I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"...Wow, they're really popular..."

"Hmm? Sanako," Chiba Jutaro asked, "Are you talking?"

“No.” Sanako turned her gaze away from the female apprentices. “I didn’t say anything.”

"Huh? But I clearly heard you say something just now..."

"I didn't say anything."

As Sanako repeated what she had just said, she raised her elegant swan neck.

He wore a haughty expression that said, "I wasn't lying."

……

……

"Ha...ha...ha...ha...ha..."

Qingdeng greedily inhaled every breath of air from his mouth and nose.

Although none of them were as strong as Qing Deng, these challengers of Qing Deng were, after all, apprentices of the Little Chiba Sword Hall.

In terms of overall strength, the Exile Group, which is basically composed of lower- and middle-ranking samurai from the bottom of society, is completely incomparable to it.

After facing so many talented and hardworking swordsmen who would be the face of any other sword school, even Qing Deng, who now possesses "strong essence," couldn't help but feel a little tired.

Taking advantage of the moment to adjust his breathing, Qingdeng opened his personal system interface.

97 times... Looking at these striking words in the entry for "Sword Prodigy", Qing Deng couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

—Just a little short of breaking 100…

Before anyone knew it, the "Sword Prodigy" talent effect had almost doubled from its initial level.

Qingdeng was naturally overjoyed by this.

While feeling delighted, there was also a hint of anticipation.

As early as when he discovered that talents could be integrated, Qingdeng had thought: if talents were continuously integrated, would it one day in the future trigger a "quantitative change leading to a qualitative change" effect?

Qingdeng felt that this might not be impossible.

But whether there truly is a "quantitative change leading to a qualitative change," and to what extent the quantitative change must occur to trigger a qualitative change... depends on how the system is arranged and designed.

Once his breathing had stabilized, Qingdeng raised his gaze and looked around the dojo, which was filled with onlookers.

"Is there anyone else who wants to fight me?" This was the message conveyed in Qing Deng's eyes.

A small commotion arose in the "audience seats".

Everyone looked at each other... and for a long time no one dared to stand up again.

Those warmongers who enjoy fighting against strong opponents and those who want to break Qingdeng's winning streak have basically all taken to the field.

All that remains are those who are unwilling, powerless, and cowardly to confront Qingdeng.

Was Qing Deng going to emerge unscathed from this series of battles with a complete victory? — Just as everyone was thinking this…

"...King Ren, I would also like to ask you for some guidance!"

A clear, bright female voice drew everyone's attention.

Everyone, including Qingdeng, turned their surprised gazes toward the sound—and saw a tall, slender figure slowly walking out from the southeast corner of the dojo…the place where the female apprentices were gathered.

The one stepping forward: A pretty young girl with a slender figure.

The girl, dressed in a white top and black bottom kendo uniform, walked at a leisurely pace until she was directly opposite Qing Deng before stopping.

"My daughter is Jin Zeqin!"

She raised her head and called out to Qingdeng, word by word.

"Your Majesty! I humbly request your guidance!"

—Jin Zeqin…? Qing Deng pondered the somewhat familiar name in his mind, and then quickly remembered who this person was.

Qing Deng had heard of this name when he first visited the Chiba Sword Hall.

This woman is also one of the celebrities of the Chiba Kendo Hall.

She is currently the only female apprentice at the Chiba Sword Academy, besides Sanako, who is learning swordsmanship instead of naginata.

Although I had heard of him before, I had never met him in person.

All that is known is that she is a woman from a well-to-do martial arts family and a female swordsman with exceptional swordsmanship talent.

If the rumors Qing Deng had heard were true, Jin Zeqin was a bannerman with a family stipend of 1000 koku: the daughter of the Jin Ze family.

His elder brother was Kanazawa Tadatsugu, the captain of the 2nd Division of the Fire Thieves. His father and grandfather had both held high positions in the Fire Thieves, making them a family with a deep connection to the Fire Thieves.

As for Jin Zeqin's swordsmanship... this is what Qing Deng heard: she is exceptionally talented, and more than 90% of the men in the Little Chiba Sword Hall are no match for her.

—So she was Jin Zeqin...

Qing Deng turned his gaze and carefully examined Jin Zeqin, who was standing directly opposite him, from head to toe several times.

The first impression Qing Deng got of this woman's appearance was that she was "a real talent for martial arts".

Jin Zeqin was very tall. As a woman, and a woman from the Edo period of Japan, she was nearly 1.7 meters tall, with long arms and legs.

With a height like that... any man shorter than her, unless he has exceptional skills, probably wouldn't even have a chance to get close to her.

Jin Zeqin is actually going to challenge Qing Deng... There was a lot of discussion in the "audience".

Many people perked up, craned their necks, and peered out, watching Qing Deng and Jin Zeqin on the field with great interest.

Niou and the strongest female swordsman of their Chiba Sword Hall besides Sanako... This kind of duel is really going to be a great show!

For Qing Deng, it doesn't matter who is on stage or whether they are male or female.

"Please give me your guidance!" Qing Deng played a powerful note that brought the dojo back to life.

……

……

Once she was fully equipped with protective gear, Jin Zeqin surprised Qing Deng from the very beginning – as a woman, she adopted a high-level stance of "focusing on offense and ignoring defense" right from the start of the match.

Just as surprise appeared on Qing Deng's cheeks, a sharp, piercing scream stabbed into his eardrums.

"Drink up, ahh ...

Kanazawa Koto's breath control, in terms of both pitch and volume, is in no way inferior to that of an adult male.

Jin Zeqin stepped forward.

Seeing this, Qing Deng raised his sword to defend himself.

The bamboo knives clashed and separated.

As if drawn by the swords in their hands, the two stepped forward, passing each other and widening the distance to nearly three steps in one breath.

Qing Deng swiftly turned around, sword in hand, only to see a sword shadow sweeping towards his face, filling his entire field of vision—

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

The four consecutive dull thuds of bamboo swords clashing were awe-inspiring.

In the blink of an eye, Jin Zeqin unleashed four consecutive slashes at Qing Deng's vital points.

Jin Zeqin's fighting style was extremely fierce... which contrasted sharply with her female identity and her rather pretty face.

While Qing Deng parried or dodged each of Jin Zeqin's attacks, he carefully observed Jin Zeqin's swordplay.

He began to understand why over 9% of the male apprentices at the Chiba Sword Academy were no match for Jin Zeqin.

Although Jin Zeqin is a woman, she is quite strong and her strength is comparable to that of an average adult male.

It has no shortage of strength... nor lack of skill.

Whether it's the way she wields the knife or the way she moves her feet, Jin Zeqin's foundation is quite solid, clearly showing that she has diligently practiced the basics.

But that's it.

Aside from her strength, which far surpasses that of women her age, and her solid foundation in technique, there is nothing else about Jin Zeqin that would warrant Qing Deng's attention.

No matter how strong Jin Zeqin is, no matter how much she is no less than a man... could she possibly be better than Qing Deng, who now possesses extremely powerful core strength due to his "bear waist"?

Jin Zeqin gripped her bamboo sword, ready to deliver another powerful blow to Qing Deng, when she saw a blur rushing towards her—Qing Deng, even faster than her, unleashed a horizontal slash with terrifying force at her chest.

The speed was so fast that Jin Zeqin had nowhere to hide.

Jin Zeqin had no choice but to abandon both offense and evasion, and held the bamboo sword vertically in front of her in an "I" shape, trying to catch and deflect Qing Deng's slash.

But after their bamboo swords collided heavily in front of her chest, the force transmitted through the swords to her arms far exceeded her expectations.

Jin Zeqin stared wide-eyed in astonishment, her feet digging into the ground as she channeled all her strength into her arms, but she still couldn't match Qing Deng's power.

With a loud "crack," Jin Zeqin's defense was broken. The powerful force remaining on the sword and her palms almost caused her to drop the bamboo sword because she couldn't hold it properly.

At this moment, Qing Deng suddenly lowered his waist sharply, spread his legs, and pointed the sword tip straight at Jin Zeqin's wide-open body—it was Qing Deng's most proficient technique, the Xia Duan technique.

Realizing the situation was dire, Jin Zeqin quickly braced herself with both feet, trying to stabilize her body's center of gravity and stance, and raised her sword to defend herself once again.

He managed to steady himself and smoothly brought the knife back to his front... but his posture wasn't ideal.

The lower body is very stable, but the waist is neglected.

Just as Jin Zeqin had set up her defense, Qing Deng's bamboo sword made a loud noise.

A lightning-fast, straight thrust.

Jin Zeqin was struck hard in the chest and rolled onto the floor.

Qing Deng concluded that a woman as strong as Jin Zeqin, capable of arm wrestling with men, could not possibly lack outstanding swordsmanship skills.

As expected—after Jin Zeqin was stabbed to the ground, the mechanical system voice sounded in Qing Deng's mind at just the right moment.

[Ding! Talent detected]

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

[Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 9 times the average level]

—Nine times? That's amazing...

With swordsmanship talent nine times that of ordinary people... Jin Zeqin is the most talented person among all the challengers Qingdeng has encountered today—which is quite reasonable.