Volume One: Our Own League 135: The Rookie Who Stood Out During the Assessment

The next day, the assessment without the ball was once again divided into three groups.

As before, each group was organized by grade level. Unsurprisingly, the first-year students formed the largest group and bore the heaviest burden.

The first-year assessment began early.

Xu Dongsheng, responsible for evaluating the first-year students, approached the group and announced, “Today’s assessment will be extremely harsh for you, because some of you will be leaving here!”

He looked up at the crowd as he spoke.

Naturally, the first-year students grew tense upon hearing this, many drawing in sharp breaths to steady their nerves. For them, the true test had begun.

Xu He, however, remained calm.

He was confident in himself, firmly believing he would make the school team.

He had been among the top performers during yesterday’s trial, and he was certain he would maintain that standing today. His confidence was unwavering.

Xu Dongsheng continued, “Be mentally prepared—there will be eliminations today, and many will be cut. Only the elite of the elite will remain.”

A chorus of inhales filled the air.

It was clear that everyone was anxious; many began doubting themselves, fearing they would be among those dismissed.

But the players from Class Ten’s soccer team stayed composed. They believed they were sure to be selected. After all, their team was the strongest in the first-year cohort. If they couldn’t make it, who else could?

Li Jie looked over at Xu He and asked, “Are you nervous?”

Xu He gave him a puzzled glance, not quite understanding.

Li Jie chuckled softly, “I didn’t even need to ask. You don’t know the meaning of nervous!”

Xu He patted Li Jie’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Don’t be nervous.”

Li Jie immediately rolled his eyes at Xu He. “Get lost! I’m not nervous at all!”

And indeed, Li Jie wasn’t lying—he truly wasn’t nervous.

If Xu He was confident, then Li Jie was confident too. Why should he be anxious?

Xu Dongsheng went on, “Today, I’ve divided you into four small groups for assessment in four rounds. I will call out the names and groups shortly. Once you hear your name, find your team and prepare for the evaluation.”

Hearing this, Xu He began to understand.

Xu Dongsheng added, “For those not currently being assessed, you may rest on the field, but do not leave the premises. Anyone found leaving will be considered as voluntarily withdrawing, understood?”

Xu He and the others responded in unison, “Understood!”

Xu Dongsheng nodded approvingly. “Very well. I will now call out the groups. When you hear your name, go to your designated spot immediately. Got it?”

Everyone instantly grew serious.

The real battle was about to begin.

Xu He cracked his knuckles eagerly, ready to dive into the assessment.

Soon, Xu Dongsheng began calling out names. Xu He hoped to be called first, but his name was never mentioned in the initial groups. When the first group was finished, he felt a tinge of disappointment.

His disappointment deepened as his name was absent from the first three groups.

However, he was very familiar with the members of his own group—all people he knew well.

Li Jie, Zhu Ge, Lin Xuefeng, Zhuo Jun, Zhong Haokun, Liu Peng, and others were all in their group. Clearly, this was the group that had performed best in yesterday’s trial. Xu He’s spirits lifted; it seemed they had made a strong impression on Xu Dongsheng and the coaches.

He had assumed their group would be the first to be assessed, but it was not so.

Xu Dongsheng announced, “The groups have been assigned, and the assessments will proceed in this order: Group One first, Group Four last.”

Xu He was deeply disappointed—they were the last to be tested.

How long would they have to wait? Would they even get assessed before the afternoon?

He was genuinely worried. With nearly two hundred first-year students, the process seemed interminable.

But there was nothing to do except wait.

Li Jie remarked, “Actually, going last isn’t so bad. At least we get to observe first, see what the assessment entails, and then we’ll have a clearer idea. That should increase our chances of passing.”

Many nodded in agreement.

Xu He rolled his eyes at Li Jie. “What’s there to observe? Look at our group—everyone here is strong. If we can’t pass, who else in the first year would?”

The others were momentarily stunned, then fixed their gaze on Xu He.

After a long pause, someone admitted, “You make a good point. I can’t argue with that.”

Li Jie smiled wryly—Xu He was the same as always.

Yet it was true: their group had made remarkable showings in the first-year soccer league. If they couldn’t pass, very few others would.

Zhu Ge added, “Have you noticed? This grouping is closely related to yesterday’s results. Our group had the best scores, Group Three was next, then Group Two, and Group One the lowest.”

Everyone turned to look at the sidelines, observing the group assignments and reflecting on Zhu Ge’s words. It was exactly as he said.

They looked to Zhu Ge, expecting further insight.

He said, “In my humble opinion, the coaches are having those with weaker physical fitness take the test first, to assess their fundamental skills. They’ll definitely select those with excellent fundamentals. Most others will likely be eliminated.”

The group nodded in agreement.

Xu He nodded thoughtfully. “So you think the earlier groups will be assessed quickly and many will be cut?”

They all looked again at Zhu Ge.

He nodded confidently. “That’s my unpolished guess. I don’t know if that’s the coaches’ actual intention.”

Though he said it was just a guess, his expression was confident—it was clear he believed in his judgment.

The others agreed with Zhu Ge’s assessment.

Xu He said, “I think the same. Enough speculation—let’s focus on the assessment itself. After all, we have to participate too!”

The group fell silent, turning their attention to the testing area.

The first test was ball juggling.

This came as a slight surprise to Xu He and the others, but on reflection, it made sense.

Though simple, juggling reveals fundamental skill—it tests ball control and touch.

Soon, the first group’s assessment was in full swing.

It became clear this round was a ruthless culling.

Since these were ordinary school students with little or no professional soccer training—they usually just played matches or took shots—most had no foundational training.

Many had never practiced juggling, a tedious exercise, so few could do it well.

The first group couldn’t be assessed all at once and was divided into batches.

Very few in the first batch could juggle more than four or five times. Some managed twenty or thirty, but some couldn’t even complete one.

Xu Dongsheng’s face darkened—such poor fundamentals were shocking.

Xu He frowned slightly. He hadn’t expected such low skill. He thought those who played soccer could juggle seven, eight, or ten times. Yet some in this group who played with them only managed four or five.

His optimism waned.

Zhu Ge frowned as well. “Juggling alone doesn’t tell the whole story, but this level is really poor.”

He found it hard to watch.

The first batch finished quickly because of their low skill. Xu Dongsheng hadn’t expected such a rapid assessment.

He realized some genuinely didn’t know how to play soccer.

He motioned for them to proceed to other tests and called the second batch to the field.

The first batch moved on to dribbling around cones.

Xu He nodded in approval—just as he suspected, the second test was dribbling, a fundamental skill assessment.

The second batch’s juggling skills were similar to the first’s, but one individual stood out.

He juggled with exceptional skill—smooth and steady from the start. Xu Dongsheng’s interest piqued.

The boy’s ball control was impressive, indicating solid foundational skill.

Xu He observed him closely.

To be honest, this player was unfamiliar to him—he hadn’t seen him before.

Xu He was certain this boy hadn’t participated in their first-year soccer league; otherwise, Xu He would have recognized him.

Upon closer inspection, the boy’s physique was slender.

Xu He nodded slightly—perhaps that explained why he hadn’t played in the league.

Their batch finished quickly, except for this one boy who continued juggling.

All eyes were on him. He truly stood out—a striking figure amid the crowd.

Xu Dongsheng encouraged him, “Ignore the others. Keep going. Do your best. Juggle as many times as you can!”

The boy juggled steadily, unaffected by the surroundings.

It was as if the entire world had shrunk to just him and the ball—he was fully immersed, oblivious to everything else.

Xu Dongsheng nodded repeatedly, clearly pleased.

Xu He was shocked. He recognized the boy’s juggling skill and ball control—it was impressive.

But seeing his slender frame, Xu He grew concerned.

He worried the boy’s fragile body might not sustain prolonged juggling. Such precise control requires high physical stamina and strength, which evidently he lacked.