Sure enough, not even two days later, Emperor Liang held a banquet in Wuying Hall, specifically inviting the top ten contestants from the martial arts trials.
In Wuying Hall, the warriors from the various kingdoms, led by Baili Qi, sat on the right, while the Great Liang warriors, led by Xiao Jingyu, sat on the left.
Not long after the banquet began, Prince Yu rose and said, "Imperial Father, the top ten from today's martial arts trials are all here. Why not have them compete on the spot and add to the festivities?"
"Absolutely not!"
The Crown Prince rose instinctively to object. But as soon as he had said it, he remembered that this was Emperor Liang's plan, and hurriedly changed his tune. With righteous indignation, he said, "Imperial Father, this is a banquet, after all. They mustn't use weapons. They should stop as soon as one side gains the upper hand!"
Emperor Liang was nearly exasperated by his disappointing son. Still, at least the boy had enough sense to correct himself in time, so he went along with it and said, "Very well. Challenge one another, but stop as soon as one side gains the upper hand!"
Hearing this, Mei Changsu spoke first. "Your Majesty, in that case, I volunteer to be the first to challenge someone!"
After speaking, he waited for Emperor Liang's nod of approval, then bowed to Huajia, the Great Yu expert. With a serious expression, he said, "Please!"
Huajia's martial arts were not quite on a par with Baili Qi's, but they were close. Seeing Mei Changsu choose Huajia, Emperor Liang realized that he intended to take on the strongest of the other four by using the weakest among them. Delighted, he thought even more highly of Mei Changsu.
Though Huajia was from Great Yu,