Yama Rising

Right in front of everyone's eager eyes, Qin Ye smiled and reached out to help Hrithik Chahat stand up straight again. "We would love to have you on board. There are many contracts and agreements to be signed to facilitate our collaboration, and there's no time like the present. How about we go and discuss this in a conference hall?"

"As you wish." Hrithik extended a respectful bow before stepping back.

The entire banquet hall had fallen silent, and Qin Ye cast his gaze toward all of the death gods with a smile and said, "Alright, I'll be going on ahead then. I wish everyone an enjoyable night."

Thus, he silently departed, yet the banquet hall still looked as if it had been frozen in time, and only after a long while did all of the death gods return to their senses.

"The top three research institutes in the world have come together to help the Cathayan Underworld's research and development team develop its new energy resource..." Death God Yolands's lips were trembling, and he felt as if there were golden stars dancing erratically in front of his eyes.

He had never even considered such an extravagant possibility.

This was a research and development team the likes of which had never been seen in history!

It was clear that the Cathayan Underworld and the three major research centers were determined to finalize this new energy resource within the next 10 years!

The energy era was finally about to arrive in the world, and even though no one was fully prepared to welcome it yet, they were all eagerly awaiting the energy revolution that would allow them to catch up to the mortal realm.

"The entire world is about to change, and this is most likely going to be the most significant period of change in the past 1,000 years," Anko murmured to herself as she slowly rose to her feet and departed.

"The one who develops the new energy resource will be the ruler of the new era. The three pillars aren't going to back down, and the Cathayan Underworld is currently rapidly gathering allies, so the clashes between them will inevitably continue. Every international conference after this one is going to be an absolute bloodbath! For all of the underworlds outside the four pillars and the first-rate underworlds, every decision they make from here onwards would have a significant bearing on their fate."

She wasn't in the mood to linger here any longer. Never did she think that such a stunning revelation would take place during this conference, and she had to return to the Celtic Underworld right away to discuss this with her panel of advisors.

Following her departure, the rest of the death gods got up one after another in silence before also leaving the banquet hall, and the four death gods of the Red Moon Federation were among them. They hurriedly returned to their room, then shut the door as quickly as they could, following which all four death gods opened their mouths in unison, but none of them said anything.

What followed was a peculiar silence.

The tsunami was coming, and they could already hear the deafening waves crashing toward them. During the next few centuries, none of the underworlds were going to be able to relax for even an instant, and they had to devise a plan of action right away!

Sitting on the main seat was Death God Kuwal, and the netherfire in his eyes was flickering erratically. Only after several minutes did he break his silence. "Borne, return to the Red Moon Federation right away and instruct our minister of foreign exchange to prepare some agreements and come to Nara as quickly as possible. At the same time..."

Kuwal gritted his teeth and paused momentarily before continuing, "Tell him to bring with him all of the records of the estimated production records of all our major marine fish farms over the past 50 years."

The other death gods' expressions changed slightly upon hearing, yet before they could reply, Kuwal continued, "Do you guys recall that Yanluo Qin said he will be sending envoys to the Maldives next month to sign agreements and contracts to re-establish ties with the rest of the world? What does he want?"

He answered his own question. "He wants compensation from all of the underworlds that had picked the wrong side, and at the same time, he wants to see just how determined and sincere we are to stand with the Cathayan Underworld."

He took a deep breath before looking at everyone with a serious expression. "It's time for us to make a decision. We don't have the luxury of biding our time and only making the choice when the time comes. Here in Nara, there must be countless other underworlds doing the exact same thing as us. This is the first time that the three major research centers have ever combined as one to lend their assistance to one of the four pillars, and that is as bold a statement as they come! If we pick sides in a few years, it'll be too late! For Yanluo Qin, an ally like us is completely dispensable."

He was met by more silence.

Kuwal continued, "I propose we issue subsidies to our farmers in order to facilitate the export of all of our fruits to the Cathayan Underworld at 50% of their current price for the next three years. At the same time, I say we grant the Cathayan Underworld free access to our five largest fish farms in exchange for the right to join the Zhu Rong plan. This is my decision and a gamble that I'm willing to take on my own. If you don't wish to join me, then you're free to refuse."

………………………………………………..

Crack! A cup was crushed in the hand of the nameless god of death, and the tea it contained slowly drifted up as wisps of Yin energy. His strained voice then rang out from the shadows beneath his crown. "Are you sure there's no mistake? The top three research centers in the world have extended an olive branch towards the Cathayan Underworld? And they did so during a banquet where all of the world's death gods were present?!"

"There's no mistake," Izanami sighed as she looked up at the ceiling. "They've made a more powerful resurgence than we could've ever anticipated."

This was a very spacious room with extremely lavish traditional Nipponese decor, and there were currently only three death gods in the room.

They were Izanami, the nameless god of death, and Anubis. Yamaraja and Thanatos were nowhere to be found.

Anubis didn't say anything, and he was gently spinning a golden human skull in his hand. Only after a long while did he break his silence. "I'm very pleased that you're sitting here right now."

"The Nipponese Underworld has always been the most resolute ally of the three pillars," Izanami said as she stood up before extending a slight bow.

Abunis smiled and said, "I know that everyone is currently trying to get on the Cathayan Underworld's side."

He pointed at the floor and continued, "There must be countless underworlds racking their brains right now, discussing how to appease the Cathayan Underworld and how to make up for the mistake they made in picking the wrong side. However, they're still too naive. I'm not looking down on them, it's just that they've never been in this position before, so they don't know what the four pillars entails and just how much power we hold. Truth be told, I am very disappointed that we couldn't succeed here, but even when the utopia alliance had already secured 17 votes, I never allowed myself to become complacent. If we had succeeded, I would celebrate, but at the same time, we're also prepared for failure."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he mused. "On top of that, the main topic of discussion for this conference may already be over, but the actual conference itself still hasn't concluded yet."

A thought seemed to have occurred to the nameless god of death upon hearing this, and he abruptly raised his head as he said, "Are you saying..."

"The International Underworlds Energy Resource Association and the International Underworlds Trade Association still haven't visited the Cathayan Underworld, right? Even though we've lost, we still have to salvage what we can."

A sly smile appeared on his face as he continued, "Just now, I already instructed the emissaries of our underworld in the GTO to inform the Cathayan Underworld."

Crack! A series of cracks appeared on the skull he was holding as his voice took an icy turn. "This show is still not over yet!"

………………………………………………..

"Your Excellency, this is a letter of invitation from the GTO." Qin Ye was sharing a boisterous conversation with the Yin rune researchers of the three major research centers when Qin Changxin walked into the room and handed a letter of invitation to him.

He glanced at the table beside him. There were still three hours left until the warm-up meeting to prepare for the next international conference, so there was still quite a bit of time left.

However, the three Yin rune researchers were determined not to overstay their welcome, and they all stood up to take their leave. Soon, silence turned to the room, and only then did Qin Ye pick up the letter before raising an eyebrow. "Warm-up meeting?"

"That's right." Zhao Yun had been standing at the entrance like a gate guardian this entire time. With him in the room, there was no way that any underworld would be able to eavesdrop on Qin Ye through any means.

"There are different tiers of international conferences. Some conferences are known as important international conferences, an example of which is this conference to re-sign the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts, while others are known as unimportant international conferences. The difference between them is that important conferences are held at a set time. The Coalition of Underworlds will arrange those conferences according to pre-set schedules decided as far back as a century ago, and all of the world's death gods must attend."

A contemplative look appeared on Qin Ye's face upon hearing this. "Does this mean unimportant conferences are ones where the death gods don't have to attend?"

Zhao Yun nodded in response with a smile. "Indeed, Your Excellency. There are many unimportant conferences, such as the Yin beast protection and conservation conference, the Yin rune expansion conference, the international underworlds natural disaster prevention conference, and the list goes on. However, there are only a few important conferences, and they are the conference for the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts, the international peace treaty conference, the continental development conference, and the cultural renaissance conference. Aside from those four important conferences, there are also two other important conferences, but they're not held at set times."

"What are they?"

"One of them is the war mediation conference. This conference will immediately be held as soon as a war takes place, and all death gods and major political figures from the warring nations must be in attendance. The second one is the Australis Underworld supernatural disaster conference."

Qin Yes brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "I recall hearing the second King Yanluo mention the Australis Underworld's supernatural disasters a few times, and some death gods also mentioned it in passing during this conference. What exactly is going on over there? We don't seem to have much information on this subject, and the second King Yanluo didn't teach me much about this, either."

A serious look on Zhao Yun's face as he replied, "In that case, the second King Yanluo most likely came back specifically to pass on some information regarding the supernatural disasters of the Australis Underworld."

He made his way over to the center of the hall, then swept a hand through the air, and a world map formed by Yin energy immediately appeared. He pointed at the Australis Underworld and said, "Currently, there are underworlds in all of the worlds' territories, and the territories of the underworlds are similar to those of their counterparts in the mortal realm. However, the Australis Underworld is an exception to this; it has been without a ruler for over 700 years. 700 years ago, widespread supernatural disasters swept across the entire Australis Underworld. The four pillars joined forces on that occasion, using four creation-grade divine artifacts to seal the Australis Underworld away, and from there onward, the four pillars were supported by the first-rate and second-rate underworlds, sending large numbers of troops to keep the situation in the Australis Underworld contained, and those troops are changed once every century."

Qin Ye's brows furrowed even tighter as he scrutinized the Australis Underworld on the world map. "Don't supernatural disasters only happen in the mortal realm?"

Zhao Yun shook his head in response. "This is the only time where it's happened in the underworld. I don't know the exact details as that's not a part of my duties, but the Cathayan Underworld sent troops there once. On that occasion, 500,000 Yin soldiers were deployed, yet only half of them returned. As soon as any changes take place in the supernatural disasters of the Australis Underworld, an important international conference will immediately be held. Your Excellency, if the Red Moon Federation tries to approach you, I would suggest that you consider accepting their advances. The Red Moon Federation and the Star Cluster Federation are the first defensive line around the Australis Underworld, and they have logistics bases from all of the underworlds in their territory, so it would be beneficial for us to have some ties with them."

Qin Ye nodded in response with a contemplative expression but didn't pay this much heed.

There was no telling when a conference like this was going to be held, and he wouldn't have to go into battle in person anyway. His current priority was this letter of invitation.

"GTO? Is this Great Teacher Onizuka?" he chuckled before placing the letter back onto the table. "Servants, I need to change." [Great Teacher Onizuka is a popular manga and anime series.]