At this mont, Ishikawa returned to that dark, pitch-black world.
There was no light, no temperature, no sound. Only soone with a ntal fortitude as strong as Ishikawa's could remain calm in such a desolate environnt.
"Coach Mifune ntioned that ditation can strengthen the mind and pave the way forward," Ishikawa pondered. "Right now, I must be in the deep layers of my consciousness. But that path... it hasn't appeared yet."
In the original story, Byoudouin had achieved the ability to freely control his ntal power through deep ditation, completely detaching himself from his surroundings. Only after that did he truly unlock the spiritual pathway to the Asura Divine Path.
Thinking of this, Ishikawa cald his mind and once again entered a ditative state within his consciousness.
Buzz...
As his ntal power continued to grow, he faintly saw flickers of light before his eyes.
"Hmm?"
With a slight shift in his focus, the light before him dimd.
"Again."
He quickly regained his composure, focusing his mind and entering a state of complete concentration.
Buzz...
Soon, faint specks of starlight reappeared.
But Ishikawa didn't pay them any mind. Instead, he maintained his focus and attempted to channel his ntal energy, using his deeper consciousness to reach out and touch those glimrs of light.
Clang!
Suddenly, a crisp sound, like the clash of swords, echoed through the previously silent space of his consciousness.
At the sa ti, a sharp, piercing sensation spread throughout his mind.
"Is this... the way of the sword?"
Ishikawa's spirit was invigorated.
But due to the fluctuation in his emotions, the light before him rippled like water and then vanished.
In that brief mont, Ishikawa had observed four distinct glimrs of light. And he had already guessed what they represented.
"So," Ishikawa thought within his consciousness, "the secondary skills I've learned represent different paths in tennis?"
The way of the sword, the way of chess, ancient martial arts, and yoga—four secondary skills, each representing a different path. Four Asura Divine Paths?
"Perhaps... I should ask Coach Mifune."
With this thought, Ishikawa released himself from the state of having his five senses deprived.
Whoosh!
When he opened his eyes, he found himself standing. Beside him, Oni and Irie were seated, deep in ditation, their minds highly focused.
"Hmm?" Coach Mifune frowned as he saw Ishikawa regain consciousness. "Kid, did you fail?"
"Coach," Ishikawa nodded respectfully, then glanced at the other two before asking, "I sensed sothing like a path, but I couldn't fully open it."
"Uh..."
Hearing this, Mifune was montarily stunned.
A look of surprise flashed across his usually stern face. Then, with a slightly strange expression, he said, "You... you actually managed to get that far so quickly?"
"Well, not exactly," Ishikawa shook his head. "About half a month ago, I had already figured out how to enter the deep layers of my consciousness."
Mifune narrowed his eyes. "By depriving yourself of your five senses?"
"Yes," Ishikawa nodded.
Though Mifune's expression remained unchanged, his heart trembled slightly.
"This kid is a freak!"
He had seen talented players before, but none as monstrous as Ishikawa. To be able to deprive himself of his five senses, and not only remain unaffected but also figure out how to enter the deep layers of his consciousness on his own? In other words, he was just one step away from the Asura Divine Path!
Thinking this, Mifune couldn't help but feel a sense of defeat. He had wanted to use this trump card to earn the kid's respect as the head coach. But now, it seed he had been too naive.
With a sigh, Mifune shook his head. "Kid, don't joke around. The threshold to the Asura Divine Path isn't sothing you can cross so easily. Even Oni only stumbled into it by accident back then."
This was the truth.
The power of the "heart" was the hardest to develop. Unlike the tangible skills of "technique" and "strength," this almost taphysical power was incredibly difficult to grasp.
In Mifune's eyes, no matter how talented Ishikawa was, breaking through this barrier wouldn't be so simple.
"Actually, you've misunderstood ," Ishikawa said, seeing Mifune's reaction. "In fact, I can even sense the direction of the path I need to take. But the light guiding isn't pointing in just one direction, so..."
"What did you say?" Mifune's composure cracked. "You're seeing more than one path?!"
At this mont, even the usually unflappable Mifune couldn't hold back his shock.
"Let take a mont," he said, waving his hand and sitting down on a rock. Rubbing his temples, Mifune asked, "Ishikawa, let ask you sothing."
"Go ahead."
"Since you started playing tennis, have you ever lost a single match?"
"No," Ishikawa replied without hesitation.
From the mont he picked up a racket in this world, he had never lost to anyone. Whether in official matches or practice gas, Ishikawa maintained a perfect record of total victories.
"I see," Mifune sighed. "If I'm not mistaken, it's because your ntal power is too strong. An undefeated record has forged an invincible belief within you. Such a strong will and spirit make it incredibly difficult to break through your limits!"
"The Asura Divine Path is essentially about seizing the mont when you break through your limits, opening the door to the deep layers of your consciousness."
"But your ntal power is so strong that breaking through that limit is much harder for you than for others. And according to what you've said, your Asura Divine Path isn't just one path."
"So, to cross that threshold, you'll need to concentrate even more ntal power than others!"
"Even more power?" Ishikawa raised an eyebrow, then nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, Coach, for clearing that up."
Now that he knew the direction, all he needed to do was accumulate enough ntal strength to break through the barrier holding him back.
With this in mind, Ishikawa prepared to sit down and continue focusing his mind.
"Wait," Mifune suddenly spoke up. "I'm curious—aren't you worried about losing soday?"
An invincible belief is built on an undefeated record. From Mifune's experience, players like this were often the most fragile. A single loss could shatter their powerful belief, leading to a complete collapse.
After all, the history of world tennis was filled with stories of such geniuses falling from grace.
"Not at all," Ishikawa replied with a smile. "I've never worried about losing. In fact, I've always been searching for the player who can defeat !"
With that, he sat down, closed his eyes, and focused his mind. Depriving himself of his five senses, he used the ditation technique taught by the old man from Rokkaku to continuously strengthen his ntal power.
"This kid..." Mifune's lips twitched as he looked at the black-haired boy before him.
He was so similar! The way he spoke, the tone of his voice—it was almost identical to that guy from back then!
But after a brief mont of shock, Mifune's gaze toward Ishikawa beca even more appreciative.
After all, it had been over a decade since Japan—or even the world—had seen a player who could reach the level of that legendary tennis samurai.
Two hours passed.
After their ditation training, all three of them felt noticeably more refreshed.
However, Ishikawa noticed sothing strange. Oni and Irie kept giving him odd looks. Every ti he made eye contact with them, they would quickly look away, almost as if they were guilty about sothing.
But he didn't pay it much mind.
Because next up was the highlight of the afternoon training—climbing the waterfall!
Unlike the original losers' group, Ishikawa and Oni were wearing what felt like full-body armor, making each step up the waterfall incredibly strenuous. Several tis, they nearly fell.
Fortunately, they both made it to the top safely.
After completing this stage of training, all three felt that their strength and stamina had improved significantly.
And so, they continued this rigorous training for three straight days.
Under such intense conditions, all three could feel their skills growing rapidly.
However, when it ca to stepping onto the Asura Divine Path, they were still struggling.
That threshold was simply too high!
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