Chapter 35: None of You Have the Strength to Make It to the National Team

This was the first time Hu Zheng spoke such heartfelt words to everyone.

Indeed, every child present was a first-prize winner in the Ningjiang Province Physics Competition.

Such achievements were indeed commendable.

Even if one could not make it to the provincial team, it did not mean failure.

Everyone was only seventeen or eighteen years old; the future was still full of endless possibilities.

Most of the students had already anticipated such an outcome.

After all, the score of the re-examination accounted for 70% of the total.

From the beginning, their main goal was merely to participate in this valuable learning process.

Everyone also expressed their gratitude to Hu Zheng, as the days of learning had been immensely beneficial to them.

Not only did they learn a lot of knowledge, but they also realized their own academic shortcomings and honed their attitudes.

For the future, it was a very precious experience.

Only a few students who ranked around fifteenth and did not make it to the provincial team felt very dejected.

Especially those who were previously within the top fifteen but got squeezed out due to the selection competition.

Some even started crying on the spot.

However, rules are rules, and they had to accept the outcome.

The students gradually left the classroom, leaving only the fifteen who made it to the provincial team.

"First of all, congratulations to the fifteen of you for making it into this year's CPhO Ningjiang Provincial Team. In the next four weeks, we will train together and compete against the country's best physics competitors on the national stage," Hu Zheng announced, boosting the morale of the provincial team members.

From now on, they were not just fighting for personal glory or their school's honor.

They represented the entire Ningjiang Province in competition with other provinces.

"Everyone might feel after taking this test: This is too difficult. I know that just after ten days of intensive training, taking such a test can be challenging. In fact, even scoring zero on this test is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Based on the results from the previous year, managing to solve one problem is considered at the level of a national bronze. Solving two, you're at the silver level. Three, and you're basically guaranteed a gold. Solve four, and you have a good chance of making it into the national training team."

Xu You didn't know whether the three problems he solved were correct.

But at least for now, he certainly didn't have the strength to make it into the national training team.

Then, Hu Zheng's tone suddenly changed.

"I'm sorry to say, as of now, none of you have the strength to make it to the national team."

At this moment, everyone looked a bit disheartened.

It seemed that even the strongest fifteen physics competitors from Ningjiang Province were not outstanding on a national level.

"Of course, there's no need to be overly disappointed. After all, there are only fifty spots in the national team for the whole country. Each province only has one or two spots on average. If you all can devote all your energy to studying physics in these four weeks, you have a complete chance to aim for a national gold, or even make it into the national team."

At this point, Hu Shucheng suddenly raised his hand to speak:

"Mr. Hu, will the selection competition results be published?"

Hu Shucheng also wanted to know what level he had reached.

"In a moment, I will distribute each person's score report. You can see for yourself what level you are at. In 10 minutes, our official training class will begin."

Then, the students came up to the podium to collect their score reports.

"192 points... I'm glad I got the three major problems right."

Seeing his score, Xu You didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

For the first three major problems, Xu You scored the full 64 points each.

The last two major problems, however, were glaring zeroes.

Hu Shucheng also scored 192 points.

However, Hu Shucheng only scored half the points on the third major problem and half the points on the fourth major problem, 32 points each.

"Dude, Xu You, our scores are the same."

The two looked at each other's score reports and were surprised to find that they had scored the same this time.

"Yeah, quite a coincidence."

"According to Mr. Hu, we should both be at the level of a national gold now."

A national gold meant being among the top 144 out of all 480 participants in the national finals.

Such a result would satisfy most people.

Unfortunately, according to the current system, only those who make it to the national team qualify for direct admission to Jingbei.

Getting a national gold would only qualify one for the elite program, and one would still need to take the college entrance examination.

Since the elite exam is after the college entrance exam, no one can guarantee that they will pass the

 elite program to enter a prestigious university.

Therefore, both Xu You and Hu Shucheng were not satisfied with the status quo.

They hoped to have the ability to solve four major problems, which would give them a better chance of making it to the national team.

Compared to Xu You and Hu Shucheng, the rest of the team members were in a more dire situation.

Everyone only managed to solve one or two problems, and some didn't solve any at all.

Fortunately, there were still four weeks until the national finals.

Everyone had the potential to improve themselves and aim for higher scores.

Ten minutes later, the training class officially began.

After a while, everyone noticed that compared to the previous training camp, the pace of the provincial team training was not as fast.

This time, they could understand more of the content.

It wasn't like during the training camp, where they couldn't keep up with much of the material.

After class, the fifteen provincial team members started discussing among themselves.

At this point, there was no longer any competitive relationship between them.

Unlike during the training camp, where students from each school formed their own separate groups.

It felt more like a real team now.

"This is what normal training should be like. I think Mr. Hu intentionally toughened our attitudes before, weeding out those with poor mindsets."

"That's good too. Having gone through the toughest training, I'm not afraid of anything now."

"Right, if we work hard during this time, we actually all have a chance at a national gold."

With four weeks left, everyone felt they had a chance to solve three major problems.

"Let's create a WeChat group. If there are any questions after class, we can discuss them together," Huang Qingzhong suggested.

During the training camp, because of the intense competition, Huang Qingzhong never considered creating a group.

Now that they were all provincial team members guaranteed to participate in the national finals, creating a small group was mutually beneficial.

Everyone agreed without any objections.

(End of Chapter)