After the "ding" sound sounded in his mind, Qingdeng immediately subconsciously held his breath and listened carefully to the content of the system tone.

After the system introduced what kind of talents Qingdeng had copied, Qingdeng couldn't help but secretly cheer.

——Strengthening essence...a good talent...!

The recovery speed of energy and physical strength is fast...another top talent that can make countless people covet it.

Qingdeng, who was secretly happy that he had gained another powerful talent, sighed secretly:

——The quality gap among the apprentices in the Trial Guard Hall is really huge...

Not long after joining the Imperial Guard Hall, Qingdeng discovered that the Imperial Guard Hall had an obvious flaw - the quality gap between the apprentices was too large.

The people who stand at the top of the pyramid of the imperial examination hall...that is, Kondo, Okita, Hijikata, and Inoue, the four of them, all have very high overall qualities.

Not only are they all very strong, but they all have top-notch talents.

Lonely, talented with swords, heart of ghost, strong spirit... the talents of the four of them are as good as each other.

But for the rest of the apprentices below the four of them, that is, the apprentices at the middle and lower levels in the trial guard hall, their overall quality is basically hard to describe...

Don't talk about strength, just talk about talent.

With all the plans, it has been nearly 8 months since I entered the entrance exam for the Qing Dynasty.

There are so many people in the Imperial Guard Hall, and such a long time has passed. So far, Aomori has only succeeded in copying the talents from Shusuke, Kondo, Okita, Hijikata, and Inoue.

Not to mention god-level talents such as "Ghost's Heart" and "Gu Gu", Qingden does not expect these extremely powerful talents to appear wholesale.

"The increase in swordsmanship is

The overall quality of the apprentices in the Trial Guard Hall... is evident.

The reason why this phenomenon occurs is not difficult to imagine - the quality of the students is just not ideal.

Although the reputation of the Sword Hall is much better now than before, things like sword halls, like brands, cannot be built overnight.

The three major swordsmanship halls, Xuanwu Hall, Military Training Hall, and Shixue Hall, all relied on hard power and a lot of time to gain fame and become bigger and stronger.

Compared to the newly established sword halls like the Trial Guard Hall, which was scornfully called the "Taro Dojo" not long ago, those with high overall qualities, the proud ones with titles such as "prodigy", are naturally

I would rather go to those long-famous sword halls for further training.

"That's it!"

After Aoto knocked Inoue Ichiken to the ground, Shusuke, the referee, immediately walked quickly to the middle of the two men and showed his right hand to Aoto who was standing on his right, indicating that Aoto had won the match.

Victory in sparring.

"Accept." Qingden put the bamboo sword in his hand back on his left waist and bowed ceremoniously to Inoue.

Inoue, who fell to the ground, rolled with a sharp carp, stood up again in a "shuddering" manner, and after returning a salute to Qingden, he took off the mask on his head and let out a candid laugh of "hahaha".

"Tachibana-kun, a beautiful blow!"

Inoue's old face under the mask was covered with sweat...this was not the sweat of fatigue.

Anyone who has worn this kind of protective mask knows how stuffy and uncomfortable it can be after wearing this kind of mask. Even if you just stand there without doing any strenuous exercise, you will be sweating.

Wearing this mask in the summer...is basically torture.

Not to mention Inoue, Qingto's face was also covered with sticky sweat caused by the mask.

"It's really amazing. I was completely suppressed by you. I tried every attack method I could think of, but none of them worked."

"I haven't felt so convinced about losing in a long time."

Inoue, who did not hesitate to speak kindly to Aotobu, did not show any negative emotions such as unwillingness or annoyance at being defeated by a junior like Aotobu on his face.

There was only a big smile on his dark old face.

A very sincere smile.

It seems that losing to a junior like Qingdeng is a very happy thing.

The discussion between Aotobu and Inoue Masaka lasted a little over 3 minutes.

To an outsider, the two seemed to be fighting fiercely, with no one giving in to the other.

But for those in the know...for example, for Okita and others who had been standing at the edge of the dojo just now to watch the fight, the sparring match between Aoto and Inoue was not that intense.

Because Qingto suppressed Inoue throughout the whole process.

The two men did fight fiercely, making the bamboo swords crackle, but if you look closely, you can find that Qingdeng has always firmly controlled the rhythm and initiative of the battle.

No matter how Inoue attacked, his bamboo sword could not touch Qingdeng's body.

Since Qingdeng cannot be hit no matter how hard he cuts...then defeat is inevitable.

According to Seito's own estimation, Inoue's strength is slightly inferior to Kamino's.

That night 2 months ago, he was able to forcefully kill Kamino with his exhausted and scarred body.

Now, 2 months later, after experiencing the decisive battle with the anti-barbarian group and accumulating a lot of practical experience, my strength has further improved, and I have obtained the new powerful talent "Bear's Waist",

Even though his body has become sluggish due to two months of rest, there is still no reason why he will lose to Inoue.

"Yuan." Zhouzhu walked towards Inoue slowly, "Compared to before, the footwork is indeed much better. Not bad, not bad."

After briefly praising Inoue, Zhousuke turned his attention to Qingteng.

"Ji Jun, why do I always feel that you have been leisurely living a life of recuperation for two months...and your strength has not decreased but increased?"

The changes in Qingdeng's body strength cannot escape the words of an old Jianghu like Zhou Zhu.

Because my waist strength has become stronger——Qingden would certainly not be able to tell such a truth.

Qingdeng could only use the excuse "Maybe it's because I've been eating well recently and gained a lot of strength" to excuse Zhou Zhu.

Fortunately, Zhouzhu didn't bother with Qingto on this issue.

Faced with Qingteng's prevarication, Zhousuke just said "Oh...that's it" and did not go on to find out why Qingteng's power suddenly became stronger.

The discussion with Inoue ended with a very happy ending.

Inoue showed Shusuke his new footwork and learned about Aoshito's strength.

Qingden gained the most. Not only did he learn about the strength of Inoue, one of the top fighters in the trial defense hall, but he also gained a new powerful talent.

Everyone who had no reason to stay in the dojo anymore returned to the living room.

The lively chatter sounded again in the hall.

…

…

The next day——

The first year of Wanyan (1860), August 4——

"Huh? Uncle Yuan, are you back?"

"Yeah, it's been a long time. I went back to my hometown to help my old friend reclaim wasteland. After 8 months of hard work, I'm finally back."

"Uncle Yuan, it's been so long since I last saw you, you seem to have turned a bit darker."

"Hahahaha, if you go to the wasteland for a few months like me, you can be as black as me."

"Uncle Yuan! You're finally back! Without you, it feels like the training hall has become incomplete."

"Hahahaha, then I will have to travel less far in the future!"

…

Inoue, who is kind-hearted and has no airs at all, is extremely popular in the imperial examination hall.

After seeing Inoue returning, all the old people who recognized him at the Imperial Guard Hall were overjoyed and surrounded Inoue three times inside and three outside, chatting enthusiastically with Inoue about various things.

Today's atmosphere in the Trial Guard Hall has become particularly harmonious due to the return of Inoue, the "popular superstar".

It's a pity that Qingdeng didn't have the chance to appreciate this harmony.

Because today is the day when Qingden goes to teach Elodie.

Edo, settlement, Elodie's home——

"Elody, your center of gravity is off. Lower the sole of your left foot a little lower."

Qingden issued unceremonious and stern instructions to Elodie.

"good!"

Elodie followed Qingdeng's instructions and slightly lowered the height of her naked white left foot.

At this time, Elodie was not wearing the white dress she usually wore, but was wearing a fairly new women's kendo uniform with white top and blue bottom.

Her beautiful long pale golden hair was not braided into three strands and hung down her right shoulder in front of her body as before, but was neatly coiled on top of her head.

Dressed like this, with such a hairstyle, coupled with the bamboo sword she was currently holding in her hand and holding in front of her, Elodie looked much more heroic than before.

Qingden, who had a serious expression, carefully looked at Elodie from head to toe, and nodded gently.

"Well, okay, let's do the set of moves I just taught you again."
To be continued...