Yama Rising

North Yin Pavilion.

Qin Ye released his consciousness with a pleased expression, experiencing the reaction that all of his people were displaying to his announcement.

The underworld was far too boring and rigid a place at the moment.

Due to the lack of resources, the rise of any industry required time. Regardless of what industry it was, it had to start from imports. Imports were key to the rise of all of the industries popping up in the Cathayan Underworld, then came the emergence of companies and corporations.

Basic quality of life could be ensured now, but industries for things like luxury clothing and accessories were virtually nonexistent. The recreation industry was also a puddle of stagnant water without any fresh input.

Thus, it was a very boring place. Netherworldly citizens could only survive, but they couldn't do much else, and that was a particularly striking comparison to the lives they had led back in the mortal realm.

However, the announcement that had just been made had completely blown this puddle of stagnant water apart!

The birth of the education industry heralded the rise of all types of industries after two or three cycles of six years! Furthermore, there would be no need to worry about unemployment!

Setting aside the fact that everyone had the chance to become underworld emissaries through education, more and more companies were appearing in the Cathayan Underworld, all of which required development, so there was no way that netherworldly citizens who had learned professional skills in schools would go unemployed!

Then there was the alluring prospect of joining the military, thereby becoming a part of Hell, in six years.

Thus, it came as no surprise that countless Yin spirits all over the nation were scrambling to enroll for university, and he could even foresee what glorious scenes awaited the nation in six years.

"Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Your Excellency!" Qin Hui and Su Daji were standing on either side of him with fawning expressions. "This is a brilliant move! The funds required for the expenditure required to establish the education industry will be taken from the netherworldly citizens. Perhaps some people would've complained, but it was a stroke of genius to show them just how powerful underworld emissaries are! Everyone wants to be more powerful, and with that carrot dangling in front of them, no one will complain about having to pay for education! I am truly in awe of your brilliance, Your Excellency!"

Qin Ye was very pleased to hear this.

It had to be said that flattery like this had its place. At the very least, it was very good for improving mood.

Furthermore, even though Qin Hui wasn't exactly a good and righteous individual, he had served as a prime minister in the past, thereby giving him the knowledge and experience to understand Qin Ye's plans, and it was extremely enjoyable to have his own genius pointed out by someone who understood him.

Qin Hui wasn't wrong. There were far more options for recreation and entertainment available in the mortal realm, yet the netherworldly citizens hadn't risen up in revolt even though resources were sorely lacking in the underworld and there wasn't anywhere near as much diversity in entertainment, and the main reason behind this was that they didn't need to give that much, either.

The only cost they had was for housing, and even that was optional. If worse came to worst, they could easily spend a night in a cave or under a bridge.

As for other spending, most of that came in the form of entertainment and catering, and these were certainly optional as well. Even then, these options were only available in the cities of Ashmound and Everburn. In other places, many industries were still yet to arise, and entertainment and recreation options were sorely lacking.

Under these circumstances, an attempt to establish the education industry would've most likely been met with resistance.

However, if they were to tell everyone that they could all become gods through learning, then everything would be completely different, as had already been evidenced!

Having dangled the carrot in front of them, everyone would be innately motivated to learn, and as a result, it would be far easier to establish the education industry than in an environment where no one wanted to learn.

"The show has only just begun..." He smiled as he closed his eyes, then released his consciousness once again, to Ashmound, on this occasion.

On the coast of Ashmound, the Kraken's massive body was floating on the sea, and the entire area was surrounded by tens of thousands of Yin soldiers.

Around the Kraken's body were millions, even close to a billion Yin runes, slowly drifting through the water beneath the dark surface of the sea, like countless stars orbiting around a mountain.

Zhao Yun was seated at the center of the Kraken's body, and he reached out with both index fingers toward the carcass, upon which one complex Yin rune after another slowly vanished into the Kraken's body through his fingers. As a result, wisps of Yin energy slowly surged and churned, and the Kraken's body began to take on an inky-black hue while also taking on a metallic quality.

King Yanluo's Seal was slowly revolving right above his head, devouring all of the Yin energy that was being released.

Zhao Yun seemed to have sensed Qin Ye's gaze, and the former opened his eyes before giving a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"How much longer will it take?" Qin Ye asked from Everburn.

Zhao Yun thought about this for a moment before replying, "I'll be able to complete this prior to the commencement of the international trade conference, but I don't have any time to spare. At the same time, I need the undivided assistance of Yin Construction."

Qin Ye opened his eyes before having a faint sigh of relief.

There were still five and a half years left until the international trade conference.

During these five and a half years, the new energy resource had to be set up across the entire nation, patents had to be applied for, universities had to be constructed, and the Kraken's body had to be modified.

They were sorely lacking in skilled workers right now! This was a being above the Yama-King level, and he had the assistance of King Yanluo's Seal, yet even with that mind boggling combination, the Kraken modification project could still only just barely be completed within five and a half years. Furthermore, several major projects were going to be taking place at once, and Qin Ye wanted nothing more than to have billions of Yin spirits at his disposal!

"Aren't you rushing things a little too much, Your Excellency?" Su Daji asked in a careful manner.

Qin Ye shook his head in response as he cast his gaze out of the North Yin Pavilion at the rest of the Cathayan Underworld, which had erupted into a complete frenzy. "There's still more work that needs to be done."

That's true, but is it really a good idea to strain the entire nation like this?

Su Daji didn't say anything further, but there was a hint of concern in her eyes. All of these projects were ones that absolutely had to be completed and could benefit the entire nation enormously, but if all of them were implemented at once, then the strain on the Cathayan Underworld's manpower and resources would be extremely severe. If anything were to go wrong, society itself could completely collapse!

However, she was sure that Qin Ye had already considered this. Despite his relative youth, he was far more shrewd and cunning than he appeared.

Several seconds later, Qin Ye continued, "Also, in five and a half years, it'll be a decade since the Great Revelation Debate. If we don't bring out anything to show the rest of the world, the Prometheus plan could beat us to it."

There were some things that weren't actually impossible to develop, it was just that some projects required too much resource, manpower, and monetary investment. Many foreign nations didn't have authoritarian government systems, and even constructing a road could take years, let alone super projects of this scale.

The president was theoretically the top dog of the nation, but they were also quite powerless.

Countless informants were planted in all of the parliamentary houses, and if it weren't for the fact that the Cathayan Underworld had already declared its new energy resource, none of the other nations would have participated in this race at all.

Once the three pillars decided to fully dedicate themselves to the project, it definitely wouldn't take them very long to produce something worth showing to the world.

"On top of that, in five years, we have to hold the international trade conference that will be attended by the entire world!"

A hint of excitement appeared on his face as he continued, "Even though it seems like I'm really pushing the envelope here, when the time comes, we'll be able to earn back everything we invested with interest! At the same time, we can tell the rest of the world that we've already established countless industries on the thing that they were still yet to be able to develop. The rules of the energy resource market will be dictated by us, and it'll only be a matter of time before the Cathayan Underworld ascends to the throne of the entire world!"

…………………………………

Time flew by in a flash, and in what seemed like the blink of an eye, it was already four years later.

At the Ghostdom Intellectual Property Organization, which corresponded with the World Intellectual Property Organization of the mortal realm.

Every single day, there were always countless Yin spirits gathered at the organization's Rome headquarters. Hundreds of letters flooded to this place from all parts of the world daily, and all of these letters were related to all types of patents and intellectual properties.

Just like Rome in the mortal realm, Rome in the underworld had a very pronounced Baroque style with churches everywhere. Surprisingly, Rome was under the jurisdiction of the twin gods of the Argosian Underworld, but they didn't force everyone to worship them. Instead, one could even follow the religions of Catholicism or Christianity here.

As a result, this place was also known as the religionless area of the underworld.

Due to this unique characteristic, all of the underworld's netherworldly citizens who were atheists were gathered here. They lived here and worked here, transforming this place into a melting pot of cultures and styles, making it a city renowned for fine art and diverse and delicious cuisines. It was rated as one of the underworld's top five cities, and was the only one in the top five aside from the capital cities of the four pillars.

The GIPO headquarters was situated in the largest church in the city, which was a glorious Baroque-style building with renaissance-era statues a very common sight, giving the place a strong air of western artistry.

In a garden filled with neatly pruned underworld roses and evergreen trees, there stood a fountain of worship that was 30 meters in height, pouring out water like a waterfall. Hundreds of female Yin spirit reliefs were engraved onto the bottom half of the fountain, while the top half carried statues of the leaders of the four pillars. The statues were extremely life-like, and above them was the emblem of the GIPO, which was quite similar to that of the WIPO of the mortal realm.

All of the underworld's patents and intellectual properties had to be registered here, and any that weren't registered were viewed as non-existent.

Beneath the GIPO was the renowned tomb of knowledge. All of the underworld's patents that had been lodged over the past several thousand years were stored there for safekeeping, and the death gods of the four pillars had sealed the place in person. Unless prior approval was acquired, no Yin spirit would be able to break into this place to steal anything.

In the tomb of knowledge, one could find the inception date of any patent, as well as the process of its birth, the identity of its inventor, all of the personnel involved, its registration date, who had purchased it, when it was coming to an end, etc. In any case, all information related to patents were stored here with no exceptions.

Clack, clack, clack... The sound of leather boots rang out in the corridor.

The floor of this corridor was as smooth as a mirror's surface, and it could clearly reflect the arched ceiling above it. There were countless candles molded in the form of angels and the Holy Father positioned along either side of the corridor, giving the place a strong religious aura.

There wasn't a single Yin spirit here as this corridor was already close to the core of the GIPO, the Godsend Chamber and the Court of Truth. All conflicts related to patents were read out in the Godsend Chamber before being judged in the Court of Truth.

At the same time, the offices of the GIPO's director and vice-director, Carlangus and Birlocks, respectively, were situated next to the Godsend Chamber.

The owner of the leather boots made their way to the entrance of the Godsend Chamber before opening the door without any hesitation as they said in an urgent voice, "Things are becoming stranger and stranger!"

The Godsend Chamber was normally empty, but five people were seated in it at the moment.

Director Carlos and Vice-director Birlocks were both present, and seated alongside them were Father Reynold of the church, and the two judges of the Court of Truth, who were also board members of the GIPO.

All of the GIPO's five board members were present, and right between them was an opened wooden crate containing dozens upon dozens of documents from the Cathayan Underworld, all of which were requesting for approval.

"Calm down and tell us what happened," Birlocks sighed as he adjusted his own golden-rimmed glasses.

A man in a professional suit was standing at the entrance, and he hurriedly extended a respectful bow as he said, "Another crate of application documents have just arrived from the Cathayan Underworld, and there are roughly 2132 documents in total from that batch!"

He cast his gaze toward the wooden crate at the center of the room, then gulped nervously as he continued, "In addition to the literary work patent applications in front of all of you, the Cathayan Underworld has submitted over 4,000 patent and intellectual property applications at once! This is simply unheard of!"