WebNovels

Chapter 77 - Chapter 76: Atobe's Transformation, World of Ice! 

Smash! 

Smash!! 

The two players were still relentlessly chasing the ball. Sanada, with an unexpected move, unleashed his "As Unmoving as the Forest." The tennis ball arced over the net, landing precisely at the front, near the center. 

"Game! Sanada, 3-2!" 

"Change sides!" 

"Victory for Rikkai!" 

"Victory for Rikkai!!" 

The cheers from the Rikkai Dai tennis club members erupted with astonishing enthusiasm. Sanada had successfully broken Atobe's service game, which meant that for the rest of the match, Sanada would hold absolute dominance. This was extremely bad news for Atobe. Coupled with the pressure of playing on an away court, an ordinary tennis player would find their movements and control faltering at this point. 

On the court, two figures clashed rapidly. Relying on "As Blazing as Fire," Sanada delivered perfect smash after perfect smash during his service games. As time went on, the power of Sanada's smashes didn't diminish; instead, his momentum seemed to steadily climb. 

Smash!! 

"Game! Sanada, 5-2!" 

"Change sides!" 

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In just ten short minutes, Sanada had taken two more games from Atobe, putting him at match point. 

"Hoo..." 

Normally, when facing such a significant disadvantage, Atobe's face would show confusion and frustration, but at this moment, his expression was remarkably calm. He placed one hand over his face, peering through the gaps between his fingers. Even when he couldn't handle Sanada's powerful smashes, Atobe never abandoned his own tennis style; he had always been like that. When he was young, growing up in England, even though his peers were around the same age, they were much better at tennis than him. His shot patterns and strategies were easily read. In such an unwinnable predicament, the only thing he could rely on was his eyes—eyes that could see through his opponents' landing spots and perceive everything. 

"'As Blazing as Fire'... Is it mental focus?!" 

Atobe stood up, glancing at Kamikawa standing behind him. He finally understood what Kamikawa had said during their match. The scene now was strikingly similar to then, the same experience of mental focus. Only by truly shattering that technique could he step into that realm. What others said didn't matter; the only path to victory was this one. 

Atobe walked onto the court, taking his position at the baseline, observing Sanada. Sanada bounced the tennis ball a few times on the ground, and everyone outside the court focused their gaze on him. This was Sanada's match point; winning this game meant gaining the upper hand in the practice match against Hyotei, setting a great tone. 

"Embrace decay and descend into the abyss of destruction, Keigo Atobe!" 

As his words fell, Sanada tossed the tennis ball upward, bent his knees, leaped lightly, and then, with his upper arm driving his forearm, powerfully swung his racket at the mid-air tennis ball. 

Smash!! 

A sharp crack. 

"Weakness!" 

"The weakness that sees through everything." 

The "aura" hidden deep within Atobe seemed to burst forth. Suddenly, Atobe's figure was already at the landing spot. He slowly raised his racket and swung it forward. 

Smash!! 

Another crisp sound. 

Sanada remained in his serving stance, his body seemingly frozen, unable to move. In his ears, he heard the sound of ice pillars shattering. The entire hitting motion appeared to be a completely normal return shot to the spectators. 

"0-15!" 

 

"What... what just happened?" Akiyama looked up, his pupils contracting sharply. 

"Sanada... he actually didn't react." Yanagi Renji also noticed something unexpected. Such a simple shot should have been easily returned by Sanada. Whether it was with "As Swift as Wind" or "As Blazing as Fire," he could have easily returned it. Yet, at that moment, Sanada stood frozen, as if encased in ice, unmoving. 

Among the Rikkai Dai team members, someone muttered, "Was that... ice pillar just now?!" 

Silver-bluish hair stood out distinctly in the crowd. He, too, seemed to have seen the ice pillars that suddenly covered Sanada's side of the court. 

"Mental focus!" At this moment, Yukimura suddenly spoke. He had also seen the ice pillars covering Sanada's court at that moment, muttering, "Could those ice pillars be Gen'ichirou's blind spots?!" 

Blind spots! 

Hearing Yukimura's words, Yanagi Renji's eyes widened sharply. "Yukimura, are you saying! Atobe can see Sanada's blind spots?!" 

Could such a thing really happen?! Yanagi Renji looked back at the court, where the two players had resumed their back-and-forth rally. 

"Mental focus..." Yukimura seemed to be recalling something. He paused, then looked at Yanagi Renji again. "Earlier, the Kamaitachi you used during your match with Sanada was also a manifestation of mental focus." 

"And now, Atobe is manifesting all of Sanada's blind spots through his mental focus." 

Upon hearing this, Yanagi Renji's eyes flickered slightly. He had only barely entered the national level through his match with Sanada. 

Manifesting blind spots! 

Under such intense pressure, not only was he not consumed by the fire, but he instead underwent a transformation. Could that first-year, Keigo Atobe, be a monster whose talent isn't inferior to Sanada's?! 

Smash! 

Before Yanagi Renji could ponder further, a shattering sound reached his ears. The tennis ball landed precisely ten centimeters from Sanada. At this moment, Sanada still hadn't made any move. 

Atobe, at this moment, was like the master of the court, seeing through all of Sanada's blind spots and launching attacks directly at them. No matter how powerful Sanada's shots were, as long as Atobe could return them, he could precisely hit Sanada's blind spots. This was his world! 

The World of Ice! 

Smash!! 

"0-40!" 

 

In Atobe's deep eyes, specks of icy light flickered. He retracted his racket, a slight smile on the corner of his lips, stepped forward, caught up to the tennis ball, and lightly swung his racket. 

Smash!! 

The tennis ball arced, precisely shattering an ice pillar that landed at Sanada's baseline. 

Crack! 

The ice pillar shattered, scattering like tiny ice fragments. Sanada felt his entire body stiffen, still in his hitting stance. In his vision, those ice fragments scattered across the entire court, passing before his eyes, but his body couldn't move. He had clearly seen that last shot, but his body couldn't react. Ultimately, the World of Ice targets Sanada's blind spots. Even if his body could sense it, fully responding to his own blind spots was simply unrealistic. Unless Sanada possessed power that surpassed Atobe's, allowing him to counter-press from a mental focus level, or used some other means to conceal all of his blind spots. 

"Game! Atobe, 3-5!" 

"Atobe's vision has undergone a new evolution." Oshitari's pupils widened, unable to believe such an astonishing change in Atobe. How long had it been, and Atobe had already grasped two different techniques? 

"As expected, he's finally taken that step." Kamikawa smiled faintly, as if all of this was within his expectations. To truly achieve Hyotei's dream of dominating the nation, Atobe had to become stronger. 

Ultimately, it was because Sanada wasn't strong enough right now. Neither "As Swift as Thunder" nor "As Dark as Shadow" could effectively suppress the World of Ice. It was a shame that Sanada hadn't yet touched the threshold of those two ultimate mysteries. Being temporarily suppressed by Atobe was normal. 

However, Sanada was Sanada after all. Having already experienced one defeat, he absolutely wouldn't tolerate a second crushing loss. His strong pride, coupled with his duty as Rikkai Dai's vice-captain, might lead to a different kind of transformation for Sanada at this very moment! 

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