I formed the strongest swordsman group

When Chiba Eijiro took the initiative to put down the sword in his hand, the "momentum" that was constantly pressing towards Qingdeng from all directions like a huge wave dissipated immediately.

Although he really wanted to have a few more rounds with Eijiro Chiba, Qingdeng still had to admit: Eijiro Chiba was right, he really didn't have the strength to swing his sword anymore.

There is no part of the body that is not sweating, the body hidden under the protective gear is sweating profusely, and the whole body looks like it has just been fished out of the water.

Both arms and legs were sore and sore. Just lifting the bamboo knife was extremely difficult. The sore muscles made it difficult for Qingdeng to hold the bamboo knife in his hand. The blade trembled slightly... I don't know People, thought that the swordsmanship practiced by Qingdeng was Beichen Yidao Style.

Qingdeng has the talent of "muscle strengthening" that "muscles are not easy to fatigue".

Even though he has such talent, he still can't even hold his sword steady when he fights... One can imagine how fierce Zhiqingdeng fought with Chiba Eijiro just now, and how much physical energy was exhausted.

After Chiba Eijiro said "let's stop here" and took the lead in putting down the bamboo knife in his hand, Qingdeng's originally tense strings in his mind loosened all of a sudden.

Losing the support of willpower, his footsteps suddenly became a little unsteady, Qing Deng staggered a few times on the spot, and then sat down on the ground in a very shapeless manner.

On the edge of the dojo, Chong Tian and the others rushed up in time with the water and sweat towels they had prepared earlier in the morning.

Okita came to Aoto's side and helped Aoto take off his armor, while Kondo went to help Chiba Eijiro take off his armor.

As soon as the mask on his head was taken off, gusts of hot air immediately steamed out along the top of Qingdeng's head, as if the seal had been lifted.

Qingdeng's face was covered with sweat, his cheeks were dark red due to the heat and fatigue, and he looked like a freshly cooked crayfish.

On the other hand, Chiba Eijiro... From his current state, it can also be seen in a disguised form that there is a huge gap between Qingdeng's current strength and his.

There was only a little sweat on Chiba Eijiro's face, his cheeks were only slightly red, and although his breathing was a little short, it was not messy.

"Hurry up and drink some water." Chiba Eijiro took the water Kondo handed him, and smiled half-jokingly at Qingdeng, "Now the weather is getting hotter and hotter, if you don't drink water in time, you will suffer Oh, it's hot."

To get summer heat means heatstroke.

This year's summer seems to have come very early, and now it's just past May, which makes Qingdeng miss the electric fans and air conditioners in his previous life.

Qingdeng took the bamboo water canister from Okita and relaxed his body muscles while gulping down the water.

Although the body is very tired... But the system sound that just flashed through the mind made Qingdeng's exhaustion reduced by half due to emotional excitement.

Before the contest with Chiba Eijiro began, Qingdeng greedily fantasized: Will the "eternal talent" be copied from Chiba Eijiro?

For a genius like Eijiro Chiba who is bound to be a genius...it is not impossible to have an "eternal talent".

However, it's a pity—from the system sound that rang in his mind just now, Qing Deng's fantasy came to nothing.

But Qingdeng didn't feel too regretful.

After all, it is impossible to repeat the "eternal talent" that only a very few people may possess. Its rarity is destined to meet the holder of the "eternal talent". things.

Qingdeng had already made mental preparations in advance.

Moreover, from the perspective of effectiveness, the "gathering gods" copied from Chiba Eijiro...maybe stronger than some "eternal talents" in this world. This point greatly dilutes Qingdeng's little regret because of the failure of his fantasy of "hoping for a second 'eternal talent'".

It is far easier to hit the spirit and concentration than ordinary people, and can maintain a state of "extremely high concentration" for a long time... Qingdeng understands why Chiba Eijiro has achieved so many dazzling achievements at such a young age .

Leaving aside Chiba Eijiro's talent in swordsmanship, it's hard not to be successful just with such a talent!

Anyone with a semblance of sanity knows what it means to be able to focus more easily and to be able to maintain a high concentration of mind for a long time.

So in his previous life, Qingdeng had seen many unscrupulous merchants who sold various so-called training courses and practice methods under the gimmick of "helping children improve their concentration".

Qingdeng, who was complacent about having acquired a new powerful talent, had a faint look of joy on his brows.

Now that he has obtained "Ju Shen", there is no doubt that Qingdeng will be able to learn faster whether he is studying Chinese or martial arts in the future, and he will also be able to explode stronger fighting power when fighting people!

And, it just so happened.

A few days ago, Qingdeng obtained the eternal talent linked to the activation condition and mental concentration: "Hachiman of Infinity", and today he obtained the "gathering spirit" that can improve the mental concentration.

It was so coincidental and lucky that Qingdeng couldn't help but want to pinch his cheek to see if he was dreaming.

In the introduction of the system, it is clearly mentioned that one of the conditions for the activation of "Hachiman of Infinity" is the unity of mind and mind.

Unity of mind and mind... Isn't this another synonym for "concentration".

Talent and talent can cooperate with each other and play a complementary role.

For example, "strong muscles" can complement each other with "leading the horse", giving Qingdeng the ability to run at high speed for a long time.

Therefore, Qingdeng believes that "Ju Shen" can also cooperate with his "Hachiman of Infinity"!

The more Qingdeng thought about it, the more he felt what an incredible new talent he had acquired, and the smile on the corner of his mouth and between his brows became more intense.

At this moment, Chiba Eijiro suddenly sent over:

"Tachibana-kun, the sword you hit me at the last moment just now...was very good." Eijiro Chiba, who wiped off the sweat on his face with the sweat towel handed by Kondo, turned his soft eyes back to Qing Deng's body, "No matter the angle and timing of the sword, it couldn't be more perfect."

Chiba Eijiro pointed to his ear.

"If I'm not mistaken...you just relied on the sound to determine the direction of my attack, right?"

"...Mmm." Qingdeng didn't hide anything, he nodded almost without thinking.

Seeing that Qingdeng nodded, the surrounding Chong Tian and others showed expressions of "it really is so".

"How could you think of abandoning your eyes and only relying on your ears to deal with my slash?" Chiba Eijiro put the bamboo knife in his hand on the ground, and cast a curious look at Qingdeng.

Along with Chiba Eijiro, Okita and the others focused their attention on Qingdeng.

Facing the eyes of everyone focusing on him, Qingdeng took a deep breath, and then explained without haste:

"Chiba-kun's speed is really too fast."

"My eyes can barely keep up with your speed, but my body can't."

"In the beginning, I just kept trying to see you more clearly, to make my body follow my eyes."

"It wasn't until just now that I suddenly realized that there was a considerable part of the reason why my body couldn't keep up with your speed. Maybe it was because I insisted on using my eyes to see clearly and capture your movements."

"Eye is the most important organ for people to perceive the outside world."

"While helping people see the world clearly...the eyes are also prone to cause people to see too many things and bring too many 'distractions' to people, slowing down the thinking speed of the brain and the reaction speed of the body."

"So I thought: Anyway, the eyes are useless, so why not use them at all."

"Close your eyes, take the initiative to close the vision among the five senses, abandon all kinds of 'distracting thoughts' brought by your eyes, put your whole body and mind on your ears, and only use your sense of hearing to feel the wind blowing by your bamboo knife. "

"In this way, my body's reaction speed may be able to keep up with your movement speed."

Qingden paused, then smiled bitterly:

"But it turns out—that's easier said than done."

"After being stabbed by you more than a dozen times, I only successfully defended and counterattacked your attack once."

The reason why Qingdeng dared to deal with Chiba Eijiro's slash with only his hearing is that one of his confidences is that he has just recently acquired the talent of enhancing hearing: "wind perceiver".

Without the support of this talent, Qingdeng might not have dared to adopt such a bold tactics in the battle just now.

After listening to Qingdeng's explanation, the people around showed completely different expressions.

Kondo, Nagakura, Saito, and Harada showed surprise and thoughtful expressions.

Only Chiba Eijiro, Zhou Zhu, and Okita looked as usual... The three of them seemed to have guessed the reason why Qingdeng made such a bold move of closing his eyes in the just contest.

Chiba Eijiro nodded lightly, with a smile on his mouth: "Although I only successfully blocked and countered my move, it was successful anyway."

Chiba Eijiro lowered his eyes and glanced at the part where he was hit by the sword just now.

"Are you taking the initiative to abandon the eyes... Although it is a bit too bold, but depending on the situation, in certain situations, it may become a method of defeating the enemy that can surprise the enemy."

"Mr. Ju, you are much better than I expected."

"Being able to boldly formulate and change tactics according to different situations during battle."

"It's a rather rare talent."

Chiba Eijiro's sudden and very direct praise made Qingdeng couldn't help being taken aback.

Because he was not used to hearing others praise him so bluntly, Qingdeng felt flattered, and replied modestly, "Thank you for the compliment" and "Don't dare to take it".

"It's a pity." Chiba Eijiro turned his right wrist, raised the bamboo knife on the floor, carried the bamboo knife on his shoulder, and grabbed his hair vigorously with his left hand, a flash of shock flashed in his eyes , "Until the end, I didn't see your 'potential'."

"But... whatever."

Chiba Eijiro paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes, looked at Qingdeng opposite with a smile, moved his lips, and murmured in a voice that only he himself could hear clearly:

"Although I didn't see the 'potential', I also gained a lot..."

"Mr. Chiba!"

Suddenly, a loud shout echoed in the mid-air of the dojo.

It was Yongcang's voice.

Yongcura's strong body like an iron tower swayed for a while, and he quickly stood in front of Chiba Eijiro in a blink of an eye.

Before Chiba Eijiro had time to ask why, Nagakura said respectfully:

"Mr. Chiba, I...ah, no, can I implore you to enlighten me?"

"Oh?" Chiba Eijiro raised his eyebrows, "You want to compete with me?"

Yongcang's pupils are burning with fiery light - just like Qingdeng just now.

"Before I left my hometown, I have heard of your name, and I have been fascinated by your strength for a long time!"

"I really want to experience for myself how far away I am from a real strong man!"

"It's enough to compete with the next one!"

"I hope you can make it happen!"

After finishing speaking, Yongkura bent his waist down and bowed 90 degrees respectfully to Chiba Eijiro.

Yongcang's sudden invitation to discuss, made Qingdeng and the others stunned.

Outspoken, quick to speak, quick to do things...he has the stupid personality of Yongcang very much.

Perhaps it was because after seeing the fierce contest between Qingdeng and Chiba Eijiro just now, the soul of a warrior in his heart was ignited. Yongcura's entire face read "I really want to compete with Chiba Eijiro too".

Chiba Eijiro raised his gaze, looked at Nagakura Shinpachi, who was a head taller than him, and then smiled slightly:

"Nice look."

Chiba Eijiro put down the bamboo sword that was on his shoulder.

"Okay, then let's compete with you."

Yongcang's cheeks were full of ecstasy visible to the naked eye: "I am grateful!"

At this time, a baritone voice that seemed to contain no emotion suddenly sounded.

This baritone voice seemed to have some magical power, which slightly changed the expressions of Qingdeng and the others.

"...Mr. Chiba, can you please compete with me too?"

The master of this baritone...that is, Saito, looked at Chiba Eijiro with burning eyes.

"I also really want to experience for myself how much I still lack compared to the strongest swordsman in Edo."

"Mr. Chiba, please help me."

Saito remained expressionless as always.

But in his pupils, there was a flame-like fighting spirit faintly visible at this moment.

Qingdeng and the others... all looked at Saito with astonishment.

The reason why they did this was not because Saito also begged Chiba Eijiro for advice after Yongkura, nor was it because Saito's pupils were shining with fighting intent.

"Saito." Harada, who opened his round eyes and opened his mouth wide, looked at Saito in a daze, his expression seemed to have seen some incredible sight, "so you can talk so much in one breath ?"

Qingdeng was the one who had the longest friendship with Saito among all the people present - he was also shocked by Saito's words so much in one breath.

When was the last time Saito said so much at one go?

How about...has Saito ever said so much in one breath before?

Facing Harada's doubts, Saito glanced at him lightly: "I have a tongue, of course I can talk so much in one breath."

It was a short but convincing answer...Harada, who was not able to use his head, showed an expression of "ah, really".

Saito said solemnly, "I have a tongue." For some reason, it gave Qingdeng and the others a strange sense of absurdity.

Chiba Eijiro, who didn't know Saito's taciturn character and didn't know why Qingdeng and others reacted so strongly to Saito's opening speech, generously shared Saito's soft smile.

"You also want to compete with me... that's fine."

"Then line up and take your time one by one."

After all, Chiba Eijiro put back the mask he had just taken off on his head.

...

...

The position has been reversed.

Qingtou, who had just stood on the stage and competed with Chiba Eijiro, was sitting on the edge of the dojo to watch the battle.

Yongkura and others who had just been sitting on the edge of the dojo to watch the battle stood on the dojo to compete with Chiba Eijiro.

Nagakura, who took the lead, took the upper tier at the beginning of the competition and took the initiative to launch a fierce attack on Eijiro Chiba.

Yongcang, who has a very strong body, uses the Shinto Wunian style that focuses on overpowering the opponent's momentum and strength, and at the same time, because of his personal character, he especially likes to attack from the front. He is currently the person with the highest attack power in all the guards .

Qingdeng has always felt that weapons such as axes and clubs may be more suitable for "power swordsmen" like Yongcang, who have full attack power and quite violent fighting styles.

However, no matter how high the strength is, it's useless if you can't hit your opponent.

No matter how desperately Yongkura swung the sword, until he bowed his head and surrendered due to exhaustion, his bamboo sword did not touch Chiba Eijiro at all.

The second Saito to play, he is the opposite of Yongcang, but the same type of "speed and skill swordsman" as Chiba Eijiro.

Because he is practicing Wudao Liu, a school that focuses on how to kill efficiently, Saito's fighting style is to "smear the enemy's vital points in the fastest and most labor-saving way."

Thus, the contest between Saito and Chiba Eijiro presents a speed confrontation to Qingdeng and others.

The bodies of the two people pulled out afterimages on the dojo, you come and go, and the sword shadows flash quickly.

However... Although it seems that he fought fiercely with Chiba Eijiro, the result of the battle was almost the same as that of Qingdeng and Yongkura - he was severely suppressed, and his sword did not touch until the end of the fight Eijiro Chiba.

After Saito, Harada, who watched the battle with a heartache, raised his wooden gun, expressing that he also wanted to ask Chiba Eijiro for advice, and Chiba Eijiro generously agreed whether it was in a good mood or for some reason.

Against the king of a hundred soldiers whose attack distance is several times that of a sword, such as a spear, Eijiro Chiba still showed his strength like a king.

To Chiba Eijiro, Harada's range of attack and defense is like a fake.

Chiba Eijiro can rush to Harada casually, and Harada's spear can't stop Chiba Eijiro.

Ever since——Harada also followed in the footsteps of Yongcura and the others, without touching Chiba Eijiro.

After Harada retreated, everyone except Zhou Zhu, Kondo, and Okita had stepped forward to compete with Chiba Eijiro. From the final result... On the contrary, Qingdeng had the best result—at least Qingdeng Relying on "listening to identify the position", Deng successfully hit Chiba Eijiro once, but Yongkura and others couldn't even touch Chiba Eijiro...

After successive fierce battles with Qingtou, Nagakura, Saito, and Harada, Chiba Eijiro finally showed obvious fatigue.

He took off the mask, a lot of sweat dripped from his face, and it was difficult for him to breathe steadily.

"Okay, I don't have the energy to fight anymore, let's stop here for the competition."

Chiba Eijiro turned his head, and half-jokingly said to Zhou Zhu, Kondo, and Okita who hadn't competed with him just now:

"Don't tell me too: you want to compete with me."

Kondo shrugged his shoulders, and let out a chuckle mixed with a bit of helplessness: "We will not fight you."

"After all, a long time ago...we already knew how big the gap is between us and you."

Yongkura and the others, who had just been defeated by Chiba Eijiro in turn, now looked at Chiba Eijiro with a kind of awe-like eyes.

Fighting them in turn, and suppressing them all the way, until they have no power to fight back... This kind of strength is amazing!

At this moment, Qingdeng couldn't help looking at Chiba Eijiro with admiration.

With different perspectives, the world you see will be different.

Sitting on the edge of the dojo, watching the battle between Chiba Eijiro and Yongcura and others, after the perspective changed from "onlooker" to "spectator", Qingdeng saw a lot of when he was fighting with Chiba Eijiro just now, All kinds of scenes that have not been noticed.

For example: After the perspective was switched to that of a "bystander", Qingdeng clearly discovered how proficient Chiba Eijiro's grasp of distance is.

Whether it is offense or defense, Chiba Eijiro's grasp of the distance is just right.

When attacking, you can just step into the position where your bamboo knife can effectively hit the opponent.

When dodging, it can precisely dodge the opponent's attack with a displacement distance of neither more nor less.

Just the grasp of the distance from the opponent is enough for Qingdeng and the others to ponder and study for a long time...

Qingdeng said silently in his heart:

——The strongest swordsman in Edo... This title is really not for nothing...

"Hiss...the defeat is really complete."

At this time, Harada's voice sounded.

Just after being defeated, Harada, who was still standing opposite Chiba Eijiro, raised his hand and took off the mask on his head while expressing emotion full of admiration.

As soon as he took off the mask, Harada showed Chiba Eijiro his trademark silly smile.

"Although before the fight started, I expected that I would definitely lose."

"But I didn't expect that I would be defeated so thoroughly. My gun couldn't even touch you."

Having said that, Harada laughed a few times freely.

"As expected of the strongest swordsman in Edo, hahaha, I don't know if I can reach your current state in my lifetime."

Looking at Harada who suddenly lamented his strength, Eijiro Chiba raised his eyebrows, and a wry smile slowly floated on his cheeks:

"Thank you for your compliment."

Chiba Eijiro's voice paused for a moment, and then he sighed softly with a look of helplessness on his face.

"For the time being... let me correct you - the title of 'Edo's strongest' is too much for me to bear."

"The so-called 'Edo's Strongest Swordsman' is nothing but a product of rumors spread by people with troublesome things."

"I never thought that my current strength has reached the level where I can be crowned the title of 'Edo's Strongest'."

The helpless look on Chiba Eijiro's face became more intense now.

"'There are people beyond people, there is heaven beyond the sky' is an unchanging truth in the world."

"Edo is the largest city in this country, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and there are always countless masters living in seclusion here."

"Not much else to say."

"If the legendary 'Ship Slayer Swordsman' Kuro Mamiya is really living in seclusion in Edo as the rumors say... then the title of 'Edo's strongest' will never come to me."

"...Swordsman of the Ship Slayer?" Suddenly hearing a strange title and name, Qingdeng couldn't help but startled and asked Chiba Eijiro back.

Chiba Eijiro said lightly:

"Literally."

"According to legend, this swordsman once paddled a small boat alone in the dark, sneaked under the hull of a certain Western ironclad ship, and then cut off the outer shell armor of this Western ironclad ship."

*****

*****

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When I was writing this chapter, it suddenly occurred to me - when did I write that Saito spoke last time...?

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