Chapter 100: Beyond All Doubt and Dispute

6.54 seconds...

That was Lu Suo's 60-meter time from the recent Chengdu leg of the Indoor Invitational.

Zhang Zhen hadn't learned of this news from the newspapers. Before he even saw the papers, he had already received a photo in his email inbox from Tian Shiwei.

In the photo, Lu Suo pointed at the electronic scoreboard displaying the numbers "6.54" and the name "Lu Suo," smiling with arrogant triumph.

Zhang Zhen knew this was Lu Suo throwing down the gauntlet. He walked up and knocked on the door of his head coach's office.

"Coach! I want to compete in the Jinan leg of the Indoor Invitational!"

Before Zhang Zhen knocked and entered, Li Yan and Dong Zijian had also been studying Lu Suo. In the national team, this had already become a research topic of sorts; Li Yan was quite obsessed with Lu Suo.

Looking at Lu Suo's latest results: 6.54 seconds in the indoor 60 meters, 20.80 seconds in the indoor 200 meters, and 49.05 seconds in the indoor 400 meters.

Leaving the 400 meters aside for the moment, Li Yan knew very well that Lu Suo lacked—or rather, had no time to practice—the techniques required for the 400 meters. This time was not representative of his potential.

However, it was indisputable that his indoor 60-meter and 200-meter times had improved compared to the Beijing leg, breaking both records yet again.

Based on these results, Li Yan estimated that Lu Suo's outdoor 100-meter time should be around 10.30 seconds, while his 200-meter time had a good chance of breaking 20.42 seconds.

It was yet another leap forward.

"There must have been an improvement in his start," Li Yan reasoned. "It's a pity we don't have video footage of his races."

Hearing this, Dong Zijian glanced at Li Yan. As for the race footage, Dong Zijian actually had it in his inbox. It was recorded by Lu Jinrong and sent to Dong Zijian by Lu Suo, who wanted some feedback and advice.

From the footage, it was clear that Lu Suo's starting speed had undergone a qualitative transformation. His reaction times out of the blocks were consistently between 0.12 and 0.13 seconds, which was already world-class.

Dong Zijian couldn't help but recall Lu Suo's declaration that he would compete in the World Athletics Golden League and break the 10-second barrier in the 100 meters at a major event.

Judging by the rate of improvement Lu Suo displayed during the Indoor Invitational, it might not be impossible after all...

"Coach Dong, is Lu Suo really unwilling to return to the national team?" Li Yan asked Dong Zijian.

Dong Zijian shook his head.

"Is there really no way we can ban him from competing and force him back to the national team?" Li Yan asked again.

*What are you thinking... We are the national team, not the secret police.* Dong Zijian shook his head again.

"If Lu Suo needs a personal apology from me, I have no problem with that," Li Yan said. "I did indeed misjudge him. His rate of progress in sprinting has surpassed my understanding. We ought to maintain a sense of awe for things beyond our knowledge."

"Coach Li, it's not a matter of an apology; it's a matter of philosophy. Lu Suo does not agree with your coaching philosophy," Dong Zijian emphasized. "The only way he returns to the national team is if you are no longer coaching."

Li Yan shook his head. That was out of the question, of course. If he wasn't coaching the national team, what value would there be in Lu Suo returning? It would no longer be his business.

Just then, Zhang Zhen knocked and entered.

Toward Zhang Zhen, this championship seed, Li Yan had always shown encouragement and care.

"You want to go to the Jinan leg for the indoor 60 meters... to beat Lu Suo?" Li Yan asked.

"Yes. He took the record I set at the Beijing leg. I want it back," Zhang Zhen said.

"Admirable ambition," Li Yan said. "But looking at the results from the Chengdu leg, you are no longer faster than Lu Suo in the indoor 60 meters."

"I can go faster! I broke my own personal best at the Beijing leg," Zhang Zhen insisted.

Li Yan glanced at Dong Zijian.

Dong Zijian gave a slight shake of his head.

Li Yan had his own theory, using systematic calculations based on the relationships between an athlete's age, physical constitution, and speed. One of the primary factors was the athlete's physical conditioning. Based on this, Li Yan had previously judged that Lu Suo, having passed his prime developmental years, had no future. Of course, he had been proven wrong.

In sprinting, Lu Suo was an anomaly that defied Li Yan's understanding. However, not every athlete could break past this heavily tested cognitive framework; Zhang Zhen remained entirely within Li Yan's predictions.

Dong Zijian's head shake meant that in the detailed physical assessments, Zhang Zhen's physical attributes showed no improvement. This meant his times would not improve—or at least, not by any significant margin.

Zhang Zhen's upper body strength was relatively weak, which was the bottleneck holding back his performance. This was age-related and could not be rushed.

But Li Yan now faced a threat, which was Lu Suo, as well as two major tests: this year's National Games and next year's World Championships.

At the National Games, Pan Kai had to defeat Lu Suo.

At the World Championships, Zhang Zhen was the hope for a gold medal.

Therefore...

Li Yan said, "I have a way to make you run faster in the indoor 60 meters, but it requires a special training regimen. There isn't enough time before the Jinan leg. The final stop of the Indoor Invitational is in Shenyang. There, you will find your extra speed."

"Great! Thanks, Coach," Zhang Zhen agreed, completely off his guard.

Dong Zijian, meanwhile, stared at Li Yan. What kind of training could directly improve a 60-meter time? Was there really such a thing?

...

On December 13th, Lu Suo returned to Shenzhen.

His sweeping victory at the Chengdu leg had earned him another 2 attribute points. Currently, he had 3 unassigned attribute points.

Both his Strength and Agility were at "42/42." After raising the cap of each by one point, they became "42/43."

Before the 20th, Lu Suo hoped to raise them both to "43/43." Upgrading his attributes was becoming increasingly difficult.

Furthermore, the consecutive days of competition had left Lu Suo somewhat fatigued. His physical condition could be gauged by the Stamina value he saw upon waking up every morning.

Currently, it was only in the low 80s every day, whereas it used to be above 85 when he was in peak condition.

Because of this, Lu Suo requested Lu Jinrong to suspend his competitive sparring sessions within the team, focusing instead solely on strength training and basic drills—both of which were closely linked to raising his attributes.

Lu Jinrong believed that Lu Suo should not only stop competitive training but also scale back on other drills. Although the Indoor Track and Field Invitational had four legs, there was no need to participate in every single one. After all, the National Games were next month—the largest and most highly anticipated sporting event in the country, more important than any other competition.

The National Games would also be the best stage for Lu Suo to prove himself.

"If I want to prove myself, I have to deliver an indisputable performance. My current results aren't enough," Lu Suo said.

"What kind of performance do you think would be enough?" Lu Jinrong asked.

He was already very satisfied with Lu Suo's times. Running under 10.30 seconds in the 100 meters was already elite at the national level. Not to mention the 200 meters, where Lu Suo's only opponent was himself.

"It has to be an absolute, undisputed victory. Anyone who watches that race should realize that in the national 100-meter and 200-meter sprints, no one is qualified to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with me." Lu Suo described his envisioned victory to Lu Jinrong.

Finally, he emphasized, "Indisputable and beyond all doubt."