Yama Rising

Qin Ye was reading through some documents, and he slowly raised his head in a seemingly indifferent manner upon hearing this, then asked, "What did they say?"

The elation that was surging through Secretary Jiang's heart gradually subsided in the face of Qin Ye's calm display, and he couldn't help but think about how some people seemed to be born to take on certain roles.

He was Qin Ye's first chief secretary, and just like Wang Chenghao, he had watched Qin Ye's entire journey from his official inauguration, growing from a hot-headed young man into a perpetually composed ruler. He knew just how long Hell had been waiting for this piece of news.

It had already been six and a half years since the planned invasion of the Nipponese Underworld was first announced, and it was not much of an exaggeration to say that all of the higher-ups of Hell had been constantly waiting for this piece of news during that time. The fact that Qin Ye could maintain such calmness and composure upon hearing that a message had come from the Sword Coral Research Institute was a clear indication of just how much he had grown.

His calmness naturally rubbed off on those around him, and Secretary Jiang also quickly calmed down as he smiled and reported, "Congratulations, Yanluo Qin, the Sword Coral Research Institute's space exploration plan has made an important breakthrough. The Jade Rabbit super altitude shuttle has already passed through the Array of the Nine Gods and has officially reached super attitudes!"

Beyond the sky of the entire underworld was Limbo, and only Yama-Kings could directly fly into Limbo. As for this super altitude, that described the chaotic region between the sky and Limbo.

The Yin energy there was extremely chaotic, thereby making for exceptionally violent and destructive Yin energy storms. At the moment, the underworld already had some short-distance flying Yin beasts, and some flight paths had been mapped out for them, but none of those flying Yin beasts were capable of reaching super attitudes.

Unless one was at the Yama-King level, it was virtually impossible to withstand the fierce Yin wind formed by the violent Yin energy there. Space exploration technology in the underworld was still far away from reaching a level where satellite launches were possible. After all, it had only been less than a decade since the new energy resource had been released, and all of the underworlds were busy developing all types of electronic necessities, so very few underworlds had the spare capacity to focus on this area.

However, the Cathayan Underworld had succeeded!

Qin Ye took a deep breath before asking, "What's the maximum flight duration? What speeds can it reach? Can it remain intact after reaching super attitudes?"

"There are no exact details yet," Secretary Jiang immediately replied. "The project was only just completed, and they say that they're currently in the process of compiling the information and will be sending it to Everburn as soon as possible. All of the data will be collected under Ghost King Zhao's supervision to ensure that no mishaps occur."

Qin Ye closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, and only after a few seconds did he ask, "What is my schedule like for today?"

Secretary Jiang didn't even need to look at the schedule before replying, "There's going to be a policy revision meeting shortly, and it’s mainly targeting the issue of insufficient housing in the cities in the face of the ever-growing Yin spirit population, thereby requiring new real estate measures to be taken. The meeting will last roughly one and a half hours, and after that..."

Secretary Jiang rattled off a list for a full three minutes, then concluded, "There are no meetings that you absolutely must attend."

"Good," Qin Ye replied. "Clear my schedule and tell Secretary Wang that if there's anything I need to take care of in person, get the Harken to do it for me."

"Yes!"

After that, Qin Ye rose to his feet, yet before he even had a chance to depart, another burst of door-knocking rang out, following which Wang Chenghao rushed into the room after receiving permission to come in.

"Your Excellency!" he panted. "We've received a message from the Yin Mountains Research Institute!"

Secretary Jiang and Qin Ye immediately turned toward him in unison. Qin Ye curled a finger in his direction, and a messenger bird flew up from Wang Chenghao's shoulder before landing on Qin Ye's palm.

Secretary Jiang didn't say anything, and even he was feeling extremely nervous.

Could it be that their project was also complete? If that were the case, then this would be nothing short of the most ideal situation possible!

These two pieces were all that was missing from the war preparations!

Only after a full 20 seconds did Qin Ye raise his head, and instead of departing, he sat back down in his seat with a contemplative expression. A few more seconds later, he raised his head with a serious expression and said, "Get the minister of defense, the director of uniformed services, and all of the Yama-Kings and Abyssal Prefects to gather at Everburn this afternoon."

Secretary Jiang and Wang Chenghao quickly pulled out their notepads before writing down Qin Ye's instructions.

Never had they felt so full of vigor, and the tips of their pens were creating sparks as they flew over the surface of the paper. There were countless questions that they wanted to ask, but they couldn't ask any of them!

"Arrange replacements for me on all of the meetings that I have to attend." Qin Ye continued to issue one order after another. "Get all of the researchers of the second-generation forbidden arts at the Yin Mountains Research Institute to take the relevant equipment to the Badain Jaran Desert."

Secretary Jiang's pen paused momentarily before he continued to furiously take notes, and a smile had already appeared on his face.

This is it! Our Cathayan Underworld will be the first nation in the world to have second-generation forbidden arts!

Without the massive revenue stream generated by the new energy resource, it would've been very difficult to support the two super projects, the second-generation forbidden arts and space exploration, at once. However, the Cathayan Underworld had completed these two grand projects that would give them a huge lead over the rest of the world!

Qin Ye's voice didn't cease even for a moment as he continued, "Get all of the researchers of the Jade Rabbit project from the Sword Coral Research Institute to take the relevant equipment and data to the Gurbantünggüt Desert. Inform the minister of defense, the director of uniformed services, and all of the Yama-Kings and Abyssal Prefects to travel to the Gurbantünggüt Desert, also!"

Secretary Jiang and Wang Chenghao were becoming extremely excited at this point.

That was the designated testing site for the second-generation forbidden art! The world's first-ever second-generation forbidden art was about to be detonated there!

Secretary Jiang was unable to suppress his curiosity in the end, and he asked, "Your Excellency... Did we succeed?"

Qin Ye nodded with a faint smile.

"Three hours ago, the Yin Mountains Research Institute completed the second-generation forbidden arts startup module, and assembly has also been completed."

Secretary Jiang's hands balled up into tight fists, and all of his blood was rushing to his head at once, causing his ears to ring and his vision to blur. Only after a long while did he manage to suppress his excitement as he sighed, "Thank the heavens."

"Go on." Qin Ye waved a dismissive hand with a smile, and the two of them immediately left the room.

…………………………………

Gurbantünggüt Desert.

There were no cities here, only some scattered villages. However, this afternoon, around a dozen Yin beasts were spotted flying over this extremely sparsely populated region, and each of them was carrying all types of different equipment.

Soon, a sandstorm was swept up as rows of Yin beasts with Yin soldiers standing on their backs stormed into the desert, and the weapons of all of the Yin soldiers were gleaming under the sun.

Is something about to happen?

Some of the curious netherworldly citizens decided to go and take a look, but countless Yin soldiers were already standing on the outskirts of the desert, forming an impenetrable circle to prohibit all netherworldly citizens from entry.

At the center of the desert, the atmosphere was already tense to the extreme. Zhao Yun was present in person, and behind him was a massive mechanical beast that was resting on the ground.

The mechanical beast had the form of a cow, and it was around 10 meters tall with countless Yin runes inscribed all over its body. A claymore was strapped to its back with several chains.

Only half of the claymore was exposed, but there were countless complex Yin runes on just the visible part of the claymore alone. Virtually all of these Yin runes were within or beyond the ninth circle, and it was impossible to make out anything clearly.

All of the Yin runes were glowing like stars, making it appear as if the sword were forged from celestial bodies, and bursts of faint shockwaves were spreading from the hilt of the sword every single second, as if it were unable to contain the power that it held, but was still somehow able to maintain a peculiar balance.

The surrounding sand proliferated outward alongside the invisible shockwaves, making it appear as if the mechanical cow were a living creature that was breathing rhythmically.

"How are the figures looking?" Lu Ban was frantically traversing through a group of underworld emissaries like a madman.

"The device is in a perfect state of homeostasis without any Yin rune fluctuations being generated."

"What about the resonance figures?"

"That hasn't changed. The explosion will most likely wipe out the entirety of the Gurbantünggüt Desert!"

"And the startup module?"

"That's stable as well. No mishaps will occur due to tremors or swaying."

Lu Ban opened his mouth to ask more questions, but seeing as the three most important parameters were fine, there really wasn't anything more to ask.

However, he simply couldn't bring himself to calm down.

Forbidden arts in the underworld were extremely expensive to produce as they were completely different from the nuclear weapons of the mortal realm. They had to be activated using Yin energy, and only Yama-King level Yin energy would suffice. If a mishap were to occur during the explosion, even Yama-Kings would be destroyed, and everyone else here would most likely perish as well!

In order to ensure absolute stability, astronomical sums of money had been invested into the construction of every single inch of the claymore!

As the time of detonation drew closer and closer, Lu Ban became more and more anxious. Just as he was pacing from side to side, Zhao Yun finally smiled and said, "There's no need to be so agitated, President Lu. These figures have already been tested countless times, and even if something goes wrong during the explosion, there's no way it could produce more power than the chain reaction triggered that destroyed the old Hell. Yanluo Qin will be bringing King Yanluo's Seal here, and no matter how powerful the second-generation forbidden art is, there's no way it can break through the defenses of King Yanluo's Seal, so you can rest assured."

Lu Ban finally stopped in his tracks before heaving a faint sigh. "I understand all of that, but how can I calm down at a time like this? We can't jump to these conclusions until the actual figures come out."

Right at this moment, gusts of Yin wind swept forth, and in the blink of an eye, Qin Ye and all of the high-ranking officials of Hell emerged on the scene.

Across from the mechanical cow, another mechanical Yin beast that was around 20 meters in length with a 25-meter wingspan appeared on the sand dune.

This was a mechanical Yin beast modeled after a crane.

Its long legs were folded under its belly, and its wings were wide and sturdy. Its entire body was also riddled with complex Yin runes, making it appear as if it were a galaxy that could take flight at any time.

At the center of the sand dune, countless gusts of Yin wind formed a vast vortex, and Qin Ye stepped out from within the vortex before sweeping his gaze across his surroundings. "Everyone, get ready!"

Zhao Yun immediately pressed his palm against the ground upon hearing this, and black ripples spread through the air in all directions around him, instantly encompassing an area in excess of 100,000 square kilometers!

Once the shockwaves spread to their furthest point, the power behind them was exhausted, and they rose up lazily before rapidly sweeping back toward the center. Within the span of less than a minute, a massive dome that was over 100 kilometers in size had taken shape.

Qin Ye then cast a fervent gaze toward Zu Chongzhi and Lu Ban. "Is everything ready?"

"Of course!"

At this point, no matter how concerned and nervous the two of them were, they knew that they couldn't back down.

Lu Ban stepped forward as he said, "There's only one question now: who's going to swing the sword?"