A person in Japan, a sword that soars to immortality.

Chapter 159 Protecting the General, and even more importantly, finding Lord Taiyi.

27 years later, in February 1863, in Kyoto.

On the Vermilion Bird Continent, passersby all changed their expressions upon seeing the hundreds of warriors approaching and instinctively dodged to the sides.

"Tch, I thought the people of Kyoto were something special, but I didn't expect them to be like mice before a cat when they see us. They're so weak."

A burly samurai with a square face, long hair, two swords at his waist, and wearing a brown haori, looked around and stood in the ranks, speaking disdainfully.

His teammates, upon hearing his words, all showed expressions of agreement and nodded repeatedly.

However, in the group not far behind the burly warrior, a small group of warriors, whose temperament and appearance were clearly different from the other warriors, all frowned.

"Brother Sui San, Serizawa Kamo is getting more and more arrogant. How could someone like him become a True Qi Warrior? I really don't know which master of the Sword Master taught him the secrets of cultivation."

Wearing a brown haori on top and dark green hakama on the bottom, with a white belt around his waist, and carrying two swords, Souji, whose face is seven parts heroic and three parts handsome, began to complain to the samurai beside him.

Beside him, Hijikata Toshizo, dressed the same but with a handsome face that was seven parts good looks and three parts heroic spirit, stared thoughtfully at Serizawa Kamo's back.

Around him were Yamanami Keisuke, who wore glasses and a black kimono and was equally handsome; Kondo Isami, who had a heroic look and a broad back; and Yukimura Chizuru, who was dressed as a man.

Their performance, placed among a group of hundreds of samurai, was simply outstanding, standing out like cranes among chickens.

That's why the slovenly-dressed, bandit-like samurai along the way didn't like to interact with them, but instead highly regarded Serizawa Kamo, who also had a bandit-like air about him.

"Sōji, you must not speak ill of the members of Kenshū behind their backs. Serizawa Kamo's problem is his own problem, not Kenshū's problem."

"Yes, Commander, if these words get back to your master, she might punish you by making you copy the Taoist scriptures a hundred more times!"

Yamanami Keisuke pushed up his glasses and finished speaking with a chuckle. Kondo Isao, who was standing next to him, also laughed heartily and said something.

But one word always came up in their conversations: sword control. This puzzled Yukimura Chizuru, who had joined the team halfway through.

"What exactly is this 'Sword Control' they're talking about?"

"Are those adults that Keisuke-nii mentioned as powerful as Lord Tsugikuni of Gengetsu-kan?"

Thinking of this, the image of that tall and majestic figure, along with his unparalleled aura, resurfaced in her mind.

In today's world, the most dazzling beings are no longer the nobles, or even the emperor and generals, but the warriors of true qi.

For some reason, more than 20 years ago, the world suddenly became somewhat different from before.

In the west, news of demons and monsters appearing is rampant, while in the east, the Ou region is shrouded in thick fog year-round, and many terrifying monsters appear.

People lived in constant fear until the appearance of the True Qi Warrior allowed everyone to observe for the first time up close what it meant for a deity to descend to earth.

Magnificent sword energy, powerful physique, and dazzling figure.

These warriors are different from the traditional warriors with fierce expressions. Most of them are graceful, have an otherworldly temperament, and possess extraordinary strength.

However, the number of True Qi Warriors is relatively small, while the number of these ghosts and monsters is very large.

Therefore, local lords did their best to block the news and fool the public, while spending a lot of money to recruit these true qi warriors.

Yukimura Chizuru is someone who ran away from Satsuma because she was dissatisfied with her family's arrangements and did not want to become a tool for marriage or a tool for reproduction.

Her initial goal was to go to Edo, the most prosperous city in all of Japan.

Little did he know that upon arriving there, before he had even become familiar with the surroundings, he would accidentally join the group of samurai.

The samurai contingent of nearly two hundred men was organized by the shogunate to protect the fourteenth shogun, Tokugawa Iemochi, who was about to travel to Kyoto (to meet the emperor).

"Hey! Chizuru, what are you daydreaming about?"

A hand suddenly appeared and covered her head from above.

Yukimura Chizuru shrank her neck, rolled her eyes, and cursed inwardly that such an absurd way of greeting must be Toudou Heisuke's doing!

"Heisuke, you pervert in those tight pants, don't mess up my hairstyle!"

Yukimura Chizuru slapped the other person's hand away, pouted, and while fixing her hair, said irritably.

"Oh my, why are you so particular about your hairstyle, just like a girl?"

Heisuke Todo scratched the back of his head and said jokingly.

Well......

Her face flushed slightly, but Yukimura Chizuru didn't say anything and continued to quietly fix her hair.

It's best not to reveal the secret that I'm a woman disguised as a man.

Thinking of this, she immediately changed the subject.

"What is this 'Sword Control' you're talking about?"

With wide, innocent eyes, it looked around and finally fixed its gaze on the face of Hijikata Toshizo, whose looks were the most striking.

"You said this."

When the topic of swordsmanship was brought up, Hijikata Toshizo, who had been silent all along, finally showed a change in expression.

With his eyes fixed straight ahead, he straightened the katana slung at his waist as he walked, and after steadying himself, he slowly said:

"Sword Control is an extraordinary place."

"That's the place I most want to go in my life."

"To become a personal disciple of those adults is my ultimate dream..."

Kennogo is a place located in Edo, which is recognized by all the samurai in the Kanto region as a place where immortals exist.

Sword Royal's dojo doesn't have a fixed location, and similarly, the exact number of Sword Royal's members is still unknown.

The reason why Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, and others were able to come into contact with Kennogo was because their usual dojo, Shieikan, was suddenly visited by a disheveled, drunk man one day.

The man stepped onto the dojo floor without even changing his shoes.

Later, he defeated everyone, and in the end, looking at the fallen crowd, he uttered a sentence that would change their fate:

"Wow, they're all promising talents. I never expected to discover so many potential warriors in this era."

"Selling these people to Zuoqie and Shuxian will probably get us a lot of money for drinks."

"Haha, as expected, it's better to hand it over to those two than to teach apprentices and collect money myself."

Subsequently, Kondo Isami, Hijikata Toshizo, and Okita Souji, all with bruised and swollen faces, were "sold" to their respective masters on that day, like slaves being sold, with their hands tied with straw ropes.

“Master Shuxian, I will definitely complete the task you assigned me during my trip to Kyoto.”

"Protect the general, protect yourselves, and above all..."

"We've found Lord Taiichi!"