I formed the strongest swordsman group.

Chapter 1044 We are one with the world! [4400]

Not only did he drop the sword in his hand, he also exited the "selfless state"... Qing Deng had no idea what the other party was trying to do.

As for what he said, "My sword has become one with heaven and earth," Qing Deng was even more confused.

At first glance, it sounds like meaningless mumbling.

In short, no matter from which angle you look at it, Ogata seems to have given up the fight and allowed Qing Deng to slaughter him.

Just step forward and swing your sword to kill him!

However, Ogata's series of abnormal behaviors made Qing Deng at a loss. He dared not act rashly, for fear that the other party was plotting something.

At this moment, Qing Deng realized belatedly that the powerful pressure that had been pressing on him since both sides released their "momentum" suddenly disappeared.

Ogata withdrew his "momentum", and as this vast and unusual invisible energy disappeared, the atmosphere on the scene suddenly became much lighter, no longer as tense and awe-inspiring as before.

Without the pressure of Ogata's "force", Qing Deng felt like he had returned from underwater to the ground where he could breathe freely.

——What exactly does he want to do? Want to subdue me with "no sword"? If he is in the state of "selflessness", it's fine. How can he resist my slashing in this state?
Qing Deng racked his brains to think about it, but still couldn't figure it out.

Ogata on the opposite side didn't seem to be in a hurry. He just stood there with his arms open and straight, waiting silently.

——Forget it, I'll just give it a random cut first to test it out.

After making up his mind, Qing Deng switched to a mid-section stance that could be used for both offense and defense.

He decided to swing his sword in small movements to test Ogata's strength.

In this way, he can attack Ogata, but also immediately retreat and put the knife back in his hand when he realizes that something is wrong. He can attack or defend without worrying about being ambushed.

He exhaled a breath and began to look for an opportunity for the opponent to take advantage of him.

It would be fine if you didn’t look for it, but once you looked for it... a new flash of astonishment appeared in Qingdeng’s eyes.

--strangeness……

He kept blinking, as if trying to confirm whether there was anything wrong with his vision.

The posture that Ogata was in... couldn't even be called a "posture"! He was just standing there normally, and then spreading his arms normally, not to mention the center of his body, his great chest was displayed in front of Qing Deng.

This kind of "posture" is simply full of loopholes! It's full of flaws! A random swing of the knife should be enough to kill him.

But...but...Qing Deng couldn't find any opportunity to take advantage of!
Although it was full of loopholes, it made Qing Deng feel an unprecedented sense of crisis!

Every time he wanted to move forward, the heart in his chest would ring a fierce warning bell for him: Don't attack casually! You will lose!
Because he had withdrawn his "momentum", Ogata appeared in a strange state in Qingdeng's eyes.

There is no fierce and fierce momentum, no high morale of "must win", and no murderous intent of "wanting to kill the opponent".

There was nothing, just standing there, smiling and looking at Qing Deng, like... a piece of air.

Ogata seemed to blend into the air, becoming one with the air around him, so there was nothing - question: Does the air have momentum? Does it have murderous aura? Does it have fighting spirit?
At what angle and with what force should one swing the knife in order to hit a ball of air?
One side was still full of murderous intent, while the other side had returned to nothingness... The two people being at opposite ends of the spectrum made this duel strange.

At this moment, beads of cold sweat appeared on Qingdeng's forehead.

He felt that the harder he thought, the more he wanted to understand Ogata at the moment, the more clogged his mind became, gradually turning it into a messy, tangled ball of wool.

In order to get rid of the current predicament, Qing Deng did not dare to hesitate any longer. He gritted his teeth, slid forward, and swung his sword towards Ogata's body.

The slash came down diagonally, as fast as thunder, and it reached Ogata in the blink of an eye.

Ogata calmly took a step to the right and dodged.

Qing Deng was not surprised at all by Ogata's successful dodge and immediately launched the next attack.

call out! call out! call out! call out! call out!
One strike, one strike, and another, the sharp cuts of the blade produced a series of crisp sounds of breaking wind.

While Qing Deng continued to attack, he carefully controlled the distance between them, never giving Ogata a chance to grab the sword.

Facing Qing Deng's fierce attack, Ogata twisted his body calmly and dodged every one of Qing Deng's slashes effortlessly.

At first, Qing Deng didn't notice anything unusual and thought that Ogata was relying on his extraordinary physical functions to dodge his attacks.

But gradually, he began to notice the difference: Ogata's dodging was completely different from the "dodge" he was familiar with.

He couldn't find the exact words to describe the difference between the two.

If I must say... at the moment, Ogata doesn't seem to be "actively dodging", but more like "passively doing something as a matter of course"!
In a blink of an eye, Qing Deng swung more than fifty swords, but couldn't even touch the corner of Ogata's clothes.

He felt like he was stuck in a vicious circle: the more he wanted to knock the opponent down, the more he didn't know what to do. His body became harder, making it even more impossible for him to hit the opponent.

Fighting a ball of "air"... Qing Deng has no experience in this area.

As a last resort, he prepared to retreat, increase distance, and think of other countermeasures.

Just as he lowered his sword and prepared to retreat, Ogata, who had been dodging from before, suddenly leaned forward and approached Qingdeng.

Everything that happened next... Qing Deng was incredible.

No, it’s not that I can’t remember it! It’s that I can’t understand it!

He was totally unable to comprehend what was happening next.

All he knew was that when he came to his senses, Ogata had appeared in front of him, pressing his right wrist holding the knife with his left hand, and gently placing his right hand on his left chest - his heart was hitting his right palm hard.

Looking at Ogata who was so close to him, Qing Deng turned into a stiff clay or wood sculpture, and his pupils shrank uncontrollably into pinholes.

How did he get so close to me?
Why didn't I notice him?

I clearly didn't blink or distract myself, so why couldn't I see his movements clearly?

This series of questions flooded into Qing Deng's mind like a flood.

Qing Deng is still in the state of "no self".

The greatest benefit brought by the "selfless state" is the ultimate concentration without distractions.

As long as you enter this state, you will never be careless or make mistakes.

In this way, it would be even more impossible to miss Ogata's actions.

Qing Deng is 5cm taller than Ogata, so when he looks at Ogata, he has to lower his eyes slightly.

But now, he had the illusion of looking up at Ogata!

The Ogata before my eyes seemed to have transformed from the empty "air" into a towering "mountain"! It was beyond my reach!

No! Not only that! Before he became a mountain, he also became the wind!
Although he couldn't understand what he had just experienced, Qing Deng vaguely remembered that Ogata had turned into the "wind" that was running wildly.

Because of this, he was able to get so close to Qing Deng at a speed that Qing Deng couldn't react in time.

Ogata looked at Qing Deng calmly, with a faint smile on his face, and his tone was neither sad nor happy:

"Jujun, your sword can't even cut me, but my hand can easily touch your heart. Why do you think that is?"

As he spoke, he slightly tightened the five fingers of his right hand, as if he wanted to grasp Qing Deng's heart in his palm through the skin and bones.

Still in shock, Qing Deng, who had not yet fully recovered, answered subconsciously:

"Because you're so fast."

"No, that's not right. If your thinking is still limited to the levels of 'fast and slow', 'strong and weak', then your 'realm' cannot be improved. In fact, the reason is very simple: my sword has become one with the heaven and earth. But you, have not."

He repeated what he had just said.

After he finished speaking, he let go of Qing Deng's left hand and withdrew his right palm from his heart.

Although he regained his freedom, Qing Deng did not attack with his knife again.

At this moment, he no longer cared about the duel. The sword and the world became one... these words that Ogata said kept echoing in his mind.

How did he become "air", "wind" and "mountain"?
At this moment, his brain was unable to think of anything else except getting answers to these questions.

So he asked impatiently:
"Mr. Ogata, the sword becomes one with the heaven and earth...what does this mean?"

Ogata didn't keep Aoto in suspense.

After Qing Deng asked the question, he spoke slowly:

"Jujun, you are a rare genius that only appears once in a century."

"You have superb skills and extraordinary physique. There are few people in this world who can match you."

"But this is not enough."

“If you still strive for ‘faster’ and ‘stronger’, then your ‘realm’ will never improve.”

“‘Work hard to hone your skills’, ‘Never give up’, ‘Win no matter what’, ‘Strive for a state of selflessness’… these are certainly great.”

"But, in this case, you will only be thinking about yourself."

"Your heart is full of 'self', so where is the 'sword'? Where is the 'world'?"

"Is a sword such a boring thing? I use a sword to defeat my enemies, to show my strength, to satisfy myself."

"You can't use a sword to split the heaven and earth - because the sword and the heaven and earth are one."

"Not only swords. Muskets, cannons, clothes, clogs, bones, hearts... everything is one with heaven and earth."

Having said this, Xu Fang closed his lips and didn't say another word.

He seemed to have no intention of making his point too clear... or perhaps he was unable to make his point clearly at all.

To be fair, what Ogata said was nothing more than a stream of consciousness speech! It made no sense at all!
Most people would be confused after hearing this.

But, somehow... After Ogata finished speaking, Qing Deng was stunned for a moment, then lowered his eyelids and fell into deep thought.

To be honest, Qing Deng didn't understand Ogata's "teachings" at all.

It is impossible to split the sky and earth with a sword? Isn't this natural? A sword is only three feet long, how can it split the vast sky and earth?
Naval guns, wooden clogs and the world are one…what a mess!

Obviously, he couldn't understand it at all, and his brain couldn't comprehend it, but... although he couldn't put it into words, Qing Deng felt as if he had suddenly become enlightened!

The fog in my brain gradually dissipated.

Then, the desire to defeat the "Eternal Sword Saint" and the anxiety of being suppressed by the opponent also subsided.

"...Mr. Ogata, thank you. I think... I understand a little bit."

After saying that, Qing Deng tightly grasped the Vairocana in his palm, lowered his waist, adopted the middle section configuration, and assumed a fighting posture again.

While he was regrouping, remarkable and astonishing changes took place in him.

First, he released the “heartless demon child” and exited the “selfless state” like Ogata, and his eyes no longer glowed with a strange light.

Then, his "momentum" also gathered.

In an instant, the majestic momentum that radiated in all directions and the obsession with winning all disappeared.

Everything is transformed into nothingness.

At this moment, Qing Deng is a bit like Ogata - blending into the surrounding air and becoming "air".

Seeing this, Ogata chuckled a few times, half in surprise and half in joy.

"It seems that I don't need to say anything more."

After saying that, he leaped back, returned to the side of Mahāśrīpa and Mahāśrīpa, and held the two long and short swords in his hands again.

"Come on, Tachibana-kun, let me see how much you really understand."

A new round of confrontation begins.

Compared with previous confrontations, this time's confrontation is completely different.

There is no longer a collision of "momentum" that seems to be about to blow up strong winds and explode with lightning.

There is no more murderous aura spreading everywhere.

There is no longer any sharp look as if wanting to eat the other person alive.

At this moment, both Qing Deng and Ogata had very calm eyes.

This kind of calmness is completely different from the "calmness" of the "selfless state".

The essence of the "state of no self" is to transform the body into nothingness, and because of the extreme concentration one has eyes as calm as an ancient well.

And the tranquility that the two of them carved out...gives people a feeling of "being created naturally".

It's not because they are focused or motivated, but because they are just like that - that's basically the feeling.

In short, this is not the look that two opponents would have at all.

Such a scene does not resemble the public's impression of a battle between masters at all. It is hard to imagine that this is a duel between the two top swordsmen in the world.

At this moment, both sides were motionless, as if they were going to "confront each other until the end of time."

In fact, just 5 seconds later, Qing Deng took the initiative to attack.

He slid forward and slashed at Ogata's body.

At first glance, it was just a simple diagonal slash, raised upwards and then swung down, nothing more.

This is what it seems, but what is the reality?
In fact, Qing Deng's sword had a texture as heavy as a mountain! It seemed that it would destroy everything the blade touched!
Xu Xiang turned to the left and dodged.

Qing Deng deftly regrouped, then swung his sword again without giving up.

One side attacks, the other side dodges... and then keeps accelerating!
Qing Deng's slashing speed became faster and faster, and the black knife in his hand gradually disappeared, leaving only a flickering black shadow.

If anyone is careful here, they will definitely find that Qing Deng no longer uses sword skills.

Tennen Rishin-ryu, Hokushin Ittoryu, Shinto Munen-ryu, Munen-ryu, Shiken-ryu... He had learned various sword techniques over the years, either actively or passively, but he was not using any of them now.

It was just simple and plain chopping horizontally and vertically, without any skill at all.

It’s not that Qing Deng doesn’t want to use it or can’t use it, it’s just that he feels... there’s no need to use it.

Just swinging the blade normally is enough!
Ogata observed Qing Deng's various behaviors throughout the process.

Watching Qing Deng's attacks becoming faster, simpler, and harder to dodge, Ogata's movements became gradually more brisk, as if he was excited and looking forward to something.

In an instant, Ogata suddenly started to attack!
He planted his feet firmly, swung his knife diagonally, and slashed at Qingdeng's forehead.

Almost at the same time as Ogata swung his sword, Qingdeng's feet began to move.

He dodged to the side, then used the momentum of the dodge to turn around and swing his sword.

With a slight "swish" sound, the tip of Vairocana's sword cut through the skin of Ogata's right forearm.

His sword touched the "Eternal Sword Saint" for the first time.

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PS: Don't think about exploring any philosophical ideas in this book. Leopard Leopard has come up with these seemingly high-sounding concepts just to shape the characters and advance the plot. Just read it for fun and don't delve into it. (crying leopard head.jpg)

(End of this chapter)