I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

In no time, the floor around Aoto and Saito Yakuro was covered with bamboo swords, leaving almost no room to step.

"Alright, now neither of us will have to worry about not having weapons."

As he spoke, Saito Yakuro bent down and picked up a bamboo sword from the ground.

The sword tip rises, adopting an eight-pair structure!

"Niou, charge!"

A thunderous roar that seemed to pierce through the clouds and split rocks, along with an overwhelming force, crashed down on Qingdeng like a dark cloud pressing down on the city!

"..."

Qingdeng remained silent.

Silently, like Saito Yakuro, he tucked his arms into his sleeves, then peeked them out from his collar, tossing his kimono down to his waist, revealing his well-built, muscular physique.

Qing Deng is someone who loves exercise and martial arts.

Since the transmigration, except for special days such as recuperating from injuries or working overtime, I have never slacked off in training my body and mind.

Although there are no convenient fitness equipment such as dumbbells and barbells in this era, as long as you are determined to exercise, you can develop a good physique even in a cramped prison cell.

Because I don't have the right equipment, I can't get the workout I want, so I stop exercising—these are just excuses for lazy people.

Although Aoto's muscles were not as large and striped as Saito Yakuro's, they were well-proportioned.

Besides his well-developed muscles, the number of scars on Qing Deng's body is also quite remarkable.

Thanks to his talents such as "Body Health +4" and "Yang Essence +1", Qingdeng's injuries heal quickly and well, so he is not easily scarred.

However, it only means that it is less likely to leave scars, not that it will not leave scars at all.

No matter how strong his physique is, it can't withstand the number of times he gets injured.

Penetrating wounds, transverse cuts, burns... all sorts of scars are intricately interwoven, resembling a chessboard.

Many of the scars make one wonder: how did you manage to survive after enduring such severe injuries?

Qingdeng bent down and picked up the bamboo sword at his feet.

Released at the same time.

At the very instant the two forces collided, their figures and the bamboo sword merged together once more.

Bang! !

The bamboo sword struck through the air.

The air blast and shockwave swept in all directions.

Saito Yakuro suddenly pulled his bamboo sword back.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qing Deng swung his sword and slashed fiercely.

In the blink of an eye, Saito Yakuro's burly body suddenly sank.

As he pulled his front foot back and his entire body knelt on one knee due to the change in his center of gravity, he swung his sword diagonally upwards, parrying Qing Deng's slash at an extremely tricky angle.

Attacks coming from below are very difficult to defend against.

To protect his lower body, Qingdeng lightly leaped backward, creating space between his legs.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Saito Yakuro's body suddenly straightened up and bounced up like a ball, taking the opportunity to strike Aoto's waist and abdomen.

The bamboo sword that was slashed down from the top was as swift as lightning.

As if to deflect the swift attack from below, Qing Deng changed his posture, stretched his right foot back, stomped firmly on the floor, and swung his sword upwards, the tip scraping the ground.

With a "snap," bamboo shavings flew through the air.

Both of their bamboo swords broke, the broken blades bounced violently up, and then landed outside the dojo.

In the blink of an eye, their movements became synchronized.

They threw away their broken swords one after the other, bent down to pick up the new swords from the ground, and then fought each other again.

Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!Boom!

The floorboards creaked.

With a force that seemed to crush the floor, Saito Yakuro shifted his position and circled around to Aoto's side.

Thinking that Saito Yakuro intended to break his defense from the side, Aoto quickly turned around with his sword, changing his position along with his opponent to ensure that his body was always facing the opponent.

Saito Yakuro moved to a spot on the ground where there were many bamboo swords.

"call……!"

When he stopped, a translucent cloud of stale air emanated from his mouth and nose.

With each exhale of foul air, his muscles tensed, the skin covering them resembling torn cloth, and the veins throbbed gently like worms.

Before the foul air he exhaled had dissipated, his body had already turned into a phantom.

He strode forward, his bamboo sword whistling through the wind, and slashed fiercely at Qing Deng from the front!

Qingdeng gripped the sword in his hand and charged forward.

Snapped! !

It was another case of "one sword shattering a sword".

This time, however, Qing Deng's bamboo sword was fine, but Saito Yakuro's bamboo sword cracked.

Saito Yakuro calmly extended his right foot toward a bamboo sword beside his foot.

With a flick of his toe, the bamboo sword seemed to spring upwards, leaping steadily into his palm.

His detailed account of retrieving the sword made it seem as if a long time had passed.

In essence, from the "old bamboo sword breaking" to "hooking up the new bamboo sword with his foot," everything happened in the blink of an eye.

After completing the sword exchange, Saito Yakuro attacked Aoto once again.

Flash, then flash again—the onlookers saw Saito Yakuro's bamboo sword flash twice.

Qingdeng dodged the first sword strike, and although he could avoid the second one, it would disrupt his stance.

So he held the bamboo sword to his chest and forcefully blocked Saito Yakuro's second sword strike.

The bamboo sword, which had already developed cracks during the previous clash, finally gave way under the strain—another bamboo sword "corpse" lay on the floor.

Qing Deng threw the broken sword, now only half intact, at Saito Yakuro.

Such childish tricks could not possibly defeat "Saito the Powerful".

With a casual gesture, more effortless than swatting a mosquito, he flicked the bamboo sword upwards and easily deflected the broken blade.

However, it bought Qingdeng some time.

Qingdeng stretched out his left foot, stepped on the hilt of a bamboo sword beside him, and stomped hard—the bamboo sword spun around and flew into the air.

He gently extended his arm and steadily grasped it in his palm.

"……snort."

Saito Yakuro chuckled softly.

"..."

Although Qing Deng didn't laugh out loud, he did raise the corners of his lips.

Snapped!

Snapped!

The sound of footsteps echoed at the same time.

The storm is brewing again.

The blades, locked in combat, struck each other once more.

……

They fought fiercely, their bamboo sword broke, they picked up new swords... and the two of them kept repeating this process.

It was less like two swordsmen fighting each other and more like two trucks crashing into each other!

Shinto Munen-ryu is a school of martial arts that emphasizes practicality in combat and overwhelming the opponent with momentum and power.

In other words, this is a style quite suitable for brutes.

It is often said that Saito Yakuro's swordsmanship brings out the essence of Shinto Munen-ryu—"power"—to a more complete degree than other branches of the same school.

For this reason, the Shinto Munen-ryu swordsmanship of the training hall is also known as the "Saito-style Munen-ryu".

Seeing is believing. After actually fighting Saito Yakuro, Aoto realized how accurate the rumor was.

The old man before him was so different from every other Shinto Munen-ryu swordsman he had ever encountered before.

Saito Yakuro's swordsmanship is like the embodiment of "power".

There are no sophisticated techniques or convoluted routines; it's just straightforward.

Forward thrust, backward defense, horizontal slash, vertical chop... all are simple and unadorned moves.

The essence of swordsmanship is the skill of "how to kill people efficiently with a sword".

As the saying goes, "A sword is a weapon, and swordsmanship is the art of killing. No matter how flowery the words used to describe it, this is still the truth."

Therefore, in a sense, Saito Yakuro's swordsmanship refined and retained the essence—slashing! Just slashing and hacking!

In terms of strength, Saito Yakuro is inferior to Aoto.

However, the difference between the two is only a slight 4.5 to 5.5.

Qingdeng's advantage is not enough to translate into a victory!

You should know that Qingdeng is a "mutant" with talents such as "Nine Bulls and Two Tigers" and "Elephant Core +3"!

Moreover, the opponent was a 65-year-old man.

In a side-by-side comparison—Kondo Shusuke, who was about the same age as Saito Yakuro, would feel his back bones cracking and popping, as if they were about to break, even with slightly more strenuous exercise, let alone swinging his sword violently.

Even at such an advanced age, he still possesses the ability to lift mountains and tripods... It's hard to imagine how terrifying his strength must have been at his peak!

To describe him as "still sharp as ever" would be an understatement.