Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Finals, a Foul Occurred

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Ling Chengyan looked at the empty spot at position seven and was about to walk over when Xu Dong came over, panting: “Ling Chengyan, position six!”

His shout was heard not only by Ling Chengyan but also by the starter, who looked at the contestant at position six and paused the command with a frown.

Xu Dong hurried over to negotiate and then ran onto the field with the starter to inquire about the contestant. It turned out that the participant had stood in the wrong position due to nervousness; they were supposed to be at position seven but stood in position six.

Ling Chengyan calmly walked to position six, stood firm, gently moved her ankles and wrists, then grasped the training projectile to prepare…

This contestant wasn’t nervous, but Li Huaihua and Xu Dong wiped sweat secretly. Had Xu Dong run a bit slower and not arrived in time, Ling Chengyan would have been participating on behalf of someone else.

The whistle blew, and Ling Chengyan’s slender figure dashed out, seemingly weightless yet not slow, leading the way to the throwing area. She waved her hand — throw! The training projectile arced through a beautiful parabola, landing precisely in the highest scoring zone, unmoving!

As the first round of throwing ended, the scorers ran up to mark with small red flags and recorded scores. Upon clearing the training projectiles from the first round, they picked up the projectile from position six and discovered its body had slightly sunk into the ground, leaving a clear and distinct depression.

No wonder, once the projectile landed, it remained motionless!

Because it’s a training projectile, which is hollow and lighter than a live one, many throwers’ projectiles would roll or slide upon landing, affecting the scores.

This contestant threw so accurately, and if the force was intentionally controlled, that’d be truly remarkable.

Back at the field’s edge, the scorer shared what they witnessed with their companions, who all found it hard to believe — landing the projectile accurately in the high-score zone wasn’t easy, and intentionally controlling the force to let the projectile sink and remain still was somewhat incredible!

While they were discussing, the second round of throwing began. Ling Chengyan continued to lead, arriving first at the throwing area, waving her hand — throw!

The projectile went through the air, once again landing accurately in the center of the high-score zone — unmoving!

“Look, look!” An excited scorer jumped up, pointing at the landed training projectile for others to see.

The second round of throws completed amid excitement and chatter. Several scorers rushed forward, each sprinting toward the very center of the high-score zone projectile. Upon picking up the projectile on the ground, a clear indentation pit was visible to everyone, with another pit about ten centimeters away!

“Wow, that’s amazing!” a young girl gasped.

“Indeed, it’s incredible!”

“What are you all doing over there?” someone shouted from the field’s edge.

The scorers quickly dispersed, marking, recording, collecting projectiles, and clearing the field.

Soon, the scorers tallied the results of the second round.

“That contestant scored ten points in two rounds, first place!”

“Definitely into the finals!”

“Who knows if they can be this miraculous in the finals!”

Ling Chengyan was unaware that her throw scores caught the scorers’ attention. She returned to accompany Li Huaihua on the field, retreated after hearing the starter’s call for readiness, and focused on Li Huaihua’s run-up, throw, and landing. It was good; nine points for the first round!

As Li Huaihua ran back, Ling Chengyan clapped for her, giving her a thumbs-up in support.

Li Huaihua nodded, took several deep breaths to prepare, and started the second round — ten points!

“Awesome, very nice!” Ling Chengyan went forward and hugged Li Huaihua.

Nineteen points in two rounds, one point higher than Li Huaihua’s score during the commune selection. With such results, she likely would advance to the finals.

Li Huaihua felt very happy. Initially, when she joined the commune’s training, she did not dare hope to pass the selection and participate in the county’s major competition. Now, she not only reached the county level but also had the hope to pass the preliminary rounds and enter the finals, which truly filled her with joy and excitement, embracing Ling Chengyan with reddened eyes.

“Thanks to you…” Li Huaihua knew very well that without Ling Chengyan’s guidance on power techniques, her accuracy and throwing distance wouldn’t be this good.

Ling Chengyan patted her and smiled: “It’s your own effort. Alright, take a break now.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Li Huaihua linked arms with Ling Chengyan at the edge of the field, waiting and observing the upcoming group contests.

In the subsequent group contests, only two scored nineteen points, making Li Huaihua visibly relax and smile broadly.

Soon, the preliminary round results were tallied, and the judging panel announced the list of finalists — a total of ten people, with Ling Chengyan and Li Huaihua as first and second place from the preliminary, both entering the finals.

Taiping Commune’s Zhang Wanxiang also reached the finals, scoring two nines.

The three shook hands, encouraging each other as they walked toward the final match.

“Those two female militia members of yours are impressive!” Zheng Weimin from Fujiao Commune chimed in again.

Xu Dong ran over to the throwing area to check the scores, with only Wu Xiangyang remaining in the waiting zone.

Upon hearing Zheng Weimin’s envious words, Wu Xiangyang glanced sideways at him and said with a smile, “Even our leader said it, ’Women hold up half the sky,’ so your commune should give female comrades more opportunities.”

Wu Xiangyang didn’t mince words, but by citing the leader, there was nothing Zheng Weimin could argue against.

With a sense of frustration and injustice, he turned and walked to the side.

Taiping Commune’s pair included a talkative one and a presumptive one; both were quite something. Captain Zheng felt wounded, feeling aggrieved.

Ling Chengyan was unaware of these minor episodes. She stood behind the starting line, eyes focused on the center of the throwing area, fingers loosening then gripping on the projectile handle.

The final lineup was based on scores, with the first place at the center, followed by the second and third.

Hearing the starter’s whistle, Ling Chengyan shot out like a bullet, effortlessly running to the throwing area, throw — accurately landing in the middle of the high-score zone.

The previous two indentation marks had been flattened; if not, someone might have noticed that this time the landing was between the previous two.

Scorers observed the projectile’s depression with no surprise, silently marking it and recording the score.

After finishing her throw, Ling Chengyan turned to leave. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a male militia member beside her step over the throwing line — foul, invalid score.

This was the contestant tied with Li Huaihua for second place; with one round score void, this person was essentially done.

In the second round, Ling Chengyan noticed the same person still standing at the starting line, slightly surprised but not paying much attention.

Though one score was invalid, persevering to complete the competition reflected a tenacious spirit. Despite this, she felt no admiration for any who failed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep