I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

Four minutes and twelve seconds later.

"Kitamura-kun, is this your sword?"

Lin Ren closed his empty eyes and gave a bitter laugh.

If even one person had been missing along the way, we would have won by now.

But now, even he himself, who wanted to end the battle quickly from the start, has become his stepping stone.

A stepping stone leading to a higher level of swordsmanship.

"Yes, this is my way of the sword... Isn't it pretty shameless?"

With barely a breath left, Kitamura Yoyu leaned on his katana, panting heavily.

Absorbing others' experiences, states of mind, swordsmanship, and ideas, and turning them into nourishment for one's own growth... is practically no different from being a thief.

"I have no right to say such things."

Lin Ren also collapsed to the ground, his voice hoarse as he said, "But the one up there is different from all of us..."

"That's an absolute monster."

"I know……"

Kitamura Yoyu looked up again, meeting the smiling eyes that were now very close to him: "I know."

"The winner is Kitamura Yoyu!"

After the announcement, the stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.

The thrilling and suspenseful moments of turning the tide after being trapped in a desperate situation, the unknown and the excitement that always captivate audiences.

Less than ten seconds later, Kitamura Yoyu regained his full power... no, it should be said that he once again completely surpassed himself and sheathed his sword.

"I challenge, ranked sixth, Uesugi Tetsu."

Two beams of light flashed and landed on the central arena, which had already been repaired.

Kitamura Yoyu's heart skipped a beat.

Even though he was prepared and others had already told him... it wasn't until he actually faced the monster that Kitamura Yoyu truly understood the meaning of the word "monster".

Just standing in front of the guy named "Uesugi Tetsu," his fingers on the hilt of the sword began to tremble.

In the silence, Kitamura Yoyu took a deep breath, dispelling his unease and fear, and regaining control of his body and mind.

Then he raised his head, staring directly into the pair of delighted eyes behind the mask of the Red Hannya, and roared hoarsely.

"God's dream is Hayashi Saki, Kitamura Yoyu..."

"Come on!"

Chapter 292 Kitamura-kun, I'll End the Battle with One Slash! (Live stream played 10,000 times slower) – Demonstrating True Power

Uesugi Tetsu looked up and stared at Kitamura Yoyu, whose face looked slightly dejected, but whose eyes seemed to have transformed into sharp blades that could cut through iron like mud, at the other end of the ring.

It must be said that Kitamura Yoyu's immense spirit and energy have almost materialized.

At the same time, its directionality was very clear, turning into a straight line that landed on top of its head.

It's like cutting him in half from top to bottom.

Under such an imposing aura, let alone ordinary people, even swordsmen who have cultivated for years might feel their legs go weak and be afraid before the battle even begins.

Ririko could do such a thing, but her energy and spirit weren't that great; the two-foot-long protective aura could be compared to that in terms of quantity, but she couldn't control the aura's operation.

"Kitamura Yoyu can certainly be described as having achieved something."

Uesugi Tetsu did not make any rash moves.

Kitamura Yoyu then stood still, keeping his right hand on the sword hilt and watching Uesugi Tetsu's movements out of the corner of his eye.

A deathly silence fell over the arena.

However, the audience inside the Sky City stadium did not shout things like "Are we going to fight or not?" or "Why are you standing there like that?" as they had before.

Instead, just like the atmosphere on the field, they either subconsciously held their breath or pursed their lips, letting the silence spread rapidly throughout the entire venue like a series of exploding bombs.

Is it an aura or something else?

Even though these two people were just standing on the ring, they made all ordinary people feel a sense of trepidation, their toes gripping the ground, and their sweat pouring down their backs.

Suddenly, a light, airy sound emanated from the thick, viscous atmosphere of the arena.

It was Uesugi Tetsu who was speaking.

Or rather, in a statement.

"Kitamura-kun, I'm going to end this battle with one strike."

Uesugi Tetsu said this, his voice echoing throughout the venue and the live broadcast room through the dense array of transparent microphones floating in mid-air.

At that moment, not only millions of viewers were stunned.

Even Kitamura Yoyu himself was taken aback, his pupils shrinking slightly.

One strike, and the battle is over?

The audience was puzzled—how did Uesugi Tetsu, who was so humble before, suddenly become even more arrogant than Yanliu?

But inside the venue, only the players who had been defeated by Kitamura Yoyu not long ago, Hayashi Jinya who had just recovered, and Kitada Kei and Minamoto Shizumi, who were watching from the sidelines, understood.

This is the best approach.

If you want to win, there is no better way than to finish off Kitamura Yoyu in the very first move of the battle.

The more intense the battle, the more severe the injuries of the two, and the longer it drags on, the more "nourishment" Kitamura Yoyu will be able to absorb and the more growth he will gain.

Genjiro pressed down hard on the restless Hotaru and fell into deep thought.

Did Uesugi Tetsu realize this and that's why he wanted to end the battle as soon as possible?

——Quite the opposite.

"The so-called Iaido technique is simply to compress all one's experiences so far, one's understanding of life and the world, the joys and sorrows on the path of cultivation, and everything one has learned, thought, and imagined into a single instant..."

"Compressed in one strike?"

Through the menacing mask of the Red Hannya, Kitamura Yoyu unexpectedly felt expectant gazes falling upon him.

He heard Uesugi Tetsuya say...

"Like a shooting star, brief yet brilliant, even if it disappears in an instant, it can leave a deep enough mark in the long period of more than 30,000 days of a lifetime."

Kitamura Yoyu blinked; that was a mistake he would never have allowed himself to make before.

But he did it anyway, because of this unexpected accident.

This Uesugi Tetsuya wants to...

"Kitamura-kun."

Uesugi Tetsu opened his mouth and asked solemnly, "Will your sword leave a deep enough impression on my memory?"

Kitamura Yoyu gripped the hilt of the knife tightly.

He was pondering and hesitating whether to respond to this expectation or continue to reach for a path with a higher probability of success.

But Uesugi Tetsu's words interrupted his thoughts.

"Those who were defeated by you before me have more or less figured out how you rose to power step by step and became stronger and stronger."

The smile in Uesugi Tetsu's eyes sent chills down Kitamura Yoyu's spine.

"But whether it's due to their own lack of strength, insufficient personal decisiveness, or a momentary lapse in attention that caused them to fall into your battle rhythm..."

Uesugi Tetsu shrugged.

"No matter what, you defeated them in the end, and they became the nourishment for your progress."

"—Kitamura-kun, your previous opponents were all too indecisive. Thinking that there would be many more battles to come, they couldn't afford to waste too much energy on you, so they naturally wanted to hold back."

"I won't."

The three words, still spoken lightly, made Kitamura Yoyu freeze for a moment.

It was only then that he realized what was happening, and he let out a bitter laugh to himself.

So it turns out I didn't have a choice in the first place.

Uesugi Tetsu continued,

"I have sufficient strength, ample intelligence, and a fairly good level of determination. I've also just warmed up. In short, my luck has been alright..."

Hearing these words, Kitamura Yoyuu suddenly looked up.

We can't let him continue.

No, let Uesugi Tetsuya continue!

But just as he was about to draw his sword, Kitamura Yoyu suddenly realized that he had unknowingly fallen into his opponent's rhythm.

Faced with such a formidable enemy, he should have been able to strike later but arrive first!

This back-and-forth of thoughts, this advance and retreat, caused Kitamura Yoyu's already peak energy and spirit to falter.

Is this actually his real purpose?

Kitamura Yoyu looked up and saw the same smiling face as before.

In that instant, Uesugi Tetsu took a step.

Draw your sword.

"What a sword!"

On the towering stands, the Sword of Death, Kujou Oborozuki, couldn't help but slap his hand hard, denting the steel railing.

Nanjo Manami raised an eyebrow: "His sword hasn't even been drawn yet, isn't he still empty-handed?"

"Who says you have to have a sword in your hand when you draw it..."

No, it's not necessary.

As long as you have a sword in your hand the moment you touch the opponent, that's enough.

The secret script of the character "临" on the back of his right hand emitted a faint light, and Yaekaku shook the surface of the arena, creating fine cracks. Qi and lightning, commanded by the Spirit Control Technique, flowed through his blood vessels and muscles.

The fiery armor and the protective energy circulated and rose naturally, completely annihilating the air along the way.

"Come."

The words that Uesugi Tetsu had spoken long before he took a step rang in Kitamura Yoyu's ears.

"Kitamura-kun, let me remember your sword."

A massive amount of spiritual energy and qi condensed and compressed in an instant, and was cast into the shape of Kaga Kiyomitsu, just like in the projection secret realm, and landed in Uesugi Tetsu's palm.

The roar of the demon-like Akabane exploded in Kitamura Yoyu's mind.

"—Show me your determination in the face of adversity!"

Kitamura Yoyu opened his mouth slightly, his beard and hair stood on end, and his spirit rose from its low point to a new peak!

His pupils shrank to a point under the imminent pressure of death, yet his mind remained unusually calm, as if frozen solid.

Without hesitation, the successor of the Shinmei Ryū Hayashi-ryū followed Uesugi Tetsuya's earlier words, merging all of himself into the thin blade that was already an inch from its sheath.

With this single strike, I offer up everything Kitamura Yoyu!

An ordinary-looking blade was drawn from its sheath.

The profound meaning of the natural flow of mind, which transforms into three yet returns to one, collided and separated in a fraction of a second.

On the arena, there were no massive fluctuations of spiritual energy, nor did it cause the entire arena to tremble as it had before...

What the audience saw was merely the flashing of two figures; what they heard was merely the overlapping, clear sound of blades striking each other.

But the battle is already over.

"Wonderful."

In the highest seat, Yuan Jingshui subconsciously raised her chin and straightened her back, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

She originally thought that Uesugi Tetsuya said those things to dampen Kitamura Yoyu's momentum.