It's shameful to say - at this moment, Qingden felt an extremely strong urge to have a baby with the girls as soon as possible... especially with Mai Kinoshita.

He desperately wants to know how amazing his child will be!

"...Tachibana-kun, what are you thinking about?"

At this time, an indifferent female voice with no sadness or joy recalled his consciousness.

Qingden blinked and looked intently - Sanazi stood in front of him at some unknown time, with his head raised, staring into his eyes expressionlessly.

"It always feels like you are thinking about something very rude."

As if to peer into Qingdeng's body, his sharp eyes wandered in the air.

Sanako is always very sensitive in this regard...especially when it comes to things involving Kinoshita Mai.

Qingdeng has experienced many such scenes.

Therefore, having experienced many battles, he instinctively activates his talents "Emperor's Art" and "Trickster +1".

"nothing."

His expression was natural and he spoke slowly and sincerely.

"I was just reminiscing about the fierce battle just now. Mr. Chiba is so strong."

Since the relationship with the girls became unclear, the two talents "Emperor's Art" and "Trickster +1" have been used much more frequently.

"..."

However, Qingden's pale explanation did not dispel Sanako's doubts.

She narrowed her beautiful eyes, and the suspicion on her pretty face only increased.

To be fair, Qingdeng really didn't want to lie to the girls.

Whenever the girls cast doubtful glances at him, or look at him with innocent eyes that believed his lies, he would feel a great deal of psychological pressure. Even if he activated the "Emperor's Art", he would find it difficult to maintain his expression.

Fortunately, an old male voice sounded in time and gave him a hand:

"How's it going, Mr. Orange? Did you gain anything from fighting with me?"

With the support of Chiba Jutaro, Chiba Sadaki walked slowly towards Aonto.

Qingden immediately turned sideways, faced Chiba Nobuyoshi, stood up straight, and said brightly:

"Mr. Chiba, the battle just now has benefited me a lot!"

What he said was not a pretense of politeness.

Leaving aside the fact that he copied the "Best Stallion +7" that definitely deserves the title of "god-level talent", Chiba Nobuyoshi's Beichen Itto-ryu swordsmanship, which has reached its peak, opened his eyes.

Saito Yakuro and Chiba Sadaki respectively represent two major swordsmanship styles.

The former is the "powerful bricks fly" route.

The latter is the "light as the wind" route.

The physical strength required to lift mountains and carry cauldrons is certainly terrifying.

But the exquisite craftsmanship and sophistication cannot be underestimated either.

Chiba Sadaiki demonstrated to Ayoto how difficult and threatening a swordsman who has practiced his skills to the extreme can be.

"Ju-kun, congratulations."

At this time, Chiba Dosaburo and Chiba Tamonshiro came towards Aoto.

"After passing the level of uncle, you have conquered the 'Three Great Halls' of Edo... No, all the martial arts halls in Edo have been conquered by you!"

Speaking of this, Chiba Michosaburo paused for a moment, and then changed into a tone filled with emotion.

"Conquering all the martial arts halls in Edo... This is a magnificent achievement that has never been achieved before, and there may not be anyone since."

When he said the words "There may be no one coming later", a look of loneliness flashed in Chiba Douzaburo's eyes, and his eyes subconsciously glanced at the saber at his waist.

Qingdeng smiled slightly and accepted the compliments openly.

However, after smiling, he said quietly:

"Although I have visited all the dojos in Edo, there is still one place waiting for me to challenge."

As he spoke, Qingdeng raised his head and looked to the east.

"That's where...the real challenge lies!"

The straight line of sight penetrates the layers of sunlight and shoots into the distance.

As soon as these words came out, everyone present showed indescribably complicated expressions.

A place that is more challenging than all the martial arts halls in Edo... Edo people with a little bit of common sense can all know what "there" Aoto means.

"...Tachibana-kun, a martial arts school is no different from an ordinary martial arts gym."

Chiba Nobuyoshi's expression was a little more solemn.

"Although in essence, the martial arts school is just a large martial arts gym, but because of the existence of the 'Sword Master' Seiichiro Tanani and the sword masters who went to seek refuge because they admired the name of the sword master, it is not a place where you can

A place where you can come and go freely."

Qingdeng listened quietly to the end.

"The martial arts school is not a place that I can leave alone...Mr. Chiba, that's why I want to challenge it even more!"

he laughed.

"Didn't you just say that? Even if you are seventy or eighty years old, you can still hold up the sea and the sky; even if your body has decayed, you still have a high fighting spirit, which is the goal that we warriors should pursue."

"..."

Chiba Nobuyoshi first looked at Qingden blankly, then his expression turned into a dumb smile, and finally his smile turned calm.

"Tachibana-kun, when are you going to visit the Martial Arts Institute?"

"Just tomorrow."

Qingden replied sonorously and forcefully.

…

…

Edo, a martial arts school, a dojo dedicated to swordsmanship professors——

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sound of heavy breathing, as if about to spit out gravel, filled the entire dojo.

In the center of the dojo, stood a terrifyingly strong giant.

No matter from which angle you look at it, this man deserves the title of "giant".

He has even more exaggerated muscles than Saito Yakuro and is terrifyingly tall.

If his height is converted into modern units of length...it's nearly a full 2.1 meters!

Such a height is an incredible figure even in modern Japan, let alone the current Edo period.

The giant was seen lifting a boulder half as big as himself over his head and doing deep squats.

He stretched his arms straight, which would undoubtedly make his arms more tired.

If you were an ordinary person, let alone a huge boulder, even if you were just holding a piece of paper, your arms would feel sore and trembling after a while.

However, this giant acted like a normal person.

Not only were his arms lifting the stone as firm as a rock, but his face remained unchanged, and his rhythm and speed of squatting were always steady.

The repeatedly tightened thigh muscles are bigger than a child's head.

The gently beating veins in the legs are like earthworms squirming repeatedly.

The sweat dripping down from his body formed puddles at his feet.

His size, his ferocious attitude of "lifting a rock and squatting down is like picking up an object"... Without a certain amount of courage, it would be impossible to remain calm in front of him.

"Oishi-kun! Oishi-kun!"

At this time, a young man, who was also sweating profusely and carrying a bamboo sword, walked towards the giant at a leisurely pace.

"Imai, what's wrong?"

The giant who was called "Big Stone" asked the question without looking back while continuing to do squats.

Noburo Imai put the bamboo sword in his hand on his shoulder and talked eloquently:

"It is said that King Ni will be visiting tomorrow."

"Nioh? Oh, that Tachibana Aoden."

Dashi's body paused for a moment, and then he put down the boulder in his hand without any haste.

"He really dares to come..."

Imai added silently:
To be continued...