I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

The "Potential Peach Well" of the Shigakukan (academy) is named Peach Well Spring Retreat.

To put it simply, the meaning of this entire proverb is—

In terms of swordsmanship, Eijiro Kengo is the strongest!

In terms of sword strength, Saito Yakuro is the strongest!

In terms of elegance in swordplay, Momoi Haruzo is the strongest!

Of these three, Eijiro Kenjiro was the most famous.

As for why Chiba Eijiro's reputation is the most prominent... the reason is simple: Chiba Eijiro's achievements so far are so dazzling that ordinary people can only look away and lament the injustice of fate.

At the age of 16, Chiba Eijiro defeated 18 swordsmen in a swordsmanship competition, including the "Sword Master" Shimada Toranosuke and the "Position of Momoi" Momoi Haruzo!

At the age of 16, Chiba Eijiro challenged Kakimoto Seikichi, who was also known as a "sword master," and used Kakimoto Seikichi's techniques to defeat him completely, leaving Kakimoto Seikichi with no chance to fight back.

At the age of 17, Yamaoka Tessū, known as "Oni-Tetsu," led more than 20 swordsmen to challenge Chiba Eijiro. Their intention was to wear Chiba down through a series of attacks. However, Chiba Eijiro, who was fighting more than 20 people at once, managed to defeat all of them, including Yamaoka Tessū. Moreover, Chiba Eijiro was using a bamboo sword with a broken handle when he defeated them.

At the age of 19, he fought against Saito Kannosuke, the second son of "Power Saito" Saito Yakuro, who was known as "Oni Kannosuke". Saito Kannosuke was defeated and it is said that he was left with deep psychological trauma.

At the age of 21, Chiba Eijiro challenged the famous swordsman Muta Takajun. Muta Takajun was so frightened that he claimed to be sick and stayed at home, not daring to fight Chiba Eijiro. In his diary, he angrily cursed Chiba Eijiro for "suddenly coming to cause him trouble".

……

Technique of Chiba, Chiba's Little Tengu, the strongest swordsman in Edo... No matter how much praise is given to this extraordinary prodigy, no one will find it exaggerated.

To put it bluntly, Chiba Eijiro is a "genius crusher".

These people, who are considered the pride of heaven in the eyes of others, such as "sword masters" and "demon" or "dragon," are either utterly defeated or suffer a crushing defeat when facing Chiba Eijiro.

Chiba Eijiro is extremely powerful—but that's not the most terrifying thing.

What's most frightening is that he's still very young!

Saito Yakuro, known as "Saito of Power," is 62 years old this year, while Momoi Haruzō, known as "Momoi of Position," is 35 years old.

And Chiba Eijiro... is only 27 years old this year!

It's far from the peak of a man's physical and mental abilities.

At such a young age, he has already achieved such dazzling success, so many people are saying that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Chiba Eijiro's future achievements will surely surpass those of his father, Chiba Shusaku, who founded the Hokushin Itto-ryu style, and his uncle, Chiba Sadakichi!

Natsume Tsuki and the others chattered excitedly in hushed tones about this legendary swordsman who, at such a young age, had already become famous throughout the world.

They thought their discussion was quiet enough that the Chiba siblings wouldn't hear it, but in reality, every word they said had already reached Chiba Jutaro and Sanako's ears.

The Chiba siblings didn't say anything about it—they were already used to the sight of outsiders getting excited and overwhelmed upon hearing the name "Chiba Eijiro."

The brother and sister glanced helplessly at Natsume and the others before continuing their conversation:

“Brother, Father just specifically instructed me: after you return from buying the medicine, he wants you to go to our family warehouse and find the few jugs of wine that Father has been keeping.”

"Tonight, we're going to Xuanwu Hall to have a lavish welcome dinner for our second cousin with my aunt, third cousin, and fourth cousin."

"Those few jugs of wine that Father treasured?" Chiba Jutaro scratched his head. "I don't know where Father's treasured jugs are in the warehouse... Alright, I'll go look for them later, and I'll also tidy up our messy warehouse."

“You just said that Brother Rong is chatting with Father in Father’s bedroom, right? I’ll go see if they’ve finished talking. Sanako, you can continue teaching. I won’t disturb you any longer.”

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro bid farewell to Sanako and quickly left Field No. 3 alone.

He climbed the stairs to the top floor and hurried toward Chiba Sadakichi's bedroom. Suddenly, he saw the paper sliding door of Chiba Sadakichi's bedroom being pushed open, and two figures, one old and one young, walking out of the room.

Seeing the two figures, Chiba Jutaro paused for a moment, then excitedly waved and shouted:

"Brother Rong! It's been a long time!"

The two figures, one old and one young, were none other than Chiba Sadakichi and Chiba Eijiro, who had just finished their conversation in the room!

Just now, after his back started hurting again, Chiba Sadakichi was no longer in the mood to chat with Chiba Eijiro.

At Chiba Sadakichi's request, Chiba Eijiro helped Chiba Sadakichi, who was in so much back pain that he could barely walk and wanted to get some fresh air outside, out of his bedroom—and that's how the two of them happened to run into Chiba Jutaro, who had come looking for them.

Upon hearing Chiba Jutaro's voice, Chiba Eijiro was taken aback at first, then looked at Chiba Jutaro, who was walking quickly towards them, with a face full of surprise:

"Jutaro! Long time no see! You seem to have grown quite a bit stronger."

"Hahaha!" Chiba Jutaro laughed heartily a few times. "It really has been too long since we brothers have seen each other!"

Chiba Shusaku had four sons: Chiba Kisutaro, Chiba Eijiro, Chiba Michizaburo, and Chiba Tamon Shiro.

Among them, the eldest son, Chiba Kisutaro, had already died young. Of the remaining three cousins, Chiba Eijiro had the best relationship with their Little Chiba Sword House and was the closest to Chiba Jutaro and Sanako.

Upon reaching Chiba Eijiro, Chiba Jutaro gave his long-lost cousin a big bear hug.

"We absolutely have to have a good drink together tonight!" Chiba Jutaro grinned, beaming with excitement. "I have so many things I want to talk about with you!"

"Alright," Chiba Eijiro said with a gentle smile. "Let's drink until we drop tonight."

……

……

That night—

Edo, Koishikawa, Kohinata-Yanagi-cho, Shieikan, Dojo—

Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!

Within the vast training ground, the sound of bamboo swords cutting through the air could be heard continuously.

Qingdeng stood alone in the very center of the dojo, holding a bamboo sword in his hand, practicing Suzhen with meticulous precision.

Qingdeng practiced until he was covered in sweat and the muscles in his arms began to ache. Only then did he stop his sword, raise the sleeve of his right arm, and wipe the sweat from his face.

—Tomorrow is the swordsmanship competition for the Lord of Aizu…

As Qingdeng thought this to himself, he silently let out a long breath.

After a short rest, Qingdeng picked up his bamboo sword again, ready to continue practicing.

But at that moment, Zhou Zhu's voice suddenly rang out from beside Qing Deng:

"...Not bad, you can perform each of Su Zhen's movements so perfectly."

"Master...?" Qing Deng's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at Zhou Zhu, who had suddenly appeared at the entrance of the dojo. "Why are you here?"

With his hands behind his back, Zhou Zhu smiled and said, "I just had a sudden urge to come and see your practice."

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The author was very busy in real life yesterday, so there will be a little less update today (crying face). I will try to write more tomorrow.

Chapter 139 Aoto vs. Kondo Shusuke! Passing on the Secrets of the Tennen Rishin-ryu School! [6600]

Why is everyone so hostile? I've noticed that many readers think I deliberately made excuses to be lazy yesterday... (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

The author is just a normal human being who eats grains and vegetables... The body isn't made of iron, and the author himself isn't particularly healthy or robust. It's perfectly normal to occasionally be in poor physical condition.

So please stop making such malicious assumptions about the author... Some of your comments, like "Haha, the author is making up excuses to be lazy again," are really heartbreaking.

Yesterday, I saw so many readers saying that I was deliberately making excuses to be lazy, and to be honest, I was a little heartbroken QAQ (truly heartbroken crying.jpg).

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After exchanging a brief greeting with Qingdeng, Zhouzhu stepped into the dojo with unhurried steps.

As he walked, he continued talking incessantly:

"I ate way too much for dinner tonight."

"Madam is really something... she actually cooked so much greasy food tonight."

"It was greasy, but it tasted so good that I couldn't help but eat an extra bowl of rice."

"Even though it's already 8 p.m., my stomach still feels bloated."

"So, I was thinking of finding something to do to help with digestion."

"It's been a long time since I've properly exercised my old bones."

"If a person doesn't exercise regularly, their body will age very quickly."

"So I decided to come to the dojo. While watching you practice, I also wanted to practice my sword, stretch my muscles, and help with digestion."

"Ju-kun, your performance of the dance just now was really good, I couldn't find a single flaw."

……

Looking at Zhou Zhu, who kept babbling on and on, Qing Deng's lips twitched slightly, and a hint of helplessness appeared deep in his eyes.

Even though he has been staying at the Shieikan for nearly three months now, Aoto still hasn't fully gotten used to Shusuke's long-winded personality.

Although it might be a bit rude to say that... ever since Aoto joined the Shieikan, he often couldn't help but regard Shusuke as the comedian of their Shieikan...

Shusuke is the current head of their Shieikan and the third head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu main family, yet he has none of the air of a great man or a person in a high position.

He usually has a gentle smile on his face.

Zhou Zhu's always smiling face, coupled with his squinty eyes, makes him look particularly approachable.

So far, Qing Deng has never seen Shusuke lose his temper with anyone; he always speaks to everyone with a gentle and pleasant tone.

The main reason why Aoto always regards Shusuke as a comedian is his comical "younger brother position in the family".

Zhou Zhu profoundly demonstrated to Qing Deng what it means to be "afraid of one's wife" and "henpecked."

Zhou Zhu basically listens to A Bi in everything. If he accidentally angers A Bi, Zhou Zhu will immediately kneel down and apologize, showing no trace of the demeanor of the master of the sword hall or the leader of the school.

Whenever Qing Deng saw Zhou Zhu looking aggrieved after being scolded by A Bi, he couldn't help but want to laugh.

However, although he often thought of Shusuke as a comedian, Qing Deng still liked this gentle and kind old man very much—it would be even better if he could get rid of his rambling habit.

After rambling on and on about all sorts of things, the kind old man finally said something meaningful to Qingdeng:

"Tachibana-kun, aren't you going to take a break today?"

Zhou Zhu used his narrow, squinty eyes—so narrow that it was hard to tell if he was even open—to scan Qing Deng's clothes, which were already soaked with sweat.

"Tomorrow is the swordsmanship competition for the Lord of Aizu."

"If you accidentally injure yourself during practice, that would be a real problem."