Brighter
The result of that was him running into enemies he could defeat and suffering for it. Though, honestly speaking, that could be just about anyone in this place.
Making it to the seventh layer definitely meant that you were exceptionally powerful amongst that group of geniuses, so there were simply no safe zones around here. The moment you ran into someone, if you didn't have the strength to protect yourself, you would be finished.
This was probably also the reason why Ryu had only been surrounded by three geniuses instead of a dozen or more.
After sensing the golden pillar, many probably realized that they were too far away to be among the first to get there, and there was too much to risk by trying, anyway. It was better if they searched for opportunities elsewhere.