Everyone present - righteous and demonic alike - was left completely and utterly flabbergasted, while Hu Mei Er was rendered entirely speechless.
On the righteous side of the crowd, many people were giving him the stink eye. Even the men who inwardly agreed with Fang Zheng didn't want to voice it. After all, they had wives and families to return to or female colleagues they didn't want to offend.
As for the women of the righteous path, they had initially looked toward Fang Zheng with hopeful eyes, thinking he was a hero coming to rescue a helpless maiden. Upon hearing his rant, however, their opinions of him instantly soured. In the breath of a single speech, Fang Zheng had basically torpedoed his entire reputation among the righteous path.
As for the demonic path, although most of them tended to agree with Fang Zheng's sentiment, he was ultimately a righteous path Gu Master, so they didn't want anything to do with him either.
There was, however, one person who decided to speak up - not on Hu Mei Er's behalf, but simply as someone listening in who couldn't control her temper. This was none other than Xue San Si, a Strength Path Rank 4 demonic Gu Master.
She had initially been drawn to the area out of mild curiosity regarding what the crowd was gathered around, but as she drew closer and heard Fang Zheng's words, she found herself becoming irrationally angry.
She couldn't explain it, but Fang Zheng's speech made her want to beat him to a pulp.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to suppress her rage, but Fang Zheng kept talking, making her want to punch him in the face even more!
At long last, unable to just stand by, she yelled out, "Fang Zheng, you stupid pig, you are courting death!"
Everyone's attention shifted from Fang Zheng to the speaker. Xue San Si stepped into the clearing, placing herself some distance away from Hu Mei Er. She had a broad, muscular frame, and her eyes shone like a tiger's as she glared at Fang Zheng.
"Don't you think you're talking a bit too much?" she growled. "Just because no one is calling you out, you think you can just say whatever you want?"
Fang Zheng paused his monologue, glancing at her coolly. "Xue San Si, the famed Sky Tiger?"
"It appears my reputation precedes me," Xue San Si said. "Hearing you blabber on for so long, I couldn't help but speak up."
Hu Mei Er snorted softly and walked off before she could become the center of Fang Zheng's attention again. Seeing Xue San Si take the field, she was more than happy to withdraw; Fang Zheng possessed some strange method to neutralize her enchantment methods anyway, so watching from the sidelines was her best option.
As for Fang Zheng's opinions, while annoying, they were ultimately just words - she had heard far worse from the demonic Gu Masters she worked with, though those men tended to be much less eloquent about it.
"Hmm," Fang Zheng murmured, crossing his arms over his chest. "Tell me, Sky Tiger, it appears my words have offended you, is that so?"
"Indeed they have," Xue San Si sneered, her eyebrow twitching.
"Well, I don't care," Fang Zheng said plainly. "I still stand by what I said. Women are simply weak and useless. The Northern Plains has the right idea regarding how they should be treated." His eyes flashed. "But if you would like to try and change my mind, why don't we agree to a little contest?"
Xue San Si felt like a blood vessel in her brain was about to burst from sheer fury. "What kind of contest?!"
"A contest in which we exchange moves. For that matter, since you are a woman, I'll even allow you to strike three times first. While one attacks, the other must only defend," Fang Zheng proposed. "A contest between two Strength Path experts. Do you agree?"
Xue San Si hadn't known Fang Zheng was a Strength Path expert, but she was raring to tear his flesh apart. "All right, then! Let's begin!"
Confused glances were exchanged across the crowd. Up until now, Fang Zheng had been ranting aimlessly at the crowd and Hu Mei Er; how had this suddenly turned into a Strength Path duel? Why was Xue San Si even getting involved - had Fang Zheng's words truly bothered her that much?
Nevertheless, with both parties agreeing and Qing Shu stepping aside to give them space, no one spoke up, preferring to watch the outcome.
"All right then, Fang Zheng," Xue San Shi said. "Let me show you just how 'weak' women are!"
She activated her first move. There was a reason she was nicknamed the "Sky Tiger": when she activated her gu worms her arms swelled, her fingers elongating into lethal tiger claws that tore through the air toward Fang Zheng.
The claws connected, tearing his clothes to ribbons, but right at that moment, a gentle light enveloped his body. Beneath his shredded garments, his skin remained completely unharmed no matter how fiercely her claws scratched at them.
Xue San Shi pulled back, panting.
"That wasn't bad," Fang Zheng remarked, glancing down at his torn shirt while his skin remained unblemished. "...for a woman, that is."
His final sentence drove Xue San Si into a fresh rage.
"Second move!" she yelled out.
For her second move, she activated more of her gu worms, causing her body to swell to twice its original size. Brownish-yellow tiger fur sprouted across her skin, her eyes turned slitted and wild, and sharp fangs elongated from her jaw. Her strength more than doubled as a beast phantom materialized behind her - a fierce tiger growling with a pair of wings on its back.
The tiger was the king of beasts, and the Biao, the tiger with wings, was the king of tigers!
The raw force of a winged tiger phantom was five times that of an ordinary tiger!
With her physical power doubled and amplified by the flying tiger phantom, Xue San Si struck Fang Zheng with tremendous force.
BOOM!
Fang Zheng was hurled backwards - ten feet, twenty feet, thirty, forty feet - before flipping in midair and landing on his feet as effortlessly as a cat.
The onlookers were stunned. Fang Zheng had taken the full blow head-on!
Though he had been pushed back and more of his clothes were ruined, his skin remained unblemished, without a single fractured bone or scratch on him.
"What kind of defensive move is this?" Xue San Si muttered, horrified.
At this moment, a small voice in her mind urged her to back off. After all, her anger was only over his words; there was no need to gamble her life, especially when Fang Zheng possessed such mysterious defensive power. She could forget about this 'contest' and run away; what was Fang Zheng going to do then?
This was the rational part of her mind that was speaking up; a part that had carried her all the way to Rank 4. A part that saw beyond her rage.
However, at that moment Fang Zheng brushed off his shoulders and said, "That wasn't a bad strike at all... for a woman, that is."
Hearing those words again, her reason shattered. Her vision flashed red. Rage surged through her veins. "Fang Zheng, your death anniversary will be a year from today!"
Whatever defensive measure Fang Zheng had, Xue San Si was sure that it could not stand up to her final gambit.
"Third move!"
A pair of functional wings sprouted from Xue San Si's back as she went all-in. That was the nature of the demonic path: putting everything on the line!
She soared straight up into the sky, reaching her limit of one kilometer before turning and diving straight down. Any higher and the drop would injure her; and so she unleashed her maximum velocity, diving toward Fang Zheng like a falling meteor. She became a true sky tiger as the winged tiger phantom merged completely with her body!
"With this move, you're done for!" she roared.
Many righteous path Gu Masters exchanged apprehensive looks. Although none of them were particularly fond of Fang Zheng, he was still a righteous path Gu Master.
Several figures surrounded Qing Shu, cutting him off from aiding Fang Zheng. Not that Qing Shu made any move to go and assist Fang Zheng as it was.
"Father, should we intervene?" Tie Ruo Nan asked. She disliked Fang Zheng's attitude, but saving a righteous ally felt like the correct choice. Also she could then rub it in his face that he had to be saved by a woman!
Tie Xue Leng placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "He's the one who agreed to this contest in the first place. Ultimately, this is a fight between those two. And something tells me Fang Zheng is not going to fall so easily."
"You can't possibly mean-"
Before Tie Ruo Nan could even finish, the flying tiger crashed into Fang Zheng.
BOOM!