I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

"Barring any unforeseen circumstances, all the top fighters currently in our training hall will be able to take to the field in 8 days."

"Inoue Genzaburo is back?" Chiba Tamon Shiro's eyebrows twitched slightly as he pondered, "It seems... the battle eight days from now will be more difficult than I anticipated."

Today is August 12th.

There are only 8 days left until August 20th... the day when the Shiwei Hall and Xuanwu Hall will hold a joint red and white battle!

This battle between the red and white factions is on a large scale—each side fielded 20 players. It's a massive 20 vs 20 free-for-all.

Just the day before yesterday, after much deliberation, Shusuke finally decided on the 20-person roster to represent Shieikan in this Red and White Battle.

Qingdeng, who has fully recovered, is among them.

The names of Shieikan's four mainstays—Kondo, Hijikata, Okita, and Inoue, who had just returned—were all on the list.

Nagakura, Saito, and Harada were all diners at the Shieikan, not apprentices, so none of them could participate in this grand event that only apprentices of the sword-making hall could attend.

The three of them could only stand on the sidelines as "cheerleaders" to cheer on Qingdeng and his teammates.

To put it simply, Aoto was right; Shieikan has indeed gathered its greatest fighting force.

Apart from Shusuke, who is too old to participate in such a high-intensity swordsmanship competition, all the masters of Shieikan will take to the field in eight days!

At first glance, the "list of participants" is quite impressive, with all the top experts that the Test Guardian could send out.

However... no one in the Shieikan, including Qingdeng, had any idea what the outcome of this upcoming fierce battle would be.

Just a few days ago, they received word that Chiba Michizaburo was going to personally participate in the Red and White Battle!

Upon hearing the name Chiba Michizaburo and learning that they would likely face him in the upcoming Red and White Battle, many members of the Shieikan felt a chill run down their spines.

Prior to this, there had never been a precedent of Chiba Michizaburo personally participating in the Red and White Battles of Shieikan and Genbukan.

"If that famous Chiba Michizaburo, who can wield two swords simultaneously, is going to join the battle, we're doomed to lose!"—A very small number of people directly shouted such defeatist remarks that boosted the morale of the enemy and diminished our own.

Some individuals exclaimed that they were "invincible"... but that's not the scariest part.

The most alarming thing is that a significant number of people did not refute these negative comments.

Recalling the unusually somber atmosphere at the Imperial Examination Hall recently, Aoto pondered for a moment before softly asking Chiba Tamon Shiro beside him:

"...Chiba-kun. I heard that your elder brother, Chiba Michizaburo, is going to personally participate in this Red and White Battle. Is that true?"

"Hmm? Oh, you mean this..."

A faint smile appeared on Chiba Tamon Shiro's lips.

"It's true. My third brother is indeed determined to participate in this battle between the Red and White factions."

"This is truly unexpected..." Qing Deng said slowly, "He has never participated in any of the previous Red and White Battles between our Shiwei Hall and your Xuanwu Hall. Why is he making an exception this time?"

“…Tachibana-kun.” Chiba Tamon Shiro was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze and fixed it on Aoto. “It’s rare to run into you here today…so I’ll be honest with you.”

"The reason why Third Brother made an exception to participate in this Red and White Battle is all because of you."

"Because of me?" Qing Deng was taken aback.

"Anyone with eyes can see that during the 'Plum Blossom Festival' six months ago, your Shieikan only managed to defeat the Chiba Sword Hall because of you."

"Third Brother has long wanted to personally test just how strong the Test Guard Hall has become after you were added."

"And the strength and achievements you displayed in the battle against the Extermination Group more than two months ago... have further increased Third Brother's interest in you."

"Third Brother is determined this time—he's going to have a good fight with your Shie-e-kan in the Red and White Battle in eight days."

"Ha..." Qing Deng chuckled after understanding the reason, "Then I am truly apprehensive."

"You all better be prepared." Chiba Tamon Shiro turned his gaze away from Aoto. "My third brother is very strong."

At this point, Chiba Tamon Shiro, who rarely shows his expression, revealed a rare proud smile.

"Third Brother was able to secure his position as the second-generation head of the Genbukan and the second-generation head of the Hokushin Itto-ryu main family not only because of his identity as the third son of Chiba Shusaku."

"Let me be frank—even if you, Kondo, Hijikata, Okita, and Inoue all came at me together, they wouldn't be a match for my third brother."

Chiba Tamon Shiro's confident and somewhat provocative statement did not provoke any displeasure or annoyance from Aoto.

He revealed an expression that had absolutely nothing to do with negative emotions like displeasure or annoyance.

"……Hahaha."

After Chiba Tamon Shiro finished speaking, Aoto chuckled a few times.

"Now that you mention it, I'm even more looking forward to the battle in eight days."

"Please take good care of me then!"

Qingdeng's words and expression were tinged with a genuine and unpretentious joy.

"...?" Chiba Tamon Shiro, who had not expected Aoto to show such an expression and make such a statement, was stunned.

Having a fairly good relationship with Aoto and knowing roughly what kind of personality he had, Sanako pursed her red lips, tilted her beautiful eyes slightly, and looked at Aoto standing next to her with a faint smile—Sanako's gaze seemed to be saying to Aoto: I knew you would say that.

When Aoto said to Chiba Tamon Shiro, "I'm even more looking forward to the battle in eight days," he wasn't just putting on a brave face.

He is indeed getting more and more excited for the Red vs. White battle in 8 days!

Chiba Michizaburo is able to multitask, using both hands to do different things... If I could fight Chiba Michizaburo, I might be able to acquire such a powerful talent!

Aoto would never believe that a young prodigy like Chiba Michizaburo, who had already honed his swordsmanship to an extremely high level at such a young age, didn't possess a talent that "amplified his swordsmanship ability by XX times compared to ordinary people."

Even if they couldn't successfully replicate the "multitasking" talent from Chiba Michizaburo, they should still be able to obtain the "enhanced swordsmanship talent" talent.

Anyway, fighting a strongman like Chiba Michizaburo, there's no way you wouldn't gain something.

Even setting aside the utilitarian matter of "copying talent from Chiba Dosaburo," Qing Deng himself was eager to personally witness the true strength of this young swordsman, who was often lamented as "a pity he had a monster-like second brother, which overshadowed his own brilliance" and "since he was born, why was he born to Rong?"

—We still have to wait another 8 days…

The thought of having to wait another 8 days before he could have a big battle with Genbukan and Chiba Michizaburo made Aoto feel incredibly itchy.

At that moment, Aoto didn't notice that while he was talking with Sanako and Chiba Tamonshiro, in a corner of the dojo quite far away from him, someone was glaring at him with jealous and hateful eyes...

……

……

After chatting with Sanako, Chiba Tamonshiro and the others for a while, Aoto suddenly felt the urge to urinate.

To relieve his physiological needs, Qing Deng had no choice but to say goodbye to Sanako and the others, and quickly left Field B alone, heading straight for the toilet in the distance.

Qing Deng had visited the Chiba Sword Hall countless times, so of course he remembered the location of every toilet in the Chiba Sword Hall.

After walking through several corridors at a brisk pace, Qingdeng quickly caught the unique smell of the toilet.

But at that moment, Qingdeng suddenly heard several muffled voices deliberately lowered—

"I can't wait any longer. Let's teach that Tachibana Aoto a lesson today."

The very first sentence he heard made Qingdeng stop in his tracks...

……

……

In a corner of a corridor not far from the toilet, five apprentices who practiced swordsmanship in Field B gathered together.

Their expressions were remarkably similar—all were serious, with displeasure and resentment flashing in their eyes.

"Why is that Ju Qingdeng so shameless? He keeps showing up here every few days." One of the five men, a burly man, gritted his teeth.

“I suspect he deliberately left his big black bull here so he could use that as an excuse to frequently come and go from the Chiba Sword Hall,” a short man next to the burly man echoed in a deep voice.

"Damn it, did you guys see that just now? That Tachibana Aoto was standing side by side with Chiba-san by the dojo the whole time, and the two of them were chatting with Chiba Tamon Shiro the whole time." A tall guy standing opposite the short guy gritted his teeth.

"How could I not have seen it!" The person who echoed the tall man was an ugly guy with thinning hair.

"Shh...keep your voice down." The last of the five people had a decent appearance, with delicate features.

"Damn it, the more I think about it, the angrier I get," the balding ugly guy said bitterly. "I suspect he's only showing up here so often because he's pursuing Miss Chiba."

"Or maybe he's trying to use the huge favor of 'rescuing Miss Chiba' to get closer to his master and instructor, and then climb up the ranks to the Chiba family, this towering tree." The tall man curled his lip. "Tsk... that guy only rescued Miss Chiba by sheer luck..."

"No matter what..." the burly man lowered his voice to a very low level, "I can't take it anymore...! Let's teach that bastard a lesson today. Hisaya, Sakurai, and Hirose are all at the kendo hall today. Almost everyone is here. There's no better opportunity than today."

“I agree.” The short man nodded solemnly. “I couldn’t stand it anymore either. Just thinking about how he shamelessly chatted with Miss Chiba makes my stomach hurt with anger…!”

"Hmm." The tall man pondered, "Alright, I agree. Let's teach that Tachibana Aoto a lesson today."

"Then I'll contact Hisa-kun and the others later," the only handsome guy among the five said in a deep voice.

"Alright, it's settled then. We'll proceed according to our pre-arranged plan." The balding ugly guy clenched his naturally hanging fists. "I'll go first. If I'm not so lucky and lose, then it'll be your turn to take turns. I don't believe that guy can withstand our gauntlet attack."

"Hmph." The burly man snorted coldly, his face and words filled with strong confidence. "That guy just made a great contribution by severely damaging the Extermination Group. He's probably still feeling smug, thinking he's already a formidable swordsman."

"How can those low-life insects from the Exile Group compare to the swordsmen of our Little Chiba Sword Hall?" The tall man grinned and sneered, "Even if he could fight sixty-odd Exile Group insects to a standstill by himself, he would still be no match for the repeated challenges from our twenty-odd Little Chiba Sword Hall swordsmen."

The five people gathered together, discussing how to "teach Aoto a lesson," are members of the "Anti-Aoto Alliance" of the Chiba Kendo Hall.

The reason why Qing Deng has been frequently going in and out of the Chiba Sword Hall during this period is indeed just to visit his very intelligent and human-like pet.

Meeting and chatting with Sanako, Chiba Jutaro, and the others was just something I did casually.

Qing Deng's frequent visits to the Chiba Sword Hall were quite innocent, but some of the students at the Chiba Sword Hall didn't see it that way.

If Qing Deng only visits the Chiba Sword Academy to look at the cows and then leaves, most of the apprentices wouldn't have any objections.

But the problem is that every time Aoto comes to the Chiba Sword Hall, he takes the opportunity to meet and chat with Sanako.

That won't do!

Sanako... she's the goddess that countless students of the Chiba Sword Hall can only admire from afar, never to be touched!

*******

*******

Next chapter—a must-have plot in sword and spear novels: one person taking on an entire hall is coming! I'll try to write 1 words tomorrow.

My cousin came to visit yesterday, so I spent a lot of time playing with him and entertaining him, which meant I had much less time to write... Last night, in order to write as much as possible, I didn't even go online in the group chat. All the readers who are in the QQ group should have noticed that I was unusually quiet last night (leopard dead.jpg).

Unfortunately, despite working myself to the bone, I still couldn't reach 1 words... (crying leopard.jpg)

Although today's chapter didn't reach 1 words, 7600 words is still quite a lot, so I'm still asking for some monthly votes! Since the start of the National Day holiday, many of my fellow authors have either taken leave or updated less frequently, but I've been diligently working hard to update every day.

Considering how hard the author has worked, please vote for the author with a monthly ticket! (Like a leopard crying.jpg)

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