Chapter 391: Chapter 146: Instant Kill Again and Again! Final Opponent: Niitsuma Kan

"Even from a pragmatic perspective, establishing a good relationship with such a young swordsman, who is both remarkably talented and of excellent character, and whose future is bound to be bright, is nothing but beneficial for our Sword Dojo and the Chiba family."

As Chiba Shigetarou spoke, he discreetly glanced at his sister beside him with a barely noticeable movement...

...

...

The next day—

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

Just as dawn broke, the bustling noise in Asakusa never ceased.

The scene of the Swordsmanship Competition... was even more lively than yesterday.

It might be because many people heard about the extraordinary excitement of this competition last night, so quite a number came upon hearing the news, causing the number of spectators in the viewing stands to rise significantly. Many were left to lament outside the stands when they couldn’t squeeze in to see the events on the stage.

To avoid not finding a good spot, Aoto and his group also set out early for Asakusa today.

Upon arriving at the venue, they saw that, surprisingly, the people from Xuanwu Hall and Little Chiba Sword Dojo had come ahead of them and were already seated in the viewing stands.

All the members of the Chiba family were present again today.

Naturally, Aoto’s group once again sat with the Chiba family.

Only a little over twenty contestants remained, and since their numbers weren’t large, all the remaining matches could be completed in less than a morning.

In other words—the ultimate question of who would have the fortune to wear the crown of victory in this competition was to be answered this morning!

Just like yesterday: the viewing stands filled with spectators, and only then did the daimyos of the Vassal States, led by the Marquis of Aizu, finally arrive. Following that, the old samurai who served as the emcee yesterday stood once again in the center of the stage, loudly announcing to everyone in the stands that today’s competition was officially starting!

The method of selecting competitors was still by drawing lots.

After achieving the remarkable feat of "defeating three opponents with three swords" yesterday, Aoto was the undisputed star of today.

Whenever Aoto’s name was announced, whenever he stepped onto the stage with his sword, the cheers from the stands were far more vigorous than for any other contestant.

Many spectators eagerly discussed: Could those unfortunate enough to face Aoto withstand even a single slash from him?

Compared to yesterday, today’s competition was evidently much more tedious for Aoto.

Except for Niitsuma Kan, the remaining contestants were far inferior to Morioka and Tsuzaki, whom Aoto encountered yesterday.

Even Morioka and Tsuzaki, known as part of the "Three Heroes," were no match for Aoto, so how could the others be?

Therefore, in the fourth elimination round, Aoto once again swiftly dispatched his opponent with a single sword stroke, smoothly advancing to the fifth elimination round.

Upon entering the fifth elimination round, the scene remained the same: Aoto’s name was called, he took the stage with his sword, defeated his opponent in an instant, and returned to the stands.

Neither in the fourth elimination round nor in the fifth did Aoto manage to replicate any talent from his opponents.

This further reinforced Aoto’s belief: in this world, whether in academia, martial arts, or anything else, genuinely talented people are indeed a rare breed; the vast majority are just ordinary people without any remarkable traits.

None of those participating in this competition were anything less than top young contenders from various sword dojos.

Yet, up to this point, Aoto had only managed to replicate the "Swordsmanship Talent Amplification" from Morioka and Tsuzaki.

Even in such a grand event where elites gather, not everyone possesses a "Swordsmanship Talent Amplification," which only indicates that those who can be called "geniuses" are very few. Many regarded as geniuses are actually lacking any real talent, relying solely on sufficient effort combined with a scientific approach to learning.

Today, Aoto repeated his feats from yesterday, effortlessly defeating all his opponents with a single slash, inevitably causing a commotion in the stands.

After the fifth elimination round concluded, the competition advanced to the sixth... and final round!

Only two contestants remained.

Aoto and Niitsuma Kan!

*******

*******

Even though there are no W words today, there are 8100 words, which is still quite a lot, asking for monthly votes! Asking for recommendation votes! Asking for favorites! (Leopard-headed wailing.jpg)

The author would like to make an effort this month to see if he can get this book into the top 100 of the monthly vote leaderboard, so this month, the author will be working hard to update constantly, and hopes that the readers can give the author strong support (Leopard-headed wailing.jpg)

The author will try to write more than 10,000 words tomorrow to finish the fight between Aoto and Niitsuma Kan in one go.