Aoto did not choose to clash head-on with him. By "See Through" he pierced through the attack range, sidestepped half a step, and avoided Kikuchi’s incoming sword edge.
At this moment, another bamboo sword, along with a broad black shadow, rushed at Aoto from the left.
Aoto glanced aside, confirmed the intruder’s position and the surrounding situation, then turned left and swung his blade towards the incoming shadow—these two actions of turning and swinging were almost completed simultaneously.
The shadow’s reaction speed was extremely fast, and his technique was quite delicate. In a flash, his attack turned to defense, raising the sword held overhead back to his chest, blocking Aoto’s slash, and retreating to widen his distance from Aoto.
Always defensive and taking hits... This is not Aoto’s style of fighting.
Aoto always felt that Natural Reasoning Heart Stream suited him well.
Because the doctrine of Natural Reasoning Heart Stream coincides with his combat philosophy—pursue the attack! Attack, attack, and attack again!
Aoto did not pursue the shadow that escaped backward.
Like a great eagle, he soared, leaping in front of a slender figure. He lowered his body, stepped forward, bent and stretched his upper body, and released the accumulated force at his waist in one go, scraping the bamboo sword tip from bottom up toward the porcelain bowl on the skinny man’s forehead.
Indeed, the swordsmen representing Xuanwu Hall in the competition were no ordinary individuals.
Though this skinny man looked frail, his limbs were extremely agile.
Just as Aoto’s sword was about to strike, he had already powered his front foot and leapt backward, trying to distance himself from Aoto.
His body technique was nimble... but Aoto’s agility far surpassed his!
Aoto advanced with a posture as if being dragged forward by the bamboo sword being swung, exposing the skinny man’s body to his sword edge once again.
Both Aoto and the skinny man’s silhouettes passed by each other at a speed too quick to be seen clearly, their bamboo swords clashing twice, producing two loud clanking sounds.
As the impact waves from the bamboo sword’s clash hadn’t yet dissipated, a crisp sound distinctly different from the sword body collision resonated around everyone’s ears.
At the very moment when the intertwined shadows were about to split, Aoto spotted a fleeting flaw in the skinny man’s stance, and quickly swung his sword at the man’s forehead, directly shattering the porcelain bowl on it.
The skinny man stared blankly at the porcelain shards cascading down from his forehead, sighed in unwillingness, then slowly sheathed his bamboo sword and retreated from the field.
Aoto claimed Shiwei Hall’s first "kill" and the first "kill" of the entire match... Cheers erupted around Aoto immediately.
Compared to his cheering teammates, Aoto showed no joy but sighed regretfully.
—What a pity... Couldn’t reach the 10-second mark.
Replicating talent requires combating for 10 seconds or more with the opponent.
The battle just now between Aoto and that skinny man lasted around 7 seconds at most, not meeting the condition needed for replicating talent.
In chaotic battles like "Red and White Battle," with its rapid pace and ever-changing situation, it’s hard to ensure each opponent is engaged for 10 seconds.
Moreover, this time Aoto’s opponents were the Xuanwu Hall swordsmen, who were elites in every aspect of their overall talents.
Fighting with these Martial Arts masters, it’s even harder to spare attention for battle duration.
Though regretful inside, Aoto quickly composed his mood.
Seizing the momentum from capturing the "first kill," Aoto shouted mightily and boldly:
"Follow me! There’s nothing to fear from Xuanwu Hall’s swordsmen!"
"Oh oh oh!"—one after another enthusiastic cheers responded intensely to Aoto’s shout.
Suddenly, Aoto felt an oppressive force closing in from behind.
In that instant, driven by reflex, Aoto’s body reacted before his brain.
He pivoted on his left foot, using the centrifugal force from spinning his body to lift his sword and deflect the approaching attack from behind with a "snap."
With a timely defense against the sudden sneak attack, Aoto surged forward, sped past the assailant, sprinted several meters ahead, and turned around to assume a defensive stance.
Only then did Aoto clearly see who the assailant was.
"Mr. Chiba..." Looking at Chiba Domon Shiro, solemnly poised with his blade to confront him from a distance, Aoto suddenly thought: Despite knowing Chiba Domon Shiro for so long, this seems to be the first time he’s engaged in combat with this proud young man.
Chiba Domon Shiro’s eyes were darting up and down—he was estimating the distance between himself and Aoto.
His tightly stretched expression showed he was pondering how to execute a maneuver that could defeat Aoto.
Chiba Domon Shiro suddenly made his move without warning.
Taking strides towards Aoto, he swiftly closed the distance, and as he neared Aoto, he raised the bamboo sword horizontally to shoulder height, kept the tip steady, then rapidly swept a swift shadow of the sword horizontally across Aoto’s right wrist holding the sword.
Aoto neither dodged nor evaded but lowered his center of gravity, gliding towards Chiba Domon Shiro as if flying low.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
As they passed by each other, 4 deafening clashing sounds of bamboo swords hitting, making one doubt whether they intended to smash the sword bodies, rang out consecutively.

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