Yama Rising

Honda Tadakatsu shut his eyes.

He had been probing at Qin Ye’s intentions all this while, from the time he boarded the cruise liner, to the commencement of their duel, and up until the point where he began to treat Qin Ye with great indifference. Honda Tadakatsu had killed his fair share of people, and he knew all too well what kind of people would exhibit a great intent to do battle, and what kind of people didn’t possess a single bit of such intentions at all.

This was something he was certain of. It was something which he had identified as a foregone conclusion. Furthermore, he didn’t think he could ever be wrong about this.

And that was the fact that the ones he had killed in the past were all people who were in their forties or fifties. His miscalculation arose from the fact that Qin Ye had already lived for a hundred years.

The corollary was also true - he was second to none when it came to grasping the deepest contemplations of a person’s heart.

“You might not know this, but the Mirror of Eminence was the sole cause of the earlier devastating shockwave of Yin energy. It’s practically a single step away from becoming an existence no different from the Book of Life and Death or King Yanluo’s Seal. But I didn’t think you would’ve ever seen it before, so I took my chances and hedged my bets on the fact that you wouldn’t immediately realize that it’s not what you’re looking for. Truth be told, if I didn’t know beforehand that the Book of Life and Death were located in the vicinity, I wouldn’t have been able to plan this far ahead.”

“Your earlier flurry of attacks were incredibly powerful, but I quickly realized that you didn’t resort to a single hint of Yin energy for those attacks of yours. Instead, the only thing you relied upon was your pure martial prowess. This made me certain of one thing - that you’re a human being. At that moment, I was only able to ask the Mirror of Eminence - ‘What else can we possibly do right now?’ Fortunately, it understood the intentions beneath these words of mine. And the moment you caught the mirror was the moment your fate was sealed… cough cough…”

But this opponent… this opponent!

“And thus, it mustered all of its strength to blind me with a great flash of light.” Honda Tadakatsu murmured, “And in that very instant that an opportunity presented itself, you seized it and defeated me. You didn’t even deign to avoid my attacks, and you charged straight into my Dragon Exodus Thrust… Had you been a mere mortal, you would have perished to my attacks by now.”

Qin Ye nodded with a faint smile on his face.

“It’s your loss.”

Honda Tadakatsu’s entire body had completely turned to ash, and his head was the only thing that hadn’t disintegrated yet. Just then, he abruptly spoke up once more, “Tell me your name.”

“I’ve never been one to fight head-on with a legendary warrior like you. Remember this lesson well, Honda-kun.”

“Very well.” His head slowly disintegrated into the surroundings as his final words reverberated in the surroundings, “If you take Nippon one day, I’ll be willing to pledge my allegiance to you as my lord.”

Qin Ye’s face instantly turned ashen, revealing such a contrived expression that one would have thought he had just eaten shit.

“What the hell are you slapping me for?! I’m still awake, you stupid idiot!” A single line of words were promptly scrawled across the surface of the mirror - it was enraged.

Ming Shiyin responded with great indignation, “This is the effect of the Book of Life and Death’s reversal of Yin and Yang. He’s a human being, so he would naturally return to the Nipponese underworld upon death. Heh heh… looks like your pride has become your stumbling block this time. You’ve even inadvertently disclosed to him the fact that you’re the future King Yanluo of Hell? Do you know how much I wanted to sew your flapping mouth shut when I heard you make that very statement of yours?!”

You’re telling me that the petrification and disintegration of your body earlier wasn’t the result of the dissipation of your soul?

I apologize for my earlier insipid behaviour… I promise I won’t come looking for you until I’m fully prepared for it. We’ll stay out of each other’s way until then, alright?

Qin Ye gasped and straightened his body as he gazed into the distance.

He’s worthy of his title as the infamous Demon King of the Sixth Heaven after all. To think that he’s able to gain the upper hand despite the numerical disadvantage of hundreds and quite possibly a thousand or more.

It’s over…

This was the culmination of several months’ of planning, starting with the inception of his thesis paper, all the way to his expedition to Eastsea.

He had managed to inaugurate his golden trade route of Southsea Huanghuali. There were several billions worth of supplies waiting for him back in a warehouse in Eastsea. He had also made a name for himself through the cultivation world with the publication of his thesis paper. All he needed to do to close the loop on this chapter was to return to Eastsea to participate in the academic exchange which awaited them.

This would be Hell’s first completely primordial treasure!

It was as though… he possessed the power to alter the fate of every single person in Cathay with a single thought.

After all, underworlds moved only for talents.

Qin Ye had made a beeline to the deck of the ship as soon as he undid the seal on the Obsidian Heaven’s Eye Bowl, while Jingo, Dojin, Master Kamo and Iwasaki Kyouya had remained at the cargo hold to rest and recuperate.

“It was Honda Tadakatsu.” Qin Ye’s pride meant that he would never hide his achievements. Yet, his voice remained placid, “It was a bloody battle, but I managed to eke out a lucky win.”

It was an abrupt yet absolute silence.

“Honda Tadakatsu?” Iwasaki Kyouya gasped, “Is this… the very same Honda Tadakatsu that I’m thinking of?”

“My god…” Master Kamo stared at Qin Ye as though he had just seen a ghost, “They’ve even mobilized Honda Heihachiro?! And… y-y-you… how in the world did you manage to defeat him?!”

Imagine if an extraterritorial emissary stood in front of you, telling you that they’ve defeated Lu Bu or Xiang Yu in battle.

“Now’s not the time to be discussing these things.” Qin Ye restrained the smile on his face and continued with a grim expression, “Immediately mobilize the Tengu army and the battle monks to help Oda Nobunaga take down Azai Nagamasa and his forces! We can only deter the approach of Izanami for a little while longer. Meanwhile, reinforcements will soon be arriving - a Judge-class emissary is already on her way here!”

Let’s finally end the nightmarish auction of blood and terror, right here, right now…

Here was a man who had defeated Honda Tadakatsu in battle and lived to tell the tale! What an achievement! The Cathayan underworld is far too terrifying!

Ooooo… With the long blare of a horn, the Tengu army and battle monks that had previously been resting and recuperating once again appeared, and they began to charge straight towards the fray where they would clash directly against Azai Nagamasa’s forces. With their arrival, Izanami’s personal forces found their movements increasingly suppressed and formations and tactics stifled. Within moments, Oda Nobunaga’s black guards and red guards secured their advantage in battle and began to cull down their opponents!

The entire area encompassing several kilometers in radius from the Strait of Tsushima was pitch-black in colour.

There were far too many Yin spirits and far too much Yin energy around these parts right now, ranging from the Yin spirits of the innocent who had perished from the ‘ghost ship’ incidents, to the Yin soldiers that had been completely consumed by the shockwave from Justice Bao’s display of authority, to the dissipation of souls arising out of the bloody battleground over the waters right now. The Yin energy had tainted these waters so greatly that it couldn’t be considered a realm for the living, at least for the next decade or so.

He returned to the cargo hold, where it was completely shrouded in silence. All of the tycoons were still holed up in the security of their own rooms right now. He walked straight to the deepest chamber which remained accessible only to Guardian Auctions, and then he knocked on the door. Two voices instantly called back with great vigilance, “Who’s that?!”

Qin Ye didn’t bother to respond. He simply turned the knob, and the door opened for him, only to see two frightened faces staring right back at him, as well as two magic tools beside them that were primed to fire at the moment’s notice. As soon as they noticed Qin Ye’s appearance, they immediately relaxed their tense disposition.

“The Incense of Paramnesia…” Grandmaster Chu gulped nervously, “But sir… this… doesn’t accord well with the rules of the auction…”

“Mark my words, your afterlife is going to be hell… But for now, I dictate the rules around this place!”

“Do as I say. Otherwise, I’ll send you on your way to the afterlife immediately!”

1. Both Lu Bu and Xiang Yu are legendary Chinese warlords who are said to be unparalleled in their times.