"In 1st place: Chong Lin, 400 points!" The voice of Political Instructor Zhao was clear and resonant.

All the coaches were completely silent. Almost everyone's face was filled with great surprise. Disbelief was in the eyes of many people.

Four hundred points is the full score, did I just hear that correctly? Is Political Instructor Zhao joking? one coach said silently to himself. When he saw the solemn face of Political Instructor Zhao, however, he instantly knew that what Political Instructor Zhao had said was true.

"Wow!" The next second, the meeting room was in an uproar.

"400 points, the full score! How could that be possible!"

"We only got ten days of training time, how could a full score be possible?! For the total score to be even over 300 points is a remarkable achievement. It is really incredible that someone could get the full score!"

Coach Qiao and Coach Deng looked at each other, exchanging looks of amazement.

Who is that? What coach could be so capable? Coach Qiao thought that 320 points would be the top score; even if someone was better than him, he thought the score would only be five or ten points higher at most.

However, to his surprise, the 1st place finisher had gotten 400 points, which was 80 points higher than his trainee's score. According to the criteria that equated five points to one level, this was a giant difference of sixteen levels.

Moreover, with the growth of the trainees' level, the training would be more and more difficult as a result, and the progress would be harder and harder to see. In this case, during an examination of physical performance, a score increase from 90 points to 100 points was much more difficult than an increase from 70 points to 80 points.

Coach Qiao had always believed that he, the coach who had come in 2nd, and the other coaches, who had gotten 30th, were on two different levels; after all, the score difference between 2nd and 30th place was 50 points. But right now, there was a world of difference between him and the coach of 1st place.

The noisy discussion of the coaches made Political Instructor Zhao frown in discontent. However, he could expect too much from some coaches. If police officers had been in such a chaotic condition, punishments would have been inevitable.

The coaches kept conversing, ignoring Political Instructor Zhao's expression.

"Who is it? Who could be so awesome?"

"Only a man of G.o.d could get a full score within ten days. Just come forth and receive my wors.h.i.+p!"

"Political Instructor Zhao jsut said the name of the police officer who got the full score is Chong Lin. Who is the coach of Chong Lin?"

"Chong Lin? It sounds so familiar. I feel like I have heard this name somewhere."

"No need to tell me. Of course you are familiar with the name. Haven't you read the The Water Margin (a Chinese novel written by s.h.i.+ Nai'an; this novel is considered one of the Four Great Cla.s.sical Novels of Chinese literature. The story, set in the Song dynasty, tells of how a group of 108 outlaws gather at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to form a sizable army before they are eventually granted amnesty by the government and sent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebel forces. It introduced to readers many of the most well-known characters in Chinese literature, such as Wu Song, Chong Lin, and Lu Zhishen.)? The 'Panther Head' Chong Lin!"

"I am not talking about the Chong Lin from The Water Margin. It seems like his name was just mentioned by someone here!"

"Yes, now that you mention it, I also remember that someone said this name just moments ago!"

The speaker looked around in the meeting room, then rested his eyes on Xuexi Zhuang.

"It was him, he just said that! He mentioned Chong Lin's name!" The guy said, pointing at Xuexi Zhuang.

Xuexi Zhuang was immediately baffled. The next second, he suddenly remembered that it was him who had just said, "It is really bad luck for Officer Chong Lin," when he had been speaking with Dai Li. The name of Chong Lin had been mentioned by Dai Li in the very beginning.

"Dai Li! The coach of Chong Lin is Dai Li!" Xuexi Zhuang turned his head and looked at Dai Li in surprise. A few minutes ago, he had been making fun of Dai Li for hurting his trainee on the first day. But now, that same police officer had gotten the full score on the physical performance examination, and was the only one to have done so.

"Is Chong Lin your trainee?" Xuexi Zhuang asked, almost clenching his teeth. He could not accept what was happening right before his eyes.

Dai Li smiled and said, "Officer Chong Lin has always worked hard in training. The full score should be attributed to his diligence and hard work." Dai Li had humbly admitted that he was the coach of Chong Lin through his words.

"It is him! It is the young man. He is the coach of Chong Lin. His training got Chong Lin the full score!"

"Huh? Is he the coach whose trainee sprained his foot during the first day of training?"

"It really is him! I was told that the police officer went to the hospital for a diagnosis and wasted a day. How could he have gotten the full score?"

"How could he have gotten the full score with 1/10 of his training time wasted? What training method did he use?"

Almost all of the coaches were looking at Dai Li in great surprise. These coaches had spent ten days in training, yet their scores were just over 300 points, at most. Most of them had gotten even less than 300 points. Dai Li had managed to help his trainee obtain the full score in nine days. The stark contrast was eye-catching, to say the least.

The coaches who had made comments like "this young man knows nothing of systematic training," or "only this young man could act this recklessly" blushed immediately. In spite of their criticism, Dai Li had still managed to help his trainee get a full score, which easily crushed their pathetic scores.

Just a few minutes ago, Dai Li had been a bad example for everyone to take notice of; but now, this "bad example" had completed the perfect counterattack by not only coming in first, but also getting an amazing full score!

The coaches who had considered Dai Li a bad example were completely embarra.s.sed. Many people felt ashamed that they were not a "bad example" like him.

Results were always the cornerstone of athletic training. A better result meant a higher training level, and a more capable coach. Ever since the ancient times, it had been impossible to find the "best" person in a writing contest, or the "second best" in a fight. Some readers may speak highly of a novel, but others might think it is terrible. No dish suited all tastes, for different people had different judging criteria.

But in compet.i.tive sports, a winner was always clear. In te racing games, one would fail even if he was 0.01 second slower than the winner; a difference of 0.05 points could result in failure. In compet.i.tive sports, everybody stood at the same starting line, and was evaluated by the same standard. By defeating everyone else, the winner deserved respect.

Dai Li became the focal point of everyone instantly, while Xuexi Zhuang became more and more fl.u.s.tered.

The name of the police officer who had been trained by Xuexi Zhuang had not mentioned by Political Instructor Zhao, which meant that he had failed to make the top 30, knocking him out. Xuexi Zhuang would now have to return to the Hanbei Province in dismay.

If Dai Li had also been knocked out, Xuexi Zhuang would have definitely felt better. Both of them would have went to Huajing together. If they had come back together, n.o.body could have said anything about it.

But now, Dai Li could stay, while Xuexi Zhuang would have to go back by himself. He was unsure how to answer a question like "why did you come back alone?" This is what his colleagues, friends, uncle, the cook in the canteen, and even the cleaning lady would ask him. It would be very embarra.s.sing for him to say, "I was rejected by the National Team."

Xuexi Zhuang also knew that the gap between him and Dai Li would be widened because of this. Before, Xuexi Zhuang could still acquire more resources and even take opportunities from Dai Li using his uncle, who was the Director of the Provincial Sport Bureau. Now, Dai Li had reached the level of the National Team, where even Xuexi Zhuang's uncle could not stop Dai Li from further development.

I never would have stepped into this muddy water had I known what I was getting into. Xuexi Zhuang began to regret his decisions.

Xuexi Zhuang had been very forthcoming lately. Now, this high-profile would turn out to be the heaviest psychological burden for him.

At that instant, Xuexi Zhuang realized the true meaning of the saying "don't bite off more than you can chew."