Chapter 4: An Ambitious Challenge

Summer vacation at home.

Su Shen had agreed with Yang Yongqiang to train at school every day. Although it was a bit far, it didn’t matter. He treated the commute as a warm-up jog to loosen his muscles before training.

Seeing Su Shen’s enthusiasm, Yang Yongqiang became equally passionate and began to provide training within his capacity.

According to Yang Yongqiang, with proper training, Su Shen was guaranteed to win a medal at the November Xiangshan City-level competition.

Of course, Su Shen knew this well himself; in his previous life, he had ranked first.

But this time, his goal was never that competition.

He hesitated to say it for fear of startling Yang Yongqiang, but all his preparations were aimed at the ultimate grand event and stage. The city-level competition was merely a stepping stone to quickly enter professional sports school training.

Just a springboard.

Back home, his parents were delighted to see him after so long. They were genuine, hardworking farmers, living a simple and honest life.

There were no complicated twists and turns like in the city.

“Xiao Tian, why have you gotten so dark? Haven’t you rested well at school?” asked Su’s mother, who was the first to notice the subtle changes in Su Shen.

“Don’t be silly, the kid is growing taller. At this age, running around and getting some sun is good. Soaking up the sunlight like the rice in the fields—that’s how you grow,” Su’s father replied. He had come home early from the fields today, specially for Su Shen’s return.

Though this kind of “special attention” usually lasted no more than three days before he turned into the usual aloof self.

Still, seeing his parents looking youthful again stirred a deep emotion within Su Shen.

Suppressing his excitement, he had a good talk with his parents, updating them on his school life. Then, surprisingly, he voluntarily started helping with the farm work.

His parents watched with surprise but soon their eyes filled with pride, repeatedly saying, “You’ve grown up, you’ve really grown up.”

On the second day of summer vacation, several older cousins who attended high school in town returned. Seeing Su Shen had grown taller, they proposed their usual “entertainment.”

A race on the open field.

This was a favorite pastime among Su Shen and his cousins when they were younger. In those days, rural kids had few recreational options, and this simple, primitive activity was one of their top choices. If it had been before, Su Shen would have been interested, but now...

He no longer entertained such thoughts.

Besides, he needed to conserve energy for his school training; there was no need to waste it here.

Sensing Su Shen’s lack of enthusiasm, some cousins teased him, claiming he was scared and dared not compete anymore.

Young boys rarely resist such provocations, but Su Shen, having lived a second life, was indifferent to such tactics.

Hmm?

The cousins sensed something different about Su Shen but couldn’t pinpoint what exactly. One took the lead, saying, “Xiao Tian, I heard you joined your school’s track team. Coincidentally, we’re all on the town high school track teams. We’ve trained hard; it won’t be fun if we don’t race. Just for fun, and we won’t laugh if you lose.”

No one ever really meant that.

Su Shen didn’t buy it but then recalled that these cousins were indeed on the town’s top high school track teams. So, on second thought, why not see if he had caught up with their level?

“All right, let’s give it a try. But first, whoever loses buys ice cream,” Su Shen said calmly, which annoyed the cousins a bit. After all, they were older and felt it was their duty to “teach this little cousin a lesson.”

To remind him why they were older cousins and he was the younger.

They went to the usual open field, set up markers, and lined up four abreast to start the race.

“Wow, Xiao Tian, your stance is quite proper—looks professional,” a cousin remarked, surprised by Su Shen’s starting posture. They thought it was just his strong mimicry skills. After all, running is running, and a good start pose alone doesn't mean much.

These cousins could probably run 100 meters in around 12 seconds or slightly less.

According to current athletic technical standards, a hand-timed 12.4 seconds qualifies as a national third-level athlete.

11.5 seconds qualifies as second-level.

It’s unknown if any of these cousins had reached that level.

Taking a deep breath, the strongest cousin stepped forward to give the command—

“On your marks.”

“Set.”

“Go!”

Bang—

Within just a few strides, the cousins immediately stopped joking around. Their frequent training allowed them to instantly realize—the little cousin was fast.

Adjusting his breathing, pushing off powerfully, and accelerating further.

In the blink of an eye, Su Shen was already a full body length ahead.

At first, the cousins were reluctant to admit defeat and tried to catch up, but soon...

They lost all hope.

Because—

They were utterly outmatched.

A lead of one body length was just the beginning; it soon stretched to two or even three lengths.

They never caught up to Su Shen before the finish line.

The cousins were dumbfounded. Though it was embarrassing, there was no need for further races. The gap was clear; even ten attempts wouldn’t let them catch him.

“Xiao Tian, how did you get so fast? You’re practically at second-level athlete standards, right?”

“I thought you wouldn’t be 15 for another month. Your talent is impressive.”

“At around 15, you’re already running like a second-level athlete? You’re killing us ordinary folks! No more races.”

“Yeah, no more races.”

Though they spoke lightly, it was evident that Su Shen’s lead at under 15 years old was a heavy blow to them. What they didn’t know was that in his last life, Su Shen had clocked 11.72 seconds just months later, likely under 11.5 seconds hand-timed, securely second-level athlete status.

Su Shen casually glanced at his “Five-Dimensional Points,” which seemed to have increased again—from 16 to 21, an increase of five points. It appeared only competitions could raise these points, though the “Five-Dimensional Attributes” could also be improved through training; they resembled detailed biometric data.

Su Shen kept analyzing this “system” and gradually grasped its basic outline.

“Xiao Tian, you’re improving fast. Let me race you,” said the eldest cousin, Su Yun, who took off his shirt, revealing well-defined sinewy muscles. Su Yun was familiar to Su Shen, already aiming for second-level athlete certification. Among these cousins, he was the strongest, preparing to enter the final year of high school.

“Su Yun is up. Don’t lose and save some face for us,” the other cousins encouraged eagerly, curious how Su Shen would fare against this official second-level athlete prospect.

Could Su Shen really outrun him?

Even a middle schooler several years younger than them...

If anyone thought so, that would be surprising.

“Come on, Xiao Tian, show me what you’ve got,” Su Yun said. Su Shen half-joked that this sounded like the usual taunt from a minor boss in a game.

“On your marks.”

“Set.”

“Go!”

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap.

Both reacted quickly, but on closer inspection, Su Shen was slightly faster and leaned more forward.

Su Yun was surprised—was he really under 15?

But he was a genuine near-second-level athlete, standing tall at 177 cm, quite tall for the area. Su Shen was still only about 1.6 meters. Su Yun’s advantage was his stride length and acceleration in the latter half.

Watching nearby, the other cousins, also track team members, could tell what was happening—not just spectators.

“Looks like Su Yun might lose this one...”

“No worries, Su Yun’s long strides will let him easily overtake later.”

“Wait, Su Shen’s strides aren’t that long. Why hasn’t Su Yun pulled ahead?”

Because Su Shen knew exactly where his advantage lay—his extraordinary step frequency. So from the start, he focused on that: you have long strides; I have faster turnover.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap.

They crossed the halfway mark. Su Yun had already reached his top speed, which was typical. Among ordinary student athletes, top speed usually peaks around 30 meters, after which they try to maintain it with minimal fade.

But Su Shen’s top speed appeared noticeably later!

Su Yun grew anxious, lengthened his strides, and pushed with all his might.

He never expected that as a near-second-level athlete, he would be challenged so fiercely by a middle schooler.

If he were to lose, it couldn’t be today.

Seeing such a prodigy, Su Yun felt his future hopes dimming.

But today, he still refused to lose.

At the final stretch.

What was supposed to be a casual race between rural cousins suddenly took on a tense atmosphere.

“Neither has a clear advantage; both must be careful.”

“The last segment. Who will win?”

Indeed, before the race, everyone had an answer, but now...

They had lost it.

Clearly, Su Shen’s physical conditioning was still lacking, and his training time too short. Facing a true near-second-level athlete was tough, especially without a running start device, limiting his acceleration advantage.

Yet, he still had a chance.

His edge was his superior finish-line technique.

In the final moment, with a perfect lean, everyone clearly saw Su Shen win by a nose.

Exhaling heavily—

They slowed down after the sprint. Su Yun asked, “Who won?”

The question itself revealed his uncertainty.

His absolute confidence was gone.

“Uh, Yun-ge, it’s Xiao Tian who won,” several exchanged glances and finally said.

Su Yun froze.

He had lost— to a younger cousin still in middle school?

After repeated questioning, Su Yun accepted reality. He had been proud of nearly reaching second-level athlete status, but now...

Su Shen’s overwhelming victory was a rude awakening.

“Xiao Tian, I don’t want to say this, but you’re a running prodigy. Have you signed up for the November Xiangshan City 100-meter middle school competition? Many top athletes will be there, and I’ll be competing too. I was thinking... well, have you signed up? Don’t miss this chance,” Su Yun, a true relative, began to care about Su Shen’s future after losing.

“I have, Yun-ge. I’ve been training for the championship at that competition,” Su Shen replied. Su Yun was still processing and said, “That makes sense. It’s good to gain experience. Maybe you’ll get a bronze...”

“Wait, Xiao Tian, what did you say?” Su Yun asked again, now fully alert.

“Yun-ge, he said he’s aiming for the championship. This training has been for winning that race,” a few cousins jumped in to help convey.

“Xiao Tian, are you serious? That’s a city-wide middle school competition. Are you sure?” Su Yun shook his head, unsure if it was for Su Shen’s sake or his own.

“How confident are you? Your times might still be a bit off. I heard some really strong runners will be there.”

Su Yun’s words made sense, but Su Shen knew the truth: the top contenders had largely pulled out due to unexpected reasons, giving him the chance to win gold in his last life’s first city-level competition.

It was 2004, and many things hadn’t yet developed. Grassroots athlete levels varied greatly.

The fastest domestic sprinters at the time were Chen Yunbao, Liu Yang’er, and Hu Kai, all running around 10.20+ seconds.

Among under-18s, the fastest was Zhao Haohuan.

A data monster.

On July 17, Zhao ran 10.32 seconds.

He was less than a year older than Su Shen.

Many speculated his age was falsified to achieve early results, which was common in domestic sports. His times were astonishing—breaking the 10.50 barrier so young was unprecedented.

If genuine, he would have been a future super sprinter.

Sadly, Zhao was a flash in the pan—his times slowed with age, running 10.32 at 16, but only 10.82 at 20, then retiring early.

Yes, he began retirement around age 20.

Otherwise, his data would rival Usain Bolt’s.

Most believe age falsification caused his early peak, so the trajectory was abnormal physiologically.

Still, Zhao set a benchmark. Compared to him, Su Shen’s current times looked modest.

The true prodigy at the time was Zhao Haohuan, the undisputed top domestic talent in track.

The early 21st century was a remarkable era. Su Shen also knew of a Japanese prodigy named Ryusuke Ishizuka, just 17 years old, who ran 10.49 seconds. Whether aided by wind or not, his result was legitimate. These were the two fastest Asian youth sprinters under 18 in 2004.

Globally, the fastest under-18 was J-Mee Samuels, born in 1987, who ran 10.25 seconds.

But you know how it is—the U.S. is infamous for “athletic biochemistry” programs, so compared to our age falsification, they had their own “biochemical enhancements.”

Looking at it this way, Su Shen’s path to catch up was still long. At the moment of competition, no one cared about age falsification or biochemical enhancements.

“If you can’t even win the city championship, how can you reach for the sky?”

“There will be many fierce rivals ahead.”

After a pause, Su Shen smiled and said, “Let’s go home; it’s time to eat.”

Though still young, his words that day left a deep impression on the high school cousins.

Though...

They still thought Su Shen was mostly full of hot air.

PS: For fans of athletics and mild data obsession, come on, Professor Su is calling you to write your papers.