I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Kondo and Okita were also skeptical of Aoto's view that "eating meat can strengthen the body."

But after witnessing firsthand how quickly Aoto, who had been consistently eating meat, had grown strong, Kondo immediately changed his mind and began to persuade Shusuke and Abi, together with Okita, "Let's eat more meat after we go to the Shieikan!"

Finally, after much persuasion from Kondo and Okita, Shusuke and Abi were convinced.

Nowadays, the dietary structure of Shiweiguan has changed dramatically, with at least one meal a day consisting of a very rich meat dish.

Thanks to the change in their diet, Kondo and Nagakura, who is currently living at Shieikan, have all become noticeably stronger.

Although the dramatic increase in food expenses made Abi's face quite sour for a while, the strategy of "eating meat to strengthen the body" was correct. Kondo and the others did become much stronger, so Abi's face is not so sour now, and he no longer hesitates or hesitates when allocating money to buy meat.

Long-term fitness training and a reasonable diet have made Qingdeng no longer the slender person she used to be.

Qingdeng's entire body has "swelled up" now.

Beautiful biceps and triceps on his arms, neatly arranged eight-pack abs, hard and solid chest muscles, and beautifully sculpted back muscles... His entire upper body has not an ounce of excess fat.

Qingdeng's muscles are small, tight, and explosive, not the kind that are large but useless. Therefore, although Qingdeng's muscles are well-developed, his body is not so muscular that he is a "human mountain of flesh".

The taut muscles, along with the scars that "adorn" his body like medals, proclaim to outsiders how many life-or-death battlefields he has been on, imbue his body with a masculine aura.

The moment her gaze fell upon Qing Deng's muscular upper body, Sanako felt as if her brain had been hit by a huge shock and crashed, staring blankly at Qing Deng's naked upper body.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sanako."

After confirming that the frog had jumped far away, Qing Deng rearranged the water basin he had accidentally overturned and continued speaking to Sanako apologetically.

"A frog suddenly jumped out just now, which startled me. I instinctively yelled and knocked over the water basin, which also startled you. I'm sorry."

Aoto's sudden voice brought Sanako back to her senses.

The departed soul returned to the body, and the malfunctioning brain resumed functioning.

Sanako blinked several times, belatedly realizing what was happening.

Then he quickly averted his gaze and hurriedly turned his body back to Qingdeng.

"No, it's nothing... I'm just glad you're alright."

"Hmm?" Aoto Asako cast a surprised glance at her.

Sanako's tone and demeanor were always so elegant and composed, no matter what.

Therefore, he could clearly see any abnormality in Sanako's condition.

Qing Deng immediately noticed the unusual tone in Sanako's voice.

Unfortunately, when Aoto looked up at Sanako, she had already turned her face away, so he couldn't see Sanako's expression.

—What's wrong with Miss Sanako?

The question had barely surfaced in Qing Deng's mind when he immediately found the answer when he caught a glimpse of his naked upper body out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh... I'm sorry." Qing Deng chuckled awkwardly, pulled up his clothes hanging at his waist and put them on. "You saw some... indecent things."

“It’s okay…” Sanako said softly, “It was just my own carelessness, you don’t need to apologize.”

Sanako's tone had returned to the "Yamato Nadeshiko" and "elegant young lady" tone that Aoto was familiar with... This made Aoto breathe a slight sigh of relief.

—So, Ms. Sanako is so... innocent?

Qingdeng thought for a long time, but couldn't think of a more suitable adjective than "pure".

The fact that she reacted so strongly after just one inadvertent glance at the man's upper body was truly surprising to Qing Deng.

Sanako was not the kind of person who grew up in seclusion and had never even seen a few men.

Aoto couldn't help but recall Sanako's flustered behavior just now, and couldn't help but jokingly sigh to himself:

—Miss Sanako sometimes shows a rather uneasy side...

Aoto, who couldn't see Sanako's face, was unaware that... Sanako's hands, which were naturally folded on her knees, were clenched tightly due to the chaos in her mind, and her eyes were unfocused and her gaze was wandering.

Having grown up in a sword-making school, it's impossible that Sanako hadn't seen half-naked male bodies.

Often, some disciples, getting carried away with sword practice, would boldly take off their clothes, exposing their chests and backs.

On ordinary days, when walking on the street, you often see townspeople who are busy making a living, stripped down to their bare clothes.

However—none of the bodies I've seen so far seem as impressive as Qing Deng's...

People in this era suffer because they don't understand modern fitness knowledge and scientific exercise.

Unless required for work, the townspeople who make a living through handicrafts do not exercise specifically.

Although martial arts practitioners would deliberately work out to hone their skills, they had no idea how to exercise scientifically and efficiently.

Many people don't even understand the most basic nutritional intake, or even if they do, they are unable to do so.

Therefore, due to limited knowledge and financial resources, most people who exercise to improve their martial arts skills do not develop much muscle.

Compared to those "white-cut chicken" bodies, pot-bellied or those that haven't built much muscle, Qing Deng's physique, full of small but toned muscles and without any excess fat, is quite impressive.

The scenes she had witnessed as she turned around kept flashing uncontrollably before Sanako's eyes...

That's enough! What's the point of thinking about this kind of thing!

Sanako cursed herself inwardly, then closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind and prevent herself from recalling what she had just seen.

Aoto was behind Sanako, who was focused on clearing her mind, so at that moment, no one was lucky enough to notice that "cherry blossoms" had bloomed.

As if painted with the finest pigments, Sanako's exquisite face was flushed with a lovely cherry blossom pink...

……

……

Due to an unexpected incident where he was harassed by the "Zanako suitors' group," Aoto spent much longer than expected at the Chiba Sword Hall today.

When it was 11 o'clock, Aoto felt that he had been in the Chiba Sword Hall for too long, so he decided to head back to the Shiei Hall.

Upon learning that Aoto wanted to leave, Chiba Jutaro immediately came to persuade him to stay for lunch, but Aoto was determined to go.

And so, with Sanako, Chiba Jutaro, Chiba Tamon Shiro, and Rokuro seeing him off, he embarked on his journey home.

Today's weather is as hot as ever.

After walking only a few steps on the street, Qingdeng's body was once again soaked with sweat.

After finishing the battle with the heroes of the Chiba Sword Hall, I wasn't very thirsty, so I forgot to ask Sanako and the others for some water.

Now, under the scorching sun, Qingdeng, whose body had lost moisture again, felt extremely thirsty.

At that moment, Qingdeng suddenly caught sight of a familiar teahouse ahead.

This teahouse is not far from the Shieikan Museum, and it sells very good sweets and tea, making it one of Okita's favorite teahouses.

Previously, Okita had strongly recommended this teahouse to Aoto and had even brought Aoto there a few times... The tea and sweets at this teahouse were indeed quite good and suited Aoto's taste.

Looking at the teahouse that Okita had brought him to several times, Aoto hesitated for a moment, then strode towards it.

—Have a glass of cool, sweet water before you go back…

As he was thinking this, Qing Deng had already lifted the curtain of the teahouse.

Qing Deng sat down at a low table in an inconspicuous corner, and followed... a young girl ordered a glass of sweet water and a plate of dorayaki.

Of all the sweets available at the teahouse and wagashi shop, Aoto's favorite is the dorayaki filled with sweet red bean paste.

Whenever someone comes to the teahouse and has an appetite, they will definitely order a plate of dorayaki.

It will take a little while for the food and drinks to be served.

To pass the time while waiting, Qing Deng began practicing the "lung capacity training method" that Kiryu had taught him, while continuing to ponder the talent of the "Saint of the Sword," namely the so-called "supreme realm of martial arts."

Kiryu still hasn't told him why he needs to train his lung capacity.

Whenever Aoto couldn't contain his curiosity and asked him, "What exactly is the purpose of training your lung capacity?" Kiryu would always smile and say, "Don't worry, I'll tell you the purpose of training your lung capacity later."

Although he still doesn't understand the reason for training his lung capacity, Qing Deng obediently follows Kiryu's instructions and sets aside a lot of spare time every day to do the "lung capacity training method" that Kiryu taught him.

Before I knew it, it had almost become a habit.

Whenever I have a short break like now while waiting for food and drinks to be served, I unconsciously start exercising my lung capacity.

"The highest realm of martial arts"... This is something I can only ask my master and Kiryu-sensei for advice on...

Due to his limited experience and knowledge, Qingdeng could never figure out what this "supreme realm of martial arts" was, no matter how hard he racked his brains.

After much thought, I realized that consulting the knowledgeable seniors in the martial arts world was the right thing to do.

The only senior figures in the martial arts world that Qing Deng is currently familiar with are Shusuke, who is nearly 70 years old, and Kiryu, who is 92 years old this year.

These two elderly comrades are quite old, and both have considerable skill in swordsmanship and are very knowledgeable.

Especially Mr. Kiryu.

This legendary swordsman, who still seems to have many secrets, should be more knowledgeable than Shusuke, who is about twenty years younger than him.

—I'll ask them about it sometime later...

Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

At this moment, Qingdeng sincerely sighed: Questions just keep coming one after another; before one question is even resolved, a new one immediately arises...

More than two months ago, when he was engaged in a life-or-death battle with Kamaitachi, he could not explain why, but for a period of time, he clearly sensed that he had successfully released his "momentum"!

It's a rather peculiar feeling.

Although no one had ever explained in detail what it felt like to release "power," just as people can learn to blink and cry without being taught, he had a vague feeling at that moment and automatically understood that he had released "power."

At the same time as he released his "momentum," Qing Deng saw from the Kamaitachi a series of extraordinary "flows of energy" that guided him to predict the Kamaitachi's movements.

After the war, Qing Deng tried to release his "momentum" again and tried to observe the "airflow" from others again.

But without exception, they all failed.

This shows that Aoto has not yet reached the level of Chiba Eijiro, Chiba Michizaburo, and Shusuke, who can freely control their "momentum".

As for "airflow," that goes without saying.

After the battle with the Kamaitachi, it completely disappeared from Qing Deng's life, and he never saw it again.

Whether it was unintentionally releasing "momentum" or witnessing these strange "air currents," it was all beyond the scope of Qingdeng's brain's comprehension and thought.

The "momentum" is easy to explain; it simply means that one's current strength has reached the threshold to approach this realm, but it is not yet at the level of Shusuke, Chiba Eijiro, and others, so it can only be released unconsciously and without one's control.

As for that "airflow," that's more complicated... Qingdeng doesn't even know how to discuss it with others...