I'm a demon in Tokyo!

Chapter 292 Kitamura-kun, I'll end this battle with one strike... The live stream is played at a 10,000-fold slow speed, showcasing true power.
Uesugi Tetsu looked up and stared at Kitamura Yoyu, whose face looked slightly dejected, but whose eyes seemed to have transformed into sharp blades that could cut through iron like mud, at the other end of the ring.

It must be said that Kitamura Yoyu's immense spirit and energy have almost materialized.

At the same time, its directionality was very clear, turning into a straight line that landed on top of its head.

It's like cutting him in half from top to bottom.

Under such an imposing aura, let alone ordinary people, even swordsmen who have cultivated for years might feel their legs go weak and be afraid before the battle even begins.

Ririko could do such a thing, but her energy and spirit weren't that great; the two-foot-long protective aura could be compared to that in terms of quantity, but she couldn't control the aura's operation.

"Kitamura Yoyu can certainly be described as having achieved something."

Uesugi Tetsu did not make any rash moves.

Kitamura Yoyu then stood still, keeping his right hand on the sword hilt and watching Uesugi Tetsu's movements out of the corner of his eye.

A deathly silence fell over the arena.

However, the audience inside the Sky City stadium did not shout things like "Are we going to fight or not?" or "Why are you standing there like that?" as they had before.

Instead, just like the atmosphere on the field, they either subconsciously held their breath or pursed their lips, letting the silence spread rapidly throughout the entire venue like a series of exploding bombs.

Is it an aura or something else?

Even though these two people were just standing on the ring, they made all ordinary people feel a sense of trepidation, their toes gripping the ground, and their sweat pouring down their backs.

Suddenly, a light, airy sound emanated from the thick, viscous atmosphere of the arena.

It was Uesugi Tetsu who was speaking.

Or rather, in a statement.

"Kitamura-kun, I'm going to end this battle with one strike."

Uesugi Tetsu said this, his voice echoing throughout the venue and the live broadcast room through the dense array of transparent microphones floating in mid-air.

At that moment, not only millions of viewers were stunned.

Even Kitamura Yoyu himself was taken aback, his pupils shrinking slightly.

One strike, and the battle is over?
The audience was puzzled—how did Uesugi Tetsu, who was so humble before, suddenly become even more arrogant than Yanliu?
But inside the venue, only the players who had been defeated by Kitamura Yoyu not long ago, Hayashi Jinya who had just recovered, and Kitada Kei and Minamoto Shizumi, who were watching from the sidelines, understood.

This is the best approach.

If you want to win, there is no better way than to finish off Kitamura Yoyu in the very first move of the battle.

The more intense the battle, the more severe the injuries of the two, and the longer it drags on, the more "nourishment" Kitamura Yoyu will be able to absorb and the more growth he will gain.

Genjiro pressed down hard on the restless Hotaru and fell into deep thought.

Did Uesugi Tetsu realize this and that's why he wanted to end the battle as soon as possible?
——Quite the opposite.

"The so-called Iaido technique is simply to compress all one's experiences so far, one's understanding of life and the world, the joys and sorrows on the path of cultivation, and everything one has learned, thought, and imagined into a single instant..."

"Compressed in one strike?"

Through the menacing mask of the Red Hannya, Kitamura Yoyu unexpectedly felt expectant gazes falling upon him.

He heard Uesugi Tetsuya say...
"Like a shooting star, brief yet brilliant, even if it disappears in an instant, it can leave a deep enough mark in the long period of more than 30,000 days of a lifetime."

Kitamura Yoyu blinked; that was a mistake he would never have allowed himself to make before.

But he did it anyway, because of this unexpected accident.

This Uesugi Tetsuya wants to...

"Kitamura-kun."

Uesugi Tetsu opened his mouth and asked solemnly, "Will your sword leave a deep enough impression on my memory?"

Kitamura Yoyu gripped the hilt of the knife tightly.

He was pondering and hesitating whether to respond to this expectation or continue to reach for a path with a higher probability of success.

But Uesugi Tetsu's words interrupted his thoughts.

"Those who were defeated by you before me have more or less figured out how you rose to power step by step and became stronger and stronger."

The smile in Uesugi Tetsu's eyes sent chills down Kitamura Yoyu's spine.
"But whether it's due to their own lack of strength, insufficient personal decisiveness, or a momentary lapse in attention that caused them to fall into your battle rhythm..."

Uesugi Tetsu shrugged.
"No matter what, you defeated them in the end, and they became the nourishment for your progress."

"—Kitamura-kun, your previous opponents were all too indecisive. Thinking that there would be many more battles to come, they couldn't afford to waste too much energy on you, so they naturally wanted to hold back."

"I won't."

The three words, still spoken lightly, made Kitamura Yoyu freeze for a moment.

It was only then that he realized what was happening, and he let out a bitter laugh to himself.

So it turns out I didn't have a choice in the first place.

Uesugi Tetsu continued,
"I have sufficient strength, ample intelligence, and a fairly good level of determination. I've also just warmed up. In short, my luck has been alright..."

Hearing these words, Kitamura Yoyuu suddenly looked up.

We can't let him continue.

No, let Uesugi Tetsuya continue!

But just as he was about to draw his sword, Kitamura Yoyu suddenly realized that he had unknowingly fallen into his opponent's rhythm.

Faced with such a formidable enemy, he should have been able to strike later but arrive first!
This back-and-forth of thoughts, this advance and retreat, caused Kitamura Yoyu's already peak energy and spirit to falter.

Is this actually his real purpose?
Kitamura Yoyu looked up and saw the same smiling face as before.

In that instant, Uesugi Tetsu took a step.

Draw your sword.

"What a sword!"

On the towering stands, the Sword of Death, Kujou Oborozuki, couldn't help but slap his hand hard, denting the steel railing.

Nanjo Manami raised an eyebrow: "His sword hasn't even been drawn yet, isn't he still empty-handed?"

"Who says you have to have a sword in your hand when you draw it..."

No, it's not necessary.

As long as you have a sword in your hand the moment you touch the opponent, that's enough.

The secret script of the character "临" on the back of his right hand emitted a faint light, and Yaekaku shook the surface of the arena, creating fine cracks. Qi and lightning, commanded by the Spirit Control Technique, flowed through his blood vessels and muscles.

The fiery armor and the protective energy circulated and rose naturally, completely annihilating the air along the way.

"Come."

The words that Uesugi Tetsu had spoken long before he took a step rang in Kitamura Yoyu's ears.

"Kitamura-kun, let me remember your sword."

A massive amount of spiritual energy and qi condensed and compressed in an instant, and was cast into the shape of Kaga Kiyomitsu, just like in the projection secret realm, and landed in Uesugi Tetsu's palm.

The roar of the demon-like Akabane exploded in Kitamura Yoyu's mind.

"—Show me your determination in the face of adversity!"

Kitamura Yoyu opened his mouth slightly, his beard and hair stood on end, and his spirit rose from its low point to a new peak!
His pupils shrank to a point under the imminent pressure of death, yet his mind remained unusually calm, as if frozen solid.

Without hesitation, the successor of the Shinmei Ryū Hayashi-ryū followed Uesugi Tetsuya's earlier words, merging all of himself into the thin blade that was already an inch from its sheath.

With this single strike, I offer up everything Kitamura Yoyu!
An ordinary-looking blade was drawn from its sheath.

The profound meaning of the natural flow of mind, which transforms into three yet returns to one, collided and separated in a fraction of a second.

On the arena, there were no massive fluctuations of spiritual energy, nor did it cause the entire arena to tremble as it had before...

What the audience saw was merely the flashing of two figures; what they heard was merely the overlapping, clear sound of blades striking each other.

But the battle is already over.

"Wonderful."

In the highest seat, Yuan Jingshui subconsciously raised her chin and straightened her back, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

She initially thought Uesugi Tetsuya's words were intended to dampen Kitamura Yoyu's momentum. Little did she expect, it was to further empower their already formidable enemy!
This brief battle was both unexpected and thrilling, as she neither guessed its beginning nor its end.

"strangeness……"

Kitada Kei, standing nearby, muttered to himself, wondering where the crimson katana that Uesugi Tetsu had originally carried at his waist had gone.

He searched for a long time before finally discovering that it was in the hands of that girl whom no one could ignore.

How did Tokugawa Ririko end up in her hands?
In something as important as seeding, would you really lend out your long-held sword?
What is their relationship?

Kitada Kei's long-dormant gossip instincts have been rekindled.

"The knot... is over?"

Most of the ordinary spectators were staring blankly at the two motionless figures on the stage, not understanding what had happened.

They felt suddenly much more relaxed for some reason, but they had no idea why the oppressive feeling from before had disappeared.

Only Onmyoji with sufficient cultivation and swordsmen who have been immersed in the way of the sword for a long time know what happened in that instant.

The power did not leak out!
Neither Uesugi Tetsu nor Kitamura Yoyu wasted a single bit of strength when they swung their swords at each other!

Standing behind Kitamura Yoyu, Kaga Kiyomitsu, which Uesugi Tetsu had created with his own spiritual energy, shattered inch by inch.

"Uesugi-kun... have you remembered my sword?"

Behind them came Kitamura Yoyu's hoarse, shrill voice, as if it had been cut off.

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Tetsu raised his hand and touched the base of his neck where a sharp, stabbing pain had encircled him.

All that could be seen was that the fingertips were spotless and as smooth as ever.

He looked down and saw the flaming armor and the circulating qi that had been slashed open, and shook his head regretfully: "It's a pity, it's still a little bit short."

"Yeah……"

A smoother, more even line of blood appeared at the base of Kitamura Yoyu's neck than when Uesugi Tetsu had swung his sword last time.

His voice faded, falling into the dripping blood.

"That's a real pity."

Without hesitation, the spirits guarding the sidelines entered the arena, and the doctor helped Kitamura Yoyu before the bloodline had fully appeared.

The referee immediately raised his hand to announce the result.
"—Uesugi Tetsuya wins!"

Immediately, shouts of "Ha!" echoed throughout the audience.

They knew that Uesugi Tetsuya would most likely win...

but.

Can anyone tell them what just happened?
How did the battle really end in a single strike? How did Kitamura Yoyu lose, and how did Uesugi Tetsu manage to win?
The audience had a million questions on their minds.

Fortunately, the director was quick-witted enough to pull up the footage from a small camera placed inside the ring, slow it down by a factor of ten thousand, and display it on the large screen suspended in the center of the arena.

A few seconds later, the venue fell silent again.

It wasn't because I was still confused, but because I was speechless with shock.

In super slow motion, everything that happened during the close-quarters combat between the two was presented to the audience.

Its brilliance left everyone thoroughly entertained.

"One, ten thousand times?! Time has been slowed down by ten thousand times?!"

Soon, someone noticed the “×1/10000” that was deliberately placed in the lower right corner of the screen.

"Ten thousand times!?"

One sentence ignited the entire venue in an instant...

No, it wasn't just the venue; the live stream rooms and even online forums were flooded with comments!
Countless comments appeared within a dozen seconds, even crashing many small websites that weren't properly maintained.

Many ordinary people knew beforehand that a new era had arrived, and that the extraordinary were powerful.

However, there is not much concrete idea of ​​exactly how strong it is.

But today I have it.

Because of this scale that slows down the flow of time by ten thousand times, and because of the two people who, even on such a scale, are wielding their swords at a speed that is understood by ordinary people.

……

"Lord Che, you were so cool just now."

After being miraculously healed by the doctor and returned to his seat, Uesugi Tetsu heard the two-foot-tall man he had picked up again chuckle and say something.

Among those below, Kitamura Yoyu, who had also been cured, was listless and sighed in self-reproach.

“No need to belittle yourself, Kitamura-kun.” Uesugi Tetsu gave him a thumbs up. “I only learned a trick from my warm-up partner, and I’m barely a cut above you.”

"Afterwards, I'll have to ask Kitamura-kun for some advice on iaido, as I've never been very good at it."

The warm-up target...?
Kitamura Yoyu glanced at Yanliu below, who was clenching his fists tightly and remaining silent, and let out a puzzled "hmm" in his mind.

Does this guy have some merit that others can learn from?
Kitamura Yoyuu didn't think much of it and nodded to Uesugi Tetsuya.
“Of course we welcome Uesugi-kun.”

Uesugi Tetsu, whose neck pain hadn't subsided, twisted his neck and discovered that Ririko's ranking below him was skyrocketing.

In a short period of time, the number has already reached more than twenty.

I estimate it won't be long before she can take over as the goalkeeper for me.

Meanwhile, Yagyu Akira has already secured twenty-ninth place.

However, it was a bit difficult for him to reach this ranking, because he had already failed once when he tried to challenge for the 28th place.

As for Akechi Yuya, this little brother from Arakawa Ward... he's already dropped to 98th place and is currently battling it out with the 100th-ranked player.

It looks like it's likely to be phased out.

However, my little brother's strength is not too weak now, and he is capable of dealing with one and a half or more ordinary three-and-a-half-star demons.

It can only be said that the seeding battles organized by the Special Affairs Department are quite prestigious.

To get into the top 64, you need to be able to take on at least two ordinary three-and-a-half-star demons on your own.

Around twenty people would all have the strength to fight a Grandmaster-level mage in a one-on-one battle.

Lost in thought, Uesugi Tetsu's eyelids twitched slightly.

He discovered that just as Ririko was about to challenge for tenth place, she was thwarted.

Uesugi Tetsuya looked at the man with a black haori and an effeminate face who was already facing Raitsuna.

Uesugi Tetsuya, who had already memorized the player roster information, thought to himself—

Aonosuke, a famous figure in Chiba Prefecture, is also an Onmyoji skilled in using shikigami, but it is said that he is also proficient in the art of loukokudo (a type of ancient Chinese divination).

The best achievement revealed was that he single-handedly faced several rampaging demons when the aftermath of the wave arrived, and then subdued them all...

It's likely he won't be satisfied with tenth place.

Rather than continuing to be challenged and remaining in the same position, it's better to keep moving forward.

Uesugi Tetsu looked up at Takizawa Kai, who was slightly startled and looked over.

First, reclaim your original position.

—Takizawa Kai is a spirit body of the Five Elements. Perhaps I can discover the secrets of the Five Elements' rotation and connection within him.

Yes, we have to play this game.

We absolutely have to fight.

We must make him give it his all and beat himself to death!
We can't let him admit defeat so easily.

Then Uesugi Tetsuya looked up with a smile and said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, "Takizawa-kun, are you going to just admit defeat?"

A spirited young man like Takizawa Kai could hardly withstand such provocation in public.

His expression immediately darkened, and he abandoned his plan to avoid the limelight.

(End of this chapter)