Edo, Little Ishikawa Hoshimura Willow Street, Shiwei Hall—
Squawk! Squawk! Squawk!
The crows outside send annoying caws.
The sunset had long fully dipped below the horizon, dyeing the clouds in the sky red.
Since it’s now closing time, the dojo of Shiwei Hall is empty—only one person remains in the center of the dojo.
Aoto, without any protective gear, holds a bamboo sword and closes his eyes tightly.
You can see him sometimes squatting, sometimes standing up, sometimes stepping forward, sometimes swinging his sword at the air... At first glance, it might seem like Aoto has lost his mind, fighting and wrestling with the air, but in fact, Aoto is engaging in a "combat simulation."
——Back then... if I could have taken just half a step more forward, I would have been able to further suppress Shinno...
Scenes and details from the solo duel with Shinno five days ago repeatedly play and replay in Aoto’s mind.
Recalling that battle.
Thinking about what he didn’t do well at the time and what areas could be improved.
The body moves with the thoughts!
Standing alone in the center of the dojo, he dodges, defends, counters, attacks... Clearly, there is no one in front of him, but his increasingly swift and fierce moves make it seem as though he is once again fiercely battling against Shinno.
After nearly half an hour, Aoto gradually stops his bamboo sword and slowly opens his eyes.
Having spent such a long time and effort in a "combat simulation," a thin layer of sweat surfaces on Aoto.
He lifts his right shoulder and casually wipes the sweat off his face with the fabric on his shoulder, then grins, letting out a joyful chuckle.
"Great... I’ve refined my skills even further..."
To commend Aoto for his achievements and to allow him to rest and recover peacefully from the injury Shinno inflicted on his left leg during their battle, Hosoi generously granted Aoto a ten-day holiday.
Aoto has managed to utilize this long-awaited vacation to the fullest.
Since the holiday began, he has hardly gone anywhere—mostly staying at Shiwei Hall, constantly reviewing the battle with Shinno while his memory remains vivid.
Recently, Aoto has come to increasingly appreciate the strength of the talent he copied from Yamanaka: "Memory."
When Aoto first gained "Memory," he thought this talent was only beneficial for academic learning.
However, over time, Aoto discovered: a strong memory also greatly benefits his martial arts training!
With a strong memory, he can recall past battles vividly, which greatly helps Aoto review these battles!
Even though it’s been five days, he still remembers every detail of the duel with Shinno... what moves he and Shinno made at any given time, clearly.
A fierce life-and-death encounter with the Anti-foreigner Group inside the Foreign Language Research Institute—looking at the outcome, Aoto gained a lot from this incident five days ago.
In detail, Aoto achieved five major gains from this incident.
The first gain: Aoto copied a new talent: Beautiful Hair, from Shinno.
This talent... from a certain angle, it can be considered a powerful talent.
How many people are troubled by the agony of hair loss?
With the talent of "Beautiful Hair," Aoto no longer has to worry about hair loss or receding hairlines in the future.
The second gain: He befriended Katsu Rintarō and the Foreign Language Research Institute.
There’s no need for superfluous words—Katsu Rintarō and the scholars of the Foreign Language Research Institute are extremely grateful to Aoto for saving their lives.
The Foreign Language Research Institute is currently the Edo Shogunate’s academic center for Western studies, gathering many academic experts for research.
As for Katsu Rintarō, he is simply a political rising star, enjoying great trust from General Tokugawa Iemochi and the Shogun’s Principal Consort Tenshōin in recent years.
Now, with a special relationship with this Shogunate minister and this crucial academic center, Aoto has gained a political backing, no longer a lone reed drifting without support in the political world.
The third gain: The intense battle with Shinno and others brought new breakthroughs in Aoto’s strength.
The battles with Shinno and others convinced Aoto that life-and-death duels with true swords are indeed the most effective way to enhance one’s strength!
When measuring which technique can improve a person’s skills the most, 100 friendly sparring sessions with protective gear and bamboo swords do not compare to one life-gambling duel with true swords.
These past few days, Aoto has been reviewing the battles with Shinno in his mind repeatedly.
Thinking about what he lacked, which moves weren’t executed well, and any areas for improvement...
Using "Memory" to review the battles.
Then under the incredible effects of the divine-level talents "Sword Genius" and "Ghost Heart," after repeating reviews multiple times, Aoto feels that his swordsmanship skill has improved significantly!
Aoto thinks—given some more time to practice or another one or two fierce true sword duels, his strength would improve to a level where he wouldn’t trigger "Lone Brave" in renewed duel with Shinno!
The fourth gain: Aoto’s reputation further increased.
No need for more words, Aoto, who once again attained meritorious deeds, became better known and familiarized with more people.
As for Saito, Nagakura, and others, they also made their names in the battle.
The people from the South and North Guard Stations now all know—Aoto recruited several highly skilled subordinates!
Each one is a capable hand capable of fighting ten people on their own. Aoto’s major meritorious deed owes much to the assisting contributions of Saito, Nagakura, and others.
Because Aoto, leading only a handful of subordinates, could defeat dozens of Anti-foreigner Group members who attacked the Foreign Language Research Institute with such an outstanding and fierce performance, even such sayings emerged: Aoto’s team is the Edo Magistrate’s Office’s first "Martial Combat Faction!"
These days, some of Aoto’s colleagues have visited and asked where he recruited such strong undercover informants.
Aoto was glad to advertise the Thousand Affairs House, which had been of much assistance to him all along.
Therefore, whenever someone asked this question, Aoto would enthusiastically reply that Boss Kiryu of the Thousand Affairs House introduced them to him, and also took a moment to praise how excellent a job placement service the Thousand Affairs House is.
As for the fifth gain... it’s perhaps Aoto’s most surprising harvest.
Just yesterday, the rewards for Aoto’s great accomplishment were confirmed and issued.
A reward of 50 ryō and an increase of 400-koku salary! Promoted to a 500-koku middle-level member of the Imperial Family!
Last night, I went to an important dinner with my Shiranui Mai and came home late, so today’s update is a bit less, but I still humbly ask for monthly votes and recommendations! I’ll try to write more tomorrow (crying jaguar.jpg)
Thanks to reader [Reader20180122225820265] for the alliance leader reward! Thank you very much! (crying jaguar.jpg)
This book has one more alliance leader, congratulations are in order, congratulations are in order.
Missing Chapters are accumulating as well... Currently, the book owes explosive updates to 4 alliance leaders...
But rest assured everyone! The author will certainly repay these owed updates! Will not default! The author remembers clearly how many alliance leaders’ explosive updates are still owed!
You all can urge me as much as you want!

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