173 Fate, A Marvelous Thing!

The audience took a few seconds before they could react. 

Without any awkwardness, they gave uproarious applause. 

"So brave!" 

"Based on what you said, I will be your fan if you win the match!" 

"Chunibyo youngster!" 

"Buck up and defeat the Kimura Demon!" 

"This is youth!" 

Ikioi Ito's voice was clear. All the audience could hear what he said, even without a speaker. 

They did not put a slight upon Ikioi Ito nor laugh at him because he was still young, he was still a high school student. He had great courage to speak like that during the match. Not everyone could talk tough like Ikioi Ito in a place with more than 10,000 people. This was enough to prove how strong and confident he was. Not to mention that the previous match had shown his strength. 

One will definitely gain recognition if he has the capability. 

Kageyama Kuro and others who were at the sides were ashen-faced. This fella clearly used the Kageyama Kiai Style just now, or his voice would never be heard in the whole hall. 

F*ck! 

Kageyama Kuro and others cursed at him internally, their gaze as sharp as swords as they gave him a stabbing look. 

Kimura Kazuki did not give Ikioi Ito any response after his talk. Ikioi Ito thought to himself, this fella seems to have no consciousness as an idol. He could have attracted so many more new fans if he interacted with me. This is a live broadcast! He left the stage slowly with a sense of pity. 

"Second round, Sakura Kyu High School versus Yuki Gyo High School." 

???? 

Kageyama Kuro and the other four who were cursing them looked at the judge with dull eyes. The judge was looking at them with an innocent face at the same time. For the quarter-finals, the turns were not drawn but picked randomly by the system, which meant that their turns were totally uncertain. None of the audience nor players knew which high school was to be chosen to compete for the second round. 

But now they knew that it would be between Sakura Kyu High School and Yuki Gyo High School. 

The audience was stunned. It was such a coincidence, it all came with fate. 

Yuki Gyo High School was beaten by Sakura Kyu High School in District A before. It was not because Yuki Gyo was too weak, but Sakura Kyu was too strong. 

The audience watched the video, so they were clear of Yuki Gyo's ability. During the match in District A, Kageyama Ichiro defeated many of the opponents and won every match. That clearly reflected the strength of Yuki Gyo High School. But how about Kimura Kazuki? He beat the entire Yuki Gyo contingent after all his teammates were defeated by Kageyama Ichiro. 

This match is going to be impressive. 

Also, the recognition toward Kimura Kazuki got even stronger after the public discussion. 

As a high school student, it was not an easy thing for him to change the atmosphere of the school. It might not be possible even for an adult as they knew that they might not gain the recognition from the students of Sakura Kyu High School without any tricks also if they had Kimura Kazuki's abilities. 

That was the charm of Kimura Kazuki. 

However, the audience did not expect that Yuki Gyo High School would be this unlucky. They were already defeated by Sakura Kyu High School in District A, and they were chosen to fight against Sakura Kyu High School again in the first round. That was pure bad luck. 

Kageyama Kuro and the other four suffered in silence. They were not going to scold Ikioi Ito as well. 

Looking at the Sakura Kyu High School's team opposite him, Kageyama Ichiro wanted to let out an evil laugh, but he was unable to do so. Iwai Hokuto and the other three were already talented... Not to mention that they were supported by the Demon. There was no need for comparison at all... 

The results were predictable. It was like a repetition of the match in District A. Kageyama Ichiro took the lead and phased out Senpou, Jihou, Chuuken, and Fukushou directly. 

Somehow, the audience who watched the previous match of District A found the scene hilarious. 

Those who had never watched the match in District A were agitated. Although they watched the video, what if Kimura Kazuki failed to win this time? 

Yuki Gyo couldn't turn over. 

When it was Kimura Kazuki's turn, he phased out Kageyama Ichiro, Saburo, Goro, and Shichiro like how he did last time. 

When it was Kageyama Kuro's turn, he said with a bitter face, "We are truly fated." This would be the third time they encountered each other, definitely a run of bad luck for Kageyama Kuro. He wished to join the National Competition to meet players from other schools of different districts to witness the swordsmanship of other families. However, his journey would stop here. He could not even make it into the group or individual category match. 

On the contrary, Kageyama Ichiro and the others made it into the individual category match, and they got the chance to involve themselves in the National Competition. 

Even though he had strong abilities, he still got eliminated. 

Kimura Kazumi did not respond and defeated Kageyama Kyuro in the blink of an eye. He then left the arena after the judge announced the result. 

"The winner goes to Kimura Kazumi, the Taishou of Sakura Kyu! Here I announce that the second slot to enter the quarter-final is taken by Sakura Kyu High School!" 

"Yuki Gyo High School is too unlucky..." Iwai explained and sighed, "According to the ideal order, the three teams that should have won the competition should be Sakura Kyu, Aoe, and Yuki Gyo as they are the strongest teams in Tokyo. Unexpectedly, Yuki Gyo had to fight against Sakura Kyu in the first round." 

Ikioi Ito shook his head instead and said, "I don't think that it is a pity. Yuki Gyo High School has a strong ability. However, since they need to fight against Sakura Kyu, and they were defeated, it is clear that Sakura Kyu is stronger than Yuki Gyo. Thus, the stronger the team of Sakura Kyu, the higher the chance they have to win the competition." Actually, he wanted to say that Kimura Kazumi could actually represent a whole team by himself. However, he could not be so straightforward as it was a live broadcast. 

"You have a point." Iwai agreed with his point of view. 

The next matches were fast. 

Although it was a team match, it was a one-set match. At 11.30 am, the teams eligible for the quarter-final of the Men's Team were decided. 

It was at 1 pm. The semi-final was about to start. 

The first match was between Sakura Kyu High School and Hayashiyama High School. 

The comprehensive ability of Hayashiyama High School was not strong, their strength was nearly the same as Sakura Kyu and Midori Ko, but the ability of their Taishou was stronger. 

The Taishou of Hayashiyama High School is named Ningu Yamaji, a descendant of the Yamaji family. 

It was unfortunate that the sword style of the descendent of Yamaji was exquisite, yet not advanced. He could only defeat ordinary players, but when it came to Kimura Kazuki, he would definitely fail. 

Nevertheless, this allowed Kimura Kazuki to widen his horizon with many kinds of Japanese Kendo... Although he did not know the Ito Replication Style, based on his level, he could imitate at least half of the sword style by just a few looks. If he had a better understanding, he could also play it well. 

However, he would not usually do that. Instead, he would look for the essentials of a sword style and integrate it into his Yagyu Flying Sword Style to perfect it even more.