I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

You're practicing while simultaneously thinking about what to eat tonight; that's not called a proper dance...

Chapter 18 The Plump Female Ninja of Edo Legends

After concentrating his mind, Qing Deng focused intently on practicing Sujin as instructed by Okita.

As for Okita, he carried his bamboo sword and walked around the apprentices, supervising their practice.

Each time his watchful gaze swept over Qingdeng, a flicker of surprise would appear in his eyes.

—This person is amazing!

Beginners often make various small mistakes when practicing sword swings, such as swinging the sword downwards instead of forwards; or flipping or pressing the wrist while swinging the sword...

Generally speaking, it is quite normal to spend several days practicing until Su Zhen can practice without making any more mistakes.

If someone can master Su Zhen's technique to a high standard in just one day, that would be considered exceptionally talented.

And this new junior brother... actually watched him demonstrate once, then practiced it himself once, and was able to execute the Su Zhen perfectly, without a single flaw...

—This person's talent... might even surpass that of Kondo and Hijikata...

Okita uncontrollably focused nearly half of his gaze and attention on Aoto.

The handsome young man's training requirement for Qing Deng was to practice until he could no longer wield the sword, to see what Qing Deng's current limit was.

A standard strike requires you to exert maximum force with every blow, so it is extremely physically demanding.

When he swung his sword for the 32nd time, Aoto felt extreme soreness in his arm muscles and could no longer lift his arms. Therefore, he had no choice but to give up practicing and loudly informed Okita, "I can't swing anymore."

"Hmm...not bad." Okita slowly walked to Qing Deng's side, dragging his bamboo sword. "I've been silently observing you to see if your movements are up to standard."

"You did a much better job than I expected."

"Except for the last few cuts, when my form became a bit messy due to lack of stamina, every other cut was quite standard."

"I feel a little embarrassed..." Qing Deng said with a wry smile, "I only swung the knife 32 times, and I can't swing it anymore..."

—This body is so frail!

Qing Dengdi has complained about his new body countless times.

“Beginners don’t need to worry too much about the number of repetitions,” Okita smiled slightly. “The most important thing is whether the repetitions are performed correctly.”

"It's better not to practice at all than to do a thousand incorrect exercises."

"I originally intended to spend all of today teaching you how to perform the Suzhen routine."

A sense of helplessness slowly appeared on Okita's face.

"But your progress... far exceeds my expectations. There's nothing else to correct in your basic rhythm, so let's move on to the next step of practice."

"Next, I will teach you how to draw and sheathe your sword."

"Drawing and sheathing the sword are the most basic skills in swordsmanship. If you can't even draw or sheath the sword properly, then don't talk about swordsmanship."

"Take a rest for a bit now, and call me when you're ready. I'll go get you the tools for practicing drawing and sheathing your sword."

"Yes."

……

……

Qingdeng rested for a full half hour before he finally felt that the soreness in his arms had mostly subsided.

After informing Okita that he had finished resting, Okita happily ran outside the dojo and returned with two sheathed wooden swords.

"So heavy..." Upon receiving the wooden sword from Okita, Aoto couldn't help but let out a low gasp of surprise at the unexpected weight of the sword.

“This is a wooden sword specifically designed for practicing drawing and sheathing the sword,” Okita explained. “It has been specially weighted to perfectly simulate the weight of a real sword.”

Qing Deng weighed the sheathed wooden sword in his hand—in terms of weight, it was truly no different from a real sword.

“Okay, now watch me demonstrate.” Okita slung the wooden sword over his left hip. “There’s only one key point to drawing and sheathing the sword—make sure your hand takes the shortest route to touch the sword, without making any unnecessary movements.”

"Look closely."

Having said that, Okita suddenly raised his right hand, pressed down on the wooden sword at his left waist, and drew it from its sheath.

call--!

The knife was drawn, accompanied by a sharp, slicing sound as the air was cut.

After deftly drawing the sword, Okita sheathed the wooden sword with the same deft movement.

Okita's movements just now, like the Suzhen he demonstrated before, were clean and concise, making even those who didn't know anything about swords want to exclaim, "Awesome!"

"When drawing the sword, remember to grip it with your right wrist in this way..."

Okita succinctly explained to Aoto the details of the actions to pay attention to when drawing and sheathing the sword.

After he finished speaking, he put his hands and the bamboo sword behind his back.

"Alright. Now try it yourself."

"Yes."

Qing Deng spread his legs apart, lowered his center of gravity, and imitated Okita's earlier movement, slowly bringing his right hand to the wooden sword at his left waist.

Seeing Aoto preparing to draw his sword, Okita thought to himself with a tone of anticipation tinged with smugness:

—Drawing and sheathing the sword... Surely you can't master that in just a few moves?

After witnessing Aoto's astonishing talent, Okita felt a peculiar curiosity—a curiosity to explore the depths of Aoto's talent.

Okita, his eyes gleaming with anticipation, stared longingly at Aoto, who had already placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

The "high-speed camera" in Qing Deng's mind turned on again at this moment—

call!

The wooden sword was swiftly drawn from its sheath inch by inch, while Okita's eyes widened in that instant.

After drawing the wooden sword, Qing Deng imitated Okita's earlier action and sheathed the sword.

—Has this person really never received any formal swordsmanship training before?!

Whether it was Su Zhen before or the drawing and sheathing of the sword just now, Okita felt that Qing Deng's movements did not seem like those of a beginner.

Even seasoned swordsmen might not be able to execute such a beautiful move.

However, in the sparring match between Qing Deng and Suzuki that he had just witnessed, Qing Deng's extremely clumsy sword-wielding movements clearly told him that this junior brother was indeed a novice who had not had much experience with swordsmanship before...

—If… he really hadn't received any formal swordsmanship training before… then his talent…

Okita's gaze gradually became serious... no, it should be said that it became strange and "terrifying".

Feeling extremely uncomfortable under Okita's gaze, Aoto couldn't help but say:

"Um... Okita-kun?"

"Ah." Okita, as if waking from a dream, chuckled, "Sorry, I was just spacing out."

"Your movements were quite good. It's quite remarkable that a beginner could perform such a high level of movement."

"However, there were still some things you didn't do well."

Okita stepped forward and carefully explained to Aoto what details he had not done well.

After Okita corrected him, and Aoto practiced a few more times on his own, Okita finally nodded.

"For the rest of the time, focus on practicing drawing and sheathing your sword," Okita instructed. "Practice it at least 40 times. Remember to make sure your movements are correct during practice. Don't sacrifice accuracy just to finish the number of repetitions as quickly as possible."

After giving Aoto his new training assignment, Okita took his bamboo sword and went to supervise and check on the others' training.

After Okita left, Aoto began to practice drawing and sheathing his sword diligently, following Okita's instructions.

Just then—Uehara, who had been practicing his shojin under Okita's orders, finally finished the series of practice tasks assigned by Okita and sat down next to Aoto to rest, covered in sweat.

While massaging the muscles in his arms, he suddenly struck up a conversation with Qingdeng:

"Brother, you're really amazing. This is the first time I've ever seen Okita-kun be so gentle and kind when instructing on swordsmanship."

Uehara exudes a bold and forthright spirit, both in appearance and voice.

"Brother, where are you from? Where are you serving in the government?"

“I am a native of Edo,” Qing Deng replied. “I am currently serving in the Hokuban-sho of Edo and am a fellow townsman of the Hokuban-sho’s fixed town.”

After Aoto briefly introduced himself to Uehara, Aoto saw Uehara's eyes suddenly light up.

"So you're a 'three-times' samurai!"

Uehara asked Aoto urgently in an impatient tone:

"Brother, since you're a 'three-times' samurai, may I ask you something?"

"Hmm? Please go ahead."

Uehara, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, leaned his upper body forward in the direction of Aoto, and his breathing became a little heavy.

"I've heard that the cat-monk who's been causing quite a stir in Edo lately is a female ninja who's skilled in ninjutsu. Is that true?"

Qing Deng's hands, which were practicing drawing and sheathing his sword, involuntarily stopped.

"Huh?" Qing Deng tilted his head at Shang Yuan. "Neko-kun? A female ninja?"

Having inherited all of Yuanju Qingdeng's memories, Qingdeng naturally knew who Maoxiaoseng was.

About three months ago, a very skilled thief appeared in Edo who only appeared at night.

Most thieves steal from the homes of the wealthy.

But this master thief was different.

This master thief only stole money from the Yakuza of Edo, or from those notorious villains of Edo.

He acted boldly and aggressively, and in just three months, countless villains and evil forces had been robbed of their money. The total amount stolen is conservatively estimated to be several thousand taels of gold.

Thieves who only target evil people and do not harm ordinary people are always easy to win the favor of the people.

After all, ordinary people like stories and people who can stand up for them and help them fight against bad guys.

As far as Qing Deng knows, with the thief's activities, he has become extremely popular among the people of Edo, and some storytellers have even written stories about him.

Although the thief's actions can be considered as eliminating a scourge for the people, a thief is still a thief, and the government cannot sit idly by.