I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Yae's slash was blocked in mid-air by Aoto's wakizashi.

Sha Zhong's leg was pushed aside by Qing Deng's palm.

The two sisters not only had great teamwork when fighting, but their expressions were also perfectly synchronized.

Both women wore expressions of disbelief.

Her eyes widened, her red lips slightly parted, and she stared in disbelief at Qing Deng, who could use different moves with both hands at the same time.

Since they were in the middle of a battle, the tense atmosphere around them quickly brought the two women back to their senses.

Sae gave Yae a subtle wink.

Yae nodded slightly.

The next moment, the two women simultaneously stepped back and reached into their robes, pulling out a round, dark gray object.

Immediately afterwards, the two women forcefully threw the dark gray, round object they were holding onto the ground.

The sound, like a flour sack hitting the ground, echoed in the corridor.

Along with the smoke, thick, milky-white smoke also echoed in the empty corridor.

Qing Deng's expression changed immediately when he saw the two women take the sphere out of their bosoms.

He jumped back to create distance between himself and the two sisters, closing his eyes tightly—so tightly that it looked as if he wanted to snap his eyelashes off.

This sphere is one of the standard equipment of their new Oniwaban: smoke pellets.

It's actually just a smoke bomb.

A new type of weapon created by combining the fireworks-making techniques of fireworks artisans with Western firearms technology. It is specifically designed for escape or to confuse the enemy.

The method of use is very simple; just throw it forcefully onto the ground.

Upon impact with a hard object, the smoke pellet shatters instantly, releasing a cloud of milky white smoke that covers an area of ​​about seven steps.

This milky-white smoke is no ordinary substance. It is extremely irritating.

Once the substance gets in your eye, you'll immediately feel a burning sensation deep in your eye socket, and tears will stream down your face uncontrollably. It takes at least an hour to recover.

Qing Deng knew the power of the smoke pills, so he dared not be careless. He immediately closed his eyes to prevent his eyesight from being ruined, and tried his best to increase the distance between himself and the two sisters, jumping out of the smoke's coverage area.

At the same time, their ears perked up. "Focus," "Wind Sensor," "Swiftness +4"... all these talents were activated at full power.

Use sound to locate objects. Rely on your ears to be aware of your surroundings.

Qingdeng was on high alert. But nothing came of it.

There was no whooshing sound of a blade slashing down, nor the hissing sound of shurikens shooting through the air.

But I could hear the sound of pink feet pattering on the ground, gradually fading away.

After a while, Qingdeng counted the time and felt that the smoke had almost dissipated, so he looked around.

The spot where he should have been standing facing the little girl is now empty except for the air.

The spacious corridor was now empty except for Qingdeng.

"Have they retreated...?"

Qingdeng muttered to himself.

To be on the safe side, he focused his attention and listened intently, transforming into a "human sonar" to scan for any sounds around him.

I listened intently for a long time... and all I could hear was the occasional sound of the wind.

It seems the two sisters have escaped to a very far place.

"These sisters are pretty impressive..."

Qingdeng looked down at his left palm, which he had just used to deliver the heavy kick to the veil—his palm was bright red and he felt a faint stinging sensation.

—It seems this "test" won't be easy to pass...

After thinking this to himself, Qing Deng's face did not show any worry or anxiety. Instead, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, as if he was eager to fight the two sisters again.

This "exam" has a time limit.

If Qingdeng cannot retrieve the fan from the attic unharmed before the two incense sticks have burned out, then his challenge will be considered a failure.

Japanese incense is very different from Chinese incense.

The former is thin and short, and will burn out quickly.

Therefore, Qingdeng dared not delay for a moment. He sheathed his sword, lowered his center of gravity, and made his way inch by inch toward the top floor of the house.

……

This room truly lives up to its reputation as a training facility specifically designed to hone the stealth abilities of the new Oniwabanshu. Just the process of moving from the first floor to the second, Aoto encountered traps and mechanisms including, but not limited to:

The floor beneath my feet suddenly collapsed.

Bamboo shuriken that suddenly fall from the ceiling above won't kill anyone, but it will hurt a lot if you get hit by one.

The stairs leading upstairs are broken, so we have to find another way to get upstairs.

The only way forward was through a corridor full of obstacles. To move forward, one had to crawl into the ceiling and move along it. As soon as one's head peeked into the ceiling, one would see that it was covered with fine wires connecting to mechanisms. Once one touched these wires, a large number of bamboo shurikens would swarm towards Qingdeng like a shower of flowers.

Fortunately, Qing Deng had always been diligent and hardworking in his practice of Cloud Flow Ninjutsu.

Whether it was footwork, special techniques, or indoor combat methods, Qingdeng never slacked off in any of the lessons.

With his own accumulated strength and the slight help of talents such as "Cat Turn +1" and "Skillful Hands +1", Qing Deng is unstoppable.

Alternatively, one could rely on footwork to force their way through areas riddled with traps.

They either rely on ingenious techniques such as unlocking and unraveling wires to dismantle the mechanisms.

After many near-accidents, Qingdeng finally arrived at the top floor of the building safely.

It's just one step away from the attic above the top floor.

Where did those two little ones go...?

Although the two sisters, who are the same age as Qing Deng, are undoubtedly adult women who are 18 years old this year, Qing Deng can't help but treat them like little sisters because they are so short and look so young. He always calls them "little ones" in private.

After those two little guys released smoke pellets to escape, they never appeared again.

As the saying goes, "Where things are not normal, there must be something fishy going on." They couldn't possibly give up so easily; they must be lurking somewhere, waiting for their chance to strike.

Thinking of this, Qingdeng secretly became more vigilant.

Taking one step, stopping one step, looking one step—Qingdeng, moving slowly with such extreme caution, gradually saw the barrier leading to the attic.

Behind the partition is the attic.

The "item needed to pass the level" for Qingdeng, which is the fan, is right behind this barrier.

The two sisters still haven't shown up.

Qing Deng silently drew his wakizashi from his waist, crouched down, and pushed aside the barrier in front of him.

The bright white light of the winter sun pierced through the gaps in the partition and spilled into the attic.

Unfortunately, due to the angle, the sunlight can only reach the area within one step behind the door; it cannot reach any deeper areas.

Bathed in light that only illuminated the small area around the entrance, the interior of the attic appeared even more dim.

Qing Deng glanced around to make sure there was nothing strange, then, carrying the wakizashi, tiptoed into the darkness ahead.

An attic is a room located under the pitched roof of a house, and it is usually not very large.

The roof is only 2 meters off the ground. If Qingdeng tiptoes, he can touch the roof with his head.

The area was about 20 square meters in size, so after walking a few steps, Qingdeng saw a round fan painted with cherry blossoms on a low table.

—Found it…

Qingdeng bent down, preparing to pick up the fan.

Just then...

call!

A wakizashi flashed out from Qingdeng's right rear, sweeping straight towards Qingdeng's back!

The one wielding the knife was none other than Saeshige!

The attack, launched from Qingdeng's blind spot, was sharp and threatening.

Sae is a girl who doesn't like to make expressions and always keeps a straight face. But at this moment, she showed a rare, lighthearted smile.

I've won! Tachibana-kun definitely can't dodge my sword—that's what she must be thinking.

However... the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

The smile on Sae's face vanished without a trace in just a moment.

As the smile faded, a look of shock appeared.

As if Qing Deng had eyes in the back of his head, he swiftly turned around with his sword, facing Sasuke, and blocked with his wakizashi across his chest.

A flash of silver light, and with a clang, the two wakizashi were entangled together.

Qingdeng certainly doesn't have eyes on the back of his head, nor has he ever copied the talent of "being able to see behind him".

The reason he was able to block Sae's sword strike, which was extremely ruthless in both timing and angle, was entirely because Qing Deng had been on high alert ever since he stepped into the pavilion, constantly on guard against any possible sneak attacks from Sae and Yae.

Since the two sisters hadn't shown up, Qingdeng wondered: Could they be hiding in the attic where I was sure to come, preparing to attack me when I entered the attic?

It seems that Qingdeng guessed right about the two sisters' intentions.

In the instant the two swords clashed, Qing Deng flicked his wrist, and the gleaming wakizashi in his hand slid away, grazing the blade of Sashige's wakizashi, and drew a diagonal line, aiming for Sashige's chest.

Seeing this, Sashige quickly dodged to the side and pulled back her right elbow to parry with her sword.

At the same time, her left hand rose up and grabbed Qing Deng's wrist, which was holding the sword, her delicate index, middle and ring fingers pinching Qing Deng's tendon.

Despite her small and delicate fingers, Saejiro's finger strength is by no means weak.

Qingdeng strongly suspects that she may also have a talent for "skillful hands".

"Hand-to-hand combat" and "attacking the body's weak points such as acupoints" are the key elements of Yunliu's indoor fighting techniques—and coincidentally, Sashige excels in both of these "subjects".

The tendon gate is a major weakness of the human body. No matter how strong a person is, if their tendon gate is pinched, they will feel unbearable pain.

If it weren't for Qing Deng's extensive experience in battle and the many injuries he had sustained, which had made him accustomed to the feeling of physical trauma, and his innate "Berserker" ability that increased his pain tolerance, he might have actually lost his grip on the knife due to the pain.