The next faction to be attacked by Zhou Yan was the Helin family.
The Helin family also quickly received news of the attacks on their territories on the Lord Continent, and they immediately convened an emergency meeting.
"This is no ordinary enemy. This is an extremely powerful, terrifying, and formidable foe. His territory has completely destroyed the Rhode family!"
"What should we do? Let's ask the Empress for help!"
"That Empress only transforms into a vampire to drain you when you need her. It's impossible to get reinforcements unless we offer her significant benefits."
"We cannot sit idly by. We must concentrate the entire family's strength and send out all our elites, or we will become the next Rhode family!"
Although the Helin family took this raid very seriously and made reasonable arrangements, deploying countless soldiers and strong individuals, and even hiring numerous powerful mercenary lords and experts, they were still doomed to fail. They assembled hundreds of millions of soldiers to march towards Zhou Yan's territory. Countless warships, airships, territories, strong individuals, soldiers, and scrolls were sent to attack Zhou Yan.
Even with all these efforts, it could not change their fate of failure. The elites of the Helin family were wiped out in one fell swoop, and all their strong individuals vanished without a trace. Few managed to escape the onslaught.
The defense towers of Zhou Yan's territory were not of this world; such attacks were beyond the capabilities of normal humans to resist.
Ten days later, the Helin family was also destroyed by Zhou Yan.
The destruction of the Rhode family and the Helin family sent a wave of unease across the entire Canglan Continent. Many began to feel unsettled, believing this was merely the beginning. Indeed, it was just the start.
Various families, groups, and enterprises within the Sunnever-sets Empire suffered immense blows, prompting them to seek help from the official authorities.
The Sunnever-sets Empire also felt a growing sense of unease. If all these wealthy individuals were to be wiped out, the entire empire's economy would inevitably plummet.
Thus, the Empress also intervened, dispatching her own army to protect these corporations and conglomerates. Of course, these groups and enterprises paid a heavy price for her intervention, for the calculating Empress would not act without considerable benefit.
Alas, this did not save their forces. Not only were the soldiers dispatched by the Sunnever-sets Empire annihilated, but the enterprises they sought to protect could not be saved either.
Hundreds of top-tier groups, enterprises, and families in the Sunnever-sets Empire suffered fatal blows in a short period, plunging the empire's economy into a slump. Massive protests erupted throughout the Sunnever-sets Empire, but these events were of no concern to Zhou Yan.
Zhou Yan had already started classes at Ziwei Academy, marking a new beginning.
He and Ye Bufan were assigned to the same class.
"You've been making quite a stir lately. I'm very curious how you manage to eliminate those factions without being present in your territory."
Ye Bufan was astonished. For the past few days, Zhou Yan had been attending classes as usual, yet so many factions in the Sunnever-sets Empire were being attacked daily.
"Who says I have to be in my territory to attack those factions?" Zhou Yan's territory was beyond normal comprehension. Even if he were absent, he could simply hand over command to his subordinates to manage it.
"I'm truly envious. You're such a comfortable hands-off manager." Ye Bufan wouldn't pry further. Since Zhou Yan possessed such capabilities, it only proved he had many means at his disposal.
"It's hilarious that those people still don't know who is attacking them," Ye Bufan remarked.
"I leave no trace when I act. Even if they found me, what could they do? Who among them can deal with me?" Zhou Yan was nonchalant, just as he said. Even if they found him, it would be futile.
"I envy your freedom," Ye Bufan said.
In two months, Ye Bufan had gained significant benefits by following Zhou Yan, and his territory had reached level ninety-five. His territory was nowhere near as monstrous as Zhou Yan's, hence its rapid leveling.
Zhou Yan, however, was different. The higher his territory's level, the larger its area, and the more challenging development became, requiring astronomical amounts of resources and buildings.
Low-level materials were relatively easy to find, but high-level buildings were the key obstacle to Zhou Yan's development.
Zhou Yan could only plunder them from the enemy territories, since they were enemies.
The Sunnever-sets Empire was merely Zhou Yan's first target. The Sunnever-sets Empire's official forces on the Lord Continent had not yet been dealt with.
Even so, Zhou Yan had already inflicted a severe economic crisis upon the Sunnever-sets Empire. The destruction of hundreds of top-tier enterprises, conglomerates, and families in such a short time involved immense vested interests.
The impact was so great that the entire economy of the Sunnever-sets Empire suffered a severe blow.
But what did this have to do with Zhou Yan? He was merely retaliating against his enemies.
Zhou Yan continued his daily routine of attending classes, cultivating, and doing what he normally did.
Zhou Yan had already handed over a list to others, who would systematically search for those individuals' forces on the Lord Continent and eliminate them one by one.
Out of boredom, Zhou Yan visited the [Cinema] and found a movie titled "Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain." He was greatly intrigued by it.
This film was considered the pinnacle of Chinese fantasy cinema. It was severely underestimated upon its release but later proved to be unmatched.
Zhou Yan hadn't visited the world of the cinema in a long time, so he decided to enter and have some fun.
Upon entering the cinema, Zhou Yan became a disciple of Mount Emei. At this time, the Blood Demon Youquan had not yet begun its attack on Emei, and Zhou Yan was diligently cultivating within the sect.
Thus, Zhou Yan cultivated within Mount Emei for two hundred years, advancing his realm to the ninth heaven of martial arts and significantly enhancing his strength.
However, Zhou Yan remained low-key, and no one knew his true strength, not even True Person Bai Mei.
It was at this point that the plot began to unfold officially.
The Blood Demon Youquan began its assault on Mount Emei. True Person Bai Mei dispatched Dan Chenzi to relocate two armies engaged in battle down the mountain.
After Dan Chenzi descended the mountain, Zhou Yan followed. With his current strength, no one could detect his movement as he descended.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, Dan Chenzi encountered Xuan Tianzong, a disciple from Kunlun, and they engaged in battle with the Blood Demon Youquan.
"Damn, this Blood Demon Youquan is truly ugly!" Zhou Yan exclaimed after seeing its true form.
The Blood Demon Youquan was powerful. It merely conjured the inner demons of Dan Chenzi and Xuan Tianzong, and the two were already unable to resist.
Dan Chenzi's weapon was the Sky Dragon Slash, worn on his back, which could launch feather-like flying knives and also protect his entire body. It looked quite impressive and was quite powerful. However, this artifact was only of diamond quality, not even considered a spiritual artifact.
Xuan Tianzong's weapon was the Sun-Moon Golden Wheels; the Sun Wheel focused on defense, and the Moon Wheel on offense. He also fought a fierce battle against his inner demon, but Zhou Yan knew that neither of them was a match for their inner demon.