Almighty Coach

Dai Li held a book in his hands and pretended to be reading seriously.

"Coach Li, what are you reading?" Philip peeked at the title of the book. "An Introduction to Super Hypnosis, are you getting into hypnosis?"

"Yeah, you want to give it a try? I just learned some hypnosis techniques." Dai Li pointed towards the book.

"All the contents in the book are actually lies. These sorts of books overran the market in the fifties and sixties. Countless publishers would publish them every year," Philip said. He continued looking at Dai Li, who looked like he was raring to go. Philip finally compromised and said, "Alright, it seems like you won’t give up unless you’ve tried. Let’s try it out. It’ll also show you that these are all just tricks used to con people."

"Excellent, take a seat first!" Dai Li pointed towards a seat in front of him and picked up the book with a serious look on his face.

"Now close your eyes and pay attention to what I say. Don’t think about anything else. You are now very comfortable, very relaxed, your entire body is relaxed... You are standing in the middle of a plain, a grass plain as far as the eyes can see, a blue sky... You lower your head and look. You see that your legs have regrown. You start running around in excitement, running wildly..."

As Dai Li spoke, he used an athlete’s patch on Philip.

"That should be enough right? It doesn’t seem like anything happened!" Dai Li stole a glance at Philip, but there didn’t seem to be any change on the surface. However, in the system, the number of athlete’s patches left had dropped to 199.

In truth, a month ago, Dai Li had not expected Philip to actually make it into the A standard of the Olympics, but Philip’s growth was too quick. Besides that, just as Dai Li had predicted, Philip had fewer muscles compared to normal athletes due to his disability, so his muscles produced less lactate, which meant that it took longer for him to feel fatigue. Thus, his speed advantage in the last 200 meters was more pronounced. It could be said that the 400m event was a sport that was custom-made for Philip.

However, achieving the A standard of the Olympics was Philip’s limit. Philip was at the peak age of track and field athletes, and it would be tough for him to improve further.

After returning from Portland, Dai Li had decided to use the athlete’s patch, a gift of the system that would help Philip break through his limits. However, Dai Li had never actually used the athlete’s patch before, so he did not know the effects of the athlete’s patch. Dai Li’s only worry was if the impact of the athlete’s patch was too great, and Philip ended up leveling up too quickly, it might backfire by becoming a difficult situation to explain.

Sports training has always been progressive, and a sudden spike in growth would cause suspicion. Even Philip himself would grow suspicious.

That was the reason Dai Li held the book titled An Introduction to Super Hypnosis in his hand and put up an act. In case the effects of the athlete’s patch were too great, Dai Li would directly blame it all on supernatural phenomena, which would save him a lot of time and energy in giving an explanation.

Dai Li read aloud and finished the hypnotic discourse from the book word by word before he asked Philip to open his eyes. He pretended to look very expectant and asked, "How do you feel? Do you feel like you’ve been born anew?"

"Not at all!" Philip shook his head nonchalantly. "I told you before, these things are used to trick people. I don’t deny that professional clinical psychologists know how to hypnotize people, but surely it’s impossible for ordinary folks to become hypnosis masters through a book like this An Introduction to Super Hypnosis."

"There’s no effect. Huh! Then that’s too bad..." Dai Li pretended to look disappointed. He then threw the book to the side and stood up. "Then let’s get on with our training!"

...

Philip felt that his running was smooth. He even had an illusion, for a moment, that he wasn’t wearing any prostheses, and his legs had returned!

In the next second, a sudden pain came from the area of his knees where the prostheses were fixed. It cleared Philip’s mind up.

Both my legs have been gone for a long time! A sudden sadness filled Philip’s heart. However, the smoothness he felt from his legs was increasingly vivid. Oddly enough, Philip once again felt that both his legs were back.

How could this be? It’s been so many years since I came back from Iraq, and I’ve long grown accustomed to life without legs. Why am I having these weird feelings today? Philip suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. It had been too long since he became disabled, and he had even begun to forget what it felt like to walk with legs.

It couldn’t be the hypnosis just now! Philip shook his head violently.

What am I thinking! That rubbish of a book called An Introduction to Super Hypnosis? Only someone like Coach Li who had just arrived in the US would believe that!

...

The selection system of athletes in the US was different from China. Athletes from China were selected through multiple layers, from sports schools to city teams, then to provincial teams, before finally making it into the national team. The ones who were able to represent the national team in international competitions were the best in the national team. If an international game was coming up, the selection would be held within the national team; in essence, a person would have no chance to represent the nation and participate in international competitions if they did not first make it into the national team.

The athlete cultivation system in the US was different. Athletes in the US fought for themselves. There was no such thing as a provincial or city team. Whenever an international competition drew near, the US selected the athletes before forming their national team. After that, they would represent the country by participating in international competitions.

Athletes were selected through different competitions, and the results were usually decided by one match. For example, if a sports event had three places, it meant that the top three of the selection stage would become the representatives to compete in the upcoming competition. The reputation, as well as past achievements of the athlete, were useless in the selection. Even if the athlete was a world record holder, if he finished fourth in the selection race, he would not be able to represent the US in the competition.

In the history of track and field in the US, there had been many cases where world champions or even world record holders had a drop in performance during the selections and ended up not being able to take part in important international competitions. For example, there was once a 100m sprinter who had just broken the world record the previous year, but in the Olympics selection the following year, he failed to get into the top three. As a result, he missed the Olympics.

A selection system such as this would surely not work in other countries. If an athlete was a world champion as well as a world record holder, or if the athlete had been a past world record holder, then even if the athlete wasn’t performing as well, he would have still been given a place to take part in the important international competition. It didn’t matter if the athlete could no longer run, or if he had to limp to the finish line, he would still be eligible to participate.

The athlete selection system in the US had its pros and cons. The advantage would be that it was fair, victory was decided by a match, and everyone had an equal chance. No one would get a place by exploiting human relations. There were also no biased internal decisions set at a higher level or things of similar nature. Athletes in the US advocated individual heroism, and collectivism had no place there. Thus, Americans were adept at protecting their personal interests. Things like sacrificing one’s own interest for the group was against mainstream American values.

However, the cons were also obvious. The selected athlete might not be the most suited to participate in the competition. Luck played an important role in these types of selection systems that decided everything in one match. If an average athlete succeeded in getting into the top three thanks to extraordinary forms, or if a capable athlete happened to perform poorly on that day, that would mean the weaker athlete would be sent to take part in the competition.

That was why, if you counted in detail the contestants of the US team from the World Championship in Athletics and the Olympics, you would be sure to find a few contestants who were unknown, and their performance would be mediocre. After the race, they would disappear. These were the kind of athletes who had exceptional luck during the selection stage.

Of course, that was because Americans were good at sports, and they had sufficient talent, which was why they chose this method of selection. If it were another country, the total number of usable athletes would be more or less the same, so no country would ever dare use this sort of athlete selection system outside the US.

...

In the stadium of California State University, the selection for the World Championships in Athletics was underway.

The US was a powerhouse in track and field, and as such, it was natural that the selection for the world championship would gather the best athletes in the world. Many world-renowned track and field athletes were present. They were all working hard to get a ticket to the world championship in athletics. Many contestants were not that well-known, and some were obscure. Some of them might not be trying to get a ticket to the world championship, as most would be hoping to use this chance to gain a bit of fame.

At the registration area, Philip walked towards the registration office with a face full of unease. He had downloaded and filled out the registration form much earlier. Now all he had to do was simply submit the form and let the registration officers do their job.

Philip wasn’t a seeded contestant who could take part in the official race directly; he had to start from the qualifiers. Once he obtained a qualifying spot during the qualifiers, he would be allowed to take part in the official race later.

Some athletes who were also submitting their registration forms saw Philip not far away.

"Isn’t that the Blade Warrior?"

"Blade Warrior? The black actor who fought vampires? He looks thinner than when he was in the movies, and his complexion isn’t as dark either!"

"Not that blade warrior movie, he’s a para-athlete who lost both of his legs. What was his name again... Oh, that’s right, I think he’s called Barron Philip! He has a nickname called ’Blade Warrior.’ He’s pretty famous on the west coast."

"Now that you mention it, I think I remember! I heard he holds the world record for three separate events in the para-athletic world. Do you think he’s here to watch the race? He’s in the wrong area. You go to the stadium if you want to watch the race, this is the registration office."

"He probably came here with his friend! He’s heading towards the registration office, and he’s taken a piece of paper out of his bag. Is that a registration form?"

"Registration form? How can it be? He wants to register for the race? Don’t joke around, this isn’t a para-athletic game! Surely he’s just helping someone else submit the registration form."

"But the rules say that if you aren’t a seeded contestant, the athlete himself needs to personally submit the form!"

"Then perhaps he’s here to deliver some other documents. I don’t believe that he’s here to register. He’s a disabled person, there’s no way he is competing against normal people, right?"

There was no difference between the way Philip and normal people walked, so none of the staff found out that Philip was a disabled person.

"Barron Philip." A staff took a look at Philip’s name. He only felt that the name was familiar, and he did not immediately associate the name with the famous para-athlete. If the nickname ’Blade Warrior’ were brought up, however, many of the staff who were present would have immediately recognized Philip’s identity.

This name sure sounds familiar, but it’s also pretty standard. Nine times out of ten, I have heard the names of these contestants before. Apart from the few most famous ones, who would remember clearly? The staff shook his head and continued looking down.

Registering for the 400m event. Although the competitiveness of this event is not as high as the 100m and 200m events, it is still very competitive. Personal best is 45.51 seconds. Not bad, a result that is already at the A standard of the Olympics. He only needs to reach the B standard of the Olympics, which is 45.95 seconds, to take part in the qualifiers.

Achieved his best time two weeks ago, which meets the registration requirements, the result can be counted as long as it was recorded within two years. Location was Portland, the race was the Portland Elite Track and Field Para-athletics Competition. Elite Track and Field Para-athletics Competition?

The staff member’s eyes opened wide as he stared at the form. He reread it several times to make sure that he was not mistaken.

Disabled. What the heck is this?