I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

When fighting, momentum is the most important thing – this is a well-worn topic in the martial arts world.

As the saying goes: When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins.

Too many people fail and die because they dare not step forward to attack, because they are afraid of killing and being killed.

In a real sword duel, the one who survives is not necessarily the best swordsman, but rather the one with the most courage and boldness to slash at their opponent's body.

Therefore, Chiba Sadakichi warned Sanako from a young age: when fighting to the death, do not treat your opponent as a normal living person.

Hardening one's heart and abandoning pity—this seems easy, but it's not so easy to do.

Imagine this: just as your fatal blow, capable of instantly killing your opponent, is about to strike, you suddenly see their pleading expression; you suddenly discover that your opponent is a beautiful young man or woman who evokes pity... After all, the human heart is made of flesh and blood, and not everyone can completely eliminate their emotions and desires in battle.

However, Oishi Kuwajiro did not have this problem.

When attacking, he does not hesitate at all; his sword strikes are ferocious and terrifying. No matter who is in front of him, he can cut them down as if he were a robot that has been programmed in advance.

His fighting style can put immense psychological pressure on his opponents.

Of all the people in the entire Shieikan, the only ones who could reliably defeat Oishi Kuwajiro were probably Souji and Kondo Shusuke.

At this moment, the confrontation between Aoto and Oishi Kuwajiro gradually entered a heated phase.

Oishi Kuwajiro assumed the Blue Eyes stance, his sword tip momentarily still—it was only a blink of an eye.

In the blink of an eye, Oishi Kuwajiro's waist sank slightly, and he used the force of his waist to slash the bamboo sword diagonally.

Without a second glance, Aoto, relying on his "sensor of the wind," discerned the direction of Oishi Kuwajiro's bamboo sword attack.

He bent his right knee, suddenly lowered his body, and squatted down—snap—and swung his sword upwards, deflecting the bamboo sword that Daishi Kujiro was slashing at him with.

The next instant, Qingdeng suddenly straightened up as if he had been pulled up from the ground.

The power stored in his waist burst forth in one breath, and the bamboo sword in his hand struck the second sword strike from Oishi Kuwajiro at an angle in mid-air.

With a loud "crack," Oishi Kuwajiro's body and bamboo sword were thrown backward by the recoil.

This is the best opportunity.

Qing Deng immediately took a big step toward Oishi Kuwajiro, like a shark smelling blood.

Thump—a dull footprint, followed by the sound of the bamboo sword in his hand.

At this moment, Oishi Kuwajiro once again demonstrated his amazing reaction speed.

Qing Deng's bamboo sword had barely been swung out, and hadn't even reached its maximum speed yet, when Daishi Kuwajiro had already completed the dodge.

He used the opportunity of dodging to regroup and then attacked Qingdeng again.

Oishi Kuwajiro's current strategy is to attack, attack, and attack again.

He no longer engaged in direct combat or sword-fighting with Qingdeng as he had at the beginning. He avoided touching Qingdeng's bamboo sword attacks whenever possible.

Oishi Kuwajiro's change in tactics was the right one.

Even a discerning person could see that Oishi Kuwajiro's physical abilities were far inferior to Aoto's, let alone Oishi Kuwajiro himself.

In battle, for the side with inferior physical abilities, the correct approach is to try to finish the fight quickly and determine the winner before their physical and mental strength is exhausted.

Seeing Oishi Kuwajiro attacking him again, Aoto thought to himself:

—As expected, this person's reflexes are indeed outstanding!

As the battle intensified, Aoto finally discovered the main reason why Oishikujiro could fight him for so long—Oishikujiro's reflexes were exceptional! His reaction speed was extremely fast!

Often, as soon as Aoto raises his bamboo sword, Oishi Kuwajiro has already seen through Aoto's intentions and quickly takes defensive or evasive action.

This made Oishi Kuwajiro very adept at neutralizing Aoto's attacks, making it difficult for Aoto's offensive to succeed.

The opponent seems to have activated an "auto-dodge and auto-defense cheat"—which is certainly quite troublesome, but not entirely hopeless.

As long as someone is human, no matter how strong they are, there will always be times when they are tired, and times when their body can't keep up with their mind.

What followed all happened in the blink of an eye—

At this time, the candles standing at the four corners of the temple had already burned down considerably.

The warm orange light gradually moved downwards, stretching the shadows of the two people fighting fiercely on the field longer and making their faces even darker.

Oishi Kuwajiro charged forward with overwhelming momentum, swinging his sword. In less than a breath, he had dodged to the optimal attack position.

He swung his sword down, while Qing Deng raised his sword to slash upwards.

The two bamboo swords clashed together with a clang—creak, creak—the blades of the two bamboo swords both emitted a tearing sound as if they were about to break under the strain.

The fight between the two was so intense that the bamboo sword was almost unable to withstand their onslaught.

However, Aoto and Oishi Kuwajiro ignored everything and continued the battle!

In the blink of an eye, the two passed each other, then turned around at the same time and faced each other again.

At first glance, the two seemed to turn around at roughly the same speed, but in fact, Aoto was slightly faster than Oishi Kuwajiro.

Quickly, Oishikujiro turned around... Therefore, it was only natural that Aoto also quickly followed Oishikujiro's lead and delivered a new attack.

A simple, unadorned thrust.

He simply applied the power transmitted from the ground and his own physical strength to the bamboo sword in his hand, and thrust the tip of the sword out fiercely.

The bamboo sword, carrying immense momentum, struck Oishi Kuwajiro's chest with the force of a falling meteor, a mere meter's distance, arriving in the blink of an eye.

With "Eagle Eye +1", Qing Deng saw Oishi Kuwajiro's pupils suddenly dilate and expand.

His gaze told Qingdeng that his awareness had kept up with Qingdeng's attack, and that Qingdeng's sword speed was not faster than his reaction speed.

In reality, he did indeed begin to move, preparing to dodge the bamboo sword that was hurtling toward his chest at the speed of light.

However... perhaps due to exhaustion or tired ankles, Oishi Kuwajiro's movements were a beat slower.

In swordsmanship contests of this caliber, victory or defeat is often decided in an instant.

And the moment that would decide the outcome of the battle between Aoto and Oishi Kuwajiro had arrived!

Snapped--!

The moment Aoto's bamboo sword first clashed with Oishi Kuwajiro's armor, a deafening explosion erupted.

The force of the impact caused the bamboo sword to bend suddenly.

The sword, made of high-quality bamboo and possessing excellent toughness, bent into a terrifying arc of nearly 30 degrees under the watchful eyes of Aoto, Oishi Kuwajiro, and Sanako, turning into the shape of a bow.

Squeak, squeak, squeak—!

The curved blade emitted a sharp noise that sent chills down one's spine and made one's teeth ache; it felt as if one's eardrums were about to be torn apart.

This bamboo sword looks like it's about to break—that's probably what anyone who sees it would think.

What happened next confirmed this idea.

Bang—a deafening sound, like a gunshot, echoed through the dojo.

The bamboo sword in Qing Deng's hand began to crack from the center. The spiderweb-like cracks deepened and lengthened rapidly, spreading from the center to the entire blade, penetrating from the surface to the depths of the sword. In the end—it shattered into countless fragments.

At the same moment that Qingdeng's bamboo sword shattered... Oishi Kuwajiro flew up.

Taking off in a physical sense, taking off in the true sense.

At the very instant the sword shattered due to the immense force of the impact, all the power that had been stored and accumulated on the sword was released.

First, Oishi Kuwajiro's feet left the ground, and then his whole body was launched into the air, drawing a parabola that was low in height but perfectly shaped.

It flew about five steps away, then rolled to the ground with the colorful bamboo sword fragments that fell.

The audience was silent.

Kitahara Kōnosuke's eyes bulged out like bull's eyes.

Ootsuki Minoru looked like her brain was overloaded because too many emotions were surging up inside her.

Sanako's reaction was the calmest. It was as if she had expected all of this, as if she had known that Aoto would win. A gentle, faint smile appeared on her lips.

"The entire room was completely silent"... To put it broadly, this description is not entirely accurate.

The sound could still be heard.

However, Sanako and the others could not hear the sound.

[Ding! Talent detected]

The instant Oishi Kuwajiro's body hit the ground, a cold system voice rang in Aoto's mind.

Successfully copied the talent: "Swiftness +3"

[Talent Introduction: Superior reflexes]

[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]

[“Speed” ability upgraded to “Speed ​​+4”]

[“Swiftness +4” Talent Description: The talent effect is enhanced on top of its original effect. “+9” is the highest level.]

After hearing the system's message, Qing Deng was startled.

—Speed ​​+3?!

Good heavens, Aoto finally understood why Oishi Kuwajiro's reaction speed was so amazing.

Others are already remarkable just for having special talents, but this person not only has talents, but is also born in a state of being upgraded and enhanced, with a "+X" suffix after the entry.

Since transmigrating to this era and acquiring this system, Qing Deng has copied about 50 talents in total, but this is the first time he has copied a talent with a "+X" suffix after the entry.

Thanks to this, the talent "Divine Speed" that Qing Deng copied from Jin Zezhongfu a while ago was directly upgraded to "Divine Speed ​​+4", becoming the highest level talent that Qing Deng currently possesses.

So there are people whose innate talents are naturally enhanced... Could there be people whose innate talents are "+9" from birth...?

Qing Deng couldn't help but think this way.

At this moment, the sounds of crawling and armor removal coming from ahead pulled Qingdeng's "consciousness" back to the present.

Looking up, I saw Ōishi Kuwajiro slowly getting up from the ground and taking off his mask.

Qing Deng's attack just now was really fierce; it not only broke the bamboo sword but also sent Oishi Kuwajiro flying.