"Die!"
Duhai brandished his Zen staff, swinging it fiercely at Ning Beichen.
"Trash!"
Ning Beichen didn't even look at him. He threw a punch, and a rumbling sound echoed, like a flood breaking through its banks.
"No... Impossible!"
Duhai the monk's Zen staff, clutched tightly in his hands, shattered into several pieces. He was flung over ten meters away, his internal organs pulverized.
Duhai the monk gazed at Ning Beichen, his breath shallow. His face was a mixture of confusion and dread. He couldn't comprehend how such a powerful human could exist in this world.
A single punch from Ning Beichen had extinguished all his vitality, leaving him, a dignified Grandmaster, utterly incapable of resisting or defending himself.
Soon, Duhai the monk fell to the ground, lifeless, his eyes wide open in a state of utter disbelief.
Ning Beichen walked over, searched his body for a moment, and indeed found a Pò Zōng Dān.
It seemed he wasn't the only lucky one. This Duhai the monk must have found two Pò Zōng Dān somewhere. He had consumed one himself and likely intended to take the other back. Now, it had fallen into Ning Beichen's possession.
However, while Duhai the monk died with regret, Chen Mingyue was equally dejected.
As a Grandmaster, she was no match for Duhai the monk. Yet, Duhai the monk was killed by a single punch from Ning Beichen. Just how powerful was Ning Beichen?
"Am I a fake Grandmaster?"
Chen Mingyue murmured to herself, her eyes filled with respect and admiration as she looked at the man before her.
"Chen Mingyue, you don't need to feel discouraged. You've only recently ascended to the Grandmaster realm and haven't fully grasped its capabilities. Your inability to defeat Duhai the monk is not your fault," Ning Beichen comforted her.
After Ning Beichen's reassurance, Chen Mingyue felt a little better. She looked at Ning Beichen, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Ask whatever you want to ask," Ning Beichen said to her with a chuckle.
"Ning Beichen, just how strong are you?" Chen Mingyue asked somewhat bashfully.
Ning Beichen was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't expected Chen Mingyue to ask this question.
However, he himself had no clear concept of his own strength.
He had pondered it before.
Would he be a match for his master now?
But he had no definitive answer.
Still, Ning Beichen felt that he would most likely not be his master's opponent.
"Chen Mingyue, you don't need to know these things. My strength or lack thereof has nothing to do with you or anyone else. You only need to possess a strong heart. Remember, there's always someone stronger, and there are always heavens beyond the heavens. Besides having a strong heart, you must also have a heart of reverence."
Ning Beichen truly did not want to shatter her confidence, so he gave her a vague, generalized explanation.
"I have learned."
Chen Mingyue sincerely expressed her gratitude to Ning Beichen.
To avoid any further complications, Ning Beichen and Chen Mingyue soon departed. As they emerged, they saw the Chen family's old ancestor waiting outside with anticipation.
Besides him, there were other members of the Grandmaster Alliance. Upon seeing Ning Beichen and Chen Mingyue emerge, they immediately surrounded the pair.
"What are you doing? These are people from our Chen family." The Chen family's old ancestor sternly intervened.
"We know they are from your Chen family. We just want to ask them how the others inside are doing?" a member of the Grandmaster Alliance inquired.
So far, only Ning Beichen and Chen Mingyue had emerged. The whereabouts of the others were unknown, which naturally made the Grandmaster Alliance members anxious.
"We don't know. We didn't see them inside. Everyone must have scattered," Chen Mingyue replied. This was the answer she and Ning Beichen had agreed upon.
"Since you came out before them, did you obtain a Pò Zōng Dān?" another member of the Grandmaster Alliance asked. This was likely their primary concern.
"We did find one Pò Zōng Dān, but I've already consumed it." Chen Mingyue released her Grandmaster aura.
"Hahaha..."
"Good, good, Mingyue, you did well." The Chen family's old ancestor, seeing that Chen Mingyue had broken through to become a Grandmaster, burst into excited laughter.
"Let's go, Mingyue, we're returning."
"Yes, Old Ancestor." Chen Mingyue replied respectfully.
"Wait a moment, did you really only find one Pò Zōng Dān?" The other members of the Grandmaster Alliance blocked their path and questioned them.
"Dragon Might King, what do you want? My Mingyue has already said she only found one, and she's consumed it." The Chen family's old ancestor said in a deep voice.
"Old Ghost Chen, I'm not disbelieving her. It's just that so far, only the two of them have emerged, and the others haven't. We want to know what happened to them inside, why only these two came out."
"Dragon Might King is right. How do we know they only found one Pò Zōng Dān? Perhaps they have more?" a member of the Grandmaster Alliance stated.
"You're talking nonsense. Let's not even mention whether they have Pò Zōng Dān on them. Even if they do, it's theirs. What business is it of yours!"
"Are you going to rob two juniors of their belongings!" The Chen family's old ancestor said angrily.
"Heh, Old Ghost Chen, how do we know their Pò Zōng Dān wasn't snatched from someone else? They can leave if they want, but only after everyone else comes out!" Dragon Might King said with a cold laugh.
"Absurd. Let's go." The Chen family's old ancestor said with unwavering resolve.
"Old Ghost Chen, why are you in such a hurry to leave if you're not guilty?" As soon as Dragon Might King spoke, the Grandmaster Alliance members blocked the Chen family's old ancestor.
"I'm not guilty of anything, Dragon Might King. You're obstructing us time and again, do you really think I'm afraid of you!" The Chen family's old ancestor said, radiating killing intent.
"Chen family old ancestor, if you weren't guilty, why would you be so anxious to leave?" Dragon Might King was a troublemaker within the Grandmaster Alliance. The more he argued and badgered, the happier the other members of the Grandmaster Alliance became. They hadn't gained anything, and now you want to leave with the spoils? That's not how it works.
"Old Ancestor..." Seeing the shamelessness of these Grandmaster Alliance members, Chen Mingyue was also quite angered. These people were making baseless accusations. What business did they have with what she found inside?
Ning Beichen remained silent, merely observing from the sidelines. He had been reluctant to join the Grandmaster Alliance precisely because he feared this. His suspicions had been proven correct; the members of the Grandmaster Alliance were utterly unreliable.
"Dragon Might King, what exactly do you want?" The Chen family's old ancestor was also grinding his teeth in anger.
"What we want is simple: a body search. We don't believe they only found one Pò Zōng Dān." Dragon Might King finally revealed his true intention: to search Chen Mingyue and Ning Beichen for Pò Zōng Dān.
"Dragon Might King, that's enough!" The Chen family's old ancestor's face turned extremely ugly. He opened his mouth and roared, his voice like rolling thunder.