The Demon King, reborn in Japan as a monk

Yes, Nagisa Araragi, Riko Izumi, and Nozomi Ishizawa will also participate in this World Championships, allowing them to experience the intense atmosphere of a major international competition as a form of training.

As for Kaoru Seriya...

I'm sorry, she has to go to school, so she won't be able to go on this trip.

Chapter 276 Two

"The player list is out." At the hotel where they were staying, Ishihara Akira, still fulfilling his duties as manager, received the player list sent by the Badminton World Federation: "As expected of the World Championships, the top three players in the world rankings for both men's and women's singles are all here. You guys are in for a tough time this time."

With that, Ishihara Akira handed the list to Shiota Reiko and the others, asking them to confirm it with their own eyes.

The top spot in men's singles will unsurprisingly go to a domestic player.

Second are Malaysians.

Thirdly, it's still domestic.

Singapore didn't become the fourth country until now.

The fifth is Japan.

After that, there's no need to pay attention to them, because Ishihara Akira had seen and recorded their matches when he led the team to participate in the Five-Star tournament. He even used his own abilities to replicate their match performance to play against Tachibana Kentaro, helping him adapt to their playing habits. So there's no need to pay attention to them; just knowing that they're here is enough.

The same applies to the woman's side. She hasn't seen the top five many times, but the subsequent ranked contestants are all old rivals. While they haven't met in person, they know each other's general situation well and have been trained by Ishihara Akira, so they're very familiar with each other. Therefore, she only needs to be careful with the top-ranked contestants.

They are Wang Xiaoli, who is ranked first among domestic players.

The second-ranked Japanese player is also the World Champion of Hanebado, and is the mother of Ayano Hanesaki, Yuchina.

The third-ranked player is a female athlete from Denmark.

The fourth one returned to China.

Then an Indian athlete came in fifth place.

It's clear that Asian players have an advantage at the higher rankings, while European and American players are not as strong...

However, this is quite normal. After all, the advantages of race are there. We yellow people are invincible in terms of skills and are good at flexible sports. White people are good at high-intensity competitive sports, and black people are good at endurance and can run endlessly.

Therefore, in badminton and table tennis, people of Asian descent are invincible, while in basketball, swimming, and most track and field events, white people are better, and black people can only run.

"Hasaki Yuchina? Is she also a Japanese player? Why didn't I see her when I arrived?" Shiota Reiko frowned slightly as she looked at the name on the list.

After all, they had been training and working with the Japanese national team members more than once or twice. They were familiar with both top and average athletes, so it was impossible for them not to recognize someone like Chinatsu, who could reach the top three in the world rankings.

Unless the opponent is not a Japanese player at all.

But it's clearly written on the list now that the opponent is a Japanese player, so they can't help but be surprised.

"That Chinatsu is no ordinary person. Yuzaki is her surname after she got married. Before she got married, her surname was Kamifuji."

"Shinto?" Tachibana Kentaro, who was listening to Ishihara Sho chatting with his teammates, asked in surprise.

"You know?" Sayaka Takahashi looked over.

“I know.” Kentaro Tachibana nodded and said, “Chinatsu Shindou is indeed a member of the Japanese national team, but she retired later. I always thought she had retired. I didn’t expect that she is still active as an athlete. It’s really surprising.”

"Is she very famous?" Reiko Shiota pressed.

"Don't you know?" Tachibana Kentaro asked with a strange expression.

"Know what?" Shiota Reiko and Takahashi exchanged a glance, puzzled.

"She won the National Youth Badminton Championship for ten consecutive years. It was because of this achievement that she was selected for the national team and became a member of the national team at that time. Moreover, she is about the same age as you. You should have heard of her," Kentaro Tachibana explained.

Reiko Shiota and Takahashi's basic skills clearly show that they have been practicing since childhood. In addition, considering their age and Japan's unique sports competition system, if Reiko Shiota and Takahashi were normal Japanese people, they would not be unaware of the story of Chinatsu Shinto, who was their contemporary.

However, Tachibana Kentaro was unaware that Shiota and Takahashi were not normal Japanese people at all, but 'demons' from another world's Japan!

It is impossible for nature to know certain things that happen in this world.

“Speaking of Shindou, I remember that Ayano Hanasaki’s mother’s maiden name was Shindou, right?” At this moment, Nagisa Ararahara, who had been looking thoughtful ever since she heard the name Chinatsu Hanasaki, said to Riko Izumi beside her.

"It seems so," Izumi Riko nodded.

"Doesn't that mean that Ayano's mother is Chika-senpai?" Nagisa Ararahara continued in surprise.

"Huh!?"

"No wonder Yuzaki's talent is so exaggerated and her strength is so great. It turns out she inherited her mother's talent. But speaking of which, Manager, since you signed us, why didn't you sign Yuzaki Ayano?" Tachibana Kentaro asked, looking as if he had just realized something.

“Well…” Ishihara Sho looked at Arakawa Nagisa, then at Izumi Riko and Ishizawa Nozomi, his eyes darting around.

The three people, including Arashihara Nagisa, who were mentioned, exchanged glances and their faces turned red.

Clearly, they knew why Ishihara Akira hadn't signed Ayano to the club—

Simply because her heart wasn't grand enough...

"Alright, get some rest. Don't wait until the match starts and you're still not fully recovered." With that, Ishihara Akira stood up again and left the room where the group was.

"Did I say something wrong?" Tachibana Kentaro asked, puzzled as he didn't understand how the situation had suddenly turned out this way.

"No, no," the women said in unison, shaking their heads.

……

In short, after a few days of rest, the official schedule of the World Championships officially began, and Riko Izumi and Nozomi Ishizawa officially faced their opponents.

A doubles pair from South Korea.

Ishihara Akira continued to disguise himself as the coach and appeared at the side of the field, accompanying the few people who were in the stands to watch the match between Izumi Riko and Ishizawa Nozomi.

"Keep it up, you can do it!"

Unfortunately, the gap in strength cannot be bridged by mere encouragement. So, despite the best efforts of Riko Izumi and Nozomi Ishizawa, they ultimately lost the match by a large margin and became the first club members to be eliminated.

Then, let's talk about the women's singles.

Although Nagisa Araragi's skill level had reached the point where she could compete in international tournaments, it was only at the level of low-level events, the kind of events that badminton players ranked 50th or even 100th would attempt. Compared to the top-level tournaments where even the lowest-ranked players were in the top 30 in the world, she was still far from good enough. So, not long after, she followed in the footsteps of Riko Izumi and Nozomi Ishizawa and was eliminated.

Shiota and Takahashi successfully defeated their opponents and advanced to the second round.

Ishihara Akira and Tachibana Kentaro also advanced successfully, taking a solid step towards the world championship.

Chapter 277 Champion

However, Shiota Reiko and Takahashi's good luck didn't last long. After three rounds, Takahashi unfortunately encountered Wang Xiaoli, the current world number one women's singles player, and was eliminated from the World Championships with a total score of 2-1.

"That's Wang Xiaoli? She looks like a child." Sayaka Takahashi, who had been eliminated, looked at Wang Xiaoli, who was going through the formalities, with a still incredulous expression.

There's no way around it, Wang Xiaoli's character design in the world of Light Feather Flying is just too... well, she's a perfectly legal loli with a baby face, so if you look at her on the surface, you could easily mistake her for a middle school student or a first-year high school student. She's just too deceptive, making it impossible to associate her with the title of Demon King.

In terms of skill, she truly lived up to the title of "Demon Queen," leaving Sayaka Takahashi, who had received special training from Ishihara Sho, with almost no chance to fight back. Apart from the first game where she might not have been in the zone and allowed Takahashi to win 21-19, she didn't give Takahashi many opportunities in the remaining two games, winning by a large margin of 21-15 and 17-21 respectively, leaving no room for argument.

Then in the fourth round, Reiko Shiota was very unlucky and ran into Yuchina, who was ranked second in the world.

This guy's performance was worthy of being the mother of Ayano Hanesaki, the "Child of This World." He was a regional boss who had dominated the Japanese badminton championships for ten consecutive years. He still defeated Reiko Shiota with a crushing performance, eliminating her from the World Championships.

At this point, all the women's doubles and women's singles players were eliminated, leaving only the men's singles players still fighting.

However, not long after, around the quarterfinals, Kentaro Tachibana was also unlucky enough to run into the number one ranked man in men's singles and was ruthlessly eliminated, leaving only Akira Ishihara to continue fighting in the World Championships.

"Ishihara, it's all up to you." Reiko Shiota encouraged him, now that the women's doubles and women's singles were over and she could come over and hang out with Sho Ishihara.

"Don't worry, I'm going to win this world championship." Ishihara Akira placed his hands on Shiota Reiko's waist, looking at her superior posture, and smiled.

"Go for it!" Sayaka Takahashi chimed in, offering encouragement.

Then there's Nagisa Araragi, Riko Izumi, and Nozomi Ishizawa.

It's fair to say that, apart from Kentaro Tachibana, all the athletes who came to Switzerland this time are staying at Ishihara Akira's house...

……

"Hello everyone, I'm your commentator for this match. We're about to witness the final of this World Championship, the ultimate championship game. The two players facing off are Lin Da-de, currently ranked number one in the world, and Ishihara Yu, the dark horse who has stormed into the final with astonishing skills. Who will ultimately claim the World Championship title? Let's wait and see..."

"Lin Dade!"

"Go, Ishihara Kaname!"

Fans from both sides were chanting in the stands.

"Please both players get ready," the referee said, gesturing for the audience to be quiet before addressing the two players who had arrived at the arena.

Without further ado, the two tidied themselves up a bit and then assumed a fighting stance.

"Player, please serve!"

This time, Ishihara Akira had possession of the shuttlecock, so upon hearing the instruction, he didn't hesitate and swung his hand to hit the shuttlecock.

Lin Dade quickly stepped back to the ball, jumped, and smashed the ball with a forehand smash into Ishihara Yu's corner.

What a fast and sharp attack!

Ishihara Sho remained calm, taking a step forward and appearing under the ball. With a backhand smash, he returned the ball to the net. Lin Dade followed up with another powerful smash to the net, forcing Ishihara Sho to dive forward and crawl to the ground, raising his hand to lob the ball back.

But Lin Dade clearly anticipated Ishihara's reaction, and with a slight jump, he hit the ball to the backcourt, scoring the first point of the game.

"0:1!"

It's still Ishihara Yu's serve.

"Tsk, no wonder this character is designed based on Lin Dan. His skills and awareness are unmatched. It's a pity you've run into me." Ishihara Akira gave Lin Dade a deep look, took a deep breath, and hit the ball.

This time, Lin Dade did not use the same aggressive smashing style to counterattack. Instead, he made full use of his experience and started using drop shots. This involved controlling the landing point of the shuttlecock to make Ishihara Sho run around. So, although it was not as intense and back-and-forth as the first shot, it was much more physically demanding.

But Ishihara remained calm and cooperated with Lin Da-de's movements with great interest, gradually applying his strength to the shuttlecock. Until one moment, Ishihara stopped directly in the center of his own half of the court, keeping one foot still and only using the other foot to make radius movements, engaging in a tug-of-war with Lin Da-de.

again and again.

Soon, the audience noticed the unusual behavior of Ishihara Akira and couldn't help but murmur in surprise.

"That guy hasn't moved since just now."

"Is there?"

"Yes, look at his left foot, hasn't it been sitting still the whole time?"

"It really is! How did he do that?"