I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As his "Yuan Yang" level continued to rise, Qing Deng could even vaguely feel a warm sensation in his lower back, and his energy and spirit became increasingly abundant.

—I'm definitely going to get my revenge tonight!

Qing Deng once again made up his mind to "make the commander cry today".

Time passed... Qing Deng effortlessly defeated nine opponents in succession.

Although none of them were a match for Qingdeng, the overall combat strength of the Military Academy was indeed terrifying, and even the "Three Great Training Grounds" could hardly compare with it.

Although they were all defeated opponents, Qingdeng still suffered considerable losses.

After knocking the ninth person to the ground, his breathing became erratic, and fine beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.

With the 9th opponent eliminated, the 10th opponent stepped forward.

"Straight Heart Shadow Stream"

Military Academy Normal School

"Sakakibara Keyyoshi"

"Please give me more advice."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man facing off against Aoto... namely, Sakakibara Kenkichi, steadied his bamboo sword and assumed the Blue Eyes stance.

Kenkichi Sakakibara – Seiichiro Otani’s top disciple.

Although both are middle-aged, Kenkichi Sakakibara is not out of shape like Sadakichi Chiba.

Judging from his appearance, Kenkichi Sakakibara should be around 37 years old.

The thin kendo uniform clung tightly to his muscular and robust body.

At her age, she can still maintain her figure... That alone is quite remarkable.

Qing Deng had heard of this person very much.

While serving as the head of the Imperial Military Academy, Otani Seiichiro built a dojo in Kamezawa in 1858. At its peak, "more than two thousand feudal lords and officials came to join his dojo."

Among these two thousand people, Sakakibara Kenkichi was the strongest and most famous, and was hailed by his contemporaries as "the most outstanding disciple of the Sword Saint".

Without a doubt, he will be one of the strongest people in the military academy!

Qing Deng has always believed that, for martial artists, the age group of 30 to 40 years old is when their overall strength is at its peak.

People of this age have not yet shown a significant decline in physical fitness.

Through years of accumulation and refinement, their proficiency in techniques, combat experience, and temperament are far superior to those of young people in their teens or twenties.

In other words, he was now facing the "disciple of the Sword Saint" at the peak of his abilities...

With this thought in mind, Qingdeng regulated his breathing, set up his bamboo sword, and prepared for battle.

In an instant, a gust of wind swept in.

With overwhelming momentum, Kenji Sakakibara swung his sword and charged forward, his body crashing down on Aoto like a mountain.

Qing Deng parried his attack with his sword, then launched a probing kasaya slash at his body.

Facing the bamboo sword falling straight down, Sakakibara Kenkichi's body was like a light piece of white paper, and under the wind pressure generated by the sword, he leisurely flew out of Aoto's attack range.

Qing Deng's moves are very unique and tricky.

After his bamboo sword missed its mark, he flicked his right wrist and swiftly retracted the blade.

This action of sheathing the sword is also an attack move.

Because of its extremely high speed and exceptionally tricky attack angle, if 100 people of average skill were to take this attack, they would all end up with their heads rolling.

In terms of muscle strength, Kenkichi Sakakibara is not as strong as Aoto.

However, his reaction speed and agility should not be underestimated.

If you can't defend, then dodge; an attack that can't hit its target is useless no matter how powerful it is—this is the truth of combat.

What happened next happened in the blink of an eye.

Sakakibara Kenji's figure suddenly disappeared from Aoto's field of vision, leaving only a blurry afterimage in the corner of his eye below—he crouched down with lightning speed, dodging the attack while simultaneously sweeping his sword across Aoto's calf in a sliding tackle motion.

When it comes to reaction speed, Qingdeng, with his "Godspeed +6" ability, has no reason to fall behind.

In the blink of an eye, he leaped up as if springing from dry land, dodging the bamboo sword that swept horizontally towards him.

Immediately afterwards, using the acceleration of his fall and his own weight, Qingdeng forcefully chopped down the bamboo sword that he had raised above his head.

Kenjiro Sakakibara seems to have made up his mind not to compete with Aoto in strength.

Although he could have withstood Qing Deng's slash if he had insisted on defending, he chose to dodge instead.

His retreating steps seemed casual, yet the bamboo sword in his hand remained perfectly in place.

He faced off against Qing Deng head-on and never lost ground... Compared to everyone Qing Deng had just fought, whether it was Imai Noburo or Iba Hideaki, his strength was simply not in the same league!

Qingdeng's feet landed steadily on the ground.

Kenji Sakakibara steadied himself and stood up straight.

The two faced each other again.

"..."

"..."

Qingdeng brought his right hand, which was holding the sword, to his lips and breathed warm air into his palm.

Kenjiro Sakakibara twisted his neck, making a sickening cracking sound as his joints moved.

Despite the lack of prior agreement, both the two involved and the onlookers, including Otani Seiichiro, reached the same conclusion: the outcome of this battle would be decided in the next 10 seconds!

"..."

"..."

Snapped!

Snapped!

The silence was replaced by the sound of stomping on the ground.

Just as their figures were about to overlap, two sword shadows flew into the air one after the other.

The crisscrossing slashes and the intertwined figures.

Immediately afterward, two dark figures leaped away. They covered a distance of more than ten steps in one breath, then stopped, turned around, and charged at each other again.

Qingdeng raised the tip of his sword slightly, assuming the stance of Qingyan.

Kenkichi Sakakibara countered with a lower-segment structure.

In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng's bamboo sword turned into a blurry afterimage and headed straight for Sakakibara Kenkichi's body.

The opponent, in a posture almost squatting on the ground, flicked the bamboo sword upwards.

Both were lightning strikes so fast that only afterimages remained.

However... Sakakibara Kenkichi's sword speed was just a tiny bit off.

His sword tip barely grazed Qing Deng's sleeve.

As for Qing Deng—he carried a bamboo sword that still retained the tactile sensation of "slicing human flesh," and struck a pose reminiscent of Zanshin behind his opponent.

[Ding! Talent detected]

Successfully replicated talent: "Water Body"

[Talent Introduction: Superior physical coordination]

[Ding! Detected that the host already possesses a talent of the same type]

[Upgrade from "Water Body +2" to "Water Body +3"]

Kenjiro Sakakibara swayed, clutching his stabbed thigh, and slowly knelt down.

Qingdeng secured another victory.

However, the victor's shoulders and chest are currently heaving dramatically.

This shows that the battle just now was not so easy.

Before he could catch his breath, the footsteps of the 11th challenger reached his ears from afar.

扑通、扑通、扑通、扑通……

The footsteps were heavy, like the sound of a boulder falling to the ground.

Qingdeng turned around—an unbelievably huge figure came into view.

Since transmigrating to this world, Qing Deng, who has always been much taller than average, has been lowering his chin by 1, 20, or even 3 or 40 degrees to look at people.

Perhaps because he grew up in the South in his previous life, Qing Deng had never seen anyone taller than 2 meters.

Therefore, looking at people with one's head tilted back at a 40-degree angle, as is the first time in two generations, this has happened.

"...Seven-foot peerless, I've been waiting for you to take the stage for a long time."

Daishi Susumu smiled.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Do you still have energy? Do you need to rest?"

"You don't need to worry about that. I'm in great shape, playing another 10 games shouldn't be a problem."

"In that case, let's not waste any more time and get started!"

Having said that, Daishi Jin put down the giant bamboo sword he was carrying on his shoulder.

His bamboo sword was even more extravagant than that of Itba Hideaki.

Itaba Hideaki's bamboo sword is about 1.2 meters long.

Oishi Susumu's bamboo sword is 5 feet 3 inches (1.62 meters) long! That's almost the length of a greatsword!

"Seven feet tall and peerless"... Qing Deng had heard far too many stories and legends about him.

Susumu Oishi – a man who was once invincible throughout Edo until Seiichiro Otani intervened and ended his invincible myth.

Having practiced Shinkage-ryu swordsmanship and Oshima-ryu spearmanship since childhood, he combined the characteristics of the two schools with his outstanding talent to create a brand-new swordsmanship style: Oishi Shinkage-ryu.

Back then, Susumu Oishi relied on his self-created Oishi Shinkage-ryu style and a 5-foot-3-inch-long bamboo sword to challenge various dojos in Edo, and no one could defeat him!