I became the Lord of the Eternal World in Tokyo.

In any case, within the clan, he was always somewhere in between, barely managing to squeeze into the top ranks despite his best efforts, but never quite reaching the very top.

"call……"

He Maohui let out a sigh of relief, his eyes returning to calm.

So what if I get defeated by that Tokugawa Ririko again?

Failure is not shameful; what is shameful is giving up because of a single failure.

The real golden age has just begun, and there are countless opportunities ahead for me.

Even if he falls behind for a time, who can be sure that he won't be able to catch up with or even surpass those who defeated him in the future?

Therefore, He Maohui 1.

The Kamo family's Onmyoji spoke to himself, word by word.

"Don't fight for a moment, fight for a lifetime."

—Next, Ririko, who regained Kaga Kiyomitsu, rose all the way up to fourth place.

As expected, He Mao Huiyi was dealt with by her in a very ordinary way, even with all the information disclosed.

The beam of light flashed, allowing the girl to sit in the TOP4 seat.

Lili looked up.

Uesugi Tetsu lowered his head.

Their eyes met.

The latter paused for a moment, then closed his mouth again, which he was about to open.

He understands Ririko's thoughts all too well.

—Ririko wants to rise all the way up until she takes the crown of first place.

—As for the rule that you can only fail once?

Sorry.

Such rules are not to be taken seriously by the hegemon.

"I challenge, the third-ranked, Uesugi Tetsu."

Uesugi Tetsuya let out a sigh of relief, his gaze gradually shifting from gentle to solemn.

"Then come on."

He said.

Chapter 299 Consciousness Slash! Use me as a whetstone to take the next step, and then I will crush you!

First time.

Uesugi Tetsu and Ririko officially stood on opposite sides.

It's not about casual sparring, training, or practice where the outcome doesn't matter; as long as there's something to gain, that's fine.

To win or to lose.

If one side wins, it means the other side will lose no matter what.

There must be no third answer.

Ririko wants to win.

Regardless of the circumstances, they wanted to take victory from Uesugi Tetsuya.

Just like at the beginning.

—Upon hearing the unexpected challenge, the audience in the venue immediately erupted in cheers again.

Many voices expressed their confusion.

"They're such good friends, why are they starting to challenge each other now?"

"No, it was Tokugawa Ririko who challenged Uesugi Tetsuya... The latter clearly didn't have that idea."

"That's right! There are still two people above them who have never been challenged. They should all face them now!"

According to most viewers' opinions and suggestions, the script should now be that Uesugi Tetsuya and Ririko work together to win the first and second place in the seeding battle.

but.

"There's absolutely no way this woman would do that."

Although they were not in the same place, at the same time, Kujo Oborozuki on the high platform, Hozoin Inari in the audience, and Gen Shinsui in front of the television all thought the same thing.

Because this is a common trait among a certain type of person.

"Xiao Jin, watch carefully."

Yuan Xinshui calmly raised her hand, pointing at Lili, who was calmly moving her wrists on the arena.

"This is the strength of a true powerhouse, an undeniable powerhouse."

"Yeah……"

Kujouin Jin smiled dismissively: "Sister Xinshui, in my opinion, this Miss Tokugawa is more like a brute."

"Is that so?"

Yuan Xinshui paused, stared at Jiujieyuan Jin for a while, and after confirming that he meant it sincerely, nodded thoughtfully: "A brute, huh..."

"So, Xiao Jin, that's how you see her."

She looked away with a hint of regret.

It's such a waste to give such an exceptional talent to Jin Jiujieyuan.

Absolutely, it's a terrible waste.

"So, what do you think, Sister Xinshui?"

Having watched almost the entire elimination round today, Kyuuketsuin Jin pouted and said, "You clearly can't win, can you, that Miss Tokugawa?"

There was something else he didn't say—even Tokugawa's victory to this day owes a great deal to Uesugi Tetsu's katana.

Faced with Kujouin Jin's question, Gen Shinsui not only didn't answer, but instead asked in return,

"Xiao Jin, what do you consider to be the strongest?"

Before Jiujieyuan Jin could answer, Yuan Xinshui began to speak on her own.

Is physical strength the mark of a strong person? Is profound swordsmanship the mark of a strong person? Is mastery of magic the mark of a strong person? Is an iron will the mark of a strong person?

A person with abundant internal energy, abundant spiritual power, who has killed many people and slaughtered many demons is considered a strong person.

"Does having a lot of money, great power, long life, and high reputation make someone strong?"

Yuan Xinshui lowered her eyes, picked up the cup of unpleasantly refilled barley tea with her fingers, turned it upside down in front of Jiujieyuan Jin, and poured it onto the table with a splash.

The light brown barley tea instantly spread across the entire tabletop, then dripped into the handle placed under the table.

Amidst the silent dissuasion of Jiujieyuan Jin, whose mouth was half-open, Yuan Xinshui calmly and decisively denied it.

"In my opinion, none of them are true."

Kujouin Jin looked at her wooden table and handle, which were soaked with barley tea, with great heartache, but only waved her hand in front of her without daring to reach out and stop Yuan Xinshui.

Yuan Xinshui gently put down the teacup.

"Xiao Jin, the strong are forged by choices."

"Break free from worldly logic and rules, confront death with no chance of survival, make decisions that are completely opposite to everyone else's, and from now on follow your own thoughts and beliefs..."

The 'strong' are forged through countless choices that ordinary people would never make.

She smiled and swirled the teacup in her hand, responding to Jiujieyuan Jin's words from a few hours earlier, "I am also a strong person": "Little Jin, you see, you didn't dare to stop me."

Jiujieyuan Jin opened her mouth, but was speechless.

Yuan Xinshui continued,

The difference between a "reckless man" and a "strong man" is that the former is completely unaware of, or not fully aware of, what he is about to face.

But because of his so-called passion, he made a decision on a whim, swayed by a few words.

But the strong are different.

The strong are aware of their situation, understand everything before them, yet still choose to move forward.

Yuan Xinshui's voice was flat and even, as if recounting facts and experiences.

"Because the strong believe they can win, and they absolutely believe they will be the best in the world."

"—And this 'belief' comes from those choices that ordinary people could hardly imagine or would not make."

At the end, Yuan Xinshui paused for a moment.

She caught a glimpse of disappointment in Kyujouin Jin's eyes as they swept over the controller.

Yuan Xinshui shook his head helplessly, scooped up all the barley tea that he had already caught with his internal energy, and threw it all out the window.

"Okay, Xiao Jin, look."

The girl picked up the dry joystick and waved it in front of him.

"This isn't broken at all... I'll clean your room for you later too."

……

"Here you go, Uesugi-kun."

Ririko threw Kaga Kiyomitsu out of her hand.

When Uesugi Tetsuya looked at her, the girl waved her hand.

"Fight you with your sword... I would never do something so greedy."

Ririko then turned her gaze to Kaga Kiyomitsu, who was secretly thrilled and trembling after falling into Uesugi Tetsu's hands.

"Besides, if I were to use Little Jia to beat you up, it wouldn't be happy either."

Uesugi Tetsu nodded and replied, "Then you don't have much of a chance left to win."

"is it?"

Ririko curved her lips into a smile.

"Uesugi-kun, you can give it a try."

—Even without Ririko saying it, Uesugi Tetsuya could sense it.

The top of my head, and all around me.

In mid-air, the dazzling sword heart, which he could not look away from, shone like a real sun, spreading sword principles and giving him an indescribable sense of suppression.

Ririko's sword domain had already unfolded, enveloping every part of the main arena.

However, it is different from the sword domain of young Kamiizumi, which possesses "divine perception".

Besides being able to slay people from a distance, Ririko's sword domain also seems to be able to quickly "understand" everything that happens within it?

Uesugi Tetsu didn't quite understand.

Ririko's sword domain is quite complex. Even after being exposed to it for so long, he still doesn't understand much about it, because he usually just gets attacked from all directions.

At that moment, a crisp "po" sound suddenly came from beside Uesugi Tetsuya.

With a slight ripple, a white dress fell to the ground, and the petite, two-foot-tall adult removed her white hat and placed it in front of her chest, speaking with a serious expression.

"Hmph! I'll protect Lord Che!"

This comical and adorable scene immediately created a joyful atmosphere in the audience.

Snapped.

Uesugi Tetsu slapped the girl's head.

He said to the startled girl, "Erchi, it's not your turn to make your appearance yet."

The two-foot-tall boy was stunned for a moment, and a slight look of grievance appeared on his pitiful little face.

Despite having improved so much before the seeding battle, is it still impossible to truly help Lord Che...?