I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

On the other side, where Qing Deng was fighting, was a handsome man with fair skin, good looks, and a dignified appearance.

This handsome man was very tall and well-proportioned, almost the same height as Qingdeng.

His hair, which wasn't shaved into a shaved fringe, was thick and black.

He looked a little older than Qingdeng, but not by much, around 25 or 6 years old.

Judging from his appearance, this person has none of the demeanor of a martial artist.

A fair and clean face, with soft and clear facial features...

Compared to a martial artist wielding swords and spears, this handsome man seemed more like a scholar casually discussing romance.

However... anyone who has witnessed this handsome man's heroic fighting prowess would absolutely not dare to underestimate him in the slightest! They would absolutely not dare to have any disdain for his "scholarly face"!

In the blink of an eye, after a brief silence, the battle resumed!

Squeak—The handsome man suddenly spread his legs apart, his soles scraping the ground with a piercing "squeak."

In the next instant, he lowered his waist and rushed towards Qingdeng as if he were sliding on the ground.

The speed of their movement and the precision of their spacing left Nagakura Shinpachi and the others watching from a short distance speechless with amazement.

Raise the bamboo sword held in front of him in the middle section and slash down—the move seems simple and unadorned, but in fact, the sword contains a fierce momentum that even Qing Deng cannot ignore!

The sword moves with lightning speed and the sword's power is like Mount Tai pressing down—this is a technique of the Shinto Munen-ryu school!

The Shinto Munenryu style is characterized by its ability to defeat opponents with overwhelming force and momentum.

Qingdeng dared not be careless, so he lowered the bamboo sword in his hand and dodged the attack.

Qingdeng's dodges concealed preparations for a counterattack.

In the instant he dodged, Qing Deng's slender body leaned forward as if tilting, pressing down on the handsome man.

call!call!

The bamboo sword flashed through the air, leaving two dark yellow afterimages.

Qing Deng first launched a low-level attack, lifting the bamboo sword that was dragging on his right side and slashing from the lower right to the upper left.

Immediately afterwards, using gravity, he slashed the bamboo sword that was hovering in mid-air at the upper left back to his right side along the same path, the tip of the sword almost touching the ground.

Because bamboo swords do not have a distinct blade and back, turning a bamboo sword "back the way it came" saves the effort of rotating the blade to turn the originally upward-facing blade back to the ground.

Its power is impeccable, and the timing of its attack is perfect—but what's the point of these elements if it can't hit the opponent?

A resounding impact echoed across the empty training ground, the sound lingering for a long time.

Because things happened so fast, those with poor eyesight or insufficient martial arts skills probably didn't see what just happened—just as Qing Deng's bamboo sword was about to strike the handsome man's body, the handsome man effortlessly swung his sword twice, blocking Qing Deng's two consecutive slashes, then leaped back three steps, widening the distance between himself and Qing Deng.

Looking at the handsome man whose defenses seemed impregnable, Qing Deng frowned slightly.

Instead of pursuing the handsome man, he steadied himself on the spot, lowered his waist, raised the tip of his sword, and assumed the stance of the Xia Duan, with the tip of his sword pointing horizontally at the handsome man's chest.

Anyone with eyes could clearly see that Qing Deng's muscles were taut, his entire body like a tightly compressed, spring-like creature, concealing astonishing explosive power.

"Oh?"

The handsome man raised an eyebrow slightly, and a subtle, almost imperceptible smile curved his lips.

"I have long heard that Your Highness is skilled in thrusting techniques. I am overjoyed to meet you today!"

As the handsome man spoke, he set up his bamboo sword—the tip of the sword twitched gently.

It is the classic stance of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū school.

"Lord Niou! Attack without hesitation! Show no mercy! I, Ito Daizo, am determined to leave this world satisfied!"

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The name 【盛晴】 is pronounced moriharu, a name very reminiscent of the Heian period. The author spent a great deal of time researching and consulting numerous sources before settling on this name (lol).

The author perfectly fulfilled their promise, successfully updating 1.1 words in one go (smiling face).

Is it too much to ask for some monthly votes?

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

The author's current update method is to first write by hand, and then use a very stupid scanning app to scan the manuscript onto the computer. However, because the app is so stupid, it always scans "的" as "由" and "纱" as "妙". Therefore, it takes a lot of time to review the manuscript after each scan. But there are always some omissions when reviewing with the naked eye. So if you find any strange typos or punctuation marks in the future, don't be surprised - it's all the fault of the artificial intelligence.

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In the spirit of being rigorous, the author would like to offer a reminder—

This book is a semi-fictional sword and spear novel, so the historical events in the book are basically "5% true and 5% false".

……

Shimazu Nariakira used Tenshōin as a tool. He established a father-daughter relationship with Tenshōin in March, and five months later sent her to Edo to be the wife of the crippled shogun.

Not long after Tenshōin married into Edo, she betrayed the Hitotsubashi faction and sided with the Nanki faction.

Tenshōin was very fond of the young and promising Tokugawa Iemochi, and disliked Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu (Katsu Rintaro mentioned more than once in his memoirs that Tenshōin was annoyed by Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu).

……

All of the above are historical facts.

As for the ideological differences between Tenshōin and Ii Naosuke, the Hitotsubashi faction's vehement attacks on Tenshōin, and Tenshōin's mischievous nature... these are all fictional plot points created by the author to advance the novel's story and according to personal preferences.

Chapter 325 Defeat the Swordsman Ito Daizo! Copy Talent [Elephant Core +1]! [7700]

Who is this Ito Daizo?

Why did he fight with Qing Deng?

This all started early this morning.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve.

Influenced by Chinese civilization, the Japanese also celebrate New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival. These two holidays are considered among the most important holidays in Japan throughout the year.

Although both Japan and China celebrate Lunar New Year's Eve and the Lunar New Year, there are still significant differences in their holiday customs.

In Japan, it is customary to display kagami mochi (mirror rice cakes) in places such as alcoves in the home during the New Year.

Although the name "Kagamimochi" contains the word "mochi," it is actually a type of rice cake.

In traditional Japanese culture, mochi has always been a sacred food offered to the gods. It is frequently seen in various celebratory ceremonies and rituals.

Mirror cake is a special flat, round rice cake offered to the gods.

Because they are offerings to the gods, mirror cakes are usually placed deep inside the house, away from the main entrance, in what is considered the "honored seat."

In addition to displaying mirror rice cakes, Japanese New Year also includes the custom of placing pine nuts (matsumori) in front of the door at the entrance of the house.

Because pine trees are evergreen, they are considered auspicious trees in traditional Japanese beliefs, and it is said that gods reside among them.

Therefore, every New Year, Japanese people will put kadomatsu (pine tree branches) outside their front door.

In addition, there are all sorts of other customs that are very different from those in China, too numerous to mention.

Of course, whether it's setting up mirror rice cakes or pine needles, only families with a little spare money have the time and inclination to do it.

Those impoverished families who couldn't even afford three meals a day naturally wouldn't have the resources to go through all the elaborate New Year customs. At most, they would just clean their homes a bit more and make the New Year's Eve dinner a little more plentiful.

Shieikan is now quite well-known in Edo, no longer the neglected "taro dojo" it once was, and its income has greatly improved.

This year marks the first New Year since Shieikan's fortunes turned around.

To celebrate and to bring good fortune, Shusuke decided to hold a grand and solemn New Year's ceremony this year.

Early this morning, everyone at the Shiwei Hall set out to make preparations for the upcoming New Year's Eve.

Some are doing spring cleaning, some are setting out mirror cakes, and some are preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

Aoto's assigned task was to work with Souji to place the fresh pine branches that Abi had bought from the market the day before at the entrance of the building.

While everyone was busy... Qing Deng's old subordinate, Toudou Heisuke, arrived.

Although after Aoto was transferred to the Fire Thief Bureau, Nagakura Shinpachi, Harada Sanosuke, and Todo Heisuke, who were originally under Aoto's command, all lost their jobs, Nagakura and Harada still lived in the Shieikan as guests, and Todo Heisuke often visited the Shieikan to show his face and act as a guest. Therefore, the relationship between Aoto and the three of them did not fade because they were no longer in a "master-servant relationship". On the contrary, it became deeper and deeper.

The frequency with which Todo Heisuke visited the Shieikan was comparable to the frequency with which Aoto visited the Kochiba Kenkan.

According to Heisuke Todo, he really liked the atmosphere of Shieikan. He once said that the air in Shieikan was filled with an uplifting spirit, and that being there gave him a unique sense of vitality and strength.

Shusuke and Kondo Isami also liked Todo Heisuke, who was polite, literate, and skilled in swordsmanship.

When Todo Heisuke appeared at Shieikan, Kondo Isami and others would give him a very warm welcome.

When there are any events or activities, they often bring Heisuke Todo along as well.

For example, this summer, when all the young people at Shieikan went out to watch fireworks, they invited Heisuke Todo.

Before long, Todo Heisuke had almost become half a disciple of Shieikan.

Todo Heisuke has come to Shieikan—this is not something to be surprised about.

But today's situation is different from usual—Toudou Heisuke did not come alone today, but brought his master, the current head of the Ito Dojo: Ito Daizo.

Speaking of Ito Daizo, he was a famous figure in Edo.

In the swordsmanship circles of Edo, the name "Ito Daizo" was known to everyone.

Why is this person so famous?

Simply put, he is a prodigy who excels in both literary and martial arts!

Ito Daizo's original name was Suzuki Daizo. After inheriting the Ito Dojo, where his father-in-law taught the Hokushin Itto-ryu style, he changed his name to Ito Daizo.

In his early years, Ito Daizo practiced the Shinto Munenryu school and obtained the Manuka Kaiden (a high degree of mastery of the Shinto school) in an astonishingly short time.

After that, he turned to learning the Hokushin Ittō-ryū style, and quickly mastered all the techniques in the style, successfully obtaining the Maneki-no-Ken (Perfect Transmission).

In other words, Ito Daizo was a rather rare "dual swordsman".

He mastered both the Shinto Munen-ryu, which symbolizes "power," and the Hokushin Itto-ryu, which symbolizes "skill."

Besides being a master swordsman with superb swordsmanship, Ito Daizo also possessed excellent scholarship and upbringing.

He was well-versed in classical Chinese studies, Mito studies, and Sinology, and even served as a lecturer in a Chinese-language academy.