I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

His ability to dodge the "bearded middle-aged man's" arrow was indeed partly due to luck.

But the main reason is that the effects of the three talents "Focus", "Courage", and "Eagle Eye" are superimposed, giving Qingdeng an astonishing dynamic vision and reaction speed.

His sharp eyes discerned the trajectory of the arrow shot by the "bearded middle-aged man"! Otherwise, he would not have been able to dodge it!

—"Gathering Spirit" is really powerful...

After silently praising once again in his heart this god-level talent that had given him another breakthrough in his current strength, Qing Deng slowly walked to the side of the "bearded middle-aged man" and squatted down.

The bearded middle-aged man had recovered from Qing Deng's shoulder bump; at least he could breathe smoothly now.

"Who are you people?" Qing Deng's tone was so cold that it was as if he were slashing knives rather than speaking words.

After posing a question, Qingdeng immediately followed with a statement:

"You're from the Extermination Group, aren't you?"

Before the chaotic "1 vs 18" battle even began, Qingdeng, thanks to his "Sensor of the Wind," clearly heard the discussion among the 18 people.

They called him a "traitor" and shouted about "avenging their comrades who died because of him"... Such rhetoric made Qing Deng highly suspicious that these people were members of the anti-barbarian group who had disappeared long ago since the "Battle of the Foreign Documents Exchange Center"!

After all, apart from the Extermination Group, Qing Deng really couldn't imagine that he had any other groups with whom he had a blood feud.

The bearded middle-aged man ignored Qing Deng's questioning.

He glanced coldly at Qingdeng before looking away, remaining silent throughout.

"Don't want to talk to me... Fine." Qing Deng stood up slowly with a calm expression. "Then let the jailers 'chat' with you properly after we've taken you to the prison."

Upon hearing the word "prison house," the bearded middle-aged man trembled violently.

Despite his efforts to control himself, a hint of fear still crept onto his face.

“Nagakura. Let’s go,” Aoto said. “Let’s take these three back to the settlement first and meet up with Saito and the others.”

……

……

Edo, Azabu Ryatsuchi Town, Uwajima Domain and the Date family's upper house——

"Ms. Chiba, thank you for your hard work today!"

"You're welcome. Miss Date, you did a great job today, keep up the good work!"

"Hehehe~ I can do it! Miss Chiba, when will you teach me some even more powerful moves?"

"There's no rush. I can only teach you more advanced content after you've solidified your foundation."

"I think my foundation is already very good..."

"Miss Date, the worst thing you can do when practicing martial arts is to be impatient and restless."

"Okay, okay, I know. Ms. Chiba, the way you talk sometimes really sounds like my mother..."

……

After bidding farewell to the quirky Princess Date, Sanako gracefully left the Uwajima Domain's residence, personally seen off by the princess.

"The highly regarded young lady of the Chiba family, a renowned martial arts clan" and "a gifted female swordswoman"... Sanako's daily identity constantly shifts between these two.

Sanako's attire changes as needed to reflect the different identities she is portraying.

When she needs to present herself as a "young lady," Sanako will style her long black hair into the most popular women's hairstyles, such as the Shimada bun, and wear a bright and beautiful women's kimono. If necessary, she will also wear light makeup and accessories.

When she needs to appear as a "female swordsman," Sanako likes to tie her long hair into a high ponytail for easy movement, wear a women's kendo uniform that accentuates her figure, and avoid any cumbersome accessories or cosmetics.

At this moment, Sanako was dressed as a "female swordsman"—her face was unadorned, her waist-length hair was tied into a neat and tidy high ponytail, she wore a white top and dark blue bottom women's kendo uniform, her slender feet covered with clean white socks were wearing double blue button flat wooden clogs, and a small katana with a blue handle and blue sheath for self-defense was hanging at her left waist.

Why did Sanako, dressed as a "female swordsman," emerge from the Uwajima Domain's upper house? And why did she seem to be quite familiar with Princess Date of the Uwajima Domain?

For those familiar with Sanako, these questions are easy to answer—Sanako was the swordsmanship teacher of Princess Date of the Uwajima Domain.

Out of concern for the "difference between men and women," prominent families tended to choose female teachers when selecting martial arts instructors for the women in their families.

Therefore, Sanako, who was proficient in naginata techniques and kodachi techniques from the Hokushin Itto-ryu school, and also had the dazzling aura of being "Miss Chiba," naturally became a "hot commodity" for all the large families in Edo who wanted to find an excellent female teacher for their daughters.

Back when Sanako was just a 14-year-old girl, a powerful family had already extended an invitation to her, saying, "Please come and teach this young lady martial arts!"

Over the years, countless people and forces have wanted to invite Sanako to be their martial arts instructor.

If we were to consider who among these many "inviters" is the most prestigious... it would undoubtedly be the lord of the Uwajima Domain!

Four years ago, the lord of the Uwajima Domain extended a warm invitation to Sanako, hoping that she could become his youngest daughter's swordsmanship teacher.

Uwajima Domain – a large domain with a fief of 10 koku, ruled by the Date clan.

Under the strict requirement of the "sankin-kotai" system, almost all the daimyo of the domains had to come to Edo to stay for a period of time every year.

As dignified daimyo, after arriving in Edo with a large entourage, they naturally wouldn't stoop so low as to stay in an inn. Of course, they also wouldn't stay in Edo Castle, the residence of the shogun.

Therefore, in order to solve the housing problem of the daimyo, the Edo Shogunate granted all daimyo land in Edo so that they could build daimyo residences there.

The design and structure of a daimyo's residence were determined by his rank and status, so one could tell which region's daimyo it was simply by observing its exterior.

Those powerful daimyo could own multiple residences, with each daimyo having a maximum of three residences in Edo: the upper residence, the middle residence, and the lower residence.

The difference between these three types of yashiki is based on their "distance from Edo Castle". The yashiki closest to Edo Castle is called "kame-yashiki", and the yashiki furthest from Edo Castle is called "shimo-yashiki".

Generally speaking, the upper house is where the daimyo and his family live, while the middle house and the lower house are mainly used as villas.

Besides requiring the daimyo to make a great fuss and stay in Edo for a period of time every year, the "Sankin-kotai" (attendance ceremony) also had a rather cruel rule in order to better control the daimyo and prevent them from rebelling.

All the wives of daimyo and their legitimate sons with inheritance rights were not allowed to return to their domains; they could only live as hostages in the daimyo's residences in Edo.

According to custom, the daughters of daimyo were not required to reside in Edo for long, because women did not have the right to inherit the domain and posed no threat to the Edo shogunate, so there was no need to take them hostage.

However, the youngest princess of the Uwajima Domain did not want to be separated from her birth mother, so she took the initiative to request to live in Edo for an extended period.

The Uwajima Domain lord's intention was to have Sanako come to their Uwajima Domain's upper residence to teach his youngest daughter, who currently resides in Edo, martial arts.

Sanako had no intention of becoming anyone's tutor.

Let alone the little princess of the Uwajima Domain, she had little interest in teaching even the daughter of the Shogun.

However, a few words from her father, Chiba Sadakichi, changed her mind—

"Zanako, go give it a try!"

“Being someone’s tutor and teaching others martial arts in a kendo school are two completely different experiences.”

"Scholars should avoid working in isolation, and the same applies to us martial artists."

"Go out and see more 'scenery' that you've never seen before. These experiences may one day become valuable 'nourishment' for your martial arts training."

"That's why your uncle advised Eijiro to serve the Mito Domain."

...Thus, having been persuaded, Sanako finally accepted the invitation from the lord of the Uwajima Domain and took on the side job of "the swordsmanship tutor of Princess Date of the Uwajima Domain".

This side hustle... has been going on for four years now.

Overall, Sanako is quite happy with this side job.

Sanako doesn't need to come to teach Princess Date every day; she only needs to come once every seven days.

Although Princess Date was a princess of a large domain, she was kind and approachable, and did not have the annoying princess syndrome. Therefore, the relationship between Sanako and her master and disciple was relatively friendly and close.

Easy-going students + a not-too-heavy workload... these are the main reasons why Sanako has been able to stick with this side job for so long.

Today is the day to teach Princess Ida.

At this moment, Sanako had just finished teaching Princess Date for the day and was preparing to go home.

Just as I stepped out of the Uwajima Domain's residence, a gentle breeze began to blow.

Feeling as if her face had been gently caressed by fine silk, Sanako couldn't help but half-close her eyes and take a deep breath of fresh air.

The weather is very nice today.

Early in the morning, the sky was clear and bright, with an endless expanse of blue that seemed to reach the edge of the universe.

As the weather gradually gets hotter, the sun today showed a rare gentle side, with loose, cotton-like white clouds making the already mild sunlight even more mellow.

The occasional gentle breeze adds a touch of softness to today's weather.

The good weather also made for excellent visibility today. With her fairly good eyesight, Sanako could vaguely see the church spire of the Western settlement in the distance.

After quietly enjoying the gentle caress of the breeze for a while, Sanako, feeling content, slowly composed herself and leisurely embarked on her journey home.

Having served as Princess Date's tutor for so long, Sanako knew the route from the Uwajima Domain's uproar to the Kochiba Sword Hall like the back of her hand.

About a year ago, Sanako accidentally discovered a shortcut home that could save her a lot of walking time.

This shortcut consists of many secluded alleys and lanes that are rarely visited by people. Along the way, it passes through a neighborhood adjacent to the Western settlement. So when taking this shortcut home, Sanako can fully appreciate the architectural style and cultural features of the settlement that are completely different from their country.

Starting from the Ueyashiki residence of the Uwajima Domain, to reach the shortcut home that Sanako discovered by chance, one must first pass through a bustling city street.

Upon entering this bustling street, the sounds surrounding Sanako suddenly became noisy.

Mixed in with these noisy sounds were some... discordant noises.

"Hey, look, that person looks like Chiba Sanako."

"Chiba Sanako? Oh, that's the 'Chiba Oni Komachi', right? Hmm... She's Chiba Sanako... She's really good-looking."

"I really want to lick her white nape hard."

"Her nape is really beautiful, so white and delicate."

……

Sanako felt a series of gazes that felt like being licked back and forth, making her feel quite uncomfortable...

Sanako was already used to such discussions and such gazes.

The fame of "Chiba Oni Komachi" and "Edo's Number One Beauty" is simply too great.

In order to catch a glimpse of this renowned beauty, many curious people tirelessly stake out the entrance of the Chiba Sword Hall every day, hoping to secretly catch a glimpse of Sanako's face.

Over time, more and more people recognized what "Chiba Oni-komachi" looked like.

As a result, Sanako was recognized by passersby on the street more and more frequently.

Some passersby recognized Sanako on the street and simply gave her a friendly smile.

But such people are only a very small minority.

The vast majority of people... cast lewd glances and laughed at Sanako's back.