I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

He ripped off his shirt, revealing the hideous tattoos on his back.

With a deathly pale face, several sharp teeth in its mouth, and a pair of long horns on its head, it glares menacingly at others—this is the demon Hannya, formed from intense jealousy and resentment!

"The Swallow's Lingering Heart"

"Yamada Asaemon Katsumi!"

The King of Benevolence held his sword in front, and the righteous aura surging forth dispersed the demonic mist emitted by the evil spirits.

"Natural Flow of Mind"

"Orange Green Dew!"

In the next instant, two incredibly powerful forces collided heavily in mid-air, and the resulting terrifying aura caused even the wind and clouds to change color!

In a split second, two rapidly moving figures shoveled up dirt and stirred up fallen leaves on the ground.

With her feet barely touching the ground, as if gliding, Prajna swiftly slashed downwards with her sword, which was in the stance of Caiqingyan. The speed of the blade was terrifying, and the characteristics of the "executioner's sword technique" were fully displayed in this strike.

Qingdeng did not retreat an inch, lowering his sword and focusing his strength on his waist.

The tip of his blade paused briefly, then swung upwards like a whirlwind, deflecting Prajna's blade. The remaining force even caused Prajna's body to lose its balance uncontrollably.

Qingdeng seized the fleeting opening, leaped up, raised Vairocana to his chest, and charged toward Prajna, plunging into her arms.

Logically speaking, Prajna, whose body was already out of balance, was doomed.

Unexpectedly, in that instant, Prajna displayed an extraordinary ability to balance, managing to steady herself before the purple blade light arrived and raising her sword to block it.

clang!!

A deafening roar and a numbing reaction force were transmitted to both parties simultaneously.

Although Qing Deng did not use his full strength in this strike, he still used 7% of his power.

Even so, it is enough to make 99% of the people in this world unable to resist it.

Qingdeng had not encountered an opponent who could withstand his strikes for a long time.

In this round, both sides attacked and defended, with no one injured and no one gaining an advantage, resulting in a draw.

In the next round, an even more intense battle ensued!

Instead of deflecting Qing Deng's sword, Hannya deftly flipped her wrists, adjusted the direction of the blade, and made the blade of Nagasone Kotetsu close to the blade of Vairocana, sweeping towards Qing Deng's face as if sliding down.

The rapid friction between the two blades scraped out countless sparks, like tiny sprites.

Before the sparks had even dissipated, the knife was already in front of Qing Deng.

At the same time, before the fire had even dissipated, Qing Deng leaned back as if his body had snapped—his talents "Water Body +4" and "Snake Body +4" were activated—and nimbly somersaulted, dodging out of the range of Prajna's slash without missing a beat.

[Note: Water Body +4: Superior limb coordination. Snake Body +4: Superior flexibility.]

This time, Prajna unleashed a barrage of attacks that left people breathless.

Before Qingdeng could retaliate, he strode forward like a whirlwind, pressing forward like a giant, and clashed with Qingdeng again.

A flash!

Flash again!

Three flashes!

From an observer's perspective, Nagasone Kotetsu's blade flashed three times in mid-air. Because the speed of the blade was so fast, at first glance, the three strikes appeared to be made simultaneously.

The three flashes of light shattered as soon as they approached Qingdeng, vanishing without a trace—because three equally dazzling purple flashes blocked them one by one!

Back and forth they went, their swords flashing.

The two fought in different locations, sometimes traversing through dense forests, sometimes wrestling in open spaces, and sometimes leaping onto thick branches.

As their battleground expanded, the signs of destruction spread rapidly.

Crushed fallen leaves.

A broken tree trunk.

The cracked earth.

A powerful force surged, and everything in its path was ravaged!

Unlike the duel between Hannya and Kiryu earlier, this is a truly evenly matched battle!

No one gained the upper hand, and no one lost the upper hand.

Whenever it is attacked, it will immediately retaliate.

To cope with the opponent's fierce attack, both sides had to keep their eyes wide open, not daring to blink even for a moment, keeping a close eye on the opponent's every move. A moment of relaxation would be fatal, and there would be no chance of injury—such a terrifying slash would kill anyone who was hit!

Their duel was incredibly intense, with an unbelievably fast pace of offense and defense, but the shifts between victory and defeat were equally swift.

From a certain perspective, Qingdeng can be considered a "slow-burning" swordsman.

As the battle dragged on, he felt his blood growing hotter, his hands and feet becoming lighter and more agile, and his mind becoming highly focused.

Talents "Gathering Spirit" and "Born to Fight +9" activated!

[Note: Born for War +9: The more intense and fierce the battle, the better the physical and mental state.]

In a flash, Qingdeng's will was transmitted to the tip of the blade, and he swung the blade forward as if it were his own arm.

*Swoosh*—a slight sound of flesh tearing open. The swift cut caught Prajna off guard, leaving a small bloodstain on her shoulder.

Qingdeng's offensive continued unabated. Like a swallow in flight, he chased straight towards Banruo and once again swung his sword to slash at the opponent's chest.

Before she could regain her footing and had time to dodge, Prajna could only raise her knife and engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Qing Deng's attack was unstoppable. After taking the hit head-on, Prajna had to take two steps back before she could regain her footing.

In order to get out of the current passive situation, Prajna took a deep breath with a hiss, and in a second he was full of power. He flew up and slashed at Qingdeng’s waist and abdomen, trying to interrupt his attack rhythm.

In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng thrust twice.

With his first thrust, he deflected Prajna's attack, then with a blur of motion, he pulled the blade back to his hand at lightning speed before unleashing his second thrust.

That glint of cold light magnified instantly in Prajna's eyes... Although he managed to dodge it again, Vairocana's blade grazed his earlobe, leaving a straight wound that bloomed like a seashell.

Without a doubt, Qingdeng has gradually gained the upper hand, and Banruo is showing signs of defeat.

Qingdeng has no shortage of stamina. Even in a war of attrition, he is fully confident that he can wear down Prajna.

With this ebb and flow, Prajna will only become more and more passive and exhausted, ultimately ending in defeat.

Despite this, Prajna's face showed no sign of alarm.

He calmly and collectedly responded to the challenge, countering each move with a counter-attack.

Even if he were accidentally injured, he would not react at all, not even raising an eyebrow.

In that instant, Prajna's eyes underwent a subtle change—a strange light flickered from them.

……

……

7 years ago —

A certain place in Kanto —

"Finally found you. You must be Yamada Asaemon Katsumi?"

The sudden voice made Keji tense up instantly. He subconsciously lowered his waist, gripped his sword, and turned to face the speaker—a handsome young man who walked out of the shadows of the forest with unhurried steps.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yamada Asaemon Katsumi!"

The young man greeted Keji with a bright, sunny smile.

Unmoved by self-discipline, he countered with a fierce and unwavering resolve:

Who are you?

The young man stood about ten meters away from Keji, his smile widening.

"I am Shuten-dōji, the one who punishes all evil and his followers!"

"Shuten-dōji?!"

Keji's eyes widened instantly.

"Oh? You know me?"

"I've heard so much about you!"

Keji said this with an excited smile.

"I've heard you're one of the strongest swordsmen in the Law Extermination Party!"

"The strongest swordsman? Hahaha, if there's a 'one of' suffix, then that's certainly true..."

Before Shuten-dōji could finish speaking, he was rudely interrupted by Katsumi:

"Although I don't know why you're here, since you've come looking for me, let me personally see just how capable the top experts of the Law Extermination Party really are!"

Suddenly, a loud thud was heard – Keji had vanished from his spot.

Immediately afterwards, a gust of wind blew towards Shuten-dōji, and the figure of Katsumi was hidden in the wind.

At the same time he lunged at Shuten-dōji, he drew his sword, adopted the Blue Eye stance, aimed at Shuten-dōji's skull, and slashed down.

His attack was extremely fierce... but before he could get close to his opponent, he fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string, landing face-first in the dirt.

"Ho...! Ho...! Ho...! Ho...!"

Keji clutched his lower back and abdomen, cold sweat pouring down his face, his facial features contorted with pain.

"What's this……?"

He muttered to himself as he turned to look at Shuten-dōji beside him.

"Hey, you're really impatient! Even if you want to spar with me, you should at least wait until I finish speaking!"

As he spoke, Shuten-dōji brandished the sword in his hand—or rather, the sword that was still in its sheath.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that Shuten-dōji's eyes emitted a strange light, making him appear exceptionally alluring.

Keji's pupils suddenly contracted.

"'The state of no-self'...! How... can you, at such a young age... master the state of no-self?!"