Chapter 189: Chapter 98: Oh My! Miss Kinoshita, Are You Blushing?

"No way! That Little Chiba Sword Dojo actually lost?"

"Hey, didn’t you say this Shiwei Hall was an obscure little dojo?"

"It is an obscure dojo! Ask people around here, see if anyone knows what Shiwei Hall is."

"So you’re saying: the famous Little Chiba Sword Dojo lost to an obscure little dojo?"

...

The reason some of the audience came to watch this match was entirely because the Little Chiba Sword Dojo was participating.

They wanted to see how powerful the swordsmen from the Little Chiba Sword Dojo, known for its quality apprentices, dojo size, and reputation only trailing the Xuanwu Hall, Shixue Hall, Training Hall, these "Edo’s Three Great Dojos," really were.

They didn’t pay any attention to the entirely unknown Shiwei Hall from start to finish.

The outcome of this match seemed obvious, how could a small dojo like Shiwei Hall be a match for a great dojo like Little Chiba Sword Dojo—they were all so certain of that.

But now...The Little Chiba Sword Dojo, which they were sure would win, actually lost...

And they lost quite badly.

Shiwei Hall actually only sent out Aoto and Chokata, yet they pierced through the joint defense of the Chiba Siblings and then deflected Yamanaka and the others’ attempts to reinforce, breaking through the main array of Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

Those spectators who pre-determined "Shiwei Hall will definitely lose, Little Chiba Sword Dojo will definitely win" now stared wide-eyed, mouths agape in extreme shock.

Of course—only a small portion of the audience was especially shocked by the defeat of Little Chiba Sword Dojo.

The vast majority were just ordinary civilians who couldn’t distinguish the Beichen One-Sword Style, Natural Reasoning Heart Stream, or recognize Little Chiba Sword Dojo or Shiwei Hall.

They came just to see swordsmen fight, just for fun.

To those who just came for entertainment, today’s match was extremely exciting, full of twists and turns.

Shiwei Hall first set up a very peculiar, incomprehensible defensive formation.

When everyone thought Shiwei Hall’s defense would definitely be pierced by Little Chiba Sword Dojo, the defense stood firm and successfully withstood Little Chiba Sword Dojo’s fierce attack.

When almost all the swordsmen from Little Chiba Sword Dojo were held back by Kondo and the others, Aoto, as the Grand General, surprisingly led Chokata to the front line, breaking through the midfield defense of the Chiba Siblings in one breath.

Then, when some thought the backfield of Little Chiba Sword Dojo was empty and Shiwei Hall was going to win, Yamanaka and others finally successfully reinforced, raising the tension once again.

Yamanaka and his group’s reinforcement was just a brief scare, Aoto and Chokata eventually took down Yamanaka and his group one by one, ultimately shattering the porcelain bowl on the head of Little Chiba Sword Dojo’s Grand General, winning the match.

With brilliant twists and exhilarating combat, it was extremely satisfying to watch.

These spectators, who made up the majority, simply wanted to have a good time and now were cheering, celebrating the birth of the victor.

In the "VIP section," Abi sat like she had lost her soul, staring blankly at the arena where the outcome was already decided. It was about half a minute later that her "soul" finally returned to her body.

Her cheeks flushed red with excitement, seeming not to feel any pain as she continuously slapped her thigh vigorously.

Too overwhelmed by emotions, Abi couldn’t utter a complete sentence for a while.

Unlike his wife, Zhouzhu wasn’t as excited, but his expression was also far from calm.

Usually squinting, he now opened his eyes slightly, staring straight at the arena, his gaze no longer as calm as usual.

"... Amazing." Kiryu smiled slightly, "It was truly a wonderful match."

Mukiwa, though not as overtly excited as Abi, with thigh-slapping action, had her face reddened with excitement.

On the other end of the "VIP section," Chiba Domon Shiro’s eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Shiwei Hall... won...?"

Chiba Domon Shiro was filled with disbelief. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Compared to Chiba Domon Shiro, Chiba Dingji sitting next to him was much more composed.

Whether it was when Aoto and Chokata launched a counterattack, or witnessing his son and daughter defeated, the porcelain bowl on their Grand General’s head shattered, Chiba Dingji remained calm, hardly showing any expression change.

Even now with the match over, Chiba Dingji’s expression finally changed—he quietly watched the cheering Shiwei Hall members on the arena, a slight upward curl on his lips, revealing a faint smile.

"... Shirō, come with me."

"Hmm?" Chiba Dingji’s words snapped Chiba Domon Shiro back to reality from his stunned state.

Seeing Chiba Dingji who had already stood up, he asked in confusion:

"Uncle, where are we going?"

"Just follow me."

...

...

On the arena—

Looking at Asakura with the porcelain bowl on his forehead already shattered, Aoto couldn’t help but breathe a long sigh of relief.

—They won...

Aoto felt as if he had instantly lost 10 pounds.

The tension in his mind released all at once, and only then did Aoto realize that his inner clothes were soaked with sweat.

The arena was as big as three basketball courts put together, and from sprinting madly from one end to the other, while engaging in fierce battles with the Chiba Siblings and Yamanaka, both he and Chokata found the innermost layer of their clothes drenched in warm sweat.

Standing beside Aoto, Chokata still maintained the posture of swinging his sword to shatter the porcelain bowl on Asakura’s forehead.