I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

With astonishing leg strength and reaction speed, Qing Deng whistled through the blades between Shigetaro Sakurai and Rozaburo Ozeki.

As his feet landed back on the ground, Ozeki Lousaburo stomped his feet hard on the earth to stabilize himself, while opening his eyes wide to search for Qing Deng's whereabouts.

But at that moment, his face suddenly split open—in a physical sense.

The crack widened, and blood gushed out.

Qing Deng, who had darted behind the tail of Lou Sanlang and was still in a sword-drawing stance, swung back and delivered a finishing blow.

This time, the crack turned into a gap.

[Ding! Talent detected]

Successfully replicated talent: "Nine Oxen and Two Tigers"

[Talent Introduction: Greater strength than the average person]

"The fierce bull of Sendai," Rozaburo Ozeki, has been killed in action!

--oh?

Qingdeng, overjoyed, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

It's been a long time since I've seen a powerful new talent copied.

Having greater strength than the average person—this innate ability, though simple, is extremely useful.

Strength can overcome technique. Building a strong body and increasing strength is more effective than studying any fancy skills.

It has been more than a year since Qingdeng obtained the system.

As Qingdeng continued to use the system, he increasingly realized that the more elaborate the talent effects, the narrower their applications.

The true key lies in talents that have a simple and unpretentious effect, yet genuinely improve basic physical abilities, such as the "Wind Perceiver" and the recently acquired "Nine Bulls and Two Tigers".

Talents like "breast milk" or "many children, many blessings" are utterly useless and are simply ridiculous.

A comfortable and familiar warmth coursed through Qingdeng's entire body.

Before long, the warm current subsided.

From the outside, Qing Deng's body has not changed much and has not become a burly and muscular giant.

But in reality, he genuinely felt that his internal strength had increased significantly! Every muscle in his body contained power far exceeding what he had before!

Driven by his excitement, Qingdeng was eager to find someone to test his new talents and abilities.

And so, his gaze naturally settled on Shigetaro Sakurai not far away...

What a coincidence! There's a perfect experimental subject right in front of us.

Qing Deng leaped up and charged toward Sakurai Shigetaro, raising his sword to the upper right.

The combined power of "nine bulls and two tigers", the explosive force of "tiger's arm +1", "bear's waist +1", "elephant's core +2"... all these forces combined!

"Wa ...

With the blessing of the talent "Piercing Clouds and Splitting Stones +1", the incredibly loud shout pierced the heavens and the earth.

The strange, unusually loud cry that started from the upper right... the move Qing Deng used was the vertical slash of the Satsuma Jigen-ryu!

Qing Deng's sword speed was simply too fast! So fast that Sakurai Shigetaro didn't have time to dodge!

This is only natural.

Power is speed.

A person capable of uprooting mountains and lifting tripods is unlikely to be slow either.

"Strength and speed are inversely proportional. Strong people are not agile enough, and agile people lack strength"—this is just a setting that action games have messed up to balance character abilities.

Qing Deng's sword speed was much faster than before.

With nowhere to hide, Shigetaro Sakurai could only awkwardly parry Aoto's sword.

clang--!!

Blades clashed.

A deafening clang.

At least one person's knife broke... Anyone would think that after hearing such a loud clang of metal.

In reality, no one's knife broke.

Aoto's Echizen-no-kami, Tsutachi-no-kami, Kaneshige, was a treasured sword gifted by Tenshōin.

A sword gifted by a high-ranking figure like Tenshōin is certainly not some common, readily available item.

Sakurai Shigetaro's sword was also quite good; it didn't break despite being hit head-on by such a terrifying heavy slash, only a large nick appeared on the blade.

However... Sakurai Shigetaro was unable to resist the immense force transmitted back along the blade, and the blade rebounded, hitting him heavily in the face, with the tsuba embedding itself directly in his forehead.

His head and hands drooped limply, his eyes rolled upwards, and his head seemed to be pulled backwards by his eyes, swaying and falling backwards.

[Ding! Talent detected]

Successfully replicated talent: "Water Body"

[Talent Introduction: Superior physical coordination]

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

[Ding! Initiating talent fusion]

[Ding! "Water Body +1" and "Water Body" are beginning to merge]

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

[Ding! Talent fusion successful]

[Upgrade from "Water Body +1" to "Water Body +2"]

[“Water Body +2” Talent Description: The talent effect is enhanced on top of its original effect. “+9” is the highest level.]

This "mutant" with a missing piece of his head died by having a knife inserted into his brain... It has to be said, this is a kind of dark humor.

Even as he lay dying, he remained as cold and lifeless as a doll, neither uttering a wail nor showing any sign of pain, which was truly pitiful.

Qingdeng twirled the knife again, shaking off the bloodstains.

The effect of the "Nine Oxen and Two Tigers" talent... or rather, the power unleashed by the combination of "Nine Oxen and Two Tigers" with talents such as "Tiger's Arm +1" and "Elephant's Core +2" far exceeded Qing Deng's expectations.

举个简单的例子，如果说青登此前的基础力量是“2”，那么“虎之臂+1”、“象的核心+2”等天赋可以使这个“2”乘上5，变成“10”。

Now, Qingdeng's base power has become "4". Although the multiplier remains the same, the value after multiplication has become "20".

The increase was so high that it can be described as a leap forward.

Thinking of this, Qing Deng's lips curled up uncontrollably—to be honest, he himself felt that his current physical strength was somewhat terrifying.

Because of the delay caused by Shigetaro Sakurai and Rozaburo Ozeki, Aoto's operation plan of "capturing the king first and taking down Eiichi Shimizu" was delayed.

When Qing Deng hurriedly raised his eyes and refocused his gaze on Shimizu Eiichi, he was taken aback.

A petite figure broke through the Yakuza's multiple defenses and rushed straight towards Shimizu Eiichi, ahead of Aoto.

Her cute, jet-black ponytail swayed back and forth...

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(<ω<)⌒★Ciallo~ Hello everyone, I am Ayachi Nene's desk (leopard's mental breakdown.jpg).

Today's total monthly votes have successfully surpassed 180! Thank you everyone! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

I'll keep my promise tomorrow! I'll reach 8000 words tomorrow! (Leopard's Rise.jpg)

Chapter 472 Qingdeng vs. Nue! Qingdeng: My lord, times have changed!

In terms of bravery and efficiency in killing enemies, the commander-in-chief is in no way inferior to Qingdeng.

Although Souji is a brilliant person who can't even calculate what 63 plus 18 equals, that's just her usual self.

She's anything but stupid when it comes to fighting.

She certainly understood the importance of "capturing the king first to catch the thief".

Upon discovering that Shimizu Eiichi was unguarded, she immediately made a decisive move—breaking through the Yakuza's defenses and heading straight for Shimizu Eiichi without stopping!

Shimizu Eiichi glanced sideways at the Souji, whose blade was closing in, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.

"Not bad... What's your name?"

"That's your father!"

After shouting, Souji raised his sword with a blue eye, the tip pointing directly at Shimizu Eiichi's chest.

Eiichi Shimizu finally released his hands, which had been behind his back since the start of the war—

clang!

Eiichi Shimizu swiftly drew his sword! He forcefully parried Souji's blade!

The commander remained calm, as if he had expected his attack to fail—and indeed it did.

Eiichi Shimizu is known to everyone as the "strongest fighter of the Shimizu clan".

In that case, he should have been able to defuse the commander's offensive.

Rather, if Shimizu Eiichi, who bears the title of "strongest," couldn't even block such an ordinary slash, then Souji would be puzzled.

Taking advantage of the brief opening created by Souji's exposed position after his sword was deflected, Shimizu Eiichi swiftly stepped back, his right hand flashing a blade of light as he delivered a lightning-fast blow to Souji.

The perfect leg spacing, the perfect power generation posture... it's hard to imagine that this is a strike that someone who has never spent a day in a fencing hall could deliver.

Souji nimbly somersaulted backward, dodging Shimizu Eiichi's sword and creating space.

Without giving Souji any chance to catch his breath, Shimizu Eiichi charged forward with his sword without hesitation.

He concentrated his strength on his toes, then pushed off the ground and charged forward, lowering his blade as he ran, assuming a low right stance.

The commander held his sword to his chest, his hind feet planted firmly on the ground like nails, and fearlessly launched his attack.

In an instant, Shimizu Eiichi's sword sprang up.