I Can Extract Divine Power

But Shen Bai was nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on? Where's Lao Shen?" Zhou Qing asked, his face a mask of surprise.

He knew Shen Bai had entered with him, so why had he suddenly vanished?

Qin Shuang also scanned their surroundings, a hint of anxiety in her eyes.

'Something's wrong. Something is very wrong with this Celestial Pride Hall. Shen Bai has to be here… how could he just disappear like that?'

Ouyang Sword had already drawn his longsword. He scanned their surroundings warily and said, "You two, Brother Shen must have run into trouble. For now, let's not make any rash moves. We need to deal with the current situation first."

What was the current situation?

Zhou Qing snapped back to reality and immediately sensed that something was amiss.

All around them were the geniuses of the Great Zhou Country and various other nations.

Right now, all of them were searching for any sign of Shen Bai.

When they failed to find him, the leaders of the other groups, Zhu Qingyao and company, revealed a hint of hesitation.

According to their plan, they were supposed to eliminate Shen Bai along with all the geniuses from the Great Zhou Country, right here in the Celestial Pride Hall.

But now that Shen Bai had suddenly disappeared, their entire plan was thrown into disarray.

Zhu Qingyao and Li Ruofeng exchanged a look, then put their disrupted plan back into motion.

With a wave of Zhu Qingyao's hand, the geniuses from the other nations exchanged glances and promptly surrounded Zhou Qing, Qin Shuang, and the rest of the geniuses from the Great Zhou Country.

The tension in the hall was palpable. The hostility escalated, and a heavy atmosphere weighed down on everyone present.

The geniuses from the Great Zhou Country immediately realized something was wrong and squared off against those from the other nations.

Zhou Qing's brow furrowed. "So, you planned to start a fight the moment we arrived," he said. "You want to claim everything in the Celestial Pride Hall for yourselves, don't you?"

Since he had spoken, no one else said a word.

After all, Zhou Qing had voiced what was on everyone's mind.

A cold sneer touched Zhu Qingyao's lips, her white pupils glinting with an icy light. "The original plan was to eliminate you and Shen Bai together. But now, it looks like we'll have to change things up a bit. We'll take care of you first."

Qin Shuang's cold gaze swept over their enemies. "So that's it. You all allied together before we even entered."

Li Ruofeng sneered. "Shen Bai humiliated all of us, so he must face the consequences. Since you're all his friends and you stand by him, you can face those consequences for him."

"Don't worry, Shen Bai is definitely still somewhere in the Celestial Pride Hall. After we slaughter you, we'll find him. It won't be long before we send him down to join you."

"Why are you wasting your breath on them? Just do it," Zhu Qingyao said, waving her hand, ready to have her people immediately finish off Zhou Qing and his group.

The expressions on the faces of Zhou Qing and his companions grew increasingly grim.

They could already feel the faint but unmistakable killing intent in the air.

The weakest of the geniuses arrayed against them were at the peak of the Unity Realm, and many more were in the Void Realm.

Meanwhile, the geniuses from the Great Zhou Country were only hovering around the Unity Realm.

As for their so-called geniuses from the older generation, although they were all in the Void Realm, their numbers were far fewer than those of the other nations.

If a real fight broke out, they would surely pay a heavy price—they might even be annihilated.

Ouyang Sword tightened his grip on his longsword. He could already feel a specific gaze locked onto him.

He glanced back to see a fully recovered Wang Jiu staring at him with a savage grin.

"You little brat! Shen Bai beat me to a pulp for your sake. Now, I'm going to get my hands on you and crush every single bone in your body."

The savage grin on Wang Jiu's face grew even wider.

Hearing this, Ouyang Sword retorted fearlessly, "You think a brainless sack of muscle like you can take my life? It won't be that easy."

Wang Jiu cracked his knuckles and looked at Zhu Qingyao. "Are you going to make a move or not? If not, I'm going in."

The moment the words left his mouth, he said no more. He transformed into a blur of motion and lunged at Ouyang Sword.

His movement was the signal. The other geniuses moved as well, each preparing to unleash their most powerful attack.

But just at that moment, Wang Jiu, who had been charging toward Ouyang Sword, was suddenly sent flying backward. Half the bones in his body were shattered, and he lay on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

A figure appeared in the center of the hall, yawning. He glanced around and spoke.

"Everyone, don't get so worked up. The Celestial Pride Hall is what's most important right now. Every person here is a valuable asset, so why bother reducing your numbers prematurely?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a number of geniuses from the other nations immediately raised their weapons and pointed them at their own allies.

It was as if this faction of geniuses had suddenly staged a mutiny.

Seeing this, Zhu Qingyao's delicate brows knitted together. "What do you think you're doing? Don't forget the contract you signed with me."

Nan Huang smiled faintly. "My lady, you truly are clever, knowing to use a contract as a threat. It's a pity that I happen to be able to undo your so-called contract. This humble one, you see, was once too lazy to move, but I was also worried that my own elders would use the power of a contract to restrain me. So, I went and specifically studied the necessary knowledge."

When Zhu Qingyao heard this, she finally understood why the situation had turned out this way.

This was all because of Nan Huang.

He had turned a portion of them against her and had even nullified the power of their contracts.

Zhu Qingyao didn't know his reasons, but the situation had now fundamentally changed.

Li Ruofeng clenched his fists, a sinister Qi swirling between his fingers. "Zhu Qingyao, it doesn't matter that some of them were turned. We'll just eliminate them all together."