Among these people he knew, Qingden soon discovered a very familiar old face.

"Tangerine-kun, have you come to visit your cow again?"

A gentle male voice like the spring breeze came into Qingdeng's ears... A tall young man standing not far from Qingdeng slowly took off the protective mask on his head.

Under the mask, there is a delicate face with two tear moles at the corner of the right eye.

"Shannan?" Qingdeng said in surprise.

"Tachibana-kun." Shannan Keisuke, who had an elegant smile on his lips, nodded gently to Aomori, "Good morning. We haven't seen each other for a while. If I remember correctly, we haven't seen each other since August.

We’ve met.”

Aoden has been visiting the Little Chiba Sword Hall recently, so naturally, he has spent more time with Shannan Keisuke... this old friend who has been training swordsmanship in the Little Chiba Sword Hall.

"Shannan." Qingdeng smiled and congratulated Shannan in an unpretentious and sincere tone, "I have already heard that you successfully received Beichen Itto-ryu's free pass at the end of last month. Congratulations.

You!"

"Thank you." Shannan chuckled humbly, "Tachibana-kun, I think with your talent and strength, it won't be long before it's my turn to congratulate you on obtaining the highest seal of Natural Rishin-ryu.

Already."

"Hahahaha, I accept your good advice."

The value of Fu Xu Jie Chuan is closely related to which sect you study under.

Chiba Sadaikichi of the Little Chiba Swordsman Academy awarded you the Hokushin Itto-ryu's Hōnō Kaiden, and the unknown swordsman at a certain country dojo awarded you the Hōrō Kedden of the unknown sect... Which of the two is better?

The gold content is higher, obviously.

This is also an important reason why samurai like to go to those big sword halls to learn swordsmanship.

Therefore, Shannan Keisuke was able to obtain Hoshin Itto-ryu's Fusu Jedden at the Little Chiba Sword Hall... This is quite a remarkable achievement and can make countless samurai jealous.

Qingdeng wanted to chat with Shannan for a few more words, but suddenly, he felt the breath of someone behind him.

Just as he turned his head to look back, a familiar young male voice sounded from behind Qingdeng.

"Tangerine-kun?"

Standing behind Aonobu is a young man whose face looks somewhat similar to Chiba Jutaro and Sanako...it is Chiba Tamon Shiro.

There were a lot of water stains on Chiba Tamonshiro's hands, and Qingto guessed that he had just returned from using the toilet.

The young swordsman, who was only in his early 20s, raised his eyebrows, and then looked at Qingden expressionlessly.

"Are you... coming to visit the big black cow you foster here again?"

"Yes." Qingden smiled slightly, "Chiba-kun, long time no see."

"Well...Long time no see." Chiba Tamonshiro hesitated for a moment, then nodded gently and responded to Qingto's proactive greeting.

Chiba Jutaro still needs to teach swordsmanship, and Shannan also needs to continue practicing swordsmanship. Naturally, they cannot chat with Ayoto for a long time.

Therefore, after briefly greeting Qingdeng a few times, they returned to their business and continued to do their own work.

As a result, Aomori could only stand at the edge of the dojo with Sanako, who had nothing important to do at the moment, and Chiba Tamonshiro, who was also very free now, and chatted together.

"...Tachibana-kun."

During the chat, Chiba Tamonshiro suddenly asked Aonori with a very serious expression.

"How are you preparing for the red-white battle in eight days' time?"

"We have assembled the maximum combat power for the time being." Qingto replied in a half-joking tone, "Uncle Gen...oh, no, Inoue Genzaburo returned to Edo a few days ago."

"As long as there are no accidents, all the current masters in our trial defense hall will be able to go into battle in eight days."

"Genzaburo Inoue is back?" Chiba Tamonshiro's eyebrows twitched slightly and he pondered, "It seems... the battle in eight days will be more difficult than I imagined."

Today is August 12th.

There are only 8 days left until August 20th...that is, the day when the Trial Guard Hall and the Xuanwu Hall will hold the red and white battle together!

This red and white battle is very large - there are 20 people from each side. It is a 20vs20 melee.

Just the day before yesterday, after a long period of deliberation, Shusuke finally decided on the list of 20 people who will represent the Imperial Guard Hall in this red-white match.

Qingden, who has completely recovered, is among them.

The names of the four main players of the Trial Guard Hall: Kondo, Hijikata, Okita, and the newly returned Inoue are also on the list.

Nagakura, Saito, and Harada are all diners of the Sword Hall, not apprentices of the Sword Hall, so none of them can participate in this grand event that only apprentices of the Sword Hall can participate in.

The three of them could only stand on the edge of the field as "cheerleaders" and cheer for Qingdeng and the others.

To put it simply - Qingteng Shicai's words are indeed correct. The Trial Guard Hall has indeed assembled its maximum combat power.

Except for Zhousuke, who is no longer able to participate in such a high-intensity swordsmanship competition due to his old age, all the masters from the trial defense hall will join the battle after the 8th!

At first glance, the "battle list" is quite luxurious, with all the masters that the trial defense hall can send out.

However... everyone in the Trial Guard Hall, including Qingdeng, had no idea what the outcome of this upcoming fierce battle would be.

Because just a few days ago, they received news that Michizaburo Chiba was going to personally participate in this red and white battle!

Michizaburo Chiba... After hearing this name and knowing that they would probably face this person in this red-white battle, many people in the trial defense hall were immediately trembling.

Prior to this, in all the red and white battles between the Imperial Guard Hall and the Xuanbu Hall, there had never been a precedent for Chiba Michizaburo to end personally.

Chiba Michizaburo, who has been famous for a long time and can wield two swords at once, is going to join the war. We are definitely going to lose. Very few people directly shouted out this kind of defeatist speech that enhances other people's ambition and destroys our prestige.

Some people call it "invincible"... This is not the scariest thing.

The most frightening thing is that many people have not refuted these negative remarks.

Recalling the news that the atmosphere in the Imperial Examination Hall had been very dull recently, Ayoto, after pondering for a moment, asked softly to Chiba Tamonshiro next to him:

"...Chiba-kun. I heard that your brother Chiba Michisaburo will personally participate in this red and white battle. Is this true?"

"Huh? Oh, you're talking about this..."

The corners of Chiba Tamonshiro's mouth raised a vague arc.

"It's true. My third brother is indeed determined to participate in this red-white war."

"What a surprise..." Qingdeng said slowly, "Obviously in all the red and white battles between our Trial Guard Hall and your Xuanwu Hall, he never left the field to participate, so why did he suddenly make an exception this time?"

"...Tachibana-kun." After Chiba Tamonshiro was silent for a while, he turned his eyes and fixed his gaze on Qingto, "It's rare that I meet you here by chance today... I will confess to you."

"The reason why Third Brother made an exception to participate in this red and white battle is because of you."

"Because of me?" Qingdeng was startled.

"Everyone with a discerning eye can see that in the "Plum Blossom Festival" half a year ago, your trial defense hall relied on you to defeat the Little Chiba Sword Hall."

"Third brother, he has long wanted to personally test how powerful the trial gym has become after having you too many."

"And the strength and achievements you showed in the battle against the Yi group more than two months ago... This further increased the third brother's interest in you."

"Third brother, he is very determined this time - he is going to have a good fight with your trial defense hall in the red and white battle in eight days' time."

"Ha..." Qingdeng understood the reason and laughed dumbly, "Then I'm really scared."

"You all should be prepared." Chiba Tamonshiro looked away from Qingto, "My third brother is very strong."

Speaking of this, Chiba Tamonshiro, who always had few expressions, showed a rare proud smile.

"The third brother's ability to secure his position as the second-generation head of the Genbukan and the second-generation head of the Beichen Ittoryu clan relies on more than just his identity as the 'third son of Chiba Shusaku'."

"Let me put it bluntly - even if you, Kondo, Hijikata, Okita, and Inoue come together, they will not be my third brother's opponent."

Chiba Tamonshiro's confident and somewhat provocative speech did not arouse Aonto's displeasure or annoyance.

He showed an expression of displeasure and annoyance, which were the most indescribable negative emotions.

"……Hahaha."

After Chiba Tamonshiro finished speaking, Aoden chuckled a few times.

"Hearing what you say, I am even more looking forward to the battle in eight days."

"When the time comes, please be sure to give me your advice!"

Qingdeng's words and expressions were dyed with a cheerful smile without any pretense or pretense.

"...?" Chiba Tamonshiro, who did not expect Qingto to show such an expression, was stunned when he spoke.

Sanako, who has a relatively close relationship with Qingteng and roughly knows Qingteng's personality, pursed her red lips, tilted her beautiful eyes slightly, and looked at Qingteng standing side by side with her eyes with a faint smile -

- Sanako's look seemed to be saying to Qingto: I knew you would say that.

What Aoto said to Chiba Tamonshiro just now, "I am looking forward even more to the battle in eight days," was not a bluff.

He is indeed looking forward to the red-white battle eight days later!

Michizaburo Chiba can do two things at once, and can do different things with both hands... If he can fight with Michizaburo Chiba, he might be able to turn such a strong talent into his own!

If a talent like Chiba Doisaburo who has already developed extremely superb swordsmanship at a young age does not have the talent of "swordsmanship talent increased XX times that of ordinary people", Qingto would never believe it.

Even if you can't successfully copy the talent of "doing two things at once" from Michizaburo Chiba, you should still be able to get the talent of "increasing your swordsmanship ability".

Anyway, there is no way that a fight with a strong man like Chiba Michisaburo will be fruitless.
To be continued...