I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Ordinary people would definitely not be able to avoid it.

Of course, he still has a long way to go to hit Qingdeng.

Before the opponent could even draw their sword, Qingdeng's talent "Foresight +9" had already been activated.

He keenly sensed the presence and direction of the attack, then deftly turned his body to the side, effortlessly dodging the slash. He then lightly touched his toes and jumped diagonally backward, instantly creating a distance of about 4 meters.

At the same time, he subconsciously stretched out his right hand, gripped the sword at his waist, and prepared to draw it at any moment.

"Matsumoto-kun, what are you doing?"

Mr. Kiryu frowned and cast a surprised look at the attacker.

"..."

The attacker... the guy whom Kiryu called "Matsumoto-kun" remained silent, gripping his bamboo sword tightly and staring intently at Aoto.

This person was very young, around 20 years old, with a resolute face, a sturdy build, a neck as thick as his head, and two forearms as thick as the roots of a giant tree.

Judging from his physique alone, he is undoubtedly a martial arts practitioner.

Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to have any hostility.

He probably just wanted to compete with Qingdeng.

With this thought in mind, Qingdeng removed his hand from the sword at his waist.

Although I don't know what's going on, since they've already come knocking on our door, there's no reason not to respond!

Qingdeng naturally lowered his arms, without striking any pose, and just stood there straight.

Kiryu looked at Aoto, then at Matsumoto, and then wisely stepped back a few paces, making room for a fight.

"..."

"..."

The two combatants stared at each other.

No one spoke, no one moved.

Suddenly, Qingdeng began to act.

Snap... Snap... Snap... Snap...

Qingdeng strode forward unhurriedly, heading straight for Songyuan on the other side.

His relaxed posture and light gait made it seem as if he were taking a walk in his own backyard.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Matsumoto emitted a terrifying aura, seemingly trying to intimidate Seiden.

Qingdeng ignored him and continued forward.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

Matsumoto emitted another Ki-ai.

However, this time, accompanied by a sharp burst of energy, the bamboo sword in his hand struck out in response!

The sword traced a "kasaya slash" trajectory in mid-air, slashing straight towards Qing Deng's chest.

Although the shot is fast, it may not hit the target.

Qingdeng calmly stepped to the side, dodging the attack.

In the next instant, his left palm shot out like a python emerging from its cave, fingers together, using his hand as a knife to slash at the opponent's right wrist holding the sword.

In that instant, the bamboo sword in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.

Qingdeng's offensive is not over yet.

His right palm struck Songyuan half a step slower than his left, twisting his left arm, and then he turned his body so that his back was pressed tightly against the other's chest. Using his right shoulder as a fulcrum, he threw the other away—a very standard over-the-shoulder throw.

With a thud, Songyuan flew several meters away, landing on his back and sprawling on his back, looking quite disheveled.

[Ding! Talent detected]

Successfully copied the talent: "Fitness +2"

[Talent Description: Possesses exceptional injury recovery speed.]

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

[Ding! Initiating talent fusion]

[Ding! Talent fusion successful]

[Upgrade from "Fitness +4" to "Fitness +6"]

"Waaah..."

Matsuoka clutched his back, groaning as he struggled to sit up.

He looked at Qingdeng with a complicated expression.

Despite the resentment that flashed in his eyes, he still stood up straight and solemnly bowed to Qingdeng.

"Thank you for showing mercy..."

Anyone with eyes could see that Qing Deng had just held back.

He stopped himself in time as he threw Matsumoto away.

Otherwise, if Aoto were to launch a full-scale attack, he could certainly make Matsumoto experience the feeling of "broken spine".

At this moment, Mr. Kiryu stepped forward and asked, half helpless and half reproachful:

"Matsumoto-kun, what are you doing? Why did you suddenly attack Tachibana-kun?"

Matsumura answered neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"This is our lord's request."

"She told me to secretly give Ju Qingdeng a hard time when he arrived."

"My lord said, 'If he can't even dodge your attack, then I have no need to meet such a weakling who is all talk and no action.'"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Kiryu scratched his head.

"Since it's the lord's request, there's nothing we can do... So, does that mean I've passed the test, Tachibana-kun?"

Matsumoto didn't speak, but silently nodded and moved to the edge of the dojo to make way.

Kiryu's boss waved to Aoto.

"Hey Tachibana-kun, come on, let's sit here."

Qing Deng unfastened the sword from his waist and sat down in the center of the dojo with Mr. Kiryu.

Before even entering the dojo, Qingdeng sensed the presence of someone inside.

Including Matsumoto, there were exactly eight people. They sat on the east and west sides of the dojo—right on either side of Aoto and Kiryu—four on each side.

The eight people are of very different ages.

The oldest was about forty years old.

The youngest are probably not even twenty years old.

Although they are of different ages, they have one thing in common—their eyes are bright and their eyebrows are full of heroic spirit. They are authoritative without being angry, and you can tell at a glance that they are not ordinary people!

"Tachibana-kun, let me introduce you."

Seeing that Kiryu was about to release some information, Aoto immediately perked up his ears and listened attentively.

"My master is ultimately just a merchant, not a powerful lord who controls vast territories."

“If we were to support a large armed force, regardless of whether we had the money and supplies, doing something so outrageous would certainly arouse suspicion and obstruction from the government.”

"The reason why our Hulu House has been able to develop steadily to this day is because we are very low-key, know what we should and shouldn't do, and never overstep our boundaries."

"Therefore, we are taking the route of 'elite troops and strong generals'."

"Throughout the entire gourd house, there are only a little over a hundred warriors specifically responsible for charging into enemy lines and destroying their strongholds."

"Although the number of them is small, each and every one of them is a master who can take on ten opponents."

"And those present here are among the best of them."

As he spoke, Kiryu pointed to the four people on his left—one of whom was Matsumoto, who had just been easily defeated by Aoto.

"The young man you just fought was 'Oni Matsumoto' Shinichi Matsumoto."

"The three people beside him were 'Oni Ota' Eiji, 'Oni Ishii' Izumizo, and 'Oni Nakagawa' Ryuji Nakagawa."

"They are all representatives of the 'young and promising generation,' and they are all very young."

"The youngest, Eiji Ota, is only 18 years old this year."

"Because their names all contain the word 'ghost,' the four of them are collectively known as the 'Four Ghosts of the Gourd.'"

After saying that, Mr. Kiryu turned his finger and pointed to the four people on his right.

"That handsome man with regular features is the 'two-talented person' Asai Moriyasu."

"He is the grandson of one of my old friends."

"Because he was skilled in both literature and martial arts, he could fight the barbarians on horseback and draft military dispatches on foot, so he was called a 'two-talented man'."

"That person with the stern face is 'Thunder Slash' Shimada Kanichi."

"He is also the grandson of one of my old friends."

"He was known for his speed in slashing, his blade was as swift as lightning, hence the name 'Thunder Slash'."

"The oldest person is 'The Undying Blood Spear' Katakura Takanobu."

"He's one of the older folks in our Gourd House."

"He began serving his lord at the age of 16, and he is now 43 years old."

"Just from his name, you can probably guess what kind of ruthless character he is."

"He was skilled with the spear and was a master of the weapon."

"His battle that made him famous was a bandit suppression operation 20 years ago."