I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

With great audacity and thick skin, he openly and relentlessly pursued Sanako over the past eight years... only to be repeatedly wounded by her impenetrable heart.

I've had a crush on the young lady for eight whole years, and you've only known her for a short time? How come you're so close to her?!

Driven by intense jealousy, every strike Taniguchi unleashed was imbued with unparalleled power! It was utterly terrifying to behold!

As he swung the bamboo sword rapidly, it left behind a series of afterimages.

Taniguchi excels at offense but is not good at defense. He adopts a strategy of "playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses" and launches a relentless and fierce attack on Aoto.

Horizontal slash, downward chop, upward sweep...

Chop off hands, attack feet, strike directly at vital points...

Taniguchi poured all his strength and skill into this battle, which he absolutely did not want to lose.

Faced with the aggressive valley entrance, Qing Deng did not rush to launch a counterattack.

Although it might sound arrogant to say that... when Guguchi closed in and slashed at him with his first strike, Qingdeng had already concluded that this person was no match for him.

To others, the speed at which Gu Kou could swing his bamboo sword so fast that only indistinct afterimages remained was astonishing.

But for Qing Deng, who possesses "focus" and "eagle eyes," Taniguchi's movements, whether moving his body or wielding his bamboo sword, were all like a slow-motion old movie.

If your opponent's every move has been seen through, then there's no reason for you to lose.

Faced with the swords aimed menacingly at his face, neck, chest, waist, and abdomen, Qing Deng nimbly and nimbly dodged while mentally counting down the 10 seconds required to replicate his talent.

Its body, sometimes moving sideways and sometimes rotating, is like the swaying moon's reflection on the water, making it unpredictable.

Qing Deng fully learned from the experience and lessons of the previous Aizu-no-Gi swordsmanship competition—when facing someone whose strength is obviously weaker than his own, he should wait 10 seconds before making his move.

If you accidentally kill them instantly and don't get the full 10 seconds, then you won't be able to copy their talents.

——13……14……15……

Qingdeng still had 5 seconds more.

As he silently counted to 15, Qingdeng had roughly figured out the sword path at the valley entrance.

The "Sword Prodigy" trait, which has now been upgraded to "swordsmanship talent amplified 70 times the average level of ordinary people," brings Qing Deng more than just an extremely fast learning speed in swordsmanship.

It also gave Qingdeng extremely high sword fighting intelligence.

After dodging another sword thrust from the valley entrance, Qingdeng switched from defense to offense!

With lightning speed, he switched his sword stance from the middle to the upper level, aiming straight for the top of the head at the valley entrance from the upper right.

In terms of strength, Taniguchi is indeed superior to Wada.

The speed of Qing Deng's slash was roughly the same as the speed of the attack that had just killed He Tian.

Wada couldn't keep up with that sword speed, but Taniguchi did.

With lightning speed, Taniguchi raised his bamboo sword high, attempting to block Aoto's attack.

However... the shock and tingling sensation after the bamboo swords struck each other did not reach his palms as he had hoped.

Because at almost the exact same instant he raised his sword to defend... Qing Deng changed his move!

Qingdeng infused a "gentle" force into his waist and elbows.

This gentle force caused the trajectory of the sword in the palm to deflect by a great margin.

Qing Deng's unexpected move drew admiration or astonishment from many spectators.

Anyone with a certain level of skill in swordsmanship can see that Qing Deng's seemingly ordinary change of move actually contains a great deal of subtle technique.

The sword, its trajectory shifting swiftly, bypassed the bamboo sword raised in defense at the valley entrance and struck the left side of the valley entrance's neck.

Seeing this, Chiba Jutaro, who had been closely watching Aoto and Taniguchi's every move as a referee, immediately raised his hand and shouted:

That's enough!

"Winner: Tachibana Aoto!"

Taniguchi stood there dumbfounded, maintaining the posture of holding the sword high.

He glanced at Chiba Jutaro, who had announced Aoto's victory, and then at the spot where he had just been stabbed.

Just seconds before, he was launching a fierce attack on Qingdeng.

He was defeated in just seconds...

Taniguchi's mind struggled to process this for a moment.

He encountered the same situation as Wada—he found it hard to accept the dismal result of his sudden defeat.

But no matter how unwilling he was to accept this outcome, it was no use.

Chiba Jutaro's judgment was not wrong.

A knife to the neck... In a real sword duel, this is a fatal wound.

And so, this scene played out once again in the dojo—Qingdeng's challenger, his face full of resentment and frustration, hung his head dejectedly, put down his bamboo sword, and retreated to the edge of the dojo.

At this moment, Qingdeng still hadn't heard the system notification he'd been hoping to hear ever since he decided to confront these guys who wanted to cause him trouble...

Following Wada, even Taniguchi suffered a crushing defeat...

After suffering two crushing defeats, the expressions of the "Zanako's Pursuers Army" changed drastically once again.

This time, unlike before, there was no immediate rush to the field after Hotan's defeat.

Several seconds passed before a slightly overweight man drew a bamboo sword from the sword box beside him.

"I am Hisaya Katsukuro."

"I'd also like to have a match with you. What do you think?"

The emotions of the "Zanako suitors' group" could not be more aptly described as a rollercoaster ride.

Hisa is one of the strongest among them and is expected to receive the Hokushin Itto-ryu Menkyo Kaiden from Chiba Sadakichi this year!

Hisa, one of their "trump cards," is about to make his move... which brings them some peace of mind.

"Please give me your guidance!" Aoto Asahi nodded slightly.

……

……

"Hello? What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"There seems to be a good show to watch at venue B!"

"A good show? What good show?"

"The people in area B are taking turns challenging Tachibana Aoto, who's been a frequent visitor to our kendo hall lately!"

"Tachibana Aoto? That 'Niou'?"

"Let's go, let's go join the fun."

……

The commotion at Field B spread like wildfire to Field C.

C-field is a dedicated training ground for male apprentices whose skills still need improvement, as well as for all female apprentices.

Upon hearing that there seemed to be some excitement to see at Field B, the apprentices from Field C hurriedly rushed to Field B, fearing that if they arrived too late, they would miss out on the excitement.

With the arrival of the apprentices from the third theater, the second theater, now with a much larger audience, became increasingly noisy and lively.

These apprentices from Field C, who arrived at Field B immediately, came at just the right time—they were very fortunate to witness how Qing Deng beautifully sent Hisaya flying.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

The bamboo sword in Qing Deng's hand seemed to transform into three swords, each slashing at Jiuya's head, chest, and shoulder from different directions.

Hisaya barely managed to withstand Aoto's three blows.

Although he made a successful defense... in order to block Qing Deng's three strikes, Hisa accidentally raised his arms and the bamboo sword in his hand too high, leaving his body wide open.

This fleeting flaw was clearly reflected in Qing Deng's eyes.

Qing Deng saw the opportunity, took a step forward, and rushed straight towards Jiuya's side. Just as he was about to pass Jiuya, he swung his sword horizontally without hesitation.

The bamboo sword's blade, from the guard to the tip, sliced ​​across Hisaya's side.

The explosive power of the legs brought by "taking the lead" and the explosive power of the waist brought by "bear waist"... the combination of the two forces makes Qing Deng's slash extremely powerful.

Hisa was knocked away.

He flew backwards for a good three or four steps before landing.

Many people who were standing on the sidelines watching the fight... especially the apprentices from the third dojo who had come to join in the fun, were all shocked by the power of Qing Deng's attack.

They couldn't help but imagine: what would it be like if Qingdeng had been holding a real knife instead of a bamboo sword?

Hisaya's entire upper body will probably be sliced ​​off...

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but shrink back in fear.

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

[Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 3 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...]

[Ding! Talent fusion successful]

[Sword Prodigy's Ability Advancement]

[“Sword Prodigy” Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 73 times the average level]

—Wow… I’ve finally copied a useful talent.

Qingdeng grinned.

Hisa, on whom high hopes were placed, also failed... but the "Sanako Pursuers Legion" still did not want to give up just like that!

Soon, another person showed a resolute expression as if he were facing death, and stood up with a "whoosh".