I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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Chapter 519 The Strongest Swordsman Group: The Shinsengumi! Birth of a Powerful Force! [4500]

In addition to the aforementioned talents, Qing Deng also copied many "minor masters of swordsmanship"—unfortunately, "minor masters of swordsmanship" are no longer useful to Qing Deng.

The "Sword Saint" can only be combined with the "Sword Master" or higher talent.

Therefore, it is very regrettable that Qingdeng's "Sword Saint" was not able to upgrade in this "Talent Harvesting Tournament".

But it doesn't matter, Qingdeng's swordsmanship talent is already high enough.

Swordsmanship talent 132 times that of an average person... What does that even mean?

To put it simply, any sword technique that a normal human being can use, regardless of its school or style, can be recognized and imitated by Qing Deng after being seen once or twice.

Because all of Qing Deng's talents are passive effects, he unknowingly mastered many other styles of moves even without intending to learn them.

Over time, like Hijikata Toshizo, Aoto, though a disciple of the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, did not use a sword style that was purely Tennen Rishin-ryu.

His swordsmanship incorporates styles and techniques from other schools.

The Jigen-ryu's "Monkey Cry," the Hokushin Itto-ryu's "Shaking Sword Technique" and "Hand-Cutting Technique," the Katori Shinto-ryu's "Through Fist" and "Kage no Tachi"...

The so-called "drawing on the strengths of a hundred schools" is nothing more than this.

However, long ago, Qingdeng's swordsmanship had stagnated and had not made any progress.

This isn't because of limited talent; quite the opposite—the talent is too strong! So strong that the physical abilities can't keep up!

In fact, Qingdeng's mind contains a large number of original sword techniques, some of which are incredibly powerful and others are insidious.

However, due to insufficient physical fitness, he was unable to put these techniques into practice.

The sword techniques conceived by Qingdeng either require superhuman strength to move mountains or lightning-fast movements.

This is like comparing an "engine" to a "car".

The engine is too powerful, but the vehicle body is too poor.

Before the engine could even reach its maximum power, the vehicle broke apart due to the unbearable strain.

For Qingdeng, whether or not he upgrades to "Sword Saint" is no longer important; improving his physical functions is his top priority.

……

On January 21, 1863 (the third year of the Bungu era), in the early morning—

Edo, Tsukimiya Shrine, Archery Range —

Qingdeng stood sideways, his eyes fixed on the target fifty meters away. In his left hand he held a light purple bow, and in his right hand he gripped an arrow longer than an adult's arm.

Tenshōin, dressed as a shrine maiden in white and purple, stood gracefully behind him with a gentle smile on her face.

In a moment, Qingdeng nocked an arrow, aimed the arrowhead at the target in front of him, and slowly pulled the string tight.

The next second, the tension in his arms snapped away, and the sound of the bowstring vibrating rang out.

The jet-black arrow streaked across the sky, its sharp whistling sound expanding in the blink of an eye.

With a "thud," the arrow struck the center of the target precisely.

The arrow fletched violently, and a "thump-thump" sound dominated the entire archery range.

When the arrow stopped convulsing, everything returned to calm.

"……pretty."

Tenshoin let out a long breath, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Aoden.

"What superb archery skills! Not only is the accuracy amazing, but there are also no unnecessary movements."

"As for archery, I have no more skills to teach you."

"Thinking about it carefully, it's really quite a感慨 (feeling of mixed emotions)... I was supposed to be your archery teacher, but in less than three years, my archery skills have become far inferior to yours."

Qingdeng smiled and said jokingly:

"I am where I am today thanks to your careful guidance, Master."

"Stop saying such mushy things."

Tenshoin said in a coquettish tone, sounding annoyed.

"Whether your archery skills have improved so much is due to my excellent teaching or your own extraordinary talent, I know the answer in my heart."

To be fair, it is a combination of both—but clearly, the latter accounts for a much larger proportion.

After multiple upgrades, Qingdeng's archery talent has reached a terrifying "45 times that of ordinary people".

He mastered complex skills that would take an ordinary person more than a month of hard work to even begin to grasp, in just one day.

In addition, he also has the added bonuses of "Sharp Eyes +5" and "Insight +2".

The former enabled him to see through the smallest details.

The latter makes it easier for him to judge the distance between himself and objects, which is more conducive to aiming.

It is no exaggeration to say that among the many martial arts that Qingdeng has mastered, apart from swordsmanship and unarmed combat, his archery skills are the most outstanding.

After exchanging a few jokes with Tenshoin, Qingdeng raised the purple bow in his hand and examined it closely in the sunlight.

The standard length is seven feet three inches (2.2 meters).

The bow is made of light purple bamboo.

A graceful and flowing bow shape, like the ripples of water.

The bowstring is made of the finest animal sinew, making it elastic and strong.

The closer you look, the more you can appreciate the extraordinary nature of this bow.

Qingdeng couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"What a fine bow..."

He wasn't very familiar with the current Japanese archery market.

But he instinctively made a judgment: this bow could not be obtained without a thousand taels of gold!

"Your Highness, are you really going to give me this bow?"

Early this morning, Qingdeng received a sudden summons from Tianzhangyuan.

When he rushed to the Moon Palace Shrine, he saw a smiling, beautiful widow holding the purple bow.

“Sheng Qing, here is my parting gift.” — She said in her usual forthright manner.

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Tian Zhang Yuan immediately responded:

"Of course! Didn't I tell you? This bow was a parting gift from your teacher, who taught you archery, on the eve of your departure for Kyoto. What? Don't you want it?"

Qingdeng quietly shook his head.

"What man could resist a superior weapon? But... in this era of steam-powered warships traversing the oceans, this bow you gave me may be useless in the future. Perhaps it can only serve as a ceremonial object, placed beside me to make a show when I am on campaign or holding meetings."

After hearing this, Tenshōin smiled calmly.

"Sheng Qing, you can't say that."

"Although compared to steam warships, bows and arrows are like bamboo sticks and toothpicks."

"But on the ever-changing battlefield, the bow and arrow... especially the bow and arrow wielded by a skilled archer like yourself, can often produce unexpected and remarkable effects."

"With this optimistic thought in mind, accept this bow with peace of mind."

Since the other party had already put it this way, Qingdeng had no need to hesitate any longer.

"In that case... I'll accept this bow!"

Having said that, Qingdeng raised his head again, staring intently at the bow as if counting the lines on its body.

His strange behavior aroused the curiosity of Tenshōin:

"Hmm? What's wrong? Why are you staring at the bow? Is there a flaw in the bow?"

Qingdeng shook his head.

"I'm just thinking of a name."

"name?"

Qing Deng adopted a half-joking tone.

"This is a precious gift from His Highness Tenshōin. I can't keep calling it 'this bow' or 'that bow,' can I?"

Tenshōin smiled, a look of sudden realization on his face.