I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The beads of sweat that had accumulated on Qingdeng's eyebrows formed streams that slid from his eyelashes to the corners of his eyes.

He opened his eyes wide, raised his eyebrows, and twitched his eyes a few times, finally managing to shake off the sweat.

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

It was as if he was exhaling sand, his nostrils stretched to their limit as he repeatedly exhaled heavy breaths.

Avoid breathing through your mouth unless absolutely necessary—this is common sense during exercise and combat.

Unlike the nose, the mouth does not have the functions of heat preservation, moisture retention, and air filtration to protect organs. Breathing through the mouth for extended periods can easily lead to a dry throat, tracheal allergies, and coughing, needlessly wasting energy.

Therefore, Qingdeng closed his mouth and pursed his tongue, trying his best to keep his lips calm in sync with his breathing.

His hair was steaming hot, and he looked like a burning fireball. Sweat dripped from his face to his chest, soaking his clothes, sliding into his sleeves, and dripping onto the hilt of his sword. There were puddles of water at his feet.

The situation was similar for Otani Seiichiro's side.

His hair, skin, clothes, the hilt of his bamboo sword... were all soaking wet.

In the late winter weather, its breath appears half-white, lingering around its face for a long time.

His face was bloodless, his lips were dry and chapped, and his knuckles were white from gripping the sword too tightly.

After more than two hours of standoff, the onlookers were getting tired of standing, sitting, and waiting, but the two fighters remained in their original positions.

Niou still raised the middle section.

The Sword Saint still favored Qingyan.

Their swords may seem ready to strike at any moment, but in reality they are as steady as Mount Tai and as solid as a rock.

Just then, a bird suddenly flew down from the sky and landed on Qingdeng's shoulder with a "fluttering" sound, cooing and shaking its silly head.

It may have mistaken the motionless Qingdeng for a tree or a stone statue.

Upon seeing this, Kubota Seine, Oishi Susumu, and the others all showed expressions of anxiety and distress.

Sword Saint vs. Nioh – On one side is a seasoned and respected master, on the other is a rising star with glittering talent.

This is a battle that happens only once every few years... no! Even if the time span is extended to several decades, it is a rare occurrence!

It would be such a shame if this epic showdown were to be disrupted by a comical off-field factor like a "bird invasion."

However, they dared not approach Qingdeng, nor dared to make any loud noise, for fear of disturbing him.

Just as everyone was wondering what to do, they were surprised to find that Qingdeng seemed completely unaware of the bird's presence.

His eyes remained fixed on Ootani Seiichiro as before, his hands holding the sword were still steady and powerful, and his posture showed no flaws.

Perhaps sensing the "intense" gazes of Kuboda Kiyone and the others, the bird perched on Aoto's shoulder tilted its head a few times, wiggled its tail a few times, and then flapped its wings and flew away.

Until the bird flew away, Qingdeng's demeanor and actions showed no abnormality whatsoever.

In fact, Qingdeng was completely unaware of the bird's presence.

All his consciousness and all his emotions were poured into the bamboo sword in his hand and into the duel before him.

He wouldn't react at all, not even if a bird crawled onto his leg, let alone a centipede.

His confrontation with Seiichiro Otani was not a matter of standing there dumbly, staring at each other, but rather a high degree of unity between mind and body. While maintaining his own impeccable defense, he was also poised and ready to strike!

The muscles were taut, ready to turn defense into offense at any moment.

The spirit, condensed into one, can no longer see anything other than its opponent.

As a result, their physical strength, energy, and vitality were being depleted at an alarming rate.

Even Qing Deng, who possesses natural talents such as "vital energy" and "strong muscles," felt that he could not withstand it.

His physical strength was completely exhausted, and he was now only holding on by sheer willpower.

Judging from the expression and complexion that Otani Seiichiro is showing at this moment... he is in a similar situation.

This ultimate showdown has become a war of attrition, where "whoever can hold out until the end wins."

The two are now competing in willpower, seeing who can persevere longer!

Even the longest battles eventually come to an end.

Suddenly, Kubota Kiyone's white eyebrows twitched.

He narrowed his eyes sharply, staring intently at Otani Seiichiro, then at Aoto, muttering to himself:

"The battle is about to be decided...!"

Suddenly… in a truly sudden instant! Otani Seiichiro’s body swayed slightly!

This fleeting flaw was clearly reflected in Qing Deng's eyes!

A deafening roar finally shattered everything.

That was the sound coming from Qingdeng.

He stepped forward and charged forward like a rocket!

Almost simultaneously, a loud noise also came from Otani Seiichiro's body.

The two sounds were separated by only half a breath.

In a flash, their bamboo swords, bodies, spirits... everything about them became one!

The bamboo sword, which had been wielded from the middle section, drew a graceful arc.

The bamboo sword, with its blue eyes, drew a deep, straight line.

Two gusts of wind rose up.

They merged in an instant, and separated in an instant.

The two people passed each other by, then stood with their backs to each other.

Aoto stood where Otani Seiichiro had just been.

Otani Seiichiro stood where Aoto had just been.

They seemed to freeze, and after a brief exchange of blows, they returned to their motionless state.

Who won—this question filled the air.

In the "audience seats," the vast majority of people kept turning their eyes back and forth between Aoto and Otani Seiichiro.

Only a handful of people, such as Kiyone Kubota, Susumu Oishi, and Kenkichi Sakakibara, could see through the outcome of the battle.

They were all expressionless, making it difficult to deduce the outcome of the battle from their expressions.

Finally... amidst the watchful eyes of many, the two mountain-like figures were finally freed from their "petrification".

"..."

Someone silently knelt down on one knee, supporting himself with his sword.

The first to fall... was the Sword Saint!

[Ding! Talent detected]

Successfully copied the talent: "Born to Fight +9"

[Talent Introduction: The more intense and fierce the battle, the better the mental and physical state.]

*******

*******

Novels with a low-martial-arts worldview have an advantage that high-martial-arts novels can't match: they can reasonably arrange for older, powerful figures to retire and step down. No matter how powerful you are, can you defy the passage of time?

This chapter is arguably the most reminiscent of classic sword-and-halberd novels. A long standoff, followed by a decisive blow—that's incredibly difficult to write…

So... I'm begging for monthly tickets! I'm begging for recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 537 Qingdeng receives an epic buff! 8 new talents! 38 old talents upgraded! [4600]

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

Heavy breathing.

With each rise and fall of his head and shoulders, one or more drops of sweat would drip down his nose, cheeks, and neck, wetting the yellow earth. In just a short while, the patch of soil he was facing was already soaked.

Almost at the same time that Ootani Seiichiro fell to the ground, Aoto's body also swayed a few times before sliding to the ground.

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

Aoto's panting was even more intense than that of Otani Seiichiro.

He felt as if every muscle in his body was filled with water, incredibly heavy.

The lower back, shoulders, fingers, elbows, wrists and other parts of the body were so sore and numb that they lost all feeling.

My mind and muscles were extremely tense; I didn't dare to breathe loudly or even blink... This state lasted for more than two hours.

Incredible numbers.

For an ordinary person, just standing for more than two hours would be exhausting, let alone standing without stopping while maintaining a high level of mental and physical concentration for a long time.

It was like a person who had been starving for a long time suddenly consuming a large amount of delicious, oily food. When Qingdeng collapsed, in the instant that his nerves and body, which had been tense for more than two hours, suddenly relaxed, an overwhelming and irresistible feeling of fatigue surged up.

The tide... no! The tsunami-like weariness directly crushed Qingdeng's will.

He was truly exhausted; he couldn't squeeze out any more strength from his body.

He can't even move a finger, let alone stand up, and he's almost out of breath.

This was the first time Qingdeng had encountered a situation where he was "too tired to move after a battle".

Right now, even an 8-year-old child who can't even speak clearly can easily kill Qingdeng.

Seeing that both Aoto and Otani Seiichiro had fallen, the crowd in the "audience" shouted and rushed towards the two.

"Otani-sama!"

"Master!"

"Your Majesty, King Ren!"

Most people crowded around Otani Seiichiro, while a small number came to Aoto's side.

With the help of countless hands, Qingdeng stood up unsteadily, like a puppet in a Jingli Wenle puppet show... or rather, stood "upright".