"Don't be afraid, it's not alive. This person died long ago, and it had already petrified before I even encountered him."
Ning Beichen naturally wouldn't reveal the truth.
The others didn't think much of it either. After all, in plain sight, they hadn't seen Ning Beichen do anything.
As for the faint light, like that of a firefly, it was just a fleeting glimpse. Under Ning Beichen's obstruction, no one saw it at all.
Inside the great hall, apart from this petrified corpse, there was nothing else of value.
After all their efforts yielded nothing, Zhou Yu's companion was somewhat annoyed. He struck dead a member of the aristocratic clan with a palm, then glared at Ning Beichen with ill intent. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, he threw a punch at Ning Beichen.
A fierce glint flickered in Ning Beichen's eyes. Before the punch could land, he instantly attacked, unleashing a dimensional strike that landed on Zhou Yu's companion.
With several thuds, Zhou Yu's companion was hit multiple times, rendering him unconscious and collapsing on the ground, his limbs twitching uncontrollably.
Seeing his companion's fate, Zhou Yu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. The thing he feared most had happened.
He had initially hoped his companion would rescue him from his predicament, but before he could do anything, his companion had already sealed his own doom.
When Xu Da woke up, the first person he saw was not Ning Beichen, but Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu's face wore an expression of pity and helplessness.
"My cultivation!"
"Where has my cultivation gone?"
In pain, Xu Da paid no heed to Zhou Yu's expression and discovered with horror that his cultivation was gone.
"Old Xu, don't panic. Your cultivation is still there, it's just sealed."
Zhou Yu said to comfort him.
"Zhou Yu, it's you! I never thought you were so despicable. You sealed my cultivation, what do you want?"
Xu Da glared at Zhou Yu and roared, assuming Zhou Yu had ambushed him and sealed his cultivation.
"Old Xu, don't look at me like that. I don't have that ability, nor was it me who sealed you."
Zhou Yu could understand his feelings. A few days ago, he himself had been just as flustered and fearful.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! If it wasn't you, then who was it? Was it done by these ants here?"
Xu Da shouted loudly.
Zhou Yu, however, wore a bitter expression, as if seeing his own reflection in Xu Da.
Not long ago, hadn't he also considered everyone here to be ants? Even the strongest Grandmaster here, hailed as the pinnacle of martial prowess, was no match for him.
But he had been unlucky. Just as he had forcefully arrived in this world, and before he could exude his dominance for even a few minutes, he was dealt with by the 'ants' he looked down upon.
"Do you know why I brought someone here? It's not because he's under my control, but because I am controlled by him. My fate is the same as yours, my cultivation was also sealed by him..."
Zhou Yu recounted his tragic experience with tears and snot. Before, he had borne this pain alone, but now that he suddenly had a companion, Zhou Yu's terrible mood improved considerably.
Perhaps it was the effect of common misfortune; when an unlucky person sees someone even more unlucky than themselves, their mood tends to improve.
"Impossible, you must be lying! Everyone here is an ant, I can decide their life and death with a single thought!"
Xu Da refused to believe it, or rather, was unwilling to believe it.
"Old Xu, out of consideration for our shared plight, I'll give you a piece of advice: never provoke him, or you will regret it."
After saying this, Zhou Yu got up and walked to Ning Beichen's side, speaking respectfully.
"He doesn't believe me."
"It doesn't matter, I don't need him to believe. Wouldn't more loyal dogs be better? What do you think?"
Ning Beichen said to Zhou Yu with a sinister grin.
Zhou Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly bowed his head in agreement.
"Go talk to him again later. If he refuses to surrender, then I don't need him."
After speaking, Ning Beichen walked up to Xu Da, poked him a few times with his finger, and undid his seal.
"I'm giving you a chance now. You can choose to surrender to me, or you can choose to attack me."
"Ant, you're asking for death!"
With his seal broken and his cultivation returned, Xu Da was overjoyed. Without a second thought, he unleashed his strongest attack on Ning Beichen.
With a roar!
The sound of dragons and tigers echoed within the great hall. Xu Da's attack was utterly devastating, like a volcanic cloud. If the hall wasn't specially constructed, it would have likely shattered.
"Die! Ant!"
Xu Da roared, vowing to tear this ant to shreds!
"Hmph! Ignorance."
Ning Beichen waved his arm, meeting Xu Da's attack with a punch of his own.
This time, Ning Beichen did not use his dimensional attacks but dealt with him using his overt strength.
Before encountering the Transcenders, Ning Beichen had imagined them to be far more formidable. Now that he had interacted with them more, he felt their strength was rather ordinary.
Ah!
Xu Da let out a scream, seeing his arm twisted into a limp pretzel.
But before he could do anything, Ning Beichen followed up with a knee strike to his chest, sending Xu Da flying backward.
However, it wasn't over yet.
Ning Beichen pursued him, grabbed him by the neck, slammed him hard against the wall, and then proceeded to pummel his abdomen with a barrage of punches.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Xu Da was bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The last punch from Ning Beichen almost ended his life.
"Zhou Yu, get over here. I'll give you three minutes. If he doesn't surrender, kill him. If you don't kill him, then I'll kill you."
Ning Beichen turned and said to the panicked Zhou Yu behind him.
Zhou Yu nodded frantically in fear. This was the first time he had witnessed Ning Beichen's overt strength firsthand.
The previous Ning Beichen had seemed too mysterious to him. Since he couldn't see Ning Beichen's dimensional attacks, he couldn't truly grasp Ning Beichen's power, only finding him eerie.
But now, Ning Beichen was clearly overpowering Xu Da, and this was without sealing Xu Da's cultivation.
This proved that powerful individuals never achieved their status by luck.
The person before him was not some ant, but a formidable being capable of openly suppressing them.
If these were ants, they weren't even worthy of being called ants. Perhaps only the powerful beings in the Transcender realm could contend with Ning Beichen.
Zhou Yu fearfully approached Xu Da. Looking at Xu Da, who shared his plight, he felt a sense of shared misfortune. However, seeing someone more unfortunate than himself, Zhou Yu's psychological burden lessened considerably.