The ten elders clearly did not believe Zhou Yan's words. Even if what Zhou Yan said was true, the matter had escalated to such a point that they could not let him off the hook.
"You shouldn't have disrupted the order of the black market!" one of the ten elders transmitted telepathically.
Zhou Yan sneered. A place that runs a black market, where everything is obtained through illicit means, and they were talking about rules to him?
Strength dictates the rules!
Zhou Yan decided to teach them a lesson. He extended a hand, and a green storm erupted from it. This was the Storm of the Dao, far more complex than it appeared. Zhou Yan had evolved it from the world power of his Tai Chi Grand Formation.
Only such power could suppress his opponents. Zhou Yan sensed that the "person" before him was not a single entity but rather controlled by multiple powerful individuals. Facing such an adversary, Zhou Yan naturally did not dare to be careless.
He was already within the small world they had established. If he were not unbound by its laws, he would not be this at ease.
The ten elders had no intention of letting Zhou Yan go. With a surge of their power, energy attacked, also evolved from the might of their small world. This power was immense, something even demigods could not withstand.
"Bang!"
The two forces collided, both originating from world power, unleashing terrifying fluctuations. Zhou Yan, single-handedly confronting the ten elders, was not at a disadvantage. This combat prowess left the elders greatly astonished.
"Who exactly are you?" The ten elders were unaware of Zhou Yan's origins, feeling that he hadn't come specifically to cause trouble for them.
With such strength, who could possibly have hired him?
"Now you want to know who I am? Rest assured, I belong to no sect or faction. I am a force unto myself. You have no reason to fear me. It's not that I specifically sought you out; you brought this upon yourselves." Zhou Yan spoke neither subserviently nor arrogantly. He extended a single finger, which loomed like a mountain, emanating mysterious fluctuations.
Zhou Yan, utilizing the Tai Chi world power, formed a finger of the Heavenly Dao, aiming to pierce the heavens. This finger, thousands of meters long, radiated immense pressure and power.
A finger formed from the power of the world's origin could suppress all heavens and destroy the firmament, filled with the imprint of the Dao. While it was the power born from the Innate Tai Chi Diagram, it was also a manifestation of Zhou Yan's own comprehension.
Within this formation, he was akin to a creator god. He could manifest all sorts of supreme secret techniques, and everything could be evolved through his world power.
Zhou Yan had already grasped some of the power laws of the Lord's Continent. This was due to his colorful energy, the primordial force of the Lord's Continent. After integrating it, he naturally comprehended some of its power laws.
However, fully comprehending and controlling it would require a very long time.
The ten elders dared not be negligent. They invoked the power of their world's origin, forming a mystical energy shield. The power of their small world's origin transformed into a Tai Xu shield, blocking in front of them.
"Clang!"
The void shattered. Their small world could barely withstand such a potent attack and was on the verge of collapse at any moment. But the elders were committed now, with no turning back.
Zhou Yan had no intention of stopping. They could not back down either, lest the entire Black Market Alliance lose face, and others deem them insignificant.
The void fractured violently. One finger shattered the heavens, and supreme Shattering Heaven Fingers landed one after another. The shield was completely broken.
The third finger descended, shattering the humanoid form created by the small world's power, reducing it to a void storm.
Five fingers fell, and a massive rift appeared in the sky. The formation patterns of the small world were utterly devastated.
The ten elders utilized the power of their small world's origin to repair it. But the void was too severely fractured, too terrifying. They never imagined their evolved world shield would only hold for two strikes before being completely shattered on the third.
Even ten demigod-level powerhouses struggled to resist Zhou Yan. Seeing their world on the brink of destruction, the ten elders once again condensed a "person," attempting to stop Zhou Yan with the power of their small world.
But Zhou Yan's attacks were too formidable. He was like an embodiment of laws. A single punch, like a world, crushed down, threatening to annihilate the sky spanning thousands of meters.
Their small world simply could not withstand Zhou Yan's terrifying assault. The ten elders finally grew fearful and retreated. They dared not risk everything in their small world in a life-or-death struggle against Zhou Yan. They merely intended to suppress him and stop him.
Naturally, they failed. They were incapable of stopping Zhou Yan, and instead, their small world was in danger of destruction. They sealed the heavens and earth, unleashing all their world's origin power. If the formation patterns of the world were to shatter, everyone within this space would be consumed.
The consequences were too dire; the ten elders could not and would not bear them. They quickly pleaded, "What must we do for you to stop? You don't want everyone in this small world to die because of you, do you?"
No matter how unruly Zhou Yan acted, he would not let so many innocent people be buried with him. He was no madman; he merely wanted them to understand the price of angering him.
His attacks were measured; he had not destroyed the primary formation patterns of the small world. Even so, the ten elders were terrified.
The other party could destroy this small world at any moment. No single one of them could deal with such an individual. This was already akin to divine power.
Zhou Yan had possessed the combat strength to contend with demigods long ago, and he was only growing stronger. If there were true gods on the Canglan Continent or in the Lord's World, Zhou Yan would not hesitate to suppress them.
Unfortunately, gods were not permitted to exist in the lower realms, and Zhou Yan had not detected any divine aura. Indeed, no god could exist in this world, not even by concealing their power, much like water could never exist within fire.
In a world devoid of gods, Zhou Yan could unreservedly claim to be the foremost under heaven.
"Compensate me for my losses, or you might as well close down your black market from now on," Zhou Yan threatened.
"You are too arrogant!" The ten elders were all demigod-level powerhouses. When had they ever been threatened like this?
Zhou Yan formed a divine sword, cleaving through a void and reducing a portion of the small world to nothingness. That area was rapidly dissipating, and a terrifying devouring force erupted from the chaotic space, surging towards the entire small world.
"Do you truly intend to wipe us out?" The ten elders, seeing Zhou Yan's fearlessness, were genuinely afraid that he would destroy the small world.
"It has nothing to do with me. Outsiders will only know that you did this. Even if this world is destroyed, who would suspect me? After all, this world was built by you, and this trade fair was organized by you. I am merely a merchant who came here to trade."
Zhou Yan extricated himself completely, shifting all consequences onto the Black Market Alliance. They were a collective force, entirely different from Zhou Yan, who was alone.
Zhou Yan could simply walk away. Could they?
The ten elders were so enraged they nearly spat blood.