I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The sword's trajectory, an indescribable sense of oppression, drew an arc as it approached.

Qing Deng calmly lowered his stance and unhurriedly held the bamboo sword upright at his side.

Snapped!

The bamboo swords clashed, their sound deafening.

"Drink it! Aaaaaaaah!"

Kiyokawa Hachiro retrieved the bamboo sword that had been deflected, and then smoothly executed the second, third, and fourth moves... one after another, in a continuous and dazzling display.

As the saying goes, "Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated."

Qingdeng knew every move, every style, and every routine of the Hokushin Itto-ryu style by heart.

The old tricks that Qing Deng has played and seen to death are things like "luring the opponent to make a move, and then cutting off their hand after they extend their arm" or "deliberately creating an opening, and then cutting off their hand after they extend their arm".

Unless you use a completely new and ingenious strategy, or your attack speed surpasses Qingdeng's instinctive reaction and talent "Godspeed +4", there is no way to deal effective damage to him.

Qing Deng effortlessly neutralized Qinghe Hachiro's fierce attacks one by one.

Upon seeing this, the other party frowned slightly, appearing thoughtful.

In the next instant, he leaped to the side with the lightness of a swallow, and using the momentum of his landing, he swung his sword directly at Qingdeng's head.

Qingdeng raised his sword to catch the attack.

Immediately afterwards, Kiyokawa Hachiro jumped back several steps as if he had been scalded by boiling water, creating space between them.

The strike is feint; the real intention is to retreat.

He realized that it would be difficult to break through Qingdeng's ironclad defense from the front, so he wanted to break through Qingdeng's defense from the side.

However, when he moved his foot to the right, he saw "a single point arrive first, followed by the sword striking out like a dragon."

When he took the initiative to retreat, Qingdeng had already seen through his intentions.

In a flash, he suddenly took a step to the left, instantly catching up with Kiyokawa Hachiro, who was trying to circle around to his side. Then, taking a big step, taking advantage of his long legs, their bodies and weapons overlapped once again.

Stepping forward, gathering strength at the waist, bending and straightening the body, and slashing with the robe—the movements were executed in one fluid motion, with astonishing speed. In comparison, the falling snowflakes seemed rather slow.

The bamboo sword, whistling through the wind, slashed straight at Kiyokawa Hachiro's left shoulder, much like a shooting star falling to the ground.

Unable to dodge in time, Kiyokawa Hachiro could only swing his sword to parry.

Snapped!

The bamboo sword struck the air with an unexpectedly soft sound.

It wasn't a crisp, resonant sound, but rather a muffled thud, like hitting cotton.

Kiyokawa Hachiro's defense contained a fairly skillful technique for deflecting force.

Instead of confronting Qingdeng head-on, he retreated in the direction of Qingdeng's force after the two bamboo swords clashed, minimizing the damage he suffered by "actively retreating" and sliding away from Qingdeng's slash like an eel.

As they passed each other, their heels kicked up swirling snowflakes, creating puffs of white mist.

*Thud*—Kiyoka Hachiro heard a powerful stomp of the ground behind him.

When he quickly turned around and faced Qingdeng again, his entire field of vision was filled with Qingdeng's attacking figure.

Qing Deng leaped up and slashed down fiercely.

Kiyokawa Hachiro instinctively knelt on one knee, narrowly dodging the descending slash. At the same time, he unconsciously launched a counterattack, slashing his sword diagonally towards Aoto's chest.

The sword flashed, and with a "crack," Kiyokawa Hachiro's bamboo sword did not strike Aoto's chest as he had intended. Instead, it collided heavily with Aoto's bamboo sword—Aoto, as if he had foreseen the future, gathered his bamboo sword to his chest—

In the next instant, Qing Deng nimbly twisted his wrists—his innate "Snake Body" was activated—and the bamboo sword slid away with a "whoosh," brushing against the blade of Qinghe Hachiro's bamboo sword, and slid down to aim at Qinghe Hachiro's chest.

Seeing this, the other person awkwardly dodged to the side and suddenly pushed off the ground, leaping away, scattering the snow beneath their feet into powder.

Qingdeng did not pursue them.

He held his bamboo sword, his arms hanging naturally at his sides, standing leisurely, looking indifferently at Kiyokawa Hachiro opposite him, who was already panting heavily.

"Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!"

Kiyokawa Hachiro's chest heaved violently like a bellows.

Nostrils dilated to their limit greedily inhaled oxygen.

A faint, shimmering heat emanated from its body.

The snowflakes falling from the sky melt into warm water when they reach about half an inch above the head and shoulders.

Sweat mixed with snow water streamed down his full forehead.

Kiyokawa Hachiro blinked frantically and shook his head repeatedly, finally managing to stop the sweat from dripping from his forehead.

Wiping sweat, wiping blood... these trivial actions that obstruct vision and affect body posture are major taboos in combat.

Thinking they were in a safe zone, they carelessly raised their hands to wipe away sweat and blood, only to have their opponents seize the opportunity, step forward, and cut them down with a single blow... Countless fools have died in such a muddle-headed way.

Physical fitness is the foundation of all martial arts – this is an absolute and unchanging truth.

Even with "traditional American martial arts," strong arm and wrist strength are required to control the gun.

Anyone with eyes could see that Kiyokawa Hachiro, whose stamina was nearly depleted, had to take advantage of the fact that he still had the strength to fight and go all out in one last battle.

Otherwise, once his strength is exhausted, he will have no chance of winning.

In other words, the outcome of this battle will be decided in the next few rounds!

Even bystanders could understand this principle, so Kiyokawa Hachiro, as the person involved, naturally understood its gravity even better.

His already slightly narrowed eyes were now even narrower, with a cold glint hidden within them.

He stared intently at Qingdeng with a cold gaze.

He could keep a close eye on Qing Deng's every move, gesture, and expression.

清河：“……”

Qingdeng: "..."

Time seemed to pass for a long time... but in fact it was very short, only five or six breaths.

In an instant—thump—the sound of a foot stomping on the ground made the platform tremble once again.

Kiyokawa Hachiro charged straight forward with powerful strides that seemed to crack the floor, heading towards where Aoto was.

His two feet were like two plows, carving two deep, long tracks in the snow-covered ground.

Because Kiyokawa Hachiro was moving so fast, to onlookers with poor eyesight, all they saw was a blurry object rapidly destroying the snow on the ground, with large waves of snow splashing up behind it.

Facing Kiyokawa Hachiro rushing towards him, Aoto attacked without hesitation, drawing his sword.

Kiyokawa Hachiro raised his bamboo sword—in that fleeting instant, Aoto swiftly shifted his position, moving rapidly from left to right, dodging the falling bamboo sword.

As he passed through Kiyokawa Hachiro's left armpit and stood to his left side, he leisurely assumed the stance of Zanshin—at the same time, Kiyokawa Hachiro's body flew sideways.

[Ding! Talent detected]

As Kiyohachiro landed, the cold, mechanical voice, as Aoto had expected, echoed in his mind.

It would be a miracle if a martial arts master like Kiyokawa Hachiro didn't possess exceptional talent.

As soon as the system notification arrived, Qingdeng immediately stopped what he was doing and listened intently.

[Successfully replicated talent: "Failed art student +2"]

[Talent Introduction: A captivating and inspiring speaker]

In an instant, Qingdeng's eyes widened in surprise and delight.

—An art student who failed the exam… This system even uses historical references.

Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but smile.

—A talent for improving public speaking skills... Hahaha! Such a useful talent, it's been a long time since I've had one!

In high spirits, Qingdeng almost wanted to burst into laughter right there and then.

Suddenly bursting into laughter, especially laughing loudly with one's head thrown back... this would definitely arouse suspicion among those around.

To avoid causing unnecessary chaos, Qingdeng had to activate his innate "Emperor's Art" and desperately suppress his laughter.

His lips nearly twitched at the thought.

If Aoto were still a nobody... for example, when he was working as a constable in Hokuban-sho-cho, and his daily task was to lead Saito, Nagakura, and others around the streets of Edo to catch petty thieves, his oratory skills would not have been of much use.

However, times have changed.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense knows what "excellent oratory skills" mean for someone commanding an army... or rather, for someone commanding a large organization.

Just as Qingdeng was still immersed in his excitement, a hearty laugh interrupted his thoughts.

"Hahaha! As expected of the unparalleled Benevolent King!"

Kiyokawa Hachiro brushed the snow off his body, laughed loudly, and leisurely stood up.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your guidance! I have benefited greatly from that battle just now!"

After saying this, Kiyokawa Hachiro mimicked the action of sheathing a sword, tucking the bamboo sword to his left waist, and then bowed to Aoto with neither arrogance nor servility.

Qingdeng smiled, bowed slightly, returned the bow, and said politely:

"You flatter me. I dare not accept the title of 'unparalleled in the world'."

As he said this, Qing Deng lowered his eyelids and cast a meaningful glance at Qinghe Hachiro, who was still bent over and whose head was the only part of his body that could be seen.

To be honest, if Kiyokawa Hachiro had cursed and swore after his defeat, or glared at him with eyes full of resentment and anger like Serizawa Kamo, he would have felt relieved.

This means that this person is nothing special.

However, the fact that Qing Deng frankly accepted his defeat and enthusiastically praised the strength of his opponent, whether genuine or deliberately fabricated, made him wary.

Because Kiyohachiro had his head down and his back bent, he didn't notice Aoto's gaze.

Conversely, Qing Deng couldn't discern Qing He's current expression.

Kiyokawa Hachiro's lips were still upturned, but the emotion in his eyes cooled down at a visible speed...

*******

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Just a little teaser—Qingdeng will soon be getting two new weapons! Can you guess what they are?