I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

When I first became a disciple of Shieikan, a very enthusiastic senior explained to me that, excluding the headmaster Kondo Shusuke, Shieikan had the following four top masters: Kondo Isami, Okita Souji, Hijikata Toshizo, and Inoue Genzaburo.

In terms of swordsmanship, Inoue Genzaburo, who holds the Menkyo Kaiden of the Tennen Rishin-ryu style, is undoubtedly one of the top swordsmen at the Shieikan.

"Menko Kaiden" was the highest level of permit in the swordsmanship world during the Edo period.

Only after thoroughly mastering all the techniques of the school and gaining the master's approval can one obtain the rating of "permitted to all."

Different sword schools have different standards for issuing the license to all sword masters.

Some fencing schools have very strict standards.

Some sword schools... will issue you a certificate of their school's unrestricted transmission if you give the owner a little money.

The Shiwei Hall happens to belong to the former category.

Zhou Zhu strictly controlled the criteria for granting the title of "Master of All Arts".

To date, excluding Shusuke himself, only three people in the entire Shieikan have successfully obtained the title of "Master of Ceremonies": Kondo, Okita, and Inoue.

Even the earthen mound did not receive permission to be exempted from all transmissions.

However, the reason why Hijikata was not granted the title of Master of All Arts by Shusuke was not because he lacked strength.

As a boy, Hijikata was a medicine seller who made a living by peddling his family's secret medicine, "Ishida Sanya".

While traveling around selling medicine, he also went to sword schools in various places to learn and compete.

Before I knew it, I had secretly learned quite a few sword techniques from various sword schools.

Hijikata himself is a super troublemaker, with a foul mouth and a bad temper, and he gets into fights with people every now and then.

In these fights, Hijikata unknowingly learned a lot of street fighting skills and all sorts of strange moves from his opponents.

After entering the Shieikan and beginning his training in the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, Hijikata incorporated all the sword techniques from various schools he had secretly learned, as well as all sorts of random street fighting skills, into his Tennen Rishin-ryu.

Therefore, Hijikata's Natural Rishin-ryu is an "alternative version of Natural Rishin-ryu" that he modified himself.

Shusuke believed that Hijikata was not a pure Tennen Rishin-ryu swordsman, which is why he delayed in granting Hijikata the Tennen Rishin-ryu Mandate of All Transmission.

In short—to obtain the Mandate of Allegiance under Shusuke, who had extremely strict standards for granting it… Inoue’s strength is evident.

Inoue, whose movements were a bit slower than Aoto's, finally put on his protective gear.

The two, already dressed in protective gear and carrying bamboo swords, walked towards the center of the dojo from the left and right respectively.

Zhou Zhu, acting as the referee, stood between the two, raising his right hand high.

"salute!"

Aoto and Inoue tucked their bamboo swords into their left waistbands, bowed to each other in a crouching salute, and then, mimicking the action of drawing a sword, pulled out the bamboo swords from their left waistbands and slowly stood up.

"start!"

With Shusuke's command, the atmosphere in the dojo changed instantly!

A tense atmosphere, as if about to erupt into battle, permeated the space between Aoto and Inoue!

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

Inoue, holding his sword in a mid-stance stance... is like a roly-poly toy, light on top and heavy on the bottom.

The arms and waist have a sense of agility, while the feet are firmly rooted to the ground, and the body seems to be integrated with the floor, stable yet flexible.

A perfect stance...not a single flaw could be found.

Realizing that the man in front of him seemed to be much stronger than he had expected, Qing Deng lowered his eyelids slightly, held his breath, and stared intently at Inoue's every move.

The talent "Gathering Spirit" is activated!

The contest between Aoto and Inoue began in a quiet, still silence.

No one was in a hurry to attack.

They stood facing each other, each holding a bamboo sword, motionless and glaring at each other.

Inoue was the first to break the tense standoff.

Inoue moved closer to Aoto little by little with his feet firmly planted on the ground.

At the same time, Qing Deng also moved, using his feet to stick to the ground, and at a crawling speed, he closed the distance with Inoue.

The two, who were "heading towards each other," gradually drew closer to one another.

Just as the two were about a room apart, as if a slow-motion movie had suddenly started fast-forwarding, Inoue, who had been moving at a snail's pace, suddenly pounced on Aoto at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint!

Using the momentum of his charge, Inoue swung his sword down, aiming a heavy blow at Aoto's head.

Inoue was fast... but Aoto's movements were just as quick!

In the instant Inoue suddenly lunged forward, Qing Deng swiftly stopped, spread his feet, and his sword, like a supple whip, sprang up from below.

Snapped!

The crisp sound of bamboo swords clashing... Qing Deng's bamboo sword and Inoue's bamboo sword became entangled in the air.

Qing Deng's sudden upward thrust contained astonishing power, seemingly about to snatch the bamboo sword from Inoue's hand.

Startled by the force of Qing Deng's attack, Inoue opened his eyes slightly, his face showing astonishment.

Not only was Inoue surprised, but Aoto himself was also quite astonished by the power of his attack.

—As expected... Once the explosive power of the waist increases, the explosive power of other parts such as the limbs will also increase.

Compared to before, Qingdeng's upper body strength has increased significantly.

The reason for this is that he copied a very useful new talent from Kamaitachi—the "Bear Waist," which has an extraordinary explosive power in the waist.

The waist, being the central area of ​​the body, plays a crucial role in connecting the upper and lower body, providing strength to all parts of the body; it can be considered the source of power.

Simply put, strong explosive power in the waist can enhance the strength of the limbs and other parts of the body.

"Bear Waist" and "Iron Waist," which Qing Deng copied from Arima, have the talent effect of "not being easily strained, injured, or fatigued in the waist," are a perfect match.

One enhances the explosive power of the waist, and the other enhances the endurance of the waist... The effects of the two talents are superimposed, allowing Qingdeng's waist to provide powerful strength to his limbs for extended periods of time.

Although the force of Qing Deng's upward slash really surprised Inoue, he quickly regained his composure and kept the bamboo sword in his hand.

"Drink up—!"

With a muttered shout, Inoue glided forward, intending to pass by Aoto.

In the instant their figures crossed paths, the two, whose bodies seemed to be pressed tightly together, exchanged another blow. This time, it was Qing Deng who took the initiative to attack Inoue.

Qing Deng swung his sword horizontally, aiming for Inoue's chest, but Inoue easily deflected the attack.

The floorboards thumped under their feet as they passed each other. They quickly stopped, turned around, and faced each other again.

Inoue's movements remained flawless.

"Drink up—!"

With another sharp, resonant cry, Inoue charged forward, his momentum unstoppable, brandishing his sword.

Despite not being particularly strong, he managed to project an aura of overwhelming force.

Faced with this 'mountain' that had already loomed over him, Qingdeng calmly responded.

He stepped half a step back to the left with his left foot, and at the same instant he dodged Inoue's sword strike, he launched a move using his signature Kasumi-dan no Go, the tip of his blade piercing Inoue's chest.

Inoue said that during his time back in his hometown, he gained a completely new understanding of footwork... It seems that he wasn't just making things up.

Inoue's steps were unusually swift.

Although it's a bit strange to use this word to describe an older man... Inoue's footwork did indeed remind Aoto of a "ballet dancer".

Inoue concentrated his strength on his toes and leaped lightly to the side and back like a falling feather, causing Qing Deng's sword to miss its mark.

"Hehehe..." Zhou Zhu, who was watching from the sidelines, smiled with delight after noticing Inoue's footwork. "Not bad footwork..."

As luck would have it, Zhou Zhu was laughing... and Qing Deng on the field was also laughing at the same time.

At this moment, a calm smile appeared on Qingdeng's face.

Beneath that calm smile lies a complex mix of emotions.

Qing Deng was filled with emotion, realizing that he was no longer the ignorant fool he once was.

If it were me eight months ago, I would have been utterly defeated by Inoue Genzaburo.

Now, he is facing Inoue Genzaburo one-on-one, and he hasn't even activated his "Lone Wolf" ability.

This means that, according to the system's assessment, Inoue's strength is not greater than his!

This gave Qingdeng a unique kind of encouragement.

—My body is still so stiff…!

After briefly grumbling about his body's loss of its former vitality, Qing Deng let out a long breath, roused himself, and chased after Inoue, who had jumped to the side and behind.

Qing Deng leaped high into the air without a running start, using the force of gravity to bring down his sword, aiming directly at Inoue's forehead.

Inoue's body was bounced back as if he had been thrown back, and as he did so, he thrust his sword forward, attacking Qing Deng who was in mid-air.

Although Inoue launched a fierce attack while Aoto was in mid-air and unable to change his posture, Aoto quickly changed his move and accurately blocked Inoue's slashing blade with the tip of his sword.

In an instant, Qingdeng landed smoothly and stood in the spot where Jing Fang had just stood.

In the blink of an eye, as if not giving Inoue any chance to catch his breath, the moment Qing Deng's feet touched the floor again, he launched a new attack with lightning speed, striding forward and slashing at Inoue's shoulder.

This time, Inoue neither dodged nor defended, but instead attacked Aoto head-on!

With the light, ballet-like steps of Inoue, his body flew straight toward Aoto like a swallow, aiming to slash at Aoto's chest.

Snapped!

The two bamboo swords that were attacking each other failed to hit their intended targets and instead got tangled together midway.

The two wooden swords clashed once again in mid-air, their bamboo blades creaking.

The wind pressure generated by the clash of bamboo swords scattered the hair at the temples of the two swordsmen and also made the candlelight not far away flicker.

The flickering candlelight caused the two figures' shadows on the floor to sway gently, adding a touch of tension to the atmosphere of the dojo.

As if they had agreed beforehand, Aoto and Inoue slid forward at the same time, their swaying figures briefly overlapping before quickly separating again.

When the two who had missed each other came face to face again, the fierce battle resumed!

Qing Deng slammed his feet into the ground, gathering strength in his waist. Relying on his greatly enhanced waist strength, he unleashed the "New Year's Greeting Sword Technique," striking Inoue with a barrage of slashes from the upper stance.