Amid the celebrations and shouts of Kondo and Hijikata, Mai Kinoshita's voice as clear as a bell seemed particularly ear-catching.
Kinoshita Mai, who was four steps faster than Kiryu, kicked the flat-bottomed clogs under her feet and ran towards Aonto.
Kondo and the others who were surrounding Aoto and Souji automatically moved to both sides to make way for Kinoshita Mai and Kiryu.
"Boss Kiryu! A Wu!"
Looking at the two people approaching, the lines on Qingdeng's face instantly relaxed, revealing a soothing and harmonious smile.
When we arrived at the venue today, it was already a little late.
Because I had to rush to warm up, I couldn't go to the "auditorium" to say hello to Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita before the game. I could only wave to the young and old pair from a distance.
At this moment, Qingto spoke to Kinoshita Mai for the first time today.
Although it seems a bit unloyal to say this... Kinoshita Mai's congratulations made Aoto feel happier and more excited than Kondo and the others' congratulations.
During the conversation, Kinoshita Mai had already jumped up to Qingto.
At this time, Qingteng also stood up from the ground with Souji in his arms.
"Qingdeng! That blow you just gave was so powerful!"
Kinoshita Mai made an excited voice, and raised her two clenched fists to her chest, and her beautiful words that wanted to lift Qingden to the sky poured out from her red lips.
Generally speaking, it would be difficult for Kinoshita Mai, who is timid and afraid of strangers, and does not wear a scarf, mask, or anything else that can cover her face, to make such a loud sound in such a place with so many strangers.
However, the excitement of being happy for Ayoto who won the competition overwhelms the fear of strangers and temporarily overcomes his shy nature.
Qingto and Kinoshita Mai, who were focusing on each other, did not notice the strange expressions and reactions of the people around them after Kinoshita Mai loudly called Qingto's name.
Qingdeng's words "A Wu" just now were like pouring fuel into a fire, which made the strange expressions on the faces of everyone around him suddenly become more intense.
"Oh~~"
At this time, Hijikata on the side suddenly had a meaningful smile on his face and walked to Qingden's side in a swagger.
"Tachibana, when did your relationship with the little girl from Chishiya become so good? You can even call each other by name."
When he said "you can call each other by each other's names", Hijikata specially made his voice longer, and his tone was full of joking.
As soon as Hijikata finished speaking, low joking laughter sounded all around.
Everyone around them could clearly hear how Ayoto and Kinoshita Mai matched each other.
In Hijikata's impression, this couple used to call each other "Tachibana-kun" and "Kinoshita-san" in a regular manner.
As a result, they started calling each other by their first names.
Men and women suddenly began to call each other by their first names... In this era, this is a great source of gossip and conversation!
Hijikata's teasing and the laughter around her made Kinoshita Mai's face turn red instantly. She quickly lowered her head and stared at her petite toes.
Although Kinoshita Mai's eyes are now in a state of chaos due to shyness...but the feeling of being misunderstood by others as to whether something happened between her and Ayoto makes the chaos in her eyes lurk a faint hint of joy. Pleasure.
However, not everyone around them was now casting playful glances and laughter at her and Qingden.
For example... Souji is still hanging on Aoto like a koala.
Because he was busy talking to everyone who came to celebrate the victory, Qingto forgot to let go of Souji in his arms. At this time, the two of them were still hugging each other tightly.
Souji's eyes became even more "out of focus" when he heard that Kinoshita Mai was addressed by her first name in the same manner as Aitobo.
With a dazed expression as if she was half asleep and half awake, she used mechanical movements to cast her eyes back and forth on Qingden and Kinoshita Mai's bodies.
It is worth mentioning that Souji himself did not realize that the expression and reaction she was showing now were completely different from those of others around her...
Because the attention of the people around them was currently focused on Qingto and Mai Kinoshita, no one noticed Souji's strange behavior at the moment.
Even Aoto, who was hugging Souji tightly and within easy reach of Souji, did not notice that Souji in his arms was looking back and forth between him and Mai Kinoshita with an indescribable expression.
"A Wu and I have always had a good relationship."
While Aoden casually responded to Hijikata's teasing, he moved slightly and stood between Kinoshita Mai and Hijikata and the others, protecting Kinoshita Mai behind him.
Qingden did not explain why the names between him and Kinoshita Mai had changed. This kind of thing is too long to explain. If there is a chance later, I will discuss the reason slowly and in detail with Hijikata and the others.
At this time, Qingteng finally realized that he was still holding on to Souji.
"Ah! Hug, sorry..."
Aomori apologized quickly and released his hands - but Souji did not fall down.
Because he is a full 20 centimeters shorter than Ayoto, Souji, whose arms are still tightly wrapped around Ayoto's neck, has his two little feet hanging directly in the air - literally hanging on Ayoto's neck. On the body.
If it were in the past when Souji's daughter was still unknown, Aomori would not mind having more intimate interactions with his good brothers who worked together to win the game.
However, now that the "true face" of Souji is known, it is not appropriate to be closely surrounded by Souji...
After hearing Qingto's apology, Souji seemed to have come back to his senses, and his eyes regained their sparkle.
"No, it's okay, no need to apologize..."
Souji hesitated for a moment, then slowly released his arms, separated from Qingto's body, and his two little feet fell back to the ground with a "snap".
Kinoshita Mai must have never imagined that... Qingto had just been cuddling up with a beautiful girl whose appearance was not inferior to hers...
Suddenly, after Kinoshita Mai, another voice that was quite familiar to Qingto sounded from not far away.
"Yo! Tachibana-kun!"
It was the voice of Chiba Jutaro.
A group of people from the Little Chiba Sword Hall, headed by Chiba Sadakichi, walked towards them in a mighty manner.
"Uh-huh..."
After seeing Sanako walking next to Chiba Jutaro, Kinoshita Mai immediately froze as if facing a powerful enemy, then moved her steps lightly and stood closer to Aoto, her beautiful eyes widened. De Di Liu Yuan stared at Sanako like a little kitten defending its territory.
It's a pity that Kinoshita Mai's behavior is purely useless.
Because Sanako, who had been looking at Aoto, didn't even glance at Mai Kinoshita...
"Tachibana-kun, congratulations to you." Qingden's old friend: Shannan Keisuke, showed an elegant and sincere smile, and spoke simple words of congratulations in a sincere tone.
After finishing speaking, Shannan Keisuke turned his eyes and scanned the faces of Ayoto, Souji, Kondo, Hijikata and other members of the Imperial Guard Hall.
"It's a sword hall with a great atmosphere..." Shannan Keisuke murmured at a volume that only he could hear clearly.
Chiba Sadayoshi led everyone from the Little Chiba Kenkan to express unpretentious congratulations to the Shiweikan for winning the competition.
"Ju-kun, when did you learn the swordsmanship of our Beichen Yida-ryu?"
Suddenly, Chiba Jutaro asked Qingto this question with curiosity on his face.
In order to defeat Chiba Tamon Shiro, Aoto used the classic starting moves and classic moves of Beichen Ittoryu - this scene gave many people great surprise.
People like Souji, Shusuke, and Kondo, who live under the same roof as Aoto, don’t know when Aoto “stealed” Beichen Itto-ryu.
Therefore, after hearing Chiba Jutaro ask this question, they immediately focused their attention on Qingto.
"Learned it unconsciously."
Qingdeng smiled and replied.
"Besides the Tenorishin-ryu, the swordsmanship school I have been exposed to the most is Beichen Itto-ryu. So without even realizing it, I learned some moves from Beichen Itto-ryu."
Not lying or being perfunctory.
Qingdeng was telling the truth, without any adulteration.
Swordsmanship talent that is hundreds of times that of ordinary people, ghost heart, concentration... It is difficult to use specific words and numbers to measure Qingden's current swordsmanship talent.
Qingdeng clearly felt that now, in terms of learning any knowledge and skills related to swordsmanship, his mastery speed and progress rate were simply unbelievable!
No need to study hard. Generally speaking, just by watching almost all sword skills carefully a few times, you can understand the principles and imitate them.
It is true that during daily interactions with Sanako and Chiba Jutaro, swordsmen of the Beichen Ittou style, Aomori unconsciously mastered many sword skills of the Beichen Ittou style.
If someone else said that they had learned the sword skills of Beichen Ittou style unknowingly, Chiba Jutaro and the others would probably think that this person was dishonest and unwilling to tell the truth.
But these words were said by Aoto, which made Chiba Jutaro and the others very convinced.
After all, everyone has already known what a genius Qingdeng is.
They have long been accustomed to seeing all kinds of incredible things and all kinds of admirable feats from Qingdeng.
"...Tachibana-kun."
Suddenly, a deep male voice that made Qingden raise his eyebrows sounded from behind him.
Qingto turned around and saw Chiba Doisaburo, Chiba Tamonshiro and everyone from the Xuanbu Hall walking slowly towards them.
The victorious army and the defeated army met... The surrounding atmosphere suddenly became a little subtle.
Most of the Genbukan swordsmen, represented by Chiba Tamonshiro, stared directly at Ayoto and the others with solemn expressions... Strong resentment, unwillingness, and dissatisfaction were beautifully reflected in their eyes. among.
We actually lost to the Shiweiguan, who had always been our defeat before... Such a result is really difficult for us to accept - the eyes of Chiba Tamonshiro and others expounded this information.
Although they successfully defeated the Xuanwu Hall, the people at the Trial Guard Hall did not show any explicit complacency... They were not stupid, and they knew that it was not so much "the Xuanwu Hall lost to the Trial Guard Hall." It would be more accurate to say "Genbukan lost to Aoto, Souji, Kondo, Hijikata and Inoue".
Basically, Qingdeng and the other five are responsible for the output. Most of the "capacities" are obtained by Qingdeng, and the rest of them have basically made no useful contributions.
Qingteng and Souji didn't show any complacency, so how could the rest of them be qualified to show off?
Compared with Chiba Tamonshiro and others, Chiba Michosaburo's expression is much calmer.
I saw him looking at Qingdeng with a calm expression.
"Tachibana-kun, that sword-drawing move you used to break through my defense and shatter my porcelain bowl... was it your own creation? Does it have a name?"
"Yes." Qingdeng nodded without thinking, "I created it myself. I haven't decided on a name yet..."
Aoden promised Kiryu that he would not reveal to anyone his true identity as Kuro Mamiya, the famous "ship-killing swordsman" in the world.
Therefore, Aomori cannot say that he learned the sword-drawing technique from Kiryu, nor can he reveal the name of the move.
Most of those who know who Kuro Mamiya is, know that Kuro Mamiya's famous skill is "streaming light", which is the technique of drawing the sword so quickly that the person who was slashed will not hear the sound of the sword until after the sword is struck.
Suddenly, Qingdeng realized that the frequency of his "Deceiver" activations during this period seemed to be a bit too frequent...
Seeing Qingden's answer, Chiba Michisaburo stopped asking any more questions.
"It's such a powerful and overbearing move. If you had just used a real sword and scabbard to execute this move, then even if I use my best two swords to block, I may not be able to catch it perfectly."
Qingto modestly responded to Chiba Michisaburo's compliments.
——I don’t know what everyone’s reaction would be if they knew that I had just practiced this “mystery” for about ten days.
Thinking of this, Qingdeng couldn't help but laugh in his heart because he found it interesting.
Of all the people present, only Kiryu and Mai Kinoshita knew clearly: Aoto only officially started practicing the sword-drawing technique at the beginning of this month.
Although with Qingdeng's current exaggerated swordsmanship ability, training in just ten days is comparable to 1 or 2 years of hard training for ordinary people, such a short training time still makes people feel a little unsure. .
In addition, Qingdeng had never used Liuguang in actual combat before, so until the moment before he slashed the knife, Qingdeng was in a nervous mood - he was worried about whether he could execute the move perfectly.
Fortunately, the final result was quite perfect. Not only did he pull the knife out of its "sheath" beautifully, he also successfully broke Chiba Michizaburo's porcelain bowl.
After giving this simple compliment to Aoto, Chiba Michizaburo silently turned his attention to Souji, who was standing side by side with Aoto.
"Okita-kun, what about you? Is your triple thrust move your own creation? Does it have a name?"
"Hmm..." Souji nodded slightly, "It's my own secret. Because it starts with the 'Ping Qingyan' technique, I named it 'Ping Qingyan Sandan Su'."
"Mysterious meaning...'Ping Qingyan Three Stages Thrust'...this secret trick of yours can only thrust three times in a row?"
"Yes." The director laughed a few times, "Currently, I can barely do three consecutive stabs. After the third stab, I couldn't hold back my body."
Anyone with some eyesight and martial arts prowess can see the most terrifying thing about Souji's move, "Ping Qingyan Three Steps". It is not that each blow is a straight thrust with all his strength, but that it is incredibly fast. "The speed of regrouping"!
After thrusting out the sword with all his strength, he used his superb skills and incomparable muscle explosiveness in the next moment to draw the sword back in front of him and return to his straight-eyed stance... stabbing him three times in a row.
Because the "speed of reorganization" was too fast, these three swords stabbed the opponent "almost at the same time"!
The opponent has very little time to defend or dodge.
Even someone as powerful as Dosaburo Chiba couldn't completely defend against Souji's three swords!
A miraculous skill that fully deserves the name of "Secret Truth".
Unfortunately, this move also has quite obvious shortcomings - it places a particularly heavy burden on Souji's body.
Just like what Souji said just now: The current limit for her is to stab her three times in a row. After the third thrust, she will be unable to hold back her body and be unable to deliver the fourth thrust.
But - the flaws do not hide the virtues.
Even with such a big flaw, it did not prevent Chiba Michizaburo from giving an approving look to the General Secretary at this moment.
"...an incredible secret. Thank you for your hospitality today. I am convinced that I lost today's game."
The first half of Chiba Michizaburo's words was addressed to the General Secretary, and the second half was addressed to everyone in the imperial examination hall.
After saying that, Chiba Michisaburo bowed slightly and bowed to Qingto and others in front of him in a neither humble nor overbearing manner.
The master of the hall took the lead in saluting, and it was impossible for disciples like Chiba Tamonshiro and others to remain indifferent.
No matter how unwilling you are about today's defeat, you can only hold back your inner resentment at this time, follow Chiba Michisaburo in a polite manner, and salute Ayoto and others.
Upon seeing this, Qingdeng and others quickly bowed and returned the courtesy.
The subtle atmosphere that had been pervading the surroundings until just now suddenly dissipated a lot the moment people from both sides exchanged greetings.
at this time--
"Hahaha, what a wonderful 'red and white battle'!"
"Huh?" Qingdeng followed the sound with a confused look.
The person who shouted this was an old man with an old face and a long gray beard.
This old man was walking slowly towards Qingto and the others with his hands behind his back, followed by a young samurai with quite regular features.
Qingteng didn't recognize this young warrior, but he felt that the old man looked familiar...
Before Qingden could think about whether he had seen this old man before, he heard Chiba Nobuyoshi laugh a few times:
"Mr. Saito. It's been a long time."
"Hahahaha." The old man stroked his beard, "Mr. Chiba, please forgive me for the long absence."
Hearing Chiba Sadakichi call the old man "Mr. Saito", Aoto immediately remembered why he felt that the old man looked familiar - this person was Saito Yakuro, the "Saito of Power"!
A few months ago at the Aizu Hou swordsmanship competition, Aoto had met Saito Yakuro once before, so he thought he looked familiar.
After a brief exchange of greetings with Chiba Sadakichi, Saito Yakuro straightened his head and turned his gaze back to Aoto and others.
"Hahaha, some of you may not know me, so I'd better introduce myself! I'm Saito Yakuro from the training hall! Hello!"
Saito Yakuro used this familiar tone and stated his name carelessly. Then he reached out and pointed at the young warrior standing behind him.
"This is my beloved disciple."
"first meet!"
As soon as Saito Yakuro finished speaking, the young samurai puffed up his chest and announced to the door with a loud voice.
"I am the vassal scholar of the Choshu domain and the military training hall teacher: Katsura Kogoro!"
After finishing speaking, the young samurai who called himself "Kasura Kogoro" cast his piercing eyes on Aomori and changed the subject:
"His Majesty! I have admired your name for a long time! I am honored to meet you today, and I am sincerely frightened!"
Katsura Kogoro chirped and expressed his admiration for Aoden in a sincere tone.
After learning about your great performance against the Yi team alone, I admire you very much. I came to watch the game specifically to see you today... and so on.
Aoden looked at Katsura Kogoro with a confused look on his face.
It wasn't because he was intimidated by Katsura Kogoro's enthusiasm.
There are "fans" or people who respect him who come to say hello with excited faces - Qingdeng has long been used to this kind of scene and is not surprised by it.
The reason Aoto showed such an expression was simply because Katsura Kogoro's name made him feel very concerned.
Seeing the moment when Katsura Kogoro paused his words, Aomori asked cautiously in a tentative tone:
"You said your name was 'wig'?"
"Not a wig is Gui!"
Katsura Kogoro, in a helpless tone as if he had long been accustomed to this situation, seriously corrected Aonto's misunderstanding of his name.
…
…
Saito Yakuro, who arrived suddenly, did not say any special or complicated words to everyone.
I just came to say hello and congratulate the team for winning the competition.
It is worth mentioning that Yakuro Saito was probably the only one who frequently looked at Ayoto and Souji with appreciative eyes when speaking.
I can't say why... maybe it was because I accidentally misunderstood "Katsura" as "wig", and Qingto somehow remembered the name "Katsura Kogoro" and this person's face.
…
…
At this moment——
Edo, Gofubashi, Kitabansho, Kitabansho Town's office space for Susui——
"Master Boi, are everything you said true?"
Hideyuki Arima, Aoto's immediate superior and senior, looked at Hakui opposite, who was sitting behind the desk with a shocked expression.
"Yes. It's true." Bo Jing nodded strangely, "The news is absolutely true. There is no falsehood at all."
"This..." Arima seemed to have trouble accepting the reality before him, showing a tangled expression, "Although I expected that Mr. Tachibana would have a chance to get promoted this time, this is..."
"This is a matter decided by those above, and we can't say anything more."
Boi shrugged.
"Anyway, Arima, please help me inform Mr. Tachibana later."
"Starting from November 1st, he will be the new 'Captain of the Third Division of the Fire Thief Kai Group and Leader of the Seventh Division of the Preemptive Bow Group'! Let him be mentally prepared in advance."
"Then, let him take advantage of these few days to take out the dress, wash it, and dry it in the sun."
"Don't be disrespectful when meeting the General on August 28th."
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It’s the end of the month! Asking for a monthly ticket! (Leopard head crying.jpg)
(End of chapter)
