I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

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At this point, Qing Deng couldn't help but feel sincere admiration for his opponent.

He now understood why everyone who had come into contact with Momoi Haruzo praised his taste and style.

The ability to still act cool even when at a disadvantage... is truly admirable.

At that moment, a strange competitive spirit suddenly arose in Qingdeng's chest.

In an instant, he used his bamboo sword to deflect the tip of Momoi Haruzo's sword, then lowered his waist to gather his strength.

Then, he delivered a powerful slash from the upper right to the lower left.

This kasaya-cutting technique was executed in one swift motion.

Not daring to confront its sharpness head-on, Momoi Haruzou leaped backward.

Qingdeng also stepped back, widening the distance between them.

As he retreated, he flipped his right wrist, twirled the sword, changed his grip from overhand to underhand, and then mimicked the action of sheathing a sword, putting the bamboo sword into its "sheath"—tucked into his left waist and held in a ring shape in his left palm.

With feet firmly planted and lower body weight reduced, the right hand rests lightly on the hilt of the sword in a relaxed manner—a standard iaido stance.

Upon seeing this, Momoi Harukō involuntarily raised an eyebrow, his face filled with surprise.

"Your Highness, the art of drawing the sword is a martial skill that uses the curvature of the scabbard to generate a burst of power in an instant. Without the scabbard, can you really unleash the full power of the sword by holding it with only your left palm?"

Qingdeng smiled meaningfully.

"If you think I'm bluffing, feel free to attack! Don't hold back!"

Momoi Haruka smiled gently.

The next moment, he exhaled a long breath, expelling all the stale air from his lungs, then raised his bamboo sword and began to practice his stance.

At that moment, a strong sense of desolation filled the air between the two.

"..."

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

With a "snap," time and air seemed to rush by in that instant!

Two deafeningly loud explosions, one after the other, assaulted the eardrums of everyone present.

The first loud noise was the sound of Momoi Haruzo stomping his foot.

With a force that seemed to crack the floor, he leaped towards Qingdeng.

With the momentum of the charge, the blue-eyed bamboo sword slashed down diagonally.

The second loud bang... was the sound of Qing Deng splitting Momoi Haruzo's bamboo sword.

At the very instant Momoi Haruzo's bamboo sword fell, Aoto drew his sword with a backhand.

He struck with his sword at an extremely tricky angle, the blade slicing upwards across the side of Momoi Haruzo's sword, sending countless dust and bamboo shavings flying.

While dissipating most of Momoi Haruzo's force, it also disrupted his center of gravity.

Guided by the blade, Qing Deng swiftly moved to Momoi Haruzo's side.

However, Momoi Haruzo's body leaned forward half a step due to inertia.

Momoi Haruzo's body side and the side of the bamboo sword were completely exposed to Aoto's sword!

Knowing he was in deep trouble, Momoi Harukō quickly adjusted his posture.

However... it was too late.

At the same moment their figures overlapped, Qing Deng's sword, which he had drawn upwards, reached its highest point in the air.

In the blink of an eye, he stretched out his left hand, gripped the bottom of the sword hilt with his left palm, and twisted his wrists, turning the sword half a circle so that the downward-pointing tip of the sword would now point upwards—the bamboo sword he was holding in reverse was now held in a normal grip!

hum!

The sword's edge descended with the force of a cascading river! It struck Momoi Haruzo's bamboo sword squarely to the side.

Bamboo swords are different from knives.

The blade and back of a knife can withstand a great deal of force vertically, but it is much more vulnerable to forces coming from the side.

In contrast, bamboo swords do not have a distinct blade or back.

It is a cylinder.

It can be said that the entire blade is either the front or the back of the sword.

However, if the bamboo sword is subjected to tremendous pressure in a very poor posture or position, it may break.

And Momoi Haruzo's bamboo sword... is currently in a very unfavorable position.

Judging from the sound of the wind breaking, Qing Deng's attack was indeed powerful.

Bang!

The two bamboo swords collided heavily.

The next instant, with a "crack", Momoi Haruzo's bamboo sword broke in two.

The severed blade flew high into the air, then traced a weak, feeble parabola before falling to the ground not far away.

Qing Deng's attack was precisely a move from Rakshasa.

Back then, Rasetsu used this move to cut off Aoto's Echizen-sensei Tsutachi-no-kami Kaneshige.

With his "heart of a demon" and a swordsmanship talent a hundred times greater than that of ordinary people, Qing Deng stole and learned Rakshasa's move.

Although he was still a bit unskilled, fortunately, he didn't falter in this battle and successfully broke Momoi Haruzo's bamboo sword.

Momoi Haruzo blinked, staring in surprise at the remaining half of the broken blade in his hand.

The reality of defeat did not cast a shadow over his expression.

"……pretty!"

Momoi Harukō straightened up, a bright smile on his face, and announced loudly with an open and honest expression:

"I lost!"

As his words fell, the cold, mechanical voice, devoid of any emotion, arrived in Qing Deng's mind as expected:

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully copied talent: "White Hair and Youthful Appearance +5"]

[Talent Introduction: Relatively youthful appearance]

—A support-type talent...?

Qingdeng categorized talent into two types.

One type is the "combat-type talent" that helps in combat, such as "Nine Bulls and Two Tigers" and "Swiftness +5".

Secondly, there are "auxiliary talents" that are beneficial to life, such as "Oriole's Song", "Wine Master +2", and the newly acquired "White Hair and Youthful Appearance +5".

Of course, this classification method is rather crude.

After all, many talents can be considered both "combat talents" and "support talents". For example, "Focus" and "Ambidextrous".

Although Qingdeng felt slightly disappointed that he couldn't replicate the talent that enhanced his physical functions, which he currently desired the most, this talent that indirectly enhanced his appearance was not bad either.

Who would complain about their looks? Especially for Aoto, who aspires to marry beauties like Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, and Souji.

From the start of their battle to Momoi Haruzo's defeat, only a little over five minutes had passed...

In just 5 minutes, the world-renowned "Momoi of the Seat" was defeated...

Faced with this reality, the students at the academy reacted in various ways.

Some were surprised, some were moved, and some were bewildered.

But even more so, there was an ever-growing, surging fighting spirit.

A considerable number of people seemed to be infested with fleas, shrugging their shoulders and fidgeting with their feet, looking as if they were ready to jump up at any moment.

Seeing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but find it amusing:

—This swordsmanship school is supposed to be known for its elegance, but they all seem like apprentices of the Jigen-ryu school, each one more belligerent than the last…

After a moment of quiet reflection, Qing Deng leaned on his sword and looked around at the people around him.

"You want to fight me? Now, come at me!"

—I'm going to fleece you to my heart's content.

Qingdeng silently added the second half of the sentence in his mind.

These words immediately caused a stir in the audience.

"Your Excellency, please enlighten me!"

"I am the second seat of the Shigakuen, Haruyo Yoshikawa!"

"Your Majesty, I look forward to your guidance!"

The apprentices stood up aggressively, like bamboo shoots sprouting after a spring rain.

This scene brought a faint smile to Qingdeng's lips.

He flipped his right wrist, switching the bamboo sword that was resting on the ground back into his normal grip.

"Bring it on!"