Yu Guizhi had no such scruples and directly spoke her mind.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the venue became extremely tense.
Many onlookers immediately perked up.
After all, it had just been a battle of words, but once Yu Guizhi said this, the nature of the situation instantly changed.
If the people from Dingtai Martial Arts Hall couldn’t respond reasonably to this challenge, then there was no point in continuing the banquet.
As expected.
Upon hearing Yu Guizhi’s words, Shen Dao and Miao Shaocheng’s faces both darkened, and they stepped forward, just about to speak.
Meng Shiwen raised her hand to stop the three of them and coldly stared at Yu Guizhi across from her.
"Yu Guizhi, you can eat anything you like, but you can’t just say whatever you want."
At this point, Yu Guizhi simply let go.
Especially when she saw that Master Yuan Chenfeng hadn’t said a word, seemingly allowing her actions, she felt even more confident.
"Ha, whether I’m speaking nonsense, you know in your heart, but you seem quite dissatisfied. How about we exchange a few moves to entertain everyone?" Yu Guizhi said.
Hearing her words, Shen Dao’s expression changed, and he quickly spoke before Meng Shiwen.
"Yu Guizhi, you’re in the Fourth Realm; my senior sister is only half a step into it. What’s the point of fighting her? How about I spar with you instead?"
Yu Guizhi ignored Shen Dao and continued to stare at Meng Shiwen closely.
"What? Afraid? Don’t worry, I won’t bully you. If you dare to fight me, I’ll only use one arm. That should be enough to level the gap in our realms, right?"
Shen Dao wanted to say something more, but Meng Shiwen stopped him.
Then Meng Shiwen coldly said, "Fine, I’ll spar with you."
With that, she stepped forward into the arena.
Shen Dao panicked at this and looked at his master, Lu Dingtai.
The look seemed to say, why aren’t you stopping her?
Lu Dingtai sighed.
It’s not that he didn’t want to stop her; he just knew Meng Shiwen’s temperament too well.
The opponent had already provoked her this much; she would never swallow her pride.
Even if it meant risking her life, she would fight this battle.
Lu Dingtai was naturally filled with rage, so he looked at Yuan Chenfeng and said,
"Old Yuan, you’ve certainly taught your disciple well."
Yuan Chenfeng was quite pleased in his heart.
The fact that Zhao Ya hadn’t shown up confirmed his suspicions.
And if Yu Guizhi defeated Meng Shiwen, Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall’s reputation would be restored.
As for whether she could win...
Yuan Chenfeng hadn’t even considered the possibility.
Though using only one arm, Yu Guizhi had entered the Fourth Realm three years ago, and after years of honing, she nearly matched his own level.
With such strength against half-a-step Fourth Realm Meng Shiwen, it would be a walk in the park.
So, in the face of Lu Dingtai’s sarcastic remark, Yuan Chenfeng just laughed.
"Young people should have some fire! Didn’t you, Younger Brother Lu, always jump into fights over disagreements back in the day?"
Lu Dingtai snorted coldly and said nothing more.
By this time, Meng Shiwen and Yu Guizhi had already entered the arena.
The onlookers stood at a distance to watch the battle.
At this moment, many young disciples from various martial arts halls were gazing admiringly at the elegant Meng Shiwen in the arena, feeling a touch of concern for her.
People naturally love beauty; just from their appearance, most had already taken Meng Shiwen’s side.
Even some disciples from Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall were secretly watching Meng Shiwen.
This naturally filled Yu Guizhi with burning jealousy.
"Hmph, putting on airs!"
She cursed softly, too lazy to waste more words with Meng Shiwen, and dashed forward. As she leaped into the air, she raised a single palm, striking down fiercely.
From the start, Yu Guizhi employed Chenfeng Martial Arts Hall’s signature move, the Heaven-Flipping Palm.
Though she was a woman, her extraordinary talent gave her strength surpassing that of many men.
Thus, this palm attack was as powerful as a mighty force weighing down on Meng Shiwen.
Meng Shiwen’s expression turned serious, and she dodged the attack with a nimble sidestep.
Fully aware of her vast strength discrepancy with Yu Guizhi, even with only one arm, victory seemed out of reach.
But given Yu Guizhi’s aggressive provocation, to refuse to fight would mean giving up martial arts altogether and settling into a mundane life.
Determined to stand her ground, Meng Shiwen accepted the challenge.
Realizing she couldn’t win, she adopted a strategy of evasive maneuvers, avoiding direct confrontation.
Her agility allowed Meng Shiwen to last over a dozen moves against Yu Guizhi.
Many spectators nodded in approval.
Although Meng Shiwen was only half-a-step into the Fourth Realm, her skills weren’t weak. At least during those exchanges, she hadn’t been overwhelmed and even retaliated in the gaps between Yu Guizhi’s attacks.
The young disciples were so mesmerized.
To them, Meng Shiwen seemed like a butterfly flitting among flowers, weaving through Yu Guizhi’s palm shadows, mesmerizing and pleasing to the eye.
But just then, Yu Guizhi let out a cold laugh.
"Is that all you’ve got? Don’t blame me for being rude, then."
With those words, Yu Guizhi delivered an upward palm strike aimed at Meng Shiwen’s chin.
It was one of the Heaven-Flipping Palm’s most powerful moves, the Heaven-Supporting Single Palm.
Yu Guizhi had charged this move for long, executing it with lightning speed.
Meng Shiwen had no time to dodge and could only grit her teeth, turning her palm into a fist to counter Yu Guizhi’s strike.
Bam.
After a muffled sound, Meng Shiwen was sent flying, staggering to the ground only when she hit the wall.
Her face turned an unnatural red, and blood dripped from her clenched fists, clearly injured.
The audience was shocked, and the people from Dingtai Martial Arts Hall were furious.
"Senior Martial Sister!"
"Mrs. Meng!"
Miao Shaocheng and Xu De rushed over to support Meng Shiwen.
Shen Dao said nothing, leaping into the middle of the courtyard and getting into stance.
"Didn’t you want to fight? Come, fight with me!"
But unexpectedly, Yu Guizhi withdrew her hand, coldly laughing, and said, "What is it? Feeling sorry for her after I hit your senior sister? But she wasn’t as strong as me, was she?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I’ll fight you!" Shen Dao shouted angrily.
Yet Yu Guizhi ignored him and instead turned to Yuan Chenfeng, saying, "Master, I don’t think Zhao Ya dared to show up. This banquet is clearly a sham. It’s boring to stay. Why not leave?"
Yuan Chenfeng was smiling so broadly his mouth wasn’t closing, but upon hearing this, he deliberately put on a stern face.
"Nonsense, how can you talk like that!"
Then he flashed a grin at Lu Dingtai, "Younger Brother Lu, I’m sorry, my disciple’s a bit straightforward. Don’t take it to heart. My martial arts hall has matters to attend to, so we’ll skip this banquet. Farewell!"
Lu Dingtai remained calm and didn’t stop them, just slightly nodded.
Yuan Chenfeng, smiling all the while, cupped his hands to bid farewell to Ren Yong Martial Arts Hall and others who were acquainted, preparing to leave with his group.
Just then, a clear voice of a young man came from outside the door.
"I heard someone thinks I’m too afraid to come?"
With those words, a young man as straight as a sword stepped over the threshold, appearing before everyone.
"Junior Brother Zhao!"
"Fifth Martial Uncle!"
The people from Dingtai Martial Arts Hall shouted in surprise and joy.
Zhao Ya smiled slightly, then cupped his hands to Lu Dingtai.
"Master, sorry for being late!"
Lu Dingtai’s lips slightly curved, nodding, he said, "As long as you’re here."
Zhao Ya then looked at the pale-faced and blood-dripping Meng Shiwen, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes, but he quickly returned to normal, then lightly smiled and said,
"Senior Sister, I’m here! Don’t worry, with me here, no one dares to bully you."
For some reason, Meng Shiwen suddenly felt a rush of emotion, silently nodding.
After greeting those around him, Zhao Ya leisurely glanced at Yuan Chenfeng and his group.
"Who did this!"
His tone was indifferent, but the contained murderous intent was chilling.
Ever since Zhao Ya’s appearance, Yu Guizhi had been observing him. Now that he asked, she couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
"I did it, so what?"