I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

After entering the arena with Chiba Sadakichi and the others, Chiba Jutaro craned his neck and looked around.

Before long, his gaze settled on the group from the Shiwei Hall.

After finding the group from Shieikan, Chiba Jutaro turned his head and whispered something to Chiba Sadakichi and Chiba Eijiro beside him.

After Chiba Sadakichi and the others nodded slightly, they led the teams from Genbukan and Kochiba Kenkan and turned towards Aoto and his group.

Chiba Sadakichi: "Hahaha, Shusuke."

"Hehehe, it's auspicious." Zhou Zhu stood up to greet him.

Aoto, Okita, and the others stood up with Shusuke and headed towards the group from Genbukan and Kochibakenkan, who had a special relationship with their Shieikan.

After exchanging pleasantries with Chiba Sadakichi for a while, Shusuke turned to look at Chiba Eijiro standing next to Chiba Sadakichi: "Hehehe, Eijiro, I really didn't expect to see you here and now. You gave me quite a fright. When did you return to Edo?"

Chiba Eijiro bowed slightly, then politely replied in a soft voice, "Mr. Kondo, it's been a long time since I've greeted you..."

……

In this situation, as an ordinary disciple of the Shieikan, he couldn't get a word in edgewise; he could only obediently and quietly wait behind Shusuke.

There happened to be many empty seats next to their seats at the test hall. After Shusuke led everyone in exchanging polite greetings with Chiba Sadakichi and his group, he took the opportunity to invite Chiba Sadakichi to sit with them. Chiba Sadakichi readily agreed without any hesitation.

Just as Aoto was about to sit back down in his seat, he suddenly heard Chiba Jutaro's loud voice:

"Hey! Tachibana-kun! Hahaha, long time no see!"

Upon hearing Chiba Jutaro's greeting, Aoto couldn't help but smile helplessly: "Mr. Jutaro, it hasn't been that long since we last met, has it? We just saw each other a little over two weeks ago."

Aoto looked towards Chiba Jutaro and saw Chiba Jutaro leading Sanako toward him.

"Greetings, Mr. Tachibana." Sanako, with her hands folded in front of her, bowed to Aoto with an extremely elegant gesture.

It had been a long time since Aoto had seen Sanako.

"Miss Sanako, it's been a long time." Qing Deng bowed and returned the greeting to Sanako.

"Tachibana-kun." Chiba Jutaro raised his hand and affectionately patted Aoto's shoulder. "How are you? Are you nervous about participating in such a large-scale competition for the first time?"

"I was a little nervous," Qing Deng replied half-jokingly.

"Haha! You're much calmer than I expected!"

Chiba Jutaro was about to say something more to Aoto.

But at that moment, a new disturbance arose again in the spectator stands.

"Sit down! Sit down!" the Aizu Domain samurai responsible for maintaining order shouted hurriedly, "The lords are here!"

Upon hearing these shouts, the previously noisy viewing areas on the east, west, and south sides quickly quieted down.

Everyone immediately shut their mouths and returned to their seats.

Having hastily ended his conversation with Aoto, Chiba Jutaro's eyes darted around before he hurriedly sat down not far from Aoto.

"Come on, Sanako, there's an empty seat here, sit here!" Chiba Jutaro pointed to the person next to him.

The empty seat that Chiba Jutaro pointed to... was directly to his left and directly to Aoto's right...

Neither Aoto nor Sanako noticed Chiba Jutaro's deliberate little scheme...

Without giving it much thought, Sanako took a light step and sat down on the right side of Aoto.

Okita sat on the left, and Sanako sat on the right—these were Aoto's current neighbors.

A few minutes later, the distinguished guests who were to be seated in the "VIP section" finally arrived.

Everyone in the spectator stands immediately bowed in respect.

A series of light footsteps came from the direction of the "VIP desk".

After being granted permission to rise and not to stand formally, Qing Deng immediately raised his gaze and looked at the "VIP table" that was located directly opposite them.

The once empty "VIP table" is now almost full of people, all of whom are dignitaries of their respective countries.

The family crests on their clothes clearly proclaimed which vassal state they belonged to.

Lord of the Utsunomiya Domain, Lord of the Maebashi Domain, Lord of the Ninja Domain, Lord of the Matsushiro Domain...

A young man, who was probably no more than 20 years old, sat expressionlessly in the very center of these daimyo.

Although the young man was young, he already exuded a mature air about him.

He sat there, giving off a sense of "center," as if everything around him revolved around him.

Even without looking at the family crest on his clothes, just by looking at his posture sitting in the very head seat, it is not difficult to deduce that this person should be the world-famous lord of the Aizu Domain: Matsudaira Katamori!

Without any opening remarks or elaborate opening speech, after the arrival of the daimyo led by Matsudaira Katamori, an old samurai who served as the master of ceremonies stepped into the arena covered with white sand. He first asked the spectators to remain silent, and then began to read out the rules of the competition.

After completing these routine procedures, the emcee began drawing lots on the spot to select the two contestants for the first competition of the day.

The first lot drawn by the emcee... the name written on it was none other than Qing Deng!

"Natural Rishin-ryu, Shieikan, Tachibana Aoto!"

Upon hearing the emcee call out his name, Qing Deng subconsciously frowned, then revealed a strange expression.

He never expected that he would be competing in the first match of this tournament!

Qingdeng breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he forcefully grabbed the bamboo sword that was placed beside him!

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Requesting your guaranteed monthly votes at the beginning of the month!

Thank you to reader 【Handsome is Handsome】 for the Silver Alliance!

This is the first Silver Grand Alliance I've ever received in my life... I'm truly overwhelmed with emotion, at a loss for words, and filled with trepidation...

Upon seeing this donation, the first thought that popped into the author's mind was: "Am I worthy?"

The author is truly moved... so many readers are willing to support me... I really feel like crying QAQ.

一个盟主就爆一个1W+的大章，那么一个白银盟就爆10个1W+的大章，也就是说作者君目前的欠更是16章1W+的大章。

To live up to everyone's support, I will definitely work hard to update frequently and with high quality!

Today's 1-word chapter won't be considered a bonus update; it's more like compensation for yesterday's absence. I still owe 16 more 1+ word chapters.

The first annual character popularity poll has already started in the book club group! This event ends at midnight on August 3rd. Those who want to participate should join the book club group as soon as possible!

Currently, Miss Sanako is fiercely competing with Mai Kinoshita for first place.

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I'd like to recommend a novel to everyone!

My good friend Honey Princess's "Rebirth: Ten Years Against the Current"!

A business urban novel featuring two female protagonists who start by selling goods on Taobao, accumulate funds through mobile games, invest in miHoYo, and gradually rise to prominence 12 years later.

Those who are interested can check it out~

Chapter 143 One sword strike kills the opponent! The entire audience is stunned!

The author stayed up almost all night again last night.

However, it's not that there's another problem with his physical or mental health.

As for the reason, readers should all understand.

Alas... a thousand words can only be summed up in a single sigh...

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At this very moment—

In a corner of the east spectator stands—

"Whoa..." Sojiro tilted his head back, looked at the sea of ​​people surrounding him, and couldn't help but shrink back. "There are even more people now... I didn't expect so many people to come to this competition..."

Sojiro felt very fortunate—he and Asuka had gotten up early today, otherwise they definitely wouldn't have been able to get seats in the spectator stands.

"Ah, Sojiro!" Asa, who was sitting next to Sojiro, tugged at her husband's haori sleeve. "The trial match has begun, look!"

“Oh, oh…” Sojiro withdrew his gaze from looking around and looked at the arena in front of him.

Sojiro has never had any interest in martial arts competitions.

If it weren't for his wife urging him to watch the Aizu-no-Gi sword tournament, arguing that it might inspire his writing, it would be questionable whether he would have gone out today.

So be it... Sojiro let out a silent sigh.

Since we're already here, let's try to watch it to the end...

……

……

Aoto's first opponent in the trial was a swordsman named Adachi Totaro.

Speaking of Adachi... he was also a rising star in the Edo swordsmanship world who was quite well-known.

He comes from the Kinbu School, which teaches the Ono Itto-ryu style. It is said that his swordsmanship combines power and speed, and some veteran swordsmen who have practiced for many years are no match for him.

In terms of overall strength and reputation, Adachi can be considered second only to the younger generation of swordsmen in the Edo period, such as Hiroshi Niizuma, who was hailed as one of the "Three Heroes".

When the emcee announced the names of Aoto and Adachi, gasps of surprise erupted from the audience.

Recently rising star "Kita Tengu" Tachibana Seito faces off against Adachi Totaro, whose strength and reputation are second only to the "Three Heroes"... The first match of the tournament is such a clash of titans, how can it not excite the spectators?

"Tachibana-kun, do your best!" Okita waved his two fists raised to his chest at Aoto, who had already stood up with his sword drawn.

Chiba Jutaro raised his hand and patted Aoto on the back: "Good luck, Tachibana-kun!"

Unlike Okita and her brother, Sanako didn't directly encourage Aoto; she simply nodded slightly to him.

Kondo and Hijikata also offered words of encouragement to Aoto, who was about to take the stage.