I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Kiryu's sword speed is just too fast.

It was so fast that even Qing Deng, who had extensive combat experience and possessed talents such as "Godspeed +4", couldn't react at all!

If Kiryu had been carrying the real thing, he would have been dead long ago.

At that moment, Aoto suddenly realized that Kiryu always had a blank expression and an aloof demeanor, just like a robot that only followed the program.

This feeling... is as if all emotions and desires have been stripped away from him, it's indescribably eerie, and it almost triggers the "uncanny valley effect" in people who see it.

As he watched Kiryu walk toward him again, Aoto couldn't help but ask himself: If his strongest amplification talent, "Reversal Dragon," were activated, would he be able to contend with Kiryu in his current state?

Regarding this question... Qing Deng cannot give a definite answer!

—Is this Kiryu-sensei's true strength... "Ryuko Hachiman"?

Qing Deng knew that Kiryu was a very powerful and once-renowned top expert.

However, it wasn't until now that he belatedly realized that he seemed to have underestimated Kiryu's abilities all along...

At this moment, Qingdeng was just like a volleyball—the volleyball was constantly being hit, flying around in the air, and it was difficult for it to fall back to the ground.

Similarly, Qingdeng was also constantly being beaten, without even having the chance to cry out or scream in pain.

Kiryu, the boss, repeatedly beat Aoto, just like disciplining a child who had stolen candy.

Of course, he still showed mercy, not attacking Qingdeng's eyes, throat, or other vital points, nor hitting Qingdeng's face. He only slashed at fleshy areas that would hurt a lot but not cause serious injury.

For a moment, the "slap slap" sound of flesh being struck echoed in the air above the Senjiya, lingering for a long time...

……

……

After a while—

"We're back."

Kinoshita Mai, carrying a basket full of fresh fruits and vegetables, pushed open the shop door and stepped across the threshold one after the other with Makimura.

As soon as they returned to the Senjiya, they heard very strange noises.

"What is that voice?"

Kinoshita Mai frowned her beautiful eyebrows and followed the sound towards the courtyard.

Upon arriving at the veranda adjacent to the courtyard, the scene before her took her by surprise.

"Aoto? Mr. Kiryu? What are you doing?"

Kinoshita Mai's shouts caused Kiryu's sword-raising motion to pause.

"I'm teaching Tachibana-kun a new move."

Kiryu turned his head to the side and said to Kinoshita Mai in a serious tone.

"Teaching you new moves? This looks more like you're bullying Tachibana-kun!"

Kinoshita Mai stood with her hands on her hips, casting a resentful glance at Kiryu.

Then, she hurriedly walked down the veranda, slipped on her flat wooden clogs placed under the veranda, and took three steps at a time to reach Qingdeng's side, carefully supporting his waist.

"Qingdeng, are you alright?"

At first glance, Aoto and Kiryu, each wielding a bamboo sword and standing facing each other, seem to be fighting. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is essentially a case of "beating and being beaten."

The way Qing Deng looked... while it can't be said that he was beaten to a pulp, he was at least beaten into a sorry state.

"I'm fine... Ouch!"

While speaking, Qingdeng accidentally aggravated the bruises on his chest and couldn't help but gasp several times.

The Kiryu boss across from them was letting out a long sigh of relief.

Qingdeng noticed that the strange rise and fall of his chest gradually stopped, and he slowly returned to a normal breathing rhythm.

At the same time, the magnificent light in his eyes gradually faded away—and strangely enough, at the exact moment the strange light disappeared, the old man in front of him transformed back into the gentle and refined Mr. Kiryu he knew, no longer the aloof "robot" whose every move was devoid of emotion.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination... but he felt like Kiryu-sensei had a satisfied look on his face, as if he'd wanted to beat him up like this for a long time...

"Mr. Kiryu, what are you doing?"

Kinoshita Mai couldn't contain herself and said urgently.

"Qingdeng has just recovered from his injuries, how could you have been so harsh?"

Before Kiryu could answer, a tall figure slowly came into everyone's view.

"Ah, Mr. Makimura, good morning."

Qingdeng was the first to greet them.

"Oh! It's Tachibana-kun! Good morning!"

As always, Makimura responded with a hearty and warm smile.

"Hey Tachibana-kun, what brings you here today?"

Qing Deng gave a bitter smile.

"Kiryu said he would teach me something really powerful, so I came here."

"Oh?"

Makimura's thick eyebrows twitched at the corners of his raised eyes.

He glanced around, looking at Kiryu, then at Aoto.

"Kuro, are you... finally going to pass 'that' on to Tachibana-kun?"

As he spoke, Makimura grinned, revealing a complex expression that was both a smile and a mixture of emotions.

Kiryu nodded slightly.

“He already possesses the ability to master it—therefore, it should be taught to him.”

After speaking, Kiryu walked to the veranda beside the courtyard and sat down with his knees bent.

"Ju-kun, please sit here. Young Master, please sit here too."

As Kiryu spoke, he pointed to the empty seat next to him.

Perhaps it was because Kiryu's "revenge has been served" expression that left an indelible impression on Aoto that when Kiryu said "sit next to him," Aoto hesitated and moved cautiously until he repeatedly confirmed that Kiryu was not emitting any murderous aura before slowly sitting down—only sitting on half of his buttocks.

"Mr. Orange, before we get to the main topic, let me tell you a short story."

Qingdeng: "A story?"

Kiryu nodded, then raised his gaze to the distance, as if reminiscing.

"A long, long time ago, there was a very powerful and talented swordsman."

"In his youth, he once engaged in a fierce and evenly matched battle with a particularly powerful rival."

"At the most intense and exhilarating moment of the battle, his mind and body suddenly entered a strange state."

"He felt as if he were floating on a calm lake."

"There are no distracting thoughts in my mind."

"There were clearly many other things in his field of vision, such as flowers and plants, but he could only sense the knife in his hand and the enemy in front of him."

"With this incredibly miraculous state, the swordsman defeated a powerful enemy in one fell swoop."

"The state he entered at that time now has a universally recognized name—'the state of no-self'."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng looked surprised and murmured to himself:

"'The state of no-self'?"

This name... Aoto had heard of it from another of his mentors, Kondo Shusuke.

……

(Tachibana-kun, you and Souji need to work harder. In the entire Test Guard Hall, you two are the most talented and have the best chance of reaching the highest level.)

At that time, Kondo Shusuke said this.

(The highest realm? What is that?)

Qing Deng asked in return.

Kondo Shusuke smiled slightly and replied:

(Without surprise, fear, or dread, the mind becomes empty; emptiness is nothingness, and this is called the state of no-self!)

……

"Tachibana-kun, have you learned in detail about the 'state of no-self' from Kondo Shusuke or the Chiba family before?"

Qingdeng shook his head.

“Master Kondo mentioned it to me briefly, but he didn’t go into detail. He said he had never personally experienced the ‘state of no-self’, so his understanding of it was only superficial, and he didn’t want to talk about it further for fear of misleading others.”

Kiryu nodded slightly.

"Kondo Shusuke is as humble as ever... Well then, let me give you a lesson."

"'The state of no-self' - as the name suggests, is a state in which a person who reaches this state will enter a state of no-self where there is no distraction or extraneous thoughts."

“This is completely different from the ‘concentration’ you usually experience when you are focused on doing something.”

"The state of 'selflessness' is a state of complete focus, where there is not a single distracting thought in the mind, to the point that one almost forgets the existence of the body."

"When you enter the 'selfless state,' you can bring out physical abilities far beyond what you normally have, especially your reaction speed will be greatly enhanced. You no longer act after thinking, but rather you unconsciously carry out your actions based on your actual physical experience."

"Of course, nothing in this world is perfect."

"Such a powerful state of 'selflessness' naturally has side effects."

"Its side effect is that it will rapidly deplete physical strength."

"Those with poor physical strength will mostly collapse from exhaustion after entering the 'selfless state' within a few minutes."

“For a long time, let alone those who have entered the ‘realm of no self’, even those who have touched upon this realm are extremely rare.”

"If we say that the realm of 'momentum' is the watershed that distinguishes ordinary people from the strong."

"So, the 'realm of selflessness' is the watershed that distinguishes ordinary strongmen from chosen talents."