A square wooden stage was set up in the center of the swordsmanship hall. The first match was Nozomishin Ōmaeda from Class 1-1 versus Ichiro Kiryu from Class 1-2.
Nozomishin Ōmaeda had inherited the signature look of the Ōmaeda family: a large face, a wide chin, a tall build, and a thick gold chain around his neck, making him exceptionally conspicuous in the crowd.
Facing him was Ichiro Kiryu. Although not as tall, he had a strong physique. His hair was slicked back, and he had a small goatee, making him look much more mature than the other students. The academy, after all, had no age restrictions for enrollment. As long as one had the aptitude to become a Soul Reaper and passed the entrance exam, they could enter.
This round was refereed by Katori Sora. He stood between the two students and read out the rules. "Today's swordsmanship match rules are simple. Hitting the opponent's body scores one point. The first to score two points wins. Additionally, neither contestant can leave the stage. Anyone who leaves the stage will be judged to have lost. Now, the match officially begins!"
Sora stepped off the stage. The two contestants slowly stepped forward and bowed.
"If you surrender now, you won't have to lose so disgracefully," Nozomishin Ōmaeda said cockily, cracking his neck.
Ichiro Kiryu snorted, quickly stepped forward, and swung his wooden sword at Ōmaeda's neck.
"Why didn't you listen to my advice," Ōmaeda grinned, swinging his own sword to block Ichiro's.
CLANG—
When the wooden swords collided, an unusual sound was heard. Ichiro was shocked; in that single exchange, his wooden sword had actually been shattered! He didn't understand what had happened, but the Professors watching from their seats saw the technique involved.
"Professor Tsunayashiro, the students in your class are truly impressive. To have already mastered the Spiritual Pressure adhesion technique," Souke Tanuki said. The technique he was referring to was the "Spiritual Pressure blade." Ōmaeda had been tutored by high-ranking members of the Stealth Force since childhood and had learned it before even enrolling.
Tokinada Tsunayashiro simply nodded, not replying. This made Tanuki feel a bit awkward. Head Ashido glanced at them and spoke up to ease the tension, "This Ichiro Kiryu has good combat sense. His positioning is very particular; he must have considerable combat experience."
Ashido's assessment was accurate. Ichiro came from the Kusajishi district of the Rukongai, one of the most lawless areas.
Seeing his sword break, Ichiro unhesitatingly rolled to the left. Ōmaeda's sword slashed over his head. Seizing the moment while Ōmaeda's back was turned, Ichiro quickly thrust his broken sword forward. He had used his rich combat experience to predict his opponent's next move and find an opportunity to counterattack, but the difference in their power was just too great!
Ōmaeda's sword smashed into the floor, directly cracking the wooden boards. He then spun around, and his sword swept horizontally. The floor shattered into countless wood chips, which flew towards Ichiro along with the sword.
THUD—
CRACK—
The wooden sword struck Ichiro's right shoulder, and the sound of bone fracturing could be heard. Then, his entire body was sent flying like a rubber ball, soaring off the stage and into the crowd of spectators. The students quickly scattered as Ichiro crashed directly onto the floor, smashing a deep crater into the wooden boards.
"Cough, cough—" Ichiro spat out a few mouthfuls of blood, then his vision went black and he passed out.
"Ichiro Kiryu has left the stage. Nozomishin Ōmaeda is the winner," Sora announced the result.
"I told you. If you had just surrendered, it wouldn't have been so messy," Ōmaeda said with a pout, shouldering his sword and jumping off the stage.
There was no rule against injuring an opponent, so Sora couldn't say anything. After announcing the result, he quickly went to check on Ichiro's injuries. His arm bone was broken, along with several ribs, but since this was the academy, such injuries could be treated with Kaidō and weren't considered too severe. A healing glow lit up in Sora's hands.
Professor Kobayashi also came over; she was in charge of medical treatment for this match. "Professor Katori, leave him to me. You can continue refereeing," she said.
"Then I'll leave him in your care, Professor Kobayashi," Sora nodded.
He returned to the stage. The contestants for the second match had already stepped up. It was an internal match between two students from Class 1-1. The fight was evenly matched, but the students of Class 1-2, having witnessed the power of the other class, felt disheartened. The gap in their basic training was too large.
A few minutes later, one of the contestants scored two points and won the match. "Nikado Yui is the winner. Next contestants, please come to the stage," Sora announced.
In the following several rounds, whenever a student from Class 1-1 faced one from Class 1-2, the former always won. Only the matches between students from the same class were competitive.
"I'm afraid the average grades of Class 1-2 will be very poor for the next three years..." Head Ashido thought to himself. As a skilled swordsman, he could naturally see that the foundation of the Class 1-1 students was not something built in just one or two months. This year, because someone wanted to pave the way for Tokinada Tsunayashiro, most of the students with good foundations had been crammed into a single class.
"Alas, Headmaster Kotetsu should be aware of this. Poor exam results for Professor Katori's class shouldn't cost him his job," Ashido shook his head. Though he was dissatisfied with this blatant favoritism, he was powerless to do anything about it.
"Moriyama Natsuko is the winner. Next contestants, please come to the stage."
Shinji Hirako and Gosuke Ksaōji walked onto the stage.
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