I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Although he appeared calm on the outside, the turmoil in his mind was like a drop of ink falling into clear water, clearly reflected in Kondo Isami's eyes.

The worst thing in battle is to lose your composure.

When one's emotions are unstable, it is easy to make wrong judgments, which in turn exposes flaws.

If it were Kondo Isami from three years ago, he probably wouldn't have been able to take advantage of Date Shinji's anxiety.

Now, having experienced countless battles, he has mastered the art of "turning the opponent's emotions into one's own."

Drawing on his extensive combat experience, he calmly halted his offensive.

Seeing this, Idahinji had no doubts and roared angrily before launching a counterattack.

At first glance, the situation appears to be reversed.

Kondo Isami became the "defender," while Date Shinji became the "attacker."

Just then, Kondo Isami's stance became unstable, and the bamboo sword in his hand left the center line of his body, leaving his center wide open.

Overwhelmed by the thought of "I must win," Date Shinji's face immediately lit up with joy.

Without a second thought, he drew his sword and stood up, ready to seize this fleeting opportunity and subdue Kondo Isami in one fell swoop.

He didn't see it—at this moment, the corners of Kondo Isami's mouth were slightly upturned, revealing a faint smile.

Whether it was the slowed-down offensive or the posture of emptying his body's center line, they were all feints he deliberately made to trick Ita Shin into making a move!

Under normal circumstances, Ida Shinji would certainly not have fallen for such a simple trap.

But now he's so anxious that he's completely lost his usual judgment.

Ultimately, they suffered from a lack of practical experience.

When Date Shinji foolishly charged forward following his instructions, Kondo Isami nimbly dodged to the left, avoiding the attack.

The dodging motion concealed the decisive strike—he raised the tip of his sword from below, aimed it at the opponent's body, and thrust it out from the side!

With a muffled thud, his bamboo sword pierced Date Shinji's chest squarely!

Ida Shinji cried out in pain and staggered back more than ten steps. Finally, unable to stop himself, he fell to the ground with a thud.

Seeing this, the referee immediately raised his small flag and loudly announced the winner of the battle:

"The winner is Kondo Isami of the Shinsengumi!"

The dazzling exchanges and the subsequent exhilarating victories elicited thunderous cheers from the audience.

Those who advocated that "the Shinsengumi will win" now all have expressions that say, "See, I told you so!"

Qing Deng, sitting in the VIP section, smiled and clapped, his expression calm.

Suddenly, he said to Date Keikun beside him:

"Lord Mutsu, what a wonderful match!"

Date Keikun paused, his lips twitching several times, before he forced a nonchalant reply:

"Yes, yes, it was a really great match... I was completely engrossed in it."

Despite his efforts to endure it, a dark cloud uncontrollably settled over his cheeks.

Ita Shinji, who ranked second among the "Seven Musketeers of Xianzhou," was undoubtedly one of his most promising trump cards.

However... in just the first round, Date Shinji suffered a crushing defeat!

Such a poor start left him deeply worried.

Left with no other choice, he could only console himself in his heart:

—So be it! Kondo Isami is also one of the Shinsengumi's main fighting forces. After this round, Kondo Isami will no longer be able to fight, so it's not too bad!

……

……

After a short break, the second round slowly began.

In this round, the figure emerging from the east side of the arena is Inoue Genzaburo, while the figure emerging from the west side of the arena is Nakamura Bunshiro, who ranks fourth among the "Seven Spears of Senshu".

Inoue Genzaburo has always maintained a low profile.

This was partly due to his personality—he disliked showing off—and partly because his strength was indeed lacking, making it difficult for him to establish outstanding military achievements.

Therefore, when Inoue Genzaburo appeared on the field, it immediately sparked a wave of discussion:

"It's Captain Inoue Genzaburo of the Sixth Division."

"It is said that among the captains of the Shinsengumi, Inoue Genzaburo's strength is only in the middle range."

"Idiot, don't you even know who you're comparing yourself to? Being ranked in the middle among the captains of the Shinsengumi is already quite an achievement!"

"Don't underestimate him. During last year's 'Ikedaya Incident,' he, along with Kondo Isami and Okita Souji, stormed the Ikedaya and single-handedly fought against more than a dozen loyalists who advocated for overthrowing the government, without being at a disadvantage."

"Inoue Genzaburo, who ranks in the middle among the Shinsengumi generals, versus Nakamura Bunshiro, who ranks in the middle among the 'Seven Spears of Senshu'... This match looks like it's going to be very interesting!"

At this moment, Inoue Genzaburo and Nakamura Bunshiro stood in the very center of the arena.

The moment the two met, Nakamura Bunshiro grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and said loudly with a flippant expression:

"Old man, please give me your guidance."

His intention was to provoke them and disturb their peace of mind.

They were malicious, but they chose the wrong target.

The humble Inoue Genzaburo was completely unfazed by his provocations.

But Inoue Genzaburo remained calm and said slowly:

“Young man, empty words are useless. As a swordsman, you should use your sword to speak for you.”

Seeing that his provocation had failed and he had been lectured instead, Nakamura Bunshiro snorted coldly with displeasure.

Urged by the referee, the two men set up their bamboo swords and performed a squatting salute.

"Seven Spears of Senshu, Shinto Munen-ryu, Nakamura Bunshiro."

"Captain of the 6th Division of the Shinsengumi, Tennen Rishin-ryu, Inoue Genzaburo."

No sooner had the referee announced "start" than Nakamura Bunshiro charged toward Inoue Genzaburo like a cannonball!

"Aa ...

Just like a replica of Kondo Isami from before, he burst out with a powerful shout and launched a frenzied attack.

Inoue Genzaburo adopted the Blue Eye formation and calmly met the attack.

Nakamura Bunshiro's slashes were either dodged or deflected.

Amidst the dense sword shadows unleashed by his opponent, Inoue Genzaburo handled them with ease, as if strolling leisurely in a garden.

Everyone expected a fierce battle to unfold.

But what happened next surprised everyone.

"Aa ...

With another shout and another kasaya slash—after more than ten rounds of fighting, Nakamura Bunshiro raised his sword again and slashed diagonally at Inoue Genzaburo's body.

This time, Inoue Genzaburo neither dodged nor defended himself, but instead lowered his eyelids and held his breath.

In a flash, he swiftly swung his sword! Gathering strength, pushing off the ground, and striking—this series of movements was all done simultaneously, flowing smoothly and seamlessly.

His bamboo sword swung from the lower part—with a snap—the opponent's bamboo sword was deflected to the side, and then continued to slash through the air with undiminished momentum, sweeping towards Nakamura Bunshiro's body!

Inoue Genzaburo's move was both a defense and an offense.

Upon seeing this, the other party was immediately terrified and instinctively leaned back, barely managing to dodge the sword, which only grazed his clothes.

Although he escaped danger, he was still not safe—because Inoue Genzaburo had a backup plan!

With two sharp "hiss" sounds, two clouds of dust rose from the ground—Inoue Genzaburo slid forward like an eel and attacked his opponent again with his sword.

The bamboo sword in his hand traced the trajectory of a kesa slash, slashing down towards Nakamura Bunshiro's shoulder.

The relentless onslaught completely disrupted Nakamura Bunshiro's rhythm and train of thought.

In his panic, he instinctively raised his sword to parry... and this foreshadowed his defeat.

Inoue Genzaburo feigned an attack on the shoulder, but actually aimed for the right wrist!

Inoue Genzaburo was never known for his physical prowess.

But in terms of skill alone, even Kondo Isami is no match for him!

Therefore, his change of tactics was so skillful that it was impossible to defend against.

The deceived Nakamura Bunshiro foolishly raised his arm, exposing his completely unguarded wrist.

With a loud crack, Nakamura Bunshiro was caught completely off guard and took a solid hit to his right wrist.

If Inoue Genzaburo was holding a real sword, then Nakamura Bunshiro's right wrist would have already fallen to the ground.

Although there was no risk of losing an arm, being struck solidly by a bamboo sword was still quite unpleasant.

Startled by the pain, he cried out and reflexively let go, dropping the bamboo sword to the ground.

In any serious martial arts competition, "losing a weapon" is a serious mistake that can result in an immediate loss.

The referee immediately raised his flag, ready to announce the winner.

Upon seeing this, Nakamura Bunshiro, disregarding his own pain, quickly shouted to stop him:

"Wait! I can still fight! In a real fight, I've only lost my right hand! I still have my left hand to use!"

After saying that, he bent down and picked up the bamboo sword with his left hand.

Before the referee could speak, Inoue Genzaburo, sitting opposite him, chuckled a few times.

“Young man, don’t be foolish. Putting aside whether you have the skill to wield a sword with your left hand, if your right hand is severed, you will be in so much pain that you will be sweating profusely and trembling all over. You will not be able to fight at all.”

He paused here, then added quietly:

"By the way, this is not something I'm making up; I can attest to it myself."

"No one who has had their arms or wrists cut off by me can stand up straight."

The referee followed immediately: