Seeing Yi Beidou's attitude, the members of the Xu Family in the conference room stared, their mouths hanging slightly open.
Negotiate? How could they possibly negotiate?
With a God of Slaughter like him here, who would dare say no?
Meanwhile, the crowd in the front hall was still buzzing about what had just happened when they heard a commotion from the backyard. Everyone immediately looked over.
They saw a group of large men in suits, clearly security guards, retreating from the backyard with bruised and swollen faces. Some were even carrying unconscious comrades on their backs. The leader, a young man with an extraordinary air, was clutching his chest and constantly coughing up blood, looking utterly wretched.
Two of them, one in front and one in back, were carrying something wrapped in a curtain. Vaguely, a human shape could be discerned inside.
'Could that be…'
A chill ran down everyone's spines. They looked at each other, unable to imagine what had transpired in the backyard conference room or what the current situation was. None of them had the courage to go check or ask.
"Maybe… we should call the police?"
someone asked tentatively, watching the figures of the men in black leave the hall.
Outside the main building, Ruan Guangqin got into a car, gasping for breath. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and he was in terrible shape.
"Mr. Ruan, are you all right?"
A subordinate sat beside Ruan Guangqin and asked, his face full of worry.
RRRIP!
Ruan Guangqin ripped open his clothes, revealing his chest.
The spot on his chest where Yi Beidou had touched him was a dark purple. A dense, spiderweb-like network of blackish-purple veins spread out from it, looking absolutely terrifying.
The subordinate could see clearly that the network of dark purple veins seemed to be slowly expanding.
No one knew what would happen if it expanded to a certain point.
"Mr. Ruan! We'll take you to the hospital for treatment immediately!"
the subordinate exclaimed, his expression changing drastically.
"Don't waste time. This is a Soul Stealing technique. The hospitals here can't treat it. Get me back to Nanyang to see my Grandmaster, now!"
Ruan Guangqin said with difficulty, gasping for air.
When a Martial Artist's Cultivation reaches a certain stage, they achieve Tonghui Internalization. Their Qi and blood grow strong, and their spirit becomes vast as an ocean. At that point, they can comprehend the ability of Majestic Spirit Capturing Soul.
The realm of Majestic Spirit Capturing Soul is also divided into two stages.
The first is Soul Capturing, and the second is Soul Stealing.
So-called Soul Capturing is the ability used by Ba Xiong: overwhelming an opponent with sheer presence, breaking their spirit with Fist Intent, and subduing them with one's will.
As for Soul Stealing, the 'Soul' (魄, Pò) here refers to the physical body. This is a Dharma Gate that uses Fist Intent to injure an enemy.
When a sharp spike is behind you, even if your eyes don't see it, your body can naturally sense the threat, even to the point of your skin tingling.
This is the principle behind the feeling of having 'spikes on one's back'.
If this stimulus were ten or even a hundred times stronger, surpassing the body's limits, that tingling sensation would manifest as a real physical injury.
In scientific terms, it is an intense mental stimulus over a short period causing bodily dysfunction.
This is the method of Soul Stealing.
It's a known fact that in medicine, the most difficult conditions to treat are disorders and chaos within the body's own functional systems.
All medicines and treatments are rooted in the body's own functional systems.
This is why immune system diseases, like AIDS, have no cure.
Yi Beidou's strike had just used a Soul Stealing technique. Furthermore, with his realm of Body Ascension, its power was far beyond what an ordinary Soul Stealing expert could match.
The intense and pure killing intent stimulated Ruan Guangqin's body, causing it to malfunction. His body believed its own tissues were already necrotic, and this necrosis was continuing to spread.
A condition like this is nearly impossible to cure with conventional means. It requires a similarly skilled expert to use their spirit to reverse the process, restoring vitality and expelling the influence. Otherwise, as the necrosis spreads, Ruan Guangqin will surely die.
In ancient times, this would have been considered a technique of "Mana".
Ruan Guangqin knew very well that Yi Beidou had done this intentionally.
'If I had been lying, or if I hadn't recognized an expert of Body Ascension, I never would have escaped this fate.'
'A man like that... his might is as deep as an abyss, his authority like a prison. He decides life and death with a single word, like Yama passing judgment.'
'When a mortal offends one of the Deities, how can they expect a good end?'
'I'm just so damn unlucky. I thought this would be a simple partnership, a chance to control the Xu Group, but I ended up running into a brick wall.'
He couldn't help but recall what Yi Beidou had said earlier.
The man was going to Nanyang to "seek guidance" from his Grandmaster.
'If that day truly comes, it's hard to imagine what kind of storm will sweep through Nanyang.'
'Having caused such a disaster, I can't imagine what kind of punishment awaits me.'
Inside the conference room, the Xu Family members were all trying to cozy up to Xu Yao, greeting her with beaming smiles. But when it came to cooperation involving actual benefits, they only gave verbal agreements with no real commitment.
Everyone present was a sly fox. They were only compromising and bowing their heads out of fear of Yi Beidou's terrifying power and concern for their own safety. In their hearts, they were not convinced at all.
They didn't understand the significance of what "Body Ascension" truly meant.
'So what if he's strong? It's just brutish courage. As long as we can bluff our way through this and get out of here, with our resources, we have a thousand ways to deal with him.'
WEE-WOO WEE-WOO!!
Suddenly, the sound of police sirens came from outside, and the expressions of everyone in the conference room changed instantly.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief and sat back down in their seats. Their attitude toward Xu Yao was no longer as warm as before.
'Now that law enforcement is involved, we can use our own power. He's only flesh and blood. Can he really stand against the state and its firearms?'
Hearing the blaring sirens, Xu Yao's and Xu Zifeng's expressions also changed, their eyes filling with worry.
TAP TAP TAP!
Soon, the sound of footsteps echoed in the conference room as a tall woman with wheat-colored skin walked in through the main door, leading several police officers.
"Officer! I'm Xu Guanren, the chairman of the Xu Group! There's a murderer here! He threatened us with violence and is illegally detaining us, gravely endangering our personal safety! You have to bring him to justice!"
Xu Guanren, the head of the first branch who hadn't dared to make a peep until now, immediately started shouting the moment he saw the police arrive, seeming to have completely forgotten who was the first to suggest using illegal detention.
This type of person was an expert at twisting black and white and confusing right and wrong.
"You killed someone?! What's going on?"
The woman in the lead looked at Yi Beidou and asked with a frown.
This was none other than Zhou Baiwei, who had rushed over from the police department.
She had just finished speaking with Fan Dongsheng not long ago when she received the relevant intel. All information related to Yi Beidou was now being routed to her. When trouble was reported at the Xu Group, she immediately thought of Yi Beidou and rushed over with her team, afraid that anyone else responding would only cause further complications.
Although Yi Beidou was a being who had achieved Body Ascension, if he were to kill the innocent indiscriminately, the situation would become very difficult to resolve.
As for beating people black and blue, that was a minor issue.
"You can investigate it yourselves. Foreign powers, unorthodox evil cultivators... In a way, I've done you a favor."
"Alright, I still have some things to deal with here. You all should leave for now. We can talk later if there's anything else."
Yi Beidou said, then gave Zhou Baiwei a dismissive wave.
"Fine. Just don't hurt anyone else."
Hearing this, Zhou Baiwei's expression shifted slightly. She turned and began to lead her people out of the conference room.
Seeing this, the crowd was left completely stunned.