My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 445: Chapter 160: Aoto vs. Chiba Eijiro, Facing "Edo’s Strongest"!

As soon as Chiba Eijiro finished speaking, everyone’s eyes in the hall instantly focused on Aoto.

Aoto widened his eyes in surprise, staring directly at Chiba Eijiro with a puzzled gaze, softly repeating what Chiba Eijiro had just said: "Came... for me?"

Until now, the only connection between Aoto and Chiba Eijiro was having seen each other and exchanged a few words at the previous swordsmanship competition.

From the perspective of their relationship... Aoto and Chiba Eijiro could barely be considered "acquaintances," not even friends.

What could it be that prompts Chiba Eijiro to visit me at the Shiwei Hall specifically? Aoto was completely baffled.

Chiba Eijiro seemed to want to observe Aoto’s surprised and puzzled expression a little longer. After smiling and making eye contact with Aoto for a moment, he spoke slowly as if savoring each word:

"Since the swordsmanship competition of the Marquis of Aizu concluded, I have wanted to have a good chat with you."

"Mr. Tachibana, let me get straight to the point and keep it short."

"In the finals of the recent swordsmanship competition, there was a moment when you released ’Shi’."

"Although the ’Shi’ you released suddenly was fleeting, I could vaguely sense that your ’Shi’ and others’ ’Shi’... have some slight differences."

"... Different?" A shadow of doubt immediately appeared in the dignified space between Aoto’s brows, with a perplexed and suspicious expression on his face.

The audience’s eyes in the hall then made a 180-degree reversal. Everyone, including Zhouzhu, shifted their puzzled gaze from Aoto to Chiba Eijiro.

It seems that even Zhouzhu didn’t understand what Chiba Eijiro’s words meant just now.

Even being pressured by everyone’s gaze, Chiba Eijiro remained calm and composed.

He half-closed his eyes and pondered for a moment:

"Hmm... how should I explain this..."

While thinking and choosing his words in his mind, Chiba Eijiro said with a smile:

"’Shi’ is essentially the kind of qi field that martial artists develop over years of training to intimidate opponents."

"Although each person’s ’Shi’ might slightly differ due to their personality, past experiences, and martial arts style, they are largely similar."

"The difference between them is like the difference between spring water from Mount Fuji and spring water from Hakone Mountain—perhaps there might be slight differences in impurities mixed in the water, but overall, there is no significant difference as both are spring water."

"However—Mr. Tachibana, your ’Shi’ is different."

Chiba Eijiro, whose eyes were already half-closed, now squinted even more, while looking straight at Aoto, a deep light emanating from under his eyelids.

"Because the ’Shi’ you released during the swordsmanship competition appeared for just an instant, I didn’t have time to deeply comprehend your ’Shi’, so I also don’t know how to describe how your ’Shi’ differs from ordinary people’s ’Shi’."

"But I’m very sure—compared to others, your ’Shi’ is indeed unique."

"The reason I wanted to find you is to ask: Can you now freely control your ’Shi’? I want to experience your ’Shi’ again and see what peculiarities your ’Shi’ might actually have."

After finishing speaking, Chiba Eijiro said no more and stared directly at Aoto, waiting quietly for Aoto’s response.

Since Chiba Eijiro began explaining why he thought Aoto’s ’Shi’ was different from others, the astonishment on Aoto’s face had not faded.

This was the first time Aoto had heard about his ’Shi’ being unique.

Not only Aoto was astonished.

Zhouzhu, Kondo, Chokata... In short, everyone in the hall, except Chiba Eijiro, was showing expressions of varying degrees of surprise.

"Teacher." At this moment, Chokata confusedly tilted his head and looked at Zhouzhu, who was sitting diagonally in front of him, "Is what Eisuke said true? Is Mr. Tachibana’s ’Shi’ really different from ordinary people?"

"Uh, well..." Zhouzhu awkwardly chuckled a few times, "I really don’t know... like you guys, I haven’t found anything unusual about Aoto’s ’Shi’..."

As Chiba Eijiro kept silently staring at Aoto, waiting for his response, Aoto once again became the focus of everyone’s attention in the hall.

Slowly coming back to his senses, Aoto pressed his lips together, then shook his head with a wry smile:

"I am still far from reaching the level where I can freely release and gather ’Shi’."

"The ’Shi’ I released during the swordsmanship competition... was purely coincidental."

"Don’t even talk about freely releasing and gathering ’Shi’, I still don’t understand how I managed to release ’Shi’ back then."

Zhouzhu recently educated Aoto a lot about the knowledge concerning ’Shi’.

In refining ’Shi’, all martial artists experience the following three stages.

The first stage is where the vast majority of martial artists are: unable to touch the threshold of refining ’Shi’, unable to release the slightest hint of ’Shi’.

The second stage is where one can occasionally release ’Shi’, but cannot control it freely at all.

The third stage, which is the level that Zhouzhu and people like them have reached, is where they can freely release and gather their ’Shi’ as they wish.

Regarding how to freely release and gather ’Shi’, Zhouzhu once explained—this is a skill that can naturally be mastered.