Chapter 112: Asura Divine Path

Listening to Saito's words, Kurobe pondered for a few seconds, then said: "But as a tennis player, if one focuses too much on personal gains and losses, lacks a strong obsession and pursuit of victory, and lacks a passion for tennis, one cannot reach the two great realms of tennis: the Selfless State and the Asura Divine Path."

Saito nodded and said: "With Takahashi's lazy personality, it is indeed difficult to enter these two realms, but his greatest advantage is his young age; there is still time to cultivate him slowly in the future."

Kurobe said: "No, with Takahashi's personality, without an external force pushing him, he simply cannot reach these two realms, nor can he transcend himself."

"Moreover, the Head Coach feels that he can be allowed to try and sense the existence of the Asura Divine Path now."

Saito was startled and said: "The Asura Divine Path, also known as the Path of Hell, is a peculiar stage that a tennis player reaches after experiencing many tragic defeats, by integrating all their resentment toward failure and obsession with victory into their tennis, and then passing through training akin to hell. It is a kind of determination to win even if it means death, after having witnessed hell."

"He is only in his first year of junior high; do you want to let him witness the terror of hell?"

Kurobe sipped his coffee and said: "Otherwise, why do you think Takahashi's opponent today is Oni Jujiro."

"This is not my decision; it is the decision of Mifune General Coach."

……

On the court.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The continuous exchange of shots began again.

Takahashi stared intently at the racket in Oni's hand, a rare look of seriousness appearing on his face.

"Bang!"

Oni held his racket with both hands and delivered a violent smash toward the incoming ball.

A black-red aura appeared around the tennis ball once again.

……

"It's Black Tomahawk again! Oni is showing no mercy at all!"

Irie said.

"Huh, why is Takahashi standing still instead of dodging?"

Tanegashima was somewhat puzzled.

Clearly, the last time Oni used Black Tomahawk, Takahashi had dodged it directly.

I believe this junior high student has already felt the power of Black Tomahawk at close range.

Then he saw a faint, imperceptible smile appear at the corner of Takahashi's mouth on the court.

He stared fixedly at the tennis ball and swung his arm with force.

A strange change occurred!

A terrifying black-purple aura emerged all over Takahashi's body.

In the space where he swung his tennis racket, a black area suddenly appeared.

It was as if space had been torn apart out of thin air.

It was precisely the Other-dimensional Domain used by Tokugawa in the previous match—Black Hole.

The tennis ball, carrying a black-red aura, came toward Takahashi with astonishing power and speed.

But on the ball's inevitable path, a piece of black space blocked its way.

The yellow tennis ball was brought to a standstill in the space in front of Takahashi.

The black-red aura carried by the tennis ball also vanished completely within the Black Hole space, turning it into an unremarkable, ordinary tennis ball.

"Bang!"

Takahashi swung his tennis racket unhurriedly.

The tennis ball suddenly radiated a fierce golden light.

It headed toward Oni's side of the court, as dazzling and bright as a comet.

"Light Strike!"

Oni's expression changed slightly.

Not only Oni, but the onlookers' expressions also changed drastically.

As a hallmark of stepping into the World Level, Light Strike generally appears on serves.

This is because Light Strike requires the player to have a very good understanding of the Super Sweet Spot.

One must be able to control the three required area positions of the sweet spot for their own serve.

After entering the World Level, Light Strike is not a particularly complex skill.

However, to return someone else's ball, especially after stopping the tennis ball with Black Hole, and then being able to hit a Light Strike—

This is shocking!

The difficulty required to hit this Light Strike is completely incomparable to that of a serve.

It requires the player to have an even better understanding of the Super Sweet Spot!

"Boom!"

The tennis ball slammed into the ground with astonishing momentum.

A pit with a radius of half a meter appeared on Oni's side of the court.

"30-15!"

"Takahashi scores!"

……

In the Monitoring Room.

"Takahashi, he is actually able to use Black Hole?"

Kurobe was greatly alarmed.

Because Black Hole already belongs to the Other-dimensional Domain, and also belongs to the Asura Divine Path.

Originally, both he and Mifune believed that given Takahashi's own lazy personality, it would be very difficult for him to reach the two top-tier tennis realms of Mu or the Asura Divine Path.

The realm of Mu requires one to be single-minded, free of distracting thoughts, and to devote oneself entirely to tennis.

However, Takahashi's tendency to lie flat and his lack of ambition make it very difficult for him to reach the realm of Mu.

Mifune's intention was that since the realm of Mu is very difficult to unlock, he should simply be made to feel the terror of hell and attempt to enter the realm of the Asura Path.

That is why they arranged for Oni Jujiro to be Takahashi's opponent.

Although Takahashi defeated Tokugawa yesterday.

But as fellow high school students, Oni's strength is far from what Tokugawa can compare to.

They hoped that Oni could bring Takahashi a miserable defeat.

The more miserable the defeat, the better; the more painful it is for Takahashi, the better!

As a genius like Takahashi who has always lived in middle school, his tennis strength can naturally look down upon all middle school students in the country.

Without having tasted a miserable defeat and without having experienced bone-deep pain, his greatest potential cannot be stimulated.

Without entering Mu or the Asura Divine Path, Takahashi's strength is already this powerful!

If he were to enter one of these two realms, Takahashi's future development would be limitless.

Therefore, even though Takahashi is not as arrogant or condescending as Tokugawa was back then, Mifune was prepared to give him a major blow, letting him feel hell, recognize hell, and stand up from hell to achieve the Asura Divine Path.

However, who would have thought that Takahashi could already use the Asura Divine Path now?

Could it be that he has already experienced despair and pain many times, and is already determined to win the match with a resolve to die?

What shocked Kurobe the most was not the Asura Divine Path, but the Black Hole.

After entering the Asura Divine Path, there are many branches.

The path each person takes is different, and the different-dimensional skills they develop are also different.

To be able to replicate Tokugawa's Black Hole.

And in less than a day.

It is too incredible!

Kurobe felt as if he were dreaming.

……

On the court, due to the immense destructive power brought by the Light Strike, the match was paused, and staff members rushed forward to repair the court.

Tokugawa asked, "With Oni's strength, could he not return that Light Strike from Takahashi just now?"

Irie pondered for a few seconds and said, "Normally, he would be able to return it. But Takahashi's grasp of timing is truly exquisite."

"No one expected that a tennis ball stopped by a Black Hole could still be hit with a Light Strike; it was completely unexpected."

"Moreover, the moment Takahashi aimed for was precisely the instant Oni was shocked by the appearance of the Black Hole."

"Even for Oni, he would not dare to casually return a Light Strike that he could not react to in time."

"Tokugawa, perhaps you should learn from Takahashi's mastery of timing; not only in the match against you last time, but also in this match against Oni, Takahashi has utilized timing to the extreme."

"He remains calm and composed, catching his opponent off guard."

"When experts exchange blows and their strength is similar, the control of timing is also a secret weapon for victory."

Tokugawa said in astonishment, "What? Do you mean to say that Takahashi's strength is about the same as ours?"

Tanegashima chimed in, "He used the Black Hole, a move that belongs to the Asura Divine Path. And don't forget, Oni has been in the state of Peerless Perfection the whole time."