I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Snapped!

The sound of bamboo swords clashing rang out.

Just as Aoto's bamboo sword was about to strike Kondo's face, Kondo timely held his own bamboo sword above Aoto's head, deflecting the attack.

Seeing that his attack had failed, Qing Deng quickly retreated a few steps, creating distance between himself and Kondo.

The first round of attack and defense between the two ended in a draw.

Looking at Kondo, who had already re-established his mid-stance, Aoto adjusted his breathing and thought to himself:

—As expected of the future fourth head of the Tennen Rishin-ryu main family… not a single flaw…

Unable to find Kondo's weakness for a long time... Qing Deng pondered for a moment, then adjusted his sword stance—Qing Deng slowly raised the bamboo sword in his hand above his head.

Watching Aoto switch his stance from a balanced mid-level stance to an upper-level stance that emphasizes attack over defense, Kondo narrowed his eyes and then changed his own sword stance as well—he lowered his bamboo sword, with the tip pointing diagonally at the floor in front of him.

Aoto shifted his feet, slowly closing the distance between himself and Kondo.

Kondo did not deliberately avoid it, allowing Aoto to approach and the distance between the two to gradually close.

The moment the distance between them closed to the point where their swords could touch each other—

The sound of Qingdeng's breath mingling with the sound of his sword being swung erupted together.

The strike delivered by the above stance, in terms of both momentum and power, is far superior to the slash that Qing Deng just delivered.

This time, Kondo did not take Aoto's attack head-on, but instead nimbly retreated two steps to dodge Aoto's slash.

In the instant he dodged Aoto's slash, Kondo suddenly raised his bamboo sword, which had been lowered to a low stance, and thrust it straight at Aoto's chest!

Aoto's eyes followed Kondo's sword speed—but his body couldn't keep up.

Aoto could only watch helplessly as Kondo's bamboo sword pierced his chest, and he staggered back two steps before regaining his balance.

Because he was wearing armor and using a bamboo sword that was not easy to hurt people, Aoto did not feel any pain even though he was hit hard by Kondo's stab.

After glancing down at the spot where he had been stabbed, Qing Deng lowered his bamboo sword and smiled wryly at Kondo:

"Sigh... I still couldn't keep up with your sword, Kondo-kun..."

“Tachibana-kun, I’m the one who should be sighing.” Kondo put down his sword and gave a wry smile like Aoto. “Your progress is so fast that it’s making me feel a little unbalanced.”

“Your movements and strength now are worlds apart from when you first entered our training hall a month ago.”

Hearing Kondo's praise, Aoto smiled and then said in a half-joking tone:

"This is all thanks to that chaotic and deadly battle with the 'radical anti-foreign faction' before. It gave me a lot of experience."

As the saying goes, real combat is the best training.

Practicing against an inanimate object a thousand times is not as effective as practicing against a living person once.

In that chaotic battle on a snowy night, Aoto first charged through the enemy ranks alongside Saito, and then engaged in a deadly fight with Suehiro Moritoyo, where even a moment's distraction would mean certain death...

Qingdeng possesses a talent that amplifies swordsmanship aptitude 50 times the average level. After such an intense battle, with the blessing of "Sword Prodigy," the amount of nourishment Qingdeng absorbed from this battle was so great that even Qingdeng was taken aback.

These days, while practicing swordsmanship in the Shiwei Hall, Qingdeng clearly felt that his strength had made a leap forward.

Qingdeng felt that he could easily defeat himself a month ago, when he had just transmigrated to this era.

After a fierce battle to the death, his strength had increased so dramatically... Qing Deng couldn't help but think: If he could fight ten or eight times more of these life-or-death battles, could he become a great swordsman in a very short time?

"Hahahaha." Kondo laughed. "Tachibana-kun, your talent... is just like Souji's, it's truly enviable."

"How's it going, Tachibana-kun? Shall we keep practicing?"

"Of course!" Qing Deng returned the bamboo sword to its original position and got into a fighting stance. "Come on, Kondo-kun, let's continue!"

"Not bad." Kondo grinned, then, like Aoto, readjusted his sword.

……

……

While Aoto and Kondo were engaged in a lively "night training" session—

On a certain street in Edo—

"Glug... I want to drink... a few more cups..."

"You're starting to talk nonsense, and you're still drinking..."

"I...I wasn't...talking...nonsense...! Hiccup! Ugh...!"

"Hey! Don't throw up!"

A young man who was still somewhat conscious was helping a drunk man who was completely intoxicated. The two of them staggered forward inch by inch.

"Who said I'm drunk...? I can still drink... I can still drink...!"

"Alright, alright." The young man soothed his completely drunk friend in a tone as if comforting a child. "You're not drunk, you're not drunk. Be a good boy and come with me to your home. When we get home, you'll have new wine to drink."

"Really...? Hiccup...!"

"Of course it's true. Once we get back to your home, you can drink as much as you want."

After being tricked by the young man, the drunkard became much more obedient and allowed the young man to help him home without resisting.

Just then—ahead of them, a young samurai with a sword at his waist and a young woman walked side by side toward them.

Upon hearing footsteps ahead, both the young man and the drunkard looked up.

After their gazes swept over the man and woman... the two men displayed completely different expressions.

The young man looked astonished and stared at the man and woman with a surprised expression.

The drunkard, on the other hand, was completely dazed... He stared blankly at the woman in the couple, as if he had lost his soul.

The couple walked very fast, and in just a moment they passed the young man and the drunkard.

Even after he had passed the couple, the drunkard still seemed not to have woken up, staring blankly at the woman's back.

"Ichiro...that girl is so pretty..." the drunkard murmured to the young man supporting him.

"Ha..." The young man chuckled, "Shiro, don't you recognize that couple from earlier?"

"Huh...? I don't know them... Who were those two people just now...?" the drunkard asked blankly.

The young man turned his head and looked at the couple who had already walked a little further away:

"Ah... it's normal that you don't recognize them. After all, you're not like me, working in the teahouse next to the Chiba Sword Hall and seeing people from the Chiba Sword Hall every day."

"That couple is the famous brother and sister pair from the Chiba Kendo Academy: Chiba Jutaro and Chiba Sanako."

The drunkard paid no attention to Chiba Kenkan or Chiba Jutaro—he only cared about the woman.

"Chiba... Sanako...?" The drunkard let out a lewd laugh, "Hehehe... truly... a beauty with a beautiful name..."

The drunkard turned his head again, gazing longingly at the woman's retreating figure, which was almost out of his sight.

"She's so beautiful... I've never seen such a beautiful woman before... She's much prettier than the girls at Tamada-ya..."

The young man couldn't help but chuckle: "Of course! Chiba Sanako is the 'Chiba Oni Komachi,' the 'Number One Beauty of Edo,' how could those courtesans in the brothel compare?"

*******

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Although I didn't reach 10,000 words today, I still wrote nearly 7000 words!

Please give me some monthly votes! Please give me some recommendation votes! (Leopard crying.JPG)

Chapter 88 The Most Beautiful Woman of Edo with Her Despicable Quantity

"Speaking of which, Zona, I made a new friend the other day."

With his arms crossed over his chest and walking with his feet turned out, Chiba Jutaro suddenly struck up a conversation with his younger sister beside him.

“…A new friend?” Sanako, who was walking side by side with Chiba Jutaro with her hands folded in front of her, turned her head to look at her older brother.

Chiba Jutaro nodded: "It's a new friend that Satoshi Hachiro introduced me to, named Kawahara Masatsugu."

"He is an exceptionally talented young man."

Upon hearing Chiba Jutaro's words, Sanako seemed to realize something, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and her expression... visibly turned cold.

Chiba Jutaro noticed Sanako's change in expression—but he pretended not to see it, chuckling dryly a few times as he continued:

“That Kawahara Masatsugu is only 23 years old this year, and he is already the teaching assistant at Sengakukan in Etchu Town.”

"Zana, you should know about Sengakukan in Etchu Town, right? It's the Sengakukan where Professor Ono Ittō-ryū is taught."

"Tsk tsk tsk, at 23 years old, he became a teaching assistant at a great swordsmanship school like Sengaku-kan based on his strength alone. He has a bright future ahead of him."

“I had a few drinks with this Kawahara-kun a few days ago.”

Chiba Jutaro raised his hand and made a drinking gesture.

"I thought that a young man with such a bright future and good looks would have been snatched up by someone's daughter long ago."

"But unexpectedly, that Kawahara-kun is still unmarried..."

“...Brother.”

Before Chiba Jutaro could finish speaking, Sana silently turned her gaze from Chiba Jutaro back to what was in front of her, and then interrupted Chiba Jutaro in a cold tone devoid of joy or sorrow.

I know what you're trying to say.

"Since we're finally going out together, could you please stop talking about topics I don't like to hear?"

Chiba Jutaro's expression froze.

He scrutinized Sanako with a complex look for several moments, then slowly closed his mouth and let out a long sigh.

“…Zana, I admit that Sakamoto Ryoma is indeed a very outstanding and charming man.”

"But was he really that outstanding...? That you can't forget him even now..."

Chiba Jutaro raised his hand with annoyance and scratched the back of his head.

Sana then pursed her lips slightly, lowered her head a little, and gently gripped the fabric at the bottom of her kimono's obi with her hands folded in front of her.

"I asked some friends living in the Tosa Domain to help me find out about Ryoma."

"After leaving our Chiba Sword Hall and returning to Tosa, Ryoma joined an organization founded by a corporal named Takechi Hanpeita: the Tosa Loyalist Party."