I assembled the strongest swordsman group

As expected, Qingdeng and his friends were severely reprimanded by Abi.

"Who do you think painstakingly roasted these beans?! Don't use them as toys! Pick them all back!"

Ah Bi's loud shout still makes Qing Deng's eardrums ache slightly to this day...

After the "bean-throwing" ceremony, when it was afternoon, the three people—horse, pig, and cow—went to the Shiwei Hall to visit Qingdeng and see how he was doing.

Qingdeng was quite happy to see the three people, Ma, Zhu, and Niu, arrive.

Firstly, he was happy that his elders cared so much about him and were so concerned about his affairs.

Secondly, he was happy that he had finally encountered an opportunity to test whether they had any talent.

Qingdeng had long coveted his three elders.

He had long wanted to try and see if he could copy any talent from them.

Unfortunately, they had all been too busy with work to get the chance to copy the talent from these three people until now.

If I were to directly tell Arima and the others, "I want to spar with you in swordsmanship," it would be very abrupt and would make them feel very strange.

Since horses, pigs, and cows don't know much about swordsmanship, if you suddenly tell them that you want to spar with them, they will definitely be confused and won't know what Qingdeng is trying to do or why he wants to practice with people like them who know nothing about swordsmanship.

So, Aoto used the same tactic he had used to "deal with" Saito—

Snapped!Snapped!

Qingdeng tugged at the rope in his hand a few times.

"Lord Arima, Mr. Inoya, Mr. Ushiyama, you've come at the perfect time. I've recently mastered a new rope-catching technique. Would you be my sparring partners and help point out any shortcomings in this new technique?"

Using the pretext of "helping to guide the newly practiced rope-catching techniques" to "spar" with Arima and the others is both natural and reasonable.

Arima and his companions, being officials of the town, were quite skilled in rope-catching techniques. So when Aoto asked them to "practice rope-catching techniques," Arima and his companions didn't find it strange or suspicious.

And Qing Deng wasn't actually lying—he had indeed learned some new rope-catching techniques.

He incorporated some grappling techniques from his previous life into the rope-catching technique, and Qing Deng also wanted to find someone to test the power of his new technique.

The horse, pig, and cow readily agreed to Qingdeng's request to "practice rope catching techniques" and each of them had a "sparring session" with Qingdeng.

Judging from the results... the outcome is quite pleasing.

Arima, Inoya, and Ushiyama all possess talent. After sparring with the three of them, Aoto gained three new talents in one go!

However... the three new talents that Qingdeng acquired... are all somewhat subtle...

Qingdeng first sparred with Zhugu, and then copied the talent "Skillful Hands" from Zhugu.

[Talent Introduction: Fingers are far more dexterous and powerful than the average person]

When Qing Deng copied this talent from Pig Valley... he wasn't actually surprised.

He had actually made the necessary mental preparations beforehand.

After all, he was also aware of the titles "Silver Finger" and "Golden Mouth" that Inoya and Ushiyama respectively held in the Edo red-light district.

With just his two hands, Inugani made countless women in the red-light district fall head over heels for him.

Niu Shan, who is usually quiet and reserved but is actually very good at saying all sorts of sweet words, often manages to coax the women in the red-light district into giving him a discount or even making his bed free.

After replicating "skillful hands" from Pig Valley, and with higher expectations, when he sparred with Ushiyama, Qing Deng originally thought that he was very likely to replicate talents such as "improved eloquence".

But unexpectedly, the talent copied from Niu Shan... was named "Eloquent Tongue".

[Gift Introduction: The tongue is far more flexible and powerful than that of ordinary people]

The tongue has become more flexible and powerful... which can be considered a disguised improvement in speaking skills.

After acquiring this talent, Qingdeng clearly felt that his pronunciation became clearer and more powerful.

As for Arima at the end... when he was being tied up with rope... ah, not sparring with him, Aoto felt a little nervous and expectant.

Because he simply couldn't imagine what kind of talent could be copied from Arima, who always stood ramrod straight, only turned 90 degrees, never looked to the side, and had a very strange eating posture...

Ultimately, the talent copied from Arima was both unexpected and reasonable for Aoto.

The talent I copied from Arima is "Iron Waist".

[Talent Introduction: Lower back is less prone to strain, injury, and fatigue]

The lower back is not easily strained, fatigued, or injured... When Qing Deng gained this talent, he finally understood why Arima could always keep his back perfectly straight as if he never got tired.

This talent is quite useful; anyone who has studied martial arts knows that—regardless of the type of martial art, the waist is highly valued.

The waist, as a central part that connects the upper and lower body, maintains body posture, and transmits gravity, is of paramount importance.

Having such a talent related to the waist is naturally a great advantage for Qing Deng, who is currently working hard to improve his strength.

Overall, the three talents copied from the horses, pigs, and cows are not useless; they are all quite useful.

However, afterwards, when he carefully reflected on and pondered the effects of these three new talents... Qing Deng's feelings were somewhat complicated.

Fingers and tongue become more flexible and powerful, and the waist is less prone to strain, injury, and fatigue... If you think about it carefully, aren't these the skills that some "red-light district gangsters" most desire to have?

Qing Deng felt that if he went to the red-light district now, he would be able to make many courtesans remember him in a very short time.

Arima and the others' visit was a small interlude during Aoto's time.

Apart from that, Qingdeng encountered no major events during these days and lived a relatively peaceful and tranquil life.

……

……

March 10——

Around 8 PM —

Edo, Koishikawa Kohinata Yanagi Town, Test Guard Hall——

Wearing full armor and holding a bamboo sword, Qing Deng stood in a mid-stance stance, facing off against Kondo Haruka, who was also fully armed and in a mid-stance stance.

Since it was already evening and long past closing time, only Aoto and Kondo were in the dojo; there were no other students.

Qing Deng increasingly felt that living in Shieikan was really great. Even after closing time, he could still stay in the hall to practice swordsmanship, and he could also bring Kondo and others to accompany him for morning or night practice, just like now.

"Ha..." Qing Deng exhaled a breath of turbid air, then suddenly held his breath, gathered all his strength, and then, while emitting a loud breath, stepped forward, rushing into the range where his sword could hit Kondo, and swung his sword at Kondo's face.

Snapped!

The sound of bamboo swords clashing rang out.

Just as Aoto's bamboo sword was about to strike Kondo's face, Kondo timely held his own bamboo sword above Aoto's head, deflecting the attack.

Seeing that his attack had failed, Qing Deng quickly retreated a few steps, creating distance between himself and Kondo.

The first round of attack and defense between the two ended in a draw.

Looking at Kondo, who had already re-established his mid-stance, Aoto adjusted his breathing and thought to himself:

—As expected of the future fourth head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu main family… not a single flaw…

Unable to find Kondo's weakness for a long time... Qing Deng pondered for a moment, then adjusted his sword stance—Qing Deng slowly raised the bamboo sword in his hand above his head.

Watching Aoto switch his stance from a balanced mid-level stance to an upper-level stance that emphasizes attack over defense, Kondo narrowed his eyes and then changed his own sword stance as well—he lowered his bamboo sword, with the tip pointing diagonally at the floor in front of him.

Aoto shifted his feet, slowly closing the distance between himself and Kondo.

Kondo did not deliberately avoid it, allowing Aoto to approach and the distance between the two to gradually close.

The moment the distance between them closed to the point where their swords could touch each other—

The sound of Qingdeng's breath mingling with the sound of his sword being swung erupted together.

The strike delivered by the above stance, in terms of both momentum and power, is far superior to the slash that Qing Deng just delivered.

This time, Kondo did not take Aoto's attack head-on, but instead nimbly retreated two steps to dodge Aoto's slash.

In the instant he dodged Aoto's slash, Kondo suddenly raised his bamboo sword, which had been lowered to a low stance, and thrust it straight at Aoto's chest!

Aoto's eyes followed Kondo's sword speed—but his body couldn't keep up.

Aoto could only watch helplessly as Kondo's bamboo sword pierced his chest, and he staggered back two steps before regaining his balance.

Because he was wearing armor and using a bamboo sword that was not easy to hurt people, Aoto did not feel any pain even though he was hit hard by Kondo's stab.

After glancing down at the spot where he had been stabbed, Qing Deng lowered his bamboo sword and smiled wryly at Kondo:

"Sigh... I still couldn't keep up with your sword, Kondo-kun..."

“Tachibana-kun, I’m the one who should be sighing.” Kondo put down his sword and gave a wry smile like Aoto. “Your progress is so fast that it’s making me feel a little unbalanced.”

“Your movements and strength now are worlds apart from when you first entered our training hall a month ago.”

Hearing Kondo's praise, Aoto smiled and then said in a half-joking tone:

"This is all thanks to that chaotic and deadly battle with the 'radical anti-foreign faction' before. It gave me a lot of experience."

As the saying goes, real combat is the best training.

Practicing against an inanimate object a thousand times is not as effective as practicing against a living person once.

In that chaotic battle on a snowy night, Aoto first charged through the enemy ranks alongside Saito, and then engaged in a deadly fight with Suehiro Moritoyo, where even a moment's distraction would mean certain death...

Qingdeng possesses a talent that amplifies swordsmanship aptitude 50 times the average level. After such an intense battle, with the blessing of "Sword Prodigy," the amount of nourishment Qingdeng absorbed from this battle was so great that even Qingdeng was taken aback.

These days, while practicing swordsmanship in the Shiwei Hall, Qingdeng clearly felt that his strength had made a leap forward.

Qingdeng felt that he could easily defeat himself a month ago, when he had just transmigrated to this era.

After a fierce battle to the death, his strength had increased so dramatically... Qing Deng couldn't help but think: If he could fight ten or eight times more of these life-or-death battles, could he become a great swordsman in a very short time?

"Hahahaha." Kondo laughed. "Tachibana-kun, your talent... is just like Souji's, it's truly enviable."

"How's it going, Tachibana-kun? Shall we keep practicing?"

"Of course!" Qing Deng returned the bamboo sword to its original position and got into a fighting stance. "Come on, Kondo-kun, let's continue!"

"Not bad." Kondo grinned, then, like Aoto, readjusted his sword.

……

……

While Aoto and Kondo were engaged in a lively "night training" session—

On a certain street in Edo—

"Glug... I want to drink... a few more cups..."

"You're starting to talk nonsense, and you're still drinking..."

"I...I wasn't...talking...nonsense...! Hiccup! Ugh...!"

"Hey! Don't throw up!"

A young man who was still somewhat conscious was helping a drunk man who was completely intoxicated. The two of them staggered forward inch by inch.

"Who said I'm drunk...? I can still drink... I can still drink...!"

"Alright, alright." The young man soothed his completely drunk friend in a tone as if comforting a child. "You're not drunk, you're not drunk. Be a good boy and come with me to your home. When we get home, you'll have new wine to drink."

"Really...? Hiccup...!"

"Of course it's true. Once we get back to your home, you can drink as much as you want."

After being tricked by the young man, the drunkard became much more obedient and allowed the young man to help him home without resisting.

Just then—ahead of them, a young samurai with a sword at his waist and a young woman walked side by side toward them.

Upon hearing footsteps ahead, both the young man and the drunkard looked up.

After their gazes swept over the man and woman... the two men displayed completely different expressions.

The young man looked astonished and stared at the man and woman with a surprised expression.

The drunkard, on the other hand, was completely dazed... He stared blankly at the woman in the couple, as if he had lost his soul.

The couple walked very fast, and in just a moment they passed the young man and the drunkard.

Even after he had passed the couple, the drunkard still seemed not to have woken up, staring blankly at the woman's back.

"Ichiro...that girl is so pretty..." the drunkard murmured to the young man supporting him.

"Ha..." The young man chuckled, "Shiro, don't you recognize that couple from earlier?"

"Huh...? I don't know them... Who were those two people just now...?" the drunkard asked blankly.