Chapter 226: Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu

Yayoi Momoi was very beautiful, which was a generally recognized fact in Unka High School. Besides, as the “Sword Princess”, Yayoi Momoi’s true strength was also widely acknowledged.

When Unka High School’s Men’s Team was eliminated, Yayoi Momoi had led the Women’s Team and won the championship in the Kanagawa County Women’s Group Qualifier Competition. This wonderful girl with beauty and strength was the goddess of Unka High School.

Just like Kimura Kazuki, Yayoi Momoi had the greatest prestige in the team. Basically, everyone would follow whatever she said, even the instructor of the Kendo Association had to listen to her.

At the game of top 8 for a semi-final match, their opponent was Sakura Kyu High School, which made her slightly relieved. She was quite afraid of Katsuki Sugawara from Akijou High School. Since the beginning of the Jade Dragon Flag Competition, she had been paying attention to Katsuki Sugawara, the freak in the younger generation.

As a woman, she was super powerful. She had a petite body but was very grumpy. Additionally, her strength was extremely powerful, which had given her a lot of pressure. Before this, she wanted to watch more of her opponent’s matches, but normally when Katsuki Sugawara was in the match, it would end very quickly. Although she was no different, she could sense that the strength of Katsuki Sugawara was at least a level greater than hers.

As for… Sakura Kyu High School’s Women’s Team, she was really not much bothered by it. She was pretty clear about the information of Sakura Kyu High School. If they were to compete against Kimura Kazuki, she could basically just surrender. However, Kimura Kazuki was in the men’s group, so of course she need not worry about him.

On the other hand, the top player of Sakura Kyu High School’s Women’s Team was Furuhashi Harunaka. She took a glance at her and decided not to be concerned about her opponent at all, as she was obviously someone who had not comprehended the sword power.

However, Yayoi Momoi apparently did not know that Harunaka had already comprehended the sword power in the individual competition of the district qualifiers. After that, Kimura Kazuki had asked Harunaka to play dumb, and of course Harunaka did as she was told.

Therefore, there was no fierce competition in the Tokyo District Qualifiers Women’s Team as compared to those in other districts.

Although Sakura Kyu High School’s Women’s Team was also one of the 12 seeds, it was not so eye-catching. The spotlight of the year had fallen upon Yayoi Momoi and Katsuki Sugawara among the women’s teams.

“The first game, Sakura Kyu High School’s Risa Akagi vs. Unka High School’s Yuka Hino. Let’s welcome the two Senpous onstage.”

Coupled with the voice of the referee, the Senpous from the two schools who were dressed up neatly stepped into the ring.

Unka High School was the same as Sakura Kyu High School. In the past, these schools were not outstanding. Yayoi Momoi was the actual reason why the team became the dark horse. However, Sakura Kyu High School was no different.

If Harunaka was not in the team, Sakura Kyu High School’s Women’s Team might not have even entered the finals, moreover win the championship. Therefore, except for the Taishous of these two schools, the strength of the others were rather average. However, the matches were rather interesting with enough attacks and defenses! Even the audiences who did not know about Kendo watched it with gusto. Some of the other people who could understand Kendo did not say much, because many of the Taishous this year were very powerful, whereas the other players were all disappointing. By then, much of the audience already knew that the Taishous would be the main factor in whether a team could win.

However, most people did not have much hopes on the Taishou of Sakura Kyu High School Women’s Team, including the people of Tokyo. It was because they had seen the Sakura Kyu Women’s Team’s competition before, and they surely knew the level of Furuhashi Harunaka.

Even if the level was not good enough, it was still a team representing Tokyo. Therefore, the cheering sounds in the stadium was quite sensational, and it only subsided slowly when the game started.

A few minutes later.

“Next, please welcome Furuhashi Harunaka onto the stage.”

Furuhashi Harunaka vs. Yayoi Momoi.

A neatly dressed Harunaka went onto the stage, she looked at Yayoi Momoi who was opposite her and could not help but slowly let out a sigh of relief. Then she subconsciously looked at the audience. For a moment, countless heads appeared in front of her eyes which made her feel a bit dizzy, but soon after that her gaze fixed on her senior.

“All the best!”

She heard a clear cheering sound and that loosened up Harunaka’s tension after she entered the ring. She could not help but smile under the mask. She had trained for so long, and she even managed to comprehend the sword power. Weren’t all of these efforts made just for a moment like this? Didn’t countless high school students participate in the competition for the honor of the Jade Dragon Flag? The goal of all the contestants were the same, just that their reasons were different! It was the same for her.

While thinking about it, Harunaka started to calm down. Her eyes were staring at Yayoi Momoi who was in front of her, the girl who practiced the Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu from the Momoi family.

At that moment, Yayoi Momoi suddenly felt her heartbeat skip. As she watched Furuhashi Harunaka who was opposite her, she felt like something was different.

After the referee announced the commencement of the game, the two of them took a bow facing each other. The moment when the courtesy was completed, the battle broke out instantly.

The reason why Kimura Kazuki could play with his opponents for so long was of course part of his plan. Basically the outcome of all the Kendo competitions were determined in an instant and the current match was no exception.

“Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu is a skill with a kind of action-oriented ‘position’, which requires the grace of posture and form. Compared to practicality, this style pays more attention to artistry. However, since this style can be passed down until this day and become the family sword style of the Momoi family, it surely should not be underestimated.”

The words that her senior had told her when he explained the Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu made Harunaka’s consciousness clearer.

“Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu requires the accuracy of ‘position’ to a certain extent, and the ‘position’ may be somewhat mysterious and incomprehensible for you now. But in general, it is actually all about territory. The Momoi family could show the beauty of the sword style which made people feel breathtaking, in fact, it is a kind of behavior to confuse others. So if you want to win, you must not allow her to prolong the game time. To defeat your opponent, the only way is to end the battle quickly, whereas speed is the exact essence of Yagyu Flying Sword Style. If you can make that happen, you will win.”

After taking a deep breath, Harunaka yelled and made a move instantly. At this moment, her sword speed reached an extreme level. Although it was not as fast as the speed of when she comprehended the sword power during the individual competition, she was able to completely grasp the Rainstorm Style and use it properly as she had poured all her hard work into practicing the Rainstorm Style.

The first shot was the strongest.

“Oh no!” Yayoi Momoi’s face changed slightly. It was important to know that there was a weakness in the Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu, which was the starting hand style.

As one began to practice Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu, he must first practice the starting hand style. This starting hand style could adjust the status of the body to the best. Of course, if one could practice the Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu to a higher level, he could surely start without this starting hand style, and Yayoi Momoi had already achieved that level.

The so-called starting hand style was actually to create a self-centered territory and let the mind and body unite. If one could get rid of the starting hand style, then he had to let the whole body relax and adjust to the state where the mind and body were one.

If it were a normal match, Yayoi Momoi of course could form that territory while fighting, and finally defeat the opponent.

She was planning to deal with Furuhashi Harunaka like this initially, but as Harunaka gave the first shot, she knew that this girl in front of her was not ordinary. She was not an ordinary person at all and she had definitely comprehended the sword power. Then, if she cannot quickly form the territory when competing with the opponent who comprehended the sword power, she would definitely lose the game. This was the reason why she was afraid of Katsuki Sugawara.

Her own strength was still not good enough. Yayoi Momoi was feeling bitter as her father had completely mastered the Kyoshin Meichi-Ryu, so the territory was there all the time around him. He was able to maintain the territory for 24 hours without flaws, but she was obviously too young to master it yet.

While she felt threatened, Yayoi Momoi stepped back, and the bamboo knife in her hand was turned horizontally. However, in the next moment, she immediately felt the bamboo knife shift in the opponent’s hand, then the yellowish afterimage of the bamboo sword turned an angle and was charging toward her arm which was holding the sword.

Bang—

At that crucial moment, Yayoi Momoi blocked it. She seemed to be able to hear the sighs of relief of the members behind her.