I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Harada had a simple, honest smile on his face.

Now, his face is tense and his expression is solemn.

Even though he was all alone, Harada's face did not show any fear or timidity.

He brandished the wooden spear in his hand, forcing back Aoto and Saito, who were trying to approach him from the left and right.

As early as when he was one-on-one with Harada, Aoto had already noticed that this person had a very good sense of distance.

He retreated decisively when it was time to retreat, and advanced without hesitation when it was time to advance.

Whether it's swords or spears, a review of all the defeats in combat reveals that the vast majority of people lost because they "failed to properly manage the distance from the enemy."

Unaware that they have entered the enemy's attack range; launching an attack before their weapon can even touch the enemy; overestimating the enemy's attack range and retreating too far, wasting energy...

In short, the ability to maintain proper distance from one's opponent and to judge when to retreat and when to advance is a watershed moment that distinguishes a novice from a master.

Harada was skilled, but ultimately he couldn't carry the whole team alone.

Although he temporarily intercepted Qing and Zhai who were trying to get close to him thanks to the long spear's extremely wide attack range, it was only "temporary".

After fighting so hard, Harada finally revealed a slight opening, and the angle of his spear thrusting at Saito became slightly off.

Saito seized the opportunity, stood with his feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, lowered his center of gravity, took a deep breath, and with a low stance, swung his sword up from below, striking the tip of Harada's spear before he could retract it.

The gun barrel was jolted open... Harada's defenses were instantly wide open!

The chance to decide the winner in one fell swoop has arrived! Qingdeng gripped the bamboo sword in his hand tightly.

—Perfect opportunity to try out my newly acquired talent!

Aoto slammed his hind legs into the ground, like a bullet flying from a gun barrel, and charged straight toward Harada.

The whooshing sound of wind rushing past his ears made Qingdeng look surprised.

Wow, so fast!

After actually trying it once, Qingdeng truly realized what his legs had been "transformed" into, and he experienced for the first time what it meant to be a "flying man".

Not only was Qing Deng surprised by his current speed and explosiveness, but the others in the courtyard, including Saito, Kiryu, and Kinoshita Mai, also showed expressions of astonishment.

Kinoshita Mai's red lips parted slightly, her eyes wide open, and she blinked hard.

Having sparred with Aoto, Nagakura now raised his hand and stroked his chin: "Hmm... Tachibana-kun's leg strength is that strong after all..."

The explosive power brought about a rapid speed, allowing Qing Deng to reach Harada in the blink of an eye.

The spear can only be effective when you are at a distance from the enemy.

Once the enemy gets close, the long shaft of the spear will become an obstacle to your combat as it makes it difficult to hit the enemy in front of you.

Harada hurriedly retreated, trying to create distance between himself and Aoto.

But it was too late.

The moment the blade of the bamboo sword in his hand was about to touch Harada's body, Qing Deng swung his sword and slashed at Harada's chest.

Harada instinctively held the gun horizontally, trying to block Aoto's attack with the barrel.

However, Qing Deng's attack was just a feint.

After feinting and deceiving Harada's defense, Qing Deng turned his sword and the bamboo sword swept Harada's left leg, disrupting Harada's balance. In the next instant, the bamboo sword drew a half-circle and smoothly pressed against Harada's chest.

Looking at the bamboo sword pressed against his chest, Harada paused for a moment, then chuckled a few times and threw the wooden spear in his hand to the ground.

"I lost."

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "Insight"]

[Talent Introduction: Excellent spatial awareness]

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This kind of battle where the moves aren't named is the hardest to write, so writing today's chapter took far longer than any other chapter. Please be sure to vote for this book with lots of monthly tickets today! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets!

Chapter 116 The Swordsman Group was finally established!

—A sense of space?

The sense of space is very strong... Qing Deng finally understands why Harada is able to grasp the distance between himself and his opponent so well.

This talent might not be very useful in daily life, but it can be extremely useful in combat.

A strong sense of space means you can better see the distance between yourself and the enemy, and you are less likely to make the basic mistake of "not retreating when you should retreat, and not advancing when you should advance".

If Qing Deng ever decides to become a painter or architect in the future, this talent will be very useful—but Qing Deng has no intention of becoming an artist or architect.

Overall, this is also a very useful talent.

To think that he had obtained two very useful talents from Harada and Todo in one go... Qing Deng couldn't help but feel great.

Harada had put down his wooden gun. Seeing that the assessment was over, Kiryu, Kinoshita Mai, and Nagakura, who had been watching from the sidelines, slowly walked towards Aoto.

As soon as he arrived beside Aoto, Kiryu asked him first:

"Tachibana-kun, the strength in your legs... seems to have increased quite a bit compared to the battle at the 'Plum Blossom Festival' and the Chiba Sword Hall. Have you been doing some special training lately?"

"Uh, yes." Qingdeng nodded vigorously, then readily made up a lie on the spot, "I've been focusing on strengthening my leg muscles lately."

Aside from using the excuse that "I've been doing special training recently," Qing Deng couldn't think of any better reason to explain why his legs had suddenly become much stronger.

Kiryu seemed unwilling to dwell on the matter any longer. After hearing Aoto's explanation, he nodded slightly and smiled.

"I see. It seems that you, Tachibana-kun, also have a constitution that makes it easy for your physical fitness to improve."

“I have an old friend who has been with me for exactly 70 years.

A smile of reminiscence spread across Kiryu's face.

"Just like you, his physical fitness is quite easy to improve. Even though I haven't seen him exercise very hard, his physical fitness can increase rapidly, which is extremely enviable."

It seems my explanation just now successfully fooled Kiryu.

To be able to gloss over this problem so easily... Qing Deng felt a sense of relief.

Aoto didn't notice that Kinoshita Mai, who was now standing behind Kiryu, was looking at him with a rather strange expression.

After listening to Qingdeng's explanation of why his leg strength had increased so much, she blinked at Qingdeng a few times, a faint look of confusion in her eyes.

Immediately afterwards, a thoughtful expression appeared on his cheeks.

After a moment, as if she had successfully solved some question in her heart, the contemplative expression on her face suddenly disappeared, her eyes widened, her red lips parted slightly, and she gently gasped.

The confusion deep in his eyes slowly transformed into... a look of emotion.

Kinoshita Mai pursed her lips, casting a deeply moved gaze at Aoto.

However, due to the angle of view and the fact that Qing Deng's attention was not on Kinoshita Mai at the moment, Qing Deng did not notice Kinoshita Mai's subtle change in expression at all.

Qing Deng's attention was now focused on Harada and Toudou, who were closing in on him.

"Tachibana-kun, how is it?" Kiryu asked with a smile after glancing at Harada, Todo, and Nagakura beside him. "Are you satisfied with the people I found for you?"

Aoto's lips curled slightly: "Mr. Kiryu, coming to you for help in finding candidates is definitely the right choice."

Originally, Aoto never expected that all his scouts would be outstanding martial artists, because he felt that was too unrealistic. He would be content if Kiryu could help him find three people with outstanding physical strength who were not afraid of hardship.

He never expected... that Kiryu would be so helpful, recommending three top-notch experts.

Regarding Harada and Todo's performance in the assessment just now... Aoto could only describe it as "If they are still not satisfied, then they are being too greedy."

The two men's skills far exceeded Qing Deng's expectations.

Nagakura, Harada, Todo... Aoto felt that with their combined strength, they could easily overpower most of the students at the Shieikan Academy.

Especially Nagakura; the sense of pressure Nagakura exerted on him during their sparring match more than a month ago is still fresh in Qing Deng's memory.

Missing out on these three... it's possible that for a long time to come, we won't find any better candidates to lead the team.

So—Qing Deng shifted his gaze, scanning the faces of Nagakura, Harada, and Toudou one by one, and then said seriously:

"Let me confirm: all three of you want to join my ranks and become my recruits, right?"

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Nagakura, Harada, and Todo all nodded vigorously without hesitation.

After Harada nodded, he chuckled a few times: "This kind of job, which pays two taels of gold a month and doesn't require any brainpower, is hard to come by again if you miss it."

Having confirmed that all three were indeed Qingdeng who wanted to join his ranks... he smiled.

"In that case... are all three of you free at noon today?"

"Come with me for lunch later. It's my treat, a nice meal."

"We'll be working together soon, so it's necessary for everyone to get to know each other properly."

Upon hearing Qing Deng's words, Nagakura, Harada, and Todo were all taken aback at first, but then their faces lit up with excitement.

……

……

After testing Harada and Todo's abilities, it was nearly noon.

Seeing that it was almost lunchtime, he planned to use lunch to get to know his three new subordinates better before saying goodbye to Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai and leaving the Senjiya.

"Mr. Kiryu, thank you for your help again this time." Qing Deng thanked Kiryu while taking out his wallet and handing over the commission fee to Kiryu.

Kiryu, who readily accepted the agency fee, laughed and said, "If you want to continue recruiting Okabiki, you can come back to me."

“I don’t plan to expand my team for the time being.” Qingdeng smiled. “Supporting three Gangyin is the limit of my current financial resources. If I recruit more people, I won’t be able to support them.”

After paying the agency fee and chatting with Kiryu and Kinoshita Mai for a few more minutes, Aoto waved to the old man and the young man, and led Saito, Nagakura and others to a fancy restaurant to treat his new subordinates to a good meal.

"Tachibana! Where are you taking us to eat?" Harada asked, licking his lips.

Harada reacted most strongly when he heard that Qingdeng was going to treat them to lunch: his eyes lit up and he kept swallowing.

"Hmm... how about some sushi?"

Harada: (swallows) "Sushi? Great! Let's go eat sushi! I happen to know a great sushi restaurant! But it's a bit far from here."