Yama Rising

The Golden Hall was the most grand and lavish hall in the Golden Temple, combining the styles of Sikh temples and mosques. Every single pillar and even the dome-shaped roof was covered in gold foil, and a series of extremely life-like statues and renowned ancient Hindustani artworks were perfectly embedded within them, giving the entire hall both a sense of beauty and majesty.

A tall platform stood at the center of the hall with the ruler death gods of the four pillars seated on it. Behind them were the flags of all of the nations in the Coalition of Underworlds. The main platform was surrounded by stairs in all directions, and all of the death gods of the Asia-Pacific, as well as the death gods that had received special invites, were gathered here.

Round chandeliers that carried strong religious elements were hanging up above, illuminating the entire hall with gentle yellow radiance. As the candles being held by the Naga statues on either side of the hall were ignited, Yamaraja rose up from his seat before extending a slight bow. "I am truly very pleased to be able to see so many of you during this conference. Different civilizations give rise to different cultures, and culture is the driving force behind societal development. Here in the underworld, we have unlimited time, and I firmly believe that all cultures that adapt with the natural order will bloom into something beautiful one day. However, during this process, we have to carefully nurture and protect these cultures, and that is why the four pillars came into existence. We are willing to accept the extra responsibility of leading the world forward, and it's also because of this that the Asia-Pacific Economic Development Conference arose."

He was already very accustomed to occasions like this, and he gently raised a hand, upon which bursts of Yin energy surged out of his fingertips, forming a series of Yin energy images in the air.

The images depicted the earliest parts of human civilization, then the industrial revolution and the renaissance. One empire after another rose up before falling, and finally, the images concluded with the modern underworld.

"We have reason to be confident that with the unlimited time that we have, the entire world will become one big nation someday. The Asia-Pacific Economic Development Conference is designed to help us achieve that goal, so let's give a warm round of applause to the commencement of this conference. I hope that all of the underworlds can improve together through economic collaborations."

After several seconds of applause, Yamaraja extended another slight bow. "Looking back to what has happened between the last conference and now, the spotlight of the entire world has undoubtedly been focused on the Cathayan Underworld."

Many pairs of eyes were immediately directed toward Qin Ye, carrying all types of emotions. Everyone knew just how much wealth the new energy resource had earned for the Cathayan Underworld. Just the S-rank materials that they had received alone would've amounted to staggering quantities!

"The emergence of the new energy resource has allowed the entire underworld to step into a new era. We'll only need 50 years to complete a journey that the mortal realm took centuries to complete. The combined usage of Yin energy and the new energy resource can be referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, and as the pioneer behind all of this, Yanluo Qin of the Cathayan Underworld is undoubtedly the main character here, so without further ado, we welcome him to deliver his address."

Raucous applause rang out once again, and this wave was far more genuine than the previous one.

The Cathayan Underworld had already become the trade center of Asia. Virtually all of the registrations and assessments of the most advanced pieces of technology were processed in Formosa, and the entire underworld was paying close attention to everything that the Cathayan Underworld did.

Qin Ye smiled as he rose to his feet, then made his way to the lectern at the very front of the main platform. He extended a slight bow, then cast a very subtle glance toward Izanami.

This conference was the first step to his plan to conquer the Nipponese Underworld!

He slowly spread open his speech script, making sure to do so carefully as if there were a sharp sword wrapped inside it.

If Izanami couldn't sense the impending peril, then this sword would be plunged deep into her heart!

"I am extremely honored to be the opening speaker for this conference," Qin Ye said. "I'm sure everyone is eager to hear how our Cathayan Underworld plans to take the new energy resource to greater heights. For this address, I have several important decisions that I would like to announce."

The entire hall fell deathly silent upon hearing this, and even the ruler death gods of the three pillars had involuntarily sat up straighter.

Whatever these important decisions were, they were undoubtedly going to have a massive global impact.

Qin Ye took a deep breath. He had already completely unfurled his script at this point, and it was lying on the lectern like a sharp sword that had just been drawn from its scabbard.

He wasted no time as he cast a serious gaze toward all of the death gods and declared, "The first decision relates to the settlement of new energy resource transactions."

Everyone continued to remain silent.

At the moment, this was a major area of spending for all nations, and even the slightest change in policy could result in fluctuations of billions.

"From next year onward, our Cathayan Underworld will be lowering all new energy resource settlement fees."

Everyone heaved a collective sigh of relief upon hearing this, and all of the death gods looked at one another to see their own excitement mirrored in one another's eyes, immediately following which a sea of raucous applause rang out.

This was something that had to be applauded!

Any other nation with such an important asset would only elevate the price, yet the Cathayan Underworld was willing to do the opposite!

This was the generosity of the most powerful nation in the world!

Thanatos was also applauding vigorously. This was naturally fantastic news, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel perplexed as he stared at Qin Ye.

Is he insane? Is there really an underworld that doesn't love money? Is this supposed to be a joke? Why is he lowering the fees? Is it out of the kindness of his heart? Does he even have any of that?

He couldn't understand the decision.

The applause was too loud, and Qin Ye had to raise a hand to gesture for silence before continuing, "At the moment, each unit of the new energy resource costs somewhere between 0.55 to 0.65 dragon jade. After thorough deliberation between our Cathayan Underworld's energy resource and finance departments, we've decided that the costs for the new energy resource will be lowered across the board starting from next year. The degree of lowering will differ depending on the number of units of the new energy resource purchased by each nation, and the specific figures will be released during the main conference."

A wave of applause rang out once again. They couldn't have asked for any better news to kick off the conference. However, that wasn't all Qin Ye had to say. "On the basis of the existing discount, we'll be lowering the price by a further 0.01 dragon jade. These funds will be stored in the Cathayan Underworld's Heaven and Earth Bank, and it will temporarily be named the 'energy resource development fund'. This money will not go to our Cathayan Underworld. Instead, after being stored for five years, we will use it to found an international energy resource research society in the city of Changan. The entirety of this fund will go to the development of energy resources."

Everyone was astounded by this announcement, and several death gods raised their heads to look up at Qin Ye with incredulous expressions. He was doing the entire world a massive favor here!

Essentially, he was lowering the price by a further 2% and providing the entire world with the opportunity to participate in deeper research into the new energy resource!

The ruler death gods of the three pillars exchanged a glance before quickly looking away again.

Yamajara's long black nails were gently tapping against the surface of the table.

I see, so he still feels like he doesn't have enough influence in the world. Indeed, the Cathayan Underworld definitely isn't as influential as it once was, so he's planning to strengthen the bond between the Cathayan Underworld and the rest of the world by doing this. He's using the economy to reel in all of the world's death gods, then using the energy resource research fund to attract all of the world's leading scientists. Is he planning to advance the Cathayan Underworld's Yin rune industry?

He cast a subtle glance toward Thanatos. The Argosian Underworld had always been the world leader in the Yin rune industry, so Thanatos should've been the first one to feel threatened by this announcement.

However, much to his surprise, Thanatos didn't say anything.

Given the discount on the new energy resource that Qin Ye was offering to the entire world, Thanatos was willing to swallow this bitter pill, but he couldn't tell if this was the right decision or not.

While the entire venue was still spiritedly discussing this announcement, Qin Ye stole a glance at Izanami to find that she was applauding with an elated look on her face, completely oblivious to the fact that a blade had already been placed onto her neck.

He withdrew his gaze before clearing his throat, and the entire venue instantly fell silent.

"Currently, there are still a total of six underworlds left in Asia, namely the Cathayan Underworld, the Hindustani Underworld, the Russian Underworld, the Nipponese Underworld, the Indonesian Underworld, and the Bangladeshi Underworld. The Cathayan Underworld has decided to establish an equal trade relationship with all of the underworlds in Asia, with standardized tariffs and no more energy resource export quotas. On top of that, we will grant the aforementioned five nations the right to construct base stations..."

Before he had even finished, Izanami, Yamaraja, and the death gods of the Bangladeshi Underworld and the Indonesian Underworld looked up at Qin Ye in unison with astonished expressions.

Isn't this a move to abolish energy resource trade barriers?!

"Thank you for your generosity!" The ruler death god of the Bangladeshi Underworld was the first to stand up before extending a deep bow, and he was immediately followed by Izanami and the ruler death god of the Indonesian Underworld.

Qin Ye nodded in response, and his expression betrayed no emotions, but his heartbeat was already beginning to accelerate.

With these announcements made, the Nipponese Underworld was already completely at his mercy, and Izanami was still completely oblivious.

"Let me finish," Qin Ye said with a smile. "Of course, these rights will only be granted to capable enterprises or powers. For example, from the information that I've gathered, I can see that the Grand Pavilion Corporation of the Nipponese Underworld fits my criteria, and that's why I've invited them to attend this conference."

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Hōjō Tokimune were seated in a corner of the hall, and all of them immediately looked up as their mouths gaped open in shock. If it weren't for the fact that they were gripping tightly onto the armrests of their chairs, they wouldn't have been able to stop themselves from jumping to their feet!

A massive opportunity had just fallen onto their laps!

He understood... He understood what Tadakatsu San was trying to convey!

This was his answer, and this opportunity was enough for them to rise to unprecedented heights!

The construction of base stations was undoubtedly going to be extremely profitable. Qin Ye had declared that he was going to abolish trade barriers between the five nations, and the Nipponese Underworld certainly wasn't going to fear the Indonesian Underworld and the Bangladeshi Underworld in a battle of technology!

Not only did they not fear them, they could even try to take over the national markets of those two underworlds! Perhaps they could even make some forays into the vast market of the Hindustani Underworld!

In the face of this golden opportunity, they could barely contain themselves!

Not far away from them, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was also staring at them with incredulity in his eyes.

Why? Why has this opportunity been given to them? I'm better than them in every aspect! Why wasn't I considered?!