I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"No outflow"

"Todo Takataka!"

Qingdeng exhaled a breath of stale air:

"Natural Flow of Mind"

"Orange Green Dew!"

The tense atmosphere swelled to its limit in an instant!

At a certain moment—

"Drink up!"

The two swordsmen roared in unison, their throats surging with powerful force! They charged at each other without hesitation, crashing headlong into one another!

The two swords slashed at each other simultaneously!

The blade sliced ​​through the air, its light exploding!

As a result, the blood spurting from Takataka Todo splattered all over Aoto.

Takayuki Todo's body was severed in two and fell to the ground. Beside his right foot was his right arm, which had flown horizontally out of the ground.

Qing Deng swung his sword twice in a single instant.

The first sword strike severed Takataka Todo's right arm, which was holding the sword, from the lower left to the upper right.

The second sword strike slashed down from the right shoulder to the left side of the abdomen, cutting Takataka Todo's body diagonally in two.

*******

*******

The author is quite satisfied with the quality of today's chapter, especially the final scene of the two people facing each other through the central gate.

The attack is launched in an instant, and it ends in an instant.

It wouldn't be right not to give him some monthly votes! (Leopard dead.jpg)

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Author's科普——

The rules for "revenge fighting" in the Edo period were roughly as follows:

First, revenge is only permitted for elders, not for younger generations. For example, if parents are killed, their children or grandchildren may avenge them, but it is generally not considered revenge by parents for their children or grandchildren.

Second, if one has a grudge but does not seek revenge, those of military lineage may be unable to inherit the family business in serious cases.

Third, while you can seek help to settle scores, you must absolutely kill the other party yourself. However, seeking help from outsiders for revenge is likely to earn you disapproval.

Fourth, revenge is prohibited. This means that one cannot retaliate against someone who has successfully avenged themselves.

Fifth, the honor of revenge is affirmed. However, revenge will still be punished accordingly, and the avenger will still have to pay with their life. But in most cases, they will be allowed to end their lives in the most dignified way in the eyes of people in that era: seppuku (ritual suicide).

Chapter 284 Fierce Battle! Niou vs. Choshu Madman! [6000]

The instant Takayuki Todo's shattered body hit the ground, a series of system notifications echoed in Aoto's mind—

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "Cat Turn"]

[Talent Introduction: Excellent sense of balance]

[Ding! Detected that the host already possesses a talent of the same type]

[Ding! Initiating talent fusion]

[Please wait, host... Please wait, host...]

[Ding! Talent fusion successful]

[The "Cat Turn" ability has been upgraded to "Cat Turn +1"]

[“Cat Turn +1” Talent Description: The talent effect is enhanced on top of its original effect. “+9” is the highest level.]

Qingdeng thought to himself: It's talent fusion again... Lately, the phrase "talent fusion" has been appearing in my mind quite frequently.

Copying "Cat Turn" from Takataka Todo... Qing Deng was not surprised by this.

Maintaining balance in a situation where one side of the body is unbalanced and one side is heavier than the other is no easy task.

Qing Deng didn't know whether Takayuki Todo's physical disability was congenital or caused by some accident.

But regardless of the reason why he lost his left arm, one fact remains undeniable—he successfully developed excellent swordsmanship despite having only one arm… This not only demonstrates his remarkable talent in swordsmanship but also indirectly shows that he has an excellent sense of balance.

As Qingdeng straightened his back and dispelled the Flowing Light stance, he forcefully shook the blade to remove the blood clinging to it.

"...Such superb sword drawing skills."

A flat, indifferent compliment drifted into Qingdeng's ears.

Qingdeng followed the sound and met the eyes of the person who had uttered the praise.

"A clash of sword techniques... truly a rare and spectacular duel."

The corners of Takasugi Shinsaku's mouth curled up slightly.

"I never imagined that the famous Niou, in addition to being proficient in swordsmanship, also possessed such remarkable skill in drawing his sword."

You flatter me.

Qing Deng responded calmly.

"My skill in drawing the sword is far from being proficient. To be honest, I only started learning sword drawing not long ago. I only officially began to learn this martial art more than three months ago."

Thanks to his relentless personal efforts and the slight help from seemingly insignificant talents such as "Sword Saint," "Heart of the Demon," and "Gathering of Spirits," Qing Deng's progress in "Flowing Light Draw Technique" was far more exaggerated than that of Cloud Flow Ninjutsu—several times faster.

From the day he officially began cultivating the Flowing Light technique, Qing Deng only took seven days before being summoned before him by a pleased Kiryu-sensei.

"Ju-kun, you no longer need to chop down inanimate objects like wooden stakes and bamboo mats. You can proceed to the next stage of your cultivation."

Kiryu's so-called "next stage of training" is to stop cutting inanimate objects and start cutting moving objects.

The training content is roughly as follows: Kiryu-sensei continuously throws various objects of different shapes at Qing Deng with different forces and angles, and Qing Deng must use his flowing light to cut them all down.

Qingdeng was used to chopping inanimate objects, and suddenly switching to chopping living things that would fly at him with unknown force and angle made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Therefore, at the beginning of his training, Qing Deng suffered a lot, often getting hit and disoriented because he failed to hit the objects flying straight at him in time.

but!

A person's diligence and hard work may lie... but the cold, hard entries in the talent list will never lie!

Thanks to Qingdeng's relentless and arduous training, as well as the small boosts from his various minor talents, including "Sword Saint," his progress in "Flowing Light Drawing Sword Technique" was still rapid, even as the difficulty of the training increased dramatically!

Qing Deng's other talent—"Eagle Eye +1" which enhances dynamic vision—also helped him a little in this training.

The enhanced dynamic vision allows Qingdeng to more accurately capture the flight trajectory of incoming objects, making practice twice as effective.

As Qingdeng's cultivation level continued to improve, the things Kiryu threw at him became increasingly outrageous.

At first, there were old clothes crumpled into a ball and large pieces of wood.

Then came the water cups and porcelain bowls.

Currently, the items that Kiryu's boss is throwing at Aoto include, but are not limited to: calligraphy brushes, small nail clippers, and Western glass beads.

I have no idea where Kiryu-sensei got all that junk from...

After nearly three months of chopping down increasingly outrageous "living creatures," Qing Deng can now accurately draw his sword and slash flies flying within his attack range—just like the move he showed this morning to intimidate Suzuki.

Qing Deng thought about it carefully: the reason he chose to have a "middle gate confrontation" with Tengtang Gaolong was probably partly because he was itching to test his recent training results.

At this moment, Shinsaku Takasugi raised his eyebrows.

"You've only been learning swordsmanship for a little over three months? To have such skill in just over three months... Ha, it seems the rumors that 'Niou is an unparalleled swordsmanship genius' are not just empty talk."

"Alright, let's end this pointless conversation here."

Qingdeng took out a stack of tissues from his pocket and wiped away the grease and congealed bloodstains that remained on the Dingguishen Blade.

The three-foot-long sword once again shone with a bright, cold, deep blue light.

The cold light reflected off Qingdeng's face, illuminating it in a half-light, half-dark manner.

"You're the only one left."

Qing Deng glanced at the corpse of Toudou Takataka at his feet, paused, and then uttered a question in a tone that was both affirmative and indicative:

"You...you're not from the Extermination Group, are you?"

While he was fighting against Takataka Todo and others, this long-faced young man stood outside the battlefield and watched the whole thing.

As Takataka Todo and others died one after another, Shinsaku Takasugi remained expressionless and indifferent throughout, seemingly unconcerned about their deaths.

According to the known intelligence, this house harbors a swordsman of such high skill that he can rout the entire 7th Division, equipped with muskets, shields, armor, and all other equipment, leaving them utterly defeated and routed.

Qingdeng fought relentlessly, killing so many people around him that there were almost no survivors, yet he still didn't notice the super expert that the Seventh Division soldiers were talking about.

Right now, the only person still alive whom he hasn't yet fought is this long-faced young man in front of him... So a reasonable guess quickly surfaced in Qing Deng's mind.

"..." Qing Deng lowered his eyelids slightly, silently tightening his grip on his right hand, ready to fight at any moment...

"……Ha ha."

As soon as Aoto finished speaking, Takasugi Shinsaku let out a soft, ambiguous laugh.

"I am indeed not a member of the Extermination Group."

"Ah, on closer inspection... I don't think I've introduced myself yet."

After speaking, Takasugi Shinsaku took a half step back and bowed slightly to Aoto in a humble yet respectful manner.

"It was my rudeness. I am Takasugi Shinsaku, a samurai of the Choshu Domain!"

Choshu Domain—Aoto involuntarily raised his eyebrows slightly the instant he heard the word.

It's no wonder that the Qing Deng Association reacted this way.

The Choshu Domain... This domain had an extremely close relationship with the Edo Shogunate.

It's just a "close" relationship on a negative level—the two sides are sworn enemies for three hundred years.