chance of contending and are just seemingly there to make up the numbers."


    This instantly set off the netizens, as they launched into a tirade mocking the French Team.


    "Is the French Team invisible or something, how come I can''t see them in the final?"


    "Why can''t the French media be as low-key as their team? Just go into hiding with your team and stop making stupid comments when your team can''t even make it into the finals!"


    ...


    The comments were ridiculous and the French media were torn a new one.


    Of course, this kind of targeting by the media and netizens was only an off-site thing. In the end, who would have the right to speak after, depended on the outcome of the race.


    Because it was the end of the day and at the same time the finale for the 2011 World Championships. Despite it nearly being 12 o''clock in the evening, there were no fewer than 15,000 people on the spot in the swimming centre.


    Media outlets and commentators from various countries were all in place early, as they broadcasted the race to domestic audiences back home.


    "Just believe in yourself and your teammates, no matter what the outcome, as long as we know we did our very best to win a medal, we can walk with pride and our heads up." Tang Yan gave some encouragement to his teammates as they headed out.


    When they heard what Tang Yan said, all of them had fighting spirit in their eyes.


    Although their strength was worse than Tang Yan''s, they didn''t lose out at all in fighting spirit and dedication.


    "China on three!"


    "1, 2, 3, China!" They shouted together with their hands stacked.


    At this time, the final countdown to the 4X100m medley relay began outside.


    The countdown began.


    With this countdown, the audience also shouted out with excitement.


    "5!"


    "4!"


    "3!"


    "2!"


    "1!"


    When the countdown reached zero, the tunnel door opened, revealing a door panel covered with stickers from the sponsors.

 187 The Finale 2

    The first team to walk out was the 8th ranked British team.


    After their appearance, they attracted a cheer from the audience, and you could see that the audience couldn''t wait for this relay race.


    Liam Tancock waved his hand to the audience, his face was relaxed, and you could see that although they didn''t perform well in the preliminaries, he and his teammates remained confident for the finals.


    After the British team, Poland, Canada and the other teams appeared one after another. Although their nationalities were different, they all held the same confident look. They were ready to show off their skills in the final.


    After the Canadian team, came the Australian team that ranked fifth in the preliminaries. The appearance of the Australians instantly changed the atmosphere of the venue, and the cheers suddenly turned into inverted shouts and sporadic boos. They were destined to be unwelcome in this venue.


    The Australian swimmers also looked displeased. As an athlete, it was definitely not a good thing to receive such a welcome ceremony.


    Australia was followed by the Japanese team who received some applause showing the contrast between the two teams.


    The Japanese team was followed by the Chinese team. Although their strength was the weakest in the group, although it was the least favored team, their debut attracted explosive cheers.


    Being able to reach the final, the team had won the respect of the audience, plus it helped that they were on home ground.


    The Chinese team was followed by the German team led by Biedermann, after which was the American team led by Phelps.


    Only after the stars of the United States team came on stage could the cheers on the scene be compared with the Chinese team''s debut.


    After the swimmers were introduced one after the other, the final preparations before the race began.


    The commentators also began to discuss the upcoming race.


    "The US team has won 3 gold medals from the previous finals, and the relay has always been theirs traditionally for the taking." The main commentator analyzed.


    "Yeah, the US team is very strong but it won''t be that simple to win gold. Although the French team unexpectedly didn''t reach the finals, whether it is the German team led by Biedermann or the Japanese team led by Kosuke Kitajima. They all have the strength to contend for gold." The guest commentator retorted.


    "True whilst the US team is strong at the butterfly and freestyle. If their previous swimmers can''t keep up, it will be difficult for them to win gold." The main commentator nodded in agreement.


    "Exactly if for example the other lads in the Chinese team are able to perform well, with Tang Yan''s strength, we could also have a chance at a medal." The guest commentator said with a small smile.


    "Yeah, there is still hope. This is our home court. Young people nowadays are full of all sorts of surprises plus even if they can''t get a medal, as long as they place well, it is already a victory for them."


    As they finished discussing, the swimmers were ready and taking their places.


    The first swimmer for the Chinese team was Xu Jiayu. He held an excited expression, his confidence was back at its peak.


    "The race is about to start. The Polish team in the first lane ranked seventh in the preliminaries. In the second lane is the Australian team. The third lane is our Chinese team. In the fourth lane is the US team.... "The main commentator quickly introduced the swimmers and their lanes.


    "The Chinese team is between the United States and Australia. This is a challenge for the boys, but it is also an opportunity. If they can keep up, there is hope!" The commentator said quickly.


    "On your marks!"


    The swimmers all grabbed the handrails and got in position.


    "Get set!"


    There was a sudden cheer at the scene, and then the audience was silent.


    "Buzz!"


    With the buzzer, the swimmers all dove into the water, and after a dive, they started to accelerate at the first moment they came out of the water.


    "And we are off! The Japanese team has taken the lead!


    "Followed by Australia, then the United States! The big three are off to a strong start!"


    "In fourth place is the Chinese team! Xu Jiayu is showing off strong competitiveness!"


    The cheers of the audience were deafening at this time, cheers for the Chinese team resounded throughout the venue.


    After 50 meters, Xu Jiayu still closely followed behind the American swimmer Nick Thoman, maintaining fourth place.


    After the 50m turn, the lead of Japan''s Ryosuke Irie was further expanded to half a metre.


    The swimmers from the German and Polish teams began to aggressively surge forward from the back of the pack and successively surpassed Xu Jiayu, pushing him from fourth to sixth.


    But despite being surpassed, Xu Jiayu was still trying to catch up, putting his all into trying to minimise the gap as much as possible.


    "Come on! Xu Jiayu!" Came the cries of the Chinese fans from the stands.


    "Come on! Xu Jiayu!" The commentator shouted excitedly at this time. Although he was not optimistic about the Chinese team''s chances before the race, after all it was his home team, he had to show support!


    Inspired by the audience, Xu Jiayu made every effort to race forward, he surpassed both the Polish team and German team and once again reached fourth place.


    Xu Jiayu maintained his fourth place position. After touching the wall, he grabbed the handrail to stabilize his body. He coughed violently as he took heavy breaths.


    The backstroke was followed by the breaststroke.


    At this time, the Japanese team was still the most noticeable. For the breaststroke, they sent in  Kyosuke Kitajima who instantly began to play a strong role, right after entering the water. The Japanese team''s lead was expanded from a small lead to a large one.


    But at this moment, the scene suddenly burst into cheers.


    The breaststroke was the weakest link of the Chinese team. This had been revealed in the preliminaries, so Li Xiang could be said to be the team''s weakest link.


    To say it bluntly, however far he fell behind, the further Tang Yan would have to chase during his turn.


    But in fact, Li Xiang in the pool actually maintained fourth place after entering the water, he was even slightly gaining on the Australian team in third.


    After a strong contrast between reality and expectations, the audience was emotionally inexpressible.


    Even the commentator was excited at this, saying with a trembling voice, "This kid, go on Li Xiang !"

 188 The Finale 3

    In the first 50 meters of the breaststroke, except for the Japanese team that was still leading the way, the order of the other lanes changed a lot.


    Australia and Germany overtook the United States to take second and third place respectively.


    Li Xiang was now biting on the heels of the US''s Mark Ganglof who was in fourth place.


    After the 50 meter turn, Li Xiang was still desperately chasing but his strength was a little worse for wear. In the end, he was overtaken by the Canadian swimmer Andrew Dickens and touched the wall in sixth place.


    After touching the wall, he slid directly into the pool and took a few sips of water. Fortunately, he responded quickly and grabbed the handrails before he drowned. His condition was miserable.


    Although he was chased from fourth to sixth, he had exceeded his personal best time, which showed how desperately he had tried.


    Just then, there was another burst of cheers and whistles at the scene.


    All eyes shifted to the fourth lane.


    The breaststroke was followed by the butterfly stroke. In the fourth lane was the US team''s ace, Phelps.


    After Phelps entered the water, he launched forward, he seemed to be flying. By the 30 meter mark, he had surpassed the German team and entered third place.


    Going into the 50 meter turn, he was almost on par with the Australian swimmer.


    By the time they came out the turn, Phelps had surpassed the Australian swimmer and was only one metre away from the Japanese swimmer.


    At the 70 metre mark, Phelps didn''t even give Japan''s Takuro Fujii the slightest chance and directly swept past him.


    How was this a human? He was simply a flying fish!


    Japan''s advantage from the backstroke and breaststroke was instantly reversed and thrown back in their face.


    Phelps in the last 30 meters drew away from the rest of the pack and opened up a healthy gap.


    In the end, Phelps was the first to reach the wall, with a full metre and a half lead.


    "Phelps is really too strong, anything that involves the butterfly stroke is tantamount to handing over a gold medal to the US team in advance!" The main commentator said, conquered by Phelps'' powerful performance.


    "But our youngster Shi Yang is also good. He didn''t get pulled away from and kept sixth place!" At this moment, the guest commentator followed up.


    With the commentary of the guest commentator, the audience who was attracted by Phelps noticed Shi Yang. This young man was the substitute put in place to replace Zhou Jiawei.


    He had exploded forward with a lot of potential and in the end, he almost matched the Canadian Joseph Bartoch in fifth place to reach the wall at the same time.


    Although Shi Yang gasped heavily after touching the wall, he immediately looked back at the pool, his gaze holding excitement, anxiety and anticipation.


    Nathan Adrian, the last swimmer for the US team, quickly advanced on Phelps lead and soon expanded it to more than two and a half metres.


    At this time, the United States team was particularly prominent among the row of swimmers.


    "The strength of this second half of the US''s team is really too strong. It is difficult for the other swimmers to really impact them!" The guest commentator said with emotion.


    "Our lads have done the best they can." The main commentator said with emotion, at this time Nathan Adrian had swam nearly seven or eight meters before Shi Yang touched the wall.


    For Tang Yan to catch up with the top three was like closing the distance between heaven and earth.


    "Tang Yan has entered the water!" Although it was already difficult to catch up, when he saw Tang Yan entering the water and thought of his previous performances, the commentator shouted excitedly.


    In fact, it was more than just the commentator, when Tang Yan entered the water, almost everyone in the audience turned from Nathan Adrian to Tang Yan.


    In the current situation, the third place German team was more than five meters ahead of Tang Yan and to catch up would require a miracle to occur.


    And if a miracle was to occur, the only person that could possibly pull it off was Tang Yan who had created countless such miracles before!


    "He''s off chasing for blood!" The commentator shouted excitedly.


    In the pool, Tang Yan pushed the limit of his nine kick frequency right from the beginning.


    "This speed, the Chinese team has hope!" The commentator shouted excitedly afterwards.


    At this time, some spectators at the scene excitedly stood up from their seats, cheering excitedly at the pool.


    Tang Yan was advancing at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.


    By 10 meters he had passed the Canadian swimmer Brent Hayden in fifth.


    Reverse, kick the wall, launch off. Turning at 50 meters, Tang Yan continued to pursue in full strength.


    At 60 meters, Tang Yan surpassed Shogo Hihara, the swimmer for the Japanese team to take fourth place.


    By 70 meters, the distance between Tang Yan and the third place German team had changed from more than 5 meters to only three metres and one position down.


    "Tang Yan is flying, absolutely tearing through! The Chinese team has a chance at a medal! We truly have a chance!" The main commentator was shocked by Tang Yan''s phenomenal level of transcendence.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!"


    The audience on the sidelines completely lost it. They could sense the unyielding determination from the pool.


    Tang Yan was accelerating! Speeding up crazily!


    "Tang Yan has surpassed the swimmers of the German team! Third place! He''s actually taken third place hahahaha, I can''t believe it"


    On the sidelines at this time, most of the audience stood up, waving their arms and cheering for Tang Yan loudly.


    "There is less than 20 meters to go. He is chasing Magnussen. He wants more than bronze!" The commentator excitedly picked up the microphone, as he jumped up and exclaimed.


    "It''s the last 15 meters, Tang Yan is still accelerating and accelerating. He has the opportunity to catch up with Magnussen!"


    "Magnussen has also started a crazy sprint. He''s making a mad dash for the finish, there is less than 10 meters left! A distance of less than 10 meters!"


    With Tang Yan''s crazy performance in the pool, the commentator also went completely crazy with joy.

 189 The Finale 4

    In the last 10 meters, both Tang Yan and Magnussen were accelerating forward insanely, but everyone could see that the distance between the two was shrinking a little.


    In the last 5 meters, the two were almost on par with each other. Because of the splash back from the freestyle stroke, it was completely unclear which of the two was leading.


    4 metres to go


    3 metres to go


    2 metres to go


    1 metre to go


    The commentator looked dumbstruck.


    The audience on the sideline looked dumbstruck


    "Tang Yan won! He touched the wall ahead of Magnussen! The Chinese team won second!" When the swimmers finally touched the wall, the guest commentator jumped up and shouted excitedly.


    "Wait, look at the results, look at the results!" The main commentator excitedly jumped up at this, but because of the waves, he didn''t see who was first to touch the wall at the last moment.


    "It''s Tang Yan, Tang Yan touched the wall second! We won silver! Hahaha! Silver!" The guest commentator seemed to have seen clearly and shouted back directly.


    The main commentator didn''t answer, and looked over at the jumbo screen.


    The audience at the scene also flicked over their gazes to the jumbo screen.


    Only the time on the display could explain the situation.


    First lane, 3 minutes 35 seconds 78.


    Second lane, 3 minutes 32 seconds 56.


    Third lane, 3 minutes 30 seconds 99.


    Fourth lane, 3 minutes 32 seconds 06.


    ...


    0.5 seconds!


    Magnussen led Tang Yan by 0.5 seconds to touch the wall first.


    "Impossible! Dammit that''s impossible" The guest commentator said shocked after seeing the jumbo screen.


    After starting behind nearly 8 meters, Tang Yan performed an incredible scene, he not only reversed the Chinese team''s position to get a medal, but also almost clinched a silver medal!


    But in the end, he couldn''t quite grasp it.


    But they still managed to secure a bronze medal, from no expectations to grasping a medal, this was more than enough.


    Tang Yan in the pool was panting fiercely, he had used his 9 kick frequency for the first 25 meters and the final 50 meters without holding anything back. His body was straining and screaming in pain from the exertion.


    An eight-meter chase, from sixth to third, he had pulled off.


    An incredible reversal.


    It was unknown how many spectators had cried at this scene.


    In front of the TV screen, it was unknown how many viewers were choked with excitement.


    After such a sprint, he was absolutely shattered but this was already the last race of the World Championships, he had nothing to hold back.


    Fortunately, he succeeded in the end and won a medal, even though it wasn''t silver he was more than pleased with a bronze medal.


    Plus there was always next time!


    Above the pool, his three teammates were cheering wildly. They not only witnessed the miraculous scene pulled off by Tang Yan, but also got to participate in creating such an opportunity as teammates.


    The Chinese team was in sharp contrast to the Australian and American swimmers. The other swimmers were slightly stunned, especially the American team, including Phelps.


    Australia''s Magnussen, who was still in the pool, stared blankly at the jumbo display before heaving a sigh of relief.


    He had never thought that he might be overtaken by Tang Yan, if he was to be overtaken he figured it would be by the German team or that he might accidentally lose to the Japanese team, but he never thought that Tang Yan could catch up at the last moment.


    He knew he had barely scraped by for silver but seeing it so plainly.... 0.5 seconds.


    So close!


    He wiped his forehead, his only thought at this time was to watch the video playback after.


    ...


    Tang Yan was pulled out of the pool by Xu Jiayu and Shi Yang. After he stepped ashore, the entire scene fell into chaos.


    "Tang Yan!"


    "Tang Yan!"


    "Tang Yan!"


    More than 10,000 people at the scene chanted Tang Yan''s name in unison.


    Absolutely electrifying was the only way to describe it, Tang Yan felt a thrilling shiver run through him as he looked around.


    Even the pain from his aching body faded into the background.


    "Congratulations." Phelps separated from his group and took the initiative to come over to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan smiled and thanked him.


    "I''ll  be waiting for you at the London Olympics, hopefully we can compete again." Phelps said.


    "I''ll be looking forward to it. Maybe we''ll even meet in an individual event" Tang Yan replied with a smile.


    After this World Championship, he wanted to start a new stroke, so he could potentially end up facing Phelps in individual events as well as team events.


    "Congratulations." The swimmers from the German team also came over.


    Not only the German team, but the Canadian and British team, also came over.


    Even the Japanese team''s Kojima Kitashima came over at this time, after giving a standard 90-degree bow to the swimmers of the Chinese team he said: "I think I need to apologize to you. You are truly a worthy opponent. "


    "No harm done, we accept your apology." Tang Yan wasn''t a sage by any means but since Kousuke Kitashima could apologize so frankly, he felt no need to nurse a grudge


    "Thank you." Kojima Kitashima replied, giving Tang Yan another bow before heading off.


    "Damn everyone is being so polite." Li Xiang said with a smile.


    "That''s because we beat them. If we lost, who do you think would apologize to you? They would be the first hopping on the bandwagon to laugh at us." Shi Yang said disdainfully.


    "Okay, leave it be, we should pay tribute to the audience." Tang Yan interrupted the two.


    "Wait a sec." Xu Jiayu suddenly said before he ran to the stands.


    After a while, someone threw two flags down.


    When he caught the two flags, Xu Jiayu rushed back and said, "Here, let''s make a lap around the stands with these."


    Tang Yan didn''t expect Xu Jiayu to think of this all of a sudden, but he nodded with a smile, and then took a flag.


    Tang Yan and Xu Jiayu were a group, Li Xiang and Shi Yang were another. Each pair took a flag and began to do a lap around the pool.


    This move sent the crowd into excited cheers and whistles.


    Many quickly took out their phones to take pictures and videos of this scene.

 190 The Art Of Apologizing

    After the 4x100m medley relay award ceremony, Tang Yan also received another award.


    With 4 gold and 2 bronze medals from the World Championships, he overpowered world famous swimmers such as Phelps and Lochte and became the MVP for the 2011 FINA World Championships.


    Returning to the locker room after receiving his awards, Tang Yan couldn''t escape Fu Yuanhui''s grasp and was forced through another round of torture, after hundreds of poses and photos he was eventually let go.


    All the major media outlets reported on Tang Yan''s 1500m victory and his 4x100m medley comeback.


    In fact, a lot of the outlets had prepared two manuscripts before the 1500m final. One if Sun Yang won gold and Tang Yan won silver. The other for if Tang Yan won gold and Sun Yang won silver, but what they hadn''t predicted was the 4x100m medley results so they had to edit and adjust their posts.


    There were a lot of reports, but the report from China Daily Sports was what really attracted heated discussions from netizens.


    With the rapid development of tech, newspapers were becoming a lagging medium but most newspaper agencies were still resistant to make the move online preferring to print despite their audience size shrinking as people found new ways to get their news.


    The source of all the commotion on Weibo came from an ordinary salaryman named Zhang Bai. Zhang Bai sat through a cramped subway for more than two hours every day commuting from home to work. Thanks to his starting station, he could get a seat before the train really filled up, but with a two hour journey he always had to find ways to entertain himself.


    He loved sports and had a soft spot for sports magazines, which is how reading China Daily Sports became his go to.


    When he saw the newspaper headline, the first sentence he said with a smile on his lips was \"Tang Yan again.\" He scanned the relevant report with a glance.


    What caught his eye was at the end of the article, it elaborated the view that there was no stimulant in the world that would allow a swimmer to break the 1500 meters world record by 5 seconds.


    Similarly it was even more impossible for the stimulant to, after helping the swimmer win the 1500-meter freestyle help them pull off such a miraculous comeback like the one Tang Yan had just done. And if there was, the swimmer certainly wouldn''t be okay after.


    At the end of the article, it even publicly asked the Australian team for an official apology for the previous accusation incident.


    It was a very clear point. It was what many wanted to say but they had no platform to stand on.


    But China Daily Sports actually said it for them.


    China Daily Sports was a subsidy of China Daily which was owned by the Publicity Department of the government.


    So for them to say that on such a public platform and ask the Australian team to apologize. It was like throwing an uncooked grenade at Australia.


    After reading the report, Zhang Bai was full of excitement, he logged onto Weibo and posted a picture of the article online to his personal Weibo account.


    With Tang Yan already trending on Weibo, the post soon picked up steam as many liked and commented on it.


    It rose quickly and soon hit the top of Weibo''s trending list.


    This time, even if the Australian team didn''t want to make a statement, they were forced to.


    But what surprised everyone was that it wasn''t an official from the Australian team who came forward to apologize, but Magnussen himself.


    On his personal social media, Magnussen published an apology:


    \"I want to apologize to everyone for any misunderstandings they may have over me. Since the 2011 Shanghai World Championships started, I''ve suffered a lot of verbal abuse. I want to admit my part in that. Yes, during the 50m qualifiers, I had some words for Tang Yan that weren''t so friendly before the match, but believe me, it was just an attempt to interfere with Tang Yan''s psyche, nothing truly ill willed or personal but it seems many misunderstood and over time my words have been seemingly twisted.


    But I assure you I meant no disrespect to Tang Yan or the Chinese Team and if they mistook it for that, I''m sorry that you felt that way, I apologize for the misunderstanding.\"


    Magnussen''s elder brother, Daniel Magnussen, was first to support his younger brother on social media saying: \"Well done for being mature and taking ownership\"


    His teammates and many Australian stars soon joined in, speaking about how proud they were of him for his mature approach.


    It was a clear attempt to end the situation by offering up Magnussen as a scapegoat and even then they attempted to shirk all responsibility with Magnussen boiling it all down to a misunderstanding.


    After this apology came out, it was quickly unanimously rejected by the netizens. Many netizens even threatened to boycott all Australian products.


    After Tang Yan became famous, there were many people who paid attention and supported him.


    The Chinese swimming team held a press conference the day after the World Championships ended. And as expected a reporter asked Tang Yan about the apology statement.


    It was a challenging question, so Tang Yan took a second to ponder before answering.


    \"The drug test for swimmers is the most rigorous of all sports and now there is a rule to retest urine samples every 3 years. Time will tell all. As for the so-called apology, just look at it. He''s like a kid throwing a tantrum whilst apologising, trying to take credit for apologising after being forced to, all the while trying to avoid all responsibility. But we have to be open-minded, after all, we are all adults, why do we need to be serious when dealing with kids?\"


    At the end, he added domineeringly: \"In the 2012 London Olympics, I welcome all Australian swimmers to challenge me. You can use all the means you know. I''m looking forward to your challenge.\"

 191 A Little Get Together

    Tang Yan''s answer was full of self-confidence. Didn''t you think I was doping at the World Championships? Then I''ll wait for you at the London Olympics. Australia was originally a British colony and your two countries are close right. They should be even more incentivised to make sure no one cheats right, okay then, we can compete then and see who wins then.


    Tang Yan''s answer left Magnussen completely speechless.


    After the conflict at the World Championships, the two sides would enter a relatively flat period, this period was the calm before the storm. The tranquility before the 2012 London Olympics would serve to make it more intense.


    Tang Yan, who ended the World Championships in glory, received praise from the Chinese Sports Bureau. The top-down rewards from them totaled more than £¤1.5 million, an increase on the reward money he received from the Asian Games.


    His parents were also offered a further house upgrade into a gated community but Tang Yan had his parents decline. His experience from his previous life told him that there was never any free lunch in this world and more importantly he had enough confidence to earn more in the future. It would always be more reassuring for his parents to live in a house they paid for.


    After the World Championships, the national swimming team was temporarily disbanded, and the swimmers returned to their respective swimming teams to continue training for the Olympic Games.


    However, the swimmers from the Zhejiang Province didn''t leave Shanghai immediately. On the proposal of their Head Coach Shen Qing, they held a celebratory banquet.


    But because of their diet, they didn''t celebrate out but chose Tang Yan''s house in Shanghai instead.


    Most of the people in the national swimming team were from the Zhejiang province, so they already knew each other, they bought ingredients and made the food themselves.


    After eating, the group gathered around and talked.


    Because the World Championships had just ended, there was no shortage of topics.


    \"Jiawei, how''s your injury?\" Tang Yan asked, looking up at Zhou Jiawei sitting opposite him.


    \"I''m old, I''m probably not going to be back on the team for a while.\" Zhou Jiawei said with a grin. Injuries for old athletes were difficult to avoid. Sometimes injuries could lead to direct retirement. This time round Zhou Jiawei had really risked a lot for the national team.


    \"We have the best medical standards in Zhejiang. Jiawei need not worry too much.\" Shen Qing noticed Zhou Jiawei''s mood and tried to ease his worry.


    Zhou Jiawei nodded and took a sip of the drink in his hand before saying, \"Let''s not talk about this, today is Tang Yan''s banquet. Come, let''s toast Tang Yan.\"


    \"Hahaha, right we must respect Tang Yan with a cup. This time he came through and helped us clinch third, you all have to learn from him.\" Shen Qing said as he poured baijiu into the wine glass in front of himself.


    He normally didn''t allow his swimmers to drink alcohol, but he decided letting it slide one time was acceptable.


    \"Come on, Tang Yan, congratulations!\"


    \"Brother Tang, congratulations!\"


    Shen Qing spoke, and the other athletes followed.


    Tang Yan took the drink and Shen Qing clinked glasses with him as everyone drained it down.


    \"Brother Tang, come, have some cake!\" Ye Shiwen said as she handed Tang Yan a slice of cake.


    Tang Yan took the cake with a smile and just as he was about to eat. The doorbell rang.


    Tang Yan turned his head in confusion and stood planning to answer it


    \"Don''t worry I''ll get it.\" Fu Yuanhui sat in the outermost position, saw Tang Yan getting up, and rushed to get up.


    \"Sit, Tang Yan, just let Yuanhui get it. You still need to tell us how the hell you pulled off that relay comeback, I still can''t believe it.\" Shen Qing followed.


    Tang Yan retracted his gaze and turned back to Shen Qing: \"Hahaha I don''t even know, everything was literally a blur...\"


    ....


    Fu Yuanhui walked out the living room into the corridor as she walked towards the front door.


    She opened the door to a tall brown haired beauty holding a small thermos cool box in her hand with a slight smile on her face. But when the girl saw Fu Yuanhui, she was noticeably surprised.


    Seeing the beauty in front of her, Fu Yuanhui turned her head and quickly thought of a possibility. She immediately smiled and said, \"Are you looking for Tang Yan?\"


    \"No, no, sorry, I knocked on the wrong door.\" The beautiful lady turned back and said with a trace of apology, then took two steps back before turning away.


    Watching the beauty leave, Fu Yuanhui scratched her head in confusion, shook her head and sighed with regret.


    She thought she was Tang Yan''s girlfriend or something but she didn''t expect it was just a mistake of the wrong address.


    Heading back into the living room, Tang Yan asked who it was, and Fu Yuanhui told him about the mistake.


    Tang Yan nodded in acknowledgment and joined back into the group conversation. A lot of the houses on his road looked similar so it wasn''t that surprising that someone mistook the house.


    As everyone ate and drank, they began playing games. Several of the group were playing cards but Ye Shiwen wanted to play checkers, so Tang Yan and Fu Yuanhui found a corner to play with her.


    \"Come, champion, take a photo with us.\" he didn''t know when Fu Yuanhui and Ye Shiwen''s game ended but Fu Yuanhui came for another picture.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help reaching for his forehead.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s expression, Fu Yuanhui immediately said, \"Well, this time you don''t need to pose, it''s just a selfie.\" Fu Yuanhui said, patting her chest in assurance.


    Tang Yan nodded with a weary smile.


    Seeing Tang Yan nodded, Fu Yuanhui came over with a selfie stick.


    Just then, Tang Yan suddenly realized that he was deceived by her pure expression.


    Fu Yuanhui and Ye Shiwen posed and made joking expressions with Tang Yan in the middle unable to escape. The contrast was quite amusing.


    Following this, Fu Yuanhui shared the photos with her circle of friends, and tagged it on Weibo with the title \"Photo with the King of Sports himself. What an honor\"


    Tang Yan shook his head with amusement after seeing the title.


    Just after Fu Yuanhui finished posting the photos, another girl from the swimming team, Hong Luli came over, she was just a little bit older than Ye Shiwen.


    She asked Tang Yan if he could repost their selfie together on his Weibo.


    Thinking of Zhuang Jiajie reminding him to have more Weibo interactions before, he nodded and agreed.


    After reposting it to his Weibo, the post was instantly filled with comments.


    \"Brother Tang, don''t you have any guy friends.\"


    \"She seems a bit young even for you.\"


    \"Bro the starting penalty is three years, but the death penalty is still on the plate.\"


    \"MSS, open up!\"


    Tang Yan shook his head whilst laughing at the comments, but just then, a comment caught his attention.


    \"She''s a very beautiful girl.\"


    Different from the previous ridiculous and spoofful comments, the comment was quite simple.


    Of course, the contents of the comment was not what attracted Tang Yan but the username Ice_QueenYan_Bing was what caught him off guard.

 192 No Response

    Tang Yan clicked on the Weibo account. Although he didn''t have her down as a friend, he could still see several of her recent posts and pictures. There were selfies of Yang Bing with her friends at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center.


    He clicked on her comment and responded: \"Hahaha she''s a friend, I still only serve Sister Bing.\"


    As soon as the comment was sent out, it attracted likes. This was the first time that Tang Yan had responded to a comment on Weibo.


    The comment was quickly pushed to the forefront, and fans were speculating about the relationship between \"Ice_QueenYan_Bing\" and Tang Yan.


    However, Ice_QueenYan_Bing didn''t seem to be there, as no reply came.


    Tang Yan saw that Yan Bing didn''t reply, and his friend request was still pending. So he figured she had gone offline so he didn''t  bother waiting any longer. After putting down the phone, he joined the rest of his team mates.


    ....


    As the celebration party winded down, people started heading out one by one, they had to be back in Zhejiang in two days.


    With the World Championships over, the pressure was mostly off their shoulders for a while. So most made plans to go shopping tomorrow to buy a couple of things to take back.


    As for Tang Yan, he had a few days off but then after a week he would be off to the boxing team to report in for the upcoming AIBA World Boxing Championships.


    He would naturally go home between that so he also planned to get something to take back for his parents as well.


    ....


    Tang Yan headed out but not before linking up with Zhuang Jiajie. The two went shopping at the Shanghai Times Square supermall and bought some imported food and souvenirs. Because of the light rain, they only went around a couple of places before getting ready to return home.


    Carrying their bags and walking home they saw a crowd of people running towards a bridge not far away.


    Then they heard someone shout: \"Someone help, she''s in the water!\"


    Hearing this, Tang Yan and Zhuang Jiajie both looked over, before going to see what the commotion was.


    When they got to the bridge, there were a group of women upstream on the shore calling for help.


    Looking over Tang Yan saw a girl downstream from them, getting pushed down by the river.


    \"These students really don''t know the difference between life and death. On such a rainy day, they actually ran to the riverside to play and so close to the edge, no wonder one of the girls slipped in and got caught by a wave.\"


    \"Really, the river looks so calm, can''t you go in and grab her out\"


    \"Humph, you can''t see it but there are a lot of undercurrents.\"


    \"Whoever dares to go down, basically won''t be able to come back!


    \"They''ve called 110, help should be here soon.\"


    ...


    Listening to the voices around him, Tang Yan soon understood what was happening.


    The girl was pushed further and further away.


    She fiercely fought the waves, her head appearing every now and then again before being forced under by the waves.


    It was clear to see at this rate, she was bound to tire out soon.


    Though everyone knew this, no one dared to go down. Everyone living by the Huangpu River knew how turbulent the undercurrents were.


    As the girl passed the pier, she was pulled in by a vortex brought by the pier and disappeared from view.


    Huh! Gasp!


    \"It''s over, she got sucked under.\" Someone cried.


    The man''s voice hadn''t fallen, when the girl appeared again in their field of vision desperately grasping onto the wooden leg of the pier.


    Although she was coughing violently, you could see that the girl''s luck was good, she was still alive.


    \"Thank God she''s alive! Dammit what''s taking the police so long\" Zhuang Jiajie became anxious seeing the girl vanishing in and out of the water.


    His heart was racing but when he didn''t hear Tang Yan respond, he turned back and found that Tang Yan was long gone.


    \"Look, someone''s going down!\"


    Just then, an exclamation came from the crowd.


    Zhuang Jiajie heard the shout, and looked over to see someone rushing towards the river.


    When he saw the man''s back, there was shock on his face, followed by panic as he shouted:


    \"Stop! Tang Yan...Stop!\"


    \"Are you crazy!\"


    The person who rushed down was Tang Yan. When he saw the girl being swept down, he was already calculating how he could save her.


    He rushed down the side road by the riverside, edging closer to the edge as he headed for the girl.


    \"Take a video! Record it, someone record this!\" Someone cried excitedly.


    Zhuang Jiajie was in full on panic mode at this. He never thought that Tang Yan would take such a risk, but with Tang Yan about to jump in, how could he stop it.


    Tang Yan dove straight into the river.


    As soon as he entered the water, he felt his body freeze as an icy shiver ran through his whole body, then he was lurched along as if countless hands were pulling him left and right under the river.


    The icy cold temperature of the river and its undercurrents grasped hold of him, it was clear why no one dared to go down into the river.


    However, after all, Tang Yan was no ordinary person. His extraordinary control over his body allowed him to quickly regain control, as he swam towards the girl.


    It was a race against the clock.


    The crowd that had been shouting soon calmed down, all of them looking down at Tang Yan with nervous expressions.


    They didn''t expect someone would actually jump into the river.


    Tang Yan closed in on the girl, they were about five or six meters apart.


    Watching Tang Yan getting closer and closer to the girl, the crowd couldn''t help bursting into cheers.


    Zhuang Jiajie also reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead.


    But suddenly the cheers of the crowd turned into exclamations.


    The girl who was originally grasping onto the leg of the pier was suddenly sucked under by the vortex. This time she wasn''t so lucky. When she was driven out the vortex, she could be seen being pushed out further downstream before being swallowed by the river again.


    At this time she was only a few meters away from Tang Yan.


    Looks of pity fell across the faces of those who dared to watch. This was the undercurrents of the Huangpu River. You could never guess where a vortex would appear next.


    Tang Yan saw the girl disappear and without any melancholy or thoughts of retreating, he dove under into the river.


    Seeing this, everyone on shore knew what Tang Yan was trying to do, and a look of tension appeared on their faces.


    The deeper you dove into the river the stronger the undercurrent was....


    They all watched with bated breaths as Tang Yan swam deeper and deeper underwater until he was out of sight....


    1 minute passed and there was no movement on the river.


    2 minutes passed and still neither appeared on the river.


    Three minutes passed and even downstream of the river, no one appeared.


    As time went on, the chances of Tang Yan and the girl surviving were getting slimmer and slimmer.


    Zhuang Jiajie was pale and his heart was palpitating.


    \"Why haven''t the police arrived yet!\" Although no one jumped forward to help they couldn''t help scolding when they saw Tang Yan and the girl disappear.


    Splash!

 193 Murky Waters

    Millions of thoughts flickered through Tang Yan''s head as he dove deeper and deeper.


    2 minutes, most people in good health could hold their breath for approximately two minutes.


    He began to count and kept track of time in his head.


    1 minute...


    After the rain, the river was turbid and murky limiting his field of vision.


    That coupled with the strong underground current put him on high alert as he flickered around looking desperately.


    2 minutes passed and he couldn''t find the girl.


    Nothing, he couldn''t see her anywhere.


    But then he saw slightly off in the distance the murky curtains of the water parting slightly as a figure sank towards the riverbottom.


    He instantly kicked into high gear, kicking forward in an instant to catch the girl from sinking further.


    3 minutes.....


    He raced to the surface with the girl, she was out cold, fainted he hoped.


    He knew he had to bring her to shore immediately.


    ...


    Splash!


    On the river, five meters away from where the girl was swallowed by the current, a head suddenly appeared.


    Alive! They were alive!


    Seeing this scene, the originally nervous and desperate crowd suddenly burst into cheers.


    Many rushed from the shore to the river immediately. Seemingly inspired, people actually began to act, responding quickly the crowd took off their hoodies and coats and tied them up into a safety rope.


    They helped pull Tang Yan to shore.


    Tang Yan carried the girl on his back and he grasped the makeshift rope as he kicked forward and the crowd pulled. They overcame the undercurrents of the river and he swam to shore.


    He was absolutely exhausted when he reached the shore, he placed the girl down gently before he fell to the ground gasping for air in exhaustion.


    The crowd rushed to help him and the girl.


    A middle-aged woman stepped out from the crowd and began to treat the girl.


    She laid her down on her back and tilted her chin and head backwards to help clear her airway but there was still no sign of breath.


    She quickly pinched the girl''s nose and kept her head tilted back as she breathed into her mouth from hers.


    A look of anxiousness set across the lady''s face as she clasped both hands together, one on top of the other and pushed down right on the centre of the girl''s chest firmly, with her arms straight she pushed down and began to give her CPR.


    10 seconds....


    30 seconds....


    50 seconds....


    After nearly a minute, the girl coughed.


    The sound of cheers quickly spread through the crowd.


    Hearing this, Tang Yan breathed a sigh of relief as he lay on the ground trying to catch his breath.


    Recovering somewhat whilst the crowd was focused on the girl, he snuck away.


    The girl had been saved, there was no need for him to stick around.


    Zhuang Jiajie also approached him with a tense look at this time. It was clear to see that his agent had really been scared stiff this time.


    But right before the two met up and headed off there came a shout from the crowd:


    \"Wait! Tang Yan wait!\"


    \"Tang Yan?!\"


    \"The guy who saved the girl, it''s Tang Yan!\"


    ...


    With the shout, he was instantly surrounded.


    Knowing the gig was up, he sighed before turning back to face the crowd.


    After confirming that it was true, Tang Yan was hammered with requests for photos.


    But luckily it didn''t take long before the ambulance finally arrived at the scene and the EMT''s lifted the girl into the ambulance as they got ready to send her to the hospital.


    At this time, Tang Yan was being surrounded by more and more people and even media vans could be seen arriving in the distance.


    When Tang Yan realised his situation, he had no choice. He noticed that the ambulance was about to close.


    He pulled Zhuang Jiajie along as he jumped into the ambulance.


    The onlookers wanted to catch Tang Yan but the ambulance staff looked between them and Tang Yan before shutting the door and driving off.


    The crowd couldn''t stop it. They had to watch Tang Yan leave, many clutching their phones in disappointment.


    ...


    \"Our stuff, we left the stuff we bought.\" After getting in the ambulance, Zhuang Jiajie realized that their stuff was still on the riverbank.


    Tang Yan waved his hand, they still had everything in their wallets. What they left was nothing more than imported food and souvenirs.


    \"Cough...uhh Tang Yan, I heard what happened. You truly did well,  a few seconds later and based on what I''ve heard this girl might not have survived.\" The female nurse sitting behind them said, looking over at Tang Yan full of praise.


    Tang Yan nodded, then turned to look at the girl he had rescued.


    She looked to be about 20 years old. She should be a university student based on what the crowd had said earlier.


    Twenty years old, just the beginning of youth, how regrettable, it would have been if she died that way.


    The ambulance moved forward and soon arrived at the central hospital.


    Before getting out of the ambulance, the nurse finally couldn''t hold back. He didn''t know where she found a pen but she asked him to sign her cuff.


    After getting out of the ambulance, Tang Yan decided they might as well help to the end, and Zhuang Jiajie helped with the hospitalization procedures.


    The girl had woken up, but her condition was very poor and she faded in and out of consciousness so she had to be hospitalized for observation.


    When the girl''s family was contacted by the hospital, Zhuang Jiajie finished up and they were about to leave.


    They had just walked out of the ward, when they heard a rush of footsteps.


    He stepped out of the door and looked up, he saw two familiar figures.


    Zhu Xiaoying, the woman he helped to get back her bag,


    And the other one was naturally Yan Bing.


    Looking at Zhu Xiaoying and Yan Bing, and thinking of their similar ages, he suddenly thought of a possibility, and he asked in a less certain tone: \"Is she your friend?\"


    She, of course, referred to the female student who he had just rescued. If Zhuang Jiajie was right, the girl was called Guan Tong.


    \"Yeah, we are roommates. Her classmates told us that she accidentally fell into the water while sketching, and was taken to this hospital.\" Zhu Xiaoying saw Tang Yan and unconsciously blushed slightly, last time she missed the opportunity to speak with Tang Yan, she had to be bold this time.


    Listening to Zhu Xiaoying, Tang Yan felt a little dazed.


    In other words, the person he accidentally rescued turned out to be Yan Bing''s roommate?


    This....the odds of that.


    \"I saw on Weibo, you saved Tongtong?\" Yan Bing said, looking at Tang Yan with a complex gaze.


    Tang Yan nodded, without knowing why, he suddenly felt that Yan Bing was looking at him differently than before.


    \"What, you saved Tongtong?!\" Zhu Xiaoying, who didn''t seem to understand the situation exclaimed. When she finished speaking, she immediately realized that this was a hospital, and covered her mouth.


    \"Let''s go and see Tongtong first, little.... Tang Yan, you can stay with us, right?\" Yan Bing said.


    \"Ah? yeah sure\"


    \"Can you go back first and see if the things we left there are still there?\" Tang Yan turned to Zhuang Jiajie.


    Zhuang Jiajie nodded and left.


    The three of them returned to the ward again. Guan Tong''s condition was still bad.


    The two girls kept trying to communicate with her. Whilst he awkwardly stood there alone.


    After a while, Yan Bing asked Zhu Xiaoying to go buy some food, leaving just her in the ward with Tang Yan.


    \"I heard the river was rough. But you actually dared to go down, weren''t you afraid of something going wrong?\"


    Tang Yan smiled and said: \"No, I don''t do things I''m unsure of.\"


    What he said was true. He had a sense of justice, but he wasn''t a fool. If the river was really stormy or flooding or something, he wouldn''t jump in to his death.


    \"I know you swim well, but ...\" Yan Bing was worried, and originally wanted to say that he shouldn''t take risks like that but....she realized that it didn''t seem appropriate.


    If he hadn''t taken the risk, Guan Tong might not be in a ward but instead the morgue.


    Tang Yan sensed the embarrassment in the air and switched topics.


    \"By the way, I added your Weibo. Why didn''t you accept me?\"

 194 Putting On Weigh

    \"I didn''t see it\"  Yan Bing replied embarrassed


    \"Oh, I thought you said you found out, it was me who saved Guan Tong from Weibo\"


    \"Are you sure you''re not feverish?\" Tang Yan reached out and touched Yan Bing''s forehead with a joking smile.


    Yan Bing didn''t respond for a moment but when she realized Tang Yan''s hand was on her forehead, her face flushed and she took a step back.


    \"Oh, I''m sorry.\" Tang Yan also realized and apologized.


    \"No, wait, it''s...fine,\" Yan Bing said, suddenly looking at Tang Yan. \"That girl on your Weibo, who is she?\"


    \"...you mean Hong Luli, how can you not know Hong Luli?\"


    \"Uhhh? Is she your cousin?\"


    \"Ahhh...actually wait, it''s normal you don''t know Hong Luli.\" Tang Yan said, remembering the date.


    Hong Luli became well known in 2016, but it was only 2011. Plus Yan Bing didn''t pay much attention to swimming.


    \"Why would I know her?\" Yan Bing asked.


    \"She belongs to the national swimming team.\" Tang Yan said with a smile. \"The picture was taken like a day ago, I just helped her by reposting it.\"


    \"What?\"


    \"Yeah, the team came over yesterday to mine for a celebration party. You didn''t recognize the background of the photo?\" Tang Yan asked.


    After hearing this from Tang Yan, Yan Bing suddenly showed a faint joy on his face and then said, \"She is really cute, very beautiful.\"


    \"Not as beautiful as you Sister Yan\" Tang Yan replied with a smirk.


    \"If you keep speaking like that I''m gonna have to ask for a ring!\" Yan Bing said, rolling her eyes.


    \"Hahaha, I''m too young for marriage\" Tang Yan said with a smile.


    \"Oh, now you''ve grown up a little, you dare to make fun of me? Hahaha speaking of it, didn''t you promise to marry me back in the day?\" Yan Bing stared Tang Yan down provocatively.


    \"Cough, okay, I confess, I dare not.\" Tang Yan surrendered.


    This brought out Yan Bing''s smile and the two fell into laughter.


    \"What are you two talking about? Laughing so loud.\" Zhu Xiaoying returned at this time and saw the two of them losing it.


    \"Nothing much, Guan Tong seems slightly better, we were talking about that.\" Tang Yan said with a blushing look.


    \"Tongtong is better! Great!\" Zhu Xiaoying said, looking cheerful.


    The three returned to the ward, Tang Yan walked in, only to notice Yan Bing cast him a displeased look.


    He shook his head with a bitter smile.


    .....


    It was already the next day when Tang Yan returned from the hospital.


    Guan Tong''s family was from a rural area in Guangxi. It would take them a few days to arrive and because of Guan Tong''s condition after discussing, they didn''t call her home.


    Because they weren''t assured with the two girls on vigil, Tang Yan stayed with them overnight in the hospital.


    The next morning, he went to reception to settle the bill secretly and after paying the medical bills he headed home.


    When he got home, the first news he got was great news.


    Though they had left their things at the scene, because the crowd knew it was theirs, there was someone standing them until Zhuang Jiajie went back.


    Tang Yan''s self-sacrificing behavior had earned admiration. Seeing him lose his thing after was something no one wanted to see. So people spontaneously took care of their things.


    Since he didn''t lose anything, he didn''t have to waste a trip shopping again. So after taking a shower and gathering his things he headed back to Zhejiang with Zhuang Jiajie.


    During the following week, he spent most of his time with his parents at home and Zhuang Jiajie dropped in to get him to sign the endorsement contract.


    And Zhuang Jiajie showed off what he was capable of. The original contract of £¤16 million for 3 years was negotiated by him to £¤16 million for 2 years.


    They agreed a time to shoot the advertisement, signed the contract, and deducted the commision fees after taxes. With that £¤12 million yuan about $1.7 million entered his personal account.


    With this, he truly became rich.


    Of course, at this time he didn''t have time to think about how to spend the money.


    At the end of the week, he headed northbound on the high-speed rail.


    Because the AIBA World Boxing Championships were about to start, there wasn''t much time left for him to train.


    All the masters of amateur boxing in the world would gather in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. This compared with the National Boxing Championships and even the Asian Games was completely incomparable.


    Tang Yan''s boxing level was rare in China and even in Asia, but on the world stage, how he would rank was still unknown.


    So for him, the World Boxing Championships were a new challenge.


    He would encounter world-class top boxers from all around the world, which would really test his strength.


    And after the boxing team reported in, what worried Head Coach Qin Hailong happened again.


    When reporting in before the FINA Aquatic World Championships, Tang Yan was 5''7 and weighed 57kg.


    Now this time, whilst his height hadn''t changed much, his weight had increased to 63 kg.


    Although because of continuous training and competing, his body to fat ratio was among top athletes, but this increase in weight still made Qin Hailong worried.


    The weight division in boxing was very strict.


    In the professional boxing world, Tang Yan''s 49kg class didn''t have much of a platform at all, for example even if like Zou Shiming he became a title holder for a flyweight belt, the amount he would earn realistically wasn''t actually that much.


    The really high earners were the middleweight and heavyweight champions.


    But coming with that was increased risk as the force behind each punch increased, Tang Yan had now snuck up once again into a new weight bracket to the light welterweight division. With that he had about half a month to adapt to the change and regain his footing after not boxing for weeks.


    What Qin Hailong was most worried about, was that this time Tang Yan wasn''t going to participate in some domestic rookie competition but the real World Championship.


    However with Tang Yan''s body fat ratio, it was impossible to lose the weight.


    Tang Yan on the other hand had a positive outlook on the situation. Although the powers of  Zhang Shun mainly worked for swimming, his improvement in body control was indistinguishable in water and out plus this was only amateur boxing. If this was all it took to take him out the game, he might as well give up going professional now.


    So unlike Qin Hailong''s concerns, he was full of expectations for the upcoming World Boxing Championships.

 195 Baku

    During more than half a month in Beijing, Tang Yan underwent special training under the guidance of Qin Hailong to increase his punch resistance.


    Entering the 63kg class the force behind the punches he would receive had increased so especially in the face of top level foreign boxers, it was important to adapt.


    Tang Yan saw the training as an extra investment. Although he had the discharge system to help disperse the force from a punch, it was only auxiliary.


    Boxers needed to be able to handle their opponents offense inorder to carry out defensive counter attacks. The basis of all of this was a strong enough body to resist attacks.


    After more than half a month of hard work, Tang Yan found a balance between the discharge system and punch resistance, so he was able to launch a good defensive counterattack.


    And at the end of training, under the leadership of the national team coach Qin Hailong, Tang Yan and Zou Shiming, Zhang Xiaoping, Zhang Zhilei and the other boxers who qualified for the World Championships, boarded a plane to Azerbaijan together.


    Azerbaijan was located at the junction between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It was bordered by Russia to the north, Iran to the south, and Georgia to the west.


    Baku, the host of the World Boxing Championships this time, was known as the \"Petroleum City\".


    Because of the time difference with China, after the team arrived in Baku, Qin Hailong didn''t arrange training for the team, but took the team to travel to some of the well-known local attractions. The first stop they went to was Baku''s famous Old City.


    Old City towered above the harbour, it was the highest part of the city, in which laid the Palace of the Shirvanshahs. Built on a prominent cliff, with royal luxury and unusual grandeur, everything was made of glitter flattened stone. All the buildings were delicately connected to each other and no seams could be discerned from anywhere.


    It was the first time that Tang Yan saw such a palace, it looked impenetrable and stable, he couldn''t help but be impressed by the capabilities of ancient architects.


    Zhang Xiaoping and Zhang Zhilei were also coming to Baku for the first time. They took out cameras to shoot the pictures non-stop and everyone seemed to be in quite a good mood.


    Tang Yan also took two photos for Weibo, which soon attracted fans'' likes and retweets.


    Because his heroic river escapades were exposed, his number Weibo following was increasing every minute. Coupled with his increased interaction, fan activity was quite high. When he flicked through,  there were already several hundred comments.


    \"That is Baku City. I''ve been there once. It''s quite magnificent. But it''s on a cliff. Tang Yan don''t trip and die.\"


    \"User upstairs, what the f*ck are you wishing him death or warning him, jeez!\"


    \"What a beautiful stone palace, Tang Yan on another journey to conquer the boxing ring!\"


    ...


    Tang Yan was looking through the comments. When, someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned around to see Zhang Zhilei and a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.


    Following Zhang Zhilei''s gaze, he looked around and saw that there was a group of guys walking around the palace, wearing similar team uniforms to theirs and at this time they were heading towards them.


    Appearing here in such a way at this time, he didn''t need to think much to realise they must be one of the teams participating in the championships.


    After arriving in Baku, they chose to relax. So it wasn''t surprising that the other boxing teams had similar ideas.


    However, the doubts in Tang Yan''s eyes continued.


    He was about to turn back and ask Zhang Zhilei, but at this moment, the boxers from the other team seemed to have noticed them and when he was about to turn around, there was a boxer about 5''6 who waved his fist, throwing fake punches in the air whilst smiling disdainfully.


    Seeing this, Tang Yan became even more confused.


    Obviously, this was an attempt at provocation, a childish one but one still.


    Just then, the boxers passed them by.


    Without waiting for Tang Yan to ask, Zhang Zhilei followed up and said, \"The one who just threw those air punches is Luke Jackson. He''ll be one of your opponents. He''s probably holding a grudge because of the swimming team. \"


    \"Swimming team?\"


    Zhang Zhilei nodded and said: \"The Australian swimming team is just like our table tennis and diving team, they are the dream team. If they went abroad, got defeated and abused, wouldn''t you be out for blood?\"


    \"Ohh.\" Tang Yan said, suddenly understood everything.


    Any sports team known as the Dream Team in a country would receive unprecedented attention. They would be representing the country after all.


    \"Plus I heard Jackson learned to swim back when he was a kid and nearly when pro but later gave up due to his height disadvantage. He''s probably friends with the swimming team so if you meet him, he definitely won''t be soft handed.\" Zhang Zhilei followed up.


    Tang Yan smiled slightly but didn''t speak.


    So Luke Jackson was looking for a chance to get revenge for his friends, that was understandable even commendable.


    But his aim for this World Championship was to get an Olympic ticket, so no matter who tried to block him, it was all the same.


    After the tour, the boxing team headed back to the hotel to rest.


    Because of the opening ceremony the next day, they needed to be refreshed.


    ...


    The next day, after weighing in and medical examinations. The all important match-up lottery followed.


    Because the competition adopted a single defeat elimination system, the lottery determined your opponent in the first round, and even the follow-up matches.


    There were a total of 32 boxers participating in the light welterweight class.


    Balls containing the names of the boxers were placed in a box and randomly drawn out. They would then be matched up according to the order in which their names were taken out.


    With the 1st pick fighting the 32nd pick, 2nd pick fighting the 31st pick and so on.


    Tang Yan was the No. 12 pick.


    However, after the announcement of the match ups, he couldn''t help showing a bitter smile.


    According to the rules, No. 12 was against No. 21, and No. 21 was exactly the Australian boxer Luke Jackson.


    Once again he couldn''t help but question the f*cking odds!

 196 World Boxing Championships 1

    Tang Yan smiled bitterly after seeing the match up but Luke Jackson on the other hand shouted excitedly.


    The other Australian boxers even stepped forward to congratulate him, posturing as if he had got the luckiest pick ever.


    \"They are overdoing it a bit now!\" Zou Shiming said in an annoyed tone, as the eldest brother of the boxing team, he couldn''t stand it.


    \"They should be excited.\" Tang Yan said with a smile at this time.


    Zou Shiming turned his head to look at Tang Yan for a moment, Zhang Zhilei had told him about the exchange with Jackson the day before. Tang Yan''s low-key nature was beyond his expectation. Did his whole character change after the swimming World Championships.


    But Tang Yan''s next sentence made him laugh.


    \"It means he can sit out the competition earlier and relax.\" Tang Yan said with a grin.


    He didn''t mind Luke Jackson seeking revenge for his friends, but if he dared to look down on him, then he would definitely make him pay for it.


    After the lottery ceremony finished, some were left happy and others sad.


    Although there were no seeded boxers, the strength gap between the boxers was real. The simplest example was the first round. No one in the 49kg class wanted to meet the defending champion Zou Shiming.


    The Chinese team''s luck wasn''t bad. Except for Tang Yan, they all had low-profile opponents.


    As a result, in the first round, Tang Yan became the most likely boxer to be eliminated from the national team.


    After the ceremony was over, his teammates came over to encourage him. Even Head Coach Qin Hailong asked him to chat in private.


    This made him feel like crying and laughing.


    The opening ceremony in the evening was very characteristic of Azerbaijani culture, the Eurasian experience was quite new for the contestants.


    After the opening ceremony ended, the 16th AIBA World Boxing Championships officially began.


    ....


    According to the schedule, the World Championships would be held for a total of 12 days, 8 days of qualifiers plus 3 days of knockouts with one day of rest in the middle.


    The preliminaries were sorted according to weight category. The first day of the preliminaries included the 49kg, 52kg, 56kg and 63kg classes. Tang Yan was the final match of the 63kg preliminaries.


    The first match of the World Championships and the 49kg class, for the Chinese boxing team was the defending champion, Zou Shiming.


    Although Zou Shiming was 30 years old, a bit old for a boxer, he was still in top form. In the first round, he faced the Russian boxer David Ayrapetyan who he defeated 20 to 4 on points. Showing the disparity in levels, he easily advanced to the next round.


    After Zou Shiming, Zhang Xiaoping also successfully defeated his opponent to advance to the second round before the lunch break.


    With the end of the morning matches, the stadium went into it''s first break.


    The boxers who were going to fight in the afternoon also came to the field in advance to warm up.


    And the journalists certainly didn''t miss the opportunity, seizing the boxer''s spare training time to try to get an interview.


    Luke Jackson and his teammates had just finished the first round of training when they were caught by a local Azerbaijani reporter.


    \"Hello, Luke, I''m Sabina Akayev of ATV. Do you have time for an interview with me?\" Asked a female reporter.


    \"I have time, a lot of time.\" Jackson said with a discerning look.


    \"Thank you very much.\" After smiling and thanking him, the interview began.


    \"We know that your opponent in the next round is a boxer from the Chinese team, Tang Yan. Besides being a renowned boxer, he is also an excellent swimmer having just recently competed in the World Aquatics Championships and won multiple events. Even defeating some prominent swimmers from the Australian team.\"


    \"How are you feeling going into the fight?\"


    Listening to Sabina talking about Tang Yan''s identity as a swimmer, Jackson frowned at first, then smiled, with strong disdain in his words: \"You say he''s a good swimmer, I admit he is indeed somewhat talented but mainly lucky, especially to get away with such unfair results.... \"


    Jackson said, seeing Sabina''s surprised expression, he knew he had gone a little too far so he quickly switched topics, but the disdain in his tone was unchanged: \"As for him being a renowned boxer we can evaluate that after I beat him.\"


    \"You mean, you don''t consider Tang Yan your opponent?\" Sabina asked, dazed.


    \"Was he ever.\"


    After Jackson finished speaking, Sabina was shocked and even a little dumbfounded. She didn''t expect that the Australian boxer would have such self-confidence.


    \"Is that all for the interview?\" Jackson suddenly said.


    \"Uhh yes, that''ll be enough. Thank you\" Sabina nodded, trying to maintain the demeanor of a reporter.


    \"Then beautiful lady, are you free tonight? If you don''t mind, I would love to invite you to dinner.\" Jackson said in a low voice.


    When Sabina heard this, her face turned red.


    \"Sorry but I can''t.\" Sabina replied and immediately left with the camera man.


    Seeing her leaving, Jackson froze for a moment, then said \"boring\" and shook his head before returning to chat with his teammates.


    After leaving the training area of ??the Australian team, Sabina followed the signs and arrived at the Chinese team''s area.


    After Tang Yan''s performance at the swimming World Championships, his popularity was soaring rapidly. Naturally, Sabina didn''t want to miss such an opportunity, and immediately walked over.


    Tang Yan was standing to the side drinking water after training when he saw a female reporter approaching him.


    Seeing Sabina, Tang Yan smiled and placed his bottle down waiting for her to approach.


    \"Hello, I am...\" Sabina came up with a brief introduction and then made a request for an interview.


    \"Sure, I''m down for an interview.\" Tang Yan said with a polite smile.


    Hearing Tang Yan''s answer, Sabina immediately showed a smile.

 197 World Boxing Championships 2

    \"Your next opponent Luke Jackson, is a strong contender for this year''s World Boxing Championship medal. Do you have the confidence to defeat such an opponent?\" Sabina asked.


    Tang Yan nodded and said, \"Of course, my goal is the Olympic ticket. I aim to defeat all my opponents regardless of who they are.\"


    Hearing Tang Yan''s self-confident answer, Sabina showed a smile on her face, and then asked: \"We all know that you are an excellent swimmer, so many are wondering, why do you still want to participate in boxing after having achieved such outstanding results in swimming?\"


    Having said that, Sabina worried that the issue was private, quickly added: \"I''m just curious, because no athlete has ever been able to achieve world-leading levels in both sports.\"


    \"Don''t forget he''s also an archery champion.\" At this moment, Zhang Zhilei who had just finished his warmup added with a smile.


    Sabina froze for a moment, looking at Tang Yan with surprise.


    Tang Yan nodded and said, \"The Asian Games, it''s just an intercontinental medal.\"


    After seeing Tang Yan nodding, Sabina couldn''t help looking surprised. In her view, participating in two projects at the same time and having achieved such results was shocking enough. She didn''t expect Tang Yan to be an intercontinental champion of archery as well!


    \"As for your question just now.\" Tang Yan said pulling Sabina from her daze as he said, \"Actually, I participated in boxing before I started swimming. For me, as long as time allows it, I plan to participate in as many projects as possible, because I enjoy the feeling of competing. \"


    \"Of course, I also hope to win more glory for my country.\" Tang Yan added.


    \"Of course, I think that''s what every athlete strives for.\" Sabina acknowledged.


    After this, she asked a few questions about his preparations. Tang Yan had nothing to hide, and answered.


    As the interview progressed, Sabina became more and more impressed. Although Tang Yan wasn''t breathtakingly handsome, he was by no means ugly and he gave off unspeakable charm as he discussed his training.


    When the interview ended and her cameraman put down the camera, she courageously took a step forward, blushing and said: \"Urr....Are you free by any chance tonight? I know a nearby restaurant and I can show you around the city. \"


    Hearing Sabina''s invitation, and seeing the blushing face of the girl, he realised her thoughts and with a trace of apology he said: \"The team still has training tonight, sorry, thank you though for the invitation.\"


    Hearing Tang Yan''s answer, Sabina''s face showed a touch of disappointment, but when she heard that Tang Yan was training, she couldn''t feel frustrated: \"Well, good luck with your afternoon match. I look forward to seeing you go further in the World Boxing Championships.\"


    \"Thank you.\" Tang Yan nodded to Sabina with a smile.


    When Sabina left, the interview ended.


    \"Why did you reject her, you should have accepted.\" Zhang Zhilei spoke up after Sabina left.


    \"What do you mean?\"


    \"Hmm, you''re young, you should take your opportunities when they come.  You need to learn to grasp them!\" Zhang Zhilei said with a smirk.


    \"Jeez, I''m not that casual.\"


    \"Not casual my ass, I''ve seen the photos on your Weibo, you with a bunch of girls\"


    \"Cough, they are my teammates from the swimming team. I''m still pure plus I''m only 18.\"


    \"Okay, okay, keep claiming your innocence. Let''s go and eat.\" Zhang Zhilei teased as he pulled Tang Yan away to the cafeteria.


    .....


    After waiting for the 56kg preliminaries to finish, the 63kg preliminaries followed.


    With the start of the 63kg class competition, the number of spectators in the stadium improved a lot. This was the case with boxing matches, with the increase in weight class the amount of spectators increased as well.


    Tang Yan was in the stands watching the fights before his, a boxer named Estchenko had just successfully caught his attention.


    He was from Ukraine, his overall strength was quite good, his punches were fierce, and his reaction speed quick, in the end he only took 2 rounds to TKO his opponent.


    And it just happened that he was the No. 5 pick from the draw, so that is to say, if Tang Yan won his match, this would be his next opponent.


    With the top ten qualifying for the Olympic Games, if Tang Yan wanted to qualify, he would have to defeat Eschenko.


    Most would feel anxious when they saw that their opponent for the next round was so powerful, but Tang Yan was excited.


    That was a fight he wanted.


    But before that, he had to beat Jackson.


    When there was one fight left in front of him, Tang Yan got up and headed to the dressing room to change.


    It took a bit over ten minutes to complete a match, so he had to go get ready now. This was the speed of amateur boxing with only four rounds in total, it was quite fast paced.


    .....


    As the boxers entered, the commentators on the sidelines also started to follow up on commentary.


    The appearance of Tang Yan and Luke Jackson made the atmosphere on scene more intense.


    As the final match, combined with the good strength of both sides, it was one of the most anticipated fights of the first day preliminaries.


    \"Tang Yan and Luke Jackson, are both boxers with reputation. Tang Yan''s been gaining popularity with his performance in the swimming arena, winning multiple gold medals, he''ll be hoping to transfer this success to the boxing arena as well. Whilst Jackson is the silver medalist of this year''s World Youth Boxing Championships, a strong contender for this year''s World Boxing Championships.\" - Guest Commentator


    \"To be honest, this fight is such an odd match up. I couldn''t imagine Tang Yan''s chances beforehand but watching back some of his old fights before he transitioned to swimming and made a name for himself. He can certainly box and hold his own. I''m interested to see he can rank up against Jackson.\" - Main Commentator


    \"Really, he''s a world-renowned swimmer. I can give you that. And clearly he can box if he got this far  but as for how much of a threat he can really pose to Jackson. I don''t think it''s much, but hey maybe I''m wrong.\" - Guest Commentato

 198 Luke Jackson vs Tang Yan

    Under this atmosphere, Tang Yan and Luke Jackson completed their preparations before the match, and then boarded the ring.


    Jackson appeared excited as he took office, throwing a combo of punches across the air.


    His punching speed was very fast, and as this set of punches came down, it immediately attracted a burst of cheers and whistles from the audience.


    Seemingly satisfied with the response of the audience. He moved his right leg forward, bent his right and left hands at a right angle, and raised his biceps to show off his muscles.


    The cheers and whistles of the audience became even louder.


    It could be seen that Jackson''s display was very popular with them.


    Even the referee waited for him to finish his little show, before he brought him and Tang Yan to the center of the ring.


    The opening interaction only seemed to make Jackson more confident. As the referee began to go through the usual rules of the game, he just stared at Tang Yan with disdain.


    Tang Yan smiled lightly and shook his head.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s reaction, Jackson frowned and then said with a hint of threat: \"You still have the chance to laugh now but just wait till the first punch catches you in the face. \"


    \"Okay, I''ll be waiting.\" Tang Yan shrugged lightly.


    \"Good! Good!\" Jackson said, his eyes full of fierceness, \"This is what you asked for!\"


    Tang Yan didn''t bother responding anymore.


    At this time, the referee finished going through the introduction and sent them back towards their corners.  His right hand swung down and then he retreated.


    Ding! Ding!


    With the ring of the bell from the sidelines, the fight between the two sides officially started!


    Almost the same instant the bell rang, Tang Yan launched an attack.


    Boom!


    A muffled sound rang out.


    Jackson''s defense was timely, but it was uncomfortable to be hit by Tang Yan like a punching bag.


    Left jab, right hook, left jab, right jab, left hook.


    Another set of punches were launched and Jackson was beaten further back.


    There was an uproar at this scene.


    Even the commentators on scene screamed in shock.


    This was different from what they had predicted before the match!


    However, Tang Yan was also slightly surprised. His punches were all mixed up, he was swarming Jackson but Jackson could still maintain his defense. The same combo that had proved highly effective at the Asian Games was being negated. Sure enough, the class of boxers here was much stronger.


    Left hook, right jab, left uppercut, right uppercut.


    Tang Yan finished a set of combos and followed with another set of combos.


    Jackson was forced to back off again and again, but his sturdy defense was always in place.


    Right hook, Left hook, right jab, left jab.


    But just as Tang Yan stabbed out with his left, Jackson bobbed sideways and hammered a left hook towards Tang Yan''s ribs, but Tang Yan deftly arched back and avoided it.


    Seeing an opportunity to get out his passive position, Jackson lurched forward.


    Tang Yan backed away, to give ground, as Jackson returned the favor. Smothering him under an avalanche of blows and driving him to the ropes, Jackson''s hands worked tirelessly at Tang Yan''s defense ¡ª over-hand rights, short lefts,  left hooks and jolting uppercuts.


    Tang Yan covered and retreated slowly. Then all of a sudden, he ducked his head, went in under Jackson''s right and threw two right hooks towards his body but Jackson lowered his defense and blocked before throwing a right jab at Tang Yan''s face, forcing him back in order to dodge.


    But Tang Yan was right back on him, throwing a barrage of combos which Jackson adeptly blocked as the two fell into a stalemate.


    \"Ding! Ding!\"


    Just then the bell for the end of the first round sounded from the sidelines.


    There was another uproar from the audience. This time, regret that Tang Yan failed to defeat Jackson.


    Tang Yan withdrew his hand and retreated back to his corner of the boxing ring.


    3 minutes a round was truly short.


    Jackson also returned to his corner, but compared with Tang Yan''s relaxed appearance, he was not so comfortable, he couldn''t help shaking his hand to reduce the numbness.


    \"Damn it!\" He cursed, he completely underestimated Tang Yan''s strength.


    \"Stop letting him take control. Be proactive, take the initiative to attack!\" Jackson''s coach emphasized constantly in his ear.


    Jackson nodded vigorously. Although he withstood the first round, if all he did was defend he would eventually slip up or lose on points. Only by launching an offensive would he have hope of winning.


    Tang Yan stood up again, Qin Hailong didn''t say much during the break, he was just relieved to see Tang Yan''s performance.


    After the two were ready, the referee waved his hand and signaled the match to continue.


    Ding! Ding!


    The bell on the sidelines rang and the second round began.


    Jackson seized the initiative this time and didn''t wait for Tang Yan to attack. He bound towards Tang Yan with a right hook.


    His advantage was his power. As long as one of his punches hit, he could follow up with a combo of punches and switch up the situation.


    Tang Yan was delighted to see Jackson attacking.


    In the first round, he took the initiative to attack, but he had underestimated Jackson, who turtled up and blocked all his blows.  With Jackson so tightly closed up, it was hard to find a gap to attack and get any significant blows in.


    But now with Jackson taking the initiative to attack and open up. He would have a proper chance to find an opening.


    His left hand clung to his head in a semi-framed posture.


    Almost at the same time, Jackson''s right hand flicked out.


    Boom!


    Jackson''s swing directly hit Tang Yan''s arm.


    However, Tang Yan shifted onto his right foot and slid to the right, and the unloading system combined with his training before allowed him to easily carry the blow.


    At the same time, his right hook was already heading towards Jackson''s face.


    Jackson had thrown out a combo, so his right hook was followed by a left jab. His jab ran head-on to Tang Yan''s punch.


    However, Tang Yan''s punch was a right hook and obviously held more strength behind it. He directly pushed Jackson''s punch aside and rocked him just enough to keep him off-balance.


    Now facing Jackson''s unobstructed face, he lashed out with a left hook.


    Bam!


    Getting hit, Jackson felt his consciousness slip for a second. Like Tang Yan, Jackson trained to increase his punch resistance which allowed him to train his body and arms. This was the key to his ability to take on Tang Yan''s continuous combination of punches, but taking punches to the body and arm wasn''t the same as the face.


    But instinctively he shot out a left hook that caught Tang Yan on the ribs, jarring him.


    But gritting his teeth, Tang Yan jabbed with his left, jabbed and jabbed again. All the whilst circling to his right.


    He didn''t want to give Jackson another chance to recover.


    He stung him with three lightning left jabs and moved in close.


    Left hook, right hook, left uppercut, right uppercut....


    His combos connected over and over again, Jackson instinctively reached out to resist but Tang Yan slipped his clinches and returned to shooting out combos.


    Bam! Bam! Bam!


    Jackson was shaken by Tang Yan and turned into a punching bag stuck in a vicious cycle unable to escape.


    The audience at the scene was dumbfounded, and some of the females in the audience couldn''t help but stretch out their hands to cover their faces. It was turning into a cruel scene.


    \"Stop! Stop!\"


    Seeing the situation deteriorating, the referee reached out and pulled Tang Yan back.


    When Tang Yan moved back, Jackson instantly seemed to have lost his support. He stumbled to his knees, dazed.


    The referee rushed up to check on him.


    As the referee called it, there was a burst of cheers on the scene.


    TKO!


    Tang Yan directly TKO''d Jackson at the beginning of the second round!

 199 In A Rush

    \"The winner, from China, Tang Yan!\"


    The referee raised Tang Yan''s right hand and there was a burst of explosive cheers again.


    For the audience, who they were supporting depended on what was going on in the ring, someone who could truly win their cheers in the end would always be from the winning side.


    Not to mention Tang Yan, had completely upturned their expectations, showing dominance they hadn''t foreseen.


    When Tang Yan stepped down, Qin Hailong said with excitement: \"Boy, you can definitely secure a Olympics ticket at this rate!\"


    Tang Yan grinned and said, \"I want more than the Olympic ticket.\"


    See Qin Hailong''s slightly stunned expression, he looked at the national flags hanging above the boxing gym and licked his lips.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s move, Qin Hailong immediately knew that he wanted the championship. He smiled heartily: \"Good! Good! Young people should have such ambition!\"


    Tang Yan smiled but didn''t speak.


    After the first day of competition, Tang Yan ushered in two rest days.


    So after finishing the morning training session the next day, he and Zhang Zhilei headed out to relax.


    As a well-known port city near the Caspian Sea, Baku was very prosperous in trade. As the two of them walked around, they could see many regional products. After making a circuit around the markets the two started heading back.


    While walking back, Tang Yan suddenly felt a little uncomfortable so he let Zhang Zhilei head back first whilst he headed to look for a restroom.


    Azerbaijan''s architecture was mostly from the 19th century, and it was of Arabian style. The main centre was very prosperous, but the city layout was like a labyrinth with like nine different branches and corridors, it could leave you feeling dizzy.


    Tang Yan didn''t know how many bends he took but just when he was about to give up, he finally saw the symbol for the toilet. He was relieved and followed the arrow signs, heading forward again.


    He still hadn''t found the toilets when he took a turn right and heard the sound of arguing down the road.


    It was mixed with English and what sounded like Azerbaijani.


    He couldn''t understand Azerbaijani, but he could hear sporadic English. It should be some tourists arguing with the locals.


    He walked forward up to the next bend and stuck his head around the corner to investigate and saw two figures surrounded by a dozen Azerbaijani locals in the middle of the street.


    The ''locals'' were holding metal poles and thick sticks in their hands, looking unfriendly.


    The two surrounded were a man and a woman.


    The girl was very beautiful, with sharp features.


    As for the guy, Tang Yan, actually knew him, he was his opponent in the next round, Evhen Eschenko.


    Making the women probably Eschenko''s girlfriend.


    Perhaps it was because he was afraid of his girlfriend getting hurt. But confronting the group, Eschenko could be seen compromising and handing over his wallet.


    Seemingly the leader of the gang, one of the men stepped forward and took the wallet. Flicking through it he took out a bunch of cash and foreign currency, his eyes lit up but seemingly unsatisfied, he took out a card from the wallet and demanded the pin.


    Eschenko''s face was full of anger, but glancing at his girlfriend next to him, he gritted his teeth and told him the pin.


    The leader gave a wanton smile and threw it to one of the men behind him.


    The man behind him quickly took out a PinSentry card reader and tested the pin, he did it so smoothly it was almost skillful.


    Seeing this, Tang Yan understood.


    He had heard about things like this in his previous life, even in China. In some sparsely populated areas, locals would surround foreign tourists and force them to buy items or even extort them for protection money.


    He looked up and saw that further ahead was the toilets, not far down the street.


    What perfect planning, blocking the street to the restrooms and asking for a protection fee.


    What the hell was his luck recently, he couldn''t even go to the toilet in peace!


    Rumble!


    He suddenly felt his stomach squirm and he grunted twice.


    Dammit, the toilet was more important than any road protection fee.


    Just as he was about to walk over, the gang verified the pin given by Estchenko was correct and were ready to let them go.


    But at this moment, several in the group walked up to the leader''s side and whispered something to him whilst looking at Eschenko''s girlfriend.


    Although Estchenko couldn''t understand Azerbaijani, seeing their gaze on his girlfriend, he could imagine their skewed thoughts.


    It was clear they didn''t have good intentions.


    The two sides immediately fell into tension.


    But at this time, Tang Yan had walked out.


    It wasn''t that he wanted to play hero and save the beauty, but that his stomach really couldn''t hold back.


    The gang preparing to act soon noticed Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan pointed to the toilet in the distance, and then waved his hand again trying to indicate that he just wanted to use the toilet.


    The leader''s mouth stretched out as a smile appeared on his lips. His expression clearly read that he had spotted another ''business'' opportunity.


    He grumbled a few words, then two of his people headed towards Tang Yan with a smile on their faces.


    That smile was obviously not for him, but his money.


    Tang Yan also stepped forward at this, not saying a word, he rushed towards the two thugs, and he kicked out with his right foot, smashing directly into the thug on the right.


    Bam!


    It was just an ordinary ruffian. How could his reaction speed be compared with a boxers, he took the kick right to the chest and flew back.


    Gasp!


    Not only were the other thugs dumbfounded, but even the gang leader and Eschenko were dumbfounded.


    The gang leader almost wanted to shout: \"Dammit we hadn''t even threatened you yet. What the hell was that kick for! Sh*t!  Can''t you wait and discuss things!\"


    Tang Yan didn''t even stop. While they were still in a daze, he sent a right hook crashing towards the other thug.


    Since he had intervened, he might as well end this as quickly as possible after all he couldn''t hold it much longer!

 200 Upse

    The gang leader was frozen in place, stuck in two minds as to what to do, he didn''t want to escalate the situation and attract more attention but he felt suspicious that Tang Yan was Eschenko''s helper.


    Tang Yan''s move was like a fuse, as he swang for the 2nd thug, Estchenko also stepped forward and swang for one of his underlings. Snapping to attention, the gang leader shouted for a bunch of his thugs to head for Tang Yan before leading the rest towards Estchenko.


    Tang Yan''s second punch knocked down the 2nd thug to the ground. The first two thugs who had came at him were covering their faces on the ground, rolling about.


    Estchenko was drawn into a full on brawl as a section of the thugs surrounded him.


    Although Eschenko was a boxer, his swing style was fierce like a street brawlers but surrounded by seven to eight people his loss was inevitable but it was a matter of how long he could out.


    The leader was anxious and in a hurry. He felt the urge to scold the two.


    With Tang Yan appearing the situation was slipping out his grasp. If he hadn''t intervened, Eschenko would have been taken down by them.


    Just then as he turned to look back at Tang Yan, his mouth almost fell open.


    Because although he had sent six people to surround Tang Yan, he had already managed to take down three of them, adding to the pile of two, he had already takendown earlier.


    This fighting strenghth was even stronger than Eschenko''s in front!


    This time he had really kicked an iron plate, two pieces at that.


    Bruce Lee''s Jeet Kune Do style was made for such fights. So for Tang Yan to deal with these gangsters and rogues, it was a breeze for him.


    Seeing this and sensing the commotion they were causing, the leader shouted retreat and ran.


    He turned and ran so quickly he got away, but the others weren''t so lucky. Eschenko robbed of his money and card was fuming.


    Originally since they besieged him, in order to protect his girlfriend, he was mainly defensive. Now seeing them turn tail and trying to run away, he gave chase and went on the offensive.


    \"Bam! Bam!\"


    Of the eight people who surrounded him, three were successively taken down by him and only five got away.


    After taking them down, Estchenko still angry, kicked them again and again and wailing filled the street.


    Tang Yan also came over at this time.


    Seeing Tang Yan, the anger on Estchenko''s face disappeared, replaced by gratitude, he followed and said: \"Thank you, brother, I really appreciate it.\"


    Although he had been struggling with the thugs, he had still seen Tang Yan take out a bunch of them.


    Tang Yan nodded and walked forward.


    \"Thank you, thank you very much. If your free, how about we grab a meal together so we can thank you.\" Eschenko''s girlfriend said coming forward.


    \"There''s no need to be so polite, we are both boxers and here for the same reason, so it''s only right I help out where I can.\" Tang Yan said quickly, almost reaching his limit.


    \"You''re also a boxer? Wait, what''s your name? Why do you look so familiar?\" Estchenko reacted.


    Tang Yan''s face turned red at this time and not bothering to answer Estchenko''s question, he quickly said, \"Sorry can you wait a second, I really need to use the restroom.\"


    He finished speaking and ignoring them, he dashed into the toilet.


    Estchenko was still stunned when his girlfriend blushed and said \"Dear, I need to go too.\"


    Estchenko recovered at this and nodding, he took out his phone as he waited.


    After Tang Yan came out, Eschenko and his girlfriend held him to going to dinner and unable to resist their enthusiasm, he agreed. They waited for the local police to deal with the matter, and then they headed to the western restaurant next door together.


    The group ate and chatted. After finding out that Tang Yan was a 63kg boxer like him, and was his opponent in the next round, Estchenko was naturally surprised but he quickly recoverd as their exchange shifted to discussing boxing.


    Boxing was apart of the culture and one of the favorite sports in Ukraine. However, in the past World Championships, Ukraine''s performance could only be said to be unsatisfactory. But this year they had sent a strong lineup for this World Championship.


    The biggest feature of Ukrainian boxers was their excellent skills and tactics. Coupled with their natural explosiveness, their potential was quite great. As far as the 60kg class was concerned, Estchenko was actually not the first pick for the team. In the National Championships before the World Championships he had lost out to Vasyl Lomachenko the previous 57kg champion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Not only was Lomachenko''s tactical literacy outstanding, but his punching power was amazing. His popularity was comparable to that of Zou Shiming.


    However, because Lomachenko was in a later group, Tang Yan didn''t get to see his performance in the preliminary round.


    .....


    The two day rest period passed by quickly. As they entered the fourth day, the competition entered the knockout stage.


    According to the rules of this year''s World Championships, the top ten of each weight class would get an Olympic ticket.


    It was precisely because of this rule that one could imagine how intense this round of knockouts would be.


    The first fight was a 49kg match. Park Da-chang of South Korea faced Yu Kikuchi from Japan.


    In terms of strength alone, South Korea''s Park Da-chang was significantly stronger than Japan''s Kikuchi but Kikuchi was full of perseverance and he made use of his outstanding defense. He tied with Park Da-chang in the first three rounds.


    This stalemate seemingly caused Park Da-chang to lose his patience and as a result, in the fourth round, Kikuchi successfully scored on several of Park Da-chang''s mistakes and won on points 12 to 10, breaking into the top 16. Causing an upset as he defeated Park Da-chang.


    The upset sounded as a wake-up call for many boxers. This championship could be one step to heaven or one step to hell, anything was possible.

 200 An Upse

    The gang leader was frozen in place, stuck in two minds as to what to do, he didn''t want to escalate the situation and attract more attention but he felt suspicious that Tang Yan was Eschenko''s helper.


    Tang Yan''s move was like a fuse, as he swang for the 2nd thug, Estchenko also stepped forward and swang for one of his underlings. Snapping to attention, the gang leader shouted for a bunch of his thugs to head for Tang Yan before leading the rest towards Estchenko.


    Tang Yan''s second punch knocked down the 2nd thug to the ground. The first two thugs who had came at him were covering their faces on the ground, rolling about.


    Estchenko was drawn into a full on brawl as a section of the thugs surrounded him.


    Although Eschenko was a boxer, his swing style was fierce like a street brawlers but surrounded by seven to eight people his loss was inevitable but it was a matter of how long he could out.


    The leader was anxious and in a hurry. He felt the urge to scold the two.


    With Tang Yan appearing the situation was slipping out his grasp. If he hadn''t intervened, Eschenko would have been taken down by them.


    Just then as he turned to look back at Tang Yan, his mouth almost fell open.


    Because although he had sent six people to surround Tang Yan, he had already managed to take down three of them, adding to the pile of two, he had already takendown earlier.


    This fighting strenghth was even stronger than Eschenko''s in front!


    This time he had really kicked an iron plate, two pieces at that.


    Bruce Lee''s Jeet Kune Do style was made for such fights. So for Tang Yan to deal with these gangsters and rogues, it was a breeze for him.


    Seeing this and sensing the commotion they were causing, the leader shouted retreat and ran.


    He turned and ran so quickly he got away, but the others weren''t so lucky. Eschenko robbed of his money and card was fuming.


    Originally since they besieged him, in order to protect his girlfriend, he was mainly defensive. Now seeing them turn tail and trying to run away, he gave chase and went on the offensive.


    \"Bam! Bam!\"


    Of the eight people who surrounded him, three were successively taken down by him and only five got away.


    After taking them down, Estchenko still angry, kicked them again and again and wailing filled the street.


    Tang Yan also came over at this time.


    Seeing Tang Yan, the anger on Estchenko''s face disappeared, replaced by gratitude, he followed and said: \"Thank you, brother, I really appreciate it.\"


    Although he had been struggling with the thugs, he had still seen Tang Yan take out a bunch of them.


    Tang Yan nodded and walked forward.


    \"Thank you, thank you very much. If your free, how about we grab a meal together so we can thank you.\" Eschenko''s girlfriend said coming forward.


    \"There''s no need to be so polite, we are both boxers and here for the same reason, so it''s only right I help out where I can.\" Tang Yan said quickly, almost reaching his limit.


    \"You''re also a boxer? Wait, what''s your name? Why do you look so familiar?\" Estchenko reacted.


    Tang Yan''s face turned red at this time and not bothering to answer Estchenko''s question, he quickly said, \"Sorry can you wait a second, I really need to use the restroom.\"


    He finished speaking and ignoring them, he dashed into the toilet.


    Estchenko was still stunned when his girlfriend blushed and said \"Dear, I need to go too.\"


    Estchenko recovered at this and nodding, he took out his phone as he waited.


    After Tang Yan came out, Eschenko and his girlfriend held him to going to dinner and unable to resist their enthusiasm, he agreed. They waited for the local police to deal with the matter, and then they headed to the western restaurant next door together.


    The group ate and chatted. After finding out that Tang Yan was a 63kg boxer like him, and was his opponent in the next round, Estchenko was naturally surprised but he quickly recoverd as their exchange shifted to discussing boxing.


    Boxing was apart of the culture and one of the favorite sports in Ukraine. However, in the past World Championships, Ukraine''s performance could only be said to be unsatisfactory. But this year they had sent a strong lineup for this World Championship.


    The biggest feature of Ukrainian boxers was their excellent skills and tactics. Coupled with their natural explosiveness, their potential was quite great. As far as the 60kg class was concerned, Estchenko was actually not the first pick for the team. In the National Championships before the World Championships he had lost out to Vasyl Lomachenko the previous 57kg champion of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Not only was Lomachenko''s tactical literacy outstanding, but his punching power was amazing. His popularity was comparable to that of Zou Shiming.


    However, because Lomachenko was in a later group, Tang Yan didn''t get to see his performance in the preliminary round.


    .....


    The two day rest period passed by quickly. As they entered the fourth day, the competition entered the knockout stage.


    According to the rules of this year''s World Championships, the top ten of each weight class would get an Olympic ticket.


    It was precisely because of this rule that one could imagine how intense this round of knockouts would be.


    The first fight was a 49kg match. Park Da-chang of South Korea faced Yu Kikuchi from Japan.


    In terms of strength alone, South Korea''s Park Da-chang was significantly stronger than Japan''s Kikuchi but Kikuchi was full of perseverance and he made use of his outstanding defense. He tied with Park Da-chang in the first three rounds.


    This stalemate seemingly caused Park Da-chang to lose his patience and as a result, in the fourth round, Kikuchi successfully scored on several of Park Da-chang''s mistakes and won on points 12 to 10, breaking into the top 16. Causing an upset as he defeated Park Da-chang.


    The upset sounded as a wake-up call for many boxers. This championship could be one step to heaven or one step to hell, anything was possible.

 201 Tang Yan vs Estchenko 1

    With this lesson in mind, in the subsequent 52kg and 56kg fights, the stronger boxers fought more cautiously. This performance greatly reduced the possibility of an upset.


    As the day progressed to the afternoon, the competition for the top 16 of the 63kg class officially kicked off.


    The first fight was Tang Yan vs Estchenko. He went from being the finale last time to being the first fight.


    Even though he was the first fight, he still received attention afterall a boxer who could TKO Luke Jackson in the second round could theoretically be able to compete for gold.


    Of course, such a theory wasn''t concrete but it was enough to attract attention.


    Not to mention that his opponent was Estchenko, who had defeated his opponent in the first round.


    The host''s introduction immediately ignited the venue before the fight.


    When the two boxers appeared under their flags, the cheers on the scene reached a peak.


    Tang Yan and Estchenko put on their gear and boarded the ring at about the same time.


    Having gone through a brawl and had dinner together, compared with other opponents, the two had a closer relationship.


    But as professional athletes, they had to clear their minds. Before the fight, the two nodded to each other.


    After the two touched gloves, both of them jumped back to their corners and put all other factors aside, their goals were the same. To win this fight.


    Ding! Ding!


    With the ringing of the bell on the sideline, the fight officially kicked off.


    The moment the bell rang, Tang Yan took the initiative in attacking, while Estchenko defended.


    \"KO! KO!\"


    Tang Yan''s oppressive play soon drew excitement from the audience.


    However, the difference between Luke Jackson and Estchenko was that Estchenko''s defense wasn''t as passive. When Tang Yan was attacking and gaining momentum, he would seize the opportunity to throw a quick punch back, disrupting his flow.


    Tang Yan threw out two right jabs, Estchenko raised his left arm and deflected the jabs, Tang Yan instantly followed up and threw a firm left hook, Estchenko dropped his right arm to guard his stomach, blocking the blow.


    Right hook, Estchenko blocked, right jab, Estchenko side stepped, right jab, Estchenko blocked, dummy left jab followed with a sharp right hook, Estchenko parried the swinging right and stabbed a light left towards Tang Yan''s earnest face.


    Tang Yan ducked under it and backed off. He avoided Estchenko''s punch, but there was a fierce pain in the tip of his nose where he was grazed.


    After Estchenko forced Tang Yan to retreat, he did not expand on the results, but just spread his arms and stared at Tang Yan with all his attention.


    Seeing this scene, Qin Hailong, who was watching the battle on the sidelines, felt cold for a moment.


    This Estchenko had obviously done targeted research on Tang Yan, knowing that Tang Yan was good at intercepting and counterpunching, he didn''t take the initiative to attack, instead relying on sudden defensive counterattacks.


    Tang Yan''s boxing style needed continuity. This kind of abrupt defensive counter-attack punch, made it difficult for him to effectively dig in.


    Sure enough, during Tang Yan''s second offense, Estchenko used the same defensive tactic, the difference was that this time he used a left hook that darted towards Tang Yan for a body shot.


    Tang Yan arched his body and shifted back anxiously as he dodged.


    Even as Tang Yan opened the distance between them, Estchenko still didn''t attack.


    It seemed that Qin Hailong''s judgment was correct.


    Tang Yan also paid attention to this. He suffered two counterattacks in succession plus he wasn''t causing substantial damage, he couldn''t afford to attack like this forever.


    He had to switch up his strategy.


    His brain turned, and he soon had an idea in his head.


    He rushed to close the distance with Estchenko, and threw another set of punches.


    The only difference from the previous combo of punches was that this time he was rushing punches with great strength and obvious directionality.


    His offensive focus was all on his right hand. He threw out right hooks and jabs only throwing out left swings to prevent Estchenko stepping around him.


    Estchenko, continuously pressured, had to retreat and block, but was slowly backed into the left corner of the boxing ring.


    After this set of punches finished, Estchenko threw another counter-attack swing, but Tang Yan, who adapted to this raid tactic, flashed back to escape this before following up with another set of punches.


    The situation in the ring turned in Tang Yan''s favour once again, and he increased the pressure to the max. Estchenko counterattacked but it was more like a powerless struggle.


    \"Tang Yan has forced Estchenko into the corner, Estchenko''s completely lost room to counterattack.\" The on-site commentator shouted excitedly.


    \"Estchenko''s really pressed in that corner, Tang Yan''s not giving him the chance to break out. What sharp thinking to overturn the stalemate! This is the makings of a top boxer!\" The guest commentator immediately echoed.


    \"KO! KO!\"


    The audience rang out, excitedly cheering again.


    This situation continued until the end of the first round. Estchenko simply carried Tang Yan''s stormy offense with his strong defensive ability but stuck in the corner he was forced into passivity. He knew he would definitely be trailing on points coming out this round.


    \"Wake up! Wake up! This is the round of 16! You''ll have to go home if you lose!\" During the break, Estchenko''s coach shouted loudly to remind him.


    When the bell for the second round sounded, Estchenko slapped his chest and gave out a beast-like roar.


    When the referee signaled to start, Tang Yan launched an attack. He knew that Estchenko wasn''t Luke Jackson and wouldn''t so easily take the initiative to attack.


    And he was proved correct, as Estchenko still adopted a defensive posture at the beginning.


    However, when he was about to push Estchenko to the corner again, the latter slammed out two left jabs followed by a right hook.


    The counterattack finally started!


    Tang Yan reached out and blocked, but he had to say that Estchenko''s punching power was strong. Taking his punches to the arm left them feeling a little numb and he had to shift backwards into defense.


    It was this change that allowed Estchenko to take the initiative. His continuous combo of punches, punch after punch drove Tang Yan back another few steps.


    He followed Tang Yan, found him with lefts and rocked him backward with long rights. He stalked him constantly. As the round wore away, a growing exhilaration filled his throat.


    He threw a vicious testing jab towards Tang Yan''s head but Tang Yan seeing a chance, stepped in.


    He stung Estchenko with a left, crossed with a right, moved off and threw another left.


    Estchenko drew a deep breath. The physical contact was strangely reassuring. He went in, his shoulders bent, his head tucked in.


    Tang Yan fed a left and Estchenko took it, trading blows, he clipped Tang Yan''s face with a looping right.


    Tang Yan backed away.


    Estchenko breathed hungrily. His muscles seemed to sing.


    \"Get him! Take him down!\"


    Estchenko jabbed with a snaky left but Tang Yan sidestepped it, so Estchenko followed up with a right hook feint and tried for the midsection but Tang Yan countered with a right to his jaw and circled.


    Then he suddenly bobbed and weaved coming in hard, hooking like a wounded bull. He caught Estchenko off guard and got him in the midsection with a right hook and a left hook.


    But then Estchenko stepped back and nailed him with a driving left to the cheek.


    Tang Yan retreated back and raised his guard but Estchenko instantly closed the gap and rocked him with a left, right.


    Punching through his guard.


    As the situation in the ring changed, the audience gave a burst of cheers again, but this time, the object of their cheers was Estchenko.


    \"The intensity of this fight is really beyond imagination. The offense and defense between the two boxers is quite impressive and Estchenko is finally no longer being passively forced back!\" The on-site commentator exclaimed, excitedly.


    \"Both sides have the strength to take the other down. At this rate, the fight between the two sides will be for who can stick around to the next round. Victory or defeat could suddenly appear at any point!\" The commentator shouted.


    And just as his voice fell.


    Estchenko launched into another combo, he swung a right towards Tang Yan''s jaw, then a left towards his mouth, a right to the side of his head and threw in three lightning left jabs.


    But Tang Yan danced around the ends of Estchenko''s gloves and hooked two hard rights to his ear.


    \"Bam! Bam!\"


    There were two muffled noises, and the situation in the ring changed abruptly. Estchenko, caught by the punches, retreated several steps before staggering into a knee.


    The audience was in an uproar.


    It happened so quickly that many didn''t even see the situation play out but Estchenko had faltered to his knee!

 202 Tang Yan vs Estchenko 2

    As Estchenko slipped to one knee. The referee waved Tang Yan away and the gymnasium was filled with chanting.


    But as Tang Yan stepped back, panting and eager, Estchenko was actually up swiftly and in coming.


    Estchenko''s counterattack was prudent. His swings were quick, and the angles tricky. He left almost no chance for Tang Yan.


    Even with 60% of Bruce Lee''s abilities unlocked, it took him a lot of time to find opportunities.


    However, Tang Yan''s training wasn''t for nothing. He rose his arm to resist the continuous swings of Estchenko, and then used his excellent control and rapid speed to counterattack.


    He bobbed under Estchenko''s reaching jab and lanced in with a straight left that took Estchenko high on the forehead, snapping his head back.


    Then he drove in a right to Estchenko''s body, but in return he got caught with a slashing left, right that rocked him slightly.


    Estchenko''s strength was his heavy swings, which made his opponents have to switch from attack to defense, but at the same time this made him more vulnerable to exposing himself, after all, as long as his opponent was close enough to him and able to dodge they could retaliate with significant blows.


    And Tang Yan did just that.


    Estchenko closed in again with a great deal of flourish and lashed out with a long left but Tang Yan picked it off easily, then stepped in close to draw a punch, to which Estchenko swung a savage right-hand haymaker.


    Tang Yan rolled and leaned back. The right flashed past in front of his nose and Estchenko alert instantly followed up with a left-hand jab to force Tang Yan back. But Tang Yan blocked the left and drove his own right hard to the pit of Estchenko''s stomach. Then he crossed his left expertly to Estchenko''s jaw and he wound up a punch as he shot a mighty right hook to the other side of Estchenko''s jaw.


    Bam!


    Estchenko suffered the heavy blow and went down, slightly sprawled across the canvas.


    Seeing him laid out, the referee went up and started the countdown.


    Estchenko shook his head vigorously, but Tang Yan''s left right combo wasn''t easy to shake off.


    He struggled but eventually failed to get up.


    KO!


    This knockout meant that Tang Yan had defeated his opponent, broke into the quarterfinals of the World Championships and received a ticket for the Olympics!


    Qin Hailong was ecstatic, Tang Yan''s sudden eruption was unexpected, but winning was the best result!


    In the morning, Zou Shiming had already received a 49kg Olympic ticket, so Tang Yan was their second ticket!


    Tang Yan walked over and helped pull up Estchenko. Now that the match was over, they changed from opponents to friends again.


    Estchenko slowly got up, breathing carefully to steady himself, as for the end of the fight, he accepted it calmly and said: \"Well done you deserve the Olympic ticket.\"


    Tang Yan smiled and patted his shoulder and said: \"You fought well, don''t be discouraged, you still have hope of going to London 2012 as long as I win gold.\"


    Estchenko nodded with a smile, he had lost, but if Tang Yan won the championship or got runners-up, he would still have hope of appearing on stage at the London Olympics. As Tang Yan would then qualify as the champion or challenger so his ticket would be passed to him.


    At this time, the referee came over and grabbed the hands of the two, raising Tang Yan''s right hand high at the host''s announcement.


    \"And the winner is, Tang Yan!\"


    The audience became energized as they clapped and chanted.


    Tang Yan was also ecstatic. After waving his right hand twice, he took a long breath.


    Estchenko''s strength was stronger than Luke Jackson''s but this was only the round of 16, he was excited as he thought of the strong opponents he would encounter in the next match.


    ....


    Whilst the World Boxing Championships didn''t receive the same level of coverage as the swimming World Championships which were held in Shanghai, because of Tang Yan''s presence its influence in China wasn''t too low.


    And after Tang Yan advanced to the quarter-finals and got an Olympic ticket, discussion about Tang Yan on Weibo and in the media skyrocketed to a crazy state.


    Winning an Olympic boxing ticket wasn''t what garnered him such attention, afterall that in itself wasn''t too major especially since Zou Shiming had already won one earlier that day but what was major was that after receiving this Olympic ticket, Tang Yan had joined the history books, not just in China but everywhere.


    He became the 2nd ever athlete to qualify for three separate Olympic events.


    He had automatically gained an archery ticket after winning gold at the Asian Games and his swimming performance at the World Aquatic Championships had already qualified him for the Olympics.


    Participation in two events could be traced back to the first few Olympics when there were less sound rules and lower qualifying standards but as of recent only 7 or so athletes since 2000 had managed to pull off the feat, with most choosing linked events such as swimming and water polo, bobsledding and luge.


    But only one had qualified for three events and that was America''s Frank Kugler, who had competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics for wrestling, weightlifting and the tug of war. He even went on to win medals in all three events, silver in wrestling and bronze in the other two. A feat so far that no one had ever matched, although in fairness Kugler had the advantage of only having two other competitors for weightlifting.


    But despite having achieved something most couldn''t dare dream of, it raised a few issues which became the main focus of netizens.


    For example how could he even actually participate in competing for three events.


    Although events were staggered and interspersed, for example in swimming where races didn''t overlap, by participating in multiple events there were bound to be conflicts between that and his other two projects.


    In addition, how would he have the energy to participate in so many high-intensity events back to back became another topic point for netizens.


    Whilst netizens were talking fiercely, Tang Yan, who was far away in Baku, Azerbaijan, didn''t pay much attention to it.


    After finishing the match with Estchenko, Tang Yan realized something, it was about time he upgraded Bruce Li''s character. With the boxers he was facing becoming increasingly powerful, he also needed to move a step up but he soon ran into an issue.


    He was short 2 honor points.


    During the World Aquatic Championships, he had upgraded Zhang Shun''s abilities to 80% using up all his honor points leaving him with nothing but then he won gold twice consecutively in the 50m and the 1500m, increasing his number of honor points to 4 points.


    Unlocking Bruce Li''s abilities to 60% had cost 3 honor points but to upgrade to 70% would cost 6 honor points.


    He ran through the maths in his head and checked, before giving out a sigh in realisation. Dammit he had miscalculated he was truly short on points.


    He kept sighing in resignation as he paced up and down. His mind was full of racing thoughts as he tried to process his options, he began to question using all his honor points on swimming as slight regret filled him but then he snapped to focus:


    If he didn''t invest into upgrading Zhang Shun''s abilities to 80% then whilst he would have had enough honor points now, he would have potentially sacrificed 4 honor points and the chance to progress.


    He couldn''t allow short term benefits to cloud long term plans, upgrading Zhang Shun meant his swimming improved and he could participate in more swimming disciplines and events, increasing his opportunities to win medals and honor points.


    Plus so what, if he couldn''t upgrade, dammit he would make do and adapt, this was what he had been training for anyways, to reduce his dependence on the system.


    Feeling slightly better, Tang Yan took a cold shower to clear his mind.


    He came out and got dressed, feeling refreshed as he flicked on the TV, trying to find something interesting to watch and distract himself.


    He flicked through constantly changing channels.


    The hotel provided channels from various countries around the world. He clicked through a few local ones then unconsciously jumped abroad.


    When he landed on BBC, he stopped unconsciously.


    They were actually broadcasting a documentary about boxing.

 203 Scouting Out The Competition

    Boxing originated from the United Kingdom and became an Olympic event under the impetus of the British. And even to this day the United Kingdom was still a boxing powerhouse.


    The show ran through the history of British boxing, how it was customary for members of aristocracy and nobility to give patronages to specific fighters, financing their training and placing large bets when they fought. Explaining why boxers were given the alias of ''Royal Boxer'' when they gained noble patrons back in the 19th century.


    They discussed the establishment of the first boxing rules that still helped govern the sport now and various other historical accounts.


    At the end of the documentary, they also conducted some interviews with British boxers who were currently active in the scene. There were professional boxers as well as amateur boxers. Among them was the well-known young British boxer Ashley West of the 63kg class.


    "Royal boxer, what a cool title. Although it is still far from me, I will definitely reach such a level. I have planned a path for myself. I want to win the World Championships then the Olympics, then the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF titles. Unifying all the belts in my weight class. It''s a difficult plan, but I hope to realize it step by step.


    Tang Yan found himself being drawn in as he watched the show all the way to the end. On the one hand, it was because the BBC program itself was well done, and on the other hand, Ashley West was likely to be one of his opponents in the future.


    Tomorrow would be the fifth match day and the knockouts for the remaining boxers in the 63kg class would continue. Compared with today, the strength of the boxers tomorrow would be more striking. Including the likes of the 57kg gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko.


    Although he had to shift weight class to 60kg because of the removal of the 57kg class, from his previous performances it was clear his strength hadn''t decreased but increased, he was even in a position to enter the professional boxing world.


    Plus in addition to Lomachenko, Ashley West would be fighting tomorrow. So naturally Tang Yan couldn''t miss it. It was a great chance to scout out the competition.


    ...


    The number of spectators who were here today was about twice that of yesterday, with Vasyl Lomachenko, Misha Aloyan, L¨¢zaro ¨¢lvarez and other world-renowned boxers all fighting, the atmosphere today was naturally more tense.


    Because Zou Shiming''s fight was yesterday, the 49-kilogram match didn''t attract much attention, but with the 52-kilogram fight, Misha Aloyan''s debut soon ignited the venue.


    As a rare lightweight boxer from Russia, Aloyan''s boxing record in the past two years could be described as spectacular, winning the 52kg gold medal in the World Youth Boxing Championship and the European Boxing Championship in succession, he was among the favourites to win the 52kg  class.


    Aloyan faced a Filipino boxer and scored a crushing victory of 20 to 5 on points to easily advance to the next round.


    After Aloyan, the Cuban star L¨¢zaro ¨¢lvarez also easily defeated his opponent in the 56kg class.


    And with the 56kg fights over, the 63kg fights finally began.


    The opening match was Vasyl Lomachenko against Azerbaijan''s Aidar Akayev.


    One the favourite to win the championship, and the other a local boxer. The host didn''t even need to hype up the audience for the match between the two.


    Tang Yan also watched on, attentively from the stands.


    With the excited cheers of the audience, the match between the two sides officially started.


    Feeling at home, Akayev''s momentum was like a flood. Right from the beginning of the match, he launched a crazy attack on Lomachenko. His performance excited the audience.


    But within a few moments, Lomachenko showed the strength of a defending champion and began to take the fight back.


    During an offensive and defensive battle in the first half of the first round, Lomachenko drew sideways to avoid Akayev''s attack and followed with a cannonball-style hook, cleanly striking Akayev''s head.


    After the two separated, Akayev was out of it, laid out on the canvas.


    This violent reversal attracted an uproar from the audience.


    Lomachenko appeared calm and not showing much excitement, he waited for the referee to raise his hand and signal him as the winner.


    The cheers on the scene were very sporadic, perhaps because of the violent reversal from Lomachenko and seeing their local boxer being defeated in this way.


    Tang Yan narrowed his eyes. Lomachenko''s explosive power was slightly alarming. His slugger style would be difficult and dangerous to fight against.


    A defending champion of the Olympic Games was indeed stronger than anyone he had ever faced before.


    Lomachenko''s match was followed by a contest between two Asian boxers, North Korea''s Kim Jae-Rok vs India''s Dijan Galawa.


    Dijan Galawa won in the third round with a TKO.


    But it was the next fight that gained Tang Yan''s full attention again.


    Ashley West was up. His opponent was Kamfi Masimov from Kazakhstan, who was well-known for his quick movement and combo punches.


    At the beginning of the fight, Massimov took the lead in launching a tentative attack, using his excellent foot movement and solid boxing skills, he quickly gained the initiative in the ring.


    Forcing West to take up a defensive posture as he used his body to carry Masimov''s attack.


    The home audience gave out cheers for Masimov''s performance.


    But such cheers didn''t last long. After resisting Masimov''s offensive for more than half a minute, West started a counterattack. Compared with his defense, his attack was like a storm.


    Soon, Masimov was forced to the corner by his attacks despite his footwork, allowing West to seize the opportunity to attack and score several points.


    But in haste to get rid of his suppressed situation, Masimov tried to force West back by attacking, but this just gave him more opportunities and continuous punches snuck through gaps as West rattled Masimov with punches, before finally sending him stacking it down to the canvas.


    At the end of the referee''s countdown, Masimov was still struggling to get up from the canvas.


    Winning, West was ecstatic. Not only did he yell at the audience, but he directly stripped off his shirt and exposed the tattoos on his back.


    Tattooed was the British landmark, Big Ben, in addition, to a figure of him seemingly being knighted below it.

 202 Tang Yan vs Estchenko 1

    With this lesson in mind, in the subsequent 52kg and 56kg fights, the stronger boxers fought more cautiously. This performance greatly reduced the possibility of an upset.


    As the day progressed to the afternoon, the competition for the top 16 of the 63kg class officially kicked off.


    The first fight was Tang Yan vs Estchenko. He went from being the finale last time to being the first fight.


    Even though he was the first fight, he still received attention afterall a boxer who could TKO Luke Jackson in the second round could theoretically be able to compete for gold.


    Of course, such a theory wasn''t concrete but it was enough to attract attention.


    Not to mention that his opponent was Estchenko, who had defeated his opponent in the first round.


    The host''s introduction immediately ignited the venue before the fight.


    When the two boxers appeared under their flags, the cheers on the scene reached a peak.


    Tang Yan and Estchenko put on their gear and boarded the ring at about the same time.


    Having gone through a brawl and had dinner together, compared with other opponents, the two had a closer relationship.


    But as professional athletes, they had to clear their minds. Before the fight, the two nodded to each other.


    After the two touched gloves, both of them jumped back to their corners and put all other factors aside, their goals were the same. To win this fight.


    Ding! Ding!


    With the ringing of the bell on the sideline, the fight officially kicked off.


    The moment the bell rang, Tang Yan took the initiative in attacking, while Estchenko defended.


    "KO! KO!"


    Tang Yan''s oppressive play soon drew excitement from the audience.


    However, the difference between Luke Jackson and Estchenko was that Estchenko''s defense wasn''t as passive. When Tang Yan was attacking and gaining momentum, he would seize the opportunity to throw a quick punch back, disrupting his flow.


    Tang Yan threw out two right jabs, Estchenko raised his left arm and deflected the jabs, Tang Yan instantly followed up and threw a firm left hook, Estchenko dropped his right arm to guard his stomach, blocking the blow.


    Right hook, Estchenko blocked, right jab, Estchenko side stepped, right jab, Estchenko blocked, dummy left jab followed with a sharp right hook, Estchenko parried the swinging right and stabbed a light left towards Tang Yan''s earnest face.


    Tang Yan ducked under it and backed off. He avoided Estchenko''s punch, but there was a fierce pain in the tip of his nose where he was grazed.


    After Estchenko forced Tang Yan to retreat, he did not expand on the results, but just spread his arms and stared at Tang Yan with all his attention.


    Seeing this scene, Qin Hailong, who was watching the battle on the sidelines, felt cold for a moment.


    This Estchenko had obviously done targeted research on Tang Yan, knowing that Tang Yan was good at intercepting and counterpunching, he didn''t take the initiative to attack, instead relying on sudden defensive counterattacks.


    Tang Yan''s boxing style needed continuity. This kind of abrupt defensive counter-attack punch, made it difficult for him to effectively dig in.


    Sure enough, during Tang Yan''s second offense, Estchenko used the same defensive tactic, the difference was that this time he used a left hook that darted towards Tang Yan for a body shot.


    Tang Yan arched his body and shifted back anxiously as he dodged.


    Even as Tang Yan opened the distance between them, Estchenko still didn''t attack.


    It seemed that Qin Hailong''s judgment was correct.


    Tang Yan also paid attention to this. He suffered two counterattacks in succession plus he wasn''t causing substantial damage, he couldn''t afford to attack like this forever.


    He had to switch up his strategy.


    His brain turned, and he soon had an idea in his head.


    He rushed to close the distance with Estchenko, and threw another set of punches.


    The only difference from the previous combo of punches was that this time he was rushing punches with great strength and obvious directionality.


    His offensive focus was all on his right hand. He threw out right hooks and jabs only throwing out left swings to prevent Estchenko stepping around him.


    Estchenko, continuously pressured, had to retreat and block, but was slowly backed into the left corner of the boxing ring.


    After this set of punches finished, Estchenko threw another counter-attack swing, but Tang Yan, who had adapted to this raid tactic, flashed back to escape this before following up with another set of punches.


    The situation in the ring turned in Tang Yan''s favour once again, and he increased the pressure to the max. Estchenko counterattacked but it was more like a powerless struggle.


    "Tang Yan has forced Estchenko into the corner, Estchenko''s completely lost room to counterattack." The on-site commentator shouted excitedly.


    "Estchenko''s really pressed in that corner, Tang Yan''s not giving him the chance to break out. What sharp thinking to overturn the stalemate! This is the makings of a top boxer!" The guest commentator immediately echoed.


    "KO! KO!"


    The audience rang out, excitedly cheering again.


    This situation continued until the end of the first round. Estchenko simply carried Tang Yan''s stormy offense with his strong defensive ability but stuck in the corner he was forced into passivity. He knew he would definitely be trailing on points coming out this round.


    "Wake up! Wake up! This is the round of 16! You''ll have to go home if you lose!" During the break, Estchenko''s coach shouted loudly to remind him.


    When the bell for the second round sounded, Estchenko slapped his chest and gave out a beast-like roar.


    When the referee signaled to start, Tang Yan launched an attack. He knew that Estchenko wasn''t Luke Jackson and wouldn''t so easily take the initiative to attack.


    And he was proved correct, as Estchenko still adopted a defensive posture at the beginning.


    However, when he was about to push Estchenko to the corner again, the latter slammed out two left jabs followed by a right hook.


    The counterattack finally started!


    Tang Yan reached out and blocked, but he had to say that Estchenko''s punching power was strong. Taking his punches to the arm left them feeling a little numb and he had to shift backwards into defense.


    It was this change that allowed Estchenko to take the initiative. His continuous combo of punches, punch after punch drove Tang Yan back another few steps.


    He followed Tang Yan, found him with lefts and rocked him backward with long rights. He stalked him constantly. As the round wore away, a growing exhilaration filled his throat.


    He threw a vicious testing jab towards Tang Yan''s head but Tang Yan seeing a chance, stepped in.


    He stung Estchenko with a left, crossed with a right, moved off and threw another left.


    Estchenko drew a deep breath. The physical contact was strangely reassuring. He went in, his shoulders bent, his head tucked in.


    Tang Yan fed a left and Estchenko took it, trading blows, he clipped Tang Yan''s face with a looping right.


    Tang Yan backed away.


    Estchenko breathed hungrily. His muscles seemed to sing.


    "Get him! Take him down!"


    Estchenko jabbed with a snaky left but Tang Yan sidestepped it, so Estchenko followed up with a right hook feint and tried for the midsection but Tang Yan countered with a right to his jaw and circled.


    Then he suddenly bobbed and weaved coming in hard, hooking like a wounded bull. He caught Estchenko off guard and got him in the midsection with a right hook and a left hook.


    But then Estchenko stepped back and nailed him with a driving left to the cheek.


    Tang Yan retreated back and raised his guard but Estchenko instantly closed the gap and rocked him with a left, right.


    Punching through his guard.


    As the situation in the ring changed, the audience gave a burst of cheers again, but this time, the object of their cheers was Estchenko.


    "The intensity of this fight is really beyond imagination. The offense and defense between the two boxers is quite impressive and Estchenko is finally no longer being passively forced back!" The on-site commentator exclaimed, excitedly.


    "Both sides have the strength to take the other down. At this rate, the fight between the two sides will be for who can stick around to the next round. Victory or defeat could suddenly appear at any point!" The guest commentator shouted.


    And just as his voice fell.


    Estchenko launched into another combo, he swung a right towards Tang Yan''s jaw, then a left towards his mouth, a right to the side of his head and threw in three lightning left jabs.


    But Tang Yan danced around the ends of Estchenko''s gloves and hooked two hard rights to his ear.


    Bam! Bam!


    There were two muffled noises, and the situation in the ring changed abruptly. Estchenko, caught by the punches, retreated several steps before staggering into a knee.


    The audience was in an uproar.


    It happened so quickly that many didn''t even see the situation play out but Estchenko had faltered to his knee!

 203 Tang Yan vs Estchenko 2

    As Estchenko slipped to one knee. The referee waved Tang Yan away and the gymnasium was filled with chanting.


    But as Tang Yan stepped back, panting and eager, Estchenko was actually up swiftly and in coming.


    Estchenko''s counterattack was prudent. His swings were quick, and the angles tricky. He left almost no chance for Tang Yan.


    Even with 60% of Bruce Lee''s abilities unlocked, it took him a lot of time to find opportunities.


    However, Tang Yan''s training wasn''t for nothing. He raised his arm to resist the continuous swings of Estchenko, and then used his excellent control and rapid speed to counterattack.


    He bobbed under Estchenko''s reaching jab and lanced in with a straight left that took Estchenko high on the forehead, snapping his head back.


    Then he drove in a right to Estchenko''s body, but in return he got caught with a slashing left right that rocked him slightly.


    Estchenko''s strength was his heavy swings, which made his opponents have to switch from attack to defense, but at the same time this made him more vulnerable to exposing himself, after all, as long as his opponent was close enough to him and able to dodge they could retaliate with significant blows.


    And Tang Yan did just that.


    Estchenko closed in again with a great deal of flourish and lashed out with a long left but Tang Yan picked it off easily, then stepped in close to draw a punch, to which Estchenko swung a savage right-hand haymaker.


    Tang Yan rolled and leaned back. The right flashed past in front of his nose and Estchenko alert instantly followed up with a left-hand jab to force Tang Yan back. But Tang Yan blocked the left and drove his own right hard to the pit of Estchenko''s stomach. Then he crossed his left expertly to Estchenko''s jaw and he wound up a punch as he shot a mighty right hook to the other side of Estchenko''s jaw.


    Bam!


    Estchenko suffered the heavy blow and went down, slightly sprawled across the canvas.


    Seeing him laid out, the referee went up and started the countdown.


    Estchenko shook his head vigorously, but Tang Yan''s left right combo wasn''t easy to shake off.


    He struggled but eventually failed to get up.


    KO!


    This knockout meant that Tang Yan had defeated his opponent, broke into the quarterfinals of the World Championships and received a ticket for the Olympics!


    Qin Hailong was ecstatic, Tang Yan''s sudden eruption was unexpected, but winning was the best result!


    In the morning, Zou Shiming had already received a 49kg Olympic ticket, so Tang Yan was their second ticket!


    Tang Yan walked over and helped pull up Estchenko. Now that the match was over, they changed from opponents to friends again.


    Estchenko slowly got up, breathing carefully to steady himself, as for the end of the fight, he accepted it calmly and said: "Well done you deserve the Olympic ticket."


    Tang Yan smiled and patted his shoulder and said: "You fought well, don''t be discouraged, you still have hope of going to London 2012 as long as I win gold."


    Estchenko nodded with a smile, he had lost, but if Tang Yan won the championship or got runners-up, he would still have hope of appearing on stage at the London Olympics. As Tang Yan would then qualify as the champion or challenger so his ticket would be passed to him.


    At this time, the referee came over and grabbed the hands of the two, raising Tang Yan''s right hand high at the host''s announcement.


    "And the winner is, Tang Yan!"


    The audience became energized as they clapped and chanted.


    Tang Yan was also ecstatic. After waving his right hand twice, he took a long breath.


    Estchenko''s strength was stronger than Luke Jackson''s but this was only the round of 16, he was excited as he thought of the strong opponents he would encounter in the next match.


    ....


    Whilst the World Boxing Championships didn''t receive the same level of coverage as the swimming World Championships which were held in Shanghai, because of Tang Yan''s presence its influence in China wasn''t too low.


    And after Tang Yan advanced to the quarter-finals and got an Olympic ticket, discussion about Tang Yan on Weibo and in the media skyrocketed to a crazy state.


    Winning an Olympic boxing ticket wasn''t what garnered him such attention, afterall that in itself wasn''t too major especially since Zou Shiming had already won one earlier that day but what was major was that after receiving this Olympic ticket, Tang Yan had joined the history books, not just in China but everywhere.


    He became the 2nd ever athlete to qualify for three separate Olympic events.


    He had automatically gained an archery ticket after winning gold at the Asian Games and his swimming performance at the World Aquatic Championships had already qualified him for the Olympics.


    Participation in two events could be traced back to the first few Olympics when there were less sound rules and lower qualifying standards but as of recent only 7 or so athletes since 2000 had managed to pull off the feat, with most choosing linked events such as swimming and water polo, bobsledding and luge.


    But only one had qualified for three events and that was America''s Frank Kugler, who had competed in the 1904 Summer Olympics for wrestling, weightlifting and the tug of war. He even went on to win medals in all three events, silver in wrestling and bronze in the other two. A feat so far that no one had ever matched, although in fairness Kugler had the advantage of only having two other competitors for weightlifting.


    But despite having achieved something most couldn''t dare dream of, it raised a few issues which became the main focus of netizens.


    For example how could he even actually participate in competing for three events.


    Although events were staggered and interspersed, for example in swimming where races didn''t overlap, by participating in multiple events there were bound to be conflicts between that and his other two projects.


    In addition, how would he have the energy to participate in so many high-intensity events back to back became another topic point for netizens.


    Whilst netizens were talking fiercely, Tang Yan, who was far away in Baku, Azerbaijan, didn''t pay much attention to it.


    After finishing the match with Estchenko, Tang Yan realized something, it was about time he upgraded Bruce Li''s character. With the boxers he was facing becoming increasingly powerful, he also needed to move a step up but he soon ran into an issue.


    He was short 2 honor points.


    During the World Aquatic Championships, he had upgraded Zhang Shun''s abilities to 80% using up all his honor points leaving him with nothing but then he won gold twice consecutively in the 50m and the 1500m, increasing his number of honor points to 4 points.


    Unlocking Bruce Li''s abilities to 60% had cost 3 honor points but to upgrade to 70% would cost 6 honor points.


    He ran through the maths in his head and checked, before giving out a sigh in realisation. Dammit he had miscalculated he was truly short on points.


    He kept sighing in resignation as he paced up and down. His mind was full of racing thoughts as he tried to process his options, he began to question using all his honor points on swimming as slight regret filled him but then he snapped to focus:


    If he didn''t invest into upgrading Zhang Shun''s abilities to 80% then whilst he would have had enough honor points now, he would have potentially sacrificed 4 honor points and the chance to progress.


    He couldn''t allow short term benefits to cloud long term plans, upgrading Zhang Shun meant his swimming improved and he could participate in more swimming disciplines and events, increasing his opportunities to win medals and honor points.


    Plus so what, if he couldn''t upgrade, dammit he would make do and adapt, this was what he had been training for anyways, to reduce his dependence on the system.


    Feeling slightly better, Tang Yan took a cold shower to clear his mind.


    He came out and got dressed, feeling refreshed as he flicked on the TV, trying to find something interesting to watch to distract himself.


    He flicked through constantly changing channels.


    The hotel provided channels from various countries around the world. He clicked through a few local ones then unconsciously jumped abroad.


    When he landed on BBC, he stopped unconsciously.


    They were actually broadcasting a documentary about boxing.

 204 Scouting Out The Competition

    Boxing originated from the United Kingdom and became an Olympic event under the impetus of the British. And even to this day the United Kingdom was still a boxing powerhouse.


    The show ran through the history of British boxing, how it was customary for members of aristocracy and nobility to give patronages to specific fighters, financing their training and placing large bets when they fought. Explaining why boxers were given the alias of ''Royal Boxer'' when they gained noble patrons back in the 19th century.


    They discussed the establishment of the first boxing rules that still helped govern the sport now and various other historical accounts.


    At the end of the documentary, they also conducted some interviews with British boxers who were currently active in the scene. There were professional boxers as well as amateur boxers. Among them was the well-known young British boxer Ashley West of the 63kg class.


    "Royal boxer, what a cool title. Although it is still far from me, I will definitely reach such a level. I have planned a path for myself. I want to win the World Championships then the Olympics, then the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF titles. Unifying all the belts in my weight class. It''s a difficult plan, but I hope to realize it step by step.


    Tang Yan found himself being drawn in as he watched the show all the way to the end. On the one hand, it was because the BBC program itself was well done, and on the other hand, Ashley West was likely to be one of his opponents in the future.


    Tomorrow would be the fifth match day and the knockouts for the remaining boxers in the 63kg class would continue. Compared with today, the strength of the boxers tomorrow would be more striking. Including the likes of the 57kg gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko.


    Although he had to shift weight class to 60kg because of the removal of the 57kg class, from his previous performances it was clear his strength hadn''t decreased but increased, he was even in a position to enter the professional boxing world.


    Plus in addition to Lomachenko, Ashley West would be fighting tomorrow. So naturally Tang Yan couldn''t miss it. It was a great chance to scout out the competition.


    ...


    The number of spectators who were here today was about twice that of yesterday, with Vasyl Lomachenko, Misha Aloyan, L¨¢zaro ¨¢lvarez and other world-renowned boxers all fighting, the atmosphere today was naturally more tense.


    Because Zou Shiming''s fight was yesterday, the 49-kilogram match didn''t attract much attention, but with the 52-kilogram fight, Misha Aloyan''s debut soon ignited the venue.


    As a rare lightweight boxer from Russia, Aloyan''s boxing record in the past two years could be described as spectacular, winning the 52kg gold medal in the World Youth Boxing Championship and the European Boxing Championship in succession, he was among the favourites to win the 52kg  class.


    Aloyan faced a Filipino boxer and scored a crushing victory of 20 to 5 on points to easily advance to the next round.


    After Aloyan, the Cuban star L¨¢zaro ¨¢lvarez also easily defeated his opponent in the 56kg class.


    And with the 56kg fights over, the 63kg fights finally began.


    The opening match was Vasyl Lomachenko against Azerbaijan''s Aidar Akayev.


    One the favourite to win the championship, and the other a local boxer. The host didn''t even need to hype up the audience for the match between the two.


    Tang Yan also watched on, attentively from the stands.


    With the excited cheers of the audience, the match between the two sides officially started.


    Feeling at home, Akayev''s momentum was like a flood. Right from the beginning of the match, he launched a crazy attack on Lomachenko. His performance excited the audience.


    But within a few moments, Lomachenko showed the strength of a defending champion and began to take the fight back.


    During an offensive and defensive battle in the first half of the first round, Lomachenko drew sideways to avoid Akayev''s attack and followed with a cannonball-style hook, cleanly striking Akayev''s head.


    After the two separated, Akayev was out of it, laid out on the canvas.


    This violent reversal attracted an uproar from the audience.


    Lomachenko appeared calm and not showing much excitement, he waited for the referee to raise his hand and signal him as the winner.


    The cheers on the scene were very sporadic, perhaps because of the violent reversal from Lomachenko and seeing their local boxer being defeated in this way.


    Tang Yan narrowed his eyes. Lomachenko''s explosive power was slightly alarming. His slugger style would be difficult and dangerous to fight against.


    A defending champion of the Olympic Games was indeed stronger than anyone he had ever faced before.


    Lomachenko''s match was followed by a contest between two Asian boxers, North Korea''s Kim Jae-Rok vs India''s Dijan Galawa.


    Dijan Galawa won in the third round with a TKO.


    But it was the next fight that gained Tang Yan''s full attention again.


    Ashley West was up. His opponent was Kamfi Masimov from Kazakhstan, who was well-known for his quick movement and combo punches.


    At the beginning of the fight, Masimov took the lead in launching a tentative attack, using his excellent foot movement and solid boxing skills, he quickly gained the initiative in the ring.


    Forcing West to take up a defensive posture as he used his body to carry Masimov''s attack.


    The home audience gave out cheers for Masimov''s performance.


    But such cheers didn''t last long. After resisting Masimov''s offensive for more than half a minute, West started a counterattack. Compared with his defense, his attack was like a storm.


    Soon, Masimov was forced to the corner by his attacks despite his footwork, allowing West to seize the opportunity to attack and score several points.


    But in haste to get rid of his suppressed situation, Masimov tried to force West back by attacking, but this just gave him more opportunities and continuous punches snuck through gaps as West rattled Masimov with punches, before finally sending him stacking it down to the canvas.


    At the end of the referee''s countdown, Masimov was still struggling to get up from the canvas.


    Winning, West was ecstatic. Not only did he yell at the audience, but he directly stripped off his shirt and exposed the tattoos on his back.


    Tattooed was the British landmark, Big Ben, in addition, to a figure of him seemingly being knighted below it.

 204 Tang Yan vs Ashley West 1

    Displaying such tattoos in public, revealed West''s determination and goals. Which won the cheers of the audience.


    Tang Yan turned around and left the boxing gym.


    West was very clever. When facing an opponent who was good at combo punches and swarming as well, he used defense to avoid the opponent''s sharp edge and then riding his opponent''s exhaustion, he overturned the situation and reversed it placing him under pressure, forcing mistakes.


    ...


    After two days of rest and training, the World Championships entered the sixth match day, which was also the quarter-finals stage of each weight class.


    As the fights entered the quarter-finals, the number of spectators skyrocketed. Basically, the entire boxing gym was filled. The scale of nearly 4,000 people made the atmosphere on site boisterous.


    After the boxers completed their pre-match warmups, the quarter-finals began.


    The intensity of the fights fell slightly as entering the quarterfinals, the strength of the boxers were more closely matched.


    In the first 49-kilogram match, even as defending Olympic champion, Zou Shiming ran into a tough fight against Cuba''s Juan Medina. But eventually grinding it out he beat his opponent 16 to 11 successfully reaching the semifinals.


    In the 56-kilogram match, L¨¢zaro ¨¢lvarez won against the World Championship defending champion Gavin Frankie, the two men fought all the way until the middle of the fourth round.


    Their scores were equal, attracting cheers from time to time, when in a flash ¨¢lvarez sidestepped a punch and threw a beautiful right to the head of Gavin Frankie, sending down his opponent.


    ¨¢lvarez knelt down in the ring after hearing the bell. Obviously, no matter who lost or won this fight, it was a fatal blow to the other side.


    With the end of that fight, the quarterfinals of the 56kg class were all over and were to be followed by the quarterfinals of the 63kg class.


    The first fight was Lomachenko, the Ukrainian still showed a strong performance. Facing the German boxer Eugen Burhard, he only took two rounds to TKO his opponent and easily broke into the semifinals.


    After Lomachenko''s match, Tang Yan vs Ashley West followed.


    Lomachenko didn''t stay at the scene after his fight, he left the boxing hall directly, perhaps it was because Tang Yan and Ashley West wouldn''t be his opponent in the next round.


    After Lomachenko left, some of the audience followed the same way, but most of them stayed.


    Although he wasn''t an enormous hit, Tang Yan was eye-catching in the preliminaries and that in addition with Ashley West''s record attracted attention.


    The fighters on both sides were preparing their protective gear, as the commentators excitedly discussing Lomachenko''s performance, slowly began to shift focus to their fight.


    "One is a newcomer from China, who''s being called ''The Boxing Killer'' by his fans. He''s pulled off a spectacular row of victories so far as well, even taking out one of the main contenders, Luke Jackson right off the bat.


    The other is Ashley West also known as ''The Jackal'' his record so far I''m sure we don''t have to cover again. He''s a tremendous up and coming talent hoping to help establish the renaissance of British boxing, a top level swarmer and he just defeated our local boy Kamfi Masimov in the previous round. The encounter between these two is destined to be a Mars-to-Earth showdown" The main commentator said with great admiration.


    "Tang Yan''s showed a lot of different styles but he seems to favour counterpunching though he''s able and willing to rain down combos if given the opportunity.


    Whereas West seems to be a swarmer through and through, though he can adjust to defensive counter attacking where need be. A shield vs spear duel, fire and ice, such a fight is indeed worth looking forward to." The guest commentator agreed.


    The commentator''s words had a good effect, the fight hadn''t started, but the atmosphere was beginning to heat up.


    When the boxers from both sides were introduced to the crowd, there were cheers from the audience.


    After Tang Yan and Ashley West finished putting on their protective gear, they jumped into the boxing ring one after another.


    West walked around the boxing ring after he took the stage, waving his hand while walking.


    He was clearly a passionate boxer.


    A boxer with ideals and passion, he was destined to be loved by the audience.


    And sure enough, the atmosphere at the scene was driven up by him.


    Tang Yan didn''t respond much to West''s performance but he couldn''t help but smile at his flamboyancy.


    Seeing the audience liven up, West walked to the center of the ring and smiling at Tang Yan, he said:


    "Tang Yan right, I know you''re a good boxer. But to fulfill my dreams, your run must come to an end here!"


    Hearing West''s words, Tang Yan couldn''t hold back and muffled out a laugh.


    He sounded like the main villain of an anime.


    Seeing West frown, he said apologetically, "Sorry."


    Then said seriously: "I admire your dreams, but I think there might be some twists and turns in your path."


    "Hahaha, come on then! Let''s go!" - West replied with a smirk.


    The referee ran through the opening sequence and West reached forward. In turn Tang Yan reached out and touched gloves with him, then retreated away.


    West stepped back slightly, but then launched an offensive, seeing Tang Yan draw back so much.


    Left jab, right jab, left jab.


    After a set of tentative jabs at Tang Yan, he took two steps forward before feigning leftwards and throwing a right hook followed by a left to Tang Yan''s midriff.


    "Clean connection, a perfect left right cross by Ashley West!" The on-site commentator said narrating West''s move.


    However, the commentator''s voice hadn''t fallen when West, trying to shrink into defense, couldn''t get his arms back in place as Tang Yan launched a sharp uppercut that directly broke through his defense and caught him cleanly under the chin.


    It was too sudden, and there was an uproar.


    West, the up and coming newcomer and one of the pre-tournament favourites was rocked onto the canvas.

 205 Tang Yan vs Ashley West 2

    Knocked down to the canvas, West faced the countdown but shaking his head hard twice, when the referee reached 3, he stood from the canvas.


    The audience cheered.


    Seeing West stood again, Tang Yan was slightly surprised.


    He had used his unloading technique and Tai Chi to carry off West''s offense, followed by the successive use of Jeet Kune to strike through West''s arms.


    West sure had resilience.


    After West was knocked down by Tang Yan, he didn''t attack again, but immediately took a defensive posture. It could be seen that after eating a loss, he learned to be good.


    Tang Yan wasn''t polite, seeing West take a defensive posture, he directly chose an offensive attack.


    Left jab, right hook, left jab, right hook.


    Tang Yan continuously fired five or six pendulum punches in one breath, all hitting West''s arm.


    Tang Yan feinted with his body to draw a lead, but West merely circled, standing straight-up, watchful, his hands bobbing a little, but poised and close, offering no gap for an attack.


    Tang Yan prowled around his wary opponent, feinting with both hands now. But West''s eyes were on Tang Yan''s feet. He pivoted slowly, refusing to be drawn into a lead.


    West straightened suddenly and threw a long straight left. Tang Yan''s right spat out, beating the punch, and drew a trickle of red from West''s nose.


    West bobbed, shot another left, crouched and pointed with a right that purposely missed, offering his body up for a left. But Tang Yan wasn''t drawn in, he would have left himself open for an easy uppercut if he went for it.


    West scowled. He had to force this fight or lose on points, but Tang Yan wouldn''t be drawn.


    He circled lithely, watching for that opening, the opening that would send his opponent to the canvas. Tang Yan could hit. That he knew. His first knockdown bore witness to the fact. He didn''t want another.


    Tang Yan also circled tigerishly, waiting, watching.


    The crowd was growing impatient. And, as far as that goes, so was West. Usually, by this time, he had the fight in his pocket. This wasn''t running on schedule.


    Tang Yan suddenly then threw a cracking left, but West slipped beneath it and drove him against the ropes with a relentless attack.


    The referee parted the fighters as Tang Yan clinched and held on.


    West circled, then fell back as the bell sounded.


    ....


    Ding! Ding! - Round 2


    The bell rang and they were back out. They sparred for a moment and then West moved quickly, stabbing with a left. Tang Yan rolled away and circled. West followed and Tang Yan edged back towards a corner, letting West trap him. West stepped in, expecting Tang Yan to slip away, but Tang Yan set himself and threw a straight overhand left to the bridge of West''s nose.


    West blocked and Tang Yan followed in with a right-hook to the pit of his stomach before he could recover. He heard the Brit grunt as the air was forcefully knocked out of him.


    He tied West up before he could retaliate and slipped out of the corner after the clinch. West took in a deep breath and adjusted following after Tang Yan, his eyes narrow.


    Tang Yan shook his shoulders to loosen the tension. He waited for West''s attack.


    It came with lightning swiftness. West suddenly stepped forward, cocking his left before suddenly shifting his feet quickly and slamming a hard right at Tang Yan''s head.


    That maneuver had worked many times for West, but Tang Yan had seen it and studied it, watching West''s previous fights and he was inside the right just as quickly as West had moved. He went inside and blasted a savage left hook to West''s face and sank a right into West''s stomach again sending him to the canvas.


    The referee rushed in ripping Tang Yan back from continuing his attack, as he checked West whilst beginning the count.


    "1...2....3...4...."


    A warm feeling spread through Tang Yan when he heard the air whoosh out of West. He had found a weak spot. West wasn''t in perfect condition. He was soft around the midsection.


    "5....6...7"


    The referee had only reached seven when West lurched back up. He hunched over a little, protecting his stomach, as he bound towards Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan stopped and met West head on in the center of the ring. They traded hard lefts and rights, Tang Yan took a left right to the head but as West forgot to protect his abdomen. He drove home a right hook like a pile driver stopping West mid-stride. Tang Yan saw his face go white and drove in, smashing, blasting and belting the Brit back across the ring as the bell sounded for the end of round two.


    But Ashley West was a crowd favourite and ''One To Watch'' for a reason and whatever his faults he intended to go down fighting. He knew that Tang Yan had found a weak spot but he also knew he had to score a knockout in the next round or two before Tang Yan could continue to smash in his mid-section.


    .....


    Ding! Ding! - Round 3


    West rushed across the ring to unleash his years of boxing experience and skill upon Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan blocked the opening blows of the rush and tried to tie West up. But West was ring-wise and kept a hand free, slamming home three damaging blows to Tang Yan''s face before he could get inside his shoulder.


    They broke apart and Tang Yan found West right on top of him, catching him in a corner, rocking him with hard blows to the head that sent the stars flashing. Tang Yan got his chin down and blasted back, hitting and slugging as he tried to batter his way out of the corner.


    But West nailed him against the ropes and rocked him again.


    Tang Yan clinched and realized shakily that he had taken a misstep and counted his chickens a little too early. The referee broke them apart but West was soon back at it again, throwing ringcraft aside as he just matched raw muscle and hitting power against whatever Tang Yan could muster.


    Tang Yan knew he had to fight back but he couldn''t set up and drive home the blow to the midsection he wanted and knew would stop West.


    They stood toe-to-toe while the frenzied crowd had their blood lust stirred, imagining themselves in the ring with the fighters, giving and taking blows.


    Tang Yan felt his strength ebbing slightly, so he suddenly gave ground, drawing West with him.


    West seeing this thought he was hurt and charged, but Tang Yan set himself up and met the charge with a straight left. West had his right cocked as he got inside the left, but Tang Yan beat him to the punch, smashing a right hand into West''s middle. He felt the Brit give and drew it back, before blasting it home again. He managed to connect for a third time as well before West tied him up, hanging on.


    West was hurt and covering as Tang Yan moved in warily. He exploded two left hands into West''s face, but the Brit refused to open up. Tang Yan drove him into a corner.


    Both fighters were breathing hard from their savage fight, but West was visibly hurt and the crowd was yelling for a knockout.


    Tang Yan was like a hunter who saw his prey falter, he rushed in for the kill, banging away with both hands, belting hooks to the head, blasting jabs to the face, before finally sending a crushing right to the helpless man''s midsection that doubled him up onto the canvas like a broken straw.


    At this, cheers resounded from the scene.


    West had taken another knockdown and even if he could have gotten up again before the count it didn''t matter, the referee seeing him take another beating and go down for the third time, called it.


    A technical knockout.


    Another TKO!


    After the referee''s call, Tang Yan reached out and helped West up.


    "Thank you, it seems that you were right." West said dejected.


    "You still have plenty of time till the London Olympics, your strength will improve." Tang Yan comforted him.


    This sentence seemed to have struck a nerve with West, as he nodded gritting his teeth.


    Tang Yan smiled and didn''t speak, and then walked to the referee.


    The referee raised Tang Yan''s hand high and announced that he was the winner of the fight.


    The audience cheered.


    At this time, the most excited was Qin Hailong, Tang Yan''s performance was spectacular, he saw a qualitative improvement every time he fought.


    He really began to suspect Tang Yan could win the 63kg event.


    After Tang Yan''s fight ended, news of his victory swept through the major sports outlets.


    Zhuang Jiajie also reposted the news that he broke into the semi-finals, attracting messages and reposts from Weibo fans. With his continuous competitive achievements, Tang Yan''s fame was constantly rising. At this time, his Weibo influence had even surpassed some actresses.


    After Tang Yan, there were two more 63kg fights. Which he stayed to watch.


    His opponent in the next round was the famous boxer Toledo Lopez from Cuba. A veteran boxer of more than ten years, an opponent with considerable strength and experience.


    ....


    After the quarterfinals, the World Championships also ushered in a day off.


    Tang Yan wanted to take the day to relax but Estchenko came over and pulled him along to a nearby bar.


    Boxers would be under medical examination before their fights. If their blood alcohol content exceeded the standard, they would be directly deprived of their competition qualifications but as long as the amount was controlled, there wouldn''t be any trouble.


    The bar was called ''The Challenger'' and was a well-known boxing bar in Baku, where you could drink on the sidelines whilst on a stage in the middle of the bar, semi-professional boxers fought.


    Tang Yan regretted it the instant he entered the bar. It was an absolute ruckus, with people milling about everywhere. Looking around the place, Tang Yan couldn''t help but feel out of place and wary but Estchenko waved off his worries and said that there was something he wanted to show him.


    After sitting at the bar, Estchenko ordered a Baltika Dark Lager, and then motioned to Tang Yan to look over to the boxing ring.


    Tang Yan looked over. There were two boxers inside seemingly preparing to fight. But what really caught his attention was that whilst both boxers had on proper boxing gloves, one of them wore strange headgear, the black headgear completely covered his head only showing the boxers eyes and nose.


    It didn''t look padded so this thing obviously wasn''t to protect the fighter, it looked more like it was to hide the identity of the fighter.


    Ding! Ding!


    The bell sounded from the sidelines and the fight began.


    Tang Yan also focused his attention on the ring. To be honest, this was the first time he had seen such a place.


    The boxers on both sides quickly launched a fierce attack.


    After watching for a while, Tang Yan frowned unconsciously.


    It wasn''t that the two fighters were weak but instead the opposite, the two boxers were very strong and from their movements, it was clear they were professionally trained.


    "No wonder, this place is so popular." Tang Yan watched for a while and couldn''t help but sigh with emotion.


    Estchenko suddenly smiled at this time, as he said: "He''s not a local boxer."


    "Not local? What do you mean?" Tang Yan looked at Estchenko in doubt.


    "Don''t you think the black-headed boxer looks familiar? Look at his fighting style." Estchenko said.


    Tang Yan turned his head to look at the boxing ring. At this time, the boxer wearing the black headgear had the upper hand, and was pummeling his opponent with continuous combos leaving him no chance to fight back.


    His performance attracted whistles and cheers from the audience on the sidelines.


    A section of the crowd even cheered and ran towards what looked like a betting booth.


    Tang Yan''s eyes lit up, followed by a burst of doubt, as he said in an uncertain tone: "Is that¡­..Toledo Lopez?"

 206 Tang Yan vs Lopez 1

    "How is this possible? And...." Tang Yan said, before suddenly pausing.


    He wanted to say that the World Championships was an international competition and participating boxers weren''t allowed to participate in other competitions but seeing Lopez fighting, that seemed a bit redundant.


    "Not everyone is as fortunate as you and me. I have been boxing longer than you, and I have seen more. I remember the last World Championships, there were two Russian boxers. They disappeared directly after their match. They participated in the competition only for an opportunity to go abroad, they didn''t want to return to their original country." Estchenko followed up.


    Tang Yan listened and nodded. He could easily accept these things.


    Everyone had their own circumstances.


    Some fought for the thrill, others for pride and fame.


    It seemed like Lopez did it for a livelihood.


    Everyone had their story.


    "Lopez is a regular visitor to this bar, he''s been fighting here every other night, probably earning a lot from this place, at least more than he gets from back home"


    "If you know about it, that means those in charge should know as well right? Why haven''t they intervened?" Tang Yan quizzed.


    "Why would they act and draw bad press onto the competition, as long as it''s done behind the scenes and doesn''t become public no one cares." Eschenko said with a smile.


    "Hmmm I understand...thank you and I appreciate that you''re trying to help but I don''t need to win in this way." Tang Yan said standing up.


    Estchenko knew that Lopez would be fighting here, and pulled him along. His purpose was obvious.


    "Hmmm fine, your choice but at least take a seat and have a drink. Gain some experience by watching Lopez''s fight, it''ll come in useful for tomorrow if you''re not gonna report him."


    A slight trace of disappointment flashed across Tang Yan''s face as he said:  "No thanks, I don''t need it."


    Although he knew Estchenko had some good will behind his actions, it was ultimately still him scheming mostly for his own self interest. He needed Tang Yan to defeat Lopez and reach the finals, so that he could gain an Olympic ticket.


    Because despite him having lost to Tang Yan, if Tang Yan won gold or came runners up he would automatically qualify for London 2012 and his ticket would be passed down to Estchenko.


    "Lopez is an excellent boxer." Estchenko said, still trying to persuade him.


    "And I''m not?" Tang Yan replied with a stern smile.


    Estchenko went to argue but seeing Tang Yan''s expression he didn''t force it. Then he said: "You know that''s not what I meant. You don''t have to watch if you don''t want to, we can just talk."


    "I don''t mind staying out and relaxing but I don''t want to stay in this bar. We have to switch!"


    Estchenko sighed as he got up from his stool and drained his drink. "Fine let''s go, we can find another bar"


    "Sure, but by the way I''m not drinking"


    .....


    The Boxing World Championships began it''s final two days.


    The semi-finals were today and would be followed by the finals the next day.


    The World Championships were second only to the Olympic Games in terms of influence in the sporting world. Winning a World Championship gold medal was something every athlete dreams of. It was the perfect step ladder to the Olympics which was the ultimate glory.


    In the 49-kilogram class, Zou Shiming made a good start for the Chinese boxing team. He defeated Cubani Marti with a score of 16 to 10 and successfully advanced to the finals in the evening. His opponent in the finals was Russia''s David Ayrapetyan.


    There were no Chinese boxers in the 52-kg and 56-kg classes and in accordance with expectations the reigning champions Aloan and Alvarez both advanced to the finals.


    After the 56-kilogram match ended, after a rest of about ten minutes, the 63-kilogram semi-finals officially kicked off.


    Lomachenko pulled off another strong performance and he defeated Brazil''s Carlos Alberto in the third round and successfully broke into the final. His opponent would be the winner between Tang Yan and Lopez.


    So after his fight, Lomachenko stayed.


    Tang Yan and Lopez were doing their final preparations, and Lomachenko was sat beside his coach discussing the upcoming fight.


    Because the World Championships were held in Azerbaijan, and domestic attention on boxing wasn''t very high, the previous games, even the quarterfinals, weren''t broadcasted in China.


    But after Tang Yan broke into the semi-finals, traction and interest rose and the Tv stations finally couldn''t sit still, with CCTV being the station to win the broadcasting rights.


    Tang Yan and Lopez were about to take the stage and the on-site commentators also began.


    "This is not the first time China has reached the semi-finals of the World Championships, but this is the most promising opportunity for China to advance to the finals, Tang Yan is about to step into the ring. The Boxing Killer and the miracle athlete!" Yang Jian CCTV''s commentator announced.


    "Yeah, China hasn''t performed well in the 63kg class historically but hopefully Tang Yan can break that cycle tonight!" The commentary guest Liu Xinyu said with equal excitement. Seeing Tang Yan with the opportunity to make history, they were excited.


    "But his opponent is the long-known veteran Lopez. This is his fourth World Championship. Although he is older, this is a difficult opponent."


    "Yeah, Lopez is a very experienced boxer. Tang Yan must pay attention to his opponent''s tactics, being calm and not taking unnecessary risks will help him through this." Liu Xinyu also gave his advice.


    From their words, whether it was Yang Jian or Liu Xinyu, they were eager to see Tang Yan create history for China once again.


    Compared to Jackson and West, Lopez didn''t have any accolades of being a European Boxing Champion or such but he was a seasoned hand who had been at his craft for a while, grinding away.


    While they were talking, Tang Yan and Lopez had already completed all their preparations before the fight, and were boarding the boxing ring.

 207 Tang Yan vs Lopez 2

    As the referee ran through the rules, Tang Yan''s eyes were on Lopez. The latter''s eyes were fixed on the ring as he patted his head from time to time seemingly pumping himself up before the fight. When Lopez''s ritual was over. He reached out and touched gloves with Tang Yan and then backed away.


    After retreating back to his corner, he put up his guard.


    ...


    Ding! Ding! - Round 1


    Tang Yan glided towards Lopez with his razor-sharp left hand; darting in and out and circling to his left; he jabbed out with his left mainly but mixed in a right every now and then.


    Lopez trailed him closely, patiently, rationing his strength, until Tang Yan committed a technical mistake.


    Tang Yan tried to cleverly work him into his own corner but Lopez slyly sidestepped him reversing their positions and Tang Yan delayed a fraction of a step sliding out of the corner, took a whistling left hook from Lopez to his midriff.


    It should have dulled some of Tang Yan''s spark. But it didn''t, Tang Yan drove needle-point lefts into Lopez''s face, stinging him as he spun to the left, out of range, sliding away from the ropes, back to the middle of the ring.


    Lopez grinned at Tang Yan and reigned in his impulse to launch forward, he got into a defensive posture again.


    The throbbing in the back of his head quietened.


    Tang Yan moved toward him again, a light grin on his face, confidence behind that sniping left hand. Lopez half-crouched and shuffled forward, letting a hail of jabs rattle high across his forehead as he bulled Tang Yan into the ropes. He ground a half-dozen murderous lefts and rights into Tang Yan''s stomach before they clinched and the referee pulled them apart.


    Ding! Ding!


    With the bell Tang Yan dropped his gloves and headed toward his corner, a swash in his walk, because the championship was one round nearer. Lopez turned to his corner more slowly, economizing on strength, as he sat down.


    His cornerman, sloshed water into his mouth and made him raise his hands to make room for deep gulps of air. Lopez casually gazed forward. Nearly a full house.


    "This competition should be enough to buy the house." he thought as he pictured his wife watching from back home, alone and anxious.....pulling for him to win.


    Lopez felt good, strong, as he sat in his corner. His cornerman was working over him hard, kneading his legs. His eyes wandered out over the crowd again.


    By nine, life had taught him how to fight ¡ª with every weapon on hand, fists, feet- brains and even fingernails. At eleven he had discovered he had an ally, an ungovernable temper which shot dynamite into his fists and coated his pain with adrenaline.


    His circumstances and the allure of money had drawn him into the ring. He was a good fighter, almost a great fighter. For the past year he had stood as the insurmountable obstacle between newcomers and veterans acting as somewhat of a gatekeeper. The challenger but never the champ.


    Tang Yan was pretty good, Lopez had to admit. A lean, hard young battler, a prodigy with an unmarked face, at least for now.


    Lopez smacked his wine red gloves together in grim determination as he glared at the crowd.


    .....


    Ding! Ding! - Round 2


    Tang Yan moved towards Lopez, cautiously; he had to be cautious. His midriff glowed red from the pounding he''d been sucked into during the last round, but it hadn''t slowed his blinding speed, his rapier of a left, still had Lopez cautious.


    After throwing swings from the left and right, forcing Lopez to open up his defense, Tang Yan seized the opportunity and followed up with a sudden left uppercut.


    However, Lopez deserved to be a battle-hardened veteran. After realizing Tang Yan''s intention, he pressed his hands inwards and tilted his head back.


    Bam!


    Tang Yan hit Lopez''s arms with his uppercut and he couldn''t push it further.


    The feeling was the same as hitting an iron plate.


    Lopez defended against Tang Yan''s attack but didn''t launch a counterattack. After taking a step back, Lopez got into a defensive stance before working forward.


    Tang Yan''s left jabs were small charges of dynamite exploding into Lopez''s guard but Lopez kept trying to work in close. Tang Yan locked his elbows and shot out a sharp jab but Lopez tilted his head aside in the nick of time to dodge the main brunt of the blow but Tang Yan''s jab still managed to catch him slightly slicing at his cheek, causing a small cut under his cheek bone and blood to flow.


    Lopez ignored it and clipped Tang Yan alongside the chin but before he could get forward again, Tang Yan went on his bicycle again, circling to the left and pecking punches at Lopez and slowly the cut grew as blood flowed more freely.


    Lopez flickered his gaze over to the timekeeper, as his coach yelled at his back for him to bore in, to fight.


    Tang Yan tossed some rights, hard and sharp but Lopez shifted past them and worked over his stomach with both hands before switching to a clean uppercut.


    Tang Yan took a lesson from what happened when he tried to swap punches and went back to his educated left hand. Tang Yan circled, always backing away to his left, trying to lead the fight over in that direction but Lopez deliberately stopped in the middle of the ring and waved him in. Tang Yan merely smiled before he suddenly moved in swiftly to bounce two knife-like lefts off Lopez''s face.


    Tang Yan was working even faster now. Swift, like a surgeon, in and out.


    But Lopez huddled up like a turtle, blocking Tang Yan from doing significant damage as he suddenly launched forward after Tang Yan, blocking him into a corner. His face sopped up a dozen snake-like lefts in doing so.


    Blood flowed freely from Lopez''s cut and Tang Yan tried to out-maneuver him, by staggering him with a right cross and then dancing free but Lopez knew the punch was coming so he flexed his knees slightly to let it slide past his jaw and over his left shoulder. He then curved a looping left hook against Tang Yan''s ribs.


    Tang Yan grunted and tried to retaliate but Lopez clinched, wrapping him up before he could fire off a hard right.


    Ding! Ding!


    As the referee separated them, the second round came to an end.


    Estchenko, who was watching the fight off court, couldn''t help but shake his head. It seemed like Tang Yan was paying the price for his arrogance.


    Lomachenko, who was further away, also smiled disappointed, it seemed that he would be fighting against his old opponent, Lopez, in the final at this rate.


    "Don''t be drawn in by him, he just wants to irritate you and consume your physical strength. Fall back into defense." Qin Hailong instructed as Tang Yan came to his corner.


    Tang Yan nodded, but determination was still burning in his eyes. Choosing to shrink back was a sound tactic, but not his style.


    ........


    Ding! Ding! - Round 3


    Lopez dropped into defense with the start of the round. His cut had been treated by his team''s cutman and was sealed.


    Tang Yan sighed at this. The veteran in front of him was a turtle snake in the truest sense, huddling in his shell before pouncing out suddenly, only to retreat back into his shell at the first sign of danger.


    When the referee signaled the start of the fight, Tang Yan immediately launched a stormy attack.


    His oppressive and full offensive immediately drew cheers from the audience, and shouts of KO rang through the boxing hall.


    However, the worry in Qin Hailong''s eyes was getting stronger and stronger. Tang Yan would suffer a loss like this. He was too young and eager, and didn''t heed his advice!


    Sure enough, a moment later, a loud uproar came from the audience.


    Throwing a set of punches, Tang Yan failed to control his center of gravity as he launched a heavy right hook at Lopez''s jaw but Lopez avoided it in one fluid motion and not making conection Tang Yan tottered forward slightly due to the momentum behind his punch, leaving him vulnerable for a split second but he quickly adjusted.


    "Damn a huge looping miss by Tang Yan, that was a risky move!"


    "Tang Yan is still too young. His style of fighting is really too exhausting. This time, fortunately, Lopez didn''t get the chance to capitalize, he needs to pay more attention!" Yang Jian said, anxious.


    However, Tang Yan didn''t seem to hear, as he was still attacking with a combination of punches. He didn''t conserve his strength and once again, his punch swiped past Lopez, and he left his body exposed


    But Lopez seemed to hesitate for a second on whether to capitalize or not.


    "Defense! Get into defense!" Qin Hailong shouted anxiously to Tang Yan from the side of the ring.


    But Tang Yan still didn''t listen.


    He went at Lopez, always stabbing out jabs, moving away from Lopez''s right, his chin hidden behind a raised left shoulder. He was tough and fast.


    "Dammit! Tang Yan is still too young! He''s not heeding his coach''s words at all! If he makes such mistakes again, Lopez will definitely capitalize!" Liu Xinyu said with concern.


    His voice hadn''t fallen, when Tang Yan threw a set of combo''s and once again didn''t control his follow through, offsetting his center of gravity.


    This time Lopez bit down on his mistake and punched out.


    "Careful!" Yang Jian and Liu Xinyu exclaimed almost simultaneously.


    Lopez''s punch was fast, a sharp right hook headed for Tang Yan''s jaw.


    Lomachenko shook his head, the outcome seemed settled.


    But just as he was about to sigh, he stopped.


    Whoosh!


    Just then, there was an uproar at the scene.


    Tang Yan had avoided the punch!

 208 Tang Yan vs Lopez 3

    Tang Yan leant back nearly 45 degrees as Lopez''s punch swooshed right across his body and connected with empty air.


    Whoosh!


    He looked almost weightless, as he pulled off a Michael Jackson-esque tilt backwards to avoid Lopez''s sharp hook of a right.


    Then like a spring recoiling, he rebounded back up straight and ripped home a short right, followed by a left. And then another right. The crowd rose with a roar.


    "What an interesting boxer." Lomachenko said, showing a look of anticipation at this.


    "Tang Yan was being deliberate! He was tempting Lopez to swing!" Liu Xinyu called out, grasping the situation.


    Tang Yan moved into Lopez, forcing him across the ring, ripping across his middle with piston-like precision before switching aim to his face. Lopez tried to fight back but he had been successfully drawn out by Tang Yan.


    Due to his punch, he couldn''t retract back his arms in time to set a defense and he was winded by Tang Yan''s blows to his midsection, making his breath weak as he tried to punch back at Tang Yan, jabbing and crossing.


    But with his breathing erratic and his mind in overgear, his punches lacked real venom.


    Tang Yan took on some punishment to get Lopez where he couldn''t slip away, he rocked him with a right hook to the jaw and dropped his left fist half-way before hooking it into Lopez''s body. Lopez staggered slightly but fought back with dogged ferocity.


    The audience at the scene exploded in an instant, and the explosive cheers were overwhelming.


    Both were battling now, their hardest. Tang Yan forgot his jabs as they squared away in the center of the ring.


    Head burrowed between his shoulders, Lopez answered him with flying fists.


    But Lopez folded first.


    Tang Yan ripped a short left into his solar plexus and left him gasping. The Cuban''s hands dropped. Tang Yan splashed rights and lefts into his face and drove him across the ring. A crisp left hook straightened Lopez up before.....


    Bam!


    A whistling right uppercut dropped him for the count.


    1.....


    2.....


    3.....


    "KO! KO! KO" chants rang out, alongside chants of Tang Yan''s name.


    4.....


    5.....


    6.....


    7.....


    Lopez struggled to his knees, raised one foot under him before sprawling forward onto his face.


    "8!"


    "9!"


    "10!"


    For the last three seconds, the audience at the scene counted down with the referee.


    When the last count sounded, the tumultuous roar of the crowd sounded across the stadium


    "And it''s over." Lomachenko said with a smile as Lopez was counted out. From disappointment to interest, his view of Tang Yan changed in less than half a round.


    "Success! Tang Yan''s broken into the men''s 60 kg final!" Yang Jian exclaimed in the CCTV booth.


    "Yes hahaha!!!" Estchenko also shouted excitedly from the sidelines. Tang Yan broke into the final, which meant he won one of the remaining two places outside the top 10.


    Tang Yan also shouted along, celebrating, his emotions high from the scene.


    "Winner, Tang Yan!" As the referee raised Tang Yan''s arm high, the atmosphere at the scene peaked.


    "Boxing killer! Boxing killer!"


    Sections of the crowd who knew Tang Yan''s nickname began to chant. Compared to old veterans like Lopez, they hoped to see a match between a young upcomer like Tang Yan and Lomachenko in the final.


    The semi-final matches finally ended. On the Chinese team''s side, only Zou Shiming and Tang Yan broke into the finals.


    For the Chinese boxing team, there was still a long way to go to achieve a dominant position on the world stage.


    .....


    October 8, 2011, China, today happened to be the end of Golden Week, a national holiday. People were begrudgingly ending their vacations and heading back to work.


    But it was a good day in Baku and a good day for many boxing fans.


    Because today, in Baku, Azerbaijan, the World Boxing Championships ushered in the final day.


    Today, in addition to Zou Shiming''s bid for his second gold medal in the World Championships, Tang Yan would usher in a peak matchup between him and Lomachenko.


    As usual, after completing their weighing ins and physical examinations, the boxers began their final preparations.


    The Baku Boxing Gym on this day could be described as overflowing. The boxing gym that was capable of accommodating more than 5,000 people had long been overcrowded. People were even in the aisles.


    Azerbaijanis boxing lovers naturally wouldn''t miss the most important day of the championships.


    At the same time, in China, the time was 11 o''clock, just nearing break time. Many people took out their mobile phones and secretly watched the live broadcast.


    The first fight was the 49kg final.


    Zou Shiming fought against Russia''s David Ayrapetyan.


    At the beginning of the fight, Zou Shiming showed off his flexible offensive tactics, always suppressing David Ayrapetyan.


    David Ayrapetyan launched a counterattack in the second round. He scored well with good explosive power, catching up from behind on points.


    The two men were evenly matched, and fought fiercely. The fight played out through all the rounds but in the fourth and final round, Zou Shiming managed to capitalise on two mistakes by David Ayrapetyan and scored two points. Which allowed him to clinch the victory on points successfully taking gold.


    With his win, the Chinese team boiled at once and back home people basked in the victory.


    After Zou Shiming, the 52 and 56 kg class fights also started one after another, with the final winners being Aloan and Alvarez respectively as expected by most.


    With the first three projects down, although their opponents were of good strength, the reigning champions had suffered no upset, all winning their respective events.


    This seemed to convey a certain signal. As Lomachenko, the champion in the 60kg class, was up next to fight.


    But as the biggest dark horse in the World Championships, Tang Yan changed the audience''s perception of him from an ''outstanding swimmer who can fight'' to ''a top tier boxer'' in his own right.


    They were eager to see what he could do!

 209 Tang Yan vs Lomachenko 1

    The reporters ran to grab good positions as the various television stations set up and began broadcasting the final.


    "In the blue corner, from Ukraine, the winner of the 57kg class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics! Vasily Lomachenko!"


    As the gymnasium lights dimmed, the host''s passionate introduction lit the venue.


    Lomachenko, walked out the tunnel waving the Russian flag with one hand and waving to the audience with the other. His calm expression showed his confidence.


    "In the red corner, from China, the winner of the 49kg class at the 2010 Asian Games! Tang Yan!"


    Tang Yan''s introduction caught a lot of eyes. His Asian Games medal was his only international boxing medal and his main acclaim but it was in the 49kg class.


    The audience hearing his leap in weight class was surprised and taken aback.


    Tang Yan like Lomachenko strode out the athlete''s tunnel towards the ring.


    After the host introduced them, they began to put on their protective gear for the fight.


    The spectators couldn''t sit still in excitement, as they watched fearing that they would miss any detail.


    "Remember," Qin Hailong reminded Tang Yan as he got ready: "Don''t get sucked in, stay away and counter-punch, he''ll force the fight if you don''t rush, that''s the way he works."


    After the two fighters completed their preparations, they put on their mouth guards and entered the ring.


    With the fighters in the ring, the cheers on scene increased.


    "Emotions are high and we''ve got another amazing final to look forward to!" The on-site commentator exclaimed.


    The referee ran through the usual rules of the game and Tang Yan and Lomachenko touched gloves before they both took a step back.


    Along with another cheer from the audience, the final finally started.


    Ding! Ding!


    The bell rang for the first round to begin!


    And in the next second, Lomachenko took the lead in attacking, he exploded out with a series of jabs.


    He quickly narrowed the distance between him and Tang Yan.


    But Tang Yan knew that Lomachenko''s strength was to slug it out close, so he didn''t give him a chance to get close. After blocking Lomachenko''s jab, he followed up, throwing a row of punches to force Lomachenko back.


    After Tang Yan repulsed Lomachenko, he didn''t advance, maintaining the distance between them.


    Both sides weren''t rushing too much to engage and they just shot out some tentative attacks.


    Lomachenko sparred carefully, feeling his man out.


    He would plod in and swing. Tang Yan would pick off his punches and counter, then retreat. Pick off, counter and retreat.


    The stalemate lasted till about half way through the round when Lomachenko moved in again. Firing off two jabs to win time for himself, he tried to close the gap


    His line of thought, quite clear.


    Tang Yan naturally saw through this and his right foot pushed back, as he drew back his right hand to swing a haymaker.


    He nailed Lomachenko with a savage hook to the jaw that threw the Russian back on his heels and instinctively he moved in, left fist pumping in and out, ripping into Lomachenko like a madman.


    The Russian covered up, and retreated. The crowd howled, seeing the match favorite at a disadvantage and backpeedling.


    Tang Yan continued forward his momentum, raining combos on Lomachenko as he caught him with several blows but seemingly trying his luck one too many times Lomachenko slipped under two of his right hooks and spotted an opening as he hooked a fast left to Tang Yan''s head.


    Bam!


    Tang Yan retaliated with a right but missed, going off balance, as Lomachenko rocked him with a left, right and left before he could clinch.


    Tang Yan made an attempt to smother the champion under a flurry of blows but he met with no success as the cool-headed Russian covered.


    But seeing an opportunity Tang Yan drove him towards the ropes. Lomachenko, realising what Tang Yan was intending, came out of defense mode slugging.


    Lomachenko caught Tang Yan with a right that staggered the younger man. Then he exploded a right and left to his body that hurt and took the wind out of his sails before blasting at his jaw with both hands.


    Bam!


    Tang Yan saw a flash of stars and pin-wheels as he tried to clinch. But then he felt another jolt and everything went black. He came to on the floor of the ring with the lights glaring into his eyes.


    "Three," called the referee, as Tang Yan tried to focus his mind.


    "Four," Tang Yan turned over on his stomach.


    "Five," He was on his hands and knees.


    "Six." He was crouched.


    "Sev...." He got up.


    His arms were leaden and his stomach ached. He managed to raise his guard as Lomachenko rushed in, not giving him time to breathe.


    Lomachenko whipped home a left and a right.


    Tang Yan blocked the left and slid under the right and straightened up before driving at Lomachenko furiously, hitting with a left, right and pounding with everything he had. Lomachenko had a rough time for a moment, but managed to tie the kid up with both of them unscathed.


    But Tang Yan wiggled his way out the clinch and bobbed, feinting, as he sank a left to Lomachenko''s heart, but in the next instant he was nailed to his teeth by a crashing left. He backpedalled but Lomachenko followed in close, pumping short, vicious hooks to his stomach and heart.


    Lomachenko slashed in cutting blows and made wounds on Tang Yan''s face, before Tang Yan could clinch.


    Then he slipped away and laughed as Tang Yan tried to renew his attack. Lomachenko cut with his left hand and then drove a hard right to the body to keep Tang Yan slowed down.


    Tang Yan moved in again but the bell rang, ending round one.


    Ding! Ding!


    The audience fickle and without mercy, cheered.


    "What are you trying to do, commit suicide?" Qin Hailong raged at him as his corner man came up and began to work away at him, massaging away. Tang Yan tensed himself against the stinging pain, it helped to clear his brain.


    Qin Hailong shouted: ''''You want to win this fight, don''t you?"


    Tang Yan nodded affirmatively.


    "Then stay away, understand? Stay away!"


    "I nearly caught him, I can get him," Tang Yan grated.


    "Not the way you''re fighting, you can''t," said Qin Hailong, and he stuffed the mouthpiece in Tang Yan''s mouth as the bell rang.


    Ding! Ding!


    Lomachenko waited for Tang Yan to come in close, but Tang Yan stayed out, moving around, following Qin Hailong''s instructions after his close call in the first round.


    Lomachenko began to press little by little again and moved in with a left and right but Tang Yan blocked and tied Lomachenko up, he was still recovering his tempo and wasn''t ready to fight.


    Lomachenko came in and again but Tang Yan tied him up before any damage could be done.


    When the referee separated them Tang Yan lashed out with a hard left, but Lomachenko picked it off and moved away, laughing. The crowd saw him laugh and responded, chanting and cheering.


    Tang Yan went back into his shell.


    It was a slow round compared to the furious first, Tang Yan refused to open up.


    The second round went to Lomachenko also, but Tang Yan was in much better shape when it was over than he had been after the first.


    "Good job," said Qin Hailong between rounds, inspecting his cuts to make sure they hadn''t been re-opened, "You''ve got him coming to you. Now start hitting back instead of clinching, but watch out, he''s got dynamite in his fists."

 210 Tang Yan vs Lomachenko 2

    Tang Yan nodded.


    Ding! Ding!


    The bell rang and he was back out. They sparred for a moment and then Lomachenko moved in quickly, stabbing with a left. Tang Yan rolled away and circled.


    Lomachenko followed and Tang Yan moved into a corner, letting Lomachenko trap him.


    Lomachenko stepped in, expecting Tang Yan to slip away, down the ropes. But Tang Yan set himself and threw a straight overhand left to the bridge of Lomachenko''s nose.


    Lomachenko snorted, dodging but Tang Yan followed in with a right to the pit of his stomach before Lomachenko could recover.


    The audience seeing this became rowdy.


    Lomachenko smothered Tang Yan''s lead and tied him up in the neutral corner. He tried with a short uppercut but Tang Yan counterpunching, flickered out his left towards Lomachenko''s jaw.


    Whoosh!


    Close!


    Lomachenko was forced back, as he narrowly dodged out of range.


    "This is definitely the best matchup of the competition so far. The purest form of boxing!" The main CCTV commentator declared excitedly.


    "If there is a knockout, this is destined to go down in the books!" The guest commentator echoed.


    "There will be a KO, there must be a KO!" The main commentator replied affirmatively.


    Tang Yan slipped out the corner as Lomachenko came in like a cyclone.


    Lomachenko drove both hands towards Tang Yan''s stomach, like twin sledge-hammers. Tang Yan gasped and started to lower his guard to his midsection but he saw Lomachenko''s right arm shift and start a deadly drive towards his jaw.


    So he crouched, covering, then uncorked both hands in a series of fast and furious, rights and lefts that carried all the pent-up steam from the previous rounds.


    Pow! Bam! Bam!


    Lomachenko''s head rocked back then snapped forward, as a left flicked into his face and a right smashed to his heart.


    Gritting his teeth Lomachenko snarled and bore in.


    He rocked Tang Yan to his heels with a one-two that Tang Yan could neither duck nor block. Tang Yan tried to clinch but Lomachenko clipped him with a right hook then pounded at him with murderous rights and lefts almost forcing Tang Yan to his knees.


    But Tang Yan forced himself to stay up and staggered into a clinch.


    Then it was Lomachenko''s turn to gasp as Tang Yan fought his way out of the clinch and backed away opening up a gap again


    "Get him, Lomachenko! Don''t let him get away!"


    The crowd again became wild and rowdy.


    Lomachenko charged in like a bull but was sent back on his heels, swaying like a tree, as Tang Yan rattled off sharp jabs and hooks, pounding relentlessly at his heart.


    Lomachenko grinned. He was a born fighter.


    Tang Yan battered, pounded, danced here and there, moving in and out.


    His fists worked like pistons as he flicked out his left like serpent tongues and he struck at Lomachenko''s face,


    But Lomachenko bore it and drove Tang Yan to the ropes and snuck in with a right to Tang Yan''s relaxed stomach. He stepped inside and battered him about the head.


    Then he fired off a wall of punches! The crowd was in an uproar, bellowing for the kill.


    Tang Yan could see the blows coming and raised his guard. But some landed, sapping his strength. His arms sagged slightly to his side and Lomachenko mauled at him unmercifully.


    Tang Yan dropped, rolled to his back, rolled to his stomach then to his hands and knees, he tried to pull his hands loose from the floor ¡ª but flopped down!


    The referee was counting and the count seemed fast.


    But Tang Yan was back up by six!


    At that, the crowd roared:


    "Come on, Tang Yan! Stand up to him!


    "Knock him out!"


    "Knock him out!"


    "Knock him out!"


    "Knock him loose from his feet, Lomachenko!"


    Shouts from the crowded stands rang out, the blood-lust was real.


    Lomachenko straightened Tang Yan with a blow to the chin, a blow that rocked Tang Yan and made him sway like a flag in the wind but as his head snapped back. His head miraculously, cleared.


    The blow whirled him around. He saw his team signaling, making mad motions with their hands, saw their lips moving, he knew they were shouting encouragement. But then he saw a towel in the hands of Qin Hailong.


    He whirled and drove Lomachenko against the ropes, close to his corner.


    "Don''t throw in the towel," Tang Yan snapped, "I''m gonna win this!"


    Qin Hailong who held it folded the towel and sat upon it, grimacing.


    Bam!


    Lomachenko took a hook to the stomach from Tang Yan but he had steeled himself already so it did limited damage.


    Tang Yan shook his head with regret.


    And sure enough, Lomachenko, gaining a breather from Tang Yan''s distraction re-adjusted his positioning and drove Tang Yan off him and towards the centre of the ring.


    But Tang Yan also showed no weakness, blocking Lomachenko''s follow up blows one after another, retaliating when viable.


    Tang Yan started bicycling as Lomachenko drove at him unmercifully, launching off a flurry of blows at his head and body. He drove Tang Yan into a corner and Tang Yan doubled up, covering his stomach and head with his hands and forearm.


    Lomachenko had stepped back, measuring his man when Tang Yan uncorked like a jack-knife, coming out of his corner like a projectile from a catapult, both arms moving in and out like rapiers.


    Lomachenko''s grin faded as Tang Yan came in and would not be denied.


    Tang Yan smirked and shot a feint at Lomachenko''s stomach and in spite of years of training, Lomachenko instinctively lowered both his arms to guard, leaving himself open up top.


    And capitalising like a hound on a trail, Tang Yan shot forward and fired off a powerhouse of an uppercut straight into the bottom of Lomachenko''s jaw.


    He knew Lomachenko was likely leading by a mile on points, so with only one round left he had to pull off all the stops to clinch this one.


    He needed a series of knockdowns or one clean knockout.

 211 Next Stop - The United Kingdom

    There was no stopping Tang Yan now. He forgot the crowd and drove Lomachenko to the ropes, rocked him and doubled him up, punching him off balance.


    Toe to toe in the ring, neither asking for quarter nor giving it, Tang Yan and Lomachenko struck at each other, sobberd by the pain of their own blows, primitive, as they sought to overcome one another.


    The crowd was roaring, but Tang Yan couldn''t hear a word. He could only see the face of Lomachenko, sick with pain, eyes glassy, but lips set in a snarl. Tang Yan drew back for a finisher.


    But he was caught blindsided by a blow from Lomachenko, it felt like he had been struck by a house. He was down, his head weaving from side to side. The referee was counting and Qin Hailong grabbed the towel again.


    Members of the crowd leapt up, shrieking, thinking it was the final blow.


    Pandemonium was about to break out but at this moment, an unexpected scene suddenly occurred in the ring.


    The referee''s hand had started down on the fatal count, when Tang Yan, so swiftly that eyes could scarcely follow his movement, charged Lomachenko, almost from a prone position. He drove Lomachenko against the ropes again and one-two''d him, with fury.


    He drove at the man''s heart with everything he had and Lomachenko went through the ropes. He went through as if hurled from a catapult. He was horizontal as he passed through, straight into the laps of his team.


    Tang Yan was forced back by the referee and he staggered to a neutral corner.


    The referee rushed to the ropes and looked down.


    Based on the rules, Lomachenko had till the count of 20 to get into the ring and rejoin the fight.


    But there was little to no need to count. Lomachenko was gone!


    Completely dazed and out of it, he was sprawled out on the gymnasium floor, his team laid him down and backed away. They couldn''t help him at all or it would be grounds for disqualification.


    And with that the referee came over and started the final count.


    When the referee''s count hit zero, the whole boxing gym went into chaos.


    As the crowd went haywire, screaming and chanting, the referee crept into the ring and lifted the right hand of Tang Yan.


    ''Ladies and gentlemen, your winner.....by KO!"


    "The new 60kg World Boxing Champion!"


    "Tannng Yaaaan!"


    The audience at this jumped up and drowned Tang Yan with cheers and applause.


    "Boxing killer! Boxing killer!"


    "Tang Yan''s once again created history for China!" Yang Jian CCTV''s main commentator said choked.


    Tang Yan gasped, enjoying the cheers of the audience.


    "Tang Yan!"


    "Tang Yan!"


    "Tang Yan!"


    Waiting for his breath to calm down, he walked over and pulled up Lomachenko.


    The Ukrainian looked miserable at this time. After trading so many punches with Tang Yan, he wasn''t exactly looking pretty but then again neither was Tang Yan, who''s cuts had opened up again.


    Lomachenko had bruises and a swollen nose and several small cuts across his face similar to Tang Yan.


    Being lifted up by Tang Yan, the defending champion said grimacing: "I won''t lose next time. We''ll meet again in London."


    "I look forward to it." Tang Yan said with a smile. Sealing the agreement.


    "The Boxing Killer shines again in Baku City, cutting down the defending champion and winning the 60kg event at the World Boxing Championships!


    "Archery champion, swimming champion, boxing champion, what''s Tang Yan''s next stop?"


    "Hahaha there''s no sport he can''t take on! They can put up whoever they want but we''ll send up Tang Yan!"


    .....


    After Tang Yan won gold, reports about him were overwhelming.


    And just after Tang Yan won the championship, his Weibo also exploded again.


    Zhuang Jiajie capitalized on this and updated Tang Yan''s bio as the 60kg World Boxing Champion.


    Looking at Tang Yan''s Weibo following that had soared to more than 3 million followers, he was feeling somewhat smug.


    In fact, Weibo was like this. If you wanted to get long-term attention, naturally you needed to bring in constant news. Tang Yan finished the swimming world championships and immediately went to the boxing world championships, keeping his momentum going.


    Of course, Tang Yan, who was far away in Baku, didn''t pay attention to this. After he finished the fight, he had to attend the award ceremony.


    During the flag-raising ceremony, because most of the crowd were Azerbaijani, not many people on the scene could sing the national anthem, but Tang Yan was more excited than when he was in Shanghai.


    After finishing the World Championships in Baku, Tang Yan didn''t return to China with his team. He stayed for two more days and after Zhuang Jiajie flew to Baku, the two boarded a plane to the UK together.


    They were off to film the advertisement they owed Snickers.


    Sitting on the plane and looking at the endless sky outside the window, Tang Yan wasn''t very excited in his heart.


    He wasn''t really a child of eighteen, nearly nineteen years. Filming and starring in an advert sounded cool and artistic, but he knew it was bound to be another tiring endeavour.


    He was curious as to why the advertising company chose the UK as the filming location this time though.


    The flight from Baku to London wasn''t too bad, only 5 hours or so.


    So after a quick snooze, Tang Yan woke up in British airspace and after flying about for another 30 minutes, they landed at London - Heathrow Airport to actually be greeted by the Vice President of Snickers UK.


    With that it was clear that Snickers placed quite a bit of importance onto the ad campaign, which was to be expected after all they were relying on it''s effectiveness to gain a footing and expand into the Chinese market.


    They held a quick meeting to discuss the schedule for tomorrow, then Tang Yan and Zhuang Jiajie headed to the hotel to rest.


    The time difference between the UK and Azerbaijan was only 3 hours, but Tang Yan still had to somewhat adapt.


    Chilling at the hotel Zhuang Jiajie held up his tablet and ran through the advert one final time.


    The ad was actually quite simple, it followed the same format as the Snickers ads from Tang Yan''s previous life.


    The ad would start with him participating in an archery competition but he would be tanking, shooting 2''s and 4''s. He would be acting sluggish and disappointed when his teammate next to him would tap him on the shoulder and hand him a Snickers, saying "Have a Snickers". He would ask why and then his teammate would say the tagline: "Because you''re not you when you''re hungry".


    After that there would be a cutscene of him taking a bite of the Snickers bar and then going on to score a bunch of bullseye''s, winning the competition.


    In Zhuang Jiajie''s opinion, the advert sounded very creative and full of continuity.


    However, Tang Yan had already seen this type of advertisement a million times in his previous life so it wasn''t all that interesting or ''innovative'' to him. So he turned his eyes to the windows, and the streets of London.


    London, was where the 2012 Olympics would be held and would be the first Olympics he would participate in since his rebirth.


    So since he was here ahead of time he might as well enjoy and adapt to the atmosphere in advance.

 212 A Royal Invite

    The next day, Tang Yan headed to the suburbs with the advertisement film crew. The shooting location of the advert turned out to be in a pleasant pasture.


    At 70 meters, Tang Yan was encroaching upon the point of perfection, the location of his shot was well within his control.


    Because of this, filming went very smoothly. The shooting process originally scheduled to last five days was seemingly pointless as it looked like they would finish well ahead of time.


    Snickers (UK) Vice President followed the shooting throughout, and was full of praise for Tang Yan''s performance.


    The advertising shoot went smoothly and after two days of shooting, most of the scenes were completed.


    When filming for the second day ended, Tang Yan was preparing to head back to the hotel with Zhuang Jiajie, when they were stopped by the sound of someone calling their names.


    Tang Yan turned around to see that it was the (UK) Snickers Vice President, Emile Harold, who he heard from the crew was said to be the nephew of the Duke of Westminster.


    Along with Emile, there was a man in royal military uniform.


    The clothes and appearance of the man next to Emile greatly surprised Tang Yan.


    "Hello Mr. Tang, I''m Baron McCann. It''s a pleasure to meet you." Seeing Tang Yan look over, the man said with respect.


    Hearing the title Baron, Tang Yan was shocked. Baron was a noble title.


    "Hello, Baron McCann, it''s an honour to meet you." Tang Yan replied politely, whilst buzzing with curiosity as to what a real life noble could want from him.


    "I''m here with an invitation letter from Prince William, please take a look." McCann said, handing over a letter respectfully.


    Tang Yan accepted the letter with even more shock and doubt.


    A Prince!


    An invitation letter from a Prince!


    And Prince William as well of all things!


    There were many princes all over the world, but Prince William was undoubtedly amongst the most striking. He was the first son of Britain''s Crown Prince Charles and the second in the line of succession to the British throne.


    Queen Elizabeth II was still alive in her 90''s, and Charles was almost seventy. Which made Prince William, now almost 29, likely to be the first to take the throne before the age of 50.


    Receiving an invitation from Prince William was equivalent to receiving an invitation from the royal family, which was a glorious thing for anyone.


    Tang Yan uncovered the sealing wax and took out the invitation letter.


    The content of the invitation letter was neatly written, and the signature and seal of Prince William was also attached, it was a very formal invitation letter.


    He speed read through it, buzzing with curiosity and interest.


    And was shocked at what was written, though to be fair, no matter what was written he would have been shocked. It was a bloody letter from a Prince.


    It turned out that Prince William was going to be hosting an archery show in the Palace Garden at Buckingham Palace. So hearing that Tang Yan was in the UK, he decided to invite him as a guest and to perform.


    The invitation letter noted the time and place of the event, as well as some of the big name guests who would be present. In addition to some of the Duke''s of the British Royal Family, there would also be ambassadors from other nations.


    "This is a great opportunity for you." Zhuang Jiajie also read over the invitation and whispered to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan nodded and said to Baron McCann: "Please let Prince William know, I''ll be there."


    "Then I thank you ahead of time on behalf of Prince William." Baron McCann said with his right hand on his chest as he bowed to Tang Yan.


    Originally the advert was meant to take about a week to film but because of Tang Yan''s efficiency and how quickly they got through everything it was successfully shortened to 3 days. So after the next day when they finished everything off, Tang Yan was free to attend the event.


    ...


    Buckingham Palace was the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family of the United Kingdom. It was also one of the rare few royal palaces still in use today. It was a national landmark of London and Britain. A place to host royal events and state banquets for important foreign dignitaries.


    The Palace Garden was a large private park situated at the rear of Buckingham Palace and where Prince William would be hosting the archey show.


    Tang Yan and Zhuang Jiajie were picked up from the hotel in an Aston Martin and driven to the palace.


    Looking through the car window, Tang Yan saw the appearance of the palace.


    The square-shaped neoclassical architecture of the palace revealed its grand and ancient aura. At the front, the royal coat of arms and the royal standard representing the British monarchy were hung. The palace was surrounded by iron railings, with a square outside. At the front of the famous square was the Victoria Memorial.


    Although not as vast and as old as the Forbidden City in China, the palace still gave of a solemn regal air.


    It was now October and Buckingham Palace was now inaccessible to the general public.


    But since Tang Yan was invited by Prince William as a guest, after circling around to the back entrance of Buckingham Palace, the car passed through the gates and drove into the Palace Garden.


    Before the car entered the backyard, Tang Yan saw the royal flag wrapped in a crown of roses hanging from the top of the palace. Which indicated that Queen Elizabeth II was in the palace.


    The Palace Garden covered an area of ??more than 42 acres. It was a very large park and Prince William loved sports so he had hosted several events here before such as football games and polo matches.


    The life of Prince William was not much different from the life of a Chinese prince during the feudal period. It was likely even this archery show was held on his whim.


    After getting out of the car, he was greeted by Baron McCann who had delivered him the invitation letter yesterday. He was followed by two guards. He seemed to be a captain in the Royal Guard.


    "Prince William is currently being occupied by the foreign ambassadors, which is why he can''t come down to greet you. The Prince is very sorry for this and I must express my sincere apologies on his behalf." Baron McCann said as soon as he came up.


    Tang Yan didn''t care too much and after nodding, he walked to the archery gallery under the guidance of McCann.


    At the gallery, Baron McCann asked him to wait here for a while, and then left.


    What surprised Tang Yan was that he didn''t see anyone else.


    Was he the only one performing?


    Zhuang Jiajie was also very surprised, but after thinking it over, he was excited. If Tang Yan was truly the only one, then this was definitely VIP treatment.


    "Hahaha maybe Prince William is one of your 3 million followers." Zhuang Jiajie said to Tang Yan with a chuckle.


    "Are you sure he even knows about Weibo?" Tang Yan replied with a grin.


    About five or six minutes later, Baron McCann returned bringing with him a suprise.


    Tang Yan and Zhuang Jiajie were confused to see that there was a teenager behind him, looking him over, the kid actually looked to be even younger than Tang Yan, looking only 16 or 17 years old.

 213 Archery Show 1

    "Tang Yan, Alan Covington."


    "Alan Covington, Tang Yan"


    After McCann came up, he introduced Tang Yan and the kid to each other.


    "You''ll both be shooting for this exhibition." McCann continued.


    Tang Yan and Covington looked over each other with interest.


    "We''ll begin in about ten minutes. When you''re ready. I wish you both the best of luck and I''m looking forward to your performances." McCann said to them before giving a slight bow and leaving.


    As soon as McCann was gone, Tang Yan and Covington were left squinting at each other.


    After a while, both sides buried their doubts and picked up their bows and arrows and began to prepare for the show.


    At this, Zhuang Jiajie took out his phone and started flickering through it.


    Tang Yan checked his bow and arrows again, and after confirming that there was no issue, he turned his gaze to Covington.


    To his surprise, Covington wasn''t using a competitive recurve bow, but a compound bow.


    This discovery made him even more confused as to what was going on.


    Just then, Zhuang Jiajie suddenly said with a smile.


    "Huh, that''s interesting."


    "What''s interesting?" Tang Yan said looking over at him puzzled.


    Zhuang Jiajie showed him his phone and lowered his voice saying; "I was curious as to who the kid was, so I searched him up and it seems that we might not be the protagonists of this exhibition game. This Alan Covington, is a British archery wizard who just suddenly emerged out of nowhere this year. But he''s already being proclaimed as one of the most promising marksmen in Britain, some are even calling him Robin Hood reincarnated."


    "Robin Hood reincarnated, interesting." Tang Yan said with a smile. This situation was indeed beyond his expectations. It seemed they might have been a slight after thought rather than the main guests.


    Ten-minutes was rather quick and fleeting and it wasn''t long before they saw Prince William and the ambassadors begin to appear in the royal backyard.


    Prince William was in a suit, and he looked rather suave and proper.


    The emergence of Prince William suddenly made the atmosphere of the scene solemn, the guards lined up and the band began to play music.


    Both Tang Yan and Covington were asked to stand in specific positions.


    "William, I managed to get the sharpshooter from China I told you about. The one who won at the Asian Games not long ago." Next to Prince William, was the Duke of Argyll smiling as he spoke to the Prince.


    The Duke of Argyll, who was next to Prince William at this time, was only 43 years old and was the youngest Duke in active service.


    The British honour system and its noble titles were divided into five ranks: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount and Baron, all of which were hereditary. When the aristocracy were still prosperous, Britain had more than 40 Dukes, but due to the lack of male successors and the decline of the families, there were only 20 or so left.


    The rank of Duke was the highest title possible, all the first generation Duke''s were basically either related to the royal family or had completed exemplary service to the crown allowing them to enjoy the highest treatment in the UK. But it was also precisely because of this comfortable state that many Non-Royal Dukedoms were on the decline.


    Torquhil Campbel, Duke of Argyll, fell into this category. His family assets had declined to little more than 60,000 acres of hereditary land and the family whiskey business, their financial strength wasn''t even comparable to some marquises and viscounts.


    But he was a member of the Scottish polo team, which was how he got to know Prince William and began hugging his thick thighs to success, through their mutual love of sports.


    Following Campbell''s gaze, Prince William looked over at Tang Yan in the distance and nodded slightly. Campbell had told him that he had found an interesting archer and asked him to send out an invitation. So he agreed.


    "And over there''s Alan Covington, the one I mentioned to you before, our very own marksman, hailed as this generation''s Robin Hood, he could shoot an apple from 100 meters away." When it came to Covington, Campbell seemingly spoke with a hint of pride.


    Prince William looked at Covington with a smile on his face. Modern archery and modern boxing originated in the United Kingdom, but the performance of the United Kingdom in the World Championships was unsatisfactory. Which left Prince William hugely disappointed.


    Covington''s name, he had heard before, but this was his first time seeing him in person.


    During their small chat, several marquises as well as the ambassadors to the UK all finished making their way into the Palace Garden.


    At this time, Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, noticed Tang Yan in the distance.


    With Tang Yan''s repeated achievements for the Chinese national teams, Liu Xiaoming had naturally heard about him. But seeing him appear in the backyard of the British royal family, he was taken aback in surprise.


    Duke Campbell gave a look to the Earl beside him. The Earl named Louis followed up and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, today the prince''s arranged an archery show for everyone. To perform is a young archer from the English countryside.... Alan Covington. And alongside him is a gold medalist from China....Tang Yan. "


    After introducing the two on the field, Earl Louis paused and continued: "We felt an ordinary game would be boring, so today, our two marksmen will be showing us a 150 meter shot and their target will be a cantaloupe melon, just freshly picked from the orchard."


    As soon as the Earl''s words came out, discussion was immediately sparked among the ambassadors. Although they weren''t archery fanatics, receiving an invitation letter from the prince, naturally they did their due diligence and at least had some basic understanding of archery.


    The official Olympics target distance was only 70 meters, but now the two were actually going to pull off a 150 meter shot. This left them stunned and filled them with anticipation.


    "150 meters, a cantaloupe, interesting." Even Prince William was full of interest when he heard the distance and difficulty.


    At this time, Tang Yan had also just learned what the competition was and his mouth nearly fell open.


    But when he turned to see Covington''s reaction Covington''s expression was just serious without a hint of surprise, he gave off a sense of self-confidence, it seemed that he had obviously known in advance.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help but smile wearily, it seemed that he was being pushed into a pit by someone.

 214 Archery Show 2

    "Alan Covington." The call for Covington came.


    Covington nodded and picked up his compound bow.


    The ambassadors stopped communicating at this and looked to the field.


    Covington walked up to the shooting line and glanced over at a point in the distance, where the cantaloupe melon was. He pressed forward slightly, then brought up the compound bow and nocked his arrow.


    The biggest advantage of compound bows over recurve bows was the difference in draw weights. Compound bows had higher draw weights and a higher draw weight could increase the power behind a shot allowing for a flatter arrow trajectory and less flight deviation.


    Covington drew back his bowstring, adjusted his stance and then began to aim.


    Tang Yan noticed that Covington wasn''t even straining to see and was slightly surprised.


    It seemed Covington had exceptional eyesight even for an archer.


    Covington, holding his breath, finished aiming and fired.


    Twang!


    The arrow flew a slight arc in the air and under the watch of everyone''s gaze, it flew straight towards the cantaloupe in the distance.


    Whoosh!


    The arrow hadn''t even hit yet, but Earl Louis was already clapping impatiently.


    Puff!


    Along with the sound of the shot, the arrow pierced the cantaloupe and was firmly fixed in it.


    "Wonderful shot!" Prince William couldn''t help exclaiming.


    The ambassadors also began to applaud.


    There was a huge smile plastered all over Campbell''s face. Covington was an archery genius he had accidentally discovered. He had been secretly supporting his cultivation and training, just to find an opportunity to introduce him to Prince William. This bond would further strengthen the relationship between him and the prince.


    After his shot, Covington felt a burst of excitement but Campbell had privately told him that he had to show humility in front of the prince, so he kept his emotions in check and returned to his original position.


    Sure enough, his move attracted the favor of Prince William. The prince nodded with satisfaction, whilst speaking to Campbell: "You said you discovered him in a small village?"


    "Yes, Earl Louis and I were there for an event and discovered him by accident." Campbell nodded.


    "Very good, very good." Prince William nodded, then looked to Tang Yan.


    Campbell also looked over to Tang Yan.


    He knew the strength of Tang Yan, he was an amazing archer, but he was a competitive archer, specifically disciplined at 70 meters whereas Covington was born and bred on freestyle archery and performing such tricks.


    He was full of scepticism on whether Tang Yan could pull off the shot, which was more than double his usual standard.


    Not that he was hoping Tang Yan could make it, he wanted Tang Yan to get close but ultimately miss the shot. Further highlighting the impressiveness of Covington''s shot.


    This was the main reason why he had asked the prince to invite Tang Yan, he needed someone to act as a stepping stone for this occasion and a clear marker for Covington''s skill. Initially he already had another archer lined up but then he heard Tang Yan was in the UK, so he switched the invitation last minute.


    "Tang Yan!"


    As Covington stepped back, Tang Yan was called up for his shot.


    Hearing the call, Tang Yan walked up with his recurve bow.


    The previous cantaloupe had just been taken up with the arrow still buried in it to Prince William.


    Tang Yan looked up at the new cantaloupe that had just been placed 150 meters away.


    The size of the cantaloupe was almost the same as the previous one, so it seemed the people in charge didn''t mess around in this regard.


    Tang Yan adjusted the draw weight of the recurve bow to its maximum point, and then pulled an arrow from the arrow quiver.


    150 meters was still within the realm of possibility but competitively it was a distance that was nonexistent. The farthest in a competitive game you could get was 90 metres.


    But a 150 meter shot, with a recurve bow, let alone a melon, even if it was a hippo that put its head there, it would still be difficult to guarantee a clean shot.


    The reason Covington could pull it off was because in addition to excellent talent, he had been practising such a shot for years building up muscle memory.


    However seeing Covington''s shot, Tang Yan was filled with excitement and expectation.


    He was curious to see if he could pull off the shot, he felt with 80% of Li Guang''s abilities it could be done.


    He nocked the arrow and drew back the bowstring and after aiming at the distant melon, he adjusted up the recurve bow to almost sixty degrees to the horizon.


    At this angle, the arrow from his shot would just shoot straight up into the sky.


    Seeing his actions, Campbell held a slight look of confusion.


    Was Tang Yan giving up?


    At this moment Prince William''s eyes flashed a strange look.


    Because of the distance, he couldn''t distinguish between the bows being used by the two, but seeing Tang Yan''s posture, he seemed to understand something.


    He turned to look at Campbell and found that there was a slight nervousness in the latter''s eyes.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath after completing his aiming and drew the bowstring back to its fullest.


    Holding his breath and stabilizing his aim, he fired.


    Twang!


    Swoosh!


    With a burst of air, the arrow flew out into the air at an angle.


    Tang Yan still maintained his posture after firing the arrow. He waited for the arrow to fly out more than ten meters before he withdrew his bow.


    On the sidelines, Prince William, the nobles and the ambassadors all looked up at the arrow gliding in mid-air.


    Even if they didn''t know much about archery, anyone could tell that Tang Yan''s shot wasn''t the same as Covington''s.


    In fact, Covington was also intently watching the arrow, with doubt at first, followed by curiosity before settling on worry.


    Tang Yan''s arrow, at the end of its parabola, had a high probability of hitting the cantaloupe.


    After reaching its highest point, the arrow fell obliquely.


    As the altitude decreased, its speed became faster and faster.


    When the arrow was only a dozen meters away from the end point, even Prince William could predict the outcome of the arrow.


    He stood upright with excitement.


    Campbell also stood upright, but his expression was different from Prince William''s.


    Earl Louis was also shocked. He suddenly felt that Duke Campbell seemed to have kicked an iron plate this time round.

 215 215 Try An Apple

    Whoot!


    A muffled sound rang out.


    The arrow dropped from the sky and pierced through the center of the cantaloupe and because of the angle, it looked like a flag was directly inserted from above the cantaloupe.


    "Outstanding." Prince William stood up and applauded.


    It could be seen from the trajectory of the arrow, this shot was clearly more difficult than Covington''s and Tang Yan completed it perfectly.


    Campbell sat in his seat unmoved. How could he feel like applauding?


    "Campbell, what''s the name of this archer again?" Prince William turned and asked.


    Seeing Prince William turning to him, Campbell stood up and barely squeezed out a smile as he replied: "Tang Yan."


    "Tang Yan hmm. Both of them performed very well. Let''s meet them." Prince William said as he walked in the direction of Tang Yan and Covington.


    "William." Campbell yelled, he didn''t expect Prince William to be so interested.


    But Prince William didn''t seem to hear him and carried on straight ahead.


    Two members of the Palace Guard immediately came forward, following the prince.


    Campbell was forced to follow, and the other marquises and counts, as well as the ambassadors, immediately followed.


    Tang Yan had already walked back to his spot. When he saw Prince William and the ambassadors coming.


    "Haha, wonderful performance, Alan Covington, Tang Yan, those were amazing shots." Prince William was in a good mood and said with a laugh when he came to them.


    "Thank you sir, it''s my honor." Covington said modestly, and bowed as he spoke.


    "Thank you." Tang Yan''s reaction was much more bland. Although he had managed to hit the cantaloupe, he naturally still wasn''t pleased about having the odds unfairly stacked against him.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s expression, Prince William couldn''t help but look at him for a while, full of curiosity.


    At this time, someone brought up the cantaloupe that Tang Yan had shot to them.


    Making a comparison between the two shots, although the angles of injection were different, the depths were the same, it was hard to call who shot better.


    Originally, this was just an archery exhibition. It didn''t matter who had the better archery skills, but with two people performing, it was inevitable that there was comparison and competition.


    Prince William took another look at the cantaloupes and said, "These cantaloupes look a bit big. I''ve heard that the apples in the orchard have just ripened. I wonder if we changed to apples, would you both be willing to repeat the shot?"


    Hearing Prince William''s words, Covington froze and looked to Campbell unconsciously. Obviously, this was not a part of the plan.


    "William, at a distance of 150 meters, a cantaloupe looks almost the size of an apple, if you replace it with an apple, it will basically be a small dot." Campbell interrupted.


    "This...." Prince William glanced over at the stand 150 meters away, at which the fruits were placed.


    "I can try it." Tang Yan suddenly interrupted.


    He wasn''t generally interested in showing off and being that guy but Prince William''s proposal actually caught his interest.


    He wanted to test his current limits.


    But his words put an incredulous look on Campbell''s face.


    "You actually want to try it?" Prince William looked excitedly at Tang Yan, as someone who loved sports and testing the limit, he was naturally hoping to see an exciting performance.


    Tang Yan nodded and said, "But I''m going to need to change bows. I only have a recurve bow. At such a long distance, it''s not accurate enough."


    "Prince William, a recurve bow is generally only used in competitive games, because of its limited range it''s rarely used for such performances. The compound bow he''s using has a longer range, more stable accuracy, and is overall better suited for such a shot." Zhuang Jiajie said, appearing next to Tang Yan as he pointed to Covington''s bow.


    Campbell hearing Zhuang Jiajie''s words instantly interrupted unhappily: "Who are you?"


    "He''s my agent. We were invited by the prince to participate in the exhibition game. I thought that made us VIPs?" Tang Yan looked over at Campbell and said indifferently.


    "You!" Campbell was speechless for a while. He suddenly began regretting inviting Tang Yan.


    "Duke Campbell, please." Prince William said shushing Campbell, before turning to Covington directly, and asking quietly, "Is he telling the truth?"


    In front of Prince William, Covington didn''t dare to lie, and nodded saying, "Yes, your Royal Highness."


    "What a hassle. I know that an archer is at their best using their own bow and although your bow is better, it seems a bit small for Tang Yan." Prince William said, touching his chin.


    Covington was only 16 years old, he was a size smaller than Tang Yan. The bow he used was also one size smaller. Although it could still be used, it wasn''t really suitable for Tang Yan.


    Prince William was about to send his men to look for a suitable bow.


    When the sulking Duke Campbell seemingly suddenly thought of something as he said smiling: "William, I remember Her Majesty the Queen just sent you a bow not long ago."


    "Ahhh, your right." Prince William exclaimed in remembrance, but he soon shook his head. "That bow is old, although it works, it''s probably not suitable to use."


    "It''s her Majesty''s gift, I''m certain there won''t be any difference." Campbell continued.


    Prince William thought about it and then turned his head to the guard behind him, before turning back and saying: "I''ll have them get it but I''m not sure if it''ll work so I''ll also get them to look for a suitable compound bow. "


    "Your royal highness is very thoughtful." Tang Yan said with a smile. With the experience of his previous life, he could easily tell that the person who dug a whole for him wasn''t the prince, but most likely the duke beside him.


    The prince''s quarters weren''t far from here,so it didn''t take long for the guards to return.


    In his hand was a longbow. It looked vintage, strong and rough. It looked like it was made of Yew wood.


    The quality standard for wood in bow making was divided into seven grades: yew wood was first-class, osage was first-class, mulberry was second-class, orange wood was second-class, papaya was second-class and bamboo was also second class.


    This bow was made of the finest yew wood and even at first glance it was clear it was very valuable.

 215 Try An Apple

    Whoot!


    A muffled sound rang out.


    The arrow dropped from the sky and pierced through the center of the cantaloupe and because of the angle, it looked like a flag was directly inserted from above the cantaloupe.


    "Outstanding." Prince William stood up and applauded.


    It could be seen from the trajectory of the arrow, this shot was clearly more difficult than Covington''s and Tang Yan completed it perfectly.


    Campbell sat in his seat unmoved. How could he feel like applauding?


    "Campbell, what''s the name of this archer again?" Prince William turned and asked.


    Seeing Prince William turning to him, Campbell stood up and barely squeezed out a smile as he replied: "Tang Yan."


    "Tang Yan hmm. Both of them performed very well. Let''s meet them." Prince William said as he walked in the direction of Tang Yan and Covington.


    "William." Campbell yelled, he didn''t expect Prince William to be so interested.


    But Prince William didn''t seem to hear him and carried on straight ahead.


    Two members of the Palace Guard immediately came forward, following the prince.


    Campbell was forced to follow, and the other marquises and counts, as well as the ambassadors, immediately followed.


    Tang Yan had already walked back to his spot. When he saw Prince William and the ambassadors coming.


    "Haha, wonderful performance, Alan Covington, Tang Yan, those were amazing shots." Prince William was in a good mood and said with a laugh when he came to them.


    "Thank you sir, it''s my honor." Covington said modestly, and bowed as he spoke.


    "Thank you." Tang Yan''s reaction was much more bland. Although he had managed to hit the cantaloupe, he naturally still wasn''t pleased about having the odds unfairly stacked against him.


    Seeing Tang Yan''s expression, Prince William couldn''t help but look at him for a while, full of curiosity.


    At this time, someone brought up the cantaloupe that Tang Yan had shot to them.


    Making a comparison between the two shots, although the angles of injection were different, the depths were the same, it was hard to call who shot better.


    Originally, this was just an archery exhibition. It didn''t matter who had the better archery skills, but with two people performing, it was inevitable that there was comparison and competition.


    Prince William took another look at the cantaloupes and said, "These cantaloupes look a bit big. I''ve heard that the apples in the orchard have just ripened. I wonder if we changed to apples, would you both be willing to repeat the shot?"


    Hearing Prince William''s words, Covington froze and looked to Campbell unconsciously. Obviously, this was not a part of the plan.


    "William, at a distance of 150 meters, a cantaloupe looks almost the size of an apple, if you replace it with an apple, it will basically be a small dot." Campbell interrupted.


    "This...." Prince William glanced over at the stand 150 meters away, at which the fruits were placed.


    "I can try it." Tang Yan suddenly interrupted.


    He wasn''t generally interested in showing off and being that guy but Prince William''s proposal actually caught his interest.


    He wanted to test his current limits.


    But his words put an incredulous look on Campbell''s face.


    "You actually want to try it?" Prince William looked excitedly at Tang Yan, as someone who loved sports and testing the limit, he was naturally hoping to see an exciting performance.


    Tang Yan nodded and said, "But I''m going to need to change bows. I only have a recurve bow. At such a long distance, it''s not accurate enough."


    "Prince William, a recurve bow is generally only used in competitive games, because of its limited range it''s rarely used for such performances. The compound bow he''s using has a longer range, more stable accuracy, and is overall better suited for such a shot." Zhuang Jiajie said, appearing next to Tang Yan as he pointed to Covington''s bow.


    Campbell hearing Zhuang Jiajie''s words instantly interrupted unhappily: "Who are you?"


    "He''s my agent. We were invited by the prince to participate in the exhibition game. I thought that made us VIPs?" Tang Yan looked over at Campbell and said indifferently.


    "You!" Campbell was speechless for a while. He suddenly began regretting inviting Tang Yan.


    "Duke Campbell, please." Prince William said shushing Campbell, before turning to Covington directly, and asking quietly, "Is he telling the truth?"


    In front of Prince William, Covington didn''t dare to lie, and nodded saying, "Yes, your Royal Highness."


    "What a hassle. I know that an archer is at their best using their own bow and although your bow is better, it seems a bit small for Tang Yan." Prince William said, touching his chin.


    Covington was only 16 years old, he was a size smaller than Tang Yan. The bow he used was also one size smaller. Although it could still be used, it wasn''t really suitable for Tang Yan.


    Prince William was about to send his men to look for a suitable bow.


    When the sulking Duke Campbell seemingly suddenly thought of something as he said smiling: "William, I remember Her Majesty the Queen just sent you a bow not long ago."


    "Ahhh, your right." Prince William exclaimed in remembrance, but he soon shook his head. "That bow is old, although it works, it''s probably not suitable to use."


    "It''s her Majesty''s gift, I''m certain there won''t be any difference." Campbell continued.


    Prince William thought about it and then turned his head to the guard behind him, before turning back and saying: "I''ll have them get it but I''m not sure if it''ll work so I''ll also get them to look for a suitable compound bow. "


    "Your royal highness is very thoughtful." Tang Yan said with a smile. With the experience of his previous life, he could easily tell that the person who dug a whole for him wasn''t the prince, but most likely the duke beside him.


    The prince''s quarters weren''t far from here,so it didn''t take long for the guards to return.


    In his hand was a longbow. It looked vintage, strong and rough. It looked like it was made of Yew wood.


    The quality standard for wood in bow making was divided into seven grades: yew wood was first-class, osage was first-class, mulberry was second-class, orange wood was second-class, papaya was second-class and bamboo was also second class.


    This bow was made of the finest yew wood and even at first glance it was clear it was very valuable.

 216 The Sho

    "Can it be used?" Prince William looked to Tang Yan and asked.


    "Yes, it''s perfect." Tang Yan nodded.


    Li Guang was a Chinese figure of ancient times, the era when longbows thrived.


    Nowadays longbows weren''t so popular because they were more physically demanding and weren''t as efficient as compound bows, due to their draw curves: with a longbow, the draw curve was essentially linear: so it took more strength to hold a bow the farther you drew it back.


    But longbows still offered longer ranges and better accuracy at such ranges than a recurve bow.


    "Okay, then I can''t wait to see your performance." Prince William said excitedly.


    At this time, Campbell also showed a slight smile.


    Although he didn''t know where Tang Yan''s confidence came from, he didn''t think that an archer who was accustomed to recurve bows could turn around and use a longbow better than he did a recurve bow.


    Switching to a longbow to shoot an apple 150 meters away?


    What a joke!


    It would be hard to do on a gun without a scope let alone with a bow!


    Although Tang Yan''s previous performance was amazing enough, Campbell was unwilling to believe that Tang Yan could really do it.


    In his eyes, Tang Yan''s behavior was just bragging.


    Sadly, even if he missed the shot, the prince probably wouldn''t hold him accountable, because this in itself was a move to pursue the limit.


    The guard with the longbow handed it to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan took up the longbow under everyone''s gazes and appreciated it''s weight. He pulled at the bowstring to get a sense of its tension.


    Before letting go.


    Twang!


    The bowstring rebounded with a clear sound. Although it was old, he could still feel its power.


    It was expertly maintained as expected of a royal gift.


    "Your Royal Highness, let''s go back first." Earl Louis reminded Prince William and the ambassadors.


    "No, this might be my opportunity to witness a once in a lifetime shot, I want to be as close as possible. I don''t want to watch from afar." Prince William rejected beaming with a smile.


    As for the other nobles and the ambassadors, since the Prince didn''t want to move back, naturally they couldn''t go back either.


    The group stood not far from Tang Yan as they watched him prepare the shot.


    150 meters away, the guards had already put down the apple they had just picked.


    Tang Yan walked to the white line, adjusted his posture, and took an arrow from a guard.


    It was a wooden arrow, to match the longbow. It was made of Cupressus, with light grease on the surface, so as to prevent it spoiling over the decades. Compared with carbon arrows, it was relatively lighter, but the length of the arrow was less than half that of carbon arrows.


    After Tang Yan nocked the wooden arrow and began to draw back the bowstring.


    The conversion rate of the longbow''s force value was very low. In order to shoot something 150 meters away, the force required was almost more than double that of an ordinary recurve bow.


    Tang Yan slowly drew back the bowstrings to a full draw, his muscles straining and creaking under his clothes as he fought to maintain and stabilize the draw. The sense of power radiating off him drew a line in the sand and clearly showed the difference between a pro and an amature.


    The excitement in Prince William''s eyes grew stronger seeing this. The bow was of extraordinary origin. It was recovered from the Mary Rose, a ship of Henry VIII''s navy that capsized and sank at Portsmouth in 1545. It was among 1 of 3 bows to be recovered and refurbished and brought back to life. The other two bows were currently in the Tower of London Armoury.


    Campbell''s hands shook involuntarily, Tang Yan''s full draw made him feel a little nervous in his heart.


    Tang Yan aimed at the point where the apple was in the distance, and then moved up by an angle of about thirty degrees.


    Campbell kept trying to calm himself; he was being anxious for no reason, Tang Yan was on a completely new bow, and he hadn''t even had a test shot. Why was he even nervous?


    But as Tang Yan continued to aim, he couldn''t help but suck in a breath.


    Twang!


    Swoosh!


    There was the clear crisp sound of the bowstring rebounding and the arrow breaking through the air.


    After the arrow left the string, it shot straight into the distance.


    Compared with the speed of the previous recurve bow, it was much faster, even catching the arrow that Covington had shot from his compound bow.


    Everyone''s eyes followed the arrows in the air, without blinking, for fear of missing it.


    After the arrow flew to its highest point, it turned into a shooting star and shot straight at the distant apple.


    There was a look of excitement in Prince William''s eyes.


    Campbell still had an anxious look on his face.


    "It''s impossible..." Earl Louis murmured involuntarily.


    Bam!


    With a muffled sound, the arrow inserted into the apple and with stamina, continued through into the wooden platform.


    "Fantastic!" Prince William saw this scene and couldn''t help clapping.


    The other nobles and ambassadors also clapped excitedly in awe.


    Longbow, 150 meters, one shot, no doubt, this was brilliant, just brilliant.


    Covington was also dumbfounded at this time. As an archer, he could comprehend the difficulty of what Tang Yan had just done more than the rest.


    He turned to Duke Campbell, shaken, to see what he should do next.


    But Duke Campbell, was still staring forward. Seemingly in a state of awe and disbelief.


    Everything that had happened in front of him had completely deviated from his design.


    Covington, who should have been the main attraction, was cast to the side and Tang Yan had become the protagonist.


    "I think I need to add your name to the dinner tonight." Prince William looked to Tang Yan and said sincerely.


    "I would be honored." Tang Yan said with a smile. He could judge that most of today''s antics were the doings of Duke Campbell, and Prince William was mostly unaware.


    "Great, wonderful." Prince William said with a beaming smile.


    Signalling Tang Yan and Zhuang Jiajie to come along, he headed back for the palace whilst conversing with them.


    The ambassadors and the other nobles followed after the prince.


    But Campbell was still in place watching after them, when Ambassador Liu Xiaoming patted him on the shoulder before walking past with a smile.

 217 Unexpected Gues

    Prince William''s dinner party was set in a side hall of the Palace.


    Tang Yan entered the Palace with the group of nobles and ambassadors.


    Walking along the corridors, you could see hanging crystal chandeliers.


    And heading up a fleet of stairs, there were oil paintings adorning the walls, famous products of European painting masters, each piece worth its weight in gold.


    Reaching the second floor, you could see antiques and ornaments all around, walking through this section, it felt like you were walking into a wing of the British Museum.


    The splendid decorations of the royal family really showed off the luxury side of life.


    "This place is¡­..wow!" Zhuang Jiajie couldn''t help whispering with emotion as he walked alongside Tang Yan.


    "I wonder how much this would all go for if they sold it." Tang Yan said lightly.


    "Well, I reckon most of these items are one of a kind, with a plethora of history so they''ll be in the millions. Altogether it''ll at least be in the hundreds of millions maybe even break a billion as a collection." Zhuang Jiajie responded.


    Between the two talking, they had reached the end of the corridor, and after taking another turn, the guards leading didn''t go forward, but stood to the left and right of the door.


    It seemed that the room behind the guards was the dining room.


    Prince William entered the room first , followed by the rest of the group.


    Inside was a white-style dining room, about 100 square meters, but compared with the luxurious outside, inside was much more simple, except for the necessary chairs and the lengthy dining table in the center of the room, there weren''t many luxurious decorations.


    It was rumored that Queen Elizabeth II preferred the simple life, and it seemed that wasn''t completely groundless.


    After getting seated, the nobles and the ambassadors began to chat. Tang Yan and Zhuang Jiajie were sat towards the end of the table so were far from the centre of conversation.


    After about half an hour, the wall facing the table suddenly rose.


    It was only then that Tang Yan noticed that it wasn''t a real wall, but a decoy for a door.


    The door opened, and out walked¡­..


    Queen Elizabeth II.


    "Your Majesty!" Duke Campbell turned ecstatic when he saw the appearance of the Queen and got up bowing.


    Campbell was like this. So everyone else''s shock was naturally even greater. They were only invited by the prince to attend a dinner. But unexpectedly, they actually ran into the Queen. They quickly followed Campbell''s example and bowed.


    For many of them, this was the first and perhaps the only time they would see the queen.


    Tang Yan was also stunned to run into the Queen of England.


    Although she was more than 90 years old and her face was full of wrinkles, she still looked energetic, and she was looking over everyone with a placid and peaceful expression.


    After politely bowing, Tang Yan looked to the queen calmly. When by coincidence they locked gazes, the Queen stared at him for about four or five seconds before turning her head.


    "Please, everyone don''t worry. You don''t have to be so restrained, I''m sorry for my intrusion. I just haven''t seen little William for some time." The Queen said in a gentle tone. Although she was more than 90 years old, the life of royalty had her in good health.


    "It''s great to see you grandmother, these are my friends and guests who have come over to accompany me today. We were just about to have dinner, would you like to dine with us?" Prince William said with a smile.


    "It would be an honor for us to dine with you, your majesty." Earl Louis said with due course.


    The others also politely nodded.


    The Queen nodded, smiled and turned to Prince William: "Well then William, aren''t you going to introduce me to your friends?"


    "Oh, I almost forgot." Prince William snapped his head, then pointed to Campbell. "You remember Duke Campbell. He is the 13th Duke of Argyll."


    "Arrrhh little Campbell, I remember the last time I saw you, you were still small, following Jenny about (Campbell''s mother), I can''t believe you''re so big now." The Queen chuckled.


    "Your Majesty, I didn''t expect you to remember me." Campbell replied excited.


    "This is Earl Louis, he is...." Prince William continued the introductions.


    The Queen just nodded this time with a slight smile.


    William ran through the nobles, giving their names and ranks without much fanfare.


    But when he finished and looked to Tang Yan, there was a burst of excitement in his eyes, and he said, "This is Tang Yan, an archer from China. His archery skills are very impressive. You just missed out on....."


    Prince William rambled on telling the story of what occurred in the afternoon.


    The Queen hearing such a warm introduction from Prince William, couldn''t help but glance over Tang Yan again.


    "It''s really a pity that you didn''t get to see his performance." William said with a trace of regret in his voice.


    Hearing such high praise from Prince William, Campbell couldn''t help but feel a little pain in his heart. He couldn''t help but add in at this time: "Your Majesty, also missed out on seeing an archery genius of our own, Alan Covington. Covington is rising very quickly up the ranks, at just 16 years old. He''s from Winton as well, an ordinary country boy."


    "Hahaha indeed Covington also showed tremendous talent out there today!." Earl Louis echoed.


    "Actually, Covington had even more he wanted to show us but we got sidetracked. He can shoot blindfolded!" Campbell continued.


    "Blindfolded?" Upon hearing something new, Prince William became curious again.


    "Yes, the next time we have the opportunity, I would love to get him to show it to Her Majesty and your Royal Highness." Campbell said with a smile.


    "Good! Good!" Prince William''s attention became removed from Tang Yan.


    Zhuang Jiajie frowned at this.


    But Tang Yan was indifferent, whilst they were discussing enthusiastically, he just took up the wine glass in front of him and drank from the glass.


    He hadn''t come to seek any limelight. The performance in the afternoon was purely because he wanted to test his limits. As for the current situation, he wasn''t very interested in being drawn in.


    "In fact whilst the long-distance shots today were impressive, it''s good to remember that they were all done with all the senses available. Imagine taking away an archer''s sight, your Highness and then asking them to shoot. That''s why next time we should have Covington perform blindfolded archery, that''s real skill!"


    Duke Campbell''s words made Tang Yan frown but he bit his tongue.


    "Hahaha blindfolded archery, such skill." Earl Louis echoed.

 218 At Arrow Poin

    The Prince and Campbell were chatting when suddenly Prince William, as if remembering something, suddenly turned back to Tang Yan and said: "I wonder, Mr. Tang do you think you could replicate such a feat!?"


    To which Zhuang Jiajie and Queen Elizabeth looked at him with surprise.


    But Prince William just looked excited and expectant.


    Campbell noticed the change in Prince William''s expression and turned to Tang Yan.


    He went to interject but Tang Yan spoke up before he could, lightly saying: "If Her Majesty and Your Royal Highness want, I can perform it for you here."


    "Perform here?" Earl Louis spoke up with a sneer. "You want Her Majesty and His Royal Highness to stop their dinner and wait for you to set up a stand, so you can attempt it now?"


    As soon as Earl Louis spoke, the others nodded.


    Indeed, it was a dinner with the Queen. It seemed rather inappropriate to disrupt it to set up an arrow target etc, just so Tang Yan could perform archery. Plus it was already too dark to go back outside so where were they gonna put the target, surely not in the dining hall.


    "My performance only needs a bow." Tang Yan said calmly, looking to Prince William, directly disregarding Earl Louis.


    "Just a bow! Guards, bring the bow from earlier." Prince William shouted at this moment.


    One of the guards at the door, turned and left to get the bow and everyone turned to look at Tang Yan with a peculiar gaze.


    There was no venue, no target, what was Tang Yan planning to do?


    Even Zhuang Jiajie looked at Tang Yan with doubt.


    After a while, the guard returned, holding in his hand the longbow from earlier, given to Prince William by the Queen.


    Prince William waved his hand, and the guard gave over the bow and a pack of arrows to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan took the bow, put it aside and picked up the silver wine glass in front of him, poured a glass of red wine into it and handed it to Zhuang Jiajie.


    "Stand against the wall back there and hold the cup with one hand on top and one below to support it. When I say when later I want you to let go of the cup!"


    "Just move your bottom hand out of the way and let the wine glass drop, don''t move after that, okay!"


    Zhuang Jiajie was shocked but nodded. He wanted to ask what Tang Yan was gonna do but Tang Yan had already got up and took up the bow along with a napkin.


    Tang Yan walked to one side of the hall, whilst Zhuang Jiajie went to the other.


    Although Zhuang Jiajie didn''t know what Tang Yan was going to do, he still stood with the wine glass according to Tang Yan''s instructions.


    At this time, everyone in the hall, including the Queen and Prince William, had their eyes on Tang Yan. They wanted to see what he was trying to do.


    Tang Yan unfolded the napkin then tied it like a bandana around his head.


    Then he withdrew two arrows from the arrow pot he was given, to everyone''s confusion.


    Tang Yan nocked the two arrows on the bow together and then bent his index finger and his middle finger to control the gap between the two arrows.


    Before aiming in the direction of Zhuang Jiajie...


    Zhuang Jiajie saw Tang Yan''s move, and his hands began sweating unconsciously. He really didn''t understand what Tang Yan was trying to do but it was already too late now the arrows were facing him.


    Tang Yan took a deep breath, adjusted the positions of the arrows down slightly, and then flipped the bow from vertical to horizontal.


    Tang Yan then reached up and drew the bandana from atop his forehead to over his eyes and then under the watch of everyone, began to draw the arrows back completing a full draw with the bow.


    When Zhuang Jiajie saw that Tang Yan was about to shoot, he swallowed hard and got ready to let go.


    Everyone in the dining hall looked to Tang Yan intently and became silent.


    Tang Yan then shouted - "Release!"


    Zhuang Jiajie already, ready to go, hearing Tang Yan''s cry let go to almost instinctive relief.


    Twang!


    Swoosh!


    The arrows flew fast.


    Everyone only saw the flicker of the arrows.


    Boom!


    The next second, everyone''s eyes were on the wall behind Zhuang Jiajie, a few meters away.


    Zhuang Jiajie''s eyes were full of expression.


    Beside him were both the arrows inserted parallel into the wooden wall, and right in the middle of the two arrows was the wine glass, stuck between them, still filled with wine.


    If it weren''t for the still twitching arrows, he would have thought they had just magically appeared there.


    Tang Yan had just shot two arrows and caught the wine glass that Zhuang Jiajie had dropped!


    Such judgment, such grasp on time, such guts!


    It was incredible!


    Incredible!


    Amazing!


    "This¡­.impossible!" One of the ambassadors mumbled dazed.


    "Pap! Pap! Pap!" Prince William stood up and applauded loudly looking at Tang Yan. Apart from excitement, there was even a hint of worship.


    The other nobles and ambassadors also recovered, clapping together and applauding.


    Even the Queen had a radiant look on her face. Even she, who had experienced countless things in her life, couldn''t help feeling a shot of adrenaline just from watching.


    "That...was incredible!" Earl Louis couldn''t help but sigh with emotion.


    But soon, he noticed Campbell glaring at him and he quickly shut up.


    "Tang Yan, that was amazing and daring." Prince William praised full of wonder.


    "Thank you, your Royal Highness.." Tang Yan said lightly, returning the longbow to the guards as he walked back.


    "You''re truly a top tier archer." Prince William nodded with a smile.


    Buckingham Palace had a long history. It was built by the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 before it was purchased by King George III in 1761. The walls were made of stone. But the decorations of later generations included a lot of wooden frames and carvings. The two arrows shot by Tang Yan were shot into a wooden frame against the wall, so that the guards could still easily take care of it.


    Prince William turned and began speaking with the Queen whilst the guards worked.


    After a while, the guards had finished dealing with the two arrows and picked up the glass of wine and returned it to Tang Yan.


    At this moment, Prince William also stopped communicating with the Queen, then suddenly stood up and looked at Tang Yan and said, "Tang Yan, as a thank you for your outstanding performance today, if you don''t mind, I would like to gift you this bow."

 219 Olympic Year

    Prince William''s words attracted cries of amazement.


    "Your highness!" Campbell stood up suddenly.


    The bow that Prince William was referring to was the bow Tang Yan had just used just now, the one given to Prince William by the Queen.


    As a gift given by the queen to the prince, it was naturally extraordinary.


    "Duke Campbell, please calm yourself there''s no need to be so excited, I have already discussed it with Her Majesty, and she agrees with me. Tang Yan''s performance was inspiring and he''ll have more use for the bow than me!" Prince William said lightly.


    "So Tang Yan I would like to give you this bow as a friend!"


    A friend!


    Prince William actually called Tang Yan a friend!


    Duke Campbell didn''t know how to describe his emotions at the moment.


    With Prince William''s words the matter was settled, no one else spoke up. After all, although the bow was given to the prince by Her Majesty, it was ultimately his now to do with what he wanted so if he wanted to pass it onto a friend he could. They had nothing to say.


    What''s more, Her Majesty the Queen was sitting here, and there was a slight smile on her face. She obviously appreciated Tang Yan''s performance as well.


    "It would be my honor, your highness." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    The bow Tang Yan was being given was one of extraordinary origin. It was 1 of only 3 bows to be recovered and refurbished from the Mary Rose, a ship of Henry VIII''s navy that had capsized and sank at Portsmouth in 1545.


    It was an extraordinary bow and a very worthwhile collectible.


    After dinner, Tang Yan''s visit to the palace was over.


    Prince William had drawn him into conversation throughout the dinner and despite the difference in age and status, it had been quite a relaxed chat over a range of topics. He had gained an appreciation for the Prince.


    Waiting for the departure car, Tang Yan looked back at Buckingham Palace in the night, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth.


    Although this visit hadn''t gone as he had initially imagined, it was kind of fun and this would be one hell of a tale to pass on in the future.


    Tang Yan, finished with the commercial and everything else he had to do, didn''t stay in the UK for much longer after the dinner. He flew back to China a couple of days after the event but not before making sure to buy gifts and souvenirs.


    The Snickers ad was going through post-production processing and was scheduled to air, a bit before the end of the year.


    .....


    After returning to China, the first thing he did was to report to the Zhejiang Swimming Team.


    At the end of the Shanghai Swimming World Championships, he and Shen Qing had discussed follow-up swimming arrangements.


    And Shen Qing had already made preparations.


    The game plan was very simple, that was to get as many gold medals as possible at the cost of abandoning long-distance projects.


    The 800m freestyle was not included at the Olympics. So that didn''t make too much of a difference but he would be giving up the 1500m freestyle and as for the 400m freestyle they hadn''t made a decision yet, they were waiting to see the Olympic schedule to decide whether to cut it or leave it.


    So with this in mind, Tang Yan''s next goal became clear.


    The 2012 National Swimming Championships.


    The championship was held once a year, and the purpose of each year was different. For example, the Jiangcheng Swimming Championships that Tang Yan participated in before was actually a selection event for the Shanghai World Championships.


    The 2012 Championships would be even more meaningful because it would be an Olympic year.


    Four years and one Olympics, the Olympic year was of great significance to athletes.


    With his performance at the Shanghai World Championships Tang Yan naturally didn''t need to participate to secure a spot but that was only for freestyle.


    But he wasn''t content and wanted to try out for the butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke events.


    So in order to obtain an Olympic ticket for these disciplines, he would have to fight for a spot at the National Championships.


    He had to get to work and master three new strokes in time for the Championships. But Shen Qing had already crafted an intense training plan for him and with 80% of Zhang Shun''s abilities picking up the other three strokes would be much smoother, though it would still require intense work.


    So, for the next few months, Tang Yan dedicated all his time to the swimming pool. He practically ate and slept at the swimming centre.


    .....


    Time flew by fast, and soon it was 2012, after half a year of an intense training camp, Tang Yan had mastered the other three swimming styles as much as freestyle.


    So along with a couple of teammates he left Yuhang City and got a coach to Yanxing City.


    Yanxing was located in the north-central part of the Zhejiang Province, close to Yuhang City, the capital of Zhejiang.


    The National Swimming Championships were being held there.


    Tang Yan''s impression of Yanxing wasn''t very deep in his previous life, but it was a coincidence that after Yan Bing moved from Lotus City, the place she moved was Yanxing.


    And so after knowing that Tang Yan was coming to Yanxing, Yan Bing actually returned from Shanghai and offered to play landlord and show him around.


    The day after arriving in Yanxing, Tang Yan and his teammates conducted field training but in the afternoon Tang Yan was left off and he headed to the city with Zhuang Jiajie to participate in a promotional event.


    When Tang Yan was still in swimming camp, he had received an invitation from the Yanxing Municipal Government inviting him as a guest of the Yanxing Wushu Association.


    The promotion event for the Wushu Association was held in Yuecheng District, which was under the jurisdiction of the Yanxing Municipal Government.


    After more than one year, Tang Yan had completed his transformation from obscurity to a household name. So they had called on Tang Yan to provide an endorsement.

 220 Yan Bing 1

    The promotional event was to hold a show and then hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new martial arts classes after.


    The Yanxing Municipal Government''s aim this time was to help promote martial arts, so they were offering half off on lessons.


    After gaining the power of Bruce Lee''s Jeet Kune Do, Tang Yan also hoped to promote martial arts.


    With the development of technology, many children were attracted indoors by electronic devices causing an increase in childhood myopia and obesity, and with falling interest in outdoor activities such as football, athletics, hockey, tennis etc, a lot of kids were losing out on the chance to learn the accompanying values ??that came with them such as discipline, teamwork, leadership, even just learning how to be sociable.


    If his presence could encourage some kids, teenagers or even adults to go outside and do some form of exercise or sport, then he was willing to do his part.


    Arriving on-site he realised it was quite packed and when people heard that Tang Yan was there, they began to cheer.


    And so it began, a lot of children onsite with their parents began to bug them and the registration sheets for the martial arts classes were hot in demand, there was only a number of limited spaces in each class.


    At the end of the event, Tang Yan came forward and took photos with the children and all those who had signed up for a martial arts class, bringing a successful end to the event.


    ...


    After leaving the event, it was almost time for dinner, and it was then that he took out his phone and found that Yan Bing had called him and sent a text message.


    She had returned to Yanxing, so he decided to go meet her.


    Having Zhuang Jiajie head back first, he took a taxi to where he was meeting Yan Bing.


    After getting in the taxi, the taxi driver recognized him, so they took a photo and Tang Yan signed an autograph for him, before they started heading off.


    After dropping him off the taxi driver took his fee, and left with excitement.


    As the taxi left, Tang Yan touched his chin, he was beginning to get recognized more and more. How long would it be before he needed a security team.


    He began walking up to where Yan Bing said to meet.


    There were many celebrities in Yanxing, but the most well-known or who the city was most connected to was Lu Xun.


    Lu Xun original name Zhou Shuren, was a writer, his books and poems were literally national curriculum so pretty much everyone who had been a student knew him.


    The place where Yan Bing said to meet was the former residence of Lu Xun.


    When he arrived, he found that Yan Bing was waving to him, already in line.


    "I thought we were going for dinner, Yan''er, but now you''ve brought me to some dead guy''s former residence?" Tang Yan asked, smiling at Yan Bing.


    "You''ll understand in a bit, there are a lot of delicacies inside." Yan Bing replied, sticking her tongue out at him.


    Tang Yan shook his head with a smile.


    "By the way, I heard that you won another boxing competition. Well done, not bad so...how many medals is that now?" Yan Bing asked as he lined up behind her.


    She also took out a packet of food from her bag and handed it to him saying, "Flower cake, specialty of Yanxing."


    "Oh, I don''t even know at this point, I just use them as cup coasters. I''ll have to check later." Tang Yan replied with a smirk and took the flower cake with a smile and said, "Tastes good."


    "The way you keep switching you''ll probably end up with a medal for every sport in the world. I''ll have to start learning more about sports in the future, otherwise I probably won''t be able to communicate with you, mister international sports star." Yan Bing said as she unscrewed a bottle of water,


    "Be careful not to choke, drink some water."


    "Hahaha, didn''t you say you wanted to be a reporter? How about looking into sports reporting? Then you can follow me around and praise me all day for my stunning victories, ahhh think about it, what an amazing job that would be!"


    With that, the two instantly broke out into laughter.


    Recovering from her laughter, Yan Bing blushed slightly and shook her hand to give Tang Yan the water bottle.


    Tang Yan smiled and took the water, took a sip and said nothing.


    Perhaps because of growing up together, he was more relaxed when he talked to Yan Bing.


    And thinking of it, Yan Bing had truly grown up well, she was even more beautiful than when they were younger.


    At this moment, he noticed that there were two people looking their way.


    When he looked back. He saw it was two young guys, looking about twenty years old.


    Their eyes were on Yan Bing, and they whispered as they stared.


    "Next." At this moment, the conductor called out.


    "Come on, let''s go." Yan Bing stepped forward and said.


    Tang Yan withdrew his gaze.


    After buying tickets, Yan Bing led Tang Yan into Lu Xun''s former residence.


    The residence wasn''t just Lu Xun''s house, it had been turned into a proper attraction, they had drawn in the equivalent of several streets into one compound and made it into a tourist area.


    As Yan Bing said there was a lot of delicious food being served as you walked down the streets.


    Huadiao wine, fennel beans, drunken shrimp, duck, and of course stinky tofu. There was a huge variety of food.


    However, because of the swimming competition tomorrow, Tang Yan didn''t dare to eat, he just bought a standard salad and instead he watched Yan Bing eat and try out different food.


    The two of them walked around for a while and suddenly found a section of stores specializing in wooden products.


    To Tang Yan''s surprise, there was even a stand selling bows here and they looked well crafted as well.


    "I''m going over there, to look at the wooden combs." Yan Bing said before heading off to a different stand as she saw him stop, fascinated.


    Tang Yan nodded and looked up after picking up the bow.


    But after looking over it for a while, he was a little disappointed. The surface of the bow was greased to make it look better but in fact, it was made of ordinary pine wood, which wasn''t very durable. Pine wood was too soft to handle very much compression, and it would likely splinter after a couple of shots.


    With a price tag of more than £¤800/ $120 it was basically throwing money down the drain.


    He lowered the bow and went to find Yan Bing''s figure.


    Walking towards the store she had headed to, he heard:


    "...If you don''t mind, beautiful lady, could I have your number?"


    He looked up, and coincidentally, he saw the two guys from the queue outside.


    Talking to Yan Bing, was the handsomer one of the two.


    "I noticed you when we were lining up outside. I didn''t expect that we would run into each other again. It seems like fate!" The handsome guy continued, smirking slightly.


    Yan Bing''s expression showed that she was a little stunned at this, it was apparent she didn''t expect to encounter such a situation.


    "Thank you, but I have a boyfriend, sorry." Yan Bing replied.


    Yan Bing had a boyfriend?


    Tang Yan about to step forward froze, he didn''t know what to do. There was a trace of disappointment in his heart.


    "Ohh that''s fine, I just want to make friends with you. This is the first time I''ve seen such a beautiful woman like you, you''re like God''s gift to us. "


    Yan Bing turned bright red at this.


    And seemingly sensing a gaze, she looked over in Tang Yan''s direction and noticing him she called out: "Oh look, my boyfriend is here."

 221 Yan Bing 2

    Tang Yan froze when he heard Yan Bing''s words.


    But soon, he understood.


    Although the guy chatting to her was handsome. He wasn''t a hit with her.


    So she was dragging him in to be a shield.


    Thinking this Tang Yan was more than happy to play his part and walked over with a smile.


    When they saw Tang Yan, the looks on the two guys completely changed.


    Tang Yan looked over and suddenly got goosebumps.


    He was expecting that the two would either leave in a despondent manner or challenge his presence.


    But that was completely different from what the two did, seeing him they actually looked excited almost like they were gonna cheer.


    What was with that look?


    "You''re the King of Sports," the handsome guy said, unable to resist his excitement.


    As soon as he heard this, Tang Yan understood.


    They had recognized him.


    King of Sports was his Weibo Username.


    Seeing Tang Yan not speaking, one of the guys held his head in his hands with an incredible expression: "Oh, my God, incredible, I actually met Tang Yan here, oh my God"


    "Can I take a photo with you? My name''s Li Xiao. I''m a huge fan, I follow you on Weibo." The handsome guy said as he stepped forward.


    "I''m afraid, not this time." Tang Yan glanced at Yan Bing.


    "Oh sorry, I''m really sorry, I thought she was single, I didn''t mean any harm." It could be seen that Li Xiao was a big fan of Tang Yan. He saw Tang Yan''s firm attitude and turned his head to look at Yan Bing pleadingly.


    "Okay, I can have a quick photo. But we have to head off right after." Seeing that Yan Bing was about to speak, Tang Yan acquiesced first and took a photo with the two guys.


    After which he took Yang Bing''s hand, and headed off directly out.


    Li Xiao and friend watched Tang Yan and Yan Bing leave,


    "I never knew Tang Yan had a girlfriend, where do you think they are going?" Li Xiao''s friend said.


    "They must be keeping it secret, on the down-low. I think he''s trying to get away from us in case a crowd forms or something. But it doesn''t look like they are heading out of town yet." Li Xiao replied.


    .....


    Tang Yan and Yan Bing traveled through the alleys, they were scenic spots and secluded. The alleys still held an ancient charm. Walking on the blue stone road, it was an indescribably poetic picture.


    Tang Yan was walking casually and aimlessly with Yan Bing, for the first time since his rebirth his mind wasn''t in over gear with thoughts and plans.


    "After crossing the bridge, Lu Xun''s actual residence is up ahead. Baicao Garden and Sanwei Shuwu are the most famous scenic spots in the residence." Yan Bing said while walking.


    "Baicao Garden is full of lush vegetation, green vegetables and white radishes all about."


    "Green vegetables and radishes, people actually come to see that. Why not just go to a food market?" Tang Yan said with a smirk.


    "Sanwei Shuwu is where Lu Xun studied and it''s actually very well preserved, you can see where he wrote some of his early books." Yan Bing continued, after rolling her eyes at him.


    "From the Baicao Garden to the Sanwei Study." Tang Yan added.


    "Huh, you know the saying." Yan Bing looked at him in surprise.


    The two were halfway across the bridge when Tang Yan stopped and said, "I got given a Lu Xun anthology at the martial arts promotional event I told you about earlier. The Yanxing Municipal Government was hosting the event and they gave it to me as a thank you gift."


    "An anthology by Lu Xun." Yan Bing asked puzzled.


    Tang Yan took the anthology from his shoulder bag and handed it to Yan Bing.


    "It doesn''t look like a fake." Yan Bing looked excited at the simple booklet.


    [San Xian Ji] - [Xu Guangping -19/09/1932 - Shanghai].


    Turning the first page, the smell of the book revealed it''s age and passage through history, and the quaint writing showed the value of the book.


    "If this is real, then this is one of the anthologies that Lu Xun sent to his wife Xu Guangping." Yan Bing glanced at the words and shouted excitedly, "It looks so genuine, it can''t be a fake right?"


    "I didn''t really pay it much mind when they gave it to me. But I doubt they would give me a fake so it''s either the real thing or a replica, a very good one at that." Tang Yan smiled and continued, "Anyway you seem to appreciate it more than me, you can have it if you want. I''m a sports star. What do I need an ancient book for."


    "You want to give it to me" Yan Bing looked incredulous.


    "Don''t you want it? If you don''t want it, I''ll just pawn it off later, it''s too delicate for me to carry around anyway." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "No...no you can''t just sell it, especially to a pawn shop, it''s valuable, it''s a part of history." Yan Bing said stunned.


    "If it''s valuable then I can get a couple yuan for it right? For me, there''s no difference between this and £¤60 toilet paper." Tang Yan said with a smile.


    "You!"


    "Just take it, think of it as a thank you for when you used to buy me candy." Tang Yan said.


    If the anthology was taken to an auction house and authenticated and came out genuine, with how famous and rare Lu Xun''s works were in the private sector it would probably be easily worth something in the hundreds of thousands range if it was sold.


    But Tang Yan knew he couldn''t really sell the anthology especially if it was real, he had literally just been gifted it by the Yanxing Government. It wouldn''t look right.


    So it was either: Keep it and let it accumulate dust, gift it to a museum or something along those lines or gift it to someone else.


    And seeing that Yan Bing liked it, he might as well give it to her.


    "Then I will keep it for you." Yan Bing said carefully, placing the anthology package in her bag.


    As they set off again, Yan Bing kept looking at her bag from time to time, fearing that it would accidentally fall out.


    But that was the thing with life, sometimes actually the more wary and cautious you were, the easier it was to make mistakes and for the very thing you were trying to avoid to occur.


    As she walked down the slope of the bridge, Yan Bing looking at her bag and not where she was going misstepped and twisted her ankle accidentally and with a cry of "Ahhh," she reached to support herself using the railings but as she did so the bag slipped off her shoulder.

 222 Yan Bing 3

    Tang Yan turned his head when he heard the cry and saw Yan Bing almost fall. He walked back quickly and asked, "Are you okay?"


    "It''s fine, I just accidentally misstepped and twisted my ankle." Yan Bing said, gritting her teeth.


    "You don''t look so fine, I''ll help you over there so you can take a seat." Tang Yan said, holding Yan Bing''s hand and propping her up.


    Yan Bing blushed slightly, but went to thank him when she suddenly realized that her bag was missing. Touching her shoulder, she panicked and cried out: "Ahhh my bag, the anthology!"


    Yan Bing''s bag had fallen off the bridge, he didn''t know whether it was lucky or unlucky but the bag hadn''t fallen into the river instead it was hanging from a tree branch below.


    The tree branch was about four or five meters away from the bridge deck, and two or three meters further down was the river surface. Unless you could find or fashion some sort of hook contraption, it was really out of reach.


    "I''ll help you get it back later." Tang Yan said with a look down.


    "I''m so....." Yan Bing began blaming herself.


    "Relax." Tang Yan interrupted. He hugged Yan Bing''s waist and helped her walk down.


    Yan Bing''s face turned red, and even her exhaled breath was hot. She turned to see Tang Yan''s indifferent expression. She couldn''t help but take a long breath.


    Tang Yan didn''t think over it. After helping Yan Bing down on a wooden bench, she took off her shoe and looked at her ankle.


    "Fortunately, it''s not sprained, just twisted a bit, it just needs to be massaged down." Tang Yan said.


    "I''ll do it myself." Yan Bing said already flushed at this time.


    Tang Yan glanced at Yan Bing, and then he remembered how he had helped her down.


    The atmosphere became a bit awkward.


    "I''ll take a look at the bag." Tang Yan said and got up.


    Going back to the bridge and looking down, the bag was still there.


    Looking at the distance between the bridge and the bag in front, then looking at the thin tree branches, which branched out from a willow tree by the riverside. He knew it was basically unrealistic to try climbing the tree to get it down.


    "If you can''t get it, let''s try to find some groundskeepers or call the council." Yan Bing shouted while rubbing her ankle.


    Tang Yan looked over at the bag again, then looked up at the path in the distance, and suddenly remembered something, and then turned back and said, "No need, wait here for me."


    After he finished speaking, he rushed straight back to the woodwork shop he had visited earlier.


    Li Xiao and his friend were looking at a nearby shop at this time, when they saw Tang Yan running back.


    After returning to the woodwork stand and buying the bow, the bow he had inspected before, Tang Yan brought the bow and a pack of arrows back to the bridge.


    When she saw Tang Yan run off and return, holding a bow in his hand, Yan Bing''s eyes were full of doubt.


    Why did he go back and buy a bow?


    Li Xiao and his friend hiding around the corner were also puzzled but out of instinct and full of curiosity Li Xiao took out his phone.


    Tang Yan took the bow, walked straight to the bridge, estimated the distance and angle, and walked back angling himself. After finding the right spot, he began to draw the bowstring back after nocking four arrows.


    It was only then that Yan Bing understood what Tang Yan was trying to do.


    He was trying to shoot the bag directly to the other side.


    The worried look on her face at this time wasn''t distress for her bag, but for the anthology in it. If Tang Yan accidentally shot through the anthology, the loss would far outweigh the damage to her bag.


    Li Xiao, seeing Tang Yan''s actions, was particularly excited. He felt that he was about to witness a magical scene.


    In fact, after seeing Tang Yan''s archery posture, many other people also noticed his presence.


    "Who''s that on the bridge?"


    "Is he holding a bow?!"


    "What is he doing? He''s aiming at the tree, ahhh there''s a bag in the tree!"


    Tang Yan adapted to the feeling of the bow and after pulling the bow to a full draw, he aimed at Yan Bing''s bag.


    He took a deep breath and fired.


    Twang!


    Swoosh!


    The arrows flew off the bowstring.


    Ding!


    There was the sound of metal impacting metal in the air.


    The next second, the metal railing by the river bank on the other side of the bridge, had arrows firmly nailed through it. At the position of the arrows, a bag was hanging in the air.


    "Oh my god, he hit the bag. Incredible." Li Xiao had shot the whole process on video. The arrows had shot the bag off the tree branch and carrying it''s momentum had gone and pierced through the metal railings by the river bank. Three of the four arrows had managed to pierce through the railing and were holding up the bag.


    This precision, this power, it was truly amazing


    Onlookers seeing and realizing the situation couldn''t help clapping their hands.


    And as Tang Yan walked down the bridge towards the river bank, more than a dozen tourists ran towards him, they recognized him, seeing him up close.


    Fortunately the bag was still there, and no one had picked it up and ran off, the crowd was standing watch over it.


    After Tang Yan took the bag back, he gave autographs and took some photos.


    All of this was captured on camera by Li Xiao in the distance, and uploaded to his personal Weibo.


    It took over ten minutes to finally finish all the autographs and sneak out the crowd, he came over with the bag.


    "Your bags got a few holes but the anthology is still intact." Tang Yan said, putting down the bag, he couldn''t help wiping the sweat from his forehead. The archery hadn''t been tiring, but the fans surging up sure had been.


    "Hahaha that''s fine but it seems the next time you go out, you need to wear a face mask, otherwise you will have a hard time going out in public." Yan Bing said with a smile.


    "Maybe I''ll even chuck on a black cape so I can look like an off brand Batman or Zorro."


    Yan Bing laughed amused by Tang Yan.


    "Is your ankle better," Tang Yan asked.


    "Yeah, it''s better. I just had to sit down for a while." Yan Bing said standing up.


    "That''s good." Tang Yan said as he stood up. "It''s not too late yet so let''s go to that vegetable garden you mentioned earlier and take a look."


    "Baicao Garden?"


    "Yeah, let''s go see some carrots."

 223 Yan Bing 4

    The charm of literature lied in that through description, it could make seemingly ordinary things become like abstract paintings, and even become the kind of thing that you couldn''t describe clearly, but feel special emotion for.


    Baicao Garden was such a product.


    It was one of the most well-known places in Lu Xun''s compound, it was accompanied by all the memories of Lu Xun''s childhood, the large vegetable garden stood proud. As Yan Bing had mentioned, there were a large number of vegetables and radishes about.


    Autumn was sowing season and spring was harvest season, so the garden was extremely lush.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help laughing when he saw it.


    "Wow, you''re too much."


    "Come let''s go take photos. I haven''t been here in ages." Yan Bing said.


    "You want to take photos with the radishes." Tang Yan said as he took out his phone.


    "No, come with me." Yan Bing said as she walked towards the wall of the vegetable field.


    At this moment, Tang Yan noticed that there was a circular gate there, because the outside of the gate was also white like the rest of the wall, he hadn''t noticed before.


    After Yan Bing entered the gate, he turned and followed.


    Entering through the gate, he looked to the left and couldn''t help but freeze for a while.


    There was a small alley, about one meter wide, with white walls on both sides. Because of the passage of time, there was moss on the walls. The stone road on the ground extended to the end of the alley. Above the end of the alley there was a vine rack that criss-crossed.


    Yan Bing reached the end of the alley at this time and turned to smile at him.


    Yan Bing, at the end of the alley, gave Tang Yan the feeling of softness and beauty.


    If you gave her a small oil paper umbrella to match the white walls of the alley, she would look like a model straight out of a tourist brochure.


    "We''ll take pictures here." Yan Bing said as Tang Yan fell into a daze.


    Tang Yan recovered, took out his phone and started taking pictures.


    Such a scene, such a person, it was so picturesque it was easy to take beautiful photos without her having to pose.


    After taking a couple of pictures, Yan Bing came over to look and nodded in satisfaction.


    She forced him to go up so she could take a couple pictures of him, before saying: "Let''s go to the souvenir shop so you can get some gifts to take back home."


    After shopping for some memorabilia, they found a nearby diner and got some light food before calling it a day.


    Tang Yan had one of the opening games for the swimming championships, so he needed to head back and ensure he got enough rest time.


    After helping Yan Bing to a taxi, he got himself a taxi and headed back to the hotel.


    When he got into the taxi, the taxi driver actually didn''t seem to recognize him, so he got some peace and quite for the day as the driver just drove towards the hotel without trying to make conversation.


    Tang Yan in the backseat took out his phone and began to browse Weibo.


    After a while, he ended up on the trending tab and saw a video titled: Tang Yan in Yanxing - Godly Archery.


    Realizing what he was in for with the title, he clicked on it and sure enough it was a video of him shooting the bag down from the tree.


    And through the constant chatter and exclamations throughout the video, he could guess who had filmed it, Li Xiao. The kid must have secretly recorded him somehow, because he didn''t remember seeing anyone on the bridge with them.


    The number of views on the video was still skyrocketing, and the amount of likes and comments was impressive.


    He suddenly thought back to the visit to Buckingham Palace, imagine if they had taken photos of that, it would probably have gone crazy viral on Weibo.


    Laughing to himself, he looked out the window and clocked that they hadn''t moved for a long time, he looked out and realized they had actually managed to run into a drunk driving/ sobriety checkpoint. They were stuck in the queue as traffic police went around checking the cars.


    "I''m sorry, I drank a few sips of beer when I went out. Could you please take another taxi?" The taxi driver suddenly said.


    Tang Yan froze.


    Drinking and driving, he had actually got in a taxi with a drunk driver.


    He couldn''t help but get palpitations.


    He was about to lose his cool when he looked forward and saw the taxi drivers apologetic gaze and he realized it wasn''t worthwhile.


    He left the car and slammed the door without speaking.


    They were further back in the queue, so the taxi just turned around and left. And it actually wasn''t the only car which did so, there were a couple cars as well that turned around together with it, seeing the DUI checkpoint.


    Tang Yan was shocked seeing this, he prayed to God that they would run into another checkpoint or get pulled over.


    Sighing in disgust and disappointment he simply walked away.


    As he approached the DUI checkpoint, he heard a fierce quarrel.


    He continued walking to get past the checkpoint, when he saw that to the side of the checkpoint a car had seemingly been stopped for drunk driving.


    "Do you know who I am! Do you! Just wait till you find out who I am, I could have you killed with a call!"


    With his erratic behavior and arrogant provocation, it was clear the driver was drunk.


    "Please cooperate with us, or we will be forced to use force!" A traffic officer replied sharply.


    Tang Yan couldn''t resist stopping, to watch the scene.


    The car stopped was a BMW, a 7-series, and the driver was a big potbelly fellow, who looked rather wealthy.


    There were three traffic police officers around the vehicle, the three looked very young, almost like they had just graduated from the academy or something.


    "Cooperate my ass. If you have the ability wait till my people get here and try use force and see what happens." The drunk driver waved his arms shouting, his attitude still full of arrogance.


    Tang Yan smiled and shook his head. Some people were too much when they drank, this guy was gonna be in for a hell of a morning when he woke up hungover and in jail.


    He moved to continue on, when he suddenly noticed two vans racing towards the DUI checkpoint.


    Because of the queue causing a traffic jam in front, the vans stopped about 10-20 meters back and the van doors opened, a dozen people jumping down from inside and rushing forward.


    Tang Yan couldn''t help frowning seeing this.


    "Come, make me cooperate with you" The drunk man shook off the traffic policeman and said menacingly.


    "Boss" shouted one of the dozen men who came rushing over.


    The situation seemed to exceed the expectations of the three traffic officers and one of the other officers further up saw the situation was going awry and immediately took out his intercom to call for backup.


    "Grab them!"


    As the boss shouted, the dozen hoodlums immediately rushed up.


    "What are you doing, this is assault on a police officer." one of the policemen shouted.


    "Assault your mother" One of the guys cried launching out a punch.


    The police officers fought back but more and more people rushed in.


    Soon, after a short confrontation, all the policemen were not only robbed of their radios, but were being pummeled and beaten.


    "Now you''ll learn who I am, with your dog eyes. How dare you stop me and try to check my car," the gang boss kept clamoring.


    At this, all those that had stopped and gathered to watch the commotion seeing this began to retreat. Some of the cars even began to drive around the checkpoint to get away.


    They didn''t want any part to do with this, if these guys weren''t afraid of attacking the police then imagine what they would do to them.


    But a handful of people actually stayed, only to take out their phones and start recording. Tang Yan heard a couple chattering about whether they would actually kill the officers or not.


    Hearing this Tang Yan couldn''t stand to watch anymore.


    Without saying anything, he rushed out of the crowd of bystanders and rushed into the chaos by the checkpoint.


    "Fight! Beat the sh*t out of them."


    "I want them crippled."


    "The f*cking audacity to stop me! Who the f*ck do they think they are!" The boss shouted still clamoring by his car.


    But suddenly there was a burst of exclamation from the crowd.


    The power of Bruce Lee and Jeet Kune Do, helped Tang Yan thrive in the boxing ring, but in fact, the best field for Jeet Kune Do would have been in proper combat fighting like the UFC.


    Judging from the initial response, the traffic policemen were trained, but they couldn''t stand up to such a big pack of hoodlums and the thugs who had attacked them were trying to separate them further into groups.


    Tang Yan unbothered though, launched into the group of thugs, swinging and hitting hard.


    He set himself and threw a hard, roundhouse right that crashed on the side of one of the thug''s faces.


    Then twirled to another and hooked his fist heavily into their stomach, then rocked them with a right and left to the sides of their head. The thug fell back onto a car leaning weakly against it.


    Another groan rang out as another thug caught a cutting hook to the face from Tang Yan, first to the right, then to the left.


    Tang Yan''s knuckles hammered his lips against his teeth and his whole mouth went numb.


    Punch after punch. Kicks flew out.


    An elbow into the lower abdomen of one, followed by an uppercut.


    A right hook into the belly of one followed by a kick to the knee.


    In just a minute, Tang Yan like a martial arts master dismantled the group, one by one.


    Tang Yan didn''t even break a sweat, one bit as he rolled out the last one.


    Those on the side recording went crazy.

 224 Dirty News 1

    The thugs were cruel and didn''t hold back in the slightest against the police either so Tang Yan didn''t cut them any slack in the slightest as he cut them down like vegetables.


    It was much more real and bloody than in the movies.


    "Why are you still stood over there staring, come over and help." Tang Yan turned his head and yelled at the crowd.


    Tang Yan''s bark, startled the crowd and it instictevly sent those in the crowd into action as they came over and helped up the police officers.


    At which time, the screech of police sirens could be heard in the distance, three police cruisers could be seen pulling up to reinforce the scene.


    Tang Yan, after teaching the group of thugs a lesson, had planned to leave discreetly, but after he helped up one of the officers who had been beaten, the cop actually latched on to him and wouldn''t let him go.


    After the new batch of officers arrived on scene, they were taken aback looking around and after questioning the onlookers, they found out that Tang Yan was the main man and naturally they wouldn''t let him leave so easily, he was ''invited'' by the officers back to the police station to fill out some reports.


    Of course, he cooperated, he had been on the right side anyway so he didn''t have much to fear. After the officers realized his identity, they called for another unit to escort him to the police station whilst they stayed and cleared the scene.


    ....


    Yanxing City, Yuecheng District, Public Security Bureau.


    Song Dahai the senior reporter for a major Yanxing newspaper and his intern Zhan Mengyang were sat parked opposite a police station.


    "Brother Dahai, is it really okay for us to squat here like this?" Zhan Mengyang hadn''t been at the newspaper for long, he was meant to be learning under Song Dahai, but so far all they had done was squatt outside a police station for days, Zhan Mengyang was beginning to feel doubtful about Song Dahai''s methods.


    "Mengyang, as a reporter, in addition to having a sensitive nose for stories, the most important thing is having patience. What''s been the main story for the last couple of days?"


    "The Swimming Championships?" Zhan Mengyang replied.


    "Exactly! Our cities become the spot to be! Think about all the stars and celebrities that will be passing through. And what sells more than celebrity scandals!"


    "If you came to Yanxing, where else are you gonna go to party and enjoy yourself but the Yuecheng District, the city centre. And where do you think all those stars that get into incidents will be sent?" Song Dahai said teaching his ways.


    "That''s genius, Brother Dahai! Why didn''t I think of that?" Zhan Mengyang said, scratching his head impressed.


    "If you did, I would be suprised. You''re just out of school." Song Dahai chuckled, he looked to the door of the Public Security Bureau and lit a cigarette.


    Despite what he had said, there had been no movement at the station for the past few days. It seemed the National Swimming Championships were too lowkey and placid. He began to consider whether they should withdraw and try another trick¡­..


    When a policecar drove into the station and caught his attention.


    He took out his binoculars and looked over, then immediately pushed Zhan Mengyang beside him, and shouted, "Camera!"


    Zhan Mengyang immediately brought out a Canon camera and adjusted the focus.


    After the police car stopped, a figure stepped out the car, looked around, then followed the police into the police station.


    "My God, that''s Tang Yan?!" Zhan Mengyang screamed incredulously looking down at the pictures he had taken.


    "Hahaha, we''ve struck gold this time, the main star of the show!" Song Dahai called, excitement clear on his face as well. He could easily say that in terms of popularity, Tang Yan was easily the main attraction for the National Swimming Championships. He had been one of the biggest sports stars in China last year and was easily on his way to becoming a household name.


    Song Dahai didn''t expect out of everyone to see him. This was gonna be absolutely huge news!


    "Hahaha, I can already see the headline, [Rising Star or Rising Felon]." Song Dahai celebrated.


    "But Brother Dahai, I don''t think Tang Yan was wearing handcuffs¡­.yeah he doesn''t have handcuffs in the photos. Could he be here for something else?" Zhan Mengyang asked doubtfully.


    "It doesn''t matter we can crop out his hands! Plus what else could he be here for, the swimming competition starts tomorrow!"


    "But....."


    "Enough, why are you thinking so much, do you know what''s the most important thing about the news? Clicks, sales and intrest! We''ll report what we saw and if it''s otherwise he can clarify!" Song Dahai looked angry.


    Zhan Mengyang replied "Ok" seeing his expression and sat back.


    ¡­..


    Because there many involved, it took longer than expected to finish filling out the report.


    By the time everything had been sorted and Tang Yan was let go, it was almost 12 o''clock in the evening.


    The result from the police investigation revealed that the drunk driver wasn''t actually a gang leader, the guy had borrowed his brother-in-law''s car and gotten drunk before getting pulled over at the sobriety checkpoint, and the thugs/guys who had called him boss and attacked the police were just some local ruffians who worked for him at his construction site.


    Assault on a policeman was a serious crime, and he would be in for a hell of a morning when he woke up sober.


    However, Tang Yan could care less about that currently, he just wanted to get back to his hotel and sleep this ruckus of a day off. After he was allowed to go, he found a taxi back to his hotel.


    Because he had a race tomorrow, he sent a text message to Shen Qing after returning to the hotel to explain the situation and went to bed.


    But whilst he was sleeping, the Internet exploded:


    [Tang Yan suspected of drunk driving]


    [Swimming star stays at Yuecheng District Public Security Bureau for 3 hours!]


    [Champion of the World Championships, the king of the new generation of swimmers, is his premature fame good or bad? Has Tang Yan already become complacent?]


    [ Rising Star or Rising Felon?]

 225 Dirty News 2

    The photo of Tang Yan exiting the police car was everywhere on Weibo and it attracted competing reports with multiple news outlets hopping on the story and through repeated dissemination, the truth was continuously distorted.


    At this time, Zhuang Jiajie was like an ant in a hot pot. When he saw the report, he immediately tried to call Tang Yan, but he was continuously sent through to voicemail and it was impossible for him to contact the swimming team so late into the night. So guarding his phone he could only wait for Tang Yan''s reply.


    Wild rumors about why Tang Yan was at the police station and what could have happened began to spread and with Tang Yan and Zhuang Jiajie''s silence, a shift in public opinion began to occur as people began taking the news stories and the rumors as reality.


    Many of Tang Yan''s fans even raised doubts on Weibo.


    However, Tang Yan was truly tired. It had been a jam packed day and he was more mentally drained than anything, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow.


    He was only awoken by his alarm clock.


    Turning off the alarm clock, he rubbed his eyes, got up and showered, put on his clothes, stretched then reached for his phone. He was about to head to the swimming center.


    Today was the first day of the championship. He would be participating in two races, the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter butterfly stroke respectively, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.


    The race in the morning was at 10 o''clock, which meant he had slightly less than two hours, just about enough time.


    He took up his phone and prepared to head out, only to realize his phone was actually dead when he tapped the screen.


    He must have forgotten to put his phone on charge last night after arriving back from the police station. But it was fine. He grabbed a power bank along with a charging cable and headed out to grab a taxi.


    When he arrived at the swimming center, he quickly found Shen Qing. The latter was leading training for the others in one of the training halls. When he saw Tang Yan his expression went strange, he said a few words to the assistant coach beside him and walked over at a brisk pace.


    "Why didn''t you answer the phone?" Shen Qing asked urgently as soon as he reached Tang Yan.


    "My phone died, I forgot to charge it last night. I texted you yesterday that I would be slightly late." Tang Yan explained.


    "I saw your message, but how did the reporters find out? Your visit to the police station is all over Weibo and they''re spinning it!" Shen Qing said looking worried.


    "Weibo? Reporters? What are you on about?" Tang Yan asked, confused.


    "Did you fall asleep after texting me yesterday?" Shen Qing asked, thinking of something.


    Tang Yan nodded.


    "You...come with me." Shen Qing said and led Tang Yan to an office next door.


    This was an office for the organizing committee, but Shen Qing had his ways. The people inside seemed to know him and after an exchange, everyone left the office, leaving just him and Tang Yan.


    "Come here." Shen Qing sat by the computer and typed something, beckoning to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan walked over and found that the content on the screen was all news reports about him entering the police station yesterday.


    "Reporters." Tang Yan said bitterly.


    The media''s ability to catch the wind and capture shadows was exactly the same as in his previous life, there was no change at all.


    Reading over this, he thought of Zhuang Jiajie, he couldn''t imagine how anxious he must be.


    "Coach, can I borrow your phone." Tang Yan asked. "I need to call my agent."


    Shen Qing, hearing that he was calling his agent, took out his phone from his pocket without saying anything and handed it over.


    Tang Yan dialed Zhuang Jiajie''s number and walked out of the office.


    "Hello..."


    "It''s Tang Yan"


    "Tang Yan, why is the number....in fact it doesn''t matter, have you seen the news! Where are you?" Zhuang Jiajie''s rapid reply came over the phone.


    "I''m at the swimming center, I''ve seen the news." Tang Yan replied


    "I''ve prepared an apology statement, if we....."


    "Hahaha there''s nothing to apologize for it''s a bunch of fake news" Tang Yan interrupted.


    He ran through what had happened last night and caught up Zhuang Jiajie


    "Wow...that''s....okay. I''ll prepare a clarification statement and send it over to you later." Zhuang Jiajie replied afterwards preparing to get to work.


    "No! No need. Clarification from our side will only make things more complicated and it won''t resolve the matter completely. Call the Yuecheng District Public Security Bureau and ask them to give clarification."


    "Arrrgh good thinking! Okay. You concentrate on the game, I''ll handle it." Zhuang Jiajie urged.


    "Don''t worry I''m fine, talk to you later." Tang Yan replied with a slight laugh and hung up.


    Hanging up the phone, Tang Yan saw Shen Qing come out of the office and he handed the phone back.


    "Handled?" Shen Qing asked.


    Tang Yan nodded and replied, "I''m going to warm up."


    Shen Qing nodded. There was little more than half an hour left before the race. Even if it wasn''t handled properly, it could only wait till after the race.


    When he arrived at the training hall, Tang Yan found that the atmosphere wasn''t right. Apart from Sun Yang, Ye Shiwen and Fu Yuanhui, who came to greet him. Everyone else seemed to avoid him, whether intentional or unintentional he didn''t know.


    But the atmosphere was all wrong.


    However he didn''t have the luxury to care, he had to warm up.


    After twenty minutes, Shen Qing came back into the training hall.


    The 100-meter breaststroke was going to begin soon.


    Tang Yan and Li Xiang went ashore to prepare.


    "Don''t feel pressured." Shen Qing came over and said to the two of them, but from his gaze it was clear he was speaking mainly to Tang Yan.


    Tang Yan and Li Xiang both nodded and walked out together.


    The two passed through the corridors and headed towards the competition venue.


    Arriving at the player tunnel, they got in line to be announced.

 226 Dirty News 3

    The appearance of Tang Yan immediately aroused cheers from the audience.


    The Zhejiang Province was a major swimming province, and Yanxing City was also passionate about swimming. The atmosphere was natural. Although it was only the first day of the championship, the venue was already full.


    Tang Yan, as one of the most popular sports stars in China at the moment, naturally detonated the audience as soon as he stepped out.


    But among the cheers were coaxing whistles and hints of jeers. It seemed the news reports were having an influence.


    Tang Yan moved towards the fifth lane to prepare for the race.


    The commentators on the sidelines followed up seeing Tang Yan walk out.


    "Because of Tang Yan''s appearance, this preliminary match will be unprecedentedly hot!" The main commentator said with emotion.


    "Yeah, Tang Yan shined at the World Championships in Shanghai last year, but this time he has chosen to sign up for all four swimming styles. This decision alone has left everyone excited." The guest commentator added.


    "This is a bold attempt. If he succeeds, he will bring Chinese swimming to a new frontier, an absolutely epoch-making change! Abroad he''s already being compared to the likes of Phelps and Lochte. He''s carving out a lane for himself." The main commentator continued, his eyes full of expectation.


    "Yeah it''s just¡­." The guest commentator interjected hesitantly.


    "Well there''s no avoiding it¡­.the rumors about Tang Yan have been overwhelming online. Some talk about drunk driving, some talk about prostitutes. There''s a plethora of rumors floating about but that''s always been the way of the media and tabloids. However there''s no denying Tang Yan entered the police station without a doubt." The guest commentator said regretfully.


    "And Tang Yan and his team haven''t expressed their position, so far they''ve been silent"


    "Cough! Well all that can wait till the race is over. I just hope he won''t lose his legs in this race." The main commentator interrupted diverting the conversation.


    As the commentators talked, Tang Yan and the other swimmers had already boarded the start platforms.


    Almost everyone at the scene looked to platform five.


    In fact, at this time, not only the commentators, but most of the audience at the scene were curious, what was the reason Tang Yan had gone to the police station last night.


    There was doubt in the air, and a portion of this doubt was related to what Tang Yan''s immediate performance would be like. If he was drunk last night, even if he had slept it off, it would still affect his performance.


    Tang Yan stretched his arm then bowed down.


    "On your marks!"


    "Get set!..."


    Buzz!


    With the sound of the electronic buzzer, all the swimmers dove into the water.


    Lin Zhiyu was a newcomer to the Hu Jian Provincial Swimming Team. As one of the new generation of swimmers at Hu Jian, his goal was very simple, that is, to put on a blockbuster performance this championship.


    Compared with the other three swimming strokes, the breaststroke was where the biggest difference lied between China and the top level countries. Which meant that breaststroke was his best chance at achieving results.


    In order to achieve his goal, the first step was to win his group.


    Luckily for him the domestic breaststroke champion, Li Xiang, wasn''t in the same group as him. But Tang Yan was and he knew he was gonna be a challenge.


    But the difference between freestyle and breaststroke was quite substantial and now with the scandal and rumors of Tang Yan being debauch. He was beginning to feel confident of his chances, this could be his big break.


    Entering the water, he had standard movements and perfect rhythm.


    But after the first ten metres, he found himself in 2nd place.


    And the man who led him was none other than Tang Yan, who was caught in a scandal!


    Lin Zhiyu''s surprise was to the crowd''s exhilaration.


    Although overnight, negative rumors about Tang Yan flooded their eyes, it was undeniable that most still held small glimmers of hope and expectations in their hearts, that just maybe Tang Yan could really create a miracle across all the swimming strokes.


    After all, if anyone could do it, it would be Tang Yan. He had created countless miracles for them!


    Now, seeing him doing the breaststroke, it was like watching a dream slowly transform into reality.


    "Tang Yan''s taxiing distance is further than everyone else, my God, his kick distance is ridiculous!" The main commentator could not help but exclaim.


    In the stands the audience stood up and cheered.


    Tang Yan not only had elegant movements, but also a long kick distance. What was even more frightening was his kick frequency.


    Only the Gods knew how he did it!


    In the time it took for others to go through one breaststroke cycle, he had almost completed it 1.5 times!


    "China''s breaststroke has been saved!" The main commentator said emotional.


    China had come out with a new batch of talents for freestyle and backstroke and even the butterfly stroke was on the rise, only the breaststroke was at a backward level.


    Now Tang Yan had filled that gap!


    The race in the pool continued, the distance between Tang Yan and the other swimmers kept increasing, by the 50-meter turn, he led second place Lin Zhiyu by close to a full metre!


    "Under 29 seconds! Tang Yan''s completion of 50 meters is top level!"


    "He''s going into the 50 meter turn right now, he just needs to pull off a clean turn!" The commentary guest said excited and nervous.


    Breaststroke required that you had to touch the wall with both hands when making a turn.


    But it seemed that his worry was superfluous.


    In the past six months of training, Tang Yan had fully integrated the powers of Zhang Shun into the four swimming strokes.


    "Perfect! Tang Yan is still Tang Yan!"


    "It''s really hard to imagine, this is the first time Tang Yan is competing using the breaststroke!"


    "Actually, this isn''t his first time. I remember last year Tang Yan participated in a 4X100m medley relay race on behalf of the Zhejiang Province replacing an injured teammate."


    "No wonder! No wonder Tang Yan would have such confidence, even going out the night before..." The guest commentator began.


    "Cough." The main commentator gave off a timely cough and diverted the conversation.


    Tang Yan''s lead was closing in on two metres.


    According to his usual habit, he would normally slow down at this point, to reserve his energy for his other races to come but maybe it was because he was uncomfortable seeing those reports before the game but he didn''t slow down. He continued to push ahead for a 2 metre lead.


    The moment he touched the wall, the whole scene boiled.


    The swimmers times were quickly shown on the jumbo screen.


    The first lane, 1 minute 05 seconds 21.


    The second lane, 1 minute 03 seconds 56.


    The third lane, 1 minute 04 seconds 99.


    The fourth lane, 1 minute 02 seconds 78.


    Fifth lane, 59 seconds 03!


    The moment they saw the results, the scene was again in an uproar.


    Under a minute!


    Tang Yan''s time broke the national record of 1 minute, 0 seconds 73 held by Xie Zhi, and it had been improved on by more than a second!


    Tang Yan''s excellent performance, outshone the rest of his group making them look weak but in truth Lin Zhiyu in the 4th lane, with a time of 1 minute 02 seconds 78 was already among the top level in China.


    Many senior audience members were in tears with excitement at this time. The last time they had seen such a performance was in Mu Xiangxiong''s era. Even Zeng Qiliang winning silver at the World Championships had been 13 years ago.


    "We''re back!" a middle-aged uncle in the crowd shouted excitedly.


    Seeing the results, Tang Yan''s mood improved considerably. Although it wasn''t his best, it was enough to make a statement.


    "Tang Yan! Tang Yan!" The familiar chants came again from the scene.


    After Tang Yan went ashore, he waved to the audience and began heading for the passageway, trying to head out before reporters could get to him.

 227 Dirty News 4

    Whilst Tang Yan had been swimming the 100m breaststroke, the Yuecheng District Police Bureau of Yanxing City had issued an official announcement. The content of the announcement was simple and clear.


    "The Yanxing City, Yuecheng District Police Bureau conducted a DUI checkpoint on the main road of Beihai Street at 20:05 on April 1, 2012. During the routine inspection a stop was initiated on a driver by the name of Zhao Yun, who was suspected of being under the influence. The officers initiating the stop asked Mr. Zhao to comply with a breathalyzer test, Mr Zhao refused to comply and began to threaten the officers. He then began to act up and prevent the officers from doing their job.


    To make the situation even worse, Mr Zhao then went on to summon more than a dozen thugs and ruffians who worked for him, to carry out a violent attack on the police officers, resulting in multiple officers being brutally beaten and injured.


    But luckily before things could turn worse, possibly deadly, Tang Yan, a well-known Chinese athlete, who happened to be passing by seeing the devastating scene playing out, took it upon himself, like a hero and helped intervene. Subduing more than ten men with his own strength.


    Police backup arrived shortly after and took control of the scene and as part of proper police procedure Mr.Tang was asked to the police station to assist in the investigation.


    But it seems his act of heroism and assistance to the police officers that help keep our city and our families safe has been misconstrued. Something worth of praise and publicity instead has been twisted due to lack of research, willful neglect and greed. Causing serious damage to Tang Yan''s personal image. The Bureau strongly urges the relevant media outlets to withdraw the false reports and to issue a follow-up apology."


    The announcement had made all the ins and outs of what had happened last night open to the public.


    It was undoubtedly a fatal blow to all the previous media reports.


    With the announcement multiple fates were sealed.


    Multiple news outlets had treated the report like a usual hit piece on a celebrity but they had failed to realise Tang Yan was different. He wasn''t just another athlete at this point, Tang Yan probably didn''t realise it either but he had become the golden boy of the General Administration of Sports, many saw him as their ticket to promotion and were pushing and grooming him to become the face of Chinese sports.


    So when the allegations came out, the agency had gone into overdrive and just as preparations were being made to bury Tang Yan''s career and reduce the fall back on them, they had discovered the truth. Realising how things had played out they were fuming. Tang Yan''s coaches and those above moved and struck down heavily.


    The newspaper outlet Song Dahai and Zhan Mengyang worked for was fined £¤3.5 million yuan and the two were also fined £¤350,000 yuan individually for defamation, with the newpaper outlet also firing them. The newspaper also issued a public apology.


    The other newspaper outlets that had helped in spreading the rumors by hopping on the story and publishing their own pieces also received fines but to lesser degrees.


    The General Administration of Press and Publication even launched a perfunctory investigation as a show of their stance.


    The handling of the incident could be said to be inspiring, it was a great blow to the unhealthy trend of fake news.


    Tang Yan walked towards the entrance of the channel among the cheers of the audience. The reporters over there swarmed, and the security personnel immediately followed.


    "Tang Yan, why didn''t you respond immediately after seeing the false report?"


    "Tang Yan, are you going to sue for defamation on the newspapers who reported the fake story?"


    "Tang Yan, is the announcement made by the Yuecheng District Police Station true? You really subdued ten people alone? How did you do it?"


    The reporter''s questions were like artillery fire, they all hit him at once, it was all related to yesterday''s affairs, no one even asked about the competition.


    "I have to go prepare for my next event, excuse me!" Tang Yan said and tried to make his way through the crowd.


    "Tang Yan, are you not answering because of a guilty conscience?" a reporter called out with courage.


    Tang Yan stopped and turned to look at the reporter coldly.


    The reporter catching Tang Yan''s gaze, took a step back unconsciously.


    Tang Yan said nothing and turned directly into the player passage.


    There were five groups for the 100m breaststroke so after his group, the rest of the groups came up.


    But overall the performances couldn''t compare, the best was Li Xiang, also from the Zhejiang Provincial Team. His final time was 1:01.35, but even with such a time, there was still a gap of more than 2 seconds between him and Tang Yan.


    Compared with freestyle, Tang Yan''s advantage seemed even more pronounced in the breaststroke.


    After the breaststroke preliminaries, the butterfly stroke preliminaries followed.


    With his excellent performance at breaststroke as a sign of what was to come, the audience was full of expectations.


    For the 200-meter butterfly preliminaries, Tang Yan was once again in the first group.


    Unlike the preliminaries for the breaststroke though this group was jam packed.


    In addition to the butterfly superstar Li Zhuyan who was also from the Zhejiang Team, there was also the Shanghai youngster Shi Yang who had participated in the 4x100-meter medley at the Shanghai World Championships with Tang Yan, plus Wu Peng, another famous star from Zhejiang.


    With all the main contenders pretty much in the same group, it was equivalent to having the finals straightaway.


    ¡­..


    Ten minutes before the start of the race, a video of the Tang Yan incident last night began to make the rounds.


    When the announcement by the Yuecheng District Police Bureau was made, the phrase "subduing more than ten men with his own strength" had some people skeptical. This was the kind of thing limited to movies and novels. They all took the announcement as nothing more than exaggeration, to promote Tang Yan''s image.


    But after actually seeing the video, they found that they had really misunderstood the Yuecheng District Police Station.


    While the audience was still immersed in discussion of the video, Tang Yan and the other swimmers in the first group began to come out.


    The appearance of Tang Yan instantly ignited the entire venue, and people excitedly cheered his name.


    The looks on Li Zhuyan, Shi Yang and Wu Peng''s faces changed to varying degrees seeing the clear favouritism.


    This was a competition so naturally no one wanted to play a supporting role. Although they didn''t show it or say anything. They firmed their minds to go all out, and show everyone what they were made of.


    After finishing the final preparations before the race, Tang Yan and the others strode to the platforms.


    Tang Yan''s test time ranked first among all the swimmers. So he was in the fourth lane of this group.


    In the third lane to his right hand side was the Shanghai swimmer Shi Yang, and in the fifth lane on his left hand side was his teammate Wu Peng, and then to the left of him was Li Zhuyan.


    After taking office, Shi Yang turned his head and smiled at him. He was part of the national team that had competed at the Shanghai World Championships, so him and Tang Yan already knew each other.


    Tang Yan gave him a nod and a thumbs up before resuming stretching out his arms.


    After deciding to participate in all the swimming strokes, he had fully committed to mastering them.

 228 Citizens Hero

    "On your marks!"


    Tang Yan lent down and grabbed the edge of the platform.


    "Get set!"


    Buzz!


    With a burst of cheers from the audience, Tang Yan with Shi Yang and Wu Peng on his left and right entered the water.


    After diving in, the three surfaced, almost in parallel.


    "Let''s go! Tang Yan, Shi Yang and Wu Peng are advancing side by side! Li Zhuyan is ranked fourth behind them by a small margin!" With a cry from the main commentator, the first group of the 100-meter butterfly preliminaries officially kicked off.


    Tang Yan competing in all the swimming styles was an opportunity for the national team and a challenge for him, but for a lot of other swimmers they didn''t look so favourably on it.


    To put it bluntly, he was attempting to monopolise everything good and limit their opportunities. If he succeeded they would pretty much be limited to only national events.


    So right from the beginning, Shi Yang, Li Zhuyan and Wu Peng were sprinting with all their strength.


    With that the four of them instantly shook off the remaining swimmers.


    With their speed, they looked like a group of fish sweeping fast through the water.


    Their rapid speed quickly drew cheers from the audience.


    For the first 20 meters, Tang Yan, Wu Peng, and Shi Yang were side by side. A freestyle swimmer, who could keep pace with the top domestic swimmers right of the bat, was already a very remarkable thing.


    But Tang Yan didn''t stop there, after the 20 meter mark, Tang Yan''s suddenly rushed out of the pack, cutting away from Shi Yang and Wu Peng.


    "Speed and rhythm, perfect rhythm!" the guest commentator on the sideline shouted excitedly at this.


    Tang Yan in the swimming pool didn''t cut through the water any different, and his physique didn''t look any better or worse than Li Zhuyan, Shi Yang or Wu Peng''s, but he swam with an inexplicable sense of rhythm which was oddly comforting and satisfying.


    It was just like watching the likes of Phelps and Lochte swim.


    This rhythm was the cause of the commentator''s marvel, rhythm played an important part in the butterfly stroke, coordinating both waist and abdominal muscles!


    Wu Peng and Shi Yang almost went crazy as they accelerated trying to catch Tang Yan, but their acceleration actually caused their own rhythm to be messed up, and the distance between Tang Yan and them only further widened.


    By the 50-meter turn, his lead was already in position.


    The audience on the sidelines were dumbfounded.


    Although they guessed that Tang Yan would play a stronger role in the butterfly stroke, Tang Yan was even better than they had thought!


    Wu Peng and Li Zhuyan, were top tier domestic swimmers.


    Tang Yan didn''t slow, as his opponents became stronger each time, he couldn''t relax till he touched the wall. Touching the wall, he was ahead of the second place Shi Yang by a metre.


    Waiting for his time on the electronic display, even with psychological preparation, the audience at the scene was startled by Tang Yan''s time.


    ...


    Third lane, 53 seconds 21.


    Fourth lane, 51 seconds 23.


    Fifth lane, 53 seconds 35.


    Sixth lane, 53 seconds 41.


    ...


    Tang Yan, after the breaststroke preliminaries, once again broke another national record.


    In the first two preliminaries of the competition. He broke two national records. Tang Yan proved with an explosive performance that he was even better than everyone thought.


    At this time, the busiest was still the media and newspaper outlets.


    A wave of scandals followed by a wave of clarifications and apologies, followed by two consecutive national records in the preliminary round.


    Tang Yan wasn''t playing about, catching everyone''s eye in a domineering way.


    At this time, the most excited was Shen Qing, he had promised to let Tang Yan try out for all the swimming strokes, which was a gamble in itself.


    But after the preliminaries in the morning ended, the head coach could barely contain his excitement anymore and he took Tang Yan alone to the stadium box area to eat.


    The championship was sponsored by the National Swimming Association, but the organizer was the Zhejiang Swimming Association, so Shen Qing naturally had connections and got preferential treatment.


    Tang Yan had performed well, so Shen Qing''s move was understandable, but it struck a nerve with some of the other swimmers on the team.


    Sun Yang, Ye Shiwen and Fu Yuanhui were fine and still talked and laughed with him, joking that he was off to have a feast without them, but several of the other athletes headed by Wang Shun complained in private and began to foster dissatisfaction.


    ¡­..


    Later on that night, Tang Yan went on to continue his dominating run and easily went on to win gold in both the 100-meter breaststroke and butterfly. Gaining an Olympic ticket for the two events.


    Tang Yan, finished for the day, decided to head back to his hotel room a little earlier. He had the 100-meter backstroke tomorrow.


    But just after changing into his clothes, Shen Qing came and found him.


    "The Mayor of Yanxing City and the Director of Public Security will be coming by later." Shen Qing said directly.


    With the mayor coming, Tang Yan couldn''t exactly leave, so he took out his phone and chilled about, waiting.


    After a while, there were noisy footsteps from outside the dressing room, a group of people were obviously coming over.


    At this time, a lot of his teammates had entered the locker room and they looked to the door in confusion.


    After a while, the door of the dressing room was pushed open, and two police officers in formal attire came in first.


    After the officers came in, they separated to seperate sides of the dressing room.


    Behind them entered a middle-aged man in a suit, followed by a big bellied man in a police uniform with two-star badges on his shoulder.


    Tang Yan looked over. Needless to say, it was the Chief of Public Security and the Mayor of Yanxing City.


    He stood up and the other members of the swimming team got up with him. Although they didn''t know who they were, from the entourage with them it was clear they were important figures, likely governmental.


    Behind the initial pack trailed in a photographer and the three traffic policemen who had been initiating the traffic stop that night before they had been beaten. Looking at their faces, it seemed they had almost recovered.


    "Hello, Coach Shen Qing, I''m Liu Guofu, the Director of the Public Security Bureau of Yanxing City." The man in police uniform smiled and extended his hand to Shen Qing.


    "Hello, Director Liu." Shen Qing replied, stretching out his hand to shake hands with Liu Guofu, then he turned his head and glanced to Tang Yan.


    "Hello, Tang Yan, it''s a pleasure to meet you." Liu Guofu immediately followed, reaching for Tang Yan''s hand.


    "Pleasure to meet you, Director Liu." Tang Yan said reaching out and shaking hands with Liu Guofu.


    After shaking hands, Liu Guofu made the introduction: "This is Mayor Qian of Yanxing City."


    "Mayor Qian, greetings." Tang Yan said, reaching out again to shake hands with Mayor Qian.


    At this time, the photographer who had come in with the group took out his camera and took photos.


    Having been through the motions of being a star athlete for a while now. Tang Yan knew the drill and put on a celebrity smile for the cameras.


    After shaking hands, Mayor Qian continued on and said: "You are probably wondering why I''m here¡ªDirector Liu has reported to me about your affairs. Your actions weren''t just heroic but a symbol to the type of people our city, our country, our society needs. Me and the other leaders met to discuss and have decided to grant you a pennant in recognition of your contribution to Yanxing City and the police department." Mayor Qian said, giving a speech full of officialdom.


    As Mayor Qian spoke, the three policemen from the night in question held out a decorative box with a pennant inside and walked in front of Tang Yan.


    "Comrade Tang Yan, please take the pennant!" One of the traffic officers called.


    The other two traffic policemen opened the box at this time to reveal the pennant below which read:


    [Beholder: Tang Yan]


    [Citizens Hero]


    [Yanxing Municipal People''s Government]


    [April 2nd, 2012]


    ¡­.


    The traffic officers had gazes full of gratitude.


    Tang Yan took the pennant and nodded with a smile.


    All this was completely recorded by the camera.


    After the ceremony was over, Mayor Qian and Director Liu left, leaving the three traffic policemen, expressing their gratitude to Tang Yan.


    At this time, Sun Yang, who had thick skin, came to join in the excitement.


    But no one noticed Wang Shun and Yan Yun in the corner, held strange gazes, with discontent and jealousy mixed in.