I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After a long silence, she turned her head away and stammered:

"Whether she is a funny and cute girl, I don't know. But... there is no denying that she does show a likable side quite by chance."

As soon as Sanako finished speaking, Souji's lips curled up into a wide smile, his eyes almost closing into slits.

Seeing this, the other party asked in confusion:

"why are you laughing?"

"It's nothing, I'm just more convinced now—although you always seem fierce in front of Ms. Kinoshita, your relationship with her isn't actually that bad, and you still care about her a lot."

"?!"

Sanako looked at Souji blankly, like a lost child.

After a moment, she sighed silently.

"...Sōji, I'm also certain of one thing now."

"Ok?"

"I'm really bad at dealing with you."

Souji raised an eyebrow, then chuckled, seemingly quite pleased with Sanako's comment.

*******

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Sanako: "I am the epitome of both looks and figure in this book, therefore I am the official wife of the Tachibana family and the main heroine of this book..."

Souji: "It is indeed my daughter!"

Souji is such an angel~ No wonder she's the cover character of this book. Thanks to her, Aoto's "harem plan" is progressing smoothly. Everyone, say: Thank you, Ms. Okita!

Chapter 539 Tonight, in the Souji's room, reclaim your manly dignity! [4300]

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the direction of the military academy's main gate.

The commotion started as a humming sound, then grew like the chirping of cicadas in summer, and finally became as loud as the streets of a bustling city center.

Suddenly, a loud shout rang out from the crowd:

"He's out! Niou is out!"

Upon hearing this, Qingdeng's relatives and friends, as well as the idle onlookers, immediately perked up and rushed towards the gate of the military academy.

With a series of "click-clack" sounds, the heavy doors of the military academy were slowly pushed open from the inside out.

Amidst the eager anticipation of the crowd, a figure surrounded by people slowly came into their view.

Qing Deng stepped across the threshold of the military academy with unhurried pace, followed by Otani Seiichiro and others who had come to see him off.

Thanks to his talents such as "Strengthening Essence +4", "Primordial Yang +4", and "Blood Lock +7", after resting for more than an hour, Qingdeng's body, though still tired, had recovered to the point where he could walk normally.

Standing less than 1.6 meters tall, with his view blocked by the person in front of him, Toudou Heisuke strained to stand on tiptoe and crane his neck as he asked Yamanami Keisuke beside him:

"Mr. Yamanami, how is it? Did Mr. Tachibana win?"

Yamanami Keisuke smiled slightly:

"Is there even a question? You can tell just by looking at Tachibana-kun's expression, right?"

As Shannan said, even without anyone else's explanation, just looking at Qingdeng's relaxed and smiling expression, one could tell the outcome of the battle.

In an instant, all sorts of appearances descended upon the crowd.

Seeing that Aoto was safe and unharmed, some people breathed a sigh of relief and showed expressions of relief. These included Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, and Souji.

Some people showed admiration and longing on their faces. For example, Harada Sanosuke, Todo Heisuke, and a group of people who admired Seito.

The expressions of most people were dominated by intense shock.

After a brief silence, the entire venue erupted into a rapid and flamboyant commotion.

"We won! Niou really won!"

"Niou has defeated the Military Academy!"

"Even the elite warriors of the military academy are no match for Niou."

"With this, Niou is truly invincible in Edo!"

"Hmm? You can't say that, can you? There's still one more person."

"Who?"

"Chiba Eijiro!"

"Chiba Eijiro has gone to serve in the Mito Domain, so he can no longer be considered a native of Edo, right?"

……

Emotionally speaking, the Edo samurai preferred Aoto.

Compared to those high-ranking celebrities who are only known by name but never seen, Qingdeng, who lives among them and has done a lot of practical things for the people, is naturally more popular and can evoke more emotional resonance from them.

Therefore, when Aoto launched the "Edo Conquest", the emotions of the Edo samurai and commoners naturally empathized with Aoto.

This feeling is very similar to the modern connection between "fans and teams".

Upon seeing the Seido Fighting Academy and all the martial arts schools in Edo, they all felt an indescribable sense of honor welling up in their hearts.

Once you understand this logic, it's not hard to understand why the people of Edo were so happy after Seido defeated the heroes of the Military Academy.

Although Daishi Jin and the others were displeased with the crowd's celebration of Qingdeng's victory, there was nothing they could do about it.

Wen has no first, Wu has no second.

In the world of martial arts, being "inferior in skill" is the original sin.

When faced with the fact of defeat, the loser has no room for excuses or tantrums.

At this moment, Ootani Seiichiro, standing behind Aoto, suddenly lowered his voice and asked in a low voice that only he and Aoto could hear:

"King Tachibana, after we reach Luoyang, would you be interested in launching a 'conquest of the capital region'?"

"Although the capital region is a place of elegance, as far as I know, there are also quite a few martial arts masters there."

"Now, whether it is the 'Kōbu-Taiwan Faction' which is close to the shogunate or the 'Revere the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians Faction' which is close to the imperial court, people of virtue and ambition from all over the country are flocking to Kyoto."

"The number of martial artists gathered in and around the capital region should have reached its historical peak."

"If we were to launch a grand challenge aimed at the capital, we would surely make some unexpected discoveries or gains."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng gave a bitter smile.

“Well… Mr. Otani, the Kyoto region is a vast area that includes many cities such as Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Sakai, Nara, and Otsu.”

"Let alone taking on each one individually, just walking around these cities would take quite a few days."

"Once I reach Luoyang, a massive amount of affairs will come crashing down on me like a landslide or a tsunami, making it difficult for me to attend to anything else."

So... let's take it slow.

At this point, he turned his head to look at Otani Seiichiro, a faint smile on his face.

"Personally speaking, I am quite interested in the matter of 'conquest of the capital region'."

Having said that, he strode towards the commander and others who were already waiting for him.

Looking at the pretty faces of Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, and Souji, Aoto's lips began to relax unconsciously, and his facial lines also relaxed.

Whenever he is exhausted, the urge to meet and be intimate with the women becomes particularly strong.

If it weren't for the presence of many outsiders, and the fact that he couldn't reveal his ambition to marry three wives for the time being, and the fear of being slapped by the three women, he would have loved to hug them all right now.

Sanako, Kinoshita Mai, and even Souji, up to this point, still cannot accept that Aoto openly and intimately interacts with another woman in front of them... This completely exceeds the limits of what they can accept.

In particular, he cannot be intimate with Kinoshita Mai in front of Sanako, or be intimate with Sanako in front of Kinoshita Mai—if Aoto dared to do such a thing, the gentle Kinoshita Mai might not take any extreme action, but Sanako… Aoto couldn’t even imagine how Sanako would react.

Just as Qingdeng was about to greet his relatives and friends—

"Tachibana-kun, it's been a long time."

A long-lost male voice suddenly entered his ears.

In an instant, Qingdeng's steps abruptly stopped.

Meanwhile, Sanako, Otani Seiichiro, and all the heroes of the Kobujo were stunned in place.

After a moment of stunned silence, Qingdeng put on a calm smile and slowly turned his head to look in the direction of the sound.

When his gaze fell upon them, the crowd involuntarily moved aside, as if opening a door to reveal the owner of the male voice—a young samurai around 25 years old.

The man was dressed in a haori hakama embroidered with the Chiba family crest. He was handsome and tall, with a beautiful katana at his waist. The hilt and scabbard were painted in blue and white and decorated with exquisite and intricate patterns.

When Qing learned the name of the sword—the Great Treasure Sword, the Everlasting Light of the Moon—the sword's magnificent appearance and impeccably sharp blade left a deep impression on him.

"Brother Rong..."

Sanako was the first to call out this person's name.

The tone in her voice wasn't one of surprise at "Why are you here?", but rather one of resignation at "You really came."

"Zanako, you've become even more beautiful."

He cast a loving glance at Sanako, like an elder brother.

"Ah! It's Chiba Eijiro!"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted that.

In the blink of an eye, a flurry of voices rose.

Because of his superb swordsmanship, he was known as "Chiba the Swordsman"; after Otani Seiichiro grew old and frail, he was recognized by the Edo martial arts world as the current "strongest in Edo"... With such a great figure standing in front of him, everyone who got close to Chiba Eijiro unconsciously kept their distance from him.

Between Aoto and Chiba Eijiro, a "vacuum zone" was created that no one dared to approach.

“Eijiro-kun, it has indeed been a long time since we last met.”

As soon as Qing Deng finished speaking, Chiba Eijiro turned his gaze back to him.

Their last meeting was in the spring of the first year of Wanyan (1860).