Darkness Domain

Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the stadium, Saeki Muneyoshi and Tristan Barth met at the net.

"Senior, please give me your guidance!"

"Well, we should be teaching each other. Camus just told me when he came on that you're dangerous and very strong!"

Tristan Barthes rested his racket on his shoulder, then looked toward Camus in the dugout and said gently.

"Oh? I've also heard of Camus's formidable strength, it's a pity I can't fight him!"

"However, it is my honor to receive praise from Senior Barth!"

"Haha, you're too kind. He's nothing like Camus described; on the contrary, he's a very polite person..."

Muneyoshi smiled slightly, seemingly enjoying the praise and compliments.

Of course, he did not let his guard down just because his opponent was not Camus.

Tristan Barthes may not be as famous Camus now, but in the future, he will be the vice-captain of France.

After shaking hands and exchanging greetings, the referee flips a coin to determine which side to choose.

"For or against?"

"Just!"

The entire process was completed very efficiently.

"The second singles match begins! Japan Team's Saeki Muneyoshi will serve first!"

After both sides dictated who would serve, they returned to their respective receiving areas, and the match officially began!

Returning to the baseline service area, Muneyoshi's smile vanished, and he remained silent.

Ordinary people wouldn't notice, but he had already sensed that Tristan Barth's mental strength was not weak either.

All his actions and movements were clearly deceptive and full of implications.

The battle had already begun when they reached the net.

Both are individuals involved in the realm of mental power.

Although they were going in completely different directions, the spiritual aura emanating from them was palpable as they secretly clashed.

Many people noticed it.

Tristan Barthes is like a central air conditioner that constantly radiates light and heat; a handsome guy indeed.

He is also very popular with the audience.

From the moment he stepped onto the field, every move he made seemed like he was showing off.

Turning a tennis court into Paris fashion show stage is quite something.

Saeki Muneyoshi, on the other hand, is like a secluded spring, a deep abyss.

He formed an absolute dark field, constantly devouring all gazes, emotions, and the light and heat of the other person around him.

Such probing exchanges can only be detected by those with exceptionally keen mental abilities.

Most of the Japan Team were unaware of the dangers involved.

After Irie and Tanegashima explained, the rest of the Japan Team realized that the two had begun a mental battle, and everyone held their breath.

Da... Da da...

As Muneyoshi took out the tennis ball and lightly tapped it on the ground, the audience's voices gradually subsided, and the atmosphere in the entire stadium seemed to drop.

The match hasn't even started yet, but their clashes are already incredibly intense.

In the third-grade area, Natsume Ryūichi's expression shifted, and he said with some emotion:

"He's truly remarkable. From the moment he stepped onto the stage, he silently drew everyone's attention, even when the opponent tried to show off, he couldn't capture everyone's gaze."

"That guy seems very friendly, but he's actually quite arrogant..."

Upon hearing Natsume Ryūichi's sincere praise, Byōdōin's lips curled into a slight smile.

Those he values, even if they are still very inexperienced, will surely have their brilliance fully revealed after this World Tournament.

Saeki Muneyoshi stood sideways, lightly tapping the tennis ball.

From the moment he stepped onto the football field, countless emotions and countless gazes converged upon him.

The dormant Mental Fluorescent Flame within my heart began to burn fiercely, as if it had taken a powerful tonic.

He had never felt so good. His posture and movements became quite elegant, and the rhythm of pressing the tennis ball seemed like a musical performance.

Until a certain moment.

Snap!

He gently squeezed the rebounding tennis ball with his palm.

Sunlight streamed through the glass roof of the stadium, refracting golden rays onto the court.

Like strands of golden silk, they chased away the drifting clouds and mist, shining upon Muneyoshi.

At this moment, Muneyoshi, bathed in sunlight, was surrounded by a layer of eerie light.

The interplay of darkness and light made him appear almost divine.

"It's coming!"

Looking up at Tristan's position, Muneyoshi smiled and said.

As he finished speaking, a surge of spiritual energy began to spread across Muneyoshi's body.

Swish!

Muneyoshi tossed the ball into the air, and a ball of Darkness Light enveloped it, drawing everyone's attention to the tennis ball as it slowly rose into the air.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark realm of the mind was quietly being constructed.

Tristan now found himself in a completely dark world.

Everything around had vanished, leaving only a blurry figure ahead and a tennis ball imbued with extreme darkness.

In Tristan's eyes, as Saeki Muneyoshi tossed the tennis ball into the air, a dark curtain swallowed everything around him.

Strands of light spilled out from behind Muneyoshi's black shadow, and the tennis ball tossed upwards seemed to turn into a Black Hole that absorbed the light.

As the black tennis ball rose higher and higher into the air, all the light around it disappeared.

Tristan's expression changed slightly.

A chilling, deadly aura emanated from the tennis ball, causing the temperature on the court to drop, and even the skin to feel a biting, cutting sensation from the cold wind.

With a loud bang, it was like a dark explosion, or perhaps the emergence of a new world.

Tristan only saw a fleeting flash of light pierce through the endless darkness, and he broke free from the shackles of darkness, returning to the field once more.

By the time Tristan came to his senses, Muneyoshi had already finished his serve and was walking towards the other side of the service area.

A cool breeze swept through the air, and the mustard-yellow tennis ball slammed into the iron net behind him and rolled to his feet.

"Wh... what?!"

Tristan was startled. He had only seen a flash of darkness, felt a slight tearing sensation on his leg, and then it was over?

"Referee, aren't you going to announce the score?"

Walking to the opposite service court, Muneyoshi asked the referee on the high chair in a calm tone.

He was taking this match very seriously, so the referee inevitably fell into his Darkness Domain as well.

They were still in a daze.

"Ah... oh... okay!"

The referee quickly looked at the camera crew, and after receiving their signal, he swallowed hard and announced the score.

"A... ACE, Japan Team, 15:0."

Tristan couldn't care less about showing off; his brow furrowed slightly, as he hadn't yet grasped the secret behind that single shot.

However, he still moved back slightly by half a step, wanting to give Muneyoshi some room to react to his high-speed serve.

After all, the Japan Team has Ochi Gekko's Mach Serve, so this subconscious reaction is quite fitting.

But Muneyoshi wasn't playing ultra- High-speed tennis...

Bang!

"Um?"

However, in the brief moment between darkness and light, just a blink of an eye, Tristan saw Muneyoshi walk towards the opposite service court again.

Tristan looked down and saw the mustard-yellow tennis ball lying quietly behind him again.

Tristan now truly sensed something was wrong. Even if the opponent's ball was fast, it was impossible for him to be completely unaware.

Muneyoshi's signature serve, Dark Speed— Light Shadow Fleeting!

His first appearance at the World Tournament was a stunning achievement for Tristan.

"ACE! Japan Team, 40:0."

"ACE! Japan Team, 1-0."

"Both sides change sides!"

With just four serves, Muneyoshi effortlessly won his service game.

The four aces not only shocked Tristan, but also left many France people feeling unacceptable.

The name Saeki Muneyoshi, and this figure who was only in the First Day of the New Year high school, truly attracted everyone's attention at this moment.

Under the sunlight, the other party's sinister aura and black radiance made him impossible to ignore.

"This can't be real! I must still be dreaming!"

"Tristan got hit with consecutive aces?! How is that possible?!"

During the break, he and Muneyoshi did not exchange any eye contact.

However, the emotions of these people did not affect Tristan, who then looked at Camus outside the arena.

At this moment, Camus simply leaned his ear against the racket, seemingly listening to the sound of the racket.

A moment later, a rapid-fire speech in French came from the two of them.

"So that's how it is..."

Regardless of what others think, he had already learned the secret of Muneyoshi's serve from Camus's retelling of his "lover's" voice.

It was Tristan's turn to serve.

Muneyoshi crouched down, watching the figure on the other side of the court gently tapping the tennis ball.

Tristan first made a few silly remarks, which drew cheers, before he began to focus his attention on the tennis ball, his posture and movements becoming even more serious than Muneyoshi's earlier.

Paris Fashion Show!

Bang!

A dazzling flash of light appeared, and the serve landed directly in Muneyoshi's half of the court.

"Ha, Speed Extreme."

Muneyoshi's lips curled into a smile. Under other circumstances, this might have caused him some trouble, but his current malice had swelled to an uncontrollable level.

"Dark!"

As soon as Muneyoshi finished speaking, the darkness that had been gathered within him seemed to have received permission.

The next moment, his entire body was enveloped in a faint black mist shimmering with purple light.

The dark, eerie light seemed to open a portal beneath Muneyoshi's feet, spreading like a tide towards his half of the field, originating from Muneyoshi.

Soon the black mist covered the playing area of the clay court where Muneyoshi was standing, and then encroached on Tristan's half of the court.

Muneyoshi stood in darkness, yet the sun shone overhead, making him appear like a deity standing in a dark world, utterly mysterious and dangerous.

Tristan, on the other side of the field, could only hear a cacophony of noises around him.

Such sounds made him irritable, and even the speed and power of his tennis balls aimed at Muneyoshi began to decrease.

"Glory..."

Camus from the sidelines, gaped slightly in surprise. "Is this the Light of Restraint? No, it can't be."

Camus's keen mental power allowed him to instantly sense the aura contained within Muneyoshi's field.

That was the Darkness Wave Muneyoshi had been accumulating, the growth and transformation of darkness, and Muneyoshi's absolute belief and obsession.

Shadows surge like a tide, eroding everything!

Sensing this, Camus's eyes burned with intensity.

He realized that Saeki Muneyoshi was a reformer like himself.

This completely subversive path is similar to his own.

P. S.: Only three chapters today, and I made quite a few revisions, but the word count is still quite high. Please vote with your monthly tickets!

There are only three chapters today. If there are no revisions, there will be four chapters, but of course, each chapter will be shorter. The three chapters together will be nearly 10,000 words...

A deeper level of application of darkness has also emerged. As you can probably see, the Darkness Field is actually comparable to the Perfect Cloudbreak, but it is not Cloudbreak. The protagonist cannot activate the Perfect Clothes, so this option is not on his path. However, he can evolve darkness to produce such an effect.

The ultimate moves that synergize with the rebirth of the Darkness Field will also appear in subsequent episodes, so please stay tuned.

Also, let me add that the protagonist won't jump to the Stage Two of strength during his first year. I've been suppressing him the whole time because I'm afraid of him breaking the character's form. Otherwise, I wouldn't have changed his match with Camus and even canceled it completely, because the current protagonist couldn't possibly beat Camus.

Finally, I'd like to ask for your monthly votes!