It was widely known that for a sport to develop, proper commercialization was inevitable. After the Sochi Winter Olympics, ice sports gradually began to thrive, and many skating clubs sprung up like mushrooms after the rain across China.

Moreover, they started organizing club leagues. The participants were mostly young skaters, and only those who finished in the top ranks in the league had the chance to join the national team for this two-day training event.

The Sai siblings, who won the ice dance championship in the league, were among those invited. Saipeng and Saiqiong, a brother-sister pair with a four-year age gap—Saipeng was 18, and Saiqiong was 14—were already set to represent China in all junior international ice dance competitions this year.

They were also members of the Yúnshàngxīng Club. It was worth mentioning that this club was founded by former coaches and national team athletes, making it the strongest club in China at the moment. Last year, both the ice dance and women’s singles champions from the club league came from Yúnshàngxīng. The pairs champion was from Province J, and the men’s singles champion was trained under Chen Zhu in Shanghai.

This time, all the children came to the national team to receive coaching from national team trainers. In singles skating, everyone hoped to be taught by the Zhang Jue coaches.

It was common knowledge that coaches and athletes helped each other succeed. If a coach had an ace athlete always striving to master new techniques and break world records, then the coach would inevitably gain knowledge of cutting-edge figure skating techniques and the highest-level skills, perhaps becoming the most knowledgeable in these areas.

The Zhang Jue coaches were in just such a situation. They were already highly skilled, and by working with Zhang Jue, they further honed their expertise—learning how to teach the quad jump, how to help kids cushion the impact of high-difficulty jumps, and how to achieve world-class skating skills.

The nation’s top coach for teaching quad jumps was Shen Liu of Zhang Jue team. The best coach for refining basic skills and correcting techniques was Lu Zhaosheng, also from Zhangmen. The top coach for designing physical and strength training and improving performance for singles skaters was Zhang Junbao—also from Zhangmen.

Each of the three coaches had their strengths, and through coaching Zhang Jue, they mastered the art of guiding athletes through the challenges of physical development.

For the young skaters, this was incredibly valuable.

During this training, Dong Xiaolong noticed a pairs coach approaching Zhang Junbao, explaining that one of his female skaters had recently gone through a growth spurt, shooting up from 1.41 to 1.50 meters in height and gaining 15 pounds. Her center of gravity was completely off even during single jumps.

They didn’t dare put her on a strict diet, as the former top skater Xu Chuo had overly restricted her diet during puberty and had yet to recover from the resulting physical decline.

Additionally, Sun Qian had already prepared to move a pair of young skaters to the national team’s second group, meaning they would be training with the national team long-term, and she hoped Coach Zhang could provide more guidance.

Furthermore, Coach Lu, surprisingly, excelled at teaching skating and spins. Nothing escaped his sharp eyes. A young female singles skater, who was trying to correct her wrong edge on her flip jump, followed him everywhere, her voice sweetened by ten percent when speaking to him.

After the Sochi Winter Olympics, the reputations of these coaches had grown a lot.

Dong Xiaolong could tell that all the young singles skaters put in extra effort whenever the Zhang Jue coaches were there to guide them.

After all, who wouldn’t want to be Zhang Jue’s junior disciple?

The only regret was that their training sessions didn’t overlap with Zhang Jue’s.

Typically, when Zhang Jue was practicing quads with Shen Liu, the kids were taken by Zhang Junbao for physical and strength training. And when Zhang Jue was in the equipment room lifting weights, Coach Lu took the kids onto the ice for skating drills.

Basically, the kids trained with whichever coach was available, which meant they didn’t get to see Zhang Jue very often.

Mealtimes were the only chance everyone had to be together.

Zhang Jue’s meals were the blandest on the team, but with the start of the season and his increased training volume, his food portions had also grown. Just looking at the two small bowls of food in front of him could make some people feel full.

During meals, he would casually chat with the coaches about training issues. Clearly, he wasn’t just someone being coached—he was also involved in shaping his own training plan.

Saipeng and Saiqiong sat behind them and overheard their conversation.

Zhang Jue: “Although I lost some muscle during my recent weight loss, my quad-jumping ability hasn’t declined. Now that I’ve started bulking up again, jumps feel a bit easier.”

Coach Lu nodded: “That’s exactly why Junbao, Xiao Liu, and I all agreed on your weight-loss strategy.”

“Your jump technique wasn’t polished enough before, so you needed more strength to compensate. As you lost weight, you had to make your jump technique and power execution more precise to maintain your quad-jumping ability. Now that you’re regaining strength, you’ll naturally find it much easier.”

Shen Liu chuckled: “Your frame is quite slender, not as bulky as some. If you weigh more than 70 kilograms, the pressure on your joints when jumping quads will be too great. But if you want to challenge new quads, you’ll need even more force than when jumping the 4T or 4S, so we have to regulate you this way.”

“And having more control in your jumps is one of the factors judges consider when awarding GOE. Although some judges might not see it, the more perfect you are, the higher your chances of getting high GOE scores.”

Zhang Jue nodded in understanding: “This method is effective. I can feel my control over my body improving. I couldn’t control the height of my quads before, but now when I jump a 4T, I can ensure it’s between 60 and 62 centimeters high, and my success rate is improving.”

A young male singles skater sitting next to Saipeng was stunned.

Being able to land quads was already world-class, but controlling the height during the jump? That was on another level!

Zhang Junbao chimed in: “Also, your core strength has improved a lot, so your issues with displacement are nearly gone. How about trying to get level 4 spins in all your programs this season?”

Zhang Jue stuck out his tongue: “I’ll give it a shot.”

The others listening in were amazed—level 4 spins were so hard to achieve, yet he was up for the challenge.

Coach Lu added: “Your step sequences haven’t gotten level 4 in the past, so push for it this season.”

Zhang Jue: “I’ll do my best.”

No matter what demands the coaches made of him, Zhang Jue always accepted the challenge. And the coaches, in turn, always believed he could do it.

Saipeng glanced back subtly and saw Zhang Jue’s back. Since it was summer and Beijing was as hot as an oven, Zhang Jue was only wearing a tight black short-sleeved shirt, which revealed his smooth but not overly muscular back.

The boy couldn’t help but think: Brother Zhang’s upper body muscles looked even stronger than mine, but I’m an ice dancer who has to lift a partner, and I’m a year older than him!

This level of muscle, combined with his grueling training regimen—plus the sight of him in the equipment room, drenched in sweat, his shoulders and back covered in dozens of medicinal patches, or lying in the therapy room with needles all over his back and legs—was impressive. Even the deep purple bruises from cupping therapy were visible.

Everyone called Zhang Jue a genius, but who knew how much sweat and tears were behind that label?

As the strongest men’s singles skater in the world after Vasily’s retirement, Zhang Jue’s strength was built on extreme, relentless training.

“Also, there was a group of strict coaches watching over them. Saipeng’s coach had four pairs of ice dancers under him, and Saipeng was just one of them. Occasionally, when the coach called him out, he would feel a chill down his spine. But over at Zhang Jue’s side, there were three coaches solely focused on him.

Saipeng could tell that even though Zhang Jue had junior teammates, he was the absolute focus of his coaches. The coaches weren’t biased, but everyone tacitly agreed that Zhang Jue received the best resources. At the same time, he was also the one the public held in the highest regard, with the most expectations placed upon him.

The pressure on him must have been immense.

Yet, no matter when you looked at him, his face remained calm. It was no surprise that he was internationally recognized as one of the athletes with the strongest ability to handle pressure.

Considering that most of them were still developing, or had yet to start puberty, their training volume at the summer camp wasn’t too heavy. After training in the morning, they could rest until 2 PM. From 2 to 4, they had culture classes, where teachers helped them with music appreciation, literature, and other subjects. The idea was to develop their minds and enhance their artistic sense, indirectly boosting their performance.

But after joining the national team, things changed. After 2 PM, the children were herded like ducks into the dance studio.

In the studio, the melodious sound of the piano filled the room. A silver-haired woman, who appeared to be foreign, sat at the piano, and Zhang Jue was following her music to do ballet exercises.

He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just black pants and dark blue ballet shoes.

He was dancing to the Adagietto from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony.

The performance, so full of life, left all the children in awe.

When the music ended, Mia spoke coldly: “I still think you should choreograph a ballet-inspired short program for the new season. This dance suits you well.”

Zhang Jue winked at her: “Your opinion is the opposite of Francis, but I still insist that I should bring something new every season.”

Team leader Dong Xiaolong then addressed the children: “The lady in the classroom is Mia Rosiyabayeva. You should know that Zhang Jue’s short program last season, Flames of Paris, was choreographed by her. She’s also Zhang Jue’s dance teacher.”

“Today, you’ll be taking a two-hour dance class with her and Zhang Jue.”

Hearing Dong Xiaolong’s voice, Zhang Jue turned around to look at them. He walked lightly to the corner of the room, grabbed a towel to wipe his sweat, and then pulled on a black tank top.

His body fat was so low that as he moved, you could see his muscles ripple, veins faintly visible under his skin from the intense workout.

But… his body, wrapped in sweat, was really toned and not overly muscular—very attractive.

As Saipeng followed the group into the classroom, he noticed that several people didn’t even dare look at Zhang Jue. This included a certain male skater who had written a love letter to a female singles skater just last month.

Zhang Jue, however, didn’t seem to notice anyone’s shyness. Even though he wasn’t much older than them, he naturally took on the role of a big brother, helping them with their dance practice.

Oh, and he also corrected the younger kids movements.

There were especially many mistakes during that day’s dance class. It was hard to tell if the children were mesmerized by Zhang Jue or making mistakes on purpose.

It was probably a bit of both.

That evening, while scrolling through his phone, Saipeng noticed that Zhang Jue had rarely posted an update on Weibo posted. The picture showed the young athlete standing in a workshop filled with fabric, next to a mannequin dressed in what was clearly an unfinished costume. The tailor lady who had visited the rink before was smiling beside him.

[Zhang Jue: New season’s outfit in progress. Madam Wu’s tailoring skills are superb, looking forward to it. @MinfengHighEndTailoringStudio]

In the photo, Zhang Jue was wearing a stylish white casual outfit, looking fresh and calm. There was no sign of the exhaustion from training, the sweat from his workouts, or the falls during his quad jump practices.

But after the two-day stint at the national team, the children from Yúnshàngxīng silently increased their training intensity. One overly ambitious kid even ramped up their training to nearly match Zhang Jue’s, which led to them being sent to the medical room due to overuse injuries.

In the medical room, Auntie Jiang tapped the head of the bold kid and scolded: “Imitating your idol is fine, but know your limits! Do you think anyone can train like Zhang Jue? He can handle that intense training because his technique is precise, and he has the country’s best nutritionist supporting him. Even with all that, he’s still covered in patches for muscle pain. Who do you think you are?”

Zhang Jue’s physique was stronger than athletes at the same level because he had highly skilled medical staff and nutritionists, and his coaches closely monitored his movements. If anything seemed off, they would stop him immediately.

But because of this, Zhang Jue couldn’t enjoy the pleasures of eating freely, his therapy sessions after training were long, and the hardships he endured were several times greater than anyone else’s.

Without these people’s support, that kind of world-class athlete’s training volume would have completely ruined an ordinary person. And as for the newbies still only competing in club leagues, compared to Zhang Jue, they were just regular people!

Their physical foundations, force application techniques, training experience, and conditions were all inferior to his. Training like Zhang Jue would be suicidal!

The bold kid frowned: “I just really want to land a quad jump.”

He lay on the bed with a sigh, looking defeated.

‘I really want to join the national team and train closer to him.’

Right now, every young male or even female singles skater in the junior group had the same goal: to catch up to Zhang Jue at competitions and fight alongside him.

He was the idol of all the young figure skating kids in China.

 

 

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