I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The gun barrel then deviated from its original trajectory.

The gun barrel, whistling in the wind, grazed Qingdeng's temple.

Instantly, Qingdeng felt a burning sensation on his temples.

If Shintaro Toujou had been holding the real thing, he would definitely have a bloody gash on his temple by now!

Seeing that his attack had missed, Shintaro Toujou calmly took a half-step back.

As he retreated, he pulled the wooden spear back to his side and assumed an attacking stance.

As the old saying goes, a true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

When Shintaro Tojo regained his grip on the wooden spear, Toshizo Hijikata, Shusuke Kondo, and some of the apprentices present all changed their expressions.

Even Qing Deng, who was used to facing formidable enemies, couldn't help but frown and look serious.

Shintaro Tojo controlled the gun with his left hand, gripped the butt of the gun with his right hand, and pressed his right wrist against his right abdomen, with the tip of the gun pointed straight at Aoto's waist and abdomen.

If described using Chinese marksmanship terminology... this is the most standard way to hold a gun: "The front hand is like a barrel, the back hand is like a lock, and the gun does not protrude from the handle!"

There are all sorts of gunplay styles in the world, too numerous to count.

In Japan alone, there are many schools such as the "Hozoin School", "Taneda School", "Honma Shinto School", and "Kashima Shin-ryu".

As for China, there are even more factions.

"Yang Family Spear", "Yue Family Spear", "Shaolin Spear"... a wide variety of styles.

Despite the many different schools of marksmanship, the core essence of marksmanship from different countries and schools is the same.

The reason for this is that the shape and attack method of long spears are quite similar.

The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

In a fierce battle where life and death are at stake, whoever attacks faster will have the last laugh.

Furthermore, since ancient societies lacked the technology to treat penetrating wounds, once someone was pierced in the torso by a spear, unless they were blessed by heaven, they were basically doomed.

Therefore, in the world of martial arts, the "straight thrust" is always the fastest and most powerful move, without exception.

The advantage of a spear is that it is "long enough" and "easy to thrust".

This established the basic offensive method of the spear: thrust!

This, in turn, established its basic offensive philosophy: Thrust more steadily! Thrust faster! Thrust farther!

Almost all spear fighting styles revolve around "how to stab".

The specific differences are simply that some schools of thought like to use feints, some prefer speed as the only way to win, some like to launch surprise attacks, and some specialize in attacking the opponent's lower body...

In short, the essence remains the same despite all the changes.

No matter how it changes, it will never deviate from the category of "better stabbing".

Since the basic principles of using a gun are largely the same, the gun techniques of different schools and styles are naturally similar.

Japanese martial arts are deeply influenced by Chinese martial arts.

This naturally resulted in many similarities between the two countries' marksmanship.

The stance that Shintaro Tojo posed... is commonly known as "the front hand like a tube, the back hand like a lock, and the spear not showing its handle," which is a classic stance in Chinese spear fighting.

It can be understood literally.

The leading hand, like a pipe, firmly controls the gun barrel.

His back hand gripped the gun barrel tightly, like a lock.

Before thrusting out, the shaft should generally be close to the waist and abdomen, with the right hand gripping the handle on the right side of the waist and the left hand holding it forward in the middle. There is a saying that "the back hand is on the waist and the front hand is level in the middle".

The front hand serves only as a sliding fulcrum, without exerting force; only in this way can the foot strike more steadily and further.

To put it simply, the first hand is like the "muzzle" that stabilizes the trajectory of the bullet, while the second hand is like the "prime" that fires the bullet!

As for "the spear should not be exposed," it does not mean that the butt of the spear should not be exposed to the rear hand, but rather that the rear hand should not extend beyond the waist.

When blocking, defending, or performing a "blocking and seizing" action, the rear hand should always be near the Zhangmen acupoint on the side of the waist, and should not be exposed behind the body.

By sliding the front hand along the handle, gathering power in the waist and body, and then using the rear hand to push the spear shaft forward—this is the standard way to thrust the spear!

A common mistake made by beginners is to thrust the gun with both hands.

Using both hands simultaneously... this method seems to allow the spear to be thrust in faster and more powerfully.

In reality, this increases the range of motion, creates openings, makes the posture stiff and inflexible, and limits the distance that can be thrust.

"..."

Qing Deng held his breath and concentrated—his innate talent "Gathering Spirit" was activated—he spread his feet apart, gripped the sword hilt tightly, raised the sword high, and assumed the Xia Duan stance.

The tip of the sword pointed at the tip of the spear opposite.

The two of them entered a state of complete focus.

In that instant, a suffocating atmosphere filled the space between them.

Suddenly, Qingdeng felt his heart pound a few times, sounding a loud alarm bell—his body was sending out a "danger" signal!

"Tachibana-kun, I'm going."

Shintaro Toujou said calmly.

The instant he finished speaking, the long spear shaft shot out from his hand, striking Qing Deng's torso with lightning speed!

That's incredibly fast!

Apart from a very few people like Hijikata Toshizo and Kondo Isami, the vast majority of people present could not see how he made his move!

Qing Deng's gaze narrowed slightly.

Shintaro Toujou's gun speed was ultimately no match for his "Eagle Eye +5" dynamic vision!

Almost at the same moment the other man thrust his spear, he secretly mustered a fierce strength and suddenly swung the knife upwards.

The bamboo sword and the wooden spear clashed together again in mid-air.

Qing Deng's strike was not simply a defensive move.

What appears to be an ordinary upward swing contains fierce power and sharp techniques.

Qingdeng's goal was simple—to "use force to overcome force"!

He unleashed a powerful slash, directly knocking away Shintaro Toujou's wooden spear.

But to his surprise... at the moment the sword and spear clashed, the "weight" that Qing Deng felt along the blade far exceeded his expectations!

Despite his considerable effort, Shintaro Toujou still gripped the wooden spear firmly.

Just half a second ago, the gun barrel wrapped in cloth was still right in front of Qingdeng.

In the last half second, his back hand flicked backward as if stroking a tiger's whiskers—and he had already retracted the spear! It was back to the "ready to fire" state!

Half a second later, a fierce thrust, like a mortar, pierced towards Qingdeng once again!

Just like playing baseball, Qing Deng repeatedly made "swinging" motions, knocking away the oncoming "white cloth balls" one after another.

Shintaro Toujou is like a ruthless "serving machine"... or rather, like a "cannon turret"! He repeatedly fires terrifying "cannonballs"!

His massive, obese body further solidified his image as a "gun emplacement".

The sound of a gunshot piercing the air.

The sound of a sword slicing through the air.

The clothes of the two sides making a slight rustling sound due to the strong wind pressure.

The repeated ripples and roars reverberated throughout the temple!

That swift and fierce spear resembled undulating waves! It resembled a dragon soaring through the clouds!

All the apprentices present were impressed by Shintaro Toujou's superb spear skills!

However, laymen like them can only see the "surface".

They only noticed that Shintaro Tojo's gun was very fast and powerful.

On the other hand, experts such as Aoto, Hijikata Toshizo, and Kondo Shusuke saw the "essence" of the "East City Spear" - terrifying abdominal strength!

If we were to say that Qingdeng's opponents all had a significant weakness, it would be that they lacked strength in their waist and core.

Then, Shintaro Toujou is the opposite of these people—his core strength is simply too strong!

Spear fighting is a martial art that relies heavily on waist strength.

The strength of the waist and body is fundamental to spear fighting. Without strength in the waist and body, the spear will be slow and powerless—this is absolute and there will be no exceptions.

If you look closely, you'll notice that every movement of Shintaro Toujou—whether it's raising or lowering his spear—is achieved using the power of his waist.

His movements were extremely small... you could even say that he barely moved at all.

With his feet firmly planted on the ground, he was as stable as a rock.

The hand holding the gun remains still.

The rear hand holding the rifle repeatedly makes a "push forward" motion.

Judging from the muscle condition of his arms and wrists, he did not thrust the spear with great force with his rear hand—he relied entirely on his waist to generate power!

Despite the extremely small range of motion, it unleashed terrifying power... This is a concrete manifestation of solid waist strength!

Furthermore, whenever his spear thrusts out, the front third of the spear shakes violently, creating afterimages like flowers, and then attacks Qingdeng from all directions!

Sometimes it would stab at Qingdeng's head, sometimes at his chest, sometimes at his shoulder, sometimes at his lower body... making it impossible to defend against.

To be able to create dazzling spear movements using only waist strength—if word of this got out, it would surely leave countless martial artists speechless!

It's really hard to imagine... that Shintaro Toujou's fat waist, which looks like it's stuffed with two swimming rings, could contain such terrifying power!

Qing Deng couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement:

These masters of long weapons are indeed difficult to deal with...

Even the most outstanding experts will find themselves on high alert and dare not let their guard down when they encounter a martial artist skilled in long weapons, especially a martial artist proficient in spears.

In open spaces, a spear can suppress all melee weapons.

That's how domineering the "King of Weapons" is!