Chapter 126 - 92: Faster, Higher, Stronger

The physical entrance exams for student-athletes involve a wide variety of tests, as they target different training disciplines.

It’s scored out of a total of 100 points: physical conditioning accounts for 60%, and specialized skills make up the other 40%.

Since Chen Jue was just an observer and not a student-athlete himself, the test Li Rui came up with for him was a bit more flexible.

"Zhang Xuete, get over here and run the 100-meter with this senior!"

Li Rui waved to a few student-athletes stretching at the end of the track. One of them, a lean, shorter boy, trotted over with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Hey, Senior!" Zhang Xuete greeted Chen Jue, then got down into a crouch start on the starting line, placing his feet on the starting blocks.

Chen Jue had never encountered these professional running events before, so he tried to copy the other guy and crouch down, only to find it extremely awkward.

"Xiaochen, just use a normal standing start."

"A crouch start requires long-term training. It’s not suitable for beginners." Li Rui must have noticed Chen Jue’s discomfort, so he offered a reminder from the side.

Hearing this, Chen Jue immediately stopped struggling and stood up, settling into a starting stance that felt comfortable for him.

"On your marks, get set..."

Li Rui raised the electronic starting pistol in his hand. As the gun went off, Chen Jue and Zhang Xuete beside him reacted simultaneously, pushing off with their legs.

But right from the start, Chen Jue found himself falling behind.

The crouch start was clearly better for generating explosive power when pushing off.

Besides, Chen Jue had never trained in sprinting, so his entire pursuit relied on brute-forcing it with his raw physical conditioning.

By the time he finished the 100 meters and sprinted across the finish line, Zhang Xuete was already nearly 10 meters ahead of him.

"100-meter, hand-timed at 11.93 seconds."

Li Rui reported Chen Jue’s sprint time while clicking his stopwatch.

As for Zhang Xuete, who had been pacing him, he ran a hand-timed 10.88 seconds.

’A difference of over a second?’

’No wonder he pulled so far ahead.’ Chen Jue stood at the finish line, panting heavily.

Sprinting is all about personal explosive power. Even though the distance isn’t long, a full-out sprint still made his leg muscles feel stiff and sore.

"Teacher Li, about my sprint time..." Chen Jue slowly shuffled over.

"Not bad! A hand-timed result under 12 seconds is already at the level of a Class Three Athlete." Li Rui nodded. He had been observing Chen Jue’s running form the entire time.

Neither his arm swing nor his leg lift was standard at all; it was obvious he’d never had professional training.

To be able to brute-force a time like that on raw physical ability alone was enough to prove that Chen Jue’s recent, persistent training had been very effective. He just couldn’t keep up with a professional sprinter yet.

...

After testing the 100-meter dash, Li Rui had a general idea of Chen Jue’s lower-body explosive power.

Li Rui led Chen Jue off the track to the long jump pit on the side of the athletics field.

This time, they were testing the long jump. Unexpectedly, Chen Jue, who had never practiced the long jump before, managed to easily leap a distance of just over 6 meters after his run-up, once again making Li Rui’s eyes light up.

’His form for generating power is all wrong, yet he still has that kind of explosive strength. It seems Xiaochen’s natural athletic talent is really something! No wonder he dares to call himself a sports enthusiast.’ Li Rui muttered to himself.

After a few long jump attempts, he took Chen Jue to the shot put throwing area.

Two hulking student-athletes were practicing there. They were seen holding the shot puts in the hollow of their shoulders, then taking a backward step and turn to powerfully push-throw the shots with all their might.

With a THUD, the sand pit shook. The impact of the shot put landing gouged a crater in the sand, sending dust flying everywhere. A quick look showed the shot had flown over 19 meters, a distance that had reached the level of a National Master of Sports.

’So powerful! So built!’

Chen Jue glanced at the two hulking student-athletes. He estimated their height to be around 190 cm, and they had to weigh at least 220 pounds. They must specialize in field events, as their upper bodies were noticeably more muscular and powerful than their lower bodies.

Seeing Li Rui bring over a stranger, the two hulking athletes enthusiastically made way for them.

"Teacher Li, can I throw it my own way?"

Chen Jue knew the shot put was a test of his upper body Strength. He picked up the shot to feel its weight.

It was the same as the competition-grade shot put he had bought for himself—a standard men’s shot put, weighing 16 pounds.

In Chen Jue’s eyes, this shot put was nothing more than a slightly heavier, larger Hidden Weapon.

Applying his Perfection-level [Hidden Weapon Throwing] technique to gripping the shot put, Chen Jue instantly conceived of a posture that would allow him to maximize his throwing power.

"Your own way?"

"Then be careful. Don’t pull a muscle in your arm; we still have to test your javelin score later." Li Rui nodded and led the two students to a safe distance.

Seeing this, Chen Jue copied the two hulking athletes, nestling the shot put in the hollow between his shoulder and chin.

However, he didn’t use the back-stepping glide technique those two had used. Instead, he stood with his legs apart, using one foot as a pivot while swinging the other. His entire body spun like a top, rotating twice on the spot. Then, his arm suddenly whipped forward, flinging the shot put diagonally up into the air.

This scene didn’t just stun Li Rui; even the two hulking student-athletes were left dumbfounded!

"Holy shit!"

"The rotational technique!"

"Awesome!" the two student-athletes exclaimed loudly from the side.

Meanwhile, the shot put Chen Jue had thrown traced a perfect parabola through the air before landing with a THUD in the throwing pit.

Li Rui hurried over with a measuring tape. "18.23 meters!"