Cultivating through increasing my stats in America Chapter 397 - 239: Breaking the National Record2

Nie Yongjin gasped for air, seeing the finish line about to be reached, his already exhausted body summoned a burst of energy, but the next second, a breeze swooshed past him.

"Strange, weren’t Li Ang and Ling Zhenyu running ahead just now? How did they co from behind?"

As he asked this question reflexively, he finally realized that the three of them seed to have been lapped.

Could it be? Even on a five-kiloter track, one could be lapped?

After finishing their running training and just about to go ho and tell their grandpa the good news, they didn’t expect their aunt to bring them a piece of gossip first.

"Let tell you, I just heard that the folks next door have hired a freestyle fighting coach, so you guys should be careful," she warned.

Hearing these words, although Nie Zhaofeng still appeared completely unfazed, the others started to feel a bit panicked.

"We all practice martial arts, what’s the deal with them hiring a freestyle fighting coach?"

"Exactly, we’re all practicing different styles, how can we compare?"

"If they claim they practice freestyle fighting, how can you disprove it? Freestyle fighting includes quite a few moves from traditional martial arts, and if you’re really not as good as them, there’s nothing you can do about it."

...

Although each of them had so confidence in their martial arts abilities, that was with respect to their peers who also practiced traditional martial arts.

However, freestyle fighting, also called modern Chinese combat, is different. Anything with the word "modern" tends to have a technological and systematic advantage over traditional martial arts.

They were well aware that even the best fighter among them, Uncle Zhaofeng, was unlikely to match a professional freestyle fighting coach.

But now that things had co to this point, they could only put all their hopes on Li Ang. As long as they didn’t lose too badly in this event, counting the points from the other two events, they still had a chance.

When the day of the event arrived, Li Ang, to be honest, was quite astonished by the spectacle of their village.

Not only was the event site grand and luxurious, with a troupe of more than fifty singers and dancers, dragon and lion dance teams, but they even invited local TV reporters and photographers. Li Ang estimated that this setup must have cost at least three to four hundred thousand yuan to pull off.

However, the luxury cars in the parking lot, such as the rcedes S, Lexus LX 570, BMW 7 Series, and Toyota Land Cruiser, made it clear that these villagers were by no ans short on cash.

It was said that many villagers who were business owners in other cities had traveled thousands of miles just to attend this event.

It goes without saying for Li Ang’s company employees; without this firsthand experience, they would have found it hard to believe that this was rural China.

This trip to China completely changed the stereotypical perceptions they had about China from traditional Arican dia.

The streets everywhere were clean, no one was living on the streets, and you could stroll safely down the main road at night without worrying about suddenly encountering soone with a gun trying to rob you.

"Boss, if it weren’t for my visa expiring soon, I would really love to stay here longer, I just love it here so much," one said.

Li Ang, watching this lively scene, also felt sowhat emotional. Perhaps, one day, when he wanted to retire, he would return here, but for now, it was not possible.

This place was very friendly for ordinary people, but for him, there were still too many restrictions.

The first competition of the event was running, with four teams, five people each, totaling twenty competitors, taking their positions on the track.

"Ah Ming, I heard the foreign aid you guys hired this ti is from Arica, after all that trouble, is he really up to it?" one asked.

"Whatever the case, he’ll perform better than you guys. Besides, he’s a student of my Uncle Zhaofeng, so that makes him much closer to us than your hired help," retorted Nie Yongming.

Nie Yongming’s words evidently hit the mark. Although the event allowed for hiring external help, it was certainly preferred to have one’s own people participate, even if not surnad Nie, they should at least be related in so way.

After all, a primary aim of this rule was to showcase the strength and connections of their lineage.

Therefore, even though basketball coach Ling Zhenyu could be counted as a classmate to them, he wasn’t considered to be a forcefully hired foreign player.

Unable to out-talk Nie Yongming, the other person could only sulkily go off to chat with soone else.

The race officially started, and Li Ang burst out at the start; he wasn’t afraid of revealing his strength too much in Arica, let alone in China.

After all, as long as he didn’t casually break the world record, or exceed the human limit by too much, these things wouldn’t have such an exaggerated impact.

The speed that Li Ang displayed surprised even his own relatives and friends.

In their minds, the main force in running should have been Ling Zhenyu, so how did this kid end up at the front?

Of course, it was good that Li Ang was strong, but they were afraid he might only be strong at the start and falter later on.

In fact, after Li Ang passed the first kiloter, those in the crowd who knew a bit about running could tell that Li Ang was definitely not one of those reckless sprinters.

Even the TV caraman couldn’t help but exclaim:

"This guy is definitely a pro; last ti I attended the athletics competition organized by the city, honestly, I don’t think those athletes ran as fast as him."

The reporter lady couldn’t help but frequently check the ti with the referees; if it really was like this, what was initially just a small piece of local news might really catch fire.

Halfway through the race, a no-man’s land had already ford behind Li Ang, and when Li Ang was about to reach the finish line, the few trailing at the end were only halfway through the course.

"What’s the ti, what’s the ti now?"

A villager, who worked as a PE teacher at the school, asked his son who was timing with a stopwatch, sowhat anxiously.

He had a premonition that Li Ang’s ti to finish the race would be astonishingly fast.

After all, the student with a national level two athlete’s standard in the 5000 ters, who he had asked his old classmate to invite, had already been left far behind by Li Ang.

"13 minutes, just over 13 minutes."

As soon as his son finished speaking, a huge cheer arose from the crowd nearby, which ant Li Ang had reached the finish line.

"Damn, international level, this is freaking international level athlete material!"

As a PE teacher, although he no longer had that strength himself, he was very clear about so of the policies issued by the State General Administration of Sports.

No wonder the level two athlete was lagging so far behind.

After all, the standard for a level two athlete in the 5000 ters is 16 minutes and 10 seconds, while the standard for an international athlete is 13 minutes and 31 seconds. The gap between the two is like the difference between heaven and earth.

Hoping his son might have mistakenly noted the ti, he specifically squeezed through the crowd to check the ti with the referees, 13 minutes and 04 seconds, even more than twenty seconds faster than the standard for international athletes.

Wait, this result, "Son, quickly check the national record for the 5000 ters on your phone?"

"Let see, it’s 13 minutes and 25.14 seconds, set by Xia Fengyuan at the 8th Shanghai National Gas in 1997, and that national record has been held until today."

"Holy shit, Dad, did he just break the national record?"

"Holy shit, it really seems like he did, even if there is a ti discrepancy between hand timing and electronic timing, it couldn’t be off by twenty seconds, it’s definitely broken."

"I was personally involved in asuring this road, and although it’s not precisely five kiloters, the deviation won’t be more than twenty ters."

Isn’t it? You have this level of skill and you’re not participating in the Olympics to make a na for yourself, instead, you run in our village event?

This PE teacher was stunned.

He had just witnessed the birth of a new national record.

He thought getting a national level two athlete was already quite unscrupulous; he never imagined soone would actually invite an Olympic athlete.

On the other hand, the caraman was so excited that he didn’t even care that the reporter was still speaking, hurriedly asking her to take out her phone, saying that they were going to make a big news story this ti.