I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Suddenly, Itakura Hirahiko sniffed hard.

"This is?"

Itakura Hirahiko's gaze toward Tenshōin instantly became exceptionally ardent.

"Miss, you're still a virgin?"

"?!" Tianzhangyuan's expression changed instantly.

This strange cry, as if it had discovered a new continent, was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples and splashes to erupt everywhere.

In an instant, a multitude of curious gazes, as if observing an animal, converged on Tenshōin.

"Hmm? Virgin? That very beautiful woman?"

"That woman is quite old, probably around 25, right? Is she still a virgin at that age? Hehehe~~"

"Hehehe, is it because no man wants her?"

"How could that be? Just look at what that woman looks like! How could such a beautiful woman not have any men want her? If I could marry such a beautiful woman, I'd be willing to give up 10 years of my life!"

How did Itakura know that the woman was a virgin?

"Ah, I seem to have heard that Itakura Hirahiko has the special ability to 'smell which woman is a woman.' I just don't know if this rumor is true or not."

"Hehehe~ This is the first time I've ever seen such an old virgin~~"

……

Regardless of time or place, whether in the East or West, the affairs of other people's men and women have always been the most satisfying voyeuristic tales for people.

Being an older virgin... even in today's more open-minded society, this is a topic that people would love to talk about.

If this was the case even in modern times, then it would be even more true in feudal times when people were not enlightened and "early marriage and childbirth" and "women should marry early" were advocated.

Despite her efforts to conceal it, an awkward and uncomfortable expression involuntarily appeared on Tenshōin's pretty face.

The culprit who caused this predicament for Tianzhang Courtyard—Itakura Hirahiko—greetifully inhaled the surrounding air, a look of ecstasy on his face.

"Hehehe~~ I can't be mistaken, this is the scent of a virgin~~ Hehehe~ Miss, I didn't expect you to still be a virgin at your age..."

Bang!

The dull thud of flesh colliding interrupted Itakura Hirahiko's lewd remarks.

With a blank expression, Aoto threw a standard straight punch at Itakura Hirahiko's face.

A hard fist; a fat face piled high with flesh—these two seemingly unrelated things are deeply intertwined, and then separated in the next instant.

"Pfft—!"

Itakura Hirahiko, whose facial features had shrunk from three-dimensional to two-dimensional, was sent flying backward! He left behind a series of screams and drops of blood in mid-air!

*******

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Thank you all for voting yesterday! We successfully reached our monthly ticket goal again! Here comes the 8000+ word chapter as promised.

Continuing today! The author is determined to keep going! The current monthly vote count is 813, which greatly exceeds yesterday's target, so today's target is lowered a bit—as long as we can reach 870 votes today, we'll continue with a 8000+ word update tomorrow!

Please vote with monthly tickets! Please vote with recommendation tickets! (Leopard crying.jpg)

Chapter 344 The Release of "Power"! Facing the Lackeys and Hounds of the Powerful! [6000]

Hirahiko Itakura was a whole size bigger than Aoto.

To send an object so much larger and heavier than himself flying... it's clear how much force Qing Deng used in that punch.

The massive mountain of flesh traced a low but perfectly straight parabola in mid-air before landing four steps away from Qingdeng.

Landing does not mean the end of flight.

The mountain of flesh rolled and tumbled several times along the ground, kicking up a lot of dust, until it was almost crashing into the crowd of onlookers on the edge of the open space before Itakura Hirahiko finally stopped his retreat and steadied himself.

At that moment, suddenly, Qing Deng felt a cold wind carrying the clanging sound of swords attacking his body from the side.

Even just by listening to the sound, one can sense the sharpness and terrifying power contained within this cold wind.

Without time to turn around, Qing Deng, certain that danger was imminent, listened to the sound and leaned back sharply, taking a half-step back—a katana gleaming with the cold light unique to steel grazed past Qing Deng's chest.

The one wielding the knife was one of Itakura Hirahiko's four bodyguards.

This person somehow moved to the side and front of Qingdeng, a position that happened to be in Qingdeng's blind spot.

Whether it's the movement techniques or the choice of attack positions... everything exudes the aura of a master.

After his first attack failed, the man did not rush to pursue Qingdeng further.

He remained in a combat-ready stance, glaring at Qing Deng, while quickly retreating to the side of Itakura Hirahiko.

Aoto's punch that sent Itakura Hirahiko flying was both fast and sudden.

The moment the dull thud of fists clashing against faces rang out, the entire arena fell into a deathly silence.

The scholars and the onlookers alike stared wide-eyed as if they had witnessed a god descending or a ghost appearing in the world, their eyes bulging as if they might pop out of their sockets and fall to the ground at any moment.

In a very few cases, the expressions were even more vivid, with the jaw agape as if it were about to dislocate.

The surroundings fell silent in an instant.

Then, in an instant, it became noisy and chaotic.

"This...this person is incredibly brave! How dare he hit Ruonianji's son?"

"What 'courage'? That's called stupidity, okay? Beating up a samurai in the street—if you pull some strings, that could be used as grounds to sentence that man in the straw hat to a serious crime!"

"Yeah, we've offended Itakura Hirahiko... he's really in deep trouble!"

"It's over, it's over, that samurai with the straw hat is doomed."

……

Amidst the chaos, the pig-like screams and cries of agony echoed throughout the small space.

"Aaaaaaah! My nose! My face! Aaaaaaah!"

How could Itakura Hirahiko, who had been pampered for many years, possibly withstand Aoto's punches?

While still in the air, his consciousness was interrupted by unbearable pain.

After being hurriedly surrounded by a group of scholars who pinched his philtrum, he slowly walked over.

As soon as he woke up, a shattering pain spread from his cheek throughout his entire body.

My face is very numb.

It felt like a honeycomb had grown inside my head, with countless bees buzzing and swirling around, making a mess of my brain.

Itakura Hirahiko raised his trembling hand and touched his face—his hand was covered in blood.

The tip and root of the nose were crooked into an odd position.

Even without looking in a mirror, Itakura Hirahiko could tell that his face must look terrible right now.

And that is indeed the case.

His face, centered around his nose, swelled up rapidly, changing every second.

In no time, his face became twice the size it usually was.

Itakura Hirahiko's face was already fat and big, like a pig's head.

Now... it's not just "like" it, it's completely indistinguishable from a pig's head.

"Lord Itakura, please calm down."

One of Itakura Hirahiko's bodyguards reached out and pressed down on Itakura Hirahiko's shoulders, preventing him from moving.

He carefully examined Itakura Hirahiko's face several times. After a moment, he let out a long sigh.

"Thankfully... only the nose is broken, the cheekbone is fine. Lord Itakura, come, we'll take you to the clinic."

The bodyguard reached out to help Itakura Hirahiko up, but Itakura Hirahiko shoved him away roughly.

"Get out of my way!"

Itakura Hirahiko pushed aside everyone blocking his way, covered his face with one hand, and pointed at Aoto with the other hand, which was still trembling from the pain in his face.

"You, you bastard!"

Qingdeng guessed that his next line would be a classic line often shouted by thugs who are used to bullying men and women after being retaliated against: "You dare to hit me?!"

The moment Qing Deng had this thought, he heard Itakura Hirahiko hoarsely shout:

"You dare hit me?!"

—Just as I thought…

After chuckling inwardly a few times, Qing Deng said calmly:

"What's wrong with teaching a shameless and despicable person who speaks rudely a lesson?"

After speaking, Qingdeng turned his head to look at the crowd on both sides.

Those who had been freely discussing the rights and wrongs of the Tensho Academy all changed their expressions and fell silent after being caught in Qing Deng's gaze.

Some of the more timid people didn't even dare to stay there any longer. They quickly lowered their heads and tucked their tails between their legs like rats crossing the street, fleeing in the direction away from Qingdeng.

“Sheng Qing…” Tian Zhangyuan stared blankly at Qing Deng’s back in front of him, his eyes flashing with surprise, confusion… and some kind of emotion that was hard to describe with specific words.

—Is it just my imagination?

Tenshōin felt that Seidō's temper seemed a bit too much lately?

In reality, Tenshōin's intuition was not wrong.

Qingdeng is indeed very angry right now.

There are two reasons why he punched Itakura Hirahiko.

The apparent reason is simple: this fatso has a loose tongue and made disrespectful remarks about Tianzhangyuan.

In the Edo period, when the idea that "women should marry young" was prevalent, older single women were often regarded as freaks who could be ridiculed.

In such an era, regardless of what Tenshōin's private life was like, or whether she was a virgin or not, these were not things that could be discussed in public.