I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

It must be said that the overall quality of the new disciples admitted to the Shiwei Hall this time is indeed quite good.

It's astonishing how many people possess such remarkable talents.

Qing Deng silently noted down these exceptionally talented individuals, intending to tell Kondo Shusuke about them later so that he could focus on nurturing them.

Besides strengthening itself, the system has another major benefit: it acts as a "talent selector"!

*******

*******

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

I know what you want to see. You want to see Qing Deng lift up Souji with his waist strength, right? (Evil leopard.jpg) I want to write a scene like that too! But I can't! (Crying leopard head.jpg)

Chapter 709 The World Changes Again! Choshu Domain Launches a Surprise Attack on Kokura Domain! [4300]

As the saying goes, "A fine horse is easy to find, but a discerning eye is rare."

Throughout history, the regrettable situation of overlooking and neglecting valuable knowledge has been a common occurrence.

Discovering talent and tapping into the abilities of others is no easy task.

For the average person, it often takes a lot of effort and a long time to see through a person's true talents and abilities—and the result is not necessarily accurate!

Qingdeng, on the other hand, doesn't have this problem.

No matter what kind of person the opponent is, as long as you fight with them for 10 seconds, you will know whether they are an ordinary mediocre person or a person with special talents!

Unfortunately, each person can only replicate their talent once.

Once you've fought someone and copied their talent, you can't copy any new talents from them no matter how many battles you have with them afterward.

For this reason, even Qingdeng, who possesses such a cheat code, cannot see a person's full potential.

The world is not lacking in mediocre people, nor is it lacking in outstanding geniuses.

The most typical example is Souji and Kiryu.

They are all monsters with several, or even a dozen, special talents!

For a long time, Aoto had suspected that in addition to the eternal talent "Hachiman of No Regrets", Kiryu also possessed "Demon Heart +9".

Otherwise, there's no way to explain how he learned and mastered so many strange and wonderful skills.

As a member of Shieikan, Aoto naturally hoped from the bottom of his heart that Shieikan could continue to grow and become the number one kendo dojo in Edo... no! the number one kendo dojo in Japan!

Therefore, he was happy to act as Kondo Shusuke's "talent advisor" and provide him with a list of talents worthy of future development.

……

……

In the days that followed, Qingdeng enjoyed a long-awaited period of leisure.

Since we're going back to Kyoto anyway, I might as well personally lead the new recruits from Edo back to the capital.

The new recruits will need some time to complete their preparations for departure.

So, Qingdeng, who had nothing urgent to do at the moment, simply took a short break.

In Qingdeng's mind, his last vacation felt like an incredibly distant memory.

First came the world-renowned "Court-Mu Talks", followed by the thrilling "Mu-British Negotiations"... How could we let such a rare moment of leisure slip by?

Recently, he has been visiting relatives and friends everywhere, enjoying himself and stealing a half-day of leisure from his busy life.

Today I went to the Xuanwu Hall and the Chiba Sword Hall to meet with the seniors and elders of the Chiba family.

I'll visit the Foreign Affairs Bureau tomorrow.

I'll make an appearance at the Military Academy the day after tomorrow.

It's worth mentioning that when Aoto met Chiba Jutaro, sure enough... the super siscon immediately asked Aoto, "Tachibana-kun, how's Sanako doing? How's your relationship going? When are you planning to get married?"

He couldn't stop talking about Sanako, and like a machine gun, he poured firepower at Qingdeng.

Faced with Chiba Jutaro's question, Aoto looked away guiltily and remained silent for a long time...

About 10 seconds later, he replied haltingly:

"Well... I really want to marry Sanako."

"I wish I could marry her today."

"But……"

Before he could finish speaking, Chiba Jutaro, whose gaze was growing colder, interrupted him:

"But—you still can't let go of Kinoshita Mai and Okita Souji, right?"

"um, yes."

Qingdeng, no longer hesitant, replied without hesitation, his expression now extremely serious.

Only on this level does Qingdeng possess an unparalleled and resolute determination.

"..."

Chiba Jutaro gazed at Aoto intently for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"...Although I have said similar things many times."

"But I'll say it again, even if it's not too much trouble."

"Tachibana-kun, stop delaying!"

"Sanako is already 25 years old this year."

"If this drags on any longer, she'll become an old maid!"

"Oh, don't tell Sanako what I just said, okay?"

"If she hears this, she'll definitely ignore me for a long time."

"I only have one thing to say—you'd better watch yourself!"

"No matter what, I'm still an older brother."

"If you continue to bully my sister and ruin her life, I won't let you off easily."

"Although I can't beat you, I have many brothers!"

"When the day comes that I have to draw my sword against you, I will bring my father, Brother Rong, Brother Dao, and my brothers from Duomen, and we will all gang up on you!"

Even if we can't beat you, we can still leave deep scars on you for a lifetime!

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro's facial features tightened, and his brows furrowed—it seemed that he was not joking with Aoto.

Faced with Chiba Jutaro's confrontation, Aoto could only manage a wry smile.

Since arriving in Luoyang, all sorts of messy things have been happening one after another, with almost no end in sight.

Just dealing with these miscellaneous, political, and military affairs has already consumed most of Qingdeng's energy.

Therefore, he had no time to care about his own romantic relationships.

In other words, he and Sanako... no, not just Sanako.

His romantic relationships with the three women all progressed in the same way—almost nothing!

However, in the end, there was no room for his relationships with the three women to progress.

Take Sanako as an example.

Sanako, with her conservative personality, is not the type of person who would readily use words like "love" or "like."

However, her feelings for Qingdeng were already common knowledge.

From the night that Aoto destroyed the Shimizu clan... which was also the night the two of them kissed in the street, everyone basically regarded Sanako as "the woman of the King of Kings".

The Shinsengumi soldiers all regarded her as the "mistress of the Shinsengumi".

For this reason, Sanako has always held a very special position in the Shinsengumi—of course, in addition to her special relationship with Aoto, a considerable part of the reason is her high level of strength.

The Shinsengumi is an army.

In the military, strength is the confidence to stand tall, and strength is everything.

People with good skills are in high demand.

A person with an outstanding record is one who can speak loudly.

With her superb naginata and kodachi skills alone, no fool would dare to disrespect Sanako.

The culprit that stands between Qingdeng and the three women, preventing them from getting married for so long, is that damned shackle of "one husband, one wife, and multiple concubines"!

If polygamy were the norm in this world, then Qingdeng would have long been living the wonderful life he dreamed of: a large family and a big bed.

The views on love and marriage in this era are relatively simple, and there won't be any messy things like "long-term dating and repeated back-and-forth".

Once the feelings are confirmed, they can get married quickly.

The three women liked Qingdeng, so they were all willing to marry him—it was that simple, without any other complications.

However, they were all very resistant to the idea of ​​having "multiple wives"...

In fact, all it would take for Qing Deng to do is announce to any of the three women: "I've come to my senses! I'm no longer indulging in the daydream of polygamy! From this day forward, I only wish to marry you!"

Then, Qingdeng will be able to marry the other party and officially establish a family.

However... this is not something Qingdeng desires!

Choosing one person and abandoning the others... Qingdeng simply couldn't bring himself to do something so cruel...

However, it cannot be denied that Chiba Jutaro makes a lot of sense.

We really can't keep delaying like this any longer.

The oldest, Sanako, is 25 years old this year.

By today's standards, this is definitely the age for an older single woman!

Qing Deng silently let out a long breath, thinking to himself:

—Jūtarō’s reprimand was absolutely right.