After Soujiro fell into a bottleneck period and his condition declined, in order to get rid of bad luck and seek good luck, Asa once accompanied Soujiro to a temple quite close to his home to worship Buddha and pray for blessings.
Under the strong recommendation of a monk in the temple, I bought this wooden statue of Nio, which was said to have been consecrated.
"As long as you place this statue of a benevolent king at the entrance of your home, no evil spirits will be able to enter your home! In this way, your family's fortune will gradually improve!" - This is The exact words said by the monk who recommended this Nioh statue to Soujiro and others.
Anyway, this Nio statue was not very expensive, so Soujiro and his wife bought the Nio statue home with the mentality of "I would rather believe that it exists than that it doesn't exist", and then followed the monk's instructions. I placed this statue of Nioh at the entrance of my home.
After righting the Nioh statue that had been knocked down by their overly lively cat, Aji returned to the living room.
Looking at her husband who was still rubbing his hair with a distressed look on his face, Asa thought for a moment, clapped his hands together, and said with a smile: "Sojiro, why don't we... let's go for a walk outside together tomorrow?"
"Take a walk?" Soujiro put down his hands that were rubbing his hair.
A Si nodded: "Let's go for a walk outside, look at the scenery, breathe in the fresh air, maybe new inspiration will come out!"
"Want to take a walk..." Shujiro rubbed the center of his eyebrows vigorously, "...well, it's true that I haven't walked outside for a long time... but where are we going for a walk? Where in Edo have we not visited? ?What scenery have we not seen?”
"Hmm...ah, I remembered." Asa clapped his hands again, "It seems that there will be a swordsmanship competition held in Asakusa tomorrow! Why don't we go and watch the competition?"
"Swordsmanship competition?" Soujiro scratched his hair at the temples, "Oh, it seems that there is indeed such a thing... but I have no interest in swordsmanship."
"Just go and take a look." Asashi approached Soujiro with a smile and hugged Soujiro from behind. "Just take a look at how those swordsmen compete with each other. Maybe you can get something." What inspiration?”
"..." Soujiro raised his hand and gently stroked Asahi's arms wrapped around his chest. After a long silence, he smiled helplessly, "...Okay, let's go take a look tomorrow."
…
…
The next day——
The first year of Kuanyan (1860), April 16——
Edo, Asakusa——
Asakusa is a busy street centered on Sensoji Temple. It is one of the liveliest and most prosperous entertainment areas in Edo. It has even evolved into a unique "Asakusa entertainment culture", with theaters and acrobatic troupes standing next to each other, making it extremely prosperous.
The much-anticipated Aizu Hou Swordsmanship Competition will finally officially start in Asakusa today... This makes Asakusa, which is already quite lively on weekdays, even more lively now.
Early this morning, Shusuke personally led the disciples headed by Aonto who would participate in this competition or wanted to watch this competition, as well as Kondo, Okita, and Hijikata, the three core members of the Shoubeikan who almost do not distinguish between you and me. Asakusa.
"Wow..." As soon as he entered Asakusa, Okita's eyes widened and he looked at the flow of people in front of him in surprise, "There are so many people..."
"It's more lively than I thought..." Qingto, who was walking beside Okita, couldn't help but sigh in surprise.
People, people, people... Looking around, everywhere you can see are mountains and seas of people. This scene makes Qingdeng unable to help but recall the Spring Festival travels in his previous life.
The dense flow of people are either pushing each other on the street, gathering at a vendor to select goods, or gathering in front of a street performer's stall to watch a performance.
As the first swordsmanship competition of this grand scale that has not been seen for a long time, it has attracted the attention of not only the swordsmen, but also the daimyo who are currently living in Edo due to "participation in the pilgrimage", down to the ordinary town residents. This competition is regarded as a rare grand event.
Anyone with a little brain can imagine that this swordsmanship competition will definitely attract a large number of spectators!
For those businessmen, this is a good opportunity to make a lot of money.
In order not to miss this rare business opportunity, before dawn this morning, a large number of merchants and street performers came to Asakusa to seize good positions and set up stalls, trying to win the two-day competition. Make a lot of money.
"Father, stand back." Kondo took the initiative to take on the important responsibility of being a forward and "cutting the waves" for everyone.
He asked Zhousuke, who was walking at the front, to stand back a little, then walked to the front of the queue, and then shouted to Qingden and others behind him: "Follow me! Don't get lost!"
Having said that, Kondo plunged into the dense flow of people in front of him, feeling like there wasn't much space left.
Kondo, who is tall and strong, is like a sharp awl. All the people in front of him are in vain. Wherever he passes, he squeezes out a channel that is not spacious but is enough for Qingto and others. A road that barely travels.
Every time Kondo squeezed out a new gap forward, Aomori and others quickly followed up to fill the gap.
The group of people headed towards the venue of the competition inch by inch: Higashi Asakusa.
On the way, Qingdeng could feel strange looks from some people around him from time to time, and could hear whispers and discussions like this from time to time——
"Look, it's Tachibana Aoden."
"Tachibana Aoden? Oh! Is that the 'Little Tengu of Kitabansho'?"
"'The Little Tengu of Kitabansho'? What's that?"
"Don't you know? This is Tachibana Aoden's nickname! His sword is as strong as a tengu. It is said that as long as he shows his true skills, even ten swordsmen can't get close to him!"
"Isn't Tachibana Aoden's nickname the 'New Hero of the Sword'? A 'New Hero' who is comparable to the 'Three Heroes of the Three Great Swords'."
"Fart, I think those 'Three Heroes' are totally incomparable to Ju Qingden. There are countless madmen from the 'Expulsion Faction' who died under Ju Qingden's sword. I'm afraid those people like Xin Zuma Kuan can't even compete with the real sword." I haven’t even swung it a few times.”
"It seems that Tachibana Aoden is also going to participate in today's competition. Hey, there is no suspense in this competition, right? The strength and sword fighting experience of other contestants should not be comparable to Tachibana Aoden, right?"
…
Okita, who was walking beside Aoto, also heard these discussions.
He stood on tiptoes with a smile and whispered to Qingden:
"Tachibana-kun, you have really become a celebrity now."
Listening to Okita's teasing words, Qingto couldn't help showing a dumbfounded expression.
After successfully rescuing Katsu Kaishu and others in the "Battle of Fanshu Tiaoxiao" and defeating the conspiracy of the anti-barbarian group to destroy Fanshu Tiaosuo, Aoshito's reputation in Edo, which had repeatedly made great achievements, gained a further boost.
Most of the residents of Edo Town already know that there is an extremely powerful swordsman in the "Sanchai" of Kitabansuo.
At present, Aoto's reputation in Edo cannot be said to be a household name, but it can be regarded as well-known.
He had become a celebrity and could be appreciated and respected by so many people. Qingdeng felt somewhat happy in his heart.
After all, who would hate being appreciated and respected by others?
However, the series of chain reactions triggered by the increase in fame made Qingdeng feel happy and mixed.
For example... As Aoshinobu's fame grew, the people of Edo began to spontaneously and enthusiastically give Aoshinobu various nicknames.
Giving people nicknames - this should be regarded as a traditional ability of the Japanese nation.
Throughout the ages, the Japanese nation has been fond of giving various nicknames to those big shots. This is a dragon, that is a tiger, and each nickname is more prestigious than the last.
During the Warring States Period 300 years ago, most of the well-known daimyo and generals had one or more prestigious nicknames.
"Dragon of Echigo" Uesugi Kenshin, "Tiger of Kai" Takeda Shingen, "Lion of Sagami" Hojo Ujiyasu, "Sanin Kirinji" Yamanaka Shikasuke, "Japan's No. 1 Soldier" Sanada Yukimura...
Qingdeng, who is now famous, inevitably begins to experience the inevitable process of being nicknamed by people.
If the nicknames the common people gave him were quite majestic, then that would be fine, but the nicknames the common people gave him... Qingdeng thought it was quite subtle.
As far as Aomori knows, he currently has the following nicknames: Little Tengu of Hokubansuo, Shinei of the Sword, and the No. 1 Martial Arts School of Fengxu...
To put it bluntly - Qingden didn't really like the nicknames given to him by the people.
However, he couldn't care what others called him, so when he heard others calling him nicknames such as "Little Tengu of Kitabansho", Aomori could only show a helpless expression.
"Jijun." At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly heard Zhou Zhu, who was walking in front of him, calling him.
Qingden raised his eyes to look at Zhousuke, and happened to meet Zhousuke's eyes.
"You must not be complacent or careless." Zhou Zhu and Qingdeng looked at each other and continued word by word with serious expressions and tones, "In terms of actual combat experience, I have gone through several battles with the 'Expelling Yi Sect' In this bloody battle, you are indeed much better than most of the contestants."
"But that doesn't mean you can truly be invincible in this competition."
"If you are arrogant because you think you are sure of victory, you are likely to fail miserably."
Zhousuke suddenly said this to Qingnobo with a serious face... He was probably worried that some people's comments that "Tachibana Aotomo will definitely win this competition" would affect Qingnobo's state of mind.
"Yes." Qingdeng said seriously, "From the beginning to the end, I never imagined that I would be invincible in this competition."
"Yeah." Zhou Zhu nodded, "You're right to think so."
…
…
The Aizu Domain is indeed one of the most powerful feudal lords at present, and it makes big moves whenever it takes action.
The venue for this competition is located in the eastern part of Asakusa, where there are relatively few people, namely Higashi-Asakusa. A vast open space about the size of eight basketball courts has been designated as the competition venue.
When you come to Higashi Asakusa, you will feel a sudden sense of enlightenment.
Looking around, a large number of Aizu feudal lords are walking around in Higashi-Asakusa, managing the flow of people in Higashi-Asakusa to prevent overcrowding around the stadium.
The ground of the arena is covered with non-slip white fine gravel, and a large number of flags embroidered with the family crest of the Shogunate and the Aizu Domain: Mitsuha Aoi are hung around it.
Mitsuba is the family crest of the Tokugawa family. For example, the Aizu clan, which has a blood relationship with the Edo shogunate, uses the family motto of the Tokugawa family. However, their trefoil is the same as that of the Edo shogunate. There will be slight differences in the texture of clover.
A large number of sunflower pattern flags fluttered in the wind, and the scene was so grand.
The east, west and south sides of the arena were all transformed into simple spectator seats.
Among them, the martial arts viewing seats on the south side are reserved for contestants and related people from participating sword halls. Qingdeng and Zhou Zhu are sitting here.
The spectator seats on the east and west sides are open to civilians who come to join in the fun and watch the game.
As for the north side... in layman's terms, it's the "VIP seat."
The seats on the north side were surrounded by white curtains. Only the direction facing the arena did not have a curtain erected. Countless warriors with solemn expressions guarded this "VIP seat" from all directions, preventing anyone from approaching.
This competition attracted many daimyo who stayed in Edo for "participation."
Visitor transfer - this national policy that compulsorily requires most daimyo to live in Edo for at least half a year every year, makes Edo home to nearly half of the country's daimyo at any time.
Some players come to watch games simply to relieve their boredom.
There are also some famous people who come here just to socialize.
There are also some daimyo whose goals are more pure and utilitarian - they are here for Lord Aizu, and they want to take advantage of this rare opportunity to see Lord Aizu to curry favor with the man who is currently deeply trusted by the shogun Tokugawa Iemo. Political celebrity.
Aizuhou, who is hosting the competition, and the other daimyo who came to watch the competition for various reasons will sit at the "VIP seats" on the north side.
It's just that the "VIP table" is still empty now, and the Lord Aizu and other daimyo should have to wait a while longer before coming here.
In order to show that "all sword halls and all contestants are equal", the seats on the south side of the martial arts viewing seats are not fixed. There is no hard and fast rule about which sword hall must sit where, because the team from the trial guard hall came earlier. , so I grabbed a pretty good spot.
"Hoo ho ho, the owner of Qingxue Pavilion: Kitaro Kawaguchi is here too. Huh? That guy Shimura is not dead yet..."
Shusuke Mosuo rubbed his smooth chin and looked at the martial arts viewing seats around him with interest. Ayoto had heard of the names he muttered to some extent - they were all people with a certain reputation in Edo. Swordsmen.
The grand scale and exciting content of this competition are extremely attractive to both ordinary civilians and swordsmen.
Almost all sword halls in Edo sent their strongest newcomers to participate in this competition.
In other words - the person who can win the first victory in this swordsmanship competition will be able to wear the glorious crown of "the strongest among the young generation in the Edo swordsmanship world"!
How can you miss this grand event that will directly determine who is the "strongest among the young generation" today?
Many swordsmen with high reputations in the Edo swordsmanship community came - they all wanted to use their own eyes to confirm for themselves who would win the title of "strongest".
Aoto didn't know as many swordsmen as Shusuke did. He didn't have an in-depth understanding of the Edo swordsmanship world. He only knew Chiba Sadakichi and the "Three Great Swordsmen of Edo" headed by "Gi no Chiba". Several names are familiar.
There is still nearly half an hour left before the game officially starts...
Qingdeng, who had nothing to do, simply closed his eyes and began to relax.
But just when Qingden closed his eyes——
Hua Hua Hua Hua...
From the west side of the arena, bursts of noise suddenly came.
The sudden noise kept getting closer, and finally condensed into a clear cry.
"It's the training hall! The people from the training hall are here!"
"Ah! Look, it's Saito Yakuro! It's Saito Yakuro!"
"Tsk, tsk... Look, Saito Yakuro's body is as strong as an ox... How did he develop such a strong figure..."
…
Qingden, whose attention was attracted by the shouts, opened his eyes and looked toward the west of the arena.
To the west of the arena, a team from the sword hall entered the auditorium of the arena in an orderly manner.
Every swordsman in this sword hall team basically has a very strong figure and exudes a powerful aura.
And walking at the front of the sword hall team, leading the sword hall team, was an old man about 60 years old, with most of his hair already gray.
Just looking at the old man's face, you would think that this old man seems to be just an ordinary old man.
But if you move your gaze down to the area below his neck, you can notice how extraordinary this old man is.
This old man has an extremely strong figure, and his strong muscles hold up the clothes on his body. It is difficult to imagine that this is the figure that an old man in his sixties can maintain.
Looking at this extremely strong old man, Zhousuke smacked his lips a few times: "Hoo hoo ho... 'Saito of Power' is here too..."
—— Saito of Power...
Qingden raised his gaze and stared at the old man for a while.
——That person is the famous Saito Yakuro...
——With this figure...he is worthy of being called the "Saito of Power" as a swordsman.
——Since the old man is the current master of the training hall, "Power of Saito", then the people walking behind him should be the swordsmen of the training hall.
The training hall, one of the three major venues in Edo, is here... Countless eyes with various emotions, accompanied by exclamations, are directed at Saito Yakuro and the swordsmen of the training hall behind him.
Saito Yakuro and the swordsmen of the training hall behind him all seemed to have been used to the gazes and admiration of others. They walked to the empty seats not far away from Aoto and the others with indifferent expressions and sat down. .
"It is indeed the 'Three Great Shopping Malls of Edo'..." Okita was speechless, "The pomp and fame are completely different from ours..."
Although their victory over Kochiba Kenkan in the "Plum Blossom Festival" red and white match two months ago greatly increased the reputation of their trial defense hall, their status in Edo is still not much. High, still belonging to the "little transparency" level.
If you want to completely improve the status of the Trial Guard Hall, everyone in the Trial Guard Hall still has a long way to go.
"It's great..." Looking at the swordsmen who were already seated in the training hall, Kondo's eyes were full of explicit envy, "When will our training hall be able to have such a pomp and circumstance?" What about fame..."
"Tch." Hijikata, who was sitting next to Kondo, sneered a few times, then stretched out his hand to hug Kondo's shoulders, "Katsu, your goal is too low, right? With the same level of pomp and fame as the training hall, Are you satisfied?"
"Have you never thought of surpassing the training hall... no, surpassing all the sword halls in Edo and the country?"
Kondo smiled bitterly: "Ah Sui, having too ambitious ambitions is sometimes not a good thing."
While the group of people in the trial gym were chattering, suddenly there was a loud noise from the west side of the arena again.
"Ah, the swordsmen from the Scholar Academy are here too!"
"Look! It's the owner of the Shixuekan: Momoi Haruzang!"
"Following 'Power of Saito', is 'Pet of Momoi' also coming?"
"Hahaha, this competition is really worth it. I actually saw two of the 'Three Great Swordsmen of Edo' in succession!"
…
To the west of the arena, a new sword gym team appeared.
The overall temperament of this new sword gym team is significantly different from the swordsmen in the training hall just now.
If the temperament of the swordsmen in the training hall is "fine", then the temperament of the swordsmen in this new sword hall team is "elegant".
Almost every swordsman in the team carries an air of elegance with every move they make.
Especially their leader, a middle-aged man who is nearly 40 years old. His outstanding temperament makes him stand out from the crowd at the front of the queue.
This middle-aged man's face is not very upright and handsome, but he has the demeanor of a handsome young man.
There was a soft smile on his face, his posture was as loose as a pine tree, and his movements were both elegant and majestic.
As graceful as a startling dragon, as graceful as a swimming dragon... these beautiful words seem to be specially designed for this person.
After this handsome man appeared, many women in the spectator seats immediately opened their eyes with countless little stars and cast admiring glances at this handsome man.
"Hoo ho..."
Zhousuke let out a low exclamation.
"'Saito of Power' and 'Momoi of Position' are both here... Wow, this swordsmanship competition is really a gathering of heroes..."
The appearance of Momoi Haruzang and the swordsmen from the Shixuekan undoubtedly pushed the atmosphere on the martial arts viewing table to a new climax.
Two of the "Three Great Swordsmen of Edo" came in succession... Such a grand occasion is rare!
As these great swordsmen with first-class reputation and strength appeared one after another, all the spectators in the spectator seats were excited.
Exclaims and sighs came and went.
Okita, who was sitting on the left side of Aoto, was shocked by the scene where this big man appeared one after another. He showed a surprised expression, blinked hard in the direction of Momoi Haruzang, and then said half-jokingly He said softly:
"Today is a great experience. I actually saw 'Saito of Power' and 'Momoi of Position' in succession."
And just when everyone thought that the consecutive appearance of "Saito of Power" and "Momoi of Bits" was the biggest surprise of this competition... a new mutation appeared.
The first person to notice the change was an Aizu domain warrior who was maintaining order outside the arena.
He hurriedly walked to one of his colleagues and said something to his colleague. His colleague's face immediately changed.
Immediately afterwards, spectators in twos and threes poured into the spectator seats with anxious and excited faces, announcing something to the people around them.
Just like this, it is passed on to ten, and ten is passed on to a hundred.
At the martial arts viewing table, the crowd was immediately excited.
Saito Yakuro, who originally had a calm face, raised his eyebrows and grinned with a surprised expression.
The face of the second son Kannosuke Saito, known as "Ghost Joy", who was sitting behind him, turned pale in an instant.
Momoi Haruzo, who had always had a gentle smile since he appeared on the field, had a stiff smile on his face.
The other swordsmen who were somewhat famous in Edo on the viewing table either showed resentment on their faces, tightened their lips with complicated expressions, or showed unabashed admiration.
Shusuke, Kondo, and Okita opened their eyes and mouths wide in surprise.
Qingdeng's eyebrows were filled with curiosity mixed with confusion.
All these changes stem from the rapid spread of a word——
"'Gi no Chiba' Eijiro Chiba is here!"
In the midst of the commotion, on the east side of the arena, two fencing teams came into view with unhurried steps.
These two teams are Xuanwukan and Xiaoqianba Swordsman who have a brotherly relationship.
The people leading these two teams are the famous "number one sect in the martial arts world" - the Chiba family.
Chiba Sadayoshi is undoubtedly at the forefront.
In addition to Chiba Sadakichi, Aomori also met the familiar Chiba Jutaro and Sanako, as well as Chiba Tamonshiro, who had some unpleasantness with him at the "Plum Blossom Festival".
Apart from these familiar people, Qingdeng had never met the other two people.
These two people are quite young. They are walking on the left and right sides of Chiba Nobuyoshi. They have very similar appearances and should be brothers.
The man walking on the right side of Chiba Nobuyoshi had an expressionless face.
The man walking to the left of Chiba Nobuyoshi had a faint and plain smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.
He can't explain why... After seeing this young man with a smile on his face, a thought automatically floated in Ayoto's mind: This person is Eijiro Chiba, known as "Chiba of Technique"!
——Eijiro Chiba...I heard that this person is now serving as an official in Mito Domain? Did you just return to Edo recently...
Just when Aoto was wondering why the famous Chiba Eijiro suddenly appeared in Edo, the noises one after another brought Aoto's consciousness back to reality.
After the Genbukan and Little Chiba Swordsman led by the Chiba family appeared... no, to be precise, after seeing Eijiro Chiba appear, there were calls that seemed to lift the sky, Sighs erupted from the spectator seats.
The noise was far greater than the scene when the Military Training Hall and Scholarship Hall entered the hall just now!
Qingdeng was even a little shocked by the current battle.
Kondo noticed the astonishment on Aoto's face and smiled: "Tachibana-kun, you have just come into contact with the field of 'swordsmanship' not long ago, so you probably don't understand Chiba Eijiro's strength and his swordsmanship in Edo very well. What a prestige the world has.”
"To put it simply...excluding those masters who live in seclusion, Chiba Eijiro is recognized as 'the best swordsman in Edo' and 'the strongest in Edo'."
"Although Saito Yakuro and Momoi Haruzo are nominally as famous as Chiba Eijiro."
"But in actual terms of prestige, neither of these two people can compare with Eijiro Chiba."
After saying that, Kondo turned his gaze back to Chiba Eijiro, with envy in his eyes again.
Hijikata's attitude was as usual - he curled his lips and looked at the Chiba family indifferently, as if he didn't think Chiba Eijiro and others were any special beings.
The reason why the appearance of the Chiba family can trigger this series of fierce reactions in the spectator seats is also due to Sanako.
Sanako was not dressed in kendo uniform and high ponytail today as she usually did when practicing swordsmanship.
Today, she is wearing a white and blue kimono, with a pair of pure white stockings on her feet, a pair of flat clogs with blue buttons, and three thousand blue silk threads tied into an exquisite Shimada bun.
This outfit lacks the heroic spirit of the female samurai, but has the elegance of Yamato Nadeshiko and the splendor of a famous lady.
Sanako, who was folding his hands in front of him, holding up his perfectly swan neck, and following Chiba Sadayoshi at a leisurely pace, attracted as much attention and sighs as Chiba Eijiro. He is less.
Countless people opened their eyes wide and stared directly at Sanako's stunning appearance, and from time to time they could hear the sound of swallowing saliva.
After accompanying Chiba Sadayoshi and others into the arena, Chiba Jutaro stretched his neck and looked around.
After a while, his eyes locked on the group of people from the Trial Guard Hall.
After finding the group of people from the Trial Guard Hall, Chiba Jutaro turned his head and whispered something to Chiba Nobuyoshi and Chiba Eijiro beside him.
After Chiba Nobuyoshi and the others nodded slightly, they led the teams from the Xuanwu Hall and the Little Chiba Sword Hall to change direction and walk straight towards Qingden and the others.
Chiba Nobuyoshi: "Hahaha, Shusuke."
"Hoo ho ho, it's auspicious." Zhou Zhu stood up to greet him.
Aoto and Okita stood up together with Shusuke and greeted the group of Xuanbukan and Xiaochiba Swordsman who had always had a special relationship with their trial defense hall.
After Zhousuke and Chiba Sadikichi chatted happily for a while, Zhousuke turned to look at Chiba Eijiro who was standing next to Chiba Sadikichi: "Hey, Eijiro, I didn't expect that I could see you here and now. , I was shocked. When did you return to Edo?"
Chiba Eijiro bowed slightly, and then greeted him politely and softly: "Mr. Kondo, my long-awaited greetings..."
…
In this kind of scene, as an ordinary disciple of the Trial Guard Hall, he couldn't say anything. He could only wait obediently and quietly behind Zhou Zhu.
There happened to be a lot of empty seats next to the seats in their test hall. After Shusuke led everyone to give polite greetings to Chiba Sadaki and his party, he directly invited Chiba Sadaki to sit with them, and Chiba Sadikichi Guitar readily agreed without any hesitation.
Just when Aoden was about to sit back in his seat, he suddenly heard Chiba Jutaro's loud voice:
"Hey! Orange-kun! Hahaha, long time no see!"
Hearing Chiba Jutaro's greetings, Qingto couldn't help but smile helplessly: "Mr. Jutaro, we haven't seen each other for a long time, right? We just met more than half a month ago."
Aoden looked towards Chiba Jutaro and saw Chiba Jutaro leading Sanako and striding towards him.
"Junior Tachibana, I wish you peace." Sanako folded his hands in front of him and bowed to Qingden in a very elegant manner.
It's been a long time since I met Sanako and Qingden.
"Miss Sanako, long time no see." Qingden bowed and returned the favor to Sanako.
"Tachibana-kun." Chiba Jutaro raised his hand and patted Aonto's shoulder affectionately, "How are you? It's your first time to participate in a competition of such a large scale. Are you nervous?"
"There is still some tension...more or less." Qingdeng responded half-jokingly.
"Hahaha! You are much calmer than I thought!"
Chiba Jutaro was about to say something more to Qingto.
But at this moment, new commotion emerged again in the spectator seats.
"Sit down quickly! Sit down quickly!" The Aizu Domain warriors responsible for maintaining order quickly shouted, "The domain lords are here!"
Hearing these shouts, the originally noisy martial arts viewing seats on the east, west, and south sides quickly became quiet.
Everyone quickly shut their mouths and sat back in their seats.
Chiba Jutaro, who could only end the conversation with Aoto in a hurry, rolled his eyes, and then hurriedly sat down not far from Aoto.
"Come on, Sanako, there's an empty seat over here, you sit over here!" Chiba Jutaro pointed to him.
The empty space that Chiba Jutaro was pointing to... was exactly to his left and to Aoto's right...
Neither Aoto nor Sanako noticed Chiba Jutaro's deliberate thought...
Without thinking much, Sanako moved lightly and sat on the right side of Qingteng.
Okita sits on the left, and Sanako sits on the right—these are Aomori’s current neighbors.
After a few more minutes, all the famous people who needed to sit at the "VIP seats" finally arrived.
Everyone on the martial arts viewing table immediately bowed down and bowed.
Crash la la la... From the direction of the "VIP table", there were bursts of tiny footsteps.
After receiving the permission to sit down without any courtesy, Qingdeng immediately raised his eyes and looked towards the "VIP platform" directly opposite them.
I saw that the "VIP table" that was empty just now was almost full of people. Looking around, they were all famous people from a country.
The family crests on their clothes clearly declare which vassal country they are the masters of.
Lord of the Utsunomiya Domain, Lord of the Maebashi Domain, Lord of the Ninja Domain, Lord of the Matsushiro Domain...
A very young young man, probably in his early 20s at most, sat in the middle of these famous people with an expressionless face.
Although this young man is young, there is an air of maturity between his brows.
Where he sits, he gives people a "center" feeling, as if everything around him is centered on him.
Even without looking at the family crest on his clothes, just looking at the posture of him sitting at the top, it is not difficult to infer that this person should be the world-famous leader of the Aizu clan: Matsudaira Yoshiho!
There was no prelude or any messy opening speech. After the daimyo headed by Matsudaira Yongho arrived, an old samurai who acted as the master of ceremonies stepped into the arena paved with white sandstone. He first asked to sit on the spectator stand. Everyone remained silent, and then began to read out the rules of this competition.
After completing these routine procedures, the emcee began to draw lots on the spot to select the two contestants for today's first competition.
And the first lot the emcee drew... the name written on the lot was surprisingly Qingdeng!
"Naturally Rishin-ryu, Test Guard Hall, Tachibana Aoden!"
After hearing the master of ceremonies sing his name, Qingdeng frowned subconsciously, and then showed a strange expression.
He never expected that he would actually compete in the first competition of this competition!
Qingden let out a sigh of relief.
Then he grabbed the bamboo sword that was lying beside him with all his strength!
*******
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Asking for a guaranteed monthly pass at the beginning of the month!
Thanks to book friend [Handsome, I am Handsome] for your Silver Alliance!
This is the first silver alliance the author has received in his life... I am really in tears, I don’t know what to say, and I am frightened...
When seeing this reward, the first thought that came to the author's mind was: "Am I worthy?"
The author is really touched... there are so many book friends who are willing to support me... I really feel like crying qaq.
If a leader of the alliance can explode one 10,000+ big chapter, then a Silver League can explode 10 1,000+ big chapter. In other words, the author currently owes 16 chapters of 1,000+ big chapter.
In order not to let down everyone’s support! I will definitely work hard to keep the quality and quantity updated!
Today's 10,000 big chapters are not counted as explosive updates. They are regarded as compensation for yesterday's leave. The outstanding chapters are still 16 1,000+ big chapters.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
The 1st Character Popularity Voting has started in the book group~ This event will end at 0:00 in the morning on August 3rd. Those who want to participate in this event can join the book group as soon as possible~~
Currently, Miss Sanako is fiercely competing with Mai Kinoshita for first place.
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Recommend a copy to everyone!
"Rebirth: Ten Years of Countercurrent" written by my good friend Mi Zhiji!
A commercial urban novel about two female protagonists who started selling goods on Taobao, accumulated funds through mobile games, and invested in rice fraud. They gradually emerged 12 years later.
Anyone who is interested can check it out~
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