Yama Rising

At the headquarters of the Coalition of Underworlds, Thanatos ended the call before turning to Anubis and Yamaraja, then shook his head at the two of them.

"It didn't work?" Anubis asked with a completely unsurprised expression before taking a sip of tea.

As one of Qin Ye's most powerful adversaries, he knew how Qin Ye liked to do things. The fact that he dared to lash out at the Nipponese Underworld meant that he had definitely already made preparations to ward off the pressure from the rest of the underworld.

"Ghost King Zhao is on the Kraken," Thanatos explained, and Yamaraja heaved a faint sigh.

The combination of the Kraken and Zhao Yun was like an insurmountable barrier. A being above the Yama-King level alone wouldn't be capable of stopping the Golden Fleet, but in order to bypass him, even the mighty Golden Fleet would have to expend a massive price.

This was a spacious courtyard with a pronounced tropical style, and female servants wearing thin silk scarves were diligently serving the three ruler death gods. The area appeared to be quite open and spacious, but in reality, it had been completely surrounded by the bodyguards of the three ruler death gods.

Anubis set down his teacup, then said, "Given the current situation, we can say one thing for sure: the trump card that the Cathayan Underworld possesses is definitely an extremely powerful one, and it's also one that can't be used easily."

"However, once used, it'll have a decisive impact," Yamaraja mused.

"Otherwise, they would've already used it on the Golden Fleet and the Naga Fleet," Thanatos chimed in. "What do you think their trump card is?"

No one offered a response.

10 seconds later, Yamaraja slowly rose to his feet. "Let's go. The second meeting is about to begin, and I'm sure the Cathayan Underworld will show us the answer very soon."

8AM, headquarters of the Coalition of Underworlds.

The flags of all of the underworlds were waving gently at the front of the hall, and all of the death gods entered the building, having already made their decisions. Soon, all 34 of the underworld's ruler death gods were assembled in the conference hall, preparing to make their final decision.

Anador didn't delay the proceedings and immediately asked Qin Ye to deliver his address. Qin Ye naturally wasn't going to turn down the request, and he stepped onto the stage before extending a slight bow. "Greetings, everyone. I'm very happy to see all of you back here after the adjournment of the meeting. I'm sure all of you have already made a decision, but before we vote, I would like to announce resolution 0000, so please withhold your decisions for now and cast your final vote after hearing what I have to say."

All of the death gods' expressions changed slightly upon hearing this, and only then did they realize that the so-called resolution 0000 still hadn't been announced yet.

They had forgotten all about this in the wake of the bombshell that had been dropped onto their heads two hours ago! During the two-hour adjournment of the meeting, all of the ruler death gods were frantically getting in touch with their advisors, and resolution 0000 was completely forgotten about amid the chaos.

Qin Ye slowly swept his gaze over all of the death gods present, and only after a few seconds of silence did he continue, "The first clause of resolution 0000 stages that once the province of Nippon is recovered, the Cathayan Underworld will open up the Array of the Nine Gods to grant the entire world access to the Nipponese Underworld's market!"

All of the death gods immediately raised their heads to stare at Qin Ye with stunned expressions upon hearing this.

Several hours ago, he had revealed the current state of the Cathayan Underworld to everyone, all but admitting that the Cathayan Underworld was no longer fit to continue as one of the four pillars.

However, at this moment, he was announcing that the Cathayan Underworld was going to reintegrate itself with the rest of the world again, making itself completely vulnerable in the process!

Was he not afraid that the Cathayan Underworld would be invaded without the Array of the Nine Gods to protect it?

The ruler death gods of the three pillars stared intently at Qin Ye for a moment before silently lowering their heads in contemplation.

It looks like the Cathayan Underworld's trump card is most likely even more fearsome than we imagined.

Yamaraja was stroking the armrest of his chair in an absentminded manner. The fact that Qin Ye was choosing to open up the Array of the Nine Gods at a time like this meant that he had to have supreme confidence in his trump card.

This trump card had to be something capable of withstanding the pressure of the entire world! What could it be?

However, Qin Ye didn't give them any time to think as he continued, "I'm sure everyone is aware of how massive Cathay's population in the mortal realm is. 100 years is a very short time in the underworld, and in 100 years, the Cathayan Underworld will have the largest market in the world! Opening up the Cathayan Underworld's market to the rest of the world will be immensely beneficial to the global economy. However, we will only be opening up our market to the allies of the Cathayan Underworld, not the underworlds that harbor enmity toward our nation."

This declaration immediately created a massive stir.

Indeed, given 100 years, the Cathayan Underworld would be perfectly capable of becoming the new largest market in the underworld, and everyone wanted a slice of that pie!

Qin Ye continued, "The second clause of resolution 0000 states that the Cathayan Underworld will share all of the data of its space exploration project with the rest of the world, with the exception of the data related to the core technology of the project."

The other death gods didn't react too strongly to this announcement, but the ruler death gods of the three pillars were astonished to hear this.

With this announcement, the history of the Nipponese Underworld was essentially over.

A look of grudging approval appeared in Thanatos's eyes as he murmured to himself, "Once the opportunity is presented to explore the universe, no one will care about the Nipponese Underworld anymore as it's far too insignificant in comparison. Why would anyone care to squabble over the fate of the Nipponese Underworld when there are potentially other planets to be explored? As a result of this, the impact of the Cathayan Underworld's expansion would be minimized. I must admit that I'm very impressed."

Right at this moment, Anubis suddenly said, "Yanluo Qin, while it is the duty of the four pillars to lead the entire underworld into the space exploration era, I must ask exactly how far your nation has progressed when it comes to space exploration."

In other words: what if this is just a ruse to attract everyone's attention?

Qin Ye looked directly at Anubis as he replied, "Firstly, the Cathayan Underworld has already developed a super telescope."

This announcement was met by a string of surprised gasps, but Qin Ye paid no heed to that as he continued, "Do you all still recall the mysterious crisis that struck our plane during the new energy resource press conference several years ago? Only the Cathayan Underworld is aware of exactly what had happened back then and who it was that had attacked us."

Yamaraja opened his mouth to say something, but Qin Ye didn't grant him the opportunity to speak as he continued, "The three pillars also have an idea of what happened, but they definitely aren't as clearly aware of the exact circumstances as the Cathayan Underworld is. We are the only ones on this plane capable of looking out into space, and we are willing to release the blueprint for the super telescope to the entire world!"

"Is that true?!" Hela abruptly rose to her feet with an excited look on her face.

Space exploration was an unprecedented feat in the underworld!

The dominance that the four pillars held over this plane was something that could no longer be altered, but space exploration would entail a brand new beginning!

"Of course!" Qin Ye replied in an implacable voice. "The Cathayan Underworld has never and will never go back on its promises!"

I'm happy to provide the blueprint, but you'll have to come up with the skull of a Yama-King yourselves!

The entire hall quickly erupted into discussion, and Qin Ye made a quieting gesture to silence everyone before continuing, "On top of that, the Cathayan Underworld will be displaying our latest space exploration technology to the entire world during the war to recover the province of Nippon. Our flying shuttles are already able to approach Limbo, and all that's left is to break through the planar walls! In addition to that, the production of the Cathayan Underworld's space fortress is about to be completed!"

The entire hall fell deathly silent upon hearing this.

There was no need for excessive words at an international conference of this caliber as every single word spoken by each death god had already been evaluated by their panels of advisors.

Thus, through a series of concise statements, Qin Ye had alerted the entire world to the fact that the Cathayan Underworld had already claimed air supremacy over the entire world!

"Is this his trump card?" Anubis mused in a low voice.

A cold look appeared in Yamaraja's eyes as he said, "That's probably not the extent of it. Claiming air supremacy is only one thing, the true trump card lies in what he can and is going to do with this air supremacy!"

On the main stage, Qin Ye gave all of the death gods present a nod, then concluded, "That's the end of resolution 0000, and all of the aforementioned clauses will come into effect once the matters regarding the province of Nippon draw to a conclusion. Chief Secretary Anador, we can begin the vote now."

"Yes." As the chief secretary of the Coalition of Underworlds, Anador was naturally aware of just how significant Qin Ye's statement had been. She heaved an internal wistful sigh for the Nipponese Underworld, then made her way onto the stage in an expressionless manner.

She swept her gaze across all of the death gods present, then declared, "We will now begin the vote on whether the Coalition of Underworlds should intervene in the war between the Cathayan Underworld and the Nipponese Underworld."

A faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he watched the unfolding proceedings. He was confident that no one would continue to stand by the Nipponese Underworld following the reduction of the energy resource costs, the opening of the Cathayan Underworld's market, and the release of its space exploration data!

Farewell, Izanami!

"Those who approve of military intervention on the war between the two underworlds, please raise your hand. Those who object to the notion, please keep your hand lowered."

Anador took a deep breath, then continued, "Let the voting begin. Ruler death gods who approve of military intervention on the East Cathay Sea incident, please raise your hand."

Silence.

Qin Ye's eyes widened slightly upon seeing this. He had a feeling that all of the underworlds would be reluctant to vote in favor of military intervention, but never did he think that not a single underworld would be willing to stand up for the Nipponese Underworld during the final vote!

They were simply accepting the notion that the Nipponese Underworld had always been a rightful part of the Cathayan Underworld!

Qin Ye was both amused and a little saddened by this.

At the end of the day, power was still paramount in this world.

In the face of the massive energy resource cost reductions, the prospect of securing a slice of the massive pie that was the Cathayan Underworld's market, and the glorious future that would be tapped into by space exploration technology, why would anyone care about the survival of an underworld that didn't even have a single death god?

"Thank you for your understanding, everyone." He rose to his feet with a smile, then said, "Also, I prepared a special present for everyone."

With a wave of his hand, a massive LED screen slowly descended from above the main stage.

"In five days, the Cathayan Underworld's latest space exploration achievements will be displayed here alongside a grand fireworks display, so please stay tuned."

The screen was depicting the war-ravaged Nipponese Underworld.