Soon it was the third floor, and there were even fewer people on the third floor, but each of them was stronger. Reaching the third floor, Li Dian was already struggling a bit, but he could still cope.
Then came the fourth floor, the fifth floor... all the way to the tenth floor, Li Dian was no match at all.
Li Se knew it was his turn to appear. There were only three people on the tenth floor, each holding a weapon, and they were all different: a saber, a sword, and a spear.
And these three people were all ancient martial artists!
To think that one would encounter ancient martial artists on the tenth floor. The subsequent ten floors would likely consist entirely of ancient martial artists, and they would only grow stronger.
These three ancient martial artists attacked simultaneously, unsheathing their swords, sabers, and spears...
Although Li Dian was formidable, he was not an ancient martial artist. If it were a one-on-one fight, he could have won, but facing three ancient martial artists, he stood no chance.
As the three men attacked, Li Se's expression remained calm. With a swift movement, he evaded their combined assault. His strength far surpassed that of these three. Before they could react, he unleashed several powerful punches.
With a series of thuds, all three men were sent crashing to the ground.
The tenth floor was cleared. They continued upwards. The eleventh and twelfth floors were empty. On the thirteenth floor stood a single person.
This person's appearance was unclear, obscured by a fox mask. Upon seeing Li Se ascend, he immediately unleashed a palm strike with incredible speed.
This individual was stronger than all three from the tenth floor combined, yet in front of Li Se, he was still no match.
After two or three exchanges, he too lay defeated on the ground.
Continuing upwards, Li Se's progress was almost unstoppable.
Meanwhile, in the chairman's office.
Mr. Xu watched the computer screen, remarking with great interest, "Li Se's skills are indeed impressive. He's already nearing the twentieth floor, and no one has managed to stop him. Liu Yu, can you discern his level of strength?"
The man in the suit beside him hesitated, then replied with a solemn tone, "At least at the Hua Jin level, Mr. Xu. I believe we should withdraw."
Mr. Xu smiled faintly. "No need!"
Initially, he remained composed. However, as time went on, Mr. Xu's composure began to waver because Li Se had already reached the nineteenth floor.
Having stationed guards from the first to the twentieth floor, Mr. Xu had assumed Li Se would never make it past the twentieth. Yet, he was now on the nineteenth.
What unsettled him wasn't Li Se's ability to reach the nineteenth, or even the twentieth floor; that he could possibly reach the twentieth wasn't surprising. The critical point was how effortlessly he was doing it.
It seemed as if he faced no pressure at all. This was what truly unnerved Mr. Xu. It could only mean one thing: the people he had arranged were no match for Li Se.
"Liu Yu, if it were you, how far would you get?" Mr. Xu asked sternly.
"The twentieth floor," Liu Yu replied. He paused slightly before continuing, "However, I wouldn't be as effortless as Li Se. I couldn't achieve such ease."
"Mr. Xu, we should still withdraw!"
Liu Yu brought it up again.
Mr. Xu hesitated, then stood up. But as he did, he sat back down because Li Se had already reached the twentieth floor, the very entrance to his office. There was no longer any chance to withdraw.
On the twentieth floor were a man and a woman, both dressed in bizarre attire, resembling the Black and White Impermanence from folklore. These two were quite powerful. The Black Impermanence possessed the strength of Hua Jin, while the White Impermanence had not yet reached that realm.
The two attacked in unison. Li Se frowned, not daring to relax even a little. He parried their combined assault with a punch, then launched another. However, this punch was also deflected by the pair.
Despite one of them being at Hua Jin and the other not quite reaching it, their combined strength was formidable.
Their perfect coordination made Li Se face some difficulty. Yet, at times, even perfect coordination was insufficient against absolute power.
Bang bang!!
Ultimately, the Black and White Impermanence were defeated by Li Se. He then proceeded towards the office, kicking open the door with a resounding crash.
Mr. Xu was startled but quickly regained his composure, clapping his hands. "Your skills are truly remarkable. I arranged so many experts, yet you defeated them all with such ease."
Li Se walked directly in. He glanced at Liu Yu but didn't pay him much mind. Standing about three meters away from Mr. Xu, he smiled faintly and asked, "Who exactly are you? To be able to gather so many ancient martial artists, your backing must be considerable, wouldn't you agree?"
"I am merely a businessman, and my hobby is recruiting ancient martial artists. Not all ancient martial artists serve the great families; some are driven by money. I lavishly recruit these individuals and have them work for me. Moreover, with the strength of ancient martial artists, business is bound to be exceptionally prosperous," Mr. Xu explained with a smile.
Li Se continued to advance. With each step he took, Liu Yu would step forward, having witnessed Li Se's prowess and not daring to be careless.
"So you intend to swallow the Qiao Corporation?" Li Se inquired.
"The Qiao Corporation has substantial cash reserves. What's so strange about wanting to take it over?" Mr. Xu shrugged.
"It's not strange," Li Se said with a slight smile. "If you were to take over the Qiao Corporation through legitimate means, I would naturally not interfere. But you resorted to dirty tactics, even targeting my woman. Tell me, how should I retaliate?"
Mr. Xu frowned. "Tell me, how do you intend to retaliate?"
Suddenly, Li Se attacked, throwing a punch at Mr. Xu. However, Liu Yu intercepted it.
With a loud bang, Liu Yu was forced back several steps, while Li Se only retreated one.
Their relative strengths were clearly distinguishable from this single exchange.
Liu Yu's expression turned extremely serious, his gaze fixed intently on Li Se.
"Are you bought by him?" Li Se asked Liu Yu.
Liu Yu remained silent.
"If you are merely working for him for money, then I see no issue with that. But there's no need to risk your life, don't you think?" Li Se continued.
However, Liu Yu showed no signs of wavering, his gaze still locked onto Li Se.
"Haha, it's useless, Li Se. It's impossible to make my men betray me. However, I am a businessman. You can sit down, and we can talk. I don't like resorting to violence," Mr. Xu said, making a gesturing invitation.
"You don't like resorting to violence?"
Li Se said with a hint of disdain, "Then why did you bring in so many ancient martial artists?"