Chapter 135: Do You Live in Dunhuang?

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Do You Live in Dunhuang?

A heavily built young man with short hair, wearing a white tracksuit, strode over. He was followed by a middle-aged man in a coach’s uniform.

Yan Peisheng looked at Assistant Coach Lin, with whom he had never seen eye to eye, then frowned and snapped, "Ning Xiangwu, if you don’t know how to speak properly, keep your trap shut."

"Coach Yan, I’m just telling the truth."

As Ning Xiangwu spoke, he sized up the well-dressed Su Yunzhou and scoffed coldly. Anyone could hear the blatant disdain in his voice.

Seeing Yan Peisheng’s expression grow increasingly sour, Lin Wei smiled brightly beside him. "Old Yan, you know how he is. He speaks without thinking..."

Yan Peisheng perfectly understood the underlying meaning of these words. The recent wildcard decision had already sparked plenty of rumors and gossip.

Unfazed, Su Yunzhou looked the two men up and down before asking out of the blue, "Coach Yan, does the rock climbing center allow dogs?"

"Huh?!" Yan Peisheng was momentarily taken aback, but as a seasoned veteran, he immediately caught the implication.

Hearing this, Ning Xiangwu—the eternally second-place athlete who was all brawn and no brains—snapped in annoyance. "Dogs? Do you even know where you are?"

"The rock climbing center!" Su Yunzhou shrugged nonchalantly.

"Then why ask such a brain-dead question?" Ning Xiangwu retorted. "You don’t even have the brawn, yet you’re still this brainless?"

"Hahaha!" Su Yunzhou couldn’t hold back a laugh. The idiom "all brawn and no brains" really was the perfect description for the man standing in front of him.

Ning Xiangwu’s eyes widened in a glare. "Is there something wrong with your head? Why are you laughing for no reason?"

"Hahaha!" Yan Peisheng also couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

Assistant Coach Lin Wei, standing to the side, turned livid. This idiot was truly thick-headed. If it weren’t for his outstanding athletic ability, Lin Wei wouldn’t have wanted to coach him at all. His IQ was just a lost cause!

Su Yunzhou casually fired back, "Since this is a training ground, what the hell are you barking about?"

"I..." Ning Xiangwu finally realized what had just happened. "Are you calling me a dog?"

"Heh." Su Yunzhou let out a cold chuckle and turned to Yan Peisheng. "Coach Yan, let’s continue the tour!"

Feeling a surge of dark satisfaction, Yan Peisheng agreed. "Let’s go! I’ll show you the training grounds!" The two men walked forward.

Lin Wei glared irritably at the slow-witted Ning Xiangwu. "We’re going to the training grounds too. Don’t forget what I told you yesterday!"

His eyes burning with anger, Ning Xiangwu replied, "I know, Coach Lin. I’ll definitely find a way to crush him on the wall later."

With that, the two also headed toward the training grounds.

Meanwhile, in the training hall.

Many athletes were training earnestly, sweating profusely. The entire venue buzzed with an intense, fiery atmosphere.

Yan Peisheng led Su Yunzhou around the facility, introducing the various equipment and environment. Their arrival immediately drew plenty of attention. The reason was simple: Yan Peisheng, usually known for his relentless and unforgiving sharp tongue, was uncharacteristically all smiles.

Whispers broke out among the crowd, with many gazes fixed on Su Yunzhou.

"Is that the wildcard athlete the higher-ups were talking about?"

"He’s way too young! He doesn’t look like an athlete at all, more like a..."

"...handsome pretty boy!" chimed in a female athlete wearing a red climbing suit.

"Right! But I saw the video of him saving that person. His skills are genuinely impressive."

"That’s undeniable, but didn’t everyone say it was just an adrenaline rush during a crisis? He managed to do something he normally wouldn’t be capable of."

"That kind of thing won’t necessarily work in a real competition."

"That’s true..."

Stopping here and there, Su Yunzhou could feel the intense scrutiny. He didn’t care much, however. As long as he had the skills to back it up, gossip meant absolutely nothing.

Pointing ahead, Yan Peisheng said, "Look over there. That’s the speed climbing training area."

Following his gaze, Su Yunzhou saw four climbing walls, each fifteen meters high with a five-degree overhang. One wall was divided into A and B lanes, featuring identical handholds and footholds. At the bottom, eight athletes had already clipped into their auto-belays. With their feet on the timing pads, they were coiled and ready, awaiting the signal.

"Ready, set!"

BANG!

At the sound of the starting whistle, the eight climbers shot up the walls at breakneck speed. Their fluid movements were breathtaking. The fastest among them hit the buzzer with a final time of 6.77 seconds.

To an ordinary person, this time would seem outrageously fast, but for a professional athlete, it was still far from enough. The current world speed climbing record stood at 4.75 seconds. Although it was only a two-second difference, the actual gap in skill was monumental.

Yan Peisheng asked casually, "What’s your average speed climbing time?"

In his eyes, even though Su Yunzhou was an "amateur," he must have received professional training in his youth. Otherwise, it was impossible to have such excellent physical fitness and climbing technique.

To his surprise, Su Yunzhou simply replied that he didn’t know.

This answer made Yan Peisheng’s mouth twitch. Beside them, Ning Xiangwu—who had tagged along to watch the show—let out a mocking sneer.

Seizing the opportunity, he deliberately raised his voice. "What? What did you just say?

"You don’t know your own average speed climbing time?

"I bet you’re just afraid of making a fool of yourself by saying it out loud!"

Su Yunzhou looked at the idiot who had jumped out to cause trouble again, and asked in annoyance, "Did you grow up on a cattle ranch?"

"Ah!" Ning Xiangwu froze for a moment. "How did you know?"

"Uh... no wonder," Su Yunzhou said, genuinely surprised by the coincidence. Well, it explained why the guy was so full of bull.

Completely missing the punchline, Ning Xiangwu noticed several people suddenly laughing. Thinking they were laughing at this arrogant amateur, he sneered again. "You’re just full of hot air. Coach Yan, don’t let yourself be fooled by someone with ulterior motives."

Yan Peisheng was already hot-tempered by nature, and the other party’s repeated provocations had pushed his patience to the limit. He barked out, "Ning Xiangwu, do you have nothing better to do today?

"If you’re so bored, go train harder!

"This competition follows the all-around format! Aside from speed climbing, are you confident in the other two events?"

Seeing Yan Peisheng growing angrier by the second and about to unleash a string of expletives, Lin Wei quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Old Yan, don’t get so worked up! So many people are watching! Why are you losing your temper with Ning Xiangwu?"

He then quickly shifted the topic. "After all, the competition spots were earned through everyone’s blood, sweat, and tears. For a wildcard to suddenly show up..."

Hearing this, Yan Peisheng felt even more displeased. The hell was he playing peacemaker for? This was a blatant trap. However... it was the truth. Bringing Su Yunzhou in was a decision he had fought for against all opposition. But he believed in his own judgment.

Looking at the unfolding scene, Su Yunzhou finally understood why this guy had provoked him time and time again. Seeing Yan Peisheng holding back his frustration, Su Yunzhou also realized just how much risk the coach had taken to make this decision.

A wildcard athlete. He had looked it up before; such a decision was never made lightly. Since he had decided to compete—and had ulterior motives for participating in this tournament anyway—he naturally couldn’t let his sponsoring coach lose face.

With that in mind, Su Yunzhou coughed heavily a few times to draw everyone’s attention, then locked his gaze on Ning Xiangwu’s face.

"How about this! Let’s have a match. I want to see exactly what level a ’professional’ athlete like you is at."

"Why wouldn’t I—"

"OUCH!" Ning Xiangwu was cut off mid-sentence by a sudden, sharp pain in his foot. Catching Coach Lin pulling his leg back, he finally remembered his instructions.

Seeing the growing crowd of onlookers, he raised his voice. "You want a match? Fine by me!

"But if you lose, you give up your wildcard qualification.

"Do you dare?"