My Gang of Swordsmen

Chapter 354 - 139: Clash of Momentums! A Brand-New Realm! [7300]

No, it’s not just my palms... my forehead and back are also covered in cold sweat.

Thump, thump, thump, thump... the beating of my heart intensifies...

Aoto sensed that this was not a result of the "Lone Brave" effect deepening, causing his heart to race—it was because of the immense psychological pressure, leading to his body betraying signs of accelerated heartbeat and cold sweat.

When Zhouzhu opened his eyes, exuding the fierce aura of a tiger descending from the mountains, Aoto felt as if his heart had been crushed by a heavy stone.

This feeling... was really like being stared down by a fierce tiger, or facing off against one.

This was the first time Aoto had seen this sharp and aggressive side of Zhouzhu, and it was also his first time facing a swordsman with such a powerful presence.

He found it difficult to equate the swordsman in front of him, with his tense expression and sharp aura, with the comedic elder of Shiwei Hall he knew so well.

The current Hall Master of Shiwei Hall, the Third Generation Head of the Natural Reason Heart School—for some reason, because Zhouzhu’s usual demeanor was so humorous, this list of titles belonging to Zhouzhu, which Aoto always unconsciously forgot, flashed through his mind.

——Haha, I subconsciously forgot... How could someone who is the Sect Leader of a swordsmanship school be just a henpecked husband?

With the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, Aoto tightened his grip on his sweating palms, took a deep breath, and his expression turned solemn.

In his eyes, fighting spirit burned.

At this moment, Aoto was not even aware—facing the fierce "tiger" across from him, he did not feel any fear or dread in his heart, but instead, his fighting spirit rose even higher.

——Bring it on!

His eyes, without blinking, intently watched Zhouzhu’s every move, prepared for any action he might take next.

Just as Aoto was on full alert, carefully contemplating Zhouzhu’s possible next moves, Zhouzhu, who had maintained an aggressive posture, suddenly let out a slow breath and then gradually lowered the bamboo sword in front of him.

As he lowered the sword in his hand, Zhouzhu’s eyelids slowly descended.

His eyes returned to their usual squint, and a gentle, friendly smile reappeared on his lips.

Along with Zhouzhu closing his eyes, the fierce aura that had been emanating from him vanished, reverting to the comedic elder of Shiwei Hall that Aoto was familiar with.

"Alright, let’s stop here for now..." Zhouzhu stretched out his hand to rub his left shoulder, "Mr. Tachibana, come over here."

"Huh?" Aoto, with a face full of confusion, blinked hard at Zhouzhu.

Suddenly attacking him without a word and then abruptly announcing "let’s stop here"... Aoto felt he couldn’t quite keep up with Zhouzhu’s overly decisive pace.

Since Zhouzhu had already laid down his sword, indicating "no more fighting," Aoto could only obediently follow suit and lower his sword before quickly stepping in front of Zhouzhu.

"Mr. Tachibana, sit."

Zhouzhu casually pointed to the floor in front of him, then sat cross-legged on the ground himself.

"Mr. Tachibana, what are your thoughts on our match just now?" Zhouzhu paused, then added, "Just say whatever comes to mind, share all your thoughts and feelings from the match."

"Thoughts..." Aoto crossed his legs and sat down like Zhouzhu, after pondering for a moment, he spoke slowly and calmly:

"At the start of the spar, although you were strong, I didn’t have the feeling that ’you were terrifying.’"

"But just now, after you opened your eyes wide... the aura around you suddenly changed."

"Like you transformed from a cat into a tiger."

"With your aura’s abrupt change, I, who could have fought back and forth with you, was instantly suppressed by you."

"Hmm..." Quietly listening to Aoto’s account of his thoughts, Zhouzhu grinned, "From a cat to a tiger... haha, that’s quite an accurate assessment."

Zhouzhu raised his hand and touched his smooth chin.

"Mr. Tachibana, you should know about my grandfather... who was also the founder of our Natural Reason Heart School: Kondo Naizosuke, right?"

"Of course I know," Aoto answered without hesitation, "When I first joined Shiwei Hall, Mr. Kondo and Mr. Chokata told me some stories about our founder."

Their founder of the Natural Reason Heart School, Kondo Naizosuke, was originally a swordsman of the Katori Shinto-ryu.

After mastering Katori Shinto-ryu, he added his understanding and founded the Natural Reason Heart School 70 years ago during the Kansei Era.

When founding the Natural Reason Heart School, Kondo Naizosuke was not even 30 years old—this shows that Aoto’s founder was no ordinary talent, but a man of extraordinary skill and potential.

"Hmm." Zhouzhu nodded, "Have you ever heard from Yong and Toshisuke about the story of our founder and his master?"

"Uh..." Aoto was taken aback, "I’m really not sure about that..."

The story of Founder Kondo Naizosuke and his master... this was the first time Aoto had heard of it.

"Yong and Toshisuke haven’t told you... well then, I’ll briefly tell you now."

Zhouzhu cleared his throat.

"Our founder Kondo Naizosuke had a particularly mysterious master."

"According to the secret legends passed down in the Kondo family, this mysterious master of our founder didn’t offer any specific guidance on swordsmanship techniques, only imparted one sentence—"