Road System

In the subsequent matches, Seigaku and Hyotei steamrolled through the competition, advancing relentlessly.

Their continuous winning streak made more and more teams understand Seigaku's current strength.

They weren't just simple first-years.

"Hyotei is so scary, all their matches were 6-0."

"I think what's scarier than 6-0 is the time; after playing several matches, the longest one didn't even take an hour."

"The doubles one, singles three, and singles two matches all ended in about ten minutes. Atobe finished his match in just eight minutes and forty-three seconds. Hyotei is truly powerful this year."

"Maybe they can beat Rikkai Dai this year. I heard Rikkai Dai has six first-years this year, so their strength has greatly decreased compared to last year."

Hearing the whispers from other schools, Atobe scoffed inwardly. These people still underestimated first-years.

Truly hopeless!

Soon, the Tokyo Metropolis Tournament matches entered their final stages. In Group A of the quarterfinals, Seigaku faced St. Rudolph, while in Group B, Hyotei Academy was up against Yamabuki Middle School.

The Metropolitan Tournament semifinals and finals were different from the previous elimination rounds.

There wouldn't be a long interval between the two rounds of matches. This meant the champions and runners-up of the Metropolitan Tournament would be decided within today and tomorrow.

Saeki Muneyoshi finally stopped training and, carrying his tennis bag, mingled with the crowd, arriving at the venue early.

"Oh, Seigaku versus St. Rudolph, Hyotei versus Yamabuki..."

"What familiar matchups~"

Looking at the match schedule displayed prominently, Muneyoshi felt a sense of déjà vu. In the original story, these schools would be facing off for the next few years.

Compared to them, he, as a transmigrator, could only be a spectator in his first year. It was truly embarrassing.

And when he thought about it, this was his third time being a spectator.

He had already been one at the Junior Tournament before entering middle school a few months ago, then again at the regional qualifiers, and now at the Metropolitan Tournament...

If Muneyoshi continued to wander aimlessly around Tokyo Metropolis, there would be the Kanto Tournament and the National Tournament later on.

He couldn't participate in any of these major tournaments. When he thought about it carefully, although he had accepted this outcome, he still felt a sense of unwillingness.

But given Fudomine's previous state, even if he were given a prominent role, how far could they have gone?

It was better to abandon this year, directly remove this hidden festering sore within the Fudomine tennis club, and wait for the next two years.

After all, Tachibana Kippei would transfer to Fudomine next year, along with a large group of first-years. Furthermore, he himself had decided to recruit some talented players.

Once everything was in place, that would be Fudomine's chance to reveal its fangs.

Besides, even so, he wasn't entirely idle now.

Looking at the two teams gradually arriving on the courts below, the sight of a few familiar figures already gave Muneyoshi the joy of beating geniuses.

This feeling was incredibly satisfying.

Meanwhile, Atobe, who was giving a pep talk on the court, suddenly felt a malicious gaze. He immediately turned his head to look.

His eyes met a familiar figure that left a deep impression on him. Seeing this, Atobe's brow furrowed.

His previously confident tone faltered.

"Go prepare!"

Atobe proudly dismissed everyone, no longer paying attention to Muneyoshi's figure.

"Atobe... Oshitari... Fuji... Akutsu... these are all geniuses!"

Muneyoshi's voice was filled with a touch of emotion. These were the future elites among Japan's middle school students.

Unfortunately, he had already beaten them all!

Now, in the entire Kanto region, only Tezuka, Yukimura, and Sanada remained.

Except for Yukimura, whom he hadn't faced yet and whose depth he didn't know, his current strength didn't give him an absolute advantage over Tezuka.

Darkness is not light. The powerful outward force of the Shining Shot can not only bring immense destruction but also multiply the release of one's power and strength.

After all, the Shining Shot requires one's fundamental strength to reach a certain critical point before a transformation can occur.

Darkness, however, requires growth. His growth is currently insufficient, and he hasn't absorbed enough nourishment.

Muneyoshi's thoughts drifted back to the day he found Tezuka after his match with Akutsu at Seigaku.

They played a tiebreaker.

Tezuka's strength had improved significantly compared to more than three months ago. Not only were the various developments of his Zero-Shiki showing signs, but he had also delved deeper into the State of Selflessness...

Without much surprise, Muneyoshi lost. Although it was only a tiebreaker, he could still feel Tezuka's evolution.

Tezuka, who was not injured in his first year, could be considered the strongest middle school student in Japan, aside from Yukimura.

Even when he reached the U17 World Championship in the future, he would still be considered one of the strongest middle school students in the world.

Such an evolution was almost unstoppable.

Of course, compared to their first match, his growth was even greater.

The gap between him and Tezuka was no longer as insurmountable as before. As long as Muneyoshi continued to pursue, he believed he would catch up soon.

The biggest revelation from this match was that he had underestimated the path of the State of Selflessness, likely due to the ingrained thinking from the original work.

This was a path that Echizen Nanjirō had popularized and made famous worldwide.

Now that Muneyoshi and Tezuka's gap had narrowed, the veil obscuring his vision had been torn away.

Only by truly sparring with Tezuka, who possessed the State of Selflessness, did he feel its power.

Muneyoshi's inherent way of thinking had been misled by the original work all along.

He subconsciously believed that the State of Selflessness was inferior to the Different Dimension Realm's Asura Path.

This was a grave mistake!

In the Prince of Tennis world, due to Coach Mifune's deep cultivation and refinement of the Asura Path system, it held a unique status within Japan's U17.

But in reality, both were among the ultimate paths in the Prince of Tennis world.

Since they were ultimate paths, they were roads one could follow from the beginning all the way to the end.

And all paths, when reduced to their most fundamental level, were essentially deep explorations of the basic elements of power, technique, and speed.

Power Force, Technique Form, Speed Extreme.

Of course, nowadays, the more mysterious realm of mental power likely had to be added.

A breakthrough in even one of these areas could grant a certain standing within U17 and a spot in the top team.

This is what is commonly referred to as a U17 world-class player.

If looking solely at this aspect, he, Tezuka, and Yukimura had actually already reached this threshold and entered it.

However, with just this level of strength, they were only at the very bottom.

The State of Selflessness, from its very inception, had already touched upon this stage.

If one were to forcibly compare it to the Asura Path, the State of Selflessness was a more easily mastered technique.

The Asura Path had a higher and more difficult activation requirement.

But the State of Selflessness could only be considered fully entered after truly opening its triple gates.

The ultimate of refinement and the ultimate of talent were both deeper applications of the State of Selflessness, but their actual increase in personal strength wasn't very significant.

They couldn't elevate one's power to a realm unreachable by ordinary people.

However, once the third gate was opened, stepping into the third level—the limit of Cloudbreak.

Then, such an increase could almost contend with the initial stage of the Asura Path's Different Dimension Realm.

In comparison, the limit of Cloudbreak's brilliance was divided into three types.

When the second Cloudbreak was activated and the two were fused, the increase in strength was comparable to the Asura Path's further advancement into its second stage, making it difficult to distinguish between them.

When all three Cloudbreaks were fused, transforming into the ultimate light.

Such strength could be equally compared to the Asura Path entering its third stage and stepping into its final realm.

Unfortunately, Muneyoshi did not truly belong to this world, and he could never comprehend the enigmatic State of Selflessness.

And for him now, it was also unlikely to activate the Asura Path.

Without experiencing continuous failures and painful trials, along with the corresponding guidance, it was simply impossible.

He had no choice but to find another way, choosing Light and Darkness.

And Light and Darkness were precisely the third path.

This was a very ancient path that had not yet been truly perfected.

Before the appearance of Echizen Nanjirō, when Mifune Nyūdō was still young, this path was the mainstream of the world.

This was also a path that could lead to the ultimate gate.

However, compared to the State of Selflessness and the Asura Path, which had already been well-trodden, the path of Light and Darkness was more difficult.

Because fully comprehending either pure Light or pure Darkness and pushing it to a deeper level, while it could elevate one's strength to the level of a true professional player, it was insufficient to become the absolute top.

After all, even mastering the Shining Shot or the Dark Shot only barely reached the level of the second stage of the Different Dimension Realm.

The second stage was roughly equivalent in strength to Oni Jūjirō at his full potential.

This path was not perfected, and the road of fusing Light and Darkness, once envisioned by the world's tennis community, had yet to be successfully achieved by anyone.

But for Muneyoshi, who had now stepped into this realm, there was no turning back.

ps: "I've simply organized the common paths, which represents my own world-building. If other new paths appear later, I'll mention them accordingly. Also, please vote for monthly tickets~"