I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

he laughed.

"Didn't you just say that even in your seventies or eighties, you can still hold up the sky and the sea? Even if your body is decaying, you can still have a high fighting spirit. This is the goal that we martial artists should pursue?"

"..."

Chiba Sadakichi stared blankly at Aoto at first, then his expression turned into a wry smile, and finally his smile returned to calm.

"Mr. Tachibana, when do you plan to visit the Military Academy?"

"Tomorrow."

Qing Deng answered firmly and forcefully.

……

……

Edo, the martial arts academy, a dojo exclusively for swordsmanship instructors—

"Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!"

The heavy breathing sound, as if it were about to spew out sand, filled the entire dojo.

In the very center of the dojo stood a giant of terrifyingly large size.

From any perspective, this man deserves the title of "giant".

His muscles were even more exaggerated than those of Saito Yakuro, and his height was terrifying.

If his height were converted to modern units of length... he would be a full 2.1 meters!

Such a height would be remarkable even in modern Japan, let alone in the Edo period.

The giant was seen lifting a boulder half his own size high above his head and squatting.

He stretched his arms out straight, which undoubtedly made his arms even more sore.

For an ordinary person, let alone a huge rock, even just holding up a crumpled piece of paper for a while would make their arm feel sore and trembling.

However, the giant acted as if nothing had happened.

Not only were his arms as steady as Mount Tai as he lifted the stone, but his face remained expressionless, and the rhythm and speed of his squats and rises remained consistently stable.

The thigh muscles, which are repeatedly tensed, are larger than a child's head.

The veins on his legs throbbed slightly, much like the pulsating of earthworms.

The sweat dripping down his body formed puddles at his feet.

His physique, his ferocious posture of "lifting stones and squatting as if taking something out of a bag"... without a certain amount of courage, it would be impossible to remain calm in front of him.

"Oishi-kun! Oishi-kun!"

At this moment, a young man carrying a bamboo sword, also covered in sweat, walked towards the giant with unhurried steps.

"Imai, what's wrong?"

The giant, called "Big Stone," continued doing squats while asking the question without turning his head.

Imai Nobuo slung the bamboo sword over his shoulder and began to speak eloquently:

"It is said that Niou will visit tomorrow."

"Niou? Oh, that Tachibana Aoto."

Da Shi paused abruptly, then slowly put down the boulder in his hand.

"He actually dared to come..."

Imai quietly added:

“Oishi, don’t be so nonchalant. Don’t underestimate Niou. All the martial arts dojos in Edo, including the ‘Three Great Dojos,’ have already fallen to Niou.”

"Ha, so what?"

Oishi Susumu pulled off the towel from his waist, wiping away his sweat as he twitched the corner of his mouth into a cold smile.

"Conquering all the martial arts dojos in Edo... that's nothing special."

"When Mr. Otani was young, he defeated all the masters in Edo so badly that they couldn't even raise their heads."

"And I, Susumu Oishi, was once invincible throughout Edo! Chiba Shusaku, Okada Jumatsu, Momoi Haruzou... all of them were my defeated opponents!"

No sooner had Daishi finished speaking than a mocking laugh came from not far away:

"Hahaha! Oishi-kun, that's not right, is it? Where did you get this 'unbeatable in Edo' thing? You were clearly beaten pretty badly by Otani-san!"

Oishi Susumu was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look at the speaker with a helpless expression—a young man with outstanding appearance and demeanor.

"Ito, you... alright, then let me correct you—I defeated all the top fighters in Edo except for Mr. Otani, is that alright now?"

This time, Hideaki Iba did not refute, but tacitly accepted Susumu Oishi's change of heart by remaining silent.

"Ah, Mr. Iba, you've come at just the right time."

Noburo Imai turned to look at Hideaki Iba and said:

"I happen to have something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Huh? What's the matter?"

Oishi Susumu and Iba Hideaki both turned their gazes to Imai Nobuo.

"Although I have no ill feelings towards Niou, our military training center is not an ordinary venue."

"If we let others come and go as they please, where will we put our dignity?"

"So I was thinking... why not give him a little warning?"

********

********

Qingdeng is finally going to challenge the biggest dungeon in Edo!

Today's update time was successfully brought forward! Leopard is struggling against the curse of "unable to return to previous update times"! (Crying leopard head.jpg)

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Chapter 529 An aura that covered half the military academy! Intimidating the entire audience! [4500]

The next day—

Edo, Military Academy—

Sunny weather.

The pale, soft sunlight shone on the rooftops of every house, while the dry, cold wind howled across the red dirt road.

Even though it was still early, the area outside the military academy was already packed with people.

"Hey, are you really sure? Is Niou really going to challenge the Kyoto Military Academy today?"

"It's for sure! Look at all these people, they've all come to see Niou! How could it be fake?"

"Hey! Don't push, everyone! There's no room left here!"

"Barley tea! Barley tea! Two coins a bowl!"

"Grilled squid! Come and smell it! It smells so good!"

……

The military training center was surrounded by an unprecedented cacophony of casual conversations, shouts at the top of their lungs, and energetic hawking.

Tachibana Aoto will challenge the Military Academy today—I don't know where this news leaked from.

With the news of the "Edo Conquest" gaining more and more attention, what news could be more eye-catching than "Niou's Challenge to the Kyobu-sho"?

Although in terms of popularity, reputation, and historical heritage, the Kobujo cannot compare with the major martial arts schools of Edo, led by the "Three Great Dojos," no one would deny that in terms of overall combat power, the Kobujo completely surpasses every other martial arts school in Edo!

Putting everything else aside, the mere fact that Oishi Susumu, standing at 2.1 meters tall, had once been invincible in Edo and only lost to Otani Seiichiro, was enough to intimidate all martial artists and make them consciously abandon the idea of ​​"challenging the Kōbō-shō".

Thus, a joke circulated widely among the people of Edo: the most heavily guarded place in all of Edo was not Edo Castle, which the Tokugawa family had painstakingly built, but the military headquarters, where Otani Seiichiro and Oishi Susumu were stationed!

Since the establishment of the Jiangwu Institute, no one has ever dared to step through its doors as a "challenger".

And now... the first person to make history has appeared.

"Nioh" Tachibana Aoto vs. "Sword Saint" Otani Seiichiro, "Seven-Foot Warrior" Oishi Susumu, "Talented Scholar of the Straight Heart Shadow Style" Imai Noburo, "Disciple of the Sword Saint" Sakakibara Kenkichi, "All-Around Sword" Iba Hideaki... Just putting these names together is enough to make people look up in awe!

Some shrewd businessmen anticipated that the area around the military academy would be bustling today, so they set up stalls in the vicinity early in the morning, ready to take advantage of this rare opportunity to make a fortune.

For a moment, the bustling activity outside the military training center contrasted sharply with the tranquility inside.

……

……

Military Academy, Main Dojo —

The Military Academy was a military academy built at great expense by the Edo Shogunate to deal with the invasion of Westerners, and it incorporated modern military science.

In other words, the Military Academy was the shogunate's hope in resisting the Western powers.

Therefore, the research labs, training facilities, and other infrastructure were all put to the best of their ability.

There are several dojos with an area of ​​over 100 pings (approximately 33 square meters).

The main training ground is an astonishing 150 ping (495.9 square meters).

The main prayer hall, which is rarely used on ordinary days, was filled with distinguished guests.

The martial arts instructors, led by swordsmanship instructor Susumu Oishi, and the academic instructors, led by artillery instructor Shuho Takashima, sat facing each other on the left and right sides of the main dojo.

The teachers from the martial arts academy gathered together... It had been a long time since we'd seen such a scene.

In addition, some of the students from the martial arts academy were also present, sitting nervously behind their teachers.

Two elderly people sat side by side in the main seat.

One of them was none other than the "Sword Saint" Seiichiro Otani, whom Aoto had met at the recent "Plum Blossom Appreciation Banquet".

As for the other old man... although he was not given the title of "saint" like Otani Seiichiro, in terms of reputation, he was in no way inferior to the other.

He is none other than Kiyone Kubota, who is hailed as a "major figure in the martial arts world"!