I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Powerful criminal groups, such as the "Shimizu Clan," whose influence is so great that even Kinoshita Mai can't do anything about them, remain unmoved.

Those powerless, easy-to-bully nobodys, Zhang Jia and Li Yi, either hide or run away.

This has caused Kinoshita Mai to lose her opportunities to be active recently because she can't find any targets to target.

Naturally, Qing Deng has not used the pseudonym "Fox Monk" to provide support for Kinoshita Mai for a long time.

However, although he hasn't carried out "phantom thief activities" for a long time, the stealth experience he gained from accompanying Kinoshita Mai on her chivalrous adventures is still well preserved in Aoto's mind and muscles!

Although wooden stakes are not like rooftops, they share many similarities in terms of maintaining balance.

Thanks to his past collaborations with Mai Kinoshita on "phantom thief activities," Aoto has accumulated a wealth of experience in "stealth" and "footwork."

In addition, Qingdeng also has a talent that gives him "excellent body balance" and is extremely beneficial for learning footwork: Cat Turn.

Qingdeng leaped onto the wooden stake without swaying at all, stabilizing his center of gravity and maintaining his balance.

--very good!

Having successfully taken the first step, Qingdeng's confidence has greatly increased.

—Movement technique…that could make up for my current weakness…

This footwork, specifically designed for scaling walls and entering houses, was something Qing Deng was encountering and learning for the first time.

Qing Deng suddenly realized that joining the new Oniwaban seemed to have quite a few advantages.

At least you can learn a lot of martial arts skills that you would never have the opportunity to learn outside the home.

Thinking of this, Qingdeng felt a surge of motivation to study Yunliu diligently.

—I remember…Yae seemed to have used this kind of strength just now…

Qing Deng half-closed his eyes, recalling Yae's movements on the wooden stake, and slowly lowered his body, imitating the image in his mind.

The moment you lower your center of gravity until both knees are bent at a 20-degree angle, lightly touch the ground with your toes.

Qingdeng leaped from the wooden stake and landed on a new wooden stake 2 meters away.

The width of this new wooden stake is slightly narrower than the previous one.

After his foot landed precisely on the stake, Qingdeng's body swayed violently, as if he was about to slip off the stake—however, this scene was fleeting.

In less than 3 seconds, Qingdeng regained his balance.

—If only we had a video recorder…

If there were a video recorder, you could record your actions and then check them frame by frame from a third-person perspective to see which parts of your actions were not up to par.

However, in present-day Japan... no, in this era, the desire to film one's own practice movements with a camera... cannot even be described as "luxury".

If Qing Deng remembers correctly, cameras had not yet been invented at this time.

"senior!"

Qingdeng turned and called out to Yae, who was not far away.

"I just tried to imitate your movements, but I'm not sure if I did it correctly. What do you think?"

The expressions on the faces of the sisters, Sae and Yae, at this moment are truly worthy of being described in great detail.

If the two sisters only showed surprise when they saw Qingdeng stand so steadily on the stake on his first attempt, then after seeing Qingdeng jump over the stake just now, a look of astonishment welled up on their cheeks like a burst dam.

Both girls could see it clearly: although she was still very inexperienced and there were many things that were not done correctly, Qing Deng's footwork movements just now were already quite good!

"Gulp... Uh."

Qingdeng's question brought Yae back to her senses.

After a moment of eye contact with Qingdeng filled with complex emotions, Yae took two quick steps and ran to Qingdeng's side.

"Junior, your posture was incorrect just now, which prevented you from using your strength effectively. Yunliu's footwork places great emphasis on the strength of the waist..."

The eight key points concisely and clearly outlined the areas where Qingdeng had not done well and needed improvement, and patiently taught Qingdeng how to correct them.

Despite her seemingly irritable temperament, this girl is surprisingly good at teaching.

With just a few words, Qing Deng felt as if he had been enlightened.

Besides being a great teacher, what surprised Qingdeng was her thoughtfulness.

Afraid that Qingdeng might not have understood what she was saying, she even jumped onto the wooden stake next to her and personally demonstrated the correct Cloud Flow Steps to Qingdeng several times.

Qingdeng silently remembered Yae's teachings, then raised his eyes and looked straight ahead.

—Pay attention to using the strength of your waist...

Waist strength... that's one of Qingdeng's strengths!

"Iron Waist" enhances the waist's durability, while "Bear Waist" enhances the waist's explosive power.

With the blessing of these two talents, Qingdeng's waist is the most powerful part of his body!

After silently reviewing the teachings of the Eighth Master in his mind, Qing Deng took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and leaped into the air again, jumping towards the next narrower wooden stake in front of him.

Place both feet firmly on the ground, sway your body, and regain your balance.

—I think I'm starting to get the hang of it…

Qingdeng remembered the feeling from the jump and, following that feeling, jumped to the next wooden stake.

……

Compared to Yae, Seido's Cloud Flow Steps are definitely far inferior and not mastered at all.

To use a vivid analogy...

Yae is like a butterfly; whether she is leaping or standing still, every movement is full of a lively and graceful beauty.

Qingdeng is like a frog... clumsy and stiff.

However, anyone with even a little martial arts background would be astonished to discover that Qing Deng's rate of progress was simply unbelievable!

With almost every jump on the pile of stumps, Qingdeng's footwork improved a little bit!

Although Qingdeng's body would sway violently every time he landed on a new stake, he could always regain his balance quickly.

Like a roly-poly toy, it will never fall down.

"Startled and then numb"—this phrase perfectly describes the current state of the Sae and Yae sisters.

Both women were proficient in Cloud Flow and had suffered a great deal while practicing it, so they knew very well how difficult the Cloud Flow footwork was to master.

This was the first time they had ever seen someone make such rapid progress in the Cloud Flow footwork...

Qing Deng had given the two women too much of a shock in a short period of time, leaving Sae and Yae somewhat numb and revealing very charming expressions.

Holding a scroll with unreadable writing on it, Saeshige stood outside the grove of stumps and murmured in a voice only she could hear:

"What amazing talent..."

Qing Deng himself was also astonished by the speed of Qing Deng's progress.

--strangeness……

Qing Deng also vaguely noticed that his progress seemed to be a little too fast.

At that moment, Qingdeng suddenly thought of something.

He quickly opened his personal system interface.

In the talent list, "Heart of the Demon" and the new talent copied from Tian Cangxiao this morning, "Master of Ninja", were shining with a dazzling golden light, symbolizing "talents are being activated".

The "Heart of the Demon" has been activated, which is perfectly reasonable.

But the "Master of Ninja" is also in a state of activation... This was quite unexpected for Qing Deng.

The ninjutsu talent amplification is 35 times that of ordinary people... To be honest, Qing Deng felt very confused when he copied this talent.

Ninjutsu... What is ninjutsu? How should the scope of ninjutsu be defined?

Martial arts such as swordsmanship, spearmanship, and archery all have a very clear focus: the technique of using a particular weapon.

But ninjutsu is different; it's a general term for "techniques and combat skills used exclusively or skillfully by ninjas"...

Is the use of shuriken, kunai, and other concealed weapons considered ninjutsu?

Are the footwork ninjas use to scale walls and ridges ninjutsu?

Are strange techniques such as the invisibility technique that uses black cloth to hide one's figure in the darkness and the disguise technique that changes one's appearance ninjutsu?

Is the Sexy Technique a type of ninjutsu?

……

In short, the term "ninjutsu" is far too vague.

As for which techniques qualify as ninjutsu... that depends on how the system defines them.

It now appears that the scope of ninjutsu defined by the system is quite broad.

The entry for "Master of Ninja" is shining with golden light... This means that in the system's view, "practicing the Cloud Flow Footwork" = "practicing ninjutsu".

A talent 35 times greater than that of an average person, plus the extraordinary comprehension granted by the "Heart of the Demon." No wonder my progress has been so rapid...

Qingdeng closed the system interface, focused his mind, and continued practicing.

Qingdeng originally wanted to try his hand at the narrowest wooden stake in this forest of stakes... that is, the wooden stick that is only two fingers wide enough for an adult to fit through.

But attempting the most difficult obstacle on a first try was clearly too ambitious.

When Qingdeng jumped onto a wooden stake that was only a quarter the size of his foot, he felt that even with the help of the "cat turn," it was difficult to stand steadily.

So without giving it much thought, he stopped forcing himself to attempt these difficult challenges that were too early for him and quickly jumped off the pile.

After landing back on the wooden stake, Qing Deng turned to look at Yae, seeking confirmation with his eyes. This gesture, of course, meant, "Senpai, what did you think of my practice just now?"

"Well……"

Yae pursed her lips, puffed out her cheeks, and hesitated, her right hand gripping the handle of the jitte and her left hand pinching the tip of the jitte. She repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands... It seemed she was thinking about what to say to Aoto.

"Well done! As expected of 'Niou,' who has recently made a name for himself! He certainly has some skill!"

"Junior, let me confirm with you first: was that your first time practicing slalom?"

"Yes, that's right. I've never done jumping slalom before."

"..." Yae remained silent.