Arthur Wens ignored Coach Miller’s exclamation, his eyes fixed on Li Wei without blinking.

Li Wei understood why Coach Miller was so shocked. He also understood just how high the expectations of this scout, Wens, were—willing to give him a 4-star player evaluation after just one game, without even having had time to review the film.

According to Rivals’ statistics, about 1.07 million high school students in the United States of America play football each year, but fewer than 10,000 of them ever make it into this evaluation system.

If you could just catch a scout’s eye, get a 2-star rating, and then get certified at a training camp, you were already a one-in-a-hundred elite. With a bit of luck, you could even get offers from a few colleges.

Above that were the 3-star players. This group made up only 0.2% of all high school football players in the country, numbering around 2,000 each year.

These players were generally at a level where they could pick and choose their colleges, receive full-ride scholarships, and some even had a future chance of making it into the NFL.

But the evaluation Li Wei received was a tier higher. This was a true one-in-ten-thousand talent, a top prodigy ranked in the nation’s top 100-400. He was considered a top-tier national player who could get into the P5 Alliance—which represented the biggest budgets and most abundant resources—and an elite prospect with the potential to be a college starter, or even go pro.

While the top 100-400 might seem like a lot of players, that was a combined evaluation for all positions. If you narrowed it down to the Quarterback position, Li Wei would rank directly among the top 10 high school Quarterbacks in the nation.

As for the 5-star players above that, they weren’t just one-in-ten-thousand. They were one-in-a-hundred-thousand—super-prodigies, with only about 30 in the entire country, who possessed the talent and potential to go straight to the NFL.

"And here I thought I’d get a 5-star rating," Li Wei said with a smile. "So I’m still a little short, huh?"

"Not exactly," Arthur Wens said, pushing up his glasses. "A single scout can’t give out a 5-star evaluation. The final rating can only be determined by data from the training camps."

"I see," Li Wei said, a look of realization on his face. "I have another question..."

’Li Wei was stalling, trying to see if he could trigger some kind of quest from Arthur Wens. Then he could show off, rake in a nice pile of attribute points, and make a clean getaway.’

Unfortunately, it seemed the system had been shocked by his earlier choices and was still processing. No new quests popped up.

In the end, Li Wei couldn’t think of any more questions to ask. Dragging it out any longer would just make it look like he was nervous and deliberately wasting time.

"Understood. Since you have questions about my physical abilities, please bring your speed gun and notebook. Let’s head to the field," he said, turning to the side and making a welcoming gesture. "We can run the tests right here and now."

「10 minutes later, on the Franklin High School athletic field.」

Arthur Wens held a photoelectric speed gun, while Coach Miller stood to the side, looking even more nervous than Li Wei.

He was constantly wringing his hands, muttering, "This kid’s the real deal, Wens. Don’t be too shocked in a minute."

"Forty-yard dash," Wens said, setting up the infrared sensors and motioning to Li Wei. "Give it everything you’ve got, kid. I want to see the upper limit of your explosiveness."

Since recording equipment was present, Li Wei couldn’t use [Rage]. Relying on his 1.8 agility, he ran a 4.42-second dash, an improvement of 0.05 seconds over his last time.

"Oh my god..." Wens couldn’t help but exclaim. "That’s fast!"

For a Quarterback, a 4.42-second dash might not have broken any NFL records, but for a high schooler, it was still a devastatingly good time.

This meant Li Wei could break through defenses on his own with the ball, and almost no high school or college players—not even semi-pro running backs in the NCAA—could necessarily keep up with his speed.

"Again," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "Let’s test the vertical jump next."

Li Wei walked over to the vertical jump measurement rack and leaped up effortlessly.

inches.

Unsurprisingly, this number shocked Wens once again. This result was far beyond the requirement for a 4-star running back.

If these physical stats belonged to a running back—a position that demands the highest lower-body explosiveness—Wens might have been excited and given him a 4-star player evaluation.

But for these numbers to appear on a Quarterback... a tremor of excitement ran through Wens. It was the thrill of knowing he was about to unleash a beast that would dominate the field.

Thirty-four reps on the 225-pound bench press. This was the kind of number you’d see from a starting NFL offensive tackle, but it actually made Wens a little worried.

This was because Quarterbacks are tested on their throwing power and release speed; excessive upper-body muscle mass could potentially interfere with their throwing stability and release velocity.

Fortunately, Wens’s worries quickly vanished. Li Wei’s throwing was as precise as a machine’s. Even after thirty consecutive passes and changes in direction, his breathing remained perfectly steady.

He felt like he couldn’t quite figure Li Wei out anymore.

He had been in the scouting profession for over 15 years and had discovered more than 1,000 star-rated players.

But never before had he seen anyone with stats that were so strange, so... perfect.

He had the pure strength to be an offensive tackle, the physical conditioning to be a running back, and the throwing ability and overall qualities to be a Quarterback.

Taking a deep breath, he walked up to Li Wei and looked at him. "Every time I think human physicality has reached its limit, someone comes along to rewrite what I know and tell me—’You’re behind the times, old man.’"

"Let’s talk frankly," he said, closing his notebook. "Based on your current physical data, as long as you get certified by 247Sports, we can list you on the official website with a 4-star player tag. This means from the moment your profile goes up, basically no school will refuse to give you an offer."

He paused, meeting Li Wei’s gaze. "But there’s one condition. You’ll need to undergo a full physical at a hospital affiliated with our agency. You just need to prove that you don’t have any major congenital diseases or defects, and then you can head to the 247Sports training camp." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"As soon as the physical report is out, I’ll immediately recommend you to the entire nation," he said, growing more and more excited. "You might just become the first—and only—top-tier Asian Quarterback in the history of the United States of America to make it to the NFL."

Just then, a panel popped up in Li Wei’s vision.

[You have encountered a new mission: The First Championship]

[Mission Description: A Knight’s training is complete. The first step to making a name for yourself is to win your first-ever championship! (Note: This is a variable-reward mission. The more prestigious the championship title you win, the greater the rewards.)]

[Mission Rewards: Attribute Points, Skills, and Equipment. The quality and quantity will be determined by the level of the championship won.]