240 Passing Out Blissfully

The biggest difference between the Youbi Sword Drawing Skill and the Yagyu Sword Drawing Skill was that the Youbi Sword Drawing Skill could be nurtured with reiki.

The Yagyu Sword Drawing Skill mainly depended on sword power and mind energy. However, a person's daily mind energy was limited. This was what he found out when he observed Yagyu Kenichiro last time. hHe realized that even though Kenichiro conserved his sword power for a few years, the release of his moves were not able to defeat him.

Of course, this had something to do with Yagyu Kenichiro's strength as well. Only around the age of 40 did he achieve the second stage of sword power. He was neither outstanding nor bad. The real talents were people like Mizuki Sugawara, Tomoya Saito, and Ikioi Ito, they achieved second stage when they were only high schoolers. But, of course, the increment of their strengths had to do with the resources and support provided by their families. After all, with reiki, anyone could strengthen themselves, it was something to be envious about. 

Ultimately, those three were high in potential. Furthermore, they were brought up as future heads of their families. So, of course they were more powerful in comparison with those around their age. 

Yagyu Kenichiro was undeniably talented. The Yagyu Sword Drawing Skill mainly depended on weapon cultivation; however, after Yagyu Kenichiro's alteration, it became a technique conserving sword power, using sword power as the core to release an explosive, deadly attack.

This was correct. After all, weapons were merely material items whereas sword power was a part of our own body. And Yagyu Kenichiro was able to alter and improvise the Yagyu Sword Drawing Skill after he comprehended sword power, so he was undeniably a genius.

Therefore, if it was just a mimic of the Yagyu Sword Drawing skill, Harunaka definitely wouldn't be able to defeat Katsuki Sugawara because one week's time would not be enough.

But, what if she used mind energy and reiki to cultivate sword power? Harunaka just realized sword power and her reiki was lacking. Hence, she needed more time to cultivate sword power with her reiki so that she could release a powerful attack. But Katsuki Sugawara was not that strong to start with.

Most people thought of Katsuki Sugawara as a very powerful Kendo player. She mainly depended on her sword skills. They were shocked that as a younger generation, Katsuki Sugawara managed to train her sword skills to its peak.

But… What if Katsuki Sugawara failed to demonstrate her sword skill?

The Yagyu Flying Sword Style was based on speed. Katsuki Sugawara has almost achieved the first stage of sword power, but she still has not reached that level right now. So in terms of sword power, she and Harunaka were both the same, they only comprehended it but had not reached the first stage.

Harunaka sucked in a deep breath.

According to what her senior said, sword drawing was not needed in the Youbi Sword Drawing Skill. However, drawing her sword in her mind was needed. The combination of heart, intention and entity would let her state reach its peak at the moment of her release. The most important thing was the moment of explosion.

She exhaled, and the wave of emotions in Harunaka's eyes slowly calmed down. She glanced at Katsuki Sugawara, her gaze was serene, she locked on to the silhouette of her opponent in her eyes. During the process of bowing, she already started to imagine drawing her sword in her mind. 

Katsuki Sugawara tensed up when Harunaka stared at her with both her eyes, a dangerous aura emitting from Harunaka's body.

With her expression stiffened, Katsuki Sugawara muttered in her heart, The Yagyu Flying Sword Style?

She had heard of the name Yagyu Flying Sword Style. However, it was a long lost style, so she was not familiar with it and she did not know its uniqueness. However, the Yagyu Flying Sword Style was popular, apart from being a long lost sword style, was also because of how powerful it is. There weren't any other sword styles that could be unleashed at such extreme speeds.

Both athletic Kendo and the ancient Kendo sword styles called for a certain speed because most sword styles were one-hit-kills, where speed was a must. Hence, the speed in other sword styles could never compete with the Yagyu Flying Sword Skill which was rooted in speed.

Even though Katsuki Sugawara was not familiar with the Yagyu Flying Sword Style, she knew a bit about it from her brother, Mizuki Sugawara.

Like Rainstorm Style, Drizzle Style, Vibrative Style, Sudden Flash, the Ten Thousand Flash, Single Flash Sword Drawing Skills and others. 

All of them were quick moves. So, which one would Furuhashi Harunaka use?

No matter what, she wouldn't back down. A dangerous aura enveloped Katsuki Sugawara, her expression turned cold. She was determined to win the championship and present it to Yayoi as a gift.

Is this what senpai meant by the state that combined heart, intention and entity into one?

The moment Harunaka finished bowing, her sword drawing action in her mind was completed and her eyes were in a state of tranquility as if she entered a fantasy realm.

At this moment, Harunaka could feel exactly how powerful she was. She could feel the energy coursing through her veins and hear the sound of her flowing blood.

The second they both finished bowing, Katsuki Sugawara opened her eyes merely after a blink and a wave of golden flash came into view. The blinding golden light covered her whole sight and she felt her mask vibrate at the next moment. Her mind was screaming, but her body could not react in time.

The audience had their eyes fixed on the two, afraid of missing out on any action, then everyone heard a sweet voice crying out, "Men!" By the next second, they clearly saw Harunaka who was standing at her spot appear behind Katsuki Sugawara in a flash, still holding her stance.

The audience were all shocked by the scene that unfolded before them. They saw that both players had reversed their positions on the field, just like how samurais fought in a movie!

Then, everyone saw Katsuki Sugawara take a step back. Thud. The mask that she wore suddenly split into two and dropped to the ground.

Katsuki Sugawara stared at the mask, confused. She touched her face and turned around to look at Furuhashi Harunaka, her eyes filled with a complicated expression. She didn't even have time to react! She had been defeated instantly at the Jade Dragon Flag National Competition. She was the strongest among the female younger generation in the Ancient Kendo Community. But as of this moment, her position as the strongest had been replaced.

She was shocked by Furuhashi Harunaka's strength. It hadn't even been a month since this girl had comprehended sword power, but she was already this strong. Maybe there would be a place for her in the future in the Ancient Kendo Community.

The referees all came back to their senses.

"Winner, Sakura Kyu's Taishou, Furuhashi Harunaka!" 

A smile bloomed on Harunaka's face after the referee announced her victory. A wave of exhaustion hit her mind like a roaring tide, and with a thud, she dropped to the ground. She could only hear numerous gasps as she blacked out. Her eyes looked through her mask and saw senpai already by her side.

Such speed… The distance between the rest area and the field was at least 50 meters, right? Yet senpai appeared beside her within just a split second.

With that thought in mind, she felt herself being carried by senpai before she passed out blissfully.