I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Having fought Qingdeng for so long, he clearly felt that Qingdeng's sword strike just now was far more exquisite in both timing and angle than before...

Suzuki was surprised by Aoto's change, while Aoto was carefully watching the "high-speed camera" in his mind that hadn't stopped since the beginning.

The "high-speed camera" in Qing Deng's mind was playing back the attack he had just launched against Suzuki.

—No… my sword strike just now went too high, and my center of gravity and grip on the sword seem a bit off… it doesn’t feel right to swing…

Qing Deng quickly retracted the sword he had just slashed out with, and adjusted his body's center of gravity and sword grip slightly again, before slashing at Suzuki again.

—This grip feels much more natural…

……

……

If Kondo and Okita had only shown a slight look of surprise on their faces just now, they were now so astonished that their mouths were agape.

They stared blankly at Qingdeng, who was improving rapidly at a visible pace, looking as if they had lost their souls.

They could see with absolute certainty how Qingdeng's movements were becoming more and more skillful.

Just now, Suzuki was able to unilaterally dominate Aoto.

But now, in just a short time, the situation has changed dramatically.

In terms of swordsmanship alone, Suzuki is still stronger than Aoto, but he can no longer unilaterally suppress Aoto as he did at the beginning.

The rapidly improving Qing Deng has already unleashed several attacks that pose a great threat to Suzuki, causing Suzuki to appear disheveled on several occasions.

The three apprentices who had come to the sword-making hall with Suzuki to practice swordsmanship had all stopped mocking Aoto earlier.

Even those who have never practiced swordsmanship can more or less see how astonishing Qing Deng's rate of progress is.

Like Kondo and Okita, they all stared blankly at Aoto, who was still improving on the field, with this expression on their faces: (Д)

Okita then raised his hands and rubbed his eyes vigorously before continuing to look at Aoto on the field.

After confirming several times that his eyes were not mistaken, excitement slowly rose on Okita's cheeks, and his hands, which were naturally resting on his thighs, unconsciously clenched the fabric on his legs.

"Kondo-nii," Okita whispered to Kondo, barely able to contain his excitement, "we...we seem to have struck gold today...!"

Kondo did not reply to Okita.

He stared intently at Qing Deng, whose movements had become even more refined, his eyes wide with excitement.

……

……

"Whirring whirring……"

The protective helmet Qingdeng was wearing had poor breathability; most of the hot air coming out of his mouth and nose couldn't dissipate outside the protective gear in time, making him feel stuffy and unbearable.

—This body… its stamina is really terrible…! And the muscles in its arms are also weak. It only took a few swings with such a light bamboo sword before it started to ache…!

Qingdeng had lost count of how many times he had complained about his poor physical condition since he transmigrated here.

The decline in physical fitness also made Qing Deng's attack and dodge movements a bit sluggish.

Suzuki's stamina seemed to be about the same as Aoto's, and his movements were not as agile as when the fight started.

—When will this match finally stop?

Just as Qingdeng was thinking this, he heard the sound he most wanted to hear—

"Alright! That's enough!" Kondo stood up and said loudly.

Qingdeng had been waiting for this sentence for a long time.

As soon as Kondo finished speaking, Aoto immediately dropped his sword stance and stepped back, and Suzuki did the same.

The two stood at a certain distance before stopping, and then bowed to each other.

Qingdeng had been hoping to hear the system voice in his mind again since the beginning.

But even now, no sound has come to mind.

This means that Suzuki doesn't possess any special talents.

Qingdeng felt a little regretful, but not too frustrated. After all, he had already prepared himself mentally, since the system's user manual clearly stated that only a very small number of people would possess special talents.

"You two have worked hard. You must be tired after playing for so long. Please come down and rest."

"Yes!" After shouting "Yes!" in a strong voice, Suzuki quickly walked off the field, knelt down on the ground in a very proper manner, and skillfully removed the protective gear from his body.

Following closely behind Suzuki as he retreated to the sidelines, Aoto was also removing his headgear.

And then, an awkward scene unfolded.

Because he was not yet familiar with wearing protective gear, Qingdeng fumbled with the headgear for a long time but was unable to remove it.

Qingdeng is like a cat that has accidentally stuck its head into a potato chip can, desperately trying to pry its head out with its two little paws.

"Tachibana-kun, let me help you."

At that moment, Kondo's deep voice sounded from behind Aoto.

Qingdeng felt a strong hand fiddling with the back of his head a few times before the protective gear came loose and fell off his head.

"Thank you..." Qing Deng turned to thank Kondo, who had helped him remove his protective gear.

However, as soon as his gaze turned to Kondo, Aoto's remaining words of thanks were all stuck in his throat.

He saw Kondo, who was very masculine in both appearance and demeanor, squatting behind him and looking at him with "affectionate" eyes.

*******

*******

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[Japanese History Mini-Lesson Begins!]

Today I'm going to talk to you about the swords of samurai!

If you've watched Japanese historical dramas set in the Edo period, you'll know that samurai of that era typically carried two swords at their waists. The longer sword was called a "katana," and the shorter one was called a "wakizashi."

Many people have a misconception about wakizashi, thinking that it is a knife specifically used for seppuku (abdomen dissection).

This idea is actually wrong. The sword that samurai most often used for seppuku was the shorter "hiraken" (hand-held sword). If a hiraken was not available, a shorter wakizashi (short sword) would be used as a substitute.

If you like, you can even use a katana to perform seppuku.

The wakizashi was actually a secondary weapon for samurai. The wakizashi was to a samurai what a pistol was to a soldier; it was a secondary weapon that samurai used when their swords broke or in confined spaces.

By the way—the katana and the katana are not the same thing.

The tachi was popular during the Heian period in the 11th century and was mainly used for mounted combat, while the katana was mainly popular during the Muromachi, Sengoku and Edo periods and was mainly used for foot combat.

The tachi hangs at the waist, blade facing down. The katana is inserted directly into the belt, blade facing up.

Generally speaking, the tachi used in mounted combat is longer and has a greater curve than the katana. However, this is only a general rule. Some katanas are actually longer than tachi.

The author will teach you how to distinguish between katana and tachi in a museum—the one placed on the sword rack with the blade facing upwards is the katana, and the one placed downwards is the tachi, the same direction as when these two types of swords are worn at the waist. Blade upwards is katana, and downwards is tachi.

Chapter 15 The Thorny Child - Hijikata Toshizo

A strong, masculine man looking at you with such tender eyes—Qing Deng couldn't help but shiver slightly.

"Kondo-kun, what's wrong?"

"Tachibana-kun." Kondo raised his hand and patted Aoto.

When Kondo reached out his hand, Aoto almost instinctively pulled his shoulder back.

"Have you studied swordsmanship anywhere before? Do you use a sword frequently in your daily life?"

"No, I only learned a few moves from my late father. When I'm on duty, I usually fight bare-handed or use my ten hands."

"The sparring just now was truly breathtaking!" Kondo exclaimed excitedly. "While your swordsmanship still needs improvement, your talent is exceptional! When I saw you adjust your movements so quickly, I couldn't believe my eyes!"

Kondo praised Aoto without mincing words.

"Kondo-kun, you flatter me," Aoto quickly said politely and modestly.

Qingdeng smiled calmly on the surface.

But at this moment, deep within his heart, his emotions surged like a raging whirlpool.

If Qingdeng had to describe his newly acquired talent in one sentence, it would be: "The heifer won't give birth—it's incredibly awesome!"

Anyone could see that Qingdeng had made rapid progress in the battle just now, let alone Qingdeng himself.

Just now, when he realized how much more powerful his movements and swordsmanship had become, Qing Deng almost cried out in surprise.

It wasn't until that moment that Qingdeng truly understood the meaning of the phrase "extraordinary talent".

Exceptional talent means achieving with only 1% of the effort that ordinary people put in 99%.

In the battle just now, Qingdeng did almost nothing, yet he was able to make incredibly skillful self-corrections to his movements. This was a feeling Qingdeng had never experienced before, neither in his past life nor in this one.

Kondo's praise continued at this point:

"To have made such a great improvement in swordsmanship in such a short time—I've only ever seen such an amazing battle with Souji before!"

Qing Deng: "General?"

"Ah, I haven't mentioned it to you yet." Kondo's lips curled into a proud smile. "Souji is the pride of our Shieikan!"

"He has shown amazing talent in swordsmanship at such a young age."

"When he first started learning swordsmanship, he was just like you—no one taught him how to do it, but he was able to refine his swordsmanship and adjust his body posture to be more suitable for holding the sword."

“Kondo-kun,” Okita interjected with a hint of displeasure, “Why are you giving me more and more titles? Saying I’m the pride of Shieikan, I can’t accept that.”

"I'm just stating the facts," Kondo shrugged.

While Kondo and Okita were bickering, Aoto silently thought to himself:

—Of course he's the same as me, because we both have the same level of swordsmanship talent right now…

—Is he the pride of the Shieikan? No wonder he has such an exaggerated talent as "a prodigy in swordsmanship".

—Hmm? Yeah…