Yama Rising

Electricity, running water, computers, televisions, recreation industry, manufacturing industry, mining industry... We're finally going to have everything that the mortal realm has!

Amid the raucous commotion, a single voice drowned out the rest. "Is this really a new energy resource?"

Everyone immediately turned toward the person who had just spoken.

The entire world is celebrating! Who is this party pooper? And how dare you speak to the Cathayan Underworld in such a disrespectful tone? Who do you think you are?

However, no one raised any objections upon seeing which Yin spirit it was who had just spoken.

It was Archimedes.

His face was as pale as a sheet, and he was forcefully massaging his own temples as if he had just recovered from a massive blow. His eyes were completely bloodshot as he stared intently at the screen and asked, "Are you sure this is a new energy resource? What are its operating principles? What are some examples of its practical application? What scientific principles is it based on? What led to its discovery? We need an explanation! The whole world needs an explanation! Otherwise, this so-called new energy resource cannot be recognized according to international laws!"

He was panting slightly as he shook his head and continued, "According to international regulations, statistics, supporting evidence, and real-life examples must be provided in order for a patent to come into existence. You've only shown us this one piece of footage, and this is not impossible to create through the use of Yin energy!"

The death gods of the five Northern Europa nations, the Mythic Spirits of the Alkebulan Underworlds, and Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa finally returned to their senses upon hearing this, and before Qin Ye even had a chance to speak, Hela immediately delivered a scathing retort. "Do you think us death gods are so blind as to be unable to tell if this light is being generated by Yin energy or not? Light generated by Yin energy is different from light generated by an energy resource, and no matter how inept we are, we're still able to tell the difference!"

This is a new energy resource! Get fucked, you old fart! I'm not gonna join no utopia alliance! I'm the Cathayan Underworld's most loyal lapdog! Even if the Cathayan Underworld only has one ally, it has to be us!

At this point, Archimedes had already completely snapped out of his stunned reverie, and he heaved a faint sigh. All of a sudden, he was beginning to reminisce about his time in the mortal realm, where he had dedicated his life purely to the pursuit of science.

Here in the underworld, he was bogged down by his responsibilities as a death god. Otherwise, in the face of such a momentous occasion, regardless of whether this new energy resource was real or not, the first thing he should've done was celebrate and congratulate, rather than doubt and denounce.

The hopes of the three pillars were resting on his shoulders, and as a citizen of the Argosian Underworld, he had to fight for the interests of his nation.

"Of course I'm also capable of telling those apart!" Archimedes abruptly countered in a thunderous voice. "But just because a Yama-King is incapable of doing this doesn't mean that a being above the Yama-King level is necessarily also incapable of such a feat!"

He cast his gaze toward the death gods of the utopia, most of whom were still staring at the screen in an entranced manner. These were all rulers of their own respective underworlds, and they knew just how much wealth and employment opportunities a new energy resource could provide.

In contrast, the utopia was nothing!

If worse came to worst, they would just have to vote for the Cathayan Underworld during the revote! Nothing else matters in the face of this new energy resource!

Archimedes continued in a rousing voice, "Have you all forgotten that Yanluo Qin once instructed Ghost King Zhao to contact the entire world during his inauguration ceremony? Does that mean that the Cathayan Underworld has also invented the internet?!"

All of the death gods finally calmed down slightly upon hearing this.

In all honesty, if they weren't the representatives of their respective nations, they would be even rowdier than the journalists! If they didn't have to keep up appearances, they would've already rushed onto the stage to pledge their loyalty to the Cathayan Underworld.

Hypnos heaved a long sigh of relief.

Following the initial astonishment in response to the Cathayan Underworld's announcement, he had been overcome by a massive wave of horror, and he had almost rushed onto the stage to try and force Qin Ye to turn off the footage.

However, he had retained just enough of his sanity to stop himself just in time.

Thank heavens Archimedes is present, as expected of the Father of Yin Runes. Hypnos was praying with all his might that the Cathayan Underworld wouldn't be able to bring out any more supporting evidence!

In any case, the footage that had already been presented indicated that the Cathayan Underworld may have truly discovered a new energy resource. He turned to exchange a glance with Yamaraja and Anubis, and their expressions were just as grim as his.

"Archimedes, you are a living treasure to the entire underworld," Mictlantecutli said with a cold smile. "Even if we destroy the entire Argosian Underworld, you would still be spared, but this is an extremely high-profile international press conference, and the host is the ruler of the Cathayan Underworld. How dare you speak out of turn before the conclusion of the presentation? Would you dare to do this if the second King Yanluo was here?! Know your place!"

He was making no attempt to disguise his animosity as he cast his gaze toward all of the journalists in the venue. "Did your seniors not teach you when to ask questions and when to hold your tongue?!"

Archimedes pursed his lips with a grim expression, and he strode forward before extending a deep bow toward Qin Ye. "I don't mean to speak out of turn, Yanluo Qin, but this is truly an extremely important matter. The pursuit of a new energy resource is a target of even higher priority than even the development of forbidden arts. Only with a new energy resource will we truly be able to enter the modern age. As we are now, we'll never be able to catch up to the mortal realm! As a member of the Argosian Underworld's round table and the world energy resource association, as well as the president of the Yin rune committee, I am obligated to ask these questions, so please pardon my rudeness."

Qin Ye nodded in response with a faint smile on his face.

It's alright, none of you even understand the true purpose of the Zhu Rong plan. I may not be a match for you when it comes to knowledge in Yin runes, but in terms of politics, if I rank myself second in the Cathayan Underworld, no one would dare to claim the top spot!

Archimedes continued, "A piece of footage alone isn't enough to prove anything. Yanluo Qin, where are the practical application examples of this new energy resource? Where are the relevant statistics and scientific principles?"

Qin Ye smiled in response. "That is all strictly confidential information."

"Then I have reason to believe that this is not, in fact, a new energy resource!" Archimedes objected in an unyielding voice. "Perhaps it's very close to a new energy resource, but even so, that would only be the first step to the development of a true new energy resource. Just because you've made this first step doesn't mean that you've already made this into a reality!"

"So you insist on doubting us?" Mictetikasiwa chuckled.

"I'm not jumping to any decisive conclusions!" Archimedes was unexpectedly firm in his stance as he looked straight into Qin Ye's eyes. "I'm sure you must've been paying very close attention to such an important project, Yanluo Qin. I have some scientific questions that I would like to ask you. These questions are very simple, and your response will be able to easily prove the authenticity of your claims."

Before Qin Ye had a chance to reply, he immediately asked, "Which types of Yin runes have come together to generate this new energy resource? The Yin runes of the underworld are split up into 48 different categories. I have no intention of trying to steal the patent from you, all you need to do is tell me which types of Yin runes were used and I'll be able to know whether your answer is feasible or not."

As expected of a leading expert, there's no way that I can answer this question. Thankfully, I never prepared to answer these questions in the first place.

"That is strictly confidential information," Qin Ye repeated.

"Yanluo Qin, I'm not asking for any sensitive information, I just want to satisfy the curiosity of all of the researchers out there, including myself. All of the death gods present are aware of just how significant the emergence of a new energy resource is, and..."

"There's no need for you to speak any further on this matter," Qin Ye interjected with a smile. "I have no answers for any of your questions."

All of the journalists and death gods in the venue began to exchange a few peculiar glances upon hearing this.

This wasn't what a press conference releasing a monumental piece of technology was supposed to be like.

In the mortal realm, the emergence of 5G technology was instantly disclosed to the entire world, and it was only confirmed after a series of data had been released, making the invention authentic beyond a reasonable doubt.

All new inventions in the world were only acknowledged after the disclosure of key pieces of information. If you refused to disclose anything, then how was anyone supposed to believe you?

Qin Ye seemed to be oblivious to everyone's gradually changing reactions, and he continued, "Furthermore, 10 more years of preparation will be required before this piece of technology is ready. Once all of the preparations are complete, the Cathayan Underworld will release a patent notification."

No one said anything after that.

Anubis's wildly thumping heart finally settled down again, and he picked up his cup of coffee from the table before taking a sip, then heaved a long sigh of relief.

Just now, he had felt as if a sword were already resting on his neck, and the sensation had made all of the fine hairs all over his body stand up on end.

Qin Ye didn't even continue to dwell on this subject. Instead, he announced, "The following underworlds will hereby officially be declared as partners of the Cathayan Underworld, and they will receive worldwide priority when it comes to the base station construction rights of the Zhu Rong plan. At the same time, the Cathayan Underworld will be sharing the patent right of the Zhu Rong plan with these allied underworlds."

He cast his gaze toward Mythic Spirit Sunbird and Mythic Spirit Black Mamba. "Following this conference, the Alkebulan Underworlds will become exhaustive strategic collaborative partners of the Cathayan Underworld, and they will begin construction in the Zhu Rong plan at the same time as the Cathayan Underworld."

Countless image capture crystals instantly began to flash brightly once again, and their collective light was so bright that Qin Ye was barely able to keep their eyes open. All of the journalists were injecting their Yin energy into their image capture crystals without any reservation, and the crystals were flashing non-stop.

This was the first ally to have been declared as an exhaustive strategic collaborative partner of the Cathayan Underworld!

Even though this wasn't as much of a bombshell as the announcement pertaining to the new energy resource, it was definitely still a massive scoop.

"The five-nation alliance of Northern Europa will become a comprehensive collaborative strategic partner of the Cathayan Underworld, and their construction in the Zhu Rong plan will also commence in 10 years."

Qin Ye closed his documents with a smile, and he wanted to continue speaking, but his lips suddenly felt impossibly heavy.

So the moment has finally arrived... The truth behind the Zhu Rong plan will make you all feel as if everything that was just said has been completely pointless! Do you really think the Cathayan Underworld's panel of advisors are a bunch of idiots? Do you really think we would be unaware that just a promise of a new energy resource alone wouldn't be enough to turn the tables?

He took a deep breath, then announced in as calm a voice as he was capable of, "In the next 10 years, the Cathayan Underworld will be establishing Zhu Rong plan base stations in all of our allied nations in sequential order, and these base stations..."

He paused momentarily, and he felt as if his throat were on fire as he continued in a trembling voice, "Will be built upon the basis of the second generation forbidden arts startup modules."

Dead silence.

For the nth time, complete silence descended over the entire venue.

All of the journalists were rooted to the spot, and their image capture crystals fell dark.

All of the death gods were also completely stunned as they stared blankly at Qin Ye, looking as if they couldn't decide whether they had just heard a massive joke or the most monumental announcement they had ever heard.

Hela, Jörmungandr, Mictlantecutli, Mictetikasiwa, and all of the Mythic Spirits of the Alkebulan Underworlds turned toward Qin Ye with wooden expressions, looking just as incredulous as everyone else was.

Three full seconds of silence passed by before the entire venue completely erupted.

All of the death gods who had just sat down instantly sprang to their feet once again, and the rulers of the three pillars were trembling as goosebumps spread over the entirety of their bodies.

"Se... Second generation forbidden arts startup modules?!" A death god of the utopia alliance was staring at Qin Ye with a slack-jawed manner, and he exclaimed, "Impossible! That's definitely not possible!!"

This was such a massive bombshell that it took close to 20 seconds before all of the stunned journalists returned to their senses, yet on this occasion, no one dared to ask any questions.

No wonder the other underworlds had to arrive before this announcement was made, no wonder this had to wait until the very end, it was certainly well worth the wait!

It seemed that the Cathayan Underworld hadn't actually disappeared for a century. Instead, it was as if it had undergone a century of evolution and had emerged even stronger!