I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Besides the large courtyard now used specifically for growing radishes, there is another small courtyard deep within the Chiba Sword Hall, commonly known as the "Inner Courtyard," which only Sanako and her family, along with their servants, can freely enter and exit.

There is a well in the inner courtyard, and Sanako's family gets their daily water from this well.

“…Brother.” Sanako’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. “Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for you to take Tachibana-kun to the inner courtyard to wipe his sweat and rest?”

"That won't work."

Chiba Jutaro, as if he had anticipated Sanako's words and had prepared a draft beforehand, quickly replied without hesitation:

"Although there was a little incident like 'Tachibana-kun accepts the challenge of slashing,' that little incident is over."

"It's not even noon yet, and there's still a long way to go before the morning's training session ends."

"I have to continue teaching now, I can't leave."

"Right now, you're the only one who has time to take Tachibana-kun to the inner courtyard to rest."

"If you don't go, who else can you send?"

Chiba Jutaro's reasoning was...flawless.

Throughout the entire Chiba Sword Hall, only the inner courtyard has a well where one can draw water to wash their body.

As for the inner courtyard, such a private place, it was only convenient for the siblings Chiba Jutaro and Sanako to take Aoto there.

Chiba Jutaro still has to continue teaching the apprentices, so the only person left who can take Aoto to the inner courtyard is Sanako.

Although Chiba Jutaro's reasoning was perfectly reasonable and flawless, Sanako still kept her beautiful eyes half-closed, staring intently at Chiba Jutaro's face with a deep gaze as if looking at the distant horizon, without saying a word.

"what happened?"

Chiba Jutaro met Sanako's gaze without flinching or showing any fear.

His face hardened, and he adopted the air of a righteous gentleman, proclaiming, "My thoughts are simple and just," and declared in a righteous tone:

"Sanako, you're not planning to just leave Tachibana-kun hanging like this, are you?"

"Let's set aside the current relationship between Tachibana-kun and our Chiba family."

"Considering that Tachibana is now a guest visiting us, we cannot ignore him when he is exhausted."

"That would be so rude."

"How rude of you!" Chiba Jutaro's words hit Sanako right where it hurt.

Sanako, who received the "Yamato Nadeshiko" education from a young age, values ​​etiquette the most and is most averse to doing anything that is impolite to others.

Sanako, whose vitals had been precisely seized by Chiba Jutaro, no longer stared at her brother with that deep gaze that seemed to be looking into the distance, but instead with a bewildered look tinged with unease and helplessness.

After a few breaths, Sanako seemed to give up struggling. With a force that was neither too strong nor too weak, she tossed her head away, looked straight ahead, and no longer glanced at her brother.

"……I see."

His lips trembled, and he mumbled something.

Chiba Jutaro nodded slightly, expressionless, then turned his head like Sanako, shifting his gaze back to himself.

Sanako was standing directly to Chiba Jutaro's right, so from her perspective, she could only see the right half of Chiba Jutaro's face.

Therefore, at this moment, Sanako did not notice the change in Chiba Jutaro's expression on the left side of his face—Chiba Jutaro's left corner of his mouth was slightly upturned.

He wore a smug smile, as if he had a plan in mind.

……

……

Qingdeng's bow and his words naturally stole the show from the hall and drew everyone's attention.

Glug, glug... Occasionally, the sound of swallowing hard could be heard, disturbing the tranquility of the temple.

Everyone... whether they cast positive glances at Qingdeng or gave him negative looks, all stared in disbelief at Qingdeng, who was still bowing in the arena.

Even those who dislike Qing Deng have to admit: Niou... this young swordsman has achieved another remarkable feat!

He defeated 18 disciples of the Chiba Kendo Hall, leaving no one in the hall daring to challenge him again, and retreated unscathed with a complete victory... Once this story spreads, the name "Niou" will surely become even more renowned!

After all, this is no ordinary, third-rate swordsmanship school. This is the renowned Chiba Swordsmanship School, a place widely recognized as a gathering place for master swordsmen.

To fight against a group of masters at the Chiba Kendo Hall and win a great victory... whether this is "unprecedented" is hard to say, but it is certainly "unprecedented"!

Before today, no one had ever had the ability or opportunity to accomplish such a feat.

The "Zanako suitors' army" has completely fallen silent.

Not only did all the experts on their side come out, but even those capable people who had no connection with Sanako took up their swords and entered the fray one by one... but still no one could make Qing Deng taste defeat.

At this moment, those whose spirits and morale had been completely shattered by the power displayed by Qing Deng were all dejected, their eyes blank, their heads hanging limply against their chests like an extra part of their bodies.

Gone is the sharp edge and arrogance he once displayed, boasting about what he would do to Qingdeng.

In a way... they are lucky.

They were unaware of a cruel truth—if they knew that Qing Deng hadn't gone all out in the previous battle, their already shattered confidence would likely have crumbled even further.

From accepting the first challenge to defeating 18 people in a row, Qing Deng's "lone wolf" spirit has never been unleashed.

Qingdeng has not yet shown the full power he can unleash today.

Under the silent gaze of everyone, Qing Deng slowly straightened up, finished his polite bow, held his mask, picked up his bamboo sword, turned around and walked straight towards the direction where Sanako and Chiba Jutaro were.

"Slap, slap, slap slap slap slap..."

At that moment, someone suddenly started clapping.

The solitary applause sounded exceptionally clear and bright in the otherwise extremely quiet dojo.

The one clapping is Amon Jotaro, who just faced off against Aoto.

He smiled and cast an unpretentious glance of appreciation and admiration at Qingdeng, ignoring the strange looks from anyone else present, and persistently applauded Qingdeng.

After Amon set the precedent, in the blink of an eye, someone else started clapping just like Amon.

Then, the applause started to increase, and more and more people joined in.

One person told two, two told four, four told eight... In an instant, the originally silent temple became extremely noisy and bustling.

Qingdeng's strength earned him the respect and admiration of many people present.

This young swordsman deserves such applause—Amon Jotaro and the others genuinely believed so.

Sanako, Chiba Jutaro, and Chiba Tamon Shiro looked around with astonishment at the dense applause filling the air.

The three siblings, seeing this scene, each displayed completely different expressions.

Chiba Jutaro wore a joyful and proud smile, as if his own closest relative had received such an honor.

Chiba Tamon Shiro, who had just pushed Chiba Jutaro to end Aoto's series of battles on the grounds that "it would damage the reputation of the Chiba Kenkan," had a complicated expression.

And Sanako... she revealed a rather charming and strange expression at this moment.

She first looked around with surprise, then turned her gaze to Qingdeng, who was walking towards them.

Her gaze flickered.

With a blink of her beautiful eyes, she gave Qingdeng a long, shimmering look of envy.

Aoto didn't notice Sanako's strange gaze.

Because his attention has been completely captured by Chiba Jutaro.

"Ha ha ha ha."

As soon as Qing Deng returned to Sanako and the others, Chiba Jutaro burst into hearty laughter.

"Tachibana-kun, you look like you just crawled out of a river."

Upon hearing this, Qing Deng smiled wryly and lowered his head, glancing at his clothes, which were soaked through with sweat pouring down like a waterfall.

"Wearing protective gear for extended periods in the summer would probably kill someone," Qing Deng said half-jokingly.

Chiba Jutaro gave a meaningful smile:

"Tachibana-kun, go and rest for a bit and wipe the sweat off your body. Alright, Sanako, now take Tachibana-kun to the inner courtyard."

"The inner courtyard?" Qing Deng was taken aback.

As a regular visitor to the Chiba Sword Hall, Qing Deng was well aware of what the inner courtyard was like.

Going to such a private place alone with Sanako, and even taking off their clothes and wiping their sweat there... Aoto subconsciously wanted to use "Wouldn't this be inappropriate?" as an excuse.

But Chiba Jutaro seemed to have foreseen how things would unfold, and before Aoto could speak, he urged Sanako as if blocking her escape route:

"Sanako, the sword club is in a mess right now. I need to restore order to the sword club. I'm leaving it to you, Tachibana-kun."

"..." Sanako pursed her lips and glanced at her older brother with a deep and complicated look.

"understood……"

After muttering this in a sighing tone, Sanako turned gracefully and walked slowly out of the dojo.

"Tachibana-kun, come with me."

“Uh…” Qing Deng stared blankly at Chiba Jutaro, then looked at Sanako, who was already walking away.

Now that things have come to this, it's not convenient for him to say anything more.

So Qingdeng had no choice but to bite the bullet and chase after Sanako's retreating figure.

Sanako and Aoto left the dojo one after the other... This scene dealt another fierce blow to the already extremely frustrated "Sanako suitors' army".

Some people cast envious glances in the direction Qingdeng had left.

Some people continued to hang their heads—they had lost the will to compete with Qingdeng...

……

……

A moment later—

Little Chiba Sword Hall, Inner Courtyard—

Wow!

Qingdeng, who was squatting by the well, scooped up a handful of well water from the basin with both hands and splashed it forcefully on his face.

The cool, refreshing sensation traveled down her face and throughout her body, making Qing Deng feel so comfortable that she felt every pore on her body open up.