Chapter 12: The Double Crown Champion

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Su Shen glanced at the “Five-Dimensional Points”—a total of 1,190 points so far. Especially with that 100-meter record-breaking gold medal, which alone had earned him a whopping 1,000 points. The rest were accumulated from each preliminary and semifinal round. In other words, this “system” essentially encouraged more competitions, more championships, and more medals. The points had to be earned through performance.

He experimented by increasing his weakest attribute, endurance, from 26 to 28—a mere 2-point increase—but it cost him a staggering 1,000 points. What did this signify? It meant that endurance was probably the “system’s” default assumption as his poorest talent area, so shattering limits there demanded far greater points.

Two hours earlier, Su Shen had broken the middle school 100-meter record in Xiangshan City, and now, on the field, he was becoming a minor local celebrity.

“Look, that’s him—the one not too tall. I’m telling you, he just broke the Xiangshan middle school 100-meter record.”

“That’s him? Doesn’t look that impressive, but he’s pretty solid—looks like a bricklayer.”

“Look there, look there! That guy’s amazing; he just shattered the record…”

Such chatter might have stirred his emotions once, but now it no longer fazed Su Shen. He calmly walked back and forth on his lane, stretching slightly as he awaited the final’s start.

Coincidentally, he was placed in lane four—the golden lane. A prime position for both technical and physical athletes.

“On your marks.”

“Set.”

“Bang!”

Su Shen surged ahead, his early lead unmatched domestically. He gained a 15-meter advantage, effectively negating any positional disadvantage from the staggered start. The so-called “small cannon” of the past decade was well-deserved.

Yet, even two hours after exertion, the lactic acid buildup in his body had barely diminished; if anything, it was intensifying. Although the slight increase in endurance had helped somewhat, it was no miracle cure and could not clear lactic acid as swiftly as a super-athlete. Still, Su Shen had far greater tolerance for such discomfort than his peers.

From what he observed, many middle school athletes hadn’t yet specialized and often transitioned from 100 or 400 meters. At least four had competed in the 100-meter event.

Among them was Lu Yiqiang from Chuyun County No. 1 Middle School, who had finished second in the 100 meters and was assigned lane seven.

Specialists in the 200 meters were actually fewer in number. Consequently, most athletes seemed to wrestle with physical and condition issues.

Su Shen steadily extended his lead by about 30 meters.

“Why does this kid start so fast every time? Is it because he’s accustomed to a swift pace, building an early lead?” Ningde Bao watched from above, increasingly fascinated by Su Shen, already considering him her foremost disciple at the Xiangshan Sports School.

Hence her meticulous analysis.

Su Shen’s technique was graceful, but the sudden push to break his physical limits in the 100 meters had affected his maximum speed and movement rate. Even his start was slower than usual, likely due to neural fatigue.

But don’t just look at him—Lu Yiqiang, who had also set a personal best in the 100 meters, was in an even worse state, trailing behind from the start of the 200 meters.

Typically, 100-meter sprinters have stronger early phases than 200-meter specialists, yet Lu’s condition betrayed no such advantage; his face even showed signs of distress.

Su Shen himself felt uncomfortable. Without the current state issues, he would have easily taken the race. Now, he had to give his all, leaving no margin for error.

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This was the first time since his restart that he felt a stifling, burning sensation in his chest, but now he absolutely couldn’t breathe with his mouth open. He had to maintain controlled breathing.

Modern sports science had made this clear: whether using diaphragmatic, chest, or mixed breathing was a matter of personal choice. For instance, the Jamaican team was known for their raw power rather than breathing techniques.

But for non-West African bloodlines, science was all about details, and details meant progress.

Increasing the depth of nasal breathing was scientifically proven to enhance oxygen intake by 20% per breath. This was because enzymes in the paranasal sinuses produced nitric oxide during respiration—a natural vasodilator that allowed the lungs to expand more fully.

As a result, red blood cells could capture more oxygen.

Explaining this in detail would be an entire paper, but Su Shen remembered the science well, having studied it before. This theory emerged post-2010 internationally and became widespread domestically only around 2020.

Had he written on it earlier, he could have advanced its popularization in his homeland, enriching the scientific framework of sports training.

You might not believe it, but sports rehabilitation as a professional discipline only began formal registration in China in 2004, with pilot programs launched thereafter. The field was officially established in 2005, yet even by 2020, it remained half-baked and largely inefficient, with few true experts—a profession known for poor job prospects.

Abroad, however, this was already a mature system.

Believe this: beyond reckless doping, scientific training and structured systems are the true cradle for consistently producing elite athletes. Others may not realize it, but Su Shen felt it deeply.

Thus, his greatest mission in this lifetime was to write more papers and help advance the professionalism of sports science domestically.

This was the key to elevating the entire athletic community.

All of these were treasures Su Shen could bring early to this era.

Modern sports could never escape science—even doping required scientific laboratories.

Su Shen deepened his nasal breathing, expanding his lung capacity. This improved his oxygen supply, increasing the oxygen content in his red blood cells and sustaining superior athletic performance.

These things he had learned too late in his previous life—he never reached his physical peak with such knowledge. Now, he could apply this scientific wisdom to himself, fulfilling what was perhaps his greatest regret.

Indeed, deepening nasal breaths slightly improved his physical state. In his former life, he might have faltered here, losing confidence. But mastering various methods allows one to face challenges calmly.

The early phase ended; he lifted his head and maintained speed, preparing for the curve.

He shifted his body posture and center of gravity from leaning inward on the left to leaning forward.

Then, his speed and lean angle matched perfectly to harness centripetal force.

This was talent.

Technique could be trained, but how well one matched it varied greatly.

Fortunately, Su Shen’s curve-running was a fusion of innate talent and technical skill. If not for his relative weakness in the latter half in his past life, he had considered pursuing the 200 meters seriously.

Luckily, the relay race gave him a chance to capitalize on this advantage, avoiding regret.

Why was his curve running so strong?

Generally, athletes slow down entering curves; he somehow gave the illusion of accelerating.

This guy…

Was a genius.

Yang Yongqiang wasn’t exaggerating—Xiangshan had truly birthed a prodigy.

“Hmm, maybe I should take him to the Pearl River Delta Invitational in a little over three months to see the world,” Ningde Bao thought. Even before officially joining the team, she was already planning Su Shen’s future schedule.

But that tournament had a notorious mishap—Su Shen qualified for the finals with 11.32 seconds, but no one expected a newcomer to make it, so he missed the final check and thus the race itself.

Ningde Bao later revealed this in an interview. It was a bumpy road, but perhaps a blessing in disguise; had he competed, he might have made an earlier breakthrough.

Exiting the curve, athletes normally sprint hard, but Su Shen’s years of curve experience taught him to relax his muscles momentarily, riding inertia and centripetal force.

In other words, he could “take a brief rest” here without losing speed, since exerting force now—when close to his physical limit—would gain little and cost much, especially for him, whose explosive muscle endurance was somewhat weaker in the latter half.

A brief muscle relaxation gave him significant buffer.

This zone lasted about 5 to 10 meters, followed by a second acceleration.

This technique perfectly suited Su Shen’s “curve acceleration” style.

Of course, if you were Usain Bolt, you’d better take the next left.

Sadly, Su Shen only developed this method after extensive accumulation and collaboration with overseas teams on scientific models. By then, he was older and could only apply it in relays. Had he known earlier, he might have gone further in the 200 meters.

But now, there was still time.

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Because he was still young.

Bang—

Out of the curve.

The final sprint began.

Could he hold on?

After watching several races, Ningde Bao had a clear analysis of Su Shen’s technical traits.

She believed the latter half might be where he lost the most speed.

True, but with this advanced technique, Su Shen steadied his breathing, deeply inhaling through his nose, allowing enzymes in the paranasal sinuses to produce nitric oxide, fully dilating his cardiovascular system.

Then, he launched his second acceleration in the latter half.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

Outsiders watched the spectacle; experts read the nuances.

Ningde Bao’s eyes widened, barely believing what she saw from lane four.

That figure actually accelerated again shortly after exiting the curve.

This was completely unlike any sprinter she knew from the short-distance category.

But she had clearly identified Su Shen as a short-distance runner. How could he accelerate again in the latter half?

Usually, only long-distance or 200-meter sprinters showed such endurance.

It was astonishing. Ningde Bao had lost count of how many times in the past two days she had stared wide-eyed at this rural kid.

Back in 2004, she couldn’t have known this was the power of science and system—using the most precise data models to refine technique and weaknesses to fully unleash potential.

In the final 50 meters, Su Shen maintained his lead.

There was no sign of the pack closing in.

40 meters.

30 meters.

20 meters.

10 meters.

The champion was clear—no one could catch him.

The finish line.

Su Shen smashed through it first.

No one expected him to cross the line first again.

23.80 seconds.

Three consecutive record-breaking performances.

At that moment, Ningde Bao’s eyes lit up with excitement.

P.S. All the above content is based on references from Dr. Mandell’s papers and the SCI journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. I can share the sources later—this is definitely not fabricated. I also included some of my own training insights.

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