"Young friend, may I have a word?" Among the Ten Elders, there were still intelligent ones who did not wish to bear the consequences.
When faced with the choice between losing face and having their entire faction destroyed, they chose the former without hesitation.
Losing face was a minor matter. If this entire small world were to be destroyed, the forces behind the millions of lords here would surely uproot their faction. Even their relatives, friends, and everyone associated with them would not escape.
"Of course," Zhou Yan replied.
After the Ten Elders repaired the small world and ceased all attacks, Zhou Yan also withdrew his assault and departed towards a certain location.
Ye Bufan heard Zhou Yan's telepathic message asking him to wait here. Ye Bufan understood that the Black Market Alliance had compromised. Knowing Zhou Yan's nature, if he didn't extract a heavy price, it wouldn't be like him.
After all, Zhou Yan's surname was Zhou, and his ancestor was named Zhou Bapi!
Within the palace in the void, the Ten Elders sat at a table. One of the Grand Elders received a message and said, "The opponent's identity has been confirmed. Everyone take a look."
The people of the Black Market Alliance, capable of running such a large Black Market Alliance, possessed considerable means.
Although they couldn't find any information on Zhou Yan, Ye Bufan could.
By investigating Ye Bufan, they could deduce Zhou Yan's identity.
Upon learning about Zhou Yan, the Ten Elders were deeply shocked.
"This guy is Zhou Yan, and he's only nineteen! Nineteen years old, for f**k's sake?"
"He's only had his territory for a little over a year, and his strength is already this monstrous. He's already controlled the power of world origin. This number one under heaven is no simple matter."
"A while ago, he single-handedly annihilated tens of thousands of lords and a coalition of over a billion soldiers, suffering no losses himself. Holy sh*t, is this something one person can accomplish?"
"Number one under heaven, truly lives up to its name. Who the hell provoked him? I absolutely refuse to believe this guy would attack us for no reason!"
"We've investigated. It was our subordinates who provoked him first."
"Execute that guy directly. Keeping him is just a waste!"
"How should we handle this? The information states that the recent destruction of forces on the Lord Continent were all carried out by Zhou Yan. Although there's no concrete evidence, everything points to him."
"We'll handle it as we should. We'll satisfy his demands as much as possible. We... can't afford to offend him."
This statement from the Grand Elder carried a sense of helplessness, yet none of them dared to refute it. The sheer volume of information was overwhelming. Any single piece of it proved that if they didn't want to be eradicated, they shouldn't confront Zhou Yan head-on.
Zhou Yan arrived at a hidden void, where a concealed palace resided. It was hidden using the power of a small world, but it was difficult to conceal from someone like Zhou Yan.
"Number one under heaven, please come in," the other party stated directly.
Since they already knew his identity, Zhou Yan saw no reason to conceal himself. He restored his appearance and strode in boldly.
Inside, there were only ten people, ten old fellows, all of whom were decrepit old men with one foot in the grave.
"Please," the Grand Elder among the Ten Elders gestured for Zhou Yan to sit. He was the closest to the God Realm, a demigod, but alas, his territory had not yet met the requirements, and he would never ascend to the God Realm in this lifetime.
After Zhou Yan sat down, he spoke directly, "Since you know my identity, how do you intend to compensate me? If I'm not satisfied, we'll continue fighting."
The Ten Elders' faces flushed red with anger. Zhou Yan was still so arrogant and aggressive in their presence, which truly infuriated them.
They endured!
They had already learned about Zhou Yan's background. Orphaned, alone in the world, and his only close friend was the heir to the Dragon King family of the Divine Dragon Kingdom.
Did they dare to do anything to Ye Bufan?
They dared not.
Furthermore, Zhou Yan's methods of eliminating enemies were silent and traceless. So many large forces had been annihilated by Zhou Yan, one by one. Even the countries on the Canglan Continent couldn't do anything to Zhou Yan.
They had no evidence and couldn't control Zhou Yan in the slightest, yet he remained unharmed.
Those forces wanted to kill Zhou Yan, but who dared to make a move?
They might have made a move, but Zhou Yan was still alive and well. Who could kill Zhou Yan?
Zhou Yan was utterly unconcerned, and the critical point was that the origin of this incident was that their subordinates had provoked him first. No matter how you looked at it, they were in the wrong.
"I am the Grand Elder of the Black Market Alliance. On behalf of our Black Market, I apologize to you. This is our spiritual compensation."
The Grand Elder produced a ring and floated it before Zhou Yan. Zhou Yan scanned it with his divine sense. Inside were various materials, blueprints, and buildings, with a combined value no less than ten trillion.
Zhou Yan hadn't expected this Grand Elder to be so sensible. He thought they would just offer something perfunctory. It seemed they were afraid of him.
However, how could a mere ten trillion satisfy Zhou Yan!
Ye Bufan: I predicted Zhou Yan's thoughts.
"Bang!"
Zhou Yan's expression turned grim, and he slammed his hand on the table, roaring, "Who do you think you're looking down on!"
"This is it!"
"You people look down on me, Zhou Yan, like this!"
"Is this the sincerity you bring!"
"Come, let's fight another ten thousand rounds. If I concede, I'll twist my head off and give it to you to use as a ball!"
Upon hearing this, the Ten Elders' faces turned red, and they were all infuriated. They clenched their fists, wanting nothing more than to pin Zhou Yan to the ground and grind him into the dirt.
But none of them spoke, nor did they actually make a move. They were all listening to the Grand Elder. If they acted, this matter would become even more difficult to resolve.
This was a negotiation, compensation for spiritual damages. As long as it was within their acceptable range.
"What do you want?" The Grand Elder was indeed the Grand Elder. He showed no outward anger but spoke very calmly. Compared to the other nine old men around him, his demeanor was extraordinary.
But Zhou Yan quickly realized. These old men had lived for so long; even if they were angered, it wouldn't be so obvious, would it? This was completely unreasonable.
Zhou Yan understood. These fellows were acting, trying to deceive him.
What a clever person I am!
You old geezers want to act, but who says I can't!
"How many heroes did I summon earlier? Ten trillion worth of items for each hero would be sufficient," Zhou Yan said casually.
The crowd was truly stunned by Zhou Yan's words.
Hundreds of heroes, and each one to be compensated ten trillion!
Even a war that destroyed a nation wouldn't warrant such compensation.
It was too ruthless.
It was merely a minor conflict, yet they were being asked to pay so much.
The expressions of the nine elders changed to this: 凸(艹皿艹)(艹皿艹)<(￣﹌￣)>(╬￣皿￣)=○(╬￣皿￣)(╬◣д◢)(▼ヘ▼#)o(▼皿▼メ;)o(〝▼皿▼)
"Young friend, I cannot agree to this. You are asking for too much," the Grand Elder said, still very amiably.