I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

It was only at this moment that Qingdeng clearly realized that the person he was fighting against was an elderly man who was over eighty years old.

—If this were when Mr. Makimura was young, he certainly wouldn't have started breathing rapidly after just a couple of moves.

Qing Deng couldn't help but think to himself.

His back was blatantly exposed to the enemy... Common sense dictates that Makimura's decision to leave himself so vulnerable was undoubtedly suicidal.

However... Qingdeng dared not make any rash moves.

He quietly set up his knife and assumed a fighting stance, his eyes fixed on Mucun's back, his expression solemn, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Qing Deng didn't know how to describe it... In short, his intuition told him: Mu Cun is in danger right now! Don't go near him!

"Huff...huff...huff...hahahaha!"

As Mucun's breathing gradually returned to normal, he suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

"I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to be able to master Kiryu's Flowing Light to this extent."

"I'm starting to understand more and more why Kiryu took you on as his apprentice."

"Thank you for the compliment." Although Makimura, who had his back to him, couldn't possibly see him, Aoto nodded in acknowledgment and replied humbly, "In terms of mastery of Flowing Light, I am still far behind, far inferior to Mr. Kiryu."

"Hahaha! You don't need to be modest! How long have you been cultivating? From the time you first met Liuguang until now, it's only been about half a year, right? To be able to cultivate Liuguang to this level in such a short period of time is already an extremely remarkable achievement!"

"Kiryu is right, you are indeed a swordsmanship prodigy!"

At this point, Makimura paused.

His back was turned away, so Qing Deng couldn't see that he was looking at him with a look of reminiscence, as if he were recalling some past events.

After a moment, he spoke again, changing the subject:

"Speaking of which, the feeling you displayed when you fought me... reminded me of an old friend of mine who liked to sunbathe in the street when he had nothing to do, and... a senior who passed away a long time ago."

Kiryu reacted to Makimura's words, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a look of reminiscence appeared on his face, just like Makimura's.

—An old friend? A senior colleague?

Qing Deng certainly didn't recognize who Makimura's old friend or senior was, but he guessed that someone who could befriend such a remarkable person was probably also a remarkable person. Therefore, Makimura's old friend or senior must also be someone extraordinary.

"Ah, sorry, I think I talked a little too much..."

Mucun took a deep breath.

Then... he slowly raised his free left hand and grabbed the fabric of his clothes on his right shoulder.

Seeing Makimura's actions, Kiryu narrowed his eyes and murmured, "They've come..."

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Let's... start over!"

Before he could finish speaking, Makimura ripped off his shirt!

As the fabric fell away... a crimson dragon leaped up before Qingdeng's eyes!

"This is...?!" Qing Deng's face was filled with intense astonishment.

On Makimura's broad back... was tattooed a red dragon that covered his entire back!

The crimson dragon's flesh was as vivid as blood, and its dense scales were as tough as the most durable armor in the world. Its lower body lay horizontally and coiled, while its upper body was raised high. Its claws were outstretched, its head looked up at the sky, and its resolute eyes, shining with an indomitable light, were fixed on the heavens.

The red dragon's bearing and movements made it seem as if it might leap off Mucun's back at any moment, breaking free from all worldly obstacles and soaring into the sky!

Looking back on his past and present lives, Qing Deng has seen quite a few people with tattoos.

To be frank, the vast majority of tattooed people have tattoos that are... ugly and exude a strong sense of low-class.

Qing Deng has never quite understood what people with tattoos are thinking.

Is it cool to have something so ugly tattooed on your body?

Although such thinking may seem a bit extreme, Qing Deng genuinely believes that there is no tattoo in the world that would catch his eye.

This thought persisted until... this very moment.

Looking at the red dragon on Mucun's back, Qingdeng's consciousness was momentarily dazed.

He felt a strong urge to meet the tattoo artist who had etched the red dragon onto Makimura's body.

He desperately wanted to see for himself... what kind of master was it, with such superb skills, that he could tattoo such a complex and fantastical creature as a dragon so lifelike and vivid.

It was as if Makimura was truly carrying a living dragon on his back!

This red dragon seems ready to move at any moment! It could fly off Makimura's back at any instant!

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I really wouldn't have believed that such a miraculous tattoo could exist in the world.

Of course, what surprised Qing Deng so much wasn't just the impressive tattoo on Makimura's back, but also...

"'Momentum'...!" Qing Deng's eyes narrowed slightly, and his expression darkened.

At the very moment Makimura ripped off his shirt... a powerful "force" erupted from his body with unparalleled force!

Such a powerful aura... far stronger than Kondo Shusuke and Souji!

For a moment, Qing Deng subconsciously clenched the Ding Gui Shen in his palm.

At this moment, Makimura finally stopped turning his back to Aoto and slowly turned around... As he faced Aoto again, he raised his greatsword high above his head with imposing grandeur, assuming the upper stance.

"Orange! Charge!"

The fierce shout vibrated the air and Qingdeng's eardrums.

As Makimura roared, the tension surrounding him and Aoto suddenly intensified to an unprecedented level.

"..." Qing Deng took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled the air he had just inhaled.

The warm breath, as soon as it left Qingdeng's mouth and nose, transformed into a pale white mist.

When he had exhaled the last breath of air from his lungs... Qingdeng's eyes were clear and calm again, as if they had been cleansed.

The surprise she had just shown had completely vanished.

Qingdeng remained silent, keeping a close eye on Mucun's every move, while raising his Dingguishen stance, which was originally in the middle section, and switching it to the Xiadan stance, which was easier to attack from the upper section.

The standoff between the two intensified the tension and atmosphere in the air, and the surroundings became extremely quiet.

This continued for several seconds—then a cold light slashed down!

Qing Deng quickly retreated, and Makimura raised the greatsword he had just swung down back to its upper section.

This is what the average person sees with their naked eye.

What is the actual situation?

In reality, Qingdeng used agile footwork, as if he had used a magical technique called "shrinking the earth to an inch," to get close to Mucun.

Before he could even get within range of the Demon God's strike, Makimura's greatsword came crashing down.

Out of caution, Qingdeng did not choose to fight head-on, but instead chose to pause his offensive and retreat temporarily.

He retreated in one breath to the spot where he had just been standing.

At almost the same time, Makimura, with his exquisite swordsmanship and power control, raised the greatsword in his hand back to its high position, pointing towards the sky.

Undeterred by his unsuccessful first strike, Qingdeng remained undaunted.

He stretched his ankles and then quickly ran to the right side of the village.

This time, Qingdeng wanted to disrupt Mucun's mind and rhythm by suddenly changing his position.

Qingdeng's plan was undeniably practical, but Mucun was like a robot equipped with an "automatic Qingdeng radar," automatically turning his body in the same direction wherever Qingdeng went.

The instant Qing Deng suddenly changed his stance, he launched a new attack on Makimura... but was still forced back by Makimura's quick reaction and sword strike.

Just like before—Aoto rushed towards Makimura at his maximum speed, but before he could even get within range of his sword, Makimura's greatsword fell down first.

Left with no other choice, Qingdeng had to retreat once again.

At the same moment that Aoto retreated, Makimura raised the greatsword in his hand back to the upper stance.

……

……

"..."

Kiryu faithfully fulfilled his duty of "quietness" as a spectator, remaining silent and uttering not a word ever since the contest between Aoto and Makimura began, simply observing all the movements, big and small, in the courtyard.

Suddenly, without any prior warning... he turned and walked towards the Senjiya building.

"Hmm? Mr. Kiryu, where are you going?" Mai Kinoshita asked.

"Nowhere. I just... want to pick up something."

Kiryu's tone was soft and melancholic... at the same time, it carried a hint of... an ambiguous smile.

……

……

—Tsk…their “arms” aren’t long enough…

At 175cm tall, Aoto stands out among the vast majority of adult men in Japan today.

He was already tall, and his beloved sword, Ding Guishen, was a bit longer than a regular katana. So unless the enemy used a long weapon like a spear or naginata, Qing Deng always had the advantage of height and length when fighting others, launching a fierce attack from above.

But now... the "positions" have been reversed.

Qingdeng had a rare experience of being "suppressed and beaten from a superior position".

Makimura was nearly 20cm taller than Aoto, and his greatsword was much longer than Aoto's Dingguishen. With these two factors combined, Aoto had to withstand Makimura's "bombardment" and advance a considerable distance before he could launch an effective attack on Makimura.

Even more critically, Makimura has now changed his tactics.

He stopped engaging in a fierce battle with Qing Deng and simply continued to hold up his greatsword.

Whenever Qingdeng approached, he would slash his knife fiercely at Qingdeng with a fierce momentum that seemed to want to cut a person in two on the spot.

Makimura's reactions were quick, and his sword speed was extremely fast. He could wield the Ōdachi with the agility and speed of a wakizashi.

A much longer attack range than Qing Deng Guang, plus a sufficiently fast reaction speed and sword speed, equals an impenetrable defensive perimeter.

To give a rather unrefined but very vivid example... Makimura is now like a mosquito swatter. Whenever Aoto, this little mosquito, tries to get close, it swats it down without hesitation. Whether it succeeds or not, this big swatter will silently reset itself, ready to attack again at any moment.

If Qingdeng doesn't find a way to break through Mucun's defenses, he has no hope of getting close to Mucun; if he has no hope of getting close to Mucun, then defeating him is out of the question.

So far, Qingdeng has attempted several times to break into the interior of Makimura's defensive perimeter using only speed.