I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Before the match started, Yamanami wanted to go and say hello to his master, Chiba Sadakichi, and his old friend, Aoto.

However, due to a misjudgment of the competition's popularity, by the time he arrived at the venue, it was already a little late, and the spectator stands were already packed with people.

If he were to spend time looking for Qingdeng and the others and greeting them, there might not be a single seat left in the viewing area. Therefore, Shannan had no choice but to abandon the idea of ​​greeting Qingdeng and the others and quietly sat down alone in a small, empty corner of the west viewing area.

Because he couldn't come to watch the game yesterday, Shannan only just heard about Qingdeng's amazing performance from the spectators around him.

Before I knew it, Qingdeng had grown to this level... Shannan blinked hard in surprise, and admiration slowly appeared on his scholarly face.

The scene of Qing Deng coming to ask him more than three months ago whether Shiwei Hall often exchanges sword techniques with Genbu Hall and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall still seems like yesterday to Yamanami.

In a short period of less than four months, Qingdeng has repeatedly achieved remarkable feats that have given Shannan the illusion that "Is this still the Qingdeng I know?"

In terms of his political achievements, he is now known as "the little celestial dog of the Northern Frontier Bureau".

In terms of swordsmanship, he first led Shieikan to victory over their Chiba Sword Hall in the "Plum Blossom Festival" red and white battle, and then shone brightly in the current swordsmanship competition.

While admiring Qingdeng, who had suddenly transformed into a remarkable individual and made great strides in various fields, Shannan also felt a touch of...envy for his old friend.

Although Qingdeng and Shannan are very good friends, there is actually a big age difference between them. Because of his fair complexion, Shannan looks like he is only in his early 20s, but he is actually 27 years old.

—That's wonderful...to have achieved so much at only 18 years old...

Shan Nan took a deep breath, then focused his mind and concentrated on the arena in front of him, where the temperature seemed to rise several degrees under the influence of the surrounding atmosphere.

……

……

The spectator stands, the seats in the martial arts training hall—

Since earlier, Shinzama Hiroshi had been hanging his head, his lips tightly pressed together, his face pale and expressionless.

One of his junior classmates, sitting next to him, thought that Niizuma Hiroshi was nervous because the finals were about to begin, so he leaned closer to Niizuma Hiroshi and whispered encouragingly:

"My dear wife, there's no need to be nervous. Just do your best."

Shinji Kanri ignored his junior's encouragement and continued to keep a straight face, looking as if he was deep in thought.

At this moment, amidst everyone's anticipation and under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the old warrior who served as the master of ceremonies slowly stepped into the arena.

He didn't bring the lottery box with him anymore—there was no need to draw lots for the final match.

As always, the veteran emcee maintained his style of "not saying too many formalities".

After standing in the center of the arena, he first looked around, then raised his hand and made a gesture of pressing down, asking the spectators to quiet down.

After the commotion in the stands subsided slightly, the old master of ceremonies cleared his throat and then called out in a tone higher than ever before:

"The final trial match—"

"The Shinto Stream of No Thoughts, the Training Hall, and the New Wife's Comfort!"

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

Upon hearing these two names... or more precisely, upon hearing Qing Deng's name, the spectator stands, which had just quieted down, erupted into a cacophony of voices once more.

Upon hearing the emcee call out his name, Shinzaku Hiroshi's expression immediately froze.

As if by instinct, he reached into his pocket and touched a medicine box hidden inside.

The cool touch of the medicine box reached Niizuma Hiroshi's fingertips.

Feeling the coolness on his fingertips, Shinjiro Hiroshi's previously barely composed expression immediately crumbled as a complex mix of worry, hesitation, and panic surged onto his cheeks.

What should be done with the medicine that the Rakshasa gave him last night...? He has to decide now!

If he waits until he goes on stage and puts on a helmet and other protective gear, he will never have the chance to take this pill again.

Just when Hiroshi Niizuma felt that every second was as long as a year, suddenly—Hiroshi Niizuma suddenly heard the following conversation coming from behind him:

"Finally, it's the finals... I don't think the finals will be very interesting."

"Yeah, that Niizuma Hiroshi doesn't seem like a match for Tachibana Aoto at all. He'll probably be easily defeated by Tachibana Aoto, just like Morishita and Osaki did."

The people having this conversation are two swordsmen from a small sword shop sitting not far behind Hiroshi Niizuma.

Although they had tried to lower their voices, their conversation was still heard in its entirety by Hiroshi Niizuma, whose hearing was quite good.

Hiroshi Niizuma, who was already drooping his head, lowered it even further.

About two seconds passed... No one knows what Hiroshi Niizuma was thinking during those two short seconds.

Two seconds later, Niizuma Hiroshi clenched his teeth, then pulled out the medicine box from his pocket, poured out the pill inside, and pretended to slap his face to encourage himself before popping the white pill into his mouth...

……

……

Amidst the cheers of "Go for it!" from Okita and the others, Aoto gripped his bamboo sword tightly again, put on his protective gear, and returned to the arena.

After standing on either side of the center of the arena, almost simultaneously with Hiroshi Niizuma, the two respectfully tucked their bamboo swords into their left waistbands, squatted down, and bowed to each other.

After the two finished their greetings, the two referees standing on either side of Qing Deng and his companion immediately raised their hands and announced, "Begin!"

As soon as the referees uttered the word "Begin," the noise and commotion in the stands instantly reached a new climax.

The spectators perked up and watched the final match unfold with great interest!

Huff... Qing Deng took a deep breath, then squinted and began to carefully observe Niizuma Hiroshi across from him.

--Um?

Just as his gaze fell upon Niizuma Hiroshi, Aoto's eyebrows involuntarily twitched with surprise.

Both Hiroshi Shinzawa and he are now adopting a mid-range stance that is capable of both offense and defense.

Observing Hiroshi Niizuma's posture and knife-wielding movements, it's easy to see that his foundation is quite solid.

At first glance, Hiroshi Niizuma's movements seem quite standard, with nothing particularly wrong or outstanding.

However, for some reason, Qing Deng felt that Shinzawa Hiroshi was giving him a... very strange feeling.

Just as Aoto was still puzzled by the "strange feeling" emanating from Niizuma Hiroshi, Niizuma Hiroshi moved.

While watching Hiroshi Niizuma's matches these past two days, Aoto discovered that Niizuma has a very aggressive fighting style.

In every match, he is always the first to launch an attack.

Even now that we've reached the finals, Hiroshi Niizuma hasn't changed his aggressive playing style.

Whoosh!

Shinzakuan suddenly stomped off the ground, sending a large amount of white gravel flying, and pounced on Qingdeng like a predatory beast! Using the momentum of her charge, she swung her bamboo sword straight down at Qingdeng's head.

For the past two days, Qing Deng has been watching each player's match very attentively—he certainly didn't waste his time watching these matches.

Having carefully watched all of Niizuma Hiroshi's matches over the past two days, and knowing that Niizuma Hiroshi's fighting style was quite aggressive, Aoto had long been mentally prepared that "Niizuma Hiroshi would most likely launch a fierce attack on him first."

Qing Deng raised his eyes and quickly saw the path of Niizuma Hiroshi's sword. He lowered his waist and slid to the side as if gliding on the ground, calmly dodging Niizuma Hiroshi's attack. He then swung his sword at Niizuma Hiroshi's head as he stood still.

Qing Deng's sword strike was both timed and angled extremely cleverly.

Even seasoned swordsmen who have practiced swordsmanship for many years might not be able to block Qing Deng's attack.

But just as the bamboo sword was about to strike the helmet on Niizuma Hiroshi's head—

Snapped!

The blades of the two bamboo swords rubbed together, producing a sharp noise that was almost painful to the eardrums.

Shinzaku Hiroshi promptly withdrew and held up the bamboo sword he had just swung, blocking Aoto's attack.

Seeing that Niizuma Hiroshi had actually blocked his attack, Aoto's eyes widened slightly involuntarily.

"Drink up—!"

The new wife opened her wide mouth and let out a powerful breath, using the breath to boost her strength. She then used her arms to parry Qing Deng's sword, and took a small half step towards Qing Deng, who had just moved to the side, to close the distance between them again.

Following closely behind was a slash that created gusts of sharp wind pressure, the bamboo sword arcing as it approached Qing Deng's chest.

Suddenly feeling a heavy, oppressive pressure approaching his chest, Qing Deng took two steps back, but Shinzaku Hiroshi persisted, letting out another loud breath and relentlessly pressing on Qing Deng as he retreated.

One cut, two cuts, three cuts...

The dark yellow bamboo sword was swung by Shinzae Hiroshi, leaving behind trails of dark yellow afterimages.

Shinto Munen-ryu's swordsmanship style, which emphasizes power and attack, was perfectly embodied by Hiroshi Niizuma. The wind pressure generated by each of his attacks made the surrounding spectators feel their scalps tingle just by listening to it.

Their feet slid continuously, making the ground creak. The sounds of kicking and shoveling the white gravel on the ground rose and fell.

After dodging another attack from Niizuma Hiroshi, Qing Deng seized the opportunity to suddenly shift his body weight, crouch down, and use his left hand to draw an arc with his sword, soaring through the air to strike Niizuma Hiroshi's right wrist holding the sword.

Qing Deng, who is left-handed, has the same power and speed whether he uses his left or right hand to wield the sword.

Faced with Aoto's sudden attack, Niizuma Hiroshi's pupils contracted slightly, and he quickly pulled his hands holding the knife back. The blade of Aoto's bamboo sword grazed past the armor on Niizuma Hiroshi's wrists.

Although Qing Deng's attack missed its target, it successfully neutralized Niizuma Hiroshi's relentless offensive and disrupted Niizuma Hiroshi's attack rhythm.

Taking advantage of the situation, Qing Deng aimed his left shoulder diagonally at Xin Qi Kuan, adopted a low right stance, pushed off with his rear foot, and charged towards Xin Qi Kuan with the momentum of trying to knock him down.

Just as their figures were about to overlap, Qing Deng's sword slashed diagonally at the right side of Xin Qi Kuan's abdomen as he brushed past her.

According to the rules of this competition, the entire torso is a vital area where a single hit will result in defeat.

Unfortunately, Qing Deng's sword tip only grazed the air again—just as Qing Deng rushed towards him, Shinzama Hiroshi reacted extremely quickly and moved half a step to the side, causing Qing Deng's sword tip to go a little further away and only hit the air.

Qingdeng took two steps forward using the momentum of the crisscrossing, then stopped and turned to look at Niizuma Hiroshi—he didn't see Niizuma Hiroshi's face, but he first saw the dark yellow bamboo sword blade rapidly enlarging in his field of vision.

This time, Hiroshi Niizuma didn't use his Ki-A before attacking. Instead, he silently swung his sword, and a horizontal slash that cut across Aoto's line of sight swept towards Aoto's head.

At this moment, Qingdeng's body reacted before his brain.

Qing Deng pointed his sword downwards and stepped forward. Leaning his body, he swung the sword upwards, deflecting Niizuma Hiroshi's heavy slash with a loud "crack".

Shinzuma Hiroshi's bamboo sword seemed to be about to detach from his palm and fly into the sky, as it was raised high upwards.

As he felt the powerful force transmitted through the sword to his arms, Hiroshi Niizuma's expression changed slightly.

"Gulp..." Shinjiro gritted his teeth, using brute force to stop the recoil coming from the sword.

"Drink up—!"

Hiroshi Niizuma's bamboo sword once again drew an arc in the air.

His bamboo sword leaped up with his body and pounced towards Qingdeng!

Qing Deng fearlessly drew his sword to meet the attack, crashing into Niizuma Hiroshi without even taking a running start!