"Grandmaster!"
As Wu Han made his move, Ning Beichen immediately sensed his cultivation level, a hint of surprise in his voice.
No wonder this Wang Yulang was so arrogant; he had a Grandmaster for a master.
"Brat, accompany my disciple to the grave!"
In his rage, Wu Han launched his fists like lightning, carrying an incredibly powerful aura, towards Ning Beichen.
Ning Beichen took half a step back, drew a semi-circle with one hand, then exploded with a palm strike, sending Wu Han flying.
With a resounding crash!
Wu Han, like a football, slammed heavily into the wall, spitting out a large mouthful of blood that splattered across the floor.
"Impossible, I am a Grandmaster, the pinnacle of human martial power, why can't I even withstand one of your moves?"
Wu Han muttered in disbelief, looking at Ning Beichen as if he had seen a ghost.
"Because you're too stupid!"
Ning Beichen unleashed a punch from afar, shattering his heart. A mere newly promoted half-step minor Grandmaster was no different from an ant in the eyes of Ning Beichen, a true Grandmaster.
If there was any difference, Wu Han was perhaps just a slightly larger ant, but an ant was still an ant, incapable of changing anything.
Moreover, given what they had done to Liu Yilin, Ning Beichen would never let them off.
"Ning Beichen, you... you're too powerful!"
Liu Yilin watched the scene with wide eyes, and after a long moment, she exclaimed in utter shock.
She was no longer the ignorant girl who knew nothing of martial artists. With her cultivation at the third level of the Yin Xing Jue, she wasn't weak in this world, and even Wang Yulang was no match for her.
Yet, in front of Wang Yulang's master, Wu Han, she hadn't even had a chance to retaliate. This showed how formidable Wu Han was, and he had admitted to being a Grandmaster.
But this Grandmaster, who seemed invincible in her eyes, was so easily killed by Ning Beichen with a single punch. Just how powerful was Ning Beichen?
Had he surpassed Grandmaster?
"It's not that I'm powerful, it's that his strength was too poor."
Ning Beichen replied calmly.
Everything he had witnessed after entering the underground structure in the uninhabited area of the Sahara Desert made it impossible for Ning Beichen to be arrogant.
He had thought himself quite powerful, only to almost die at the hands of two spiders.
Therefore, compared to an insignificant half-step minor Grandmaster like Wu Han, what did it matter?
"Alright, I'll have someone clean this up."
Ning Beichen made a phone call, and soon, people arrived to clear away the bodies of Wang Yulang and Wu Han. They even cleaned up the blood on the floor so thoroughly that one couldn't tell that a fight had ever occurred there.
"Beichen, how powerful are you now? Why was Wu Han a Grandmaster, and yet he couldn't even block one of your punches?"
Liu Yilin excitedly tugged at Ning Beichen, asking.
"I am now a Grandmaster, and that Wu Han was merely a half-step minor Grandmaster, so naturally, he couldn't defeat me..."
Ning Beichen had no choice but to explain the concept of Grandmasters to her.
After Ning Beichen's explanation, Liu Yilin finally understood why the seemingly formidable Wu Han, in her eyes, couldn't even withstand a single punch from Ning Beichen.
"Wow! Beichen, then aren't you the most powerful martial artist in the world right now?"
Liu Yilin became even more excited after her initial shock.
"If it were in the past, I would think so, but now it's hard to say."
Ning Beichen thought of what he had seen beneath the desert and shook his head.
"Why? Isn't Grandmaster the pinnacle of a martial artist? Is there anyone stronger than you in this world?"
Liu Yilin asked him curiously.
"From the perspective of martial artist tiers, Grandmaster is indeed the ceiling of martial power, but have you ever considered that there might be realms beyond Grandmaster?"
Ning Beichen said.
"What? There are realms beyond Grandmaster!"
Liu Yilin asked incredulously.
"Yes, through my exploration and research over the years, I believe that Grandmaster is merely the endpoint of earthly martial power, not reaching the level of transcending the mundane. In other words, a Grandmaster is fundamentally still an ordinary person."
"And ordinary martial practitioners do not live long, with many dying in their thirties and forties, even in their prime. The reason is simple: practicing martial arts damages bones and muscles, accumulating too many hidden injuries within the body. This is especially true for those who practice hard styles like Iron Sand Palm, leading to short lifespans."
"When martial artists are young, their vitality is strong, so these hidden injuries are not very apparent. But as they enter middle and old age, their vitality declines, and the accumulated hidden injuries begin to act up. Especially during windy and rainy weather, they suffer unbearable pain throughout their bodies, making life worse than death. Hence, there's a saying among the common folk: 'Martial artists do not live long.'"
"Even at the Grandmaster level, by using internal energy to nurture the body and minimizing combat in their later years, it only brings slight improvement, not significantly extending their lifespan."
"With good luck, a Grandmaster living to eighty to one hundred and twenty years old is already an extraordinary feat, and aging is inevitable. So even Grandmasters haven't broken through the limitations of human lifespan."
"I have consulted ancient texts and studied martial artists from various eras, and I've found some individuals who broke through the limitations of human lifespan. I won't mention mythical figures like Peng Zu. In modern times, there's Li Qingyuan, who lived to nearly 256 years old, and Chen Jun, who lived to 443 years old, among others."
"Although the ancient texts don't explicitly state they were martial artists, anyone who could live that long must have broken through the limits of human life; it's not something an ordinary person can achieve. Therefore, I am certain that they must have surpassed Grandmaster, reaching at least the realm of unity between man and heaven."
Ning Beichen told Liu Yilin.
"You mean, the realm after Grandmaster is unity between man and heaven?"
Liu Yilin asked.
"Precisely. After Grandmaster comes the unity between man and heaven. Only by reaching this realm can one possibly break through the limitations of human life."
"Beichen, you are currently at the Grandmaster level, so won't you soon reach the realm of unity between man and heaven?"
Liu Yilin was extremely excited.
However, Ning Beichen shook his head and replied, "It's not that easy. It's already incredibly difficult for humans to cultivate to the Grandmaster level, let alone surpass it."
"If it were so easy to break through Grandmaster, we would have seen such individuals in this world already. But have you ever seen anyone like that appear?"
Ning Beichen sighed.
"That's true. If someone could live for hundreds of years, they would have surely shocked the world by now, it's impossible for there to be no news at all," Liu Yilin analyzed.
"That's not necessarily true..."
Ning Beichen suddenly thought of his master...