"This is cathartic!" Hui Zhang thought to himself, feeling relieved. His gloomy mood disappeared.

It was not long ago that Xian Su of the Nantan Middle School had forfeited his first attempt with arrogance. Now Dai Li had also asked his two athletes to forfeit. This was like slapping Xian Su in the face and saying, "Let me save some strength so I can punish you later." Xian Su was furious. He gave Dai Li a nasty look.

Dai Li pretended that he had not seen it, then uttered, "Mr. Liu, let's move on to round two!"　

"Fine!" Hu Liu also harbored some anger towards Dai Li. In order to make up for the embarra.s.sment, he agreed without hesitation.

Jinpeng Lu was still the first one to appear on stage. This time, his face seemed more serious. His relaxed look was gone; it was replaced with fierceness in his eyes.

"I was being careless just now. I thought they were weak, but it turns out they were only pretending to be weak so they could defeat us. And there are three of them! I have never been embarra.s.sed like this. Just wait and see. Now I'm going to show my true colors," Jinpeng Lu thought to himself.

Jinpeng Lu stood in the throwing circle for the second time. But this time, instead of throwing the shot right away, he began by carefully adjusting his stance. Everybody could tell that this time Jinpeng Lu was taking things seriously.

Finally, Jinpeng Lu finished adjusting his stance, and was ready to throw.

"Go!" Lu spun his body with a loud shout, fierce enough to emit a shock wave through the ground.

The flying shot ball seemed to have channeled Jinpeng Lu's heart. It flew forward with anger, like a bomb. The measurement crew at the front seemed to be frightened by this anger, and stepped back subconsciously.

Poon!

The shot landed on the ground. The measurement crew walked towards it with a ruler.

"16.48 meters!" the crew's voice sounded.

"This is far, almost 16.50 meters! Lu did well this time." Dai Li was surprised, but he did not appear to panic. If Lei Qin, Zhanshan Zhao, and Feng Luo did well, they could also throw 16.50 meters.

Hu Liu nodded with satisfaction. He knew that 16.48 meters was almost the best that Jinpeng Lu could have done.　

"16.48 meters is apparently not enough. The rivals are strong. I'm sure a couple of the previous three athletes can throw just as far. In a moment like this, we have to rely on our trump card player, Xian Su!" After thinking about this, Hu Liu looked towards Xian Su.　　

Xian Su did not forfeit this time. After having been humiliated by Dai Li, he could not wait to partic.i.p.ate. He walked towards the throwing circle and immediately drew the attention of everybody. The coaches and athletes watching the match began talking about him in low voices.

"That is Xian Su, the bronze medal winner of the National Youth Track and Field Champions.h.i.+p. He is the trump card for Nantan Middle School!"

"National bronze medalist. He must be good. I'm not sure how far he can throw."

"6kg shots are used in the Youth Champions.h.i.+p. You have to throw at least 18 meters to win a medal. They are using 7.26kg shots today in the match. I think Xian Su can throw at least 17 meters."

"17 meters? That's impossible! If someone could throw beyond 17 meters, they could enter the top 10 in the National Track and Field Champions.h.i.+p. Xian Su is a youth athlete after all. He cannot be that good!"

"I remember in the national track and field throwing group games earlier this year, the qualifying distance was 17.03 meters. If Xian Su can throw beyond 17 meters, he can qualify for the national throwing group game."

As the audience discussed amongst themselves, Xian Su was ready to throw.

With a swift turn, his tall figure spun in the air with the dexterity of a ballet dancer, yet filled with the beauty of explosive power.

"Beautiful movement!" Dai Li complimented secretly. Xian Su deserved the t.i.tle of national youth game bronze medalist. His movement was not only textbook, but also pleasant to watch.

With a shout, the shot left Xian Su's hand. It travelled through the air like a shooting star, so fast that it was hard to capture with the naked eye.

Dai Li suddenly had a bad feeling. The faster the shot travelled, and the stronger the athlete's force was, the further the shot would fly. In global-level events such as the Olympics and the World Champions.h.i.+ps, not even the high-speed camera on TV broadcasts would play the motion of a flying shot ball. They would only feature a close-up of the impact point instead. The speed of the ball was too fast for the camera to capture.　　

Once the shot landed, the measurement crew took a few steps back. After seeing the impact point, they had realized that it was the right decision.

"17 meters? It seems to have reached 17 meters!"

"No, not yet. It is just very close to the 17 meter marking."

"16.98 meters!" the measurement crew shouted, with the voice resounding throughout the entire stadium.

"It is close, only 2 centimeters away from 17 meters!" Xian Su shook his head with disappointment.

Hu Liu was satisfied with the result, however. Xian Su was only in his second year of high school, and was about to start his third year in September. Considering his age, he barely had a rival amongst his peers.

Dai Li's face grew serious, and all five of his athletes felt extremely pressured. Lei Qin felt especially nervous, as he was the one who was about to step onto the field.

Lei Qin's best record was around 16.50 meters in his training, which was almost half a meter away from Xian Su's 16.98 meters. Even if Lei Qin performed extraordinarily well, it would be impossible to overcome such a gap. Each attempt of Xian Su's was like a mountain standing in front of the youth team.

"He is too strong. I do not have any hope of winning!" Lei Qin appeared to have some stage fright, which was immediately spotted by Dai Li.

Stage fright was a fatal weakness for athletes partic.i.p.ating in compet.i.tions. In sports games, there was always someone among the strong who was the strongest. Even world record holders made mistakes. When facing a stronger rival, the athlete could perform very well if he or she chose to compete without fear or doubt. 

Because young athletes lacked in-game experience, they might have been able to do well when they had an advantage. However, if they were at a disadvantage, they were likely to underperform because of fear, doubt, and hesitation.

All five of Dai Li's athletes were facing the latter situation. They had barely any in-game experience, and that problem was evident when they saw that their rival had thrown almost 17 meters.

Stage fright and low morale were what was making Dai Li worried.

Lei Qin was the next one to step into the field. His attempt had become crucial. If he did well, it could rea.s.sure the next four athletes waiting for their turns. But if he did not do well, it could trigger a domino effect.

"No, if all of them are in the same state, we cannot continue the match like this. I need to boost their morale and get them fired up. It is time to try the morale-boosting book." After thinking about this, Dai Li suddenly said, "Lei Qin, come here first."

Dai Li decided now was as good a time as ever to use the morale-boosting book.