I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"I am Morishita Natsushi!"

……

This young man, named Natsushi Morishita, had thick eyebrows and large, bright eyes, and looked very energetic.

Not only does he look very energetic, but his voice is also very energetic.

His voice was like a booming bell, and his breath was both loud and clear.

"Drink, drink, ahhhhhh—!"

Morishita mustered his courage and rushed forward, attempting to attack Aoto, but Aoto had already vanished from his sight before he could raise his sword.

"what?!"

Morishita looked in astonishment at Aoto, who had leaped to his upper left and into his blind spot.

Using the force of gravity upon landing, Qing Deng brought down the bamboo sword he had raised above his head, striking Morishita hard on the head, which was protected by a mask.

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully Replicating the Talent: "Golden Voice"]

[Talent Introduction: Vocal cords are not easily strained.]

--vocal cord?

Qingdeng paused for a moment, then a bitter smile appeared on his face.

Although the talent was successfully copied... this new talent doesn't seem to be of much use.

Oh well.

Qingdeng thought to himself.

—Gaining a new talent is a good thing, better than nothing.

—The vocal cords are not easily damaged... This talent is not entirely useless.

……

"Hey, how many people has Niou defeated already?"

"We've already defeated three people!"

"You miscounted! He's already defeated four people!"

"Incredible! He defeated four people in a row, winning all four!"

Why do you call Tachibana-kun 'Niou'?

"Huh? You don't know Tachibana-kun's nickname?"

……

"In Shimodamura Kotaro!"

……

"Ah, ahhh...!"

Tamura screamed in terror.

No wonder he screamed so horribly.

Standing six steps ahead of him, Qing Deng leaped high into the air with the powerful leg strength brought by "taking the lead" and "bear waist". He flew out like a cannonball, eliminating the distance between him and Tamura in one breath.

Qing Deng swiftly swung his sword, unleashing three consecutive horizontal slashes at Tamura's chest, all of which landed squarely on his target.

Tamura, who was stabbed three times in the chest in an instant, could not escape the fate of "flying". Although he managed to stand on his feet, his feet still left the floor.

Tamura, who is shorter and lighter, broke the previous record set by Hisaya, who was previously sent flying – he flew backward for a full five steps before landing in a parabolic arc.

After landing, his body continued to slide backward along the floor until he crashed into the "audience seats," at which point his backward momentum finally stopped.

……

"I am Soichiro Hirata!"

……

"Waaaaaaah!"

Hirata, skilled in sword speed, shouted and gathered all his strength, wielding his sword like a wheel, creating blurry afterimages, hoping to subdue Aoto with the light curtain formed by these sword-wielding afterimages.

Qing Deng's eyes darted up and down, giving Hirata's sword path a cursory glance.

In an instant, Qingdeng pushed off the ground with his feet, exerted force, and jumped up!

With a powerful kick, Qing Deng's strength traveled from his feet to his waist, and then from his waist to his arms, causing the bamboo sword in his hand to spring upwards like a spring.

The tip of the sword, which had been flicked upwards, precisely intercepted Hirata's bamboo sword in mid-air!

Like a strong wind dispersing the thin mist.

With a loud "crack," Hirata's "light curtain," composed of afterimages of his sword swing, vanished!

Qing Deng broke through Hirata's "light barrier" with a single strike and knocked Hirata's bamboo sword away!

[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 76 times the average level]

……

"Hey, I was just taking a quick break, and Niou's opponent has changed? How many people has Niou defeated so far?"

"That's six already!"

"Incredible! Six wins out of six! And look, even after so many matches, Mr. Tachibana still seems to have plenty of energy, not even out of breath!"

"Of course he has plenty of stamina! There's hardly anyone who can put Niou in a tough fight!"

"The people who just sparred with Mr. Tachibana were all people who practiced swordsmanship in Area B, right? These people who were qualified to practice swordsmanship in Area B were actually defeated by Mr. Tachibana..."

"He's incredibly powerful. If those of us who don't even have the qualifications to practice swordsmanship in Arena B were to face Niou... wouldn't we be unable to withstand even a single move from him...?"

……

"It is Katayama Eikichi! Please guide me!"

……

The bamboo swords of Qingdeng and Pianshan intertwined in the air.

As they parted, Katayama's steps slipped, trying to widen the distance between him and Aoto.

But at that moment, Qing Deng's bamboo sword swiftly slashed down from above. Katayama tried to catch the blow with great difficulty, but failed. Katayama's body suddenly lost its balance due to the instability of its center of gravity.

Taking advantage of the precious moment when Katayama had not yet regained his balance, Aoto transferred the bamboo sword to his left hand, freeing his right hand to restrain Katayama's right wrist. Using grappling techniques, he snatched the bamboo sword from Katayama and knocked him to the ground.

The sequence of actions—disarming the knife barehanded and slamming the opponent to the ground—was fluid and powerful, drawing gasps and cheers from the spectators.

……

"Tch! Damn it! I'll take over! I'm Fujii Seizaburo!"

……

Fujii suddenly shouted, and his bamboo sword, which looked very short compared to his burly physique, made a soft "whoosh" sound as it swept horizontally toward where Qing Deng was standing.

The angle of the strike is perfect, the landing point is quite accurate, and the force is quite sufficient... but this may not necessarily hit the opponent.

Qing Deng's movement was far faster and more accurate than Fujii's swing of the bamboo sword!

The physically strong Fujii had no shortage of power in his slashes, but he lacked the agility to swing his sword at high speed.

Qingdeng's dodging speed had already left Fujii struggling to keep up, like leading an ox down a well, but what made Fujii even more troublesome was Qingdeng's slashing speed, which was even faster than his dodging speed!

"Drink up!"

As if trying to shatter the ceiling above his head, Fujii let out a powerful roar, slicing through the air with his bamboo sword, which he was most proud of, and approached Qing Deng's face from above.

The instant Fujii unleashed another sharp slash at Aoto, Aoto also drew his sword!

Qing Deng, in a mid-range stance, slashed horizontally at Fujii's chest.

The two bamboo swords slashed at each other almost simultaneously!

Qing Deng drew his sword a fraction of a second later than Fujii, but Qing Deng struck first despite being the one who attacked later!

His bamboo sword struck Fujii in the chest first, knocking him to the ground.

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully Replicating the Talent: "Strong Stomach"]

[Talent Description: Good digestive and nutrient absorption abilities]

……

Chiba Jutaro, who had received too many shocks from Aoto, was already very clear that Aoto was a genius who could not be explained by common sense.

However... even though he had long understood this, Chiba Jutaro still found it difficult to suppress the shock that was now growing wildly in his heart.

He has been a completely invisible referee since the beginning.

Chiba Jutaro would step forward to announce the start of the ceremony and the start of the competition, then step back and announce Aoto's victory—this process was repeated over and over again.

There is absolutely no need for him, the referee, to make detailed judgments on whose hits were valid and whose hits were invalid.

Because Qing Deng's strikes are always extremely obvious; even a complete novice who knows nothing about swordsmanship can tell that such a strike is definitely a fatal blow.

As for Qingdeng's opponents... they couldn't even touch a corner of Qingdeng's clothes.