Yama Rising

This was a spacious conference hall.

There was a screen that was two meters tall with beautiful designs embroidered upon it, and gold-plated statues filled all of the corners and vacant spaces in the hall, making it appear even more resplendent. Even the palatial lanterns overhead had been plated with gold.

In front of the scenic artwork at the center sat Qin Ye and Zhao Yun, while in front of them was a podium. The conference hall was 20 meters in both length and width, and it was already filled with Yin spirits.

"... Thus concludes our report for the past two years." At this moment, the middle-aged Yin spirit who was in the process of delivering his report at the front turned around before extending a respectful bow. A clerk immediately accepted his documents before presenting them to Qin Ye, who gave a slight nod, and only then did the middle-aged Yin spirit step down from the podium.

All of the department directors had already completed their reports, and the first thing that should be commended was that none of them were surprised by his return.

All of the directors had already grown accustomed to their King Yanluo's long absences.

Over the past dozen or so years, particularly following the establishment of the education industry, it had already become clear, even to the most clueless of underworld emissaries, that their King Yanluo was the main driving force behind the Cathayan Underworld's rapid development. As long as no one could stop him, the development of the Cathayan Underworld would also be completely unstoppable.

With undying souls, limitless time, and a complete cultivation system, this was a world that was completely different from the mortal realm, where nothing could be done in the absence of the main leader.

In this world, time periods were counted in units of centuries.

Qin Ye flipped over a page of the document, but even as his gaze was roaming over the page, his thoughts were elsewhere.

The second thing that was quite encouraging was that during the past two years, the Cathayan Underworld had experienced a period of rapid growth. GDP was rising steadily, and the massive revenue from the new energy resource base stations and all of the patents held by the Cathayan Underworld was a much-needed injection of funds into the economy. Everything was progressing in a very positive direction.

Thirdly, the military had adapted very positively despite the deaths of over 300,000 troops during the Battle of Zhuolu. The retired Yin soldiers had either entered the cycle of reincarnation, or had been given extensive benefits to ensure that they lived out comfortable lives. All of the Yin soldiers from that battle who remained in the military were being groomed as leaders, and they were extremely sought-after by all of the military branches.

With the model of development from the mortal realm, all that the Cathayan Underworld had to do was replicate the model, so it didn't make much difference whether Qin Ye was absent or not.

Right at this moment, he cleared his throat, and all of the directors down below immediately sat up straighter. "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. You've all done very well during my absence. Your contributions were imperative to allowing our Cathayan Underworld to develop to this stage from such humble beginnings."

He picked up his teacup as he smiled and continued, "However, there are two experts here who aren't directors that are also in attendance, and I want to hear what they think."

He had already made a decision about how to proceed, but this was quite a significant step that could affect the state of the entire world. Thus, it was best to introduce the idea more gradually so that everyone could be mentally prepared.

All of the directors immediately turned their attention toward the two seats down below.

They were President Lu Ban of the Yin Mountains State-run Research Institute, and President Zu Chonghzi of the Sword Coral State-run Research Center.

Lu Ban hesitated momentarily before standing up and cupping his fist in a salute. "Your Excellency, do you want to do this right now?"

A slightly portly man with a head of white hair turned to Lu Ban with a faint smile.

It was the director of the ministry of revenue, Zhang Kangliang.

The Sword Coral State-run Research Center had been officially founded after the Omeyocan plan was obtained. No one knew what they were researching, but Zhang Kangliang knew that every year, the two state-run research institutes were given 150 billion in funding! However, even he wasn't qualified to know the truth, and it was finally about to be revealed now!

Not only was Zhang Kiangliang eager to hear what was about to come next, all of the directors were also very intrigued. It was clear that Qin Ye had entrusted them with a secret task. Otherwise, there was no way that all of the directors would be oblivious to what they had been researching.

"Of course." Qin Ye nodded with a smile. "Could it be that you don't trust these colleagues of yours?"

A burst of amused laughter rang out, but Lu Ban and Zu Chongzhi didn't join in. Instead, their brows furrowed even tighter.

Of course they trusted these colleagues, but if this plan were to be announced, there would be no going back!

There was going to be a war between nations on the horizon! Never did they think that this day would come so soon.

Zu Chongzhi quickly swept these errant thoughts out of his mind before cupping his fist in a salute. "Of course not. We have full trust in everyone here. In that case, please pardon me."

A serious look appeared on his face as he continued, "At this point, the first stage of the Chang'e plan has already reached a third completion!"

All of the directors' expressions changed slightly upon hearing this.

During the past few years, the government had dedicated large amounts of resources to developing new materials to complement the new energy resource, but no one knew where those materials went, and the space exploration plan that had made such a big splash also seemed to have disappeared. Only now did everyone realize that this was what the Sword Coral State-run Research Institute had been founded for.

Thus, two of the questions that had plagued them for the past two years were instantly answered, and they developed a clearer understanding of the government's political strategy.

Zu Chongzhi continued, "The Omeyocan plan that you brought back for us has been extremely useful. At the moment, we've already completed construction on the space collection equipment and space simulation rooms. However, there's still a lot of misalignment when it comes to the blueprint of the ship."

Qin Ye raised a hand to cut him off there. "We'll discuss the specifics later. President Lu, it's your turn now."

Lu Ban cupped his fist in a salute. "Development of the second-generation forbidden arts has already reached the halfway stage. In contrast with the mortal realm, we don't need launching equipment or command systems. According to the startup modules left behind by the second King Yanluo, the second-generation forbidden arts are also guided by Yin energy. With King Yanluo's Seal at our disposal, we'll undoubtedly be able to go further in forbidden arts research than other underworlds, and we estimate that second-generation forbidden arts will be developed within the next 10 years."

Deathly silence.

All of the officials in the hall turned toward Lu Ban upon hearing this before quickly looking away again.

Zhang Kangliang gulped nervously as he cast a surreptitiously glance at Qin Ye. Why was he choosing to reveal both the space exploration and forbidden arts plan now?

Only two years had passed since the Battle of Zhuolu, were they going into battle again?

Before Lu Ban had a chance to continue, Qin Ye nodded and gestured for both of them to take a seat.

Thus, the entire conference hall fell completely silent, so silent that even the slightest of pin drops would be clearly audible. The people seated here were the most high-ranking politicians in the entirety of the Cathayan Underworld, and they could already sense something from what had been said thus far.

Qin Ye took a sip of tea before suddenly turning to Zhao Yun. "Ghost King Zhao, where do you think we're lacking compared with the other three pillars at the moment?"

Before Zhao Yun could reply, he added, "What I'm asking is, what are we missing that would convince other nations to side with us?"

This is it...

All of the directors opened their notepads as they stared intently up at the two most powerful figures in the nation.

Zhao Yun was silent for a full minute before replying, "In terms of overall power, I'd say we're roughly comparable with the Britannian Underworld, which would make us a second-rate underworld. However, there's more to it than that. Our Cathayan Underworld possesses a brilliant resource in the form of the Cathayan population. As more time passes, the population of our Cathayan Underworld will grow exponentially. The new energy resource has smashed open the gate to the new era for us, and with each passing year, our labor force and wealth of skilled personnel will continue to be bolstered by the mortal realm. This is our main advantage. Furthermore, the education system in Cathay has its flaws, but it's undeniable that Cathay has the most complete universal education in the world. This is actually beneficial for us as the highly skilled personnel from the mortal realm have to forget everything they've learned and start again from scratch after entering the underworld, while less specialized individuals are able to accept these changes more quickly. Of course, the Hindustani Underworld also has the same advantage. However, the caste system is present for Hindustan in both the mortal realm and the underworld, and their degree of universal education is far inferior to ours. Thus, in terms of netherworldly citizen procurement rate and the level of general education, we have a crushing advantage over the other three pillars."

Qin Ye nodded in response. "In that case, why is it that everything, from the conference in Nara to the new energy resource press conference, has been so difficult for us? Why is it that only after the new energy resource was released, the construction of all of the base stations were completed, electricity was supplied to the entire world, and our currency was tied to the new energy resource that all of the other underworlds sided themselves with us? In fact, even now, some of them are still a little undecided in their stance toward us."

It was as if a scripted exchange were taking place between Qin Ye and Zhao Yun, but all of the officials present knew that this conversation was going to decide the future direction of the Cathayan Underworld, so they had to listen and observe carefully.

Zhao Yun heaved a faint sigh in response. "It's because our Cathayan Underworld hasn't yet displayed its power since we opened ourselves up to the rest of the world, and because of that, all of the other underworlds are doubting us! If we had attended the conference in Nara with the Yama-Kings of the 10 Palaces and the Sixfold Ghost Kings, none of them would've dared to plot against us."

A faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he turned toward everyone else in the room. "In that case, how do you all propose we can display to the rest of the world as quickly as possible that we've already returned to the height of our powers? Alternatively, even if we haven't, how do we ensure that they wouldn't dare to plot against us again?"

No one said anything.

The answer was very clear: second-generation forbidden arts!

However, in order to display the forbidden arts to the world, it would have to be detonated, and where was that going to happen?

In contrast with the nuclear weapons of the mortal realm, the forbidden arts of the underworld were sealed within molds, and after detonating one, even a Yama-King would have to rest and recuperate for quite some time. Furthermore, the mold containing the forbidden art would immediately be scrapped.

All carrier molds were constructed from rare and precious materials, so they were extremely expensive. It could be said that every single carrier mold was a work of art, and with such extravagant costs involved, there was no way they could just detonate one of the forbidden arts for the viewing pleasure of other nations.

The only way to prove that the Cathayan Underworld had returned to its peak would be to detonate one in another underworld!

In this instant, all of the officials finally understood what Qin Ye's true intentions were, and they looked up toward the podium in unison with intense looks in their eyes.

The nation was about to go to war!