I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

With a timely defensive move, Qing Deng blocked the sudden attack. He then strode forward, passing the attacker and running several meters away before turning to face the attacker.

Only then did Qing Deng see who the attacker was.

“Chiba-kun…” Looking at Chiba Tamon Shiro, who solemnly held his sword and stood facing him from a distance, Aoto suddenly realized: He had known Chiba Tamon Shiro for so long, but this seemed to be the first time he had fought this proud young man.

Chiba Tamon Shiro's eyes darted up and down—he was estimating the distance between himself and Aoto.

Judging from his tense expression, he was probably thinking about how to use a move that could defeat Qing Deng.

Chiba Tamon Shiro suddenly moved without any warning.

He strode forward, instantly closing the distance between himself and Qingdeng. As he closed in on Qingdeng, he held the bamboo sword horizontally at shoulder height, keeping the tip still. Then, he swept the blade across Qingdeng's right wrist, creating a blurry, almost indistinguishable afterimage.

Qing Deng neither dodged nor evaded, but lowered his center of gravity and moved as if flying at low altitude, skimming the ground as he approached Chiba Tamon Shiro.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

The moment the two passed each other, four deafening sounds rang out, making one wonder if the two were trying to smash their swords together.

As a member of the Chiba family, a clan known for its strong genetics and exceptional swordsmanship, Chiba Tamon Shiro's swordsmanship was indeed formidable.

In a head-on confrontation with Qingdeng, he was able to fight back and forth with Qingdeng, without being at a disadvantage at all.

The detailed account of Aoto and Chiba Tamon Shiro's battle makes it seem as if they had been locked in combat for a long time. In reality, it all happened in the blink of an eye.

As Qing Deng and Chiba Tamon Shiro missed each other, Qing Deng glided a few steps, then turned around and knelt on one knee, resting his bamboo sword in front of him again, his stance still flawless.

Aoto really wanted to continue fighting Chiba Tamon Shiro until a victor emerged, but things didn't go as planned. Aoto sensed someone approaching from behind.

Qing Deng was not so arrogant as to think he could easily deal with the encirclement of the Xuanwu Hall swordsmen.

With a flash, Qing Deng followed the footsteps and ran straight to his right side.

Chiba Tamon Shiro and the other Genbukan swordsmen hurriedly set off to give chase, but as soon as they started walking, they were left far behind by Aoto.

Qing Deng possesses the explosive power of the lower limbs bestowed by the "leading the way" spirit, and has a "starting speed" and "acceleration" that are difficult for ordinary people without special training to match.

At that moment, Qingdeng suddenly felt the light ahead dim—two tall, burly men blocked his path from the left and right.

Qing Deng glanced around, checking his surroundings. After confirming that no one was on his left or right, and that it would take Chiba Tamon Shiro a few seconds to catch up, he took a deep breath.

After that, the sound that replaced Qing Deng's inhalation was made by the bamboo sword in his hand.

Qing Deng lowered his waist slightly, took a mid-section stance, and swung his sword horizontally, fiercely attacking the enemy on his right.

There was a real feeling of being hit by a knife... The person who was attacked by Qing Deng failed to dodge properly, and his left shoulder took the blow squarely. His facial features instantly contorted in pain.

The enemy to Qingdeng's left seized the opportunity and immediately swung his sword to strike.

But Qing Deng was even faster than him, pulling his knife back to his front and parrying the man's sword tip.

Chiba Tamon Shiro and his group are about to arrive... Therefore, Aoto did not linger in the fight, but promptly withdrew and continued to head towards the weakest point in the defenses of the Genbu Hall, looking for a lone opponent.

Watching Qing Deng retreat after a single strike, never lingering in one place for too long and never giving the swordsmen of the Xuanwu Hall any chance to surround him, Chiba Tamon Shiro couldn't help but click his tongue and smack his lips.

Suddenly, Chiba Tamon Shiro's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered something.

Aoto's activity, and the conspicuous jinhaori he wore, which signified his status as the Supreme Commander, unconsciously drew Chiba Tamonshiro's attention entirely to Aoto, causing him to subconsciously ignore Okita Souji, Kondo Isami, and the others...

Although Chiba Tamonshiro always looked down on Shieikan, he always highly praised the abilities of Souji, Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue.

Realizing he had overlooked these people, Chiba Tamon Shiro quickly stopped, raised his head and eyes, and searched for Souji and the others.

Although the arena had become chaotic due to the start of the battle, Chiba Tamon Shiro quickly located Souji and the others—because the four of them were gathered together at that moment.

"What...?" A low gasp escaped from Chiba Tamon Shiro's lips.

At this very moment, Souji, Kondo, Hijikata, and Inoue have firmly surrounded their commander-in-chief from four directions... surrounded Chiba Michizaburo!

Taking advantage of the moment, Qing Deng turned his head and looked at the battlefield in the distance: "Souji and his four companions vs. Chiba Michizaburo".

"Guys... don't lose..."

……

……

The "spectator stands" on the north side of the stadium —

"Hehehe, as expected... It's impossible for the Shiwei Hall to be attacked so recklessly; they definitely have a plan."

Saito Yakuro... the bald old man known as "Saito the Power," who is on par with "Chiba the Technique" Chiba Eijiro and is the current head of the training hall, one of the "Three Great Training Halls of Edo." He chuckled as he tugged at his long, snow-white beard.

Although there was a rather unpleasant incident between Genbukan and the training hall, in which "Chiba Eijiro utterly crushed Saito Yakuro's second son, Saito Kannosuke, causing Saito Kannosuke to fall into a severe psychological trauma that he has not yet recovered from," Saito Yakuro and Genbukan have always had a very good personal relationship.

Maintaining close ties with the family that caused his son to suffer from severe psychological trauma... Such an unbelievable thing seems perfectly normal when it comes to the extraordinary man Saito Yakuro.

This 62-year-old man is a famous legendary figure in Edo. His elegant and energetic life has inspired and impressed countless people.

Saito Yakuro was born into a poor family of lower-ranking samurai. At the age of 13, he had to work as a helper in an oil workshop to alleviate his family's poverty.

He grew up uneventfully until he was 15 years old, when, for some unknown reason, he suddenly had the idea to become a great scholar.

Without hesitation, he left home and worked as a porter to earn a living. After a long journey, he finally arrived in Edo and settled down there, living a life of "working during the day and studying hard at night."

As a result, before he had been studying for very long, someone inadvertently discovered his unparalleled talent for swordsmanship.

Realizing that he seemed to prefer swordsmanship, Saito Yakuro decisively "abandoned literature for swordsmanship".

After formally studying swordsmanship at the fencing hall run by Okada Jumatsu of the Shinto Munen-ryu school, it didn't take long for him to become the instructor's deputy.

Saito Yakuro was not only skilled in swordsmanship, but also very good at business, possessing the talent to be a great businessman.

After becoming the instructor of the fencing hall, under his management, the fencing hall flourished and grew rapidly.

At the age of 28, he opened his own sword school, which was also known as a training school.

With his outstanding swordsmanship and exceptional management skills, he transformed the training hall from scratch into one of the "Three Great Sword Halls of Edo" in a very short time, and brought great fame to the originally unremarkable Shinto Munen-ryu school.

The average age of men in Edo was 3 or 40. Saito Yakuro, who was 62 years old at the time and had achieved great success in life and social status, should have been enjoying his retirement.

But with his free and easy nature, even at an age when others have long lost their vigor and energy and only want to accept their fate and grow old, he has not stopped exploring life and the world.

After the "Black Ships" incident and the forced opening of Japan's borders under the threat of Western warships, Saito Yakuro wisely realized that a sword is no more than a needle in front of cannons, and that artillery is the ultimate art of killing.

This old man, who had spent most of his life practicing swordsmanship, decisively and freely abandoned the skill that had long been an integral part of his life, and instead began to learn how to operate a cannon.

In order to have more energy to study artillery, Saito Yakuro became a hands-off manager, handing over the training hall to his eldest son, Saito Shintaro, to manage. He used his own money to buy 3000 tsubo (approximately 1,500 square meters) of land in Yoyogi to use as a training ground, where he and his fellow students who were also interested in artillery happily studied artillery and practiced building gun emplacements every day.

Saito Yakuro's progress in learning artillery can be described as rapid as a day.

Rumor has it that the Edo Shogunate is planning to build a fortified battery for the defense of Edo Bay at Odaiba in Shinagawa. Since Saito Yakuro has now mastered a considerable level of artillery skills, the Edo Shogunate intends to hire Saito Yakuro to assist in the construction of the Shinagawa fortified battery.

Saito Yakuro, whose personality perfectly embodies the phrase "unconventional," is completely unconcerned about the fact that his second son was traumatized by Chiba Eijiro.

When asked why he acted this way, Saito Yakuro replied, "If you choose to dedicate yourself to the sword, you must be prepared to endure setbacks, be covered in mud, sweat, and blood. My son is too proud and lacks determination. He thinks he is invincible among his peers. He was defeated in one crushing defeat, which shattered his spirit and ambition. This is all his own fault, and I don't blame anyone else."

Now focused entirely on artillery, Saito Yakuro, who has essentially semi-retired from the world of swordsmanship, rarely participates in or inquires about swordsmanship-related activities anymore.

His presence here today is not to see if the Examination Hall and the Xuanwu Hall can spark any unique synergy.

He came here solely for one person.

Saito Yakuro turned his head to one side and spoke to a young man with rather handsome features sitting behind him:

"Wig, you better keep a close eye on things. I have a feeling that Tachibana Aoto is going to shine again today."

"Master, it's not a wig, it's laurel."

The young man said in a helpless tone.

"Hehehe, sorry, sorry, I'm getting old and my speech isn't clear anymore, please forgive me."

*******

*******

Because I haven't been able to post comments on any books on the site for the past few days, I can only offer this brief explanation: In Japanese, the pronunciations of "wig" and "kashira" are very similar. The former is pronounced "shira," and the latter is pronounced "kashira."

As Aoto's social status rose, various masters from Edo appeared in his life one by one.

Please vote for me! Please recommend me! (Leopard crying.jpg)

If all goes well, the paragraph review section, chapter review section, and book review section should be restored tomorrow or the day after.

I can finally post comments and see everyone's comments again! I was so frustrated! The comment section was hidden, so I couldn't explain the meanings of terms or share historical and cultural knowledge with everyone.

Chapter 217 Aoto and Hijikata—The Schemes of the "Demon Hearts" [6200]

Ever since witnessing Seito's remarkable feat of "being able to unleash 'momentum' in less than half a year of swordsmanship training" at the Aizu-go Sword Tournament a few months ago, Saito Yakuro has developed a strong interest in Seito.

Saito Yakuro only learned yesterday evening that the Shieikan and Genbukan were going to hold a joint "Red and White Battle" today.

Upon learning that Aoto would also be participating in the competition, Saito Yakuro decided to come and watch the game without hesitation.

Because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, Saito Yakuro originally intended to come alone.

However, Gui, the current instructor of their training hall and his beloved student, after learning about his schedule for the day, said to him very enthusiastically: "Master! I have long admired the name of 'Ren-ou'! I have always regretted not having the opportunity to meet him. Could you take me to watch the competition as well?"

Anyway, having one more person with him wouldn't be a problem, so Saito Yakuro nodded in agreement without much thought.

“The title ‘Ren-o’ is truly well-deserved…” Katsura said softly, “Even a strongman like Chiba Tamon Shiro couldn’t do anything to him.”

"Hehehe. This Imperial Guardian Hall may be small, but it's truly a place where hidden talents reside."

Saito Yakuro smiled and tugged at the long beard on his chin.

"Katsura, do you see that doll with her hair tied up high at the back of her head with a purple ribbon?"

Katsura looked in the direction Saito Yakuro was pointing... The "doll" Saito Yakuro was referring to was none other than Souji.

“That kid is amazing too…” Saito Yakuro murmured. “He’s neither tall nor strong, but he has incredible strength and speed… He’s a perfect candidate for swordsmanship. I wonder how long he’s been practicing…”

……

……

The "audience seating," at the other end—

"Hey, Shusuke."

With a furrowed brow, Abi asked Zhou Zhu beside her in a worried tone:

"Is this kind of fighting style really a chance to defeat Genbukan?"

Ah Bi's hands, which were resting on her lap, had been unconsciously clenched tightly since earlier due to nervousness.