I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

For some reason, when Chiba Jutaro and Sanako visited the Shieikan and discussed important matters with Aoto and others in the main hall, Abi never showed up.

“Yes.” Zhou Zhu nodded. “They just left.”

"What are those brother and sister doing here at our testing center so late at night?" Abi asked, frowning.

"Uh... well..." Looking at Abi, Shusuke seemed to recall something and chuckled awkwardly a few times. "Well... to put it simply, he's here to tell us some good news."

After chuckling, Zhou Zhu gestured for the room to be entered.

“Madam, let’s go to the main room first. This is not the place to talk. I’ll tell you slowly once we’re in the main room.”

……

About 5 minutes later—

"What?! Yushima Tenmangu Shrine actually agreed to let our Shieikan and Kochiba Kenkan hold the 'Red and White Battle' at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'?!"

Ah Bi let out a roar that seemed to shatter the ceiling above their heads.

Shusuke, who was sitting in front of Abi, and Aoto, Kondo, and Okita, who were sitting side by side in a corner of the hall, all involuntarily leaned back as far away from Abi as possible to neutralize the "sonic attack" that Abi was launching.

"What the hell..." Abi raised her hand, her expression grim, and rubbed her forehead. "This actually worked out...?"

"Madam..." Zhou Zhu said with a wry smile, "Are you still very opposed to us holding the 'Red and White Battle' together with the Chiba Sword Hall at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'?"

"Of course!" Abi gritted her teeth. "Zhou Zhu, do you really think you're getting senile?"

"Our Shieikan has basically never won against that little Chiba Kenkan in any of the 'Red and White Battles'! Isn't that right?"

"To engage in a 'Red and White Battle' with them at the 'Plum Blossom Festival'? Wouldn't that be tantamount to letting countless people watch helplessly as our Shieikan gets utterly thrashed by Chiba Kenkan?!"

*******

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Chapter 91 The Man Who Could Make Edo's Most Beautiful Woman Fall in Love with Him

Abi's words startled Qingdeng.

Qing Deng quickly turned his head to the side, lowered his voice, and asked Okita beside him, "Have we never won against the Chiba Kenkan in the 'Red and White Battle' before?"

"No, not at all," Okita replied softly without thinking. "What Auntie said is an exaggeration."

"Our Shieikan's overall strength is indeed inferior to that of Genbukan and Kochibakenkan, but it is not so weak that we have never defeated them in the 'Red and White Battle'."

"us……"

At this point, Okita suddenly started to stammer.

"We...we did beat them a few times..."

Seeing Okita's hesitant manner, Qing Deng couldn't help but frown: "How many games have we won against them in total?"

“Gurgle…” Okita raised his right hand and began to play with the thin ponytail at the back of his head. “We…we won one match at Genbukan and two matches at Chiba Kenkan…”

"So... how many matches have we played against them in total?" Qing Deng asked without hesitation.

"Gurgle..."

Okita seemed to dare not look at Aoto any longer, and lowered his head slightly. The indignant look on his face when he criticized Abi for "exaggerating" was no longer there.

He chuckled awkwardly and said to his knees:

“Over the past two years, we’ve played about 20 matches against Genbukan and about 40 against Kochiba Kenkan…”

Qingdeng's lips twitched involuntarily.

They fought over 20 matches against Genbu-kan and only won once, and over 40 matches against Kochiba-kan and only won twice... Does that mean that Shiei-kan only has a 50% chance of winning against these two kendo schools?

With only a 50% chance of winning... Qingdeng felt that this was hardly different from "losing every battle"...

The difference in strength between Shiwei Hall, Xuanwu Hall, and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall was quite large, which was actually within Qingdeng's expectations.

After all, the other party is a "famous family among famous families" with a national reputation, while Shiwei Hall... to put it bluntly, is a second-rate dojo where not many people even know the name of its school.

In terms of the number of apprentices and the quality of students, Genbukan and Kochiba Kenkan far surpass Shieikan. It is quite normal that Shieikan cannot defeat them in sword competitions.

However—although Qing Deng had anticipated that the overall strength of Shieikan was far inferior to that of Genbukan and Kochibakenkan, he had not expected the gap in strength between them to be so large, winning only 1 or 2 out of 20 matches…

“Madam…” Zhou Zhu, who had recovered from Abi’s “sonic attack”, sighed, “I’ve explained it to you so many times… why can’t you understand?”

"The reason I agreed to hold the 'Red and White Battle' with Chiba Kenkan at Yushima Tenmangu Shrine on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival' is that I wanted to take this opportunity to promote our Tennen Rishin-ryu school and our Shieikan."

"To let more people know that there is such a school of swordsmanship as ours, such a sword club."

"Indeed, the overall strength of our Shiwei Hall is far inferior to that of Xiaoqianye Sword Hall. The comprehensive quality of their disciples is far superior to ours."

"Unless some extraordinary accident or miracle occurs, we will likely lose to Chiba Kenkan again on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'."

"but--"

Zhou Zhu drew out his words, speaking earnestly as he continued:

"As long as we demonstrate the strength of our Natural Rishin-ryu style in the match against Chiba Kenkan, even if we ultimately lose to Chiba Kenkan, our Natural Rishin-ryu style will still receive excellent publicity."

"Madam, do you know what our biggest advantage is in recruiting apprentices compared to the big sword schools like Xuanwu School and Xiaoqianye Sword School?"

"Our tuition is much cheaper than these Claymore gyms, and the entry requirements are quite low. As long as you are physically and mentally sound, you can enter our Striking Hall."

"Edo is full of people who want to learn powerful swordsmanship, but unfortunately they are short of money."

“Madam, think about it—if Yu and the others fought bravely in the match against the Chiba Kendo Hall, and although they were ultimately defeated, they still managed to ‘kill’ many people from the Chiba Kendo Hall, allowing the spectators to see the practicality and power of our Natural Rishin-ryu style, what would happen then?”

"It will definitely make many people realize that although this Shieikan didn't beat the Chiba Kenkan, their swordsmanship is quite impressive."

"Look, haven't we successfully promoted our Natural Mind-Body Flow method?"

"In this way, we can naturally attract a group of people who want to learn powerful swordsmanship but don't have the money to study at a big swordsmanship school like the Chiba Sword Academy!"

"Therefore, Madam, the advantages of this matter far outweigh the disadvantages. This is a golden opportunity that will greatly benefit the future development of our Shiwei Hall."

Zhou Zhu's words were sincere and heartfelt.

However... it seems that he couldn't persuade Ah Bi.

Her face was still pale, and her displeasure was visibly obvious.

“…Shu Zhu, I understand everything you’re saying.”

"But I just feel uncomfortable!"

Abi raised her hand and slapped the tatami mat next to her hard.

"I don't want to see our Shieikan Stadium defeated in front of so many people!"

"What we really don't want to see is that little Chiba Sword Hall defeating us!"

Kondo, who had been silent until now, raised his eyes and looked at Abi, who was angrily slamming her fist on the tatami mat.

After a moment's hesitation, he took a deep breath: "Mother, it's a bit premature to conclude that our Shieikan will definitely lose to Chibakenkan on the day of the 'Plum Blossom Festival'!"

"Until the very end, no one knows how the game will turn out."

"It's not like we haven't beaten Chiba Kenkan before."

Kondo clenched his right fist and punched his chest with a moderate force.

“Mother, I promise you: I will do my best on the day of the competition…”

Before Kondo could finish speaking, Abi, as if too lazy to listen to Kondo's nonsense, snorted coldly and then turned and left.

As he left the room, he turned and said to Kondo without looking back:

"Try your best... Didn't you try your best when we competed against Xuanwu Hall and Xiaoqianye Sword Hall before? And then what? Did your efforts help us crush those two sword halls? Humph!"

Watching Abi leave without a word, Kondo awkwardly maintained the posture of pounding his chest with his fist.

Zhou Zhu also looked embarrassed.

"Sigh..." Zhou Zhu sighed heavily as he slowly stood up. "Yong, come with me. Let's go and talk to your mother some more."

“Your mother is a little upset right now...you need to be patient and talk to her.”

"Hmm..." Kondo smiled helplessly, then stood up with Shusuke. "Father, it seems tonight will be another busy night..."

……

……

After telling Aoto and Okita to "go and get some rest," Shusuke and his son Kondo rushed out of the hall one after the other to find Abi.

The hall, which had been bustling just minutes before, suddenly became deserted, with only Qing Deng and Okita remaining.

"Tachibana-kun, I'm sorry..." Okita gave Aoto a wry smile, "My aunt often throws tantrums in strange places regardless of the occasion... I'm sorry you had to see that..."

It's not appropriate for Qingdeng to comment on or interfere in other people's family affairs.

After exchanging some polite words, Qingdeng raised his gaze and glanced at the still-open hall door.

"Okita-kun, does Lady Kondo really dislike the Chiba Kenkan?" Aoto couldn't help but ask Okita.

Abi's words earlier bothered Qing Deng greatly—(I don't want to see our Shiwei Hall defeated in front of so many people! Even more so, I don't want to see that little Chiba Sword Hall defeat us!)

The way this is being said... it sounds like Abi has a lot of prejudice against the Chiba Sword Hall.

"Ah... well..." Okita pondered for a moment, then smiled helplessly, "I don't know whether my aunt dislikes Chiba Kenkan or not."

"Anyway, I personally really dislike Chiba Kenkan."

"Huh?" Qing Deng was surprised. "Why? I saw that you had a pretty good relationship with Mr. Jutaro and Ms. Sanako."

Aoto had noticed that just now, Chiba Jutaro and the others had directly called Okita "Sōji"... Being able to call him by his name was a sign of a good relationship.

"Hmm... I think I didn't explain myself very clearly just now."

Okita habitually reached behind his head and fiddled with the ponytail at the back of his head.

To be more precise—I dislike certain people at the Chiba Sword Hall.

"I do have a very good relationship with Mr. Jutaro and Ms. Sanako, and I like the brother and sister very much."

“Mr. Jutaro, Ms. Sanako... and their father, Chiba Sadakichi, all three of them are very good people.”

“Even though our Shieikan is just an obscure ‘Ichigo Dojo’ that can’t compare to the large and powerful Chiba Kenkan, the three of them, father and sons, have never looked at us with any strange eyes. They have always treated us with a natural and equal attitude. So our relationship with Mr. Jutaro and his family has always been very good.”