Facing the pert young girl's provocation, Ian Song gave a cheap, teasing grin: "I don't dare!"
"...You...!" Sunny was left speechless with anger. After a long pause, she huffed, "You're a coward!"
"Tch!"
Ian Song curled his lip in utter disdain: "So just because I don't accept your challenge, I'm a coward?"
Sunny's face filled with deep contempt: "That's right. You're a coward if you don't even dare accept a challenge from a little girl like me!"
Ian Song snorted, "You call yourself a little girl, but you're a Demigod‑Realm martial artist, and I'm only late Law‑Phase. We're two whole major realms apart! How can you shamelessly challenge me and then call me a coward for refusing? By your logic, do you dare challenge an actual god? If you don't, then you're worse than a coward!"
Sunny: "..."
Everyone: "..."
"Got nothing to say now, huh?" Ian Song stared at Sunny with playful interest.
Sunny glared at him viciously, but there was nothing she could do. She could practically hear her own teeth grinding, the guy was just too infuriating—especially that smug smile, it was blindingly obnoxious.
Just then, Ian Song spoke again: "Of course, I could give you a chance to challenge me, but...!"
At this point, Ian deliberately trailed off, keeping everyone in suspense.
Sunny couldn't help but ask, "But what? Do you have some condition? As long as you can beat me, any condition is negotiable!"
Watching this, Princess Myra suddenly felt worried about Sunny's intelligence. Evan Chu was clearly digging a hole and waiting for her to jump in, but Sunny just couldn't wait to leap right in.
For a moment, Myra was both amused and helpless, but she didn't intervene—this was a good chance to teach Sunny a lesson so she wouldn't act so brainlessly in the future.
"Really?" Ian Song couldn't help but look genuinely tempted.
Seeing this, Sunny secretly looked down on him. In her mind, Ian was just trying to get some treasure from her, so to teach him a lesson, she quickly declared, "I may be just the princess's maid, but I always keep my word!"
"You can't decide this on your own!" Ian Song shook his head, acting hesitant.
"Then tell me, what exactly is it?" Sunny asked impatiently.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Ian Song said coyly.
"Just say it."
"What if Her Highness blames me?" Ian Song added, deliberately putting on a nervous act.
Sunny froze for a second, then turned to Princess Myra: "Princess, I beg you, please don't punish this guy!"
"Alright!"
Princess Myra nodded, but inside she sighed—Sunny was being completely led around by the nose, even helping Ian plead his case. She almost wanted to crack open Sunny's head to see if it was stuffed with weeds.
Sunny looked smugly at Ian Song: "The princess has promised not to punish you, now you can say it!"
"So I can really say it?"
"Hurry up and say it!" Sunny waved impatiently.
"Will you really agree to it?"
"Are you even a man? Why are you dragging this out—just spit it out already!"
"Alright then, if I beat you, you have to be my personal maid for three days. How about it?" Ian Song finally revealed his condition.
At this, everyone except Princess Myra looked utterly shocked.
Some of the prodigies even exclaimed in their hearts, "Chu the Madman really lives up to his name—he's so bold, he even dares to go after the princess's maid!"
"How dare you!"
Sunny's chest heaved with rage as she pointed at Ian Song, "You're outrageous! How dare you plot against me!"
"I didn't even want to say it—you kept insisting!"
Ian Song put on a wounded look.
"...You...!"
Sunny was once again left fuming—technically, it really was her fault, and she could only grit her teeth in frustration.
"Are you afraid you can't beat me? If that's the case, we can just skip the duel." Ian Song added. His words made Sunny's face turn ashen with anger. She swore that in all her eighteen years, she'd never wanted to kill someone so badly.
"Calm down! Calm down!"
Sunny shouted in her heart, "This bastard is obviously trying to provoke me so I'll get mad and refuse to fight. That's it—I can't fall for his trick!"
Thinking this made her feel much better. Suddenly, she had an idea: "What if you lose?"
"What else?" Ian Song feigned confusion. "It's not like I'm begging to duel you—you're the one insisting on this, right?"
Sunny was left speechless again.
Watching this, Princess Myra secretly shook her head. Her own maid was being toyed with by Evan Chu, and it was downright embarrassing. Clearly, she’d spoiled Sunny too much before—no wonder the girl was so careless.
As for Evan Chu, both his martial arts and his intellect were truly exceptional. If only she could recruit him...
Ian Song's voice sounded again: "Alright, since you're a girl, I'll be generous. If you beat me, you can do whatever you want with me!"
Hearing this, Sunny was overjoyed. She started imagining all the ways she could torment Ian after her victory, and a sly smile crept across her face.
"What, not agreeing? Fine, then forget it!"
Sunny quickly said, "No, wait—I agree! It's settled then. You can't go back on your word. The princess and everyone here are witnesses!"
For a moment, Princess Myra felt the urge to facepalm. Sunny had just cut off her own escape route—there was no way to back out now, even if she wanted to.
"Good!" Ian Song nodded and smiled, though his grin was a little wicked.
"Hmph!"
Seeing his grin made Sunny uncomfortable. She thought to herself, "Go ahead and laugh now—soon enough you'll be crying!"
The next moment, Sunny puffed out her chest and declared proudly, "Since your cultivation is so weak, I'll let you make the first move!"
"Then I won't hold back!"
"Stop wasting time, just get on with it!"
"Heh heh!"
With a strange laugh, Ian Song stepped forward and unleashed a palm strike.
Sunny just sneered in contempt and met his palm with hers, a faint green glow shimmering around her hand.
She cultivated the Azure Emperor Canon, a Sovereign-grade scripture even more advanced than those practiced by the Myriad-Phenomena Army. Her strength had reached the level of a third-tier divine general—making her a genuine expert even among Demigods.
Confident in her power, she only used thirty percent of her strength in this strike.
In her mind, that annoying guy would be seriously injured just from her thirty percent power.
But the result was...
"Bang!"
The instant their palms collided in midair, Sunny felt a surging force rush toward her. Even as she drew on her own power, she was still sent flying dozens of meters, crashing into the defensive barrier set up by two half-god Myriad-Phenomena Army soldiers.
"Impossible!"
As she was flung backward, Sunny stared at Ian Song in disbelief—she simply couldn’t accept how powerful he was.