I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Unconsciously, Shinjima Hiroshi clenched his fists even tighter.

Their fingers dug deep into the flesh of their palms, which were so red and raw that they seemed ready to bleed at any moment...

……

……

A one-hour lunch break passed in the blink of an eye.

As the match was about to resume at 8:00 AM (2:00 PM), the stands around the arena were once again packed.

The old samurai who was in charge of the ceremony returned to the arena. After saying a few perfunctory words that few people would actually listen to, he began to draw lots for the second round of elimination matches.

Qingdeng felt that he didn't know whether to call his luck "good" or "bad" today.

The emcee drew the first fortune stick from the container, glanced at the name written on it, and then raised his head and announced loudly:

"Natural Rishin-ryu, Shieikan, Tachibana Aoto!"

Wow!

As soon as the emcee finished speaking, an uproar erupted in the audience.

In the second round of the knockout stage, Qing Deng was once again the first to go... This really surprised everyone.

After handing Qingdeng's fortune slip to his assistant, the emcee reached into the fortune-telling container again and pulled out another slip.

After glancing at the name written on the slip of paper, the emcee, who usually had a stern face, suddenly had a strange expression.

After a moment of stunned silence, the emcee looked up from the lottery ticket.

"Kyoshin Meichi-ryu, Shigakukan, Morishita Tōtarō!"

The commotion in the spectator stands, which had just subsided, erupted into a new wave of sound.

We can see it so soon... Tachibana Aoto versus the "Three Heroes"!

Those spectators who were unaware of the difference in strength between Qingdeng and the "Three Heroes" immediately perked up, ready to watch the upcoming "battle of the titans" with rapt attention.

Only Chiba Eijiro and Saito Yakuro, who had already figured out the difference in strength between Aoto and the other players, remained calm—there was nothing interesting about a match where the gap in strength between the two sides was too large.

Qing Deng regained his composure from the shock of "I'm the first one to go again," picked up his bamboo sword, and stepped back into the arena.

Upon learning that his opponent in the second round would be Qing Deng, Morishita's expression became slightly strange, but he still resolutely drew his sword and stood up.

Wearing protective gear, standing on either side, and bowing, the second round of the elimination tournament officially began with the referees' command of "Start!"

Morishita gripped the bamboo sword tightly in his hand, staring intently at Aoto, who was assuming a mid-stance stance opposite him.

Morishita knew that he was no match for Aoto at the moment, but even so, he still wanted to fight with all his might until the very end!

Unlike his previous match against Adachi, Aoto did not launch an attack immediately at the start of the game.

At this moment, he simply held the knife quietly in front of him, without moving an inch.

Seeing that Aoto remained completely still, Morishita couldn't help but feel uneasy:

Why isn't he moving at all?

Are you looking for my weakness?

—Or are they thinking about which direction and how to attack?

While pondering why Aoto hadn't made any move, Morishita remained on high alert, wary of any action Aoto might take.

Not knowing what Qingdeng was up to, Morishita dared not make any rash moves and could only stand facing Qingdeng from a distance.

Morishita and the spectators in the stands were all anxiously waiting to see what Qing Deng would do.

Actually... Morishita and the others misunderstood Seito.

The reason why Qingdeng remained motionless was not because he was thinking about how to attack or looking for Morishita's weakness.

He didn't think about anything, he didn't ponder anything.

He was simply mentally counting down the 10 seconds needed to replicate the talent...

——Seven…Eight…Nine…Ten…

After silently counting to 10, Qingdeng exhaled all the stale air that had accumulated in his lungs.

He then slowly raised the bamboo sword in his hand, switching to the upper stance.

call--!

Step forward and draw your sword!

The exact same move as in the previous game.

Then, the exact same scene as the previous one appeared...

Seeing the rapidly enlarging tip of the bamboo sword before him, Morishita's pupils suddenly contracted, and his arm instinctively rose to intercept Qing Deng's sword, but he was half a step too slow, and Qing Deng's sword struck him squarely on the head.

Morishita stumbled back several steps after his helmet was struck hard.

Compared to Adachi in the previous match, Morishita performed slightly better – he was not knocked to the ground directly, and after taking several steps back, he regained his balance.

But this is useless; being hit in a vital spot means defeat.

The two referees immediately raised their arms to Qingdeng and loudly announced Qingdeng's victory.

The instant Morishita was instantly killed by Aoto, a series of system notifications flashed through Aoto's mind—

[Ding! Talent detected]

—He really has talent!

Hearing the system voice in his mind, Qing Deng cheered with joy.

Speaking of the last game, Qing Deng expressed some regret.

Because of the "well-intentioned deception" by Shusuke and the others, he did not expect Adachi to be so much weaker than he had anticipated. As a result, he did not have enough time to copy the talent in the match with Adachi, missing the opportunity to perhaps copy some talent from Adachi.

Therefore, he learned from his previous match against Adachi and did not launch a fierce attack immediately at the start of the match. Instead, he waited for 10 seconds until the time required to copy the talent had passed before launching his offensive.

Although the strength of the contestants in this competition is far inferior to that of Qingdeng, those who can participate in this competition are undoubtedly the best of their respective fencing schools.

Outstanding individuals among their peers, like the "Three Heroes," are naturally far more likely to possess special talents than ordinary people.

Indeed, upon hearing the cold system voice in his mind, Qing Deng subconsciously held his breath and listened attentively to the explanation of what kind of talent had been copied from Morishita.

[Successfully copied talent: "Minor Proficiency in Swordsmanship"]

[Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 5 times the average level]

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

[Ding! Initiating talent fusion]

[Ding! The "Sword Prodigy" and the "Minor Master of Swordsmanship" have begun to merge.]

[Please wait, host... Please wait, host...]

—A novice swordsman? A talent fusion?

The system voice message, which he had never heard before, made Qing Deng's breath catch in his throat and his expression froze.

He wanted to concentrate on listening to the next system message, but being on the field now wasn't a good time to do so.

The outcome of the match with Morishita was decided, and the venue needed to be cleared for the next batch of competitors. If they continued to stand there, it would arouse suspicion from others. Therefore, Qing Deng could only quickly bow to Morishita and then hurriedly leave the venue and return to the spectator stands.

Qing Deng returned to his seat amidst the astonished gazes and cheers of the crowd.

After instantly killing Adachi with a single sword strike, Aoto has now instantly killed Morishita with another single sword strike.

Even Morishita was no match for Aoto in a single blow... This had a far greater impact on the spectators than when they saw Adachi being knocked down by Aoto with a single sword strike!

As of just now, many people still believe that the "Three Heroes" are still as favorites to win the championship as Ching Teng, and still think that Ching Teng vs. the "Three Heroes" will be a fierce clash of titans.

Therefore, many people were shocked to see Morishita follow in Adachi's footsteps and could hardly believe what they were seeing on the field.

So the difference in strength between the "Three Heroes" and Ju Qingdeng was that big? They couldn't even withstand a single move from him... The onlookers, shocked by this fact, lost all control of their expressions, with astonishment constantly appearing on their faces.

At this moment, Qing Deng paid no attention to the astonished gazes and exclamations of the onlookers—he just wanted to get back to his seat as quickly as possible and concentrate on listening to what kind of system voice would emerge from his mind next.

As Aoto returned to Okita and Sanako filled with anticipation, the cold system voice, which had only been silent for a short while, finally rang in his mind again:

[Ding! Talent fusion successful]

[Sword Prodigy's Ability Advancement]

[“Sword Prodigy” Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 55 times the average level]

——55 times...? !

Upon hearing this number, Qingdeng's pupils subconsciously contracted slightly.

After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly opened his personal system interface—

Name: Tachibana Aoto (?)

[Currently possessed talents:]

Night Vision, Sword Prodigy, Sleepyhead, Lone Wolf, Eagle Eye, Left-Handed, Fitness, Skillful Hands, Eloquent Tongue, Iron Waist, Steel Bones, Strong Muscles, Cat Turn, Photographic Memory, Demon Heart, Breast Milk, Leading the Way, Seeing Through, Beautiful Hair, Conman

The interface is still the same.

The entry for "sword prodigy" has not changed.

However, when you click on the "Sword Prodigy" entry, the numbers displayed in the pop-up window introducing the talent have changed.

The original swordsmanship talent amplification was 50 times the average level of ordinary people, which has now become 55 times!

—It turns out that talents of the same type can be combined...!

Upon learning about and using this feature of the system for the first time, Qingdeng couldn't help but hiss and gasp softly.

In the past, Qing Deng had also been puzzled—what would happen if he obtained another talent of the same type after he already possessed the god-level talent of "Sword Prodigy"?

The system's user manual states that he will not possess the same talent.

This statement is undoubtedly too general.

What does "cannot have the same talent" mean? Does it mean that once you have a certain talent, you cannot copy and possess talents of the same type? Or does it mean that you will not be able to obtain talents with exactly the same content again?

Now, this question has finally been answered.

He simply couldn't possess the same talent.