Stopped Short

However, when Tachibana Kippei returned to the service line, his face lit up with excitement.

Call!

As expected of Tokyo Metropolis, and as expected of Akutsu Jin of Seigaku.

These geniuses, whom you would never have encountered in the Kyushu region before, Tokyo Metropolis.

Ju let out a soft breath, half-bent over as he tapped the tennis ball, his eyes glancing at the scoreboard on the sidelines.

"30-15."

"No matter how much Akutsu resists, I can't lose my serve!"

Tachibana Kippei knew very well that both sides were holding their breath after he broke serve first.

As long as he can maintain his serve, victory will naturally be his.

Conversely, once he is broken, the rhythm of the match will directly fall into Akutsu's hands.

A fierce glint flashed in Ju's eyes, and the tennis ball was once again tossed high into the sky.

"Akutsu of Seigaku, watch out!"

With a loud roar, Ju transformed into an enraged lion, drawing back the dark red Beast Aura from his body.

The oppressive atmosphere in the stadium immediately lessened, but a sense of danger suddenly surged several times over.

Sensing this danger, even Akutsu's expression became wary.

Bang!

Tachibana Kippei leaped into the air, his silver-black racket leaving an indistinct afterimage in mid-air.

With a resounding swing that sounded like an explosion, the Beast Aura that had been suppressed within Tachibana Kippei was released.

In an instant, it seemed as if seven or eight tennis balls, imbued with a black and red aura, were hurtling towards Akutsu.

"This is the move that my brother sealed away, the one that injured Brother Chitose... I never expected..."

In the stands, Tachibana An's mouth was slightly open, her almond-shaped eyes wide with surprise. After a long while, she slowly uttered four syllables:

"Mighty Lion Dance!"

Seeing that Tachibana Kippei was finally no longer holding back, Akutsu was also very excited, influenced by his own aura, and in addition to his permanent demon state.

This made his temper even more volatile at this moment, but although Akutsu seemed arrogant, his mind remained very calm.

As a pioneer on the Aura Path, there are many things that Tachibana Kippei can learn from him.

For example, his previous comments on Tachibana Kippei's various uses of aura, and Muneyoshi's guidance on the fusion of Tachibana Kippei's spiritual power and aura.

Furthermore, it also conceals its aura.

Akutsu absorbed everything like a sponge.

Seeing that Tachibana Kippei had just completely withdrawn his aura, Akutsu's eyes lit up, and he began to follow suit.

As his energy returned to his body, he felt as if he had discovered a whole new world.

Seeing this, Muneyoshi, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but marvel once again at Akutsu's learning talent.

As expected of a super-powerful person who can learn to Shining Shot with just a few glances in the future, and who can enter the path of Musume no Shi after watching a few Byōdōin matches.

Although Muneyoshi did not embark on the Aura Path, he probably understands their condition better than the two people in the arena who have entered this path.

Looking at the current Japan tennis world, the only ones who have truly mastered the Aura Path and reached an extremely high level are Oni Jūjirō and Natsume Ryūichi.

However, these two individuals have very obvious differences.

These also represent the two known directions of the Aura Path.

If we were to further divide the Aura Path into detailed categories, it could be clearly divided into three stages.

Release, gather, condense!

"Letting go" is easy to understand; it is the product of the convergence and fusion of one's own characteristics and spiritual qualities.

From its inception to perfect control and the ability to unleash its power at will, it suppresses opponents and provides a slight boost to the user.

This means you've truly embarked on this path.

After completing this step, as the user gains a deeper understanding of the aura and fully integrates their mental energy with it, they can also attack their opponent.

We've already reached the peak of this step, and can now consider the next step of taking back.

By fully absorbing these energies into one's body, one can further strengthen some of one's basic qualities, resulting in a greater amplification effect and further enhancing one's strength.

This kind of withdrawal is different from the withdrawal when ending the state of breath. When ending this state, there is actually no withdrawal; only one's spiritual energy is withdrawn.

Most of those scents dissipated.

Having completed this step, it's like planting a Glowing Flame within one's body, just like Muneyoshi did; the improvement in strength will accelerate.

The third step, Condensation, as the name suggests, is the ability to truly condense one's aura into the desired shape through intention and manifest it outwardly.

Reaching this stage essentially means you've touched upon the world.

Once you reach the stage where your aura is solidified, every attack you make will not only be able to erupt with your will, but may also directly attack your spirit.

This already signifies stepping into the world.

The one who did this best was Ryuichi Natsume.

Of course, Natsume Ryūichi has more than one path to follow, so his strength is incomparable to that of someone who has just entered the world.

It was at this moment that the Aura Path split into two different directions.

One approach is to use it as the primary means, while the other is to use it as a secondary means.

While using it as the primary means can allow one to enter the world, it is entirely possible to reach a higher level by taking other paths and combining them.

Another auxiliary method is to turn this into a cornerstone for improving one's foundation, constantly making one's aura and oneself more pure and solid.

The hope is to make further progress on a spiritual level or in other aspects.

Oni Jūjirō succeeded and entered the Asura Path.

Akutsu also succeeded in the future, entering another path of the Asura Path.

So...

Tachibana Kippei, what about you?

Can you succeed?

Muneyoshi watched as the two on the field, their auras constantly shifting and intensifying, once again locked in a fierce battle, his eyes gleaming.

Although his intention was to give guidance to Tachibana Kippei, the time was too short, and Tachibana Kippei was unable to fully absorb the guidance.

At this moment, he encountered Akutsu, whose path seemed similar to his and whose strength was also comparable. Through their battles, Tachibana's understanding of aura deepened with each encounter.

Muneyoshi's guidance began to be digested, and all of this was happening right under Akutsu's nose.

Akutsu easily learned everything about Tachibana Kippei following his lead.

And it looks even faster than Tachibana Kippei.

This is truly determined by one's innate talent.

Tachibana Kippei is certainly not bad, it's just that Akutsu's talent is stronger and more abnormal.

"The longer this match drags on, the less chance Tachibana Kippei will have..."

Muneyoshi's foresight allowed him to see this early on, considering Tachibana's inherent weakness in stamina, coupled with Akutsu's continuous learning and improvement.

"Hehehe, Tachibana Kippei, have you run out of ideas?"

On the court, Akutsu ran quickly towards the direction of the incoming ball, turning his head as he spoke, his defiant face fixed on Tachibana Kippei's movements.

"Let's end it then!"

Bang!

The greyish-white, savage, and icy aura he had absorbed into his body suddenly expanded and rushed towards the Beast Aura, after which Akutsu ignored the other spheres.

He swung his racket hard at one of them.

With a single thud, the tennis ball was returned by Akutsu in an instant, and arrived at Tachibana Kippei's feet at an even faster speed.

"Hiss!"

The immense force stretched the tennis ball's shadow, causing it to rub wildly against the ground before bouncing violently towards Tachibana Kippei's face.

Sensing danger, and empowered by the Beast Aura Tachibana Kippei reacted very quickly.

He subconsciously twisted his body, the tennis ball grazing his face, and a small wound on his handsome face began to ooze scarlet blood.

"Game, Akutsu Jin, 5:4."

"Akutsu! You want this over? Impossible!! Lion's Roar!"

The thought that he couldn't lose kept echoing in Tachibana Kippei's mind. Fudomine was already on the edge of a cliff; if he lost again...

Does that mean the champion of the Metropolitan Tournament will have to hand over the title to Seigaku?

For Ju, this was an absolutely unacceptable failure.

Even though she was already feeling exhausted, Ju still rushed forward and charged to the net once again.

It can only be a net match, a net match.

This is his forte!

"Hahaha, a head-on showdown, I'll satisfy you!"

Upon seeing this, Akutsu smashed the tennis ball back at Tachibana Kippei, then Akutsu ran to the net.

He also went to the net, his entire tennis move was fluid and aggressive.

Bang!

Another powerful counterattack.

The tennis ball landed and flew rapidly toward the sideline. To this, Tachibana Kippei could only take a running start and leap into the air to save the ball.

But this ball is a high lob.

Akutsu glanced up at the tennis ball, then leaped high into the air and unleashed a smash...

Thud...

"13:12, Akutsu Jin scores."

Watching this play, Inoue Mamoru on the sidelines picked up his camera and captured the moment with Akutsu Jin.

Meanwhile, in Seigaku's rest area, Fuji looked at Akutsu and couldn't help but smile, "Tezuka, it seems that Jin has really become very reliable."

Although the match was still ongoing, everyone knew that Fudomine's fate was sealed.

Thud...

P. S.: Three chapters today. I've been set up on a blind date by people from my hometown. They just told me last night that we're meeting today. Oh well, I guess I'll go alone.

The monthly pass count is almost 1000 again, so the extra chapter will be the same as before.

Also, let me talk about the plot again. It definitely won't be all smooth sailing all the time. There will definitely be low points in the matches, which is what leads to improvement and revenge. For those of you watching Prince of Tennis, let's be realistic. Second-year students, how can we beat Rikkai Dai without experiencing a few failures and undergoing a few transformations?

So some readers will definitely think that the protagonist and his team will lose?

Let's be honest, at least the logic is sound, so please be gentle with your criticism.