I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

How could you miss such a grand event that will directly determine who is the "strongest among the younger generation"?

Many swordsmen with extremely high reputations in the Edo swordsmanship world came—they all wanted to see for themselves who would win the title of "strongest".

Unlike Shusuke, Qing Deng didn't know as many swordsmen. He didn't have a deep understanding of the Edo swordsmanship world, and was only familiar with a few names such as Chiba Sadakichi and the "Three Great Swordsmen of Edo" led by "Chiba the Technique".

There is still nearly half an hour before the competition officially begins.

With nothing to do, Qingdeng simply closed his eyes and began to rest.

But just as Qing Deng closed his eyes—

Splash splash splash splash...

Suddenly, a commotion arose from the west side of the stadium.

The sudden commotion drew closer, eventually coalescing into clear shouts.

"It's the training ground! People from the training ground have arrived!"

"Ah! Look, it's Saito Yakuro! It's Saito Yakuro!"

"Tsk tsk... Look at him, Saito Yakuro's body is as strong as an ox... How did he get such a strong physique..."

……

Qingdeng, whose attention had been drawn by the shouts, opened his eyes and looked towards the west side of the arena.

On the west side of the arena, a fencing team entered the stands in an orderly fashion.

Every swordsman in this sword club has an extremely strong physique and exudes a powerful aura.

Leading the group of sword-fighting enthusiasts was an elderly man around 60 years old, whose hair was mostly gray.

Looking at the old man's face alone, one might think he is just an ordinary old man.

But if you look down to his neck and below, you'll realize that this old man is extraordinary.

The old man was extremely robust, his strong muscles straining against his clothes, making it hard to believe that someone over sixty could maintain such a physique.

Looking at the extremely robust old man, Zhou Zhu smacked his lips a few times: "Ho ho ho... 'Saito of Power' has come too..."

—— Saito of Power...

Qing Deng raised his gaze and stared intently at the old man for a long while.

—That person is the famous Saito Yakuro…

—That physique… no wonder he's hailed as the "Saito of Strength" among swordsmen.

—If that old man is the current headmaster of the training hall, "Saito of Power," then the people walking behind him must be the swordsmen of the training hall.

The training hall, one of the three major training grounds in Edo, has arrived... Countless gazes, filled with various emotions and exclamations of amazement, converge on Saito Yakuro and the swordsmen of the training hall behind him.

Saito Yakuro and the swordsmen from the training hall behind him seemed to have long been accustomed to the gazes and amazement of others. They calmly walked to a group of empty seats not far from Qing Deng and his group and took their seats.

"As expected of the 'Three Great Dojos of Edo'..." Okita clicked his tongue in amazement. "Their scale and reputation are on a completely different level from ours..."

Although their reputation soared after defeating the Chiba Sword Hall in the "Plum Blossom Festival" Red and White Battle two months ago, their status in Edo is still not very high, and they are still considered "invisible".

If they want to truly elevate the status of Shieikan, the people of Shieikan still have a long way to go.

"How wonderful..." Kondo's eyes were filled with blatant envy as he looked at the swordsmen who had already taken their seats in the training hall. "When will our Shieikan be able to have such a grand presence and reputation..."

"Tch." Hijikata, sitting next to Kondo, chuckled coldly, then reached out and put his arm around Kondo's shoulder. "Katsu, your goals are too low, aren't they? Are you satisfied with just the same level of prestige and reputation as the training hall?"

"Haven't you ever thought about surpassing the training hall... no, surpassing all the sword halls in Edo and throughout the country?"

Kondo chuckled wryly a few times: "Toshi, having overly ambitious goals isn't always a good thing."

As the group at the test hall were chattering away, a noisy commotion suddenly erupted again from the west side of the arena.

"Ah, the swordsmen from the Academy have arrived too!"

"Look! It's the headmaster of the samurai academy: Momoi Haruzou!"

"Has 'Momoi of Position' arrived after 'Saito of Power'?"

"Hahaha, this tournament was really worth it! I actually got to see two of the 'Three Great Swordsmen of Edo'!"

……

A new fencing team has appeared on the west side of the arena.

The overall demeanor of this newly formed sword club team is significantly different from that of the swordsmen from the training hall just now.

If the swordsmen of the training hall are described as "sharp and capable," then the swordsmen of this newly formed sword hall team are described as "elegant."

Almost every swordsman in the group exuded an air of elegance in every move they made.

Especially their leader—a middle-aged man nearing 40—whose outstanding demeanor made him stand out like a crane among chickens at the head of the line.

The middle-aged man's face was not particularly handsome or refined, but he possessed an air of otherworldly elegance, like that of a gentleman.

With a gentle smile on his face and a pine-like posture, he exuded both elegance and authority in every gesture.

Graceful as a startled swan, lithe as a swimming dragon… these beautiful phrases seem to have been designed specifically for this person.

After this handsome middle-aged man appeared, many women in the spectator stands immediately opened their eyes wide, sparkling with countless little stars, and cast admiring glances at him.

"Hehe..."

Zhou Zhu let out a low gasp.

"Both 'Saito of Power' and 'Momoi of Position' are here... Wow, this swordsmanship tournament is truly a gathering of heroes..."

The appearance of Momoi Haruzo and the swordsmen from the Shigakukan undoubtedly brought the atmosphere in the spectator stands to a new climax.

Two of the "Three Great Swordsmen of Edo" have arrived in succession... Such a grand occasion is rarely seen!

As these renowned and powerful swordsmen took to the stage one after another, the spectators in the stands were all stirred up.

Exclamations and sighs rose and fell.

Sitting to the left of Aoto, Okita was stunned by the successive appearances of these important figures. He looked surprised, blinked hard in the direction of Momoi Haruzo, and then said softly in a half-joking tone:

"I've really broadened my horizons today, actually meeting both 'Saito of Power' and 'Momoi of Position'."

Just when everyone thought that the consecutive appearances of "Saito of Power" and "Momoi of Position" were the biggest surprise of the competition... a new anomaly occurred.

The first to show signs of trouble was a samurai from the Aizu Domain who was maintaining order outside the arena.

He hurried over to one of his colleagues, said something to him, and the colleague's expression immediately changed.

Immediately afterwards, groups of spectators, looking anxious and excited, poured into the viewing area, announcing something to those around them.

And so it spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.

The crowd in the stands immediately stirred.

Saito Yakuro, who had been calm, raised an eyebrow and grinned, revealing a surprised expression.

His second son, Saito Kannosuke, who was sitting behind him and was known as "Oni Kannosuke," turned deathly pale.

After appearing on the field, Momoi Haruzo, who had been wearing a gentle smile, suddenly froze.

The other swordsmen in the spectator stands, who were somewhat renowned in Edo, either showed resentment, had their lips tightly pressed together with complex expressions, or displayed undisguised admiration.

Shusuke, Kondo, and Okita stared in astonishment, their eyes and mouths wide open.

Qingdeng's brows furrowed with a mixture of curiosity and bewilderment.

All these changes stemmed from the rapid spread of a single phrase—

"Eijiro Chiba, the 'Skill of Chiba,' has arrived!"

Amidst the commotion, from the east side of the arena, two fencing teams entered the public eye with unhurried steps.

These two teams are the brotherly Xuanwu Hall and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall.

The people leading these two teams were none other than the renowned "Number One Family in the Martial Arts World"—the Chiba Family.

Chiba Sadakichi was undoubtedly at the forefront.

Besides Chiba Sadakichi, Aoto also met the familiar Chiba Jutaro and Miss Sanako, as well as Chiba Tamon Shiro, with whom he had a minor disagreement at the "Plum Blossom Festival".

Aside from these few people he was relatively familiar with, Qingdeng had never met the other two.

Both of them were quite young, and they were walking on either side of Chiba Sadakichi. They had very similar appearances and were probably brothers.

The person walking to Chiba Sadakichi's right had no expression.

The person walking to Chiba Sadakichi's left had a faint, indifferent smile on his lips.

I can't explain why... but upon seeing the smiling young man, a thought automatically popped into Qing Deng's mind: This person is none other than Chiba Eijiro, who is known as "Chiba of Techniques"!

—Chiba Eijiro…I heard he's currently serving the Mito Domain? Did he only recently return to Edo…?

Just as Aoto was wondering why the famous Chiba Eijiro would suddenly appear in Edo, a series of noises pulled him back to reality.

After the appearance of the Genbukan and Kochiba Kenkan, led by the Chiba family... no, to be precise, after the appearance of Chiba Eijiro, shouts and sighs that seemed to tear the sky apart erupted from the spectator stands.

The noise was far louder than when we entered the training hall and the academy!

Qing Deng was somewhat taken aback by the current situation.

Kondo noticed the astonishment on Aoto's face and smiled: "Tachibana-kun, you've only been involved in the field of 'swordsmanship' for a short time, so you probably don't fully understand Chiba Eijiro's strength and his prestige in the Edo swordsmanship world."

"To put it simply... if we don't count those reclusive masters, Chiba Eijiro is recognized as the 'number one swordsman in Edo' and the 'strongest in Edo'."

"Although Saito Yakuro and Momoi Haruzō are nominally on par with Chiba Eijiro."

"But in terms of actual prestige, neither of these two can compare to Chiba Eijiro."

After saying that, Kondo turned his gaze back to Chiba Eijiro, his eyes once again filled with envy.

Hijikata maintained his usual attitude—he pursed his lips and looked at the Chiba family with an indifferent expression, as if he didn't think that Chiba Eijiro and the others were anything special.

Sanako also played a part in the intense reaction from the spectators caused by the appearance of the Chiba family.

Sanako was not dressed in her usual kendo uniform and high ponytail as she usually did when practicing swordsmanship.

Today, she wore a white and blue striped women's kimono, her jade feet clad in white cloth socks and wearing flat wooden clogs with blue buttons, and her long black hair was tied into an exquisite Shimada bun.

This outfit lacks the heroic spirit of a female samurai, but it exudes the elegance of a Yamato Nadeshiko and the nobility of a noble lady.

With her hands folded in front of her, her perfectly swan-like neck held high, Sanako followed closely behind Chiba Sadakichi with unhurried steps, attracting just as many glances and sighs as Chiba Eijiro.

Countless people stared wide-eyed at Sanako's stunning beauty, and the sound of people swallowing saliva could be heard from time to time.