Volume One: Our Own League Chapter 73: The Enormous Pressure on Mu Yang’s Shoulders

The next day, after their studies were finished, Xu He and his teammates arrived at the field early. Today’s training session required them to be ahead of schedule. Mu Yang had mentioned this yesterday, and everyone had kept it in mind, so they all made their way to the field at the first opportunity, ready to face the day’s training.

Xu He and his teammates were full of fighting spirit, each of them in high spirits. After all, they had made it into the semifinals, with a good chance to reach the final and even win the championship. Naturally, they were excited.

However, Zhu Ge spoke up, “Put away your pride. We haven’t reached the final yet, let alone won the championship. Now is not the time to celebrate, do you understand?”

He was stern—exceptionally so today. Xu He could clearly sense it, and immediately, everyone put away the smiles on their faces.

Zhu Ge continued, “Let me remind you, arrogance and complacency are not virtues. We may be strong, but our opponents are no pushovers either. You all know what level Yang Hao plays at. If he adjusts his play and coordinates better with his teammates, do you really think we’re guaranteed to beat them?”

Everyone lowered their heads under the weight of his words, reflecting on their earlier attitudes. They had indeed let themselves get carried away. Xu He hung his head, ashamed of his previous behavior. The semifinal hadn’t even been played, yet he was already dreaming of winning the championship. His mindset was clearly off.

Zhu Ge said, “Our opponents, Class Six’s football team, are formidable. If we don’t take them seriously, we’ll be the ones losing in the end.”

This was not just alarmism. Class Six’s football team had the ability to defeat them. In the warm-up matches, Yang Hao from Class Six had breached their defense three times. In the semifinal, Yang Hao would surely go all out against them—would they be able to stop him then? That was why Zhu Ge was so tense.

By overall strength, their own Class Ten team was indeed the strongest at Jinguancheng Seventeenth High. But they could not guarantee victory against every opponent, nor could they assure themselves of the championship.

So, now was no time for hubris; they had to take things seriously.

Zhu Ge went on, “But you also don’t need to scare yourselves. Our team is genuinely strong. As long as we approach this with focus and play to our full potential, I believe we can beat any opponent and claim the league title.”

Zhu Ge would not always be so harsh on his teammates; he needed to give them confidence too.

Hearing this, Xu He and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Xu He also believed in their team’s strength; as long as they stayed focused, beating Class Six shouldn’t be a problem—they had defeated them before and had experience to draw on.

Zhu Ge continued, “In the coming training matches, I hope you’ll all train with seriousness and enthusiasm. This is preparation for the semifinals, and you must take it seriously—understood?”

Xu He and the others nodded in agreement. With that, Zhu Ge handed the session over to Mu Yang and took his place among the team.

Mu Yang, as always, was sparing with words. “Begin training.”

He then led the Class Ten players in a warm-up jog, followed by a series of non-ball drills. To this day, Class Ten’s training methods remained the most distinctive at Jinguancheng Seventeenth High. They were the most unique team.

Many players from other teams scoffed at their methods. With this kind of training, you might as well be track athletes, they thought. No other team imitated Class Ten; instead, they stuck to their own routines, playing daily practice matches and avoiding non-ball drills. Their ball training consisted only of intrasquad games, which seemed much more straightforward.

Yet Lu Yiming, ever the imitator, kept a close eye on Class Ten’s training. Not only that, he led his own teammates in mimicking their drills, never missing a single session.

In Lu Yiming’s view, Class Ten’s training was superior. Xu He and his teammates still didn’t quite understand the necessity of so many non-ball drills; countless questions lingered in their minds. But they neither questioned nor resisted, gradually growing accustomed to it—to the point where they’d feel odd if the non-ball drills were suddenly dropped.

After a while, the non-ball training ended. Mu Yang gave everyone a fifteen-minute break before starting the ball drills.

As soon as the ball training began, Xu He was surprised. Mu Yang had a new training plan today, clearly designed to strengthen their defense. Xu He stared at Mu Yang in astonishment, as did the other players.

Mu Yang said blandly, “From now on, this is how we’ll train.”

With that, he waved his hand, signaling them to get moving without delay.

Xu He didn’t know what to say—Mu Yang truly was a man of few words. Nor did he explain why the training plan had changed so suddenly. Xu He and the others had their doubts, but they kept them to themselves and followed Mu Yang into the new drills.

Today’s focus was on defense, with even the forwards drawn back to defend. Xu He had good stamina, but he knew that maintaining this tempo for an entire match would be tough—according to the plan, forwards would spend long periods defending and sprinting up and down the pitch, a massive drain on energy.

Zhang Zhen and Yang Xin also frowned. They didn’t mind forwards helping in defense, but today’s plan demanded far too much; it would sap their strength and dull their offensive edge.

Yang Xin, tall and thin as a reed, would find all that running a severe drain on his stamina. Meanwhile, Zhang Zhen, whose physical attributes were average at best, lacked the speed and agility for such constant sprints. Wasn’t this a bit much?

But at this moment, Zhu Ge stepped forward. “We’re already the strongest in attack. We don’t need to spend more time training that. What we need to shore up now is our defense. In the knockout stage, it’s not about attack anymore—it’s about defense.”

Xu He looked at Zhu Ge in confusion, unsure what he meant.

Zhu Ge continued, “Did you see how Class Sixteen advanced? It was all thanks to their defense. In a single-elimination match, the outcome is highly unpredictable. We must strengthen our defense, minimize mistakes, and avoid conceding goals if we want to make it to the final.”

There was truth to Zhu Ge’s words, and Xu He nodded slightly. He had no objection to this kind of training, and he was willing to help defend as a forward. But Yang Xin and Zhang Zhen still struggled to accept it, though they continued with the drills regardless. For the sake of the league title, they were willing to make sacrifices.

Zhu Ge said, “For the next couple of days, this will be our training focus. Stay sharp. I want our defense to be on another level by the time we reach the semifinals.”

In truth, this was their only option. Their defense was indeed a weakness—hence Zhu Ge’s repeated attempts to recruit Zhuo Jun for their team. With everyone pitching in defensively, Yang Hao’s threat would be greatly diminished.

Xu He understood Mu Yang and Zhu Ge, and threw himself into the training all the more, eager to win the league. Every player on Class Ten wanted the title, so they all trained with dedication and focus, following Mu Yang’s plan to the letter.

At this time, Mu Yang felt a tremendous pressure. The whole team supported him unconditionally, working hard as he directed. If, in the end, they didn’t win the league, the blame would fall squarely on him.

Yet, though faced with such pressure, Mu Yang showed no fear. He led his teammates in earnest training. If Class Ten failed to win the title, he would shoulder all responsibility himself.

With this thought, he did something rare—he shouted, “Let’s go!”

Xu He and the others were stunned. They had never seen the usually cool Mu Yang like this. Today was truly a remarkable day.

However, on the sidelines, Lu Yiming frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected Class Ten to suddenly focus on defense, especially team-wide defense. Now, there was nothing for him to copy—this wasn’t something he could practice alone, nor was it what he wanted. He still hoped to hone his skills and improve his attacking abilities.

So today, he had no choice but to abandon his imitation of Class Ten’s training, instead taking his teammates to practice judgment and shooting on their own.

Out on the field, the Class Ten players were fully engaged, giving their all for the league championship.

That day, they practiced until they were utterly exhausted, with dusk settling in before they finished.

Zhu Ge said, “Thank you all for your dedication today. I believe if we keep this up, we will definitely win the league. It’s getting late—let’s call it a day. See you tomorrow. Dismissed!”

Xu He packed his things and hurried home. Today’s training had been grueling, with Mu Yang’s standards especially strict. He was meticulous about every detail, often making them repeat a single defensive drill several times—Xu He and Zhang Zhen, as forwards, were nearly driven mad.

Yet, they persevered, and the results were promising. Xu He felt even more confident about Friday’s match, convinced that Class Ten could defeat Class Six and reach the league final.

When he got home, his mother, Tang Qian, gave him a scolding. He truly had come home far too late, and recently he’d been getting home late every day, causing his family to worry. This time, his father, Xu Tie, sided with Tang Qian, sternly warning Xu He to come home earlier from now on.

Xu He felt the care and concern from his parents. He nodded and said, “Got it, Mom, Dad. I’ll be sure to come home early from now on.”