I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Upon hearing Kataoka Yuichi's words, Aoto's brow twitched slightly involuntarily.

"I've long heard that the 'rabid family' produces nothing but belligerent madmen... and it's no exaggeration."

"A warmongering madman?"

Kataoka Yuichi chuckled a few times through his nostrils.

"You could say that! Our boss is a fighting maniac who loves fighting more than women and three meals a day!"

"It is precisely because he is too aggressive, and he fights without any regard for his life, that those who respect him call him a 'mad dog'!"

"Most of the elderly people in our solarium are like-minded heroes, just like the eldest brother!"

"...I think I understand now."

Qing Deng revealed a half-smile.

"Simply put—under the influence of 'rabies,' you 'rabies family' are all extremely belligerent, is that a fair interpretation?"

That's pretty much the gist of it!

In an instant, Kataoka Yuichi leaped into the air like a spring rising from the ground, his bamboo sword whistling as it hurtled towards Aoto's head.

Qing Deng twisted his body slightly to the right, dodging Kataoka Yuichi's slash.

As soon as Kataoka Yuichi landed, he lunged forward, close to Aoto's left side, and his bamboo sword, which drew a clean arc in mid-air, struck Aoto's left abdomen with lightning speed.

Suddenly, Qing Deng pulled his bamboo sword back, perfectly blocking Kataoka Yuichi's waist-cutting attack.

Kataoka Yuichi launched a new attack with fluid and graceful movements.

He suddenly jumped back, widening the distance between himself and Qingdeng, and adjusted the direction of his bamboo sword and his center of gravity.

In the next instant, he concentrated his strength on his toes, then pushed off the ground and lunged at Qingdeng again.

As he ran, he raised his bamboo sword, assuming a stance with the upper right hand raised.

"Wa ...

With this sharp, harmonious sound, Kataoka Yuichi's bamboo sword struck Aoto with the force of a thunderbolt.

However... even before Kataoka Yuichi's bamboo sword tip was pointing diagonally at the sky, Aoto had already nimbly jumped back, his movements as light as a bird spreading its wings.

"You hid very well!"

Although he was praising Qingdeng, his tone was half admiration and half annoyance.

"It's because you're too slow."

Qingdeng's expression, tone of voice, and demeanor remained calm.

Kataoka Yuichi sneered, then adopted a new offensive stance.

"Really? Then what's next..."

Before Kataoka Yuichi could finish speaking... an unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes in the next instant.

Just a second ago... no! Just a split second ago, Aoto, who had been at the center of Kataoka Yuichi's field of vision, suddenly disappeared from his sight!

A true disappearance!

Kataoka Yuichi looked around, but Aoto could no longer be seen in his field of vision.

Such a horrifying and shocking scene caused Kataoka Yuichi's pupils to shrink to the size of pinholes in an instant.

This is probably what they mean by "those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly."

Sanako and Souji, who were watching from the sidelines, both clearly saw that Aoto had not disappeared at all.

This is perfectly reasonable. This isn't a magical world; how could such an absurd thing as "a living person disappearing into thin air" happen?

With lightning speed, Qing Deng pounced on Kataoka Yuichi's body—but Qing Deng was too fast, so fast that Kataoka Yuichi's eyes couldn't keep up and her mind couldn't react at all, that's all.

Because Aoto was already shorter than Kataoka Yuichi, and now that he was bending over, he ended up in Kataoka Yuichi's blind spot.

Qingdeng bent down and whispered to his toes:

"It's my turn to strike now."

In the next instant, Qingdeng stepped forward, bent his upper body, and swung his bamboo sword like a swallow in flight!

Snapped!

The bamboo sword struck Kataoka Yuichi squarely in the left shoulder.

It truly is a well-trained and robust physique.

Feeling the recoil force transmitted back along the hilt of the knife, which made his palms numb, Qing Deng had the illusion that he was not cutting human flesh, but hard stone.

If this were a life-or-death duel where both sides were wielding real swords, then Kataoka Yuichiro would already be a dead man—and a gruesome one at that.

Since Aoto was able to cut Kataoka Yuichi's shoulder, he could naturally cut off his head.

After all, how far is the head from the shoulders?

However, no matter what, this was just a swordsmanship exchange.

Before fighting Aoto, Kataoka Yuichi specifically asked his underlings to give him two bamboo swords.

This shows that Kataoka Yuichi had no intention of killing Aoto.

Therefore, it would be inappropriate, both morally and logically, for Aoto to take drastic measures against Kataoka Yuichi.

Therefore, Qing Deng decided to show leniency.

However... even so, Aoto was still quite annoyed by Kataoka Yuichi's behavior of starting a fight without even a word of warning.

Therefore, under the premise of "not crippling or killing Kataoka Yuichi", Aoto unleashed a torrent of fierce attacks!

He quickly transferred the bamboo sword to his left hand and slashed at Kataoka Yuichi again from the opposite direction—this time, Aoto cut Kataoka Yuichi's right side abdomen.

With his natural talent of being left-handed, it makes little difference to Qing Deng whether he uses his left or right hand to wield the knife.

In the blink of an eye, Qing Deng delivered the third strike!

This time, Qing Deng started with a lower left stance, returning the bamboo sword to his right hand. In a flash, the tip of the bamboo sword grazed the floor and slashed diagonally from the lower right to the upper left, striking Kataoka Yuichi's right leg.

In just one second, Qingdeng had already slashed three times.

However, this was not the end! Qing Deng's offensive continued relentlessly; he unleashed a fourth, a fifth, a sixth strike...

One strike, one strike, and another!

Qing Deng's slashes relentlessly attacked Kataoka Yuichi's burly body.

The dense net formed by the dark yellow sword blades tightly trapped Kataoka Yuichi, preventing him from escaping.

In an instant, sword shadows danced between heaven and earth.

Whether straight or curved, lines drawn by bamboo swords flickered endlessly in the small space centered on Qingdeng.

Arms, waist, legs... all of Qing Deng's muscles swelled and became congested with blood due to continuous exertion.

"Left-handedness" enhances the flexibility of the left side of the body.

A "steel waist" that doesn't easily get tired.

The explosive power of the waist is extraordinary, hence the name "Bear Waist +1".

"Strengthen Muscles +1" helps muscles stay fatigue-free.

They are more able to concentrate and focus their minds than the average person.

"Water Body" improves physical coordination.

"Tiger Arm +1" refers to the extraordinary explosive power of the arms.

The reflexes are "super speed +4" compared to ordinary people.

A "snake-like body" with a flexibility superior to that of ordinary people.

"Elephant Core +1" enhances the body's core strength.

This is an attack that only a "monster" with physical abilities far exceeding those of ordinary people can launch.

This super-speed combo can only be unleashed when all ten of the aforementioned talents are activated and superimposed on each other!

Because Qingdeng's sword speed was so fast, a bizarre phenomenon occurred where time seemed to stand still, and everything in the world stopped, except for Qingdeng and the bamboo sword in his hand, which could still move freely.

Especially Kataoka Yuichi, facing Aoto's fierce attack, he couldn't even react, let alone defend or dodge!

He stood there dumbfounded, as if his body had been frozen by magic, allowing Qing Deng to attack him.

And just like that... three seconds passed.

Three seconds pass in the blink of an eye.

But Qingdeng, with his superhuman physical abilities and superb swordsmanship, managed to unleash nine consecutive strikes in that fleeting moment!

The next instant, time resumed its flow after the "pause".

Aside from Sanako and Souji, the other onlookers finally realized what had happened and showed expressions of astonishment and shock.

As for Kataoka Yuichi...

The nine strikes, each landing at a different point, overlapped and combined to create an immense power that was difficult to resist!

Kataoka Yuichi tried to struggle, but his resistance was so futile.

In the blink of an eye, both feet were off the ground—

Bang!

Kataoka Yuichi flew backwards, tracing a straight trajectory in the air!

This brief "flight" continued until Kataoka Yuichi crashed heavily into the wall behind him.

The force and speed of the backward flight were so great that it looked as if it had been hit head-on by the cannon of a steam warship.

[Ding! Talent detected]

[Successfully replicated talent: "Steelbow"]

[Talent Introduction: Exceptionally resilient bones]

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

[Ding! Initiating talent fusion]