My Prince of Tennis has a high proficiency level

Chapter 114 Liu's Test

"Is it... over?"

From the direction of Fudomine, Kamio and the others looked at the obvious landing mark behind Tachibana, which clearly pressed the baseline. Everyone seemed to have all their strength drained away, and their faces instantly darkened.

Lost.

Their invincible senior, Tachibana, was defeated by his opponent in a head-on confrontation.

Faith was shattered.

The group of people were like zombies at this moment, feeling only darkness ahead and losing all interest in tennis.

"You are a very strong opponent."

At that moment, Tachibana, exhausted from playing on the court, spoke up. He looked at Sengoku, his face showing neither arrogance nor humility, but simply gazing calmly at him.

"I lost, and Fudomine lost too. But this is not the end, but just the beginning."

After saying that, he turned and left, leaving behind a resolute figure.

"Tachibana-senpai..."

'

Kamio and the others had complex expressions.

"Everyone, perk up!"

Ju looked at the group, her eyes sharpening: "Is losing a match something to be ashamed of? Or is this all the tennis you've got, this much awareness?!"

"I...

'

The group opened their mouths, but dared not refute.

"That's right, our goal is to beat our opponents, but it's never just about winning. Think about Fudomine a year ago, and then think about now."

"We... understand!"

Kamio and the others trembled at what he said.

They recalled their experiences a year ago at Fudomine: the bullying from upperclassmen and the unreasonable protection from the coaches.

Compared to that period of time, what is this small setback?

"Tachibana-senpai is right."

Kamio clenched his fist, a resolute light flashing in his single exposed eye: "My tennis, our Fudomine tennis, has never been limited to this level!"

"right!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"this..

'

The changes on the court left the surrounding spectators dumbfounded. Those who had hoped to see Fudomine make a fool of himself after losing the game were especially stunned.

"That orange one is really something!"

Among the crowd, a young man with a middle parting and wearing a brown jacket sighed with admiration.

He was none other than Kuki Kiichi, who was easily defeated by Ibu Shinji, the No. 3 singles player from Fudomine, during the regional qualifiers.

Kuki originally came to see Fudomine make a fool of themselves. In his opinion, even if Fudomine was stronger than Kakiki, they were no match for a team of Ueyama Fubuki's caliber.

This is true.

After three consecutive defeats, Fudomine's reputation as the biggest dark horse in the tournament instantly became a joke.

But now, in less than a minute, Tachibana revitalized Fudomine's morale. Everyone's spirits seemed to be instantly restored, which was incredible.

"That's probably why Fudomine has grown from a third-rate team to what it is today."

Kuki sighed inwardly.

At this moment, he understood that although both sides lost the game, some people simply lost, while others had already begun preparing for the victory in the next game.

With such a spirit, the name Fudomine will one day resound throughout the country.

"call.

'

on the field.

Watching Tachibana's departing figure, Sengoku let out a deep breath. He had indeed returned the ball, but luck played a large part.

Although his enhanced dynamic vision allowed him to lock onto the true form of [Exploding Ball Frenzy] with 100% certainty, Tachibana's strength was simply too great, especially the force generated by striking with the edge of the racket, which was terrifyingly powerful.

The moment the ball and racket made contact, Sengoku felt the impact of the ball slamming against him from all sides. Luckily, his return shot landed inside the baseline.

Otherwise, the outcome of this match would be uncertain.

"As expected of Sengoku, you even took down Tachibana Kippei from the Second Wing of Kyushu."

Sengoku had just returned to the court when a sarcastic voice rang out. He didn't even need to look to know who it was.

Sure enough, Guan Yue was seen twirling a strand of hair with her left hand, a forced smile on her face.

"Cough cough."

Vice Minister Nan quickly coughed twice, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.

"Well done."

Dongfang and Niido both sincerely congratulated Sengoku.

The other non-regular team members looked on with even greater admiration. That was Ju, a top-tier expert who had swept across Kyushu and was renowned throughout the country.

If Sengoku could defeat his opponent, it would mean that he has already reached the national level of strength.

"It was just so-so, we barely won by 2 points."

Sengoku immediately packed it up.

After all, his opponent was one of the top players in the country, so he had quite a bit of glory. Normally, he was often teased by Shibukawa and Aku within the team.

Suppressed by the pressure, he was somewhat out of breath and naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to show off.

Akutsu scoffed dismissively, completely disregarding him.

"He played alright, and his performance was worth the training he's received over this period."

Shibukawa nodded slightly, glancing towards Fudomine as he spoke: "But don't think Fudomine is an easy opponent. They're not so easy to defeat, and neither is that Tachibana. You were able to beat him because he lost his faith before, and his strength improved much more slowly than others of the same generation."

"This time it's different."

At this point, Shibukawa gave Sengoku a meaningful smile: "You've completely activated him. Next time we meet, we'll have quite a show to watch."

hiss!

These words made Sengoku tremble.

He recalled the unwavering gaze Ju had given him before she turned and left, and instinctively gripped his racket tighter.

Shibukawa was right; he was probably being targeted by that ferocious Fudomine lion.

"Damn it."

"I should have kept a lower profile earlier."

Sengoku was filled with remorse.

"Alright, alright?"

Shechuan patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Since things have come to this, why not think about how to improve your strength?"

If nothing unexpected happens, Tachibana's strength will be even more terrifying when we meet again!

"understood."

Sengoku composed himself and nodded emphatically.

He was never one to be afraid of problems. Besides, since he had defeated that Tachibana once, he wasn't afraid to do it again. If his opponent remained steadfast in his beliefs and became even stronger, then he, Sengoku Kiyosumi, wouldn't stand still either.

"It's time, let's all go."

At this moment, Bantian, who was sitting in the coach's seat, received a signal from the person in charge on the sidelines and turned to speak to everyone.

Thank you for your guidance!

A moment later, the players from both sides bowed to each other in front of the net to express their gratitude.

The referee, seated on his high chair, announced loudly: "The final match of Group C in the Metropolitan Tournament has concluded. Yamabuki Middle School wins 3-0 and advances to the Metropolitan Tournament semifinals!"

"Whoa whoa whoa!!!"

Outside the stadium, Muromachi, Yuta, and other players cheered excitedly.

The defeated Fudomine, however, remained remarkably quiet.

"Shikawa-kun."

Ju glanced at the black-haired boy standing opposite her and said, "If there's a chance next time, I'd like to have a match with you."

"no problem."

Shechuan responded with a polite smile.

But deep down, he wasn't really interested in players at Tachibana's level anymore.

Although both are national-level, Tachibana had wasted more than half a year. Without a sparring partner of the same caliber as Chitose, his time spent in seclusion at Fudomine Peak had caused him to fall behind other masters of the same level.

After all, sometimes, progressing slower than others is itself a form of regression.

However, there are gains and losses.

With Tachibana's talent and willpower, once he awakens, his growth rate will be extremely fast. Especially now that he has been defeated by Sengoku, his inner desire to win has been ignited.

Although Fudomine was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo International Tournament, according to the rules, they can still compete with the other three quarterfinal teams for the last spot to advance to the Kanto Tournament.

In the original work, if we remove Seigaku's protagonist aura, the most inspiring team is actually Fudomine. After all, throughout the original work, there is no record of any mediocre team making it into the national top eight the following year.

"Let's go."

Shechuan waved goodbye and led his team away.

Not far away, the spectators gathered around the stadium hadn't dispersed much. As they watched Yamabuki's team leave, many secretly thought that next week's final might really be about to change everything.

"Tachibana Kippei...Sengoku Kiyosumi..."

'

Liu, hidden in the crowd, also watched intently as the team disappeared from view.

Tachibana's strength may have improved more slowly, but she is still a genuine national-level player. Even if Liu were to face her, he wouldn't be absolutely certain of winning.

In other words, his chances of winning against Sengoku are probably only about 50/50 right now. And Sengoku is widely recognized as the third-ranked fighter in the Yamabuki faction.

Thinking of Akutsu and Shibukawa, who were ranked above this person, Yanagi's gaze immediately became serious.

There is no record of these two players in last year's national league. Apart from the Yamabuki school qualifiers, the other competitions were of too low a standard, and even if these two had participated, they certainly wouldn't have shown their true strength.

"So, what should I do?"

Normally, even if Liu was wary, he wouldn't be as worried as he is now. Yukimura's body hadn't fully recovered, and his condition was visibly deteriorating.

According to the report from Kaneda General Hospital, Yukimura will undergo major surgery around mid-July. That's only about a month away.

The preceding and following tournaments were the Kanagawa Prefecture Tournament, the Kanto Tournament, and the National Tournament. If Yukimura could have held on, he wouldn't have had to undergo surgery in such a hurry; there was simply no other way.

In this situation, one of Rikkai's original pillars has already collapsed. Sanada is strong, but he can't support the team alone, and Yanagi knows very well that Rikkai is too confident right now.

Apart from him, everyone, including Vice Minister Sanada, believed that Rikkai University's sixteen consecutive Kanto championships and three consecutive national championships were without any flaws.

But is it really so?

Regardless of the local teams in Kansai and Kyushu who are eyeing the team covetously, within the Kanto region alone, Hyotei and Seigaku are not to be underestimated, not to mention the ridiculously strong Yamabuki in front of us.

This year's Kanto Tournament will likely be even tougher than last year's National Tournament.

"It's decided."

Liu took a deep breath, opened his narrowed eyes, and a determined look flashed in them: "We must test Yamabuki's true strength as soon as possible!"

Rather than waiting for the crisis to arrive, it's better to expose it sooner rather than later. If Yamabuki's strength is merely superficial, Rikkai's crisis will naturally cease to exist. And if Yamabuki is as strong as Yanagi imagines, they can prepare in advance, preventing Rikkai from being forced to react passively when faced with a direct confrontation.

"Um?"

Meanwhile, Inui, who had finished gathering intelligence on Yamabuki and was preparing to return to his unit, seemed to have noticed something and his gaze swept in the direction Yanagi had left.

"That figure from behind...could it be...?"

As if remembering something, Inui didn't return to the competition venue where Seigaku was as planned. Instead, he followed the figure behind him, heading towards the direction where Yamabuki was.

Not long after.

Qian arrived at the entrance of Yamabuki.

"He went inside."

Seeing the figure he was following enter Yamabuki from afar, Inui followed without hesitation.

at the same time.

Yamabuki Tennis Club.

The group had already separated halfway through the journey.

Only Shibukawa remained, practicing every day without fail, so he came to the tennis club. After carefully checking to make sure no one was still training, he picked up his racket, walked to the side, and began practicing his swings.

His swing level is now very close to level 9. Based on his daily training volume, he could complete the level upgrade in a week at most.

Each level increase in a skill provides a 1% boost to one of the five core abilities. While this may seem small, it's quite significant given Shechuan's current strength.

Furthermore, once his skills reach the maximum level, he can take the time to learn new skills. At that point, his strength will rapidly increase again.

tread.

tread.

but.

Just as he was about to swing his racket, he heard footsteps coming from not far away.

"Oh? They really followed us?"

Shechuan stopped what he was doing, smiled and turned around to look at the figure standing outside the tennis club's wire fence.

A mushroom-shaped haircut and a white shirt. The young man had delicate features and gave off a calm and wise impression at first glance. It was none other than Liu.

"It really was him."

At a glance, Shibukawa recognized the other person.

Liu Lian Er.

One of the three giants in Lihai.

Unlike Yukimura and Sanada, who relied on sheer skill to support the team, Yanagi's greater contribution was his intellectual investment. After all, even Inui's data-driven tennis was taught by Yanagi, so his ability to plan team training was naturally quite good.

Shibukawa had noticed Yanagi earlier at the match. In the original work, Fudomine was not a team known for its data intelligence capabilities, nor did they have a precedent of knowing their opponents' tactics in advance.

According to the original records, very few people could accomplish this; at most, only two and a half could do it. Half of them were Hyotei, but Shibukawa knew that Atobe was arrogant and disdained to do such a thing.

The remaining two are Mizuki and Inui from Seigaku. But the former is right next to Shibukawa, and he knows perfectly well whether or not he made a move.

As for the latter, they have never done anything like that.

Excluding these options, the variable that never appeared in the Grand Tournament in the original work is the person behind the scenes.

But Shibukawa never expected that Yanagi's curiosity, or rather, his fear of Yamabuki, would reach such a level.

"Welcome, distinguished guest."

Seeing Liu approaching the tennis department entrance, Shibukawa smiled and said, "I wonder what brings you here, sir?"

"Hmm."

Upon hearing this, Liu's expression changed slightly.

Judging from the other party's reaction, it seems that they had expected him to come here.

"As expected of the legendary, mysterious, and powerful Minister Yamabuki."

Realizing that his purpose had been seen through, Liu stopped trying to hide it. He knew very well that dealing with such a clever person, being secretive would only make him look foolish.

"My name is Yanagi Renji, and I come from Kanagawa, but I think Shibukawa-kun probably already knows who I am."

Yanagi walked into the Yamabuki tennis club, his eyes suddenly snapping open: "I've come here today simply to ask you for some pointers on tennis!"