I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

While feeling deeply moved, I also felt a sense of longing.

—At my current training speed…when will I ever reach the level of Chiba Shusaku and Chiba Sadakichi?

After jokingly mocking himself in his mind, Qing Deng sat up straighter and more properly, and respectfully bowed to Zhou Zhu, who had opened a new door to martial arts for him that night.

"Master, thank you for your guidance."

"Hehehe." Zhou Zhu waved his hand lightly. "No need to be so polite. You are a disciple of our Examination Hall, and I am the head of the Examination Hall. It is only natural for me to teach you these things."

At Zhou Zhu's request, Qing Deng slowly straightened his back, which had been bent over from bowing to Zhou Zhu.

At that moment, Qing Deng suddenly thought of another question.

"Master, what was the name of that mysterious master who inspired our ancestor to create the secret meaning of the Natural Principle of Mind?"

Qing Deng suddenly remembered that Zhou Zhu seemed to have never mentioned to him the name of his grandmaster Kondo Naizaki's mysterious master, and had always referred to him by the nickname "mysterious master".

Upon hearing Qingdeng's question, Zhouzhu immediately fell silent.

After a long silence, Zhou Zhu slowly shook his head:

"……do not know."

"...Huh?" Qing Deng blinked in confusion. "You don't know?"

"It feels like all the information about my grandmaster's mysterious master... has been deliberately erased." Zhou Zhu sighed softly. "His name, age, identity... none of these basic details have been passed down."

"Aside from the certainty that such a person actually existed, we know absolutely nothing else about him."

"So, I had guessed that."

Zhou Zhu stroked his chin and said jokingly.

"Could it be that my grandmaster's mysterious master... was some important figure who, if others knew his name, would cause trouble for our Kondo family and the Tennen Rishin-ryu school, so he deliberately erased all information about him?"

……

……

At this very moment—

Edo, Genbu-kan —

"Brother Rong, did you actually enter the legendary 'state of no self' while fighting that black bear?" Chiba Jutaro cast a surprised glance at Chiba Eijiro, who was sitting in the main seat.

The Xuanwu Hall is extremely lively tonight.

To welcome and celebrate the pride of the Chiba family, Chiba Eijiro's long-awaited return to Edo, Chiba Sadakichi and others have prepared a grand welcoming banquet at the Genbukan tonight.

Chiba Shusaku's widow

Chiba Eijiro's two younger brothers: Chiba Michisaburo and Chiba Tamon Shiro,

Chiba Sadakichi and his wife,

Chiba Jutaro and Sanako.

In short, all current members of the Chiba family have come.

The whole family gathered together after a long time to celebrate Chiba Eijiro's return.

Chiba Jutaro, Sanako, and their mother sat on the left side of the banquet table, while Chiba Michizaburo and the others sat on the right side.

Chiba Sadakichi and the main character of tonight's welcoming banquet, Chiba Eijiro, undoubtedly sat in the main seats.

Seven years ago, Chiba Eijiro, determined to enter officialdom, accepted the invitation from the Mito Domain to serve as an official there.

After joining the Mito Domain, Chiba Eijiro rarely returned to Edo, and usually only communicated with his family through letters.

Chiba Jutaro himself couldn't quite remember when he last saw his beloved cousin.

Chiba Jutaro had always been very interested in Chiba Eijiro's political career.

So, as soon as the welcoming banquet began tonight, Chiba Jutaro pestered Chiba Eijiro to tell him about any new or interesting things he had encountered in the officialdom of the Mito Domain recently.

Chiba Eijiro is also happy to share his experiences with his family, so tonight's welcome dinner slowly unfolded as Chiba Eijiro told his stories.

He slowly and methodically told his family about the interesting stories he had recently encountered—including how he had unintentionally entered a state of "selflessness" while fighting a black bear in the wild.

Upon hearing that Chiba Eijiro had actually reached this legendary level of martial arts, everyone except Chiba Sadakichi, who had already heard about it that afternoon, showed expressions of shock.

While showing expressions of shock, they also revealed an air of "well, that's to be expected"—Chiba Jutaro and the others were already used to hearing all sorts of unbelievable news from their older brother.

"Ha..." Chiba Jutaro, his cheeks flushed red from the alcohol, slowly revealed undisguised envy in his eyes. "The realm of 'no self'... I wonder if I'll ever have the chance to touch this legendary realm in my lifetime..."

Chiba Jutaro murmured enviously as he picked up the bottle of sake that was placed beside his leg and poured another full glass of sake into his glass.

Just as he was about to put the bottle back in its place, Sanako, who was sitting next to him, snatched the bottle away.

“Brother, you can’t drink anymore,” Sanako said calmly. “Tomorrow is the Aizu-no-Kou’s swordsmanship competition. If you drink any more, you won’t be able to get up tomorrow morning.”

As soon as Sanako finished speaking, Chiba Eijiro immediately cast a curious glance at his cousin: "The Aizu Marquis's swordsmanship tournament?"

“Ah, right, I think I’ve been forgetting to tell you.” At this moment, Chiba Tamon Shiro, who had been very silent and didn’t talk much, slowly said, “Second brother, you only returned to Edo this morning, so you probably don’t know yet—tomorrow, the Lord of Aizu will be holding a swordsmanship tournament in Asakusa that is only open to newcomers from various sword-making schools in Edo.”

Chiba Tamon Shiro concisely conveyed all the information about the tournament to Chiba Eijiro.

"The Lord of Aizu, who has basically never held any martial arts competitions before, is actually going to hold a swordsmanship tournament..." Chiba Eijiro nodded slightly upon hearing this. "That's truly a rare sight..."

"Brother Rong, it's been a long time since a great daimyo has held a swordsmanship tournament in Edo... Would you like to go watch the tournament with me tomorrow?" Chiba Jutaro asked with a grin.

“…I’ll see how it goes.” Chiba Eijiro shrugged with a wry smile. “To be honest, I’m not that interested in these kinds of tournaments that are only for swordsmanship novices.”

"Watching this level of competition... is no different to me than watching cricket fighting."

“Brother Rong, you don’t know this,” Chiba Jutaro said, shaking his head. “This tournament has some very noteworthy contestants.”

At this point, Chiba Jutaro paused, then quickly pressed Chiba Eijiro for an answer.

"Brother Rong, do you know about Ju Qing Deng?"

After asking the question, Chiba Jutaro glanced at Sanako beside him without leaving a trace.

*******

*******

Tomorrow is the last day of the month! Readers who still have monthly passes, please be sure to vote for this book! (Leopard crying.jpg)

The author plans to hold a "Popular Character Vote" in the book's fan group on August 1st to see who is currently the most popular character. Those who want to participate should join the group in the next couple of days.

I bet the most popular characters in this book right now are either Sanako or Tenshōin.

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets!

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Book lovers who want to participate in the popularity vote on August 1st can join the book club as soon as possible!

Chapter 141 I Want to Be Sanako's Husband! [4700]

Upon hearing Chiba Jutaro mention Aoto's name, Chiba Tamon Shiro, who had a disagreement with Aoto on the day of the "Plum Blossom Festival," had a strange expression.

Chiba Sadakichi, whose expression also turned strange, knew that Chiba Jutaro was now interested in making Aoto their son-in-law.

"Tachibana Aoto?" Chiba Eijiro's slight furrowing of his brow indicated that he was unaware of this person.

Chiba Jutaro's grin widened further: "Brother Rong, you've been staying in the Mito Domain recently, so it's normal that you know nothing about Tachibana-kun."

"This Ju Qingdeng is a 'three-times' member of the Tongxin sect who suddenly rose to fame three months ago..."

Chiba Jutaro carefully explained all of Aoto's achievements to date.

With exceptional swordsmanship talent, he assisted Shieikan in defeating Kochiba Kenkan at the "Plum Blossom Festival" after only three months of training, and led a small group of dozens of people to repel more than two hundred anti-foreign thugs...

Chiba Eijiro listened quietly, a faint look of surprise slowly creeping onto his face.

After Chiba Jutaro finished speaking, he nodded thoughtfully:

"Oh... I never imagined that such a talented young man would emerge from Edo during the few months I was away."

"Is it Tachibana Aoto...?"

Chiba Eijiro pondered the name carefully.

It was as if they wanted to remember this name firmly.

……

……

Edo, a certain hatamoto (traditional Japanese bannermen) settlement, the residence of Hiroshi Niizuma, one of the "Three Heroes of the Three Great Dojos"—

Huff...! Huff...! Huff...! Huff...!

At this very moment, in Shinzō Hiroshi's bedroom, the sound of bamboo swords slicing through the air rose and fell.

The newlywed, Hiroshi, with his upper body exposed, stood in a corner of his bedroom, holding a bamboo sword in both hands, practicing the soju with perfect form. With each forward slash, a sharp whooshing sound burst out in all directions.

Drip, drip... one bead of sweat after another slid down Xinqi Kuan's muscular body to the ground.

“113…114…115…116…” As Niizuma Hiroshi swung his sword, he quietly counted the number of swings he made.

Despite sweating profusely, Hiroshi Niizuma's movements and breathing remained steady.

"147...148...149...150...!"

After counting to 150, Hiroshi Niizuma stopped swinging his knife.

He remained motionless in the posture of slashing with his sword, and after a while, he finally lowered the bamboo sword in his hand and stood up straight.

"Very good...!" Niizuma Hiroshi stretched his back vigorously, a satisfied smile curving his lips. "You're in excellent shape...!"

After stretching his slightly sore and numb back a few more times, Shinzaku Hiroshi reached out and untied the towel hanging from his waist, then casually placed the bamboo knife in his hand against the wall to the side.

While wiping the sweat off his body with a towel, he looked up at a portrait hanging on the wall directly in front of him.

This is a painting of a woman rendered with exquisite ukiyo-e brushstrokes.

The painting depicts a beautiful woman wearing a kendo uniform, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, gracefully folding her hands in front of her.

While looking at the painting of the woman, Hiroshi Niizuma unconsciously straightened his back and became solemn... like a devout believer.