The Two Sides of a Mental Trial

Three, five, nine...

More and more high school students are being defeated by Muneyoshi on the court.

However, the situation did not develop as Muneyoshi had anticipated.

The constant failures and setbacks did not completely break these high school students; instead, they made them even more reckless.

It seemed as if they wanted to protect something precious to them.

They all sprang into action, each one determined as they went down to the arena to compete against Muneyoshi.

A fierce energy seemed to be gathering around him, as if he wanted to wear down Saeki Muneyoshi's stamina through a series of attacks.

So that it would give the next person a chance to defeat him.

Having been at the training camp for a while, they knew that the matches here were arranged by the coaching staff, and they were definitely paying attention.

If they had defeated Saeki Muneyoshi from the start, the coaching staff certainly wouldn't have said anything.

But now the result is a miserable state of being repeatedly and thoroughly beaten by the other party...

The final outcome is self-evident.

Therefore, only by exhausting Saeki Muneyoshi's strength and defeating him will they feel better.

Meanwhile, on another stand not far away.

Several figures dressed in white coats with red and black accents were looking in their direction.

Each of them wore a relaxed smile and exuded strong confidence. Apart from the disdain they showed when looking at the group of high school students, most of them also looked at Muneyoshi with a strange expression.

"Yu-dou, is he the junior high school student those coaches were talking about, the one who even competed against the boss?"

Tōno Atsukyō stood beside the handsome Kimijima Ikuto, his tone tinged with surprise.

This group of graduates from Makino Fuji were here to watch the excitement; they had received the news much earlier than the other stadiums.

There were rumors a while ago that U-17 would be admitting junior high school students, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction among senior high school students.

They were already struggling to keep up with the large number of first-year high school students from Byōdōin, and now the school was expanding its enrollment to include junior high school students, which immediately sparked their protests.

Even those who had already secured their places in the First String were alarmed.

Standing next to Kimijima Ikuto is Ōmagari Ryūji, who has just returned from the back mountain. He was sent away by Tanegashima Shūji in the previous seat competition.

Having just returned from a hellish ordeal in the back mountains, Ōmagari Ryūji much more silent than before.

On the other side were Tōno Atsukyō, who had become somewhat excited after watching Muneyoshi's match, and Kiriya, whose expression was rather silent.

This group of people belonged to the Byōdōin Hōō faction.

Unfortunately, after Byōdōin was defeated by Oni Jūjirō, Kimijima Ikuto and Kiriya, although they also obtained places in the First String, were not in a good situation.

Tanegashima Shūji and his group, including Ochi Gekko Oni Jūjirō through Irie Kanata's mediation, forming another powerful faction.

They don't have Byōdōin, so they can't fight back at all.

This is why they all rushed over as soon as they heard that a junior high school student connected to the Byōdōin had arrived.

Aside from genuine curiosity about Saeki Muneyoshi, I was mostly interested in knowing about Byōdōin.

However, as the ugly match continued, they gradually became curious about Saeki Muneyoshi.

"This kid seems to be quite strong!"

"That's right, he still has a lot of hidden strength." Kiriya nodded calmly at this moment.

"Looks like we don't need to help him deal with these small fry. As expected of someone the boss has his eye on, he's performed quite well."

At this moment, Tōno Atsukyō chimed in, lightly licking his lips and a smile appearing on his face.

During Byōdōin's absence, Tōno Atsukyō's personality became much more restrained, remaining a fervent and loyal supporter of Byōdōin Hōō.

What he was actually more concerned about was whether Saeki Muneyoshi's performance would embarrass Byōdōin.

If Muneyoshi performs poorly, he will personally take charge and execute him to avoid disgracing the boss.

However, so far, Muneyoshi's performance has not disappointed them.

Just then, they saw a familiar figure emerge from the base building.

"Hmph, that guy from the Kurobe is out. Looks like everything's settled now. Let's go!"

After saying that, the group glanced at Saeki Muneyoshi, who was still competing, and then turned and left.

On the field.

Under the scorching sun, the continuous high-intensity and high-frequency matches had already made Muneyoshi feel a bit thirsty.

As the game continued, the high school students felt increasingly desperate.

Their anticipated strategy of using a series of attacks failed to defeat Muneyoshi, and their numbers were reduced to just a few.

However, although Saeki Muneyoshi was exhausted, his stamina was still not depleted.

Their superior physical strength rendered their plans futile.

Tap tap tap!

Saeki Muneyoshi's footsteps were perfectly steady, maintaining their own rhythm throughout.

Muneyoshi quickly moved to the baseline, appearing behind the point where the tennis ball landed.

As the tennis ball flies into the air, the toes stomp on the ground, a force rises from the feet, and the racket in the hand swings sharply in mid-air.

Bang!

The tennis ball transformed into a yellow beam of light, flying back and landing precisely under the opponent's baseline.

The high school student on the other side was about to go to the baseline to save the ball when he found that his leg muscles had started to cramp under the high intensity of the exercise, and he could not stand steadily. He ended up kneeling on the ground.

"Another one solved."

Muneyoshi had a carefree smile on his face; he hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

After improving his basic five dimensions and mastering the Dark, this is the first time he has achieved this level of skill using only Basic Tennis techniques.

This feeling was truly unprecedentedly pleasant, like breaking free from shackles.

Already somewhat carried away, all he wanted to do was keep fighting.

He then turned his gaze to the last few high school students on the sidelines.

"Who else?!"

Seeing that no one responded to his challenge, Muneyoshi was not angry. Instead, he sneered and took out a tennis ball.

Clap, clap!

With a couple of light taps, Muneyoshi's sharp gaze fell upon the few who dared not step forward.

"You think you can rest easy just by being on the sidelines? How naive!"

As he spoke, a ball of black light overflowed from his palm, preparing to unleash darkness and launch a direct attack on them outside the arena.

"Stop! Today's game is over. All high school students in courts 14-16, please leave the base immediately."

"Please, everyone... leave the base."

The loudspeaker on the lamppost blared, and the high school students on the court instantly turned pale.

They've been stuck in these last few stadiums, not daring to launch Shuffle Match, just trying to muddle through life, because they're afraid of being expelled if they lose.

I never expected that this would still happen.

These seasoned veterans who have been here for two or three years know this very well.

The U-17 training camp is not a good place. Since they arrived, people have been leaving every month, and with very few exceptions, most of them have never returned.

Even a powerful figure like Byōdōin Hōō, after being eliminated, has not been able to return to this day.

Therefore, many people who do not understand the situation believe that leaving this training camp is equivalent to being expelled.

No matter who it is.

Every time something like this happens, it puts a strain on the nerves of those still in the training camp.

Under such pressure, the training became even more rigorous.

But that applies to the higher-ranked stadiums.

For those who have already reached their limit, another loss means they have no choice but to leave.

Now, that day has finally arrived.

Although the voice on the radio was gentle, no one dared to question it, and all the high school students walked toward their dormitories with gloomy faces.

Their good days are over.

P. S.: I'm struggling to keep up with this continuous stream of updates, please vote with monthly tickets!