I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Chiba Jutaro said quietly.

"You seem to have forgotten why the sword-fighting club exists."

"A sword-making school is a place to teach swordsmanship and to educate others."

“I don’t deny the importance of ‘reputation’ to a fencing school, but I don’t think it should be the primary goal of a fencing school.”

"If we neglect the training of apprentices for the sake of something as ephemeral as 'reputation,' then we are putting the cart before the horse."

“I believe that if my father were here now, he would definitely agree with my idea and support my approach of ‘letting Tachibana-kun continue to fight.’”

“My father has no reason not to agree with or support me.”

Chiba Jutaro, looking utterly helpless, let out a sigh filled with emotion.

"Father really likes Tachibana-kun a lot now."

"Ever since Tachibana-kun rescued Sanako, my father's attitude towards Tachibana-kun has changed."

"My father's current enthusiasm for Tachibana Kimi... makes me, as his son, feel a little jealous."

After saying that, Chiba Jutaro subconsciously glanced at Sanako beside him.

"In short—Brother Tamon. For now, let's just let things take their course and continue watching this battle of 'Tachibana-kun vs. Our Mansion's Heroes'."

Chiba Tamon Shiro pursed his lips, glanced at Chiba Jutaro, and then looked at Aoto on the field.

His expression was complicated.

……

……

While Chiba Jutaro and the others were talking, Aoto had already sent the 9th challenger off the field.

The 9th challenger is named Hosoya Gotaro, who is skilled in kodachi (small sword) techniques.

Of all the challengers Naiqing Deng has encountered today, he is the only one who uses a weapon other than a katana.

"drink!"

Hosoya's right elbow snapped open like a broken bowstring, sending the wakizashi on his right hand arcing through the air before striking Aoto's shoulder.

Qing Deng crouched down, held his sword in his right hand, and swung it diagonally, accurately striking Hosoya's wakizashi and deflecting Hosoya's fierce attack.

It's easy to see from Hosoya's various subtle movements that he has a wealth of combat experience.

The attack was defused, and he did not show any negative emotions as a result.

He shouted "Drink!" again and charged forward with his sword, trying to shove the wakizashi into Qing Deng's arms.

Qing Deng took a deep breath, suddenly lowered his center of gravity, flipped his wrist, and switched to holding the sword in a reverse grip. He used the hilt to deflect the wakizashi that was rushing towards him from below, and then, following the upward momentum, he aimed the blade at Hosoya's body and slashed upwards.

The stiff, unsteady feeling of striking a solid object... Qing Deng's upward slash hit Hosoya's chest armor, forcing Hosoya to stagger back three steps before he could regain his footing.

Although Hosoya was also a devoted admirer of Sanako, he was a fairly honest person.

Before Chiba Jutaro could come forward to announce his defeat, he was the first to slink his head down to Aoto.

"I lost..."

[Successfully copied talent: "Minor Proficiency in Swordsmanship"]

[Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 4 times the average level]

……

[Sword Prodigy's Ability Advancement]

[“Sword Prodigy” Talent Introduction: Swordsmanship talent is amplified 80 times the average level]

The instant Hosoya consciously admitted defeat, cheers erupted from the spectators standing at the four corners of the dojo—most of these cheers came from women.

Although from the perspective of the Chiba Sword Hall, it seems a bit inappropriate to cheer for Qing Deng, who has defeated nine of their disciples in a row... the sheer power Qing Deng is displaying right now is simply too captivating.

Standing majestically in the dojo, he accepts all challenges, regardless of who they come from.

Nine players in a row, nine consecutive wins!

This is no ordinary, third-rate sword-fighting school.

This is the famous Chiba Sword Hall in Edo!

To date, everyone who has challenged Aoto has been a "top student" of the Chiba Kendo Academy, who is qualified to freely enter and exit the B-stage.

Hisaya and Hosoya, who had just been defeated by Aoto, were still among the top-tier fighters in their Chiba Kenkan.

These incredibly powerful figures were all defeated by Qing Deng's sword; not one of them was a match for him...

The male apprentices looked at Qingdeng on the field with eyes that were filled with either envy or jealousy.

Compared to the male apprentices, the female apprentices' gazes toward Qingdeng were much purer.

The female apprentices, who had rushed from Field C to Field B upon hearing that there was excitement to be had, all looked at Qingdeng with longing and admiration.

A very few individuals even cast glances at Qingdeng that were tinged with shame and a certain intriguing emotion.

Incidentally, all the female apprentices at the Chiba Sword Academy are, without exception, young, unmarried girls brimming with youthful energy.

Only unmarried young women have the time and inclination to come to the sword academy to learn martial arts.

Why do the female apprentices all look at Qingdeng with such fangirl-like expressions...? The reason is not hard to explain.

Compared to most samurai of this era, Qing Deng's qualifications were simply too good!

Born into the Imperial Guard, he is still very young and currently single and unmarried. He is tall and handsome, and due to his numerous meritorious deeds, he has a promising future in the officialdom. He has exceptional talent and strength in swordsmanship, and if nothing unexpected happens, he will surely become a renowned swordsman in due time...

Compared to those poor, unskilled swordsmen who only possess swordsmanship skills, or those good-for-nothings with only family backgrounds, Qing Deng, a gem from Kunshan who has both good looks and talent, and a promising future, is a completely different story.

Who wouldn't want their future husband to be a strong and upright man?

Qing Deng's feat of winning all nine of his battles greatly aroused the female apprentices' admiration for him.

Therefore, whenever Qingdeng defeated his opponent, these female apprentices were the most excited and shouted the loudest, attracting strange looks from those around them.

The cheers and screams from the female apprentices caused some of the male apprentices to uncontrollably cast even more intensely jealous glances at Qingdeng.

Regardless of the era, men who can garner cheers and screams from young girls inevitably face hostility from other men.

At this moment, Qingdeng was completely unaware that the female apprentices' enthusiasm for him had brought him some potential "enemies".

With his attention fully focused, he had no time to notice the episodes and changes happening in the audience.

After defeating Hosoya, Aoto let out a long breath and slowly adjusted his breathing rhythm.

The new talent "Strong Essence" that I copied from Inoue a few days ago is now coming in handy.

The "Qiangjing" product, which allows for rapid recovery of physical strength and energy, greatly enhances Qingdeng's "endurance."

Qing Deng's impressive stamina recovery speed, coupled with the fact that none of his battles so far have been particularly arduous, has allowed him to retain a considerable amount of stamina.

—It's been copied to "Swordsmanship Proficiency Master" again... No wonder the Chiba Sword Hall holds such an important position in the Edo swordsmanship world.

—The apprentices' quality is truly remarkable.

—Shieikan still has a long way to go...

Qing Deng has now defeated nine disciples of the Chiba Sword Hall in a row.

Five of the nine people possess special talents.

"Golden Voice", "Strong Stomach", and 3 "Minor Masters of Swordsmanship".

Judging solely from the number of times a talent can be replicated, it is enough to show how much of a gap there is between Shieikan and a major sword school like Kochiba Sword School in terms of "student quality".

Since entering the Shieikan Gym, in an attempt to replicate some useful talents, Qing Deng has taken every opportunity to spar with every apprentice at the Shieikan Gym.

As a result, after copying and copying... only five people in the entire Shieikan—Shusuke, Kondo, Hijikata, Okita, and Inoue—possessed special talents.

The others, let alone those with extraordinary physical abilities or "physical enhancement talents," didn't even have a "minor mastery of swordsmanship."

In contrast, the Chiba Sword Hall had only sparred with 9 people, yet it had already produced 3 "minor masters of swordsmanship".

The quality of the students is so high that the current test center can't even come close.

However... from another perspective, the difference in student quality between Chiba Sword Academy and Shiei Academy is not so great that it makes one feel hopeless.

After all, not every apprentice at the Chiba Sword Academy is a genius with outstanding talent.

Of the nine people, only three possessed extraordinary swordsmanship skills—this ratio further convinced Qing Deng of a truth: those brilliant geniuses who truly possess exceptional talent are indeed very few.

Even in a large sword-making school like the Chiba Sword Academy, geniuses are not everywhere; many of the apprentices are just ordinary mortals.

It is only the difference in the degree of effort and the difference in learning methods that creates the disparity in skill levels among ordinary people.

In terms of results, Qingdeng had already achieved great success—he had successfully integrated with three "minor sword masters" and his own "sword prodigy" had been upgraded to "sword skills amplified to 80 times the average level of ordinary people".

In addition, it has gained two new talents: a golden voice and a strong stomach.

For Qing Deng, who had no ambition to be a singer and was not used to shouting in battle, the former was like a chicken rib.

But the latter is much more useful.

With strong digestive and nutrient absorption capabilities, Qingdeng's body can absorb more nutrients, making it healthier and stronger, and greatly reducing the probability of developing gastrointestinal diseases.

In this era when medical care is still very underdeveloped, getting sick is a terrible thing.

Many minor illnesses that can be cured for tens or hundreds of dollars in modern times are incurable diseases in this era.

Qingdeng took several deep breaths to suppress his slightly excited feelings due to the abundant harvest.

At this moment, Qingdeng had just regulated his breathing rhythm.

He turned his head to the side, casting a calm, emotionless glance at the "audience".

That look, of course, meant, "Is there anyone else who wants to go on stage?"

Wherever Qing Deng's gaze swept, the members of the "Zanako suitors' army" would look guilty and keep their heads down like ostriches.

Suddenly, Qingdeng spotted several familiar faces.

A burly man, a short man, a tall man... these were the people Qingdeng had accidentally bumped into while using the toilet.

It was from these people that Qingdeng learned of their plan to cause trouble for him and embarrass him.

Apart from that ugly guy with thinning hair, namely Hetian, none of the other burly men who had previously been very arrogant and boasted about how they would do something to Qingdeng had actually stepped onto the stage to fight Qingdeng yet.

Qing Deng focused his gaze on these people, deliberately letting his eyes linger on them for a while longer.