In addition to the above-mentioned talents, Qingdeng also copied many "swordsmanship masters" - unfortunately, the "swordsmanship masters" are no longer useful to Qingdeng.

"Sword Saint" can only be integrated with talents of "Sword Master" and above.

Therefore, it is very regrettable that Qingdeng's "Sword Saint" failed to be upgraded in this "Talent Competition".

But it's not bad, Qingden's swordsmanship talent is already high enough.

132 times the swordsmanship talent of ordinary people... What kind of concept is this?

Let's put it this way - any sword skill that a normal human being can use, no matter which school or sect, as long as Qingden sees it once or twice, he will be able to see through its tricks and imitate them.

Because all of Qingdeng's talents have passive effects, even if he doesn't intend to steal his skills, he has unknowingly mastered many moves from other schools.

Over time, Aoto became the same as Hijikata Toshizo. Although he was a disciple of Natural Rishin-ryu, his swordsmanship was not purely Natural Rishin-ryu.

His sword skills are mixed with the styles and routines of other sects.

The "monkey cry" of the Show Genryu style, the "shaking sword technique" and "hand-cutting" of the Hokushin Ittou style, the "Tongquan" and "Yin no Taitō" of the Katori Shinto style...

The so-called "gathering the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought" is nothing more than this.

However, Qingdeng's swordsmanship level had stagnated a long time ago and he had not made any progress.

This is not because of limited talent, it's quite the opposite - the talent is too strong! Too strong for physical fitness to keep up!

In fact, Qingdeng has a large number of original sword skills stored in his mind that are either amazingly powerful or have sinister tricks.

But due to lack of physical fitness, he was unable to turn these tricks into reality.

The sword skills conceived by Qingdeng either require extraordinary strength to lift mountains and carry cauldrons, or quick and lightning-fast movements.

It's like "engine" and "car".

The engine is too powerful, but the body is too poor.

Before the engine could reach maximum power, the car body fell apart due to the unbearable load.

For Qingdeng, it is no longer important whether the "Saint of Swords" is upgraded or not. Finding ways to improve physical functions is the current top priority.

…

…

In the third year of Wenjiu (1863), early morning on January 21st——

Edo, Tsukinomiya Shrine, Archery Range——

Qingdeng stood sideways, staring at the arrow target fifty meters in front of him. He held a lavender bow in his left hand and an arrow that was longer than an adult's arm in his right hand.

Tianzhangyuan, who was dressed in a white and purple witch costume, stood behind her with a gentle smile on her face.

After a moment, Qing Deng set up his arrow and pointed it at the target in front of him while slowly tightening the string.

The next second, the originally tense force bounced away from his arms, and the sound of the bow string vibrating was heard instantly.

The black arrow shadow crossed the air, and the sharp sound of breaking wind expanded in the blink of an eye.

There was a "bang" sound - the arrow hit the center of the target without any deviation.

The arrow tail vibrated violently, and the sound of "fluttering" dominated the entire archery range.

When the arrow stopped twitching, everything returned to calm.

"……pretty."

Tianzhangyuan let out a sigh of relief and looked at Qingdeng with admiration in his eyes.

"What a superb bow! Not only is the accuracy amazing, but there are no unnecessary movements."

"In terms of archery, I have no skills to teach you."

"If you think about it carefully, it's really surprising... I'm obviously your archery master, but in less than three years, my archery skills are already far inferior to yours."

Qingdeng smiled and said jokingly:

"I am where I am today thanks to your careful cultivation, master."

"Stop saying such disgusting words."

Tianzhangyuan said angrily and coquettishly.

"Your archery skills have made such great progress. Is it thanks to my teachings or your own talent? I still know in my heart."

To be fair, of course it is both - but obviously the latter plays a much greater role.

After many upgrades, Qingdeng's archery talent has reached the terrifying level of "45 times that of ordinary people."

It only takes one day for him to master the complicated skills that ordinary people need to practice hard for more than a month to get a glimpse of.

In addition, he has the blessing of two talents: "Fire Eyes +5" and "Seeing Through +2".

The former enables his vision to penetrate even the smallest detail.

The latter makes it easier for him to distinguish the distance between himself and the object, making it easier to aim.

It is no exaggeration to say that among the many martial arts mastered by Qingdeng, apart from swordsmanship and unarmed combat, archery is the most accomplished.

After joking with Tianzhangyuan for a while, Qingdeng raised the purple bow in his hand and looked at it carefully under the sunlight.

Standard length of seven feet three inches (2 meters).

Lilac bamboo bow body.

A graceful and smooth bow shape like water waves.

A strong and elastic bowstring made of the above good animal sinews.

The closer you look, the more extraordinary you can appreciate this bow.

Qingdeng could not help but admire:

"What a good bow..."

He doesn't know much about Japan's current bow and arrow market.

But he instinctively made a judgment: There is no way he can get this bow without thousands of taels of gold!

"Your Highness, do you really want to give me this bow?"

Early this morning, Qingdeng received a sudden summons from Tianzhang Academy.

When he rushed to Yuegong Shrine in a hurry, he saw the smiling and pretty widow holding this purple bow in her hand.

"Sheng Qing, then, this is my parting gift." - She said in her usual bold style.

As soon as Qingdeng finished speaking, Tianzhang Academy immediately responded:

"Of course! Didn't I say it before? This bow is a parting gift given to you by the master who taught you archery on the eve of your departure for Kyoto. What? Don't you want it?"

Qingden shook his head quietly.

"Which man can refuse a weapon with superior performance? But... in this era of steam battleships roaming the oceans, the bow you gave me may be useless in the future. Maybe it can only be used as a ritual weapon, during my march or

When holding a meeting, he placed himself next to me to create a scene."

After Tianzhangyuan heard this, Yun Danfeng smiled softly.

"Sheng Qing, you can't say that."

"Compared to steam battleships, bows and arrows are like bamboo sticks and toothpicks."

"But on the ever-changing battlefield, bows and arrows... especially those held by a good shooter like you, can often produce unexpected miraculous effects."

"'This bow may be of great use in the future' - with such an optimistic thought, accept it with peace of mind."

Since the other party had already said this, Qingdeng no longer needed to hesitate.

"In that case...I accept this bow!"

After saying that, Qingdeng raised his head again and stared at the bow as if counting the lines in detail.

His strange behavior aroused the curiosity of Tianzhang Academy:

"Huh? What's wrong? Why are you staring at the bow? Is there any flaw in the bow?"

Qingdeng shook his head.

"I was just thinking of a name."

"name?"

Qingden changed his tone to a half-joking tone.

"This is a precious gift given to me by His Highness Tianzhangyuan. I can't keep calling it 'this bow' or 'that bow', right?"

Tianzhangyuan showed an expression of sudden realization and smiled:

"I see, then it is indeed necessary to come up with a majestic name!"

Qingdeng smiled and agreed, then continued to examine the bow in his hand.

Tianzhang Courtyard also became quiet.

About 10 seconds later, Qingden’s murmur broke the silence:
To be continued...