I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Ōtakemaru also stopped wielding his sword, returning the same amused look to his gleaming eyes.

"Go on, let me see more of your skills."

"..."

Ōtakemaru raised the tip of his sword high in response.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze came—without any warning, this breeze was disrupted by the surging sword energy!

The two figures kicked at the weeds and pebbles on the ground. In the sunlight, their figures merged once more.

……

This was a strange battle.

Both sides unleashed terrifying offensives with all their might, showing no mercy in their attempts to kill each other.

But strangely, none of their attacks contained any killing intent.

Despite having no intention to kill, they kept unleashing terrifying killing moves... Such a scene is truly difficult to describe with specific words.

Thus, they are less like enemies and more like close friends communicating intimately, except that their way of communicating is by slashing each other!

"So that's how it is," "There's actually such a way to swing a sword," "What a brilliant move"... From the moment he started, all these thoughts kept popping into Qing Deng's mind.

Although they were mortal enemies, Ootengu's superb martial arts skills repeatedly amazed Seido.

For Qingdeng, fighting against such a formidable opponent is both a terrifying and a joyful experience—because he can constantly learn new techniques from his opponent and continuously improve himself during the battle!

Qingdeng dared to assert: the Ōtakemaru before him was thinking the same thing.

If Orochi, Rin, and the others were here, they would be greatly surprised to see the expression on Ōtakemaru's face.

Ootakemaru, who usually puts on a nonchalant demeanor, was suddenly laughing heartily, his lips curving towards his ears. Although he didn't utter a sound of laughter, anyone could tell that he was extremely happy and couldn't be happier.

Ōtakemaru must have been enjoying the duel, and he must have been thinking to himself, "So that's how it is," "There's such a way to swing a sword"... The evidence is that both of their techniques improved rapidly during this duel!

Qing Deng had a vague premonition: the "top combatant of the Fazhu Party" in front of him did not seem to be there to kill him or turn the tide of the battle, but simply to spar with him!

In his memory, this was the first time he had encountered such an opponent.

How long ago was that similar experience?

Qing Deng had not had this wonderful experience of "trying to kill the opponent while also learning from them" for a long time.

Several times he forgot that he was on a battlefield amidst the chaos of battle, and wholeheartedly felt the power of Ōtakemaru's swordsmanship, using it as nourishment for himself!

Both Qingdeng and Ōtakemaru are monstrous figures with no shortage of stamina, and the swords they wield are exceptionally tough.

At first glance, it seems they could keep fighting forever, until the end of time.

Suddenly, Ōtakemaru slightly opened his usually tightly closed mouth.

"Ah...ya...ah...ya...ah...ya..."

He vibrated his vocal cords, producing strange, incoherent sounds that were not quite fluent and had a distorted intonation.

He was born deaf and therefore unable to learn to speak; his vocal organs were perfectly fine.

Judging from his appearance, he probably wanted to say something to Qingdeng.

Qingdeng could understand his desire to talk—because Qingdeng also wanted to talk to him right now.

"Did you learn your swordsmanship on your own?" "If you did, how did you develop these exquisite techniques?"... There were a whole lot of questions I wanted to ask Ōtakemaru.

Ōtakemaru then proceeded to say a lot of "things" to Aoto on his own.

About half a minute later, he closed his lips again, the corners of his mouth slightly curved, and a satisfied look appeared on his cheeks.

Just then, something unexpected happened!

But then a strange glint suddenly appeared in Ōtakemaru's beautiful eyes.

At the same moment, a subtle change occurred in his aura!

Qingdeng immediately noticed something was wrong—the wind had picked up.

A sudden gust of cool wind seemed to be gathering on Ōtakemaru!

What happened next happened in an instant—the silver blade suddenly swept diagonally towards Qingdeng with the force of a whirlwind!

This strike was incredibly cunning, almost beyond compare! It struck precisely at Qing Deng's most vulnerable spot!

Qingdeng gritted his teeth and took a step back, narrowly avoiding the attack.

In the blink of an eye, another strike came, precisely aimed at Qingdeng's vulnerable spot.

Qingdeng struggled to adopt a defensive posture.

Ōtakemaru relentlessly attacked, attacked, and attacked again!

The stalemate in the battle was immediately disrupted!

Ōtakemaru's condition improved at a visible rate, and his attacks became increasingly tricky, powerful, and difficult to defend against.

Often, before Qingdeng could even make a move, Ōtakemaru would interrupt him in time, leaving Qingdeng with no way to retaliate.

In this way, it was as if Ōtakemaru had seen through "everything" of him, and could even predict his attacks before he had even made any preparations!

Qingdeng unconsciously adopted a solemn expression.

A similar situation occurred several months ago when I was fighting Ogata...

With this thought in mind, Qingdeng no longer doubted, and solemnly said in his heart:

—There's no mistake...it's the "state of perfect clarity"!

Despite having activated his eternal talent "Heartless Demon Child" and entered the "Selfless Realm," he was still gradually suppressed by Ōtakemaru... If Ōtakemaru comprehended the "Transparent Realm," which is a level above the "Selfless Realm," then everything would make sense!

The "realm of perfect understanding" is a transcendent state that is difficult for ordinary people to comprehend, so it is not surprising that there may be any exaggerated manifestations.

The young man in front of him, who was about the same age as him, had actually grasped the "realm of clarity" before him... Thinking of this, Qing Deng felt a surge of emotions.

Is it fortunate or unfortunate?

Following Shuten-dōji, who "can freely enter the state of 'selflessness'", he has now encountered Ōtakemaru, who "has comprehended the state of 'perfect understanding'".

This one-in-a-million genius, he actually encountered one after another... it was truly a strange and tragic fate.

Amidst his astonishment, Qingdeng felt a growing sense of powerlessness.

Although he had several experiences that came close to "enlightenment", it was only "close" and far from "comprehension".

Using the "selflessness realm" to deal with the "transparent realm"... How can you defeat your opponent when their realms are only one level apart?

The detailed explanation of Qingdeng's thoughts made it seem as if a long time had passed.

In reality, only a few seconds have passed.

After entering the "Transparent Realm", Ōtakemaru's swordsmanship became extremely strange, with no discernible pattern! Even Aoto, who possessed talents such as "Sword Saint" and "Demon Heart +19", could not see through or imitate it!

Soon, the sounds of sharp blades slicing through flesh were heard, and specks of blood stained the edge of Ootakemaru's blade.

Although Qing Deng deflected or barely dodged all of Ōtakemaru's slashes with his sword, he only managed to protect his vitals. Inevitably, his body was grazed by the slashes, leaving bloody marks on his skin.

If we don't find a way to break this deadlock, sooner or later an irreparable and dire situation will arise!

The emergence of this "dire situation" was even faster and more sudden than Qingdeng had imagined!

In an instant, with its extraordinary speed, the silver blade broke through the black blade's interception and swept towards Qing Deng's forehead!

At the very moment he was about to cross the threshold of death, Qingdeng's "fighting instinct" saved his life again. He hurriedly pulled his head back, turning the fatal "split forehead" injury into a minor injury of "a small cut on the forehead".

With a "whoosh," the silvery-white blade grazed Qing Deng's forehead, slicing through his skin.

Instantly, a torrent of blood gushed out! It flowed down Qingdeng's face, soaking his entire face!

Although the wound was not deep and would not even leave a scar after healing, the dripping blood obscured Qingdeng's vision!

Qing Deng felt his eyes burning and couldn't open them no matter what he did!

He had temporarily lost his sight and had no time to bandage the wound on his forehead.

Left with no other choice, he could only rely on his hearing and intuition to pinpoint Ōtakemaru's attack.

Although Qing Deng could sense Ootengu's continuous attacks even without seeing, thanks to talents such as "Wind Perception +18" and "Foresight +26", the consequences of losing his sight were ultimately not so easy to undo!

He was already at a disadvantage, and now he was struggling even more.

Faced with Ōtakemaru's relentless onslaught, he could only parry and had no power to retaliate.

call! !

With a piercing whistling sound, a fierce slash, accompanied by a gale, slammed heavily towards Qing Deng's chest.

The strike was aimed at Qingdeng's weakest point—facing this attack, Qingdeng was neither able to defend nor dodge, and could only barely manage to take it head-on.

clang!!

Because of his strained defensive stance, Qing Deng was unable to neutralize all the force.

The moment the two swords clashed, Qing Deng was seen flying backward, covering a distance of more than ten meters, before falling back to the ground like a kite with a broken string...

……

……

—Am I... unconscious?

Whether it was the numbness in his arms or the intense pain in his back from the heavy fall, both caused Qing Deng's mind to become hazy, and his sense of time became strange. He couldn't tell whether a few minutes had passed or only a few microseconds.

The blood smeared on his face still prevented him from opening his eyes, and all he could see was a deep, dark abyss.

—Am I... going to lose...?

To be honest, Qingdeng still doesn't understand how Ōtakemaru's superhuman strength and speed came about.

He would stake his life on it, possessing a host of extraordinary talents and physical abilities far surpassing those of Ōtakemaru.

Logically speaking, he should only need three rounds at most to cut off Ōtakemaru's head.

However, the current reality is that Ōtakemaru is overwhelming him...

Although he couldn't quite put his finger on it, Qing Deng vaguely felt... that there seemed to be a strange "power" helping Ōtakemaru.

This is what gave him such incredible strength and speed.

—Could this also be the effect of "a state of profound understanding"?