I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After parrying Qing Deng's reverse kasaya slash with his sword, Souji's posture changed—he took a big step back, and as he retreated, he raised the tip of his sword, switching his stance from mid-range to flat blue eyes.

Seeing Souji's posture, Qing Deng knew: Souji was about to unleash his signature move!

Of all the sword techniques in the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, Souji's most proficient move is the thrusting technique: Mumeiken (Unknown Sword).

The Mumeiken is a move that is executed from a mid-stance, but Souji prefers to start with the Hiraishogan.

Isn't that a coincidence?

Qingdeng's most proficient sword technique, the Natural Rishin-ryu style, is also the Mumei sword.

Furthermore, Qing Deng also dislikes starting with the traditional middle stance, preferring instead to use the kasumi stance to initiate attacks.

Qingdeng hesitated for a moment, then forcefully lifted the bamboo sword in his hand, using the Xia Duan technique to hold the bamboo sword in front of him.

The spectators, familiar with the two swordsmen's styles and signature moves, were all excited—these two were about to clash with their ultimate techniques!

They all craned their necks, eager to see the entire spectacle that was about to unfold before their eyes.

However... not everyone showed any interest or excitement in this "battle of ultimate moves".

Standing not far away watching the battle, Shusuke, Kondo, Inoue, Nagakura, and Hijikata, who had come to the sword hall to practice swordsmanship instead of going on a date with a girl today, all stared solemnly at Souji.

The same applies to Aoto, who was sparring with Souji.

Qing Deng squinted, casting a thoughtful glance at Souji through his mask.

*******

*******

I wanted to say something witty, but I can't think of anything, so I'll just ask for votes instead.

Please vote for me! Please recommend me! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 208 Taking a Bath with Okita Souji! [8400]

The two men, Qing Deng of Juxia Duan and the general with blue eyes, remained motionless.

The two people, facing each other from a distance, exuded an aura that made them difficult to approach.

In the near-frozen atmosphere, the commander took the first action.

He concentrated his strength on the toes of his hind foot, bent his knee, and in that instant, quickly gathered enough power in his legs and waist. Then, he pushed off the ground with his hind foot and lunged forward. Using the momentum of his forward lunge, he thrust the sword in his hand forcefully toward Qing Deng's chest!

At the same instant, Qing Deng's body also moved.

His movements were almost identical to Souji's.

Bend your knees, gather your strength, and use the momentum of pushing off the ground to strike out the sword in your hand!

The two, adopting different stances, used the same move, their bamboo swords piercing straight towards each other like shooting stars!

Bang!

The two bamboo swords collided in mid-air.

Although Souji's explosive power is incredibly strong, he has always maintained his physical training and also has the talents of "Taking the Lead", "Bear Waist", "Focus", and "Lone Courage" that enhance Qing Deng's attack power, which is no less than Souji's!

The two bamboo swords, their tips touching, resembled two bulls locked in a fierce duel, neither giving way to the other; for every bit of effort the bull put in, the bull would counter with even more force.

Ultimately, this brief duel ended in a draw.

With a "snap," the tips of the two swords crossed.

Qing Deng's sword tip grazed Souji's left shoulder, while Souji's sword tip grazed Qing Deng's right abdomen.

The two bodies lurched forward a few steps due to inertia, passing each other.

The commander didn't run too far. He stopped two steps behind Qing Deng and quickly turned around, placing the bamboo sword in front of him as he turned.

The previous "sword clash" ended in a draw, with both swords only grazing each other's bodies. Therefore, the sparring match has not yet been decided, and the contest must continue.

However, when Souji quickly turned around to face Aoto and got back into position, his eyes blinked rapidly in surprise at the sight before him—Aoto did not quickly regroup like him, but slowly put down the bamboo sword in his hand, and his tense body muscles gradually relaxed as Aoto slowly straightened up.

"Tachibana-kun, what's wrong?"

Seeing that Qing Deng looked like he didn't want to fight anymore, the commander quickly asked.

"...Okita-kun."

Qingdeng sighed silently, then said softly in a helpless tone.

"Let's call it a day for today's competition."

"Your concentration is very poor... There's no point in continuing this fight; it will only waste our energy and won't help us learn from each other or make progress."

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, a serious, aged voice cut in between Qing Deng and Souji:

"Sōji, have you been feeling unwell these past few days?"

The owner of that aged voice was none other than Shusuke, who had been standing by watching Aoto and Souji practice.

Shusuke, who is usually all smiles, showed a serious expression for once.

He stood with his hands behind his back, slowly walking towards the commander-in-chief, and continued speaking in a deep voice.

“You’ve been acting strange since yesterday. You seem restless and often space out. You’re not focused on your sword practice either. You missed several opportunities to attack and counterattack that could have posed a great threat to Tachibana-kun because of your lack of focus.”

"Commander, I don't think I need to explain to you in detail that 'lack of concentration is a major taboo in martial arts,' do I?"

Shusuke, along with Kondo, Hijikata, and the others beside him, were all looking at Souji with serious yet slightly worried eyes.

Those of them who were capable enough all keenly noticed how unfocused the commander had been during the previous contest.

Qing Deng was right to call a halt to the contest in time.

If one side in a competition is not focused enough... it's a minor issue if the practice is ineffective, but a major issue is if physical injury occurs due to a lack of concentration.

After being sternly reprimanded by Shusuke, Souji lowered his head and hunched his shoulders as if trying to hide himself.

"I'm so sorry..."

Seeing Souji's sincere remorse, Shusuke's facial features softened immediately.

"Sōji, are you feeling unwell?"

Zhou Zhu asked softly, his tone softening along with the lines on his face.

"Or is something on your mind?"

After asking the question, Shusuke stared intently into Souji's eyes with a look full of concern.

"If you're feeling unwell, or if you have anything on your mind, feel free to tell me," Shusuke said to Souji with a look in his eyes.

"Ugh... Ahahahaha..."

The commander raised his hand and removed the protective mask, revealing a forced smile on his face.

"I'm fine... I just... I've just been feeling a bit weak lately."

"Feeling weak?" Zhou Zhu quickly asked, "Are you sick?"

After speaking, Shusuke raised his hand and touched Souji's forehead.

I carefully felt the temperature transmitted to my palm and found that Souji's body temperature was quite normal and there was nothing unusual about it.

"I'm not sick, it's probably just that the weather has been too hot lately, so I haven't been sleeping well."

"It's good that you're not sick..." Zhou Zhu withdrew his hand from Souji's forehead. "Since you're not feeling well, don't practice swordsmanship for now. Go back to your room and get some rest. You can resume practicing when you've recovered."

"Yes……"

Souji bowed slightly to Shusuke, then strode back to the edge of the dojo and placed the bamboo sword in his hand back into the sword holder in the corner of the dojo.

After putting away the bamboo sword and removing all his protective gear, Okita hung his head and walked straight out of the dojo with a blank expression.

"Hey, Orange."

Hijikata suddenly walked quietly to Aoto's side.

Do you know what happened to Souji?

Aoto and Souji were very close—this was common knowledge at the Shieikan.

Tufang has come to the right person.

Of everyone present, only Qing Deng knew why Souji had been acting strangely these past two days.

—It seems the negotiations with my sister didn't go very smoothly...

Watching the souji's departing figure, Qing Deng frowned slightly.

He had promised Souji that he wouldn't tell anyone that his sister was forcing him to give up swordsmanship.

Therefore, when faced with Hijikata's question, Aoto replied without changing his expression:

"I don't know either... Maybe Okita-kun really hasn't been sleeping well lately, which is why he looks so distracted and absent-minded. The nights have been really hot these past two days."

Lying... that's one of Qing Deng's specialties.

Thanks to his talent, "The Conman," which grants him the ability to lie without batting an eye, making it difficult for others to detect anything amiss, Qing Deng is now quite adept at lying.

No matter how false or unrealistic the lies he told, Qingdeng remained composed, leaving no room for outsiders to find any flaws.

Even Hijikata, a master liar who tells countless lies to his girlfriends every day, could hardly detect whether Aoto was lying.

Seeing that even Aoto, who had such a close relationship with Souji, didn't know what was going on with Souji, Hijikata had no choice but to keep quiet.

At that moment, a muffled "thud" sound, like something being hit hard, suddenly came from outside the dojo.

"Okita-senpai! What happened? Is your forehead alright?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing, I just accidentally bumped into the wall."

Based on the conversation I overheard... it seems that Souji wasn't looking where he was going and accidentally bumped into the wall of the corridor.

—Is Okita-kun... alright...?

Qingdeng's brows furrowed even more uncontrollably...

……

……

The commander went to rest, and everyone else continued with what they were doing: those who needed to practice continued practicing, and those who needed to rest by the dojo went to rest.