Yama Rising

Qin Ye slowly made his way up the staircase that led to the second floor.

He had scaled this staircase on countless occasions in the past, but never had he felt so tense yet so eager for what was about to come next.

The second floor was already filled with guards. The door was still closed, yet through the intricately constructed windows, one could see an ocean of netherflames outside!

There were far too many Yin spirits to count!

At this moment, not a single netherworldly citizen was staying in their home. Everyone had gathered at the plaza, which had a radius of two kilometers, but it was entirely packed with netherworldly citizens stretching as far as the eyes could see in all directions. The netherfire in their eyes had formed a dazzling sea of stars.

Even though Qin Ye was already mentally prepared for this, his heart still shuddered at the sight of this astonishing scene.

This wasn't something that could be experienced at any concert. Even a concert with 100,000 attendees was nothing compared with this marvelous spectacle.

The commotion was so loud that it was surely audible even in the heavens.

Under this extremely solemn and ceremonial atmosphere, none of the netherworldly citizens were speaking in disrespectfully loud voices, but with so many people present, even faint whispers and hushed conversations were enough to form a sea of voices that stunned the beholder.

"We're entering the final five minutes, My Lord! Please get ready!" Secretary Jiang declared in a low voice as he hurriedly made his way over to Qin Ye.

Everyone present, including the Harken, was taking deep breaths while stroking their own chests in an attempt to calm themselves down, even though they knew that they wouldn't actually have to say anything.

Right at this moment, a giant Yin energy screen appeared in each city, each district, each county, and each town, township, and village across the entire Cathayan Underworld. All of the screens were displaying the same scene, which was that of the plaza in front of the palace of Everburn City.

In the northernmost region of the country, a netherworldly citizen that was walking along immediately drew to a halt as he looked up into the sky with an ecstatic expression. Many more netherworldly citizens were also stopping all around him, and they all looked up to bear witness to this historic scene, looking at the boundless sea of netherfire and the palace that was the centerpiece of their nation.

In the south, thousands of Yin spirits instantly gathered beneath the Yin energy screens. In the regions even further away, all of the citizens of cities, regardless of age or gender, had gathered to watch the unfolding scenes.

In the west, complete silence had descended upon countless cities, towns, and townships. A sense of unbridled excitement and anticipation surged through the bodies of all of the netherworldly citizens like an electrical current, and the netherflames in their eyes began to dance wildly as they fixed an unblinking gaze upon the screens in the sky.

Five minutes, four minutes, three minutes... One minute... Zero!

In the instant that the countdown timer ticked down to zero, all of the netherworldly citizens across the entire nation could feel the fine hairs on the backs of their necks standing up on end.

The countdown timer symbolized the passing of the previous era.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Right at this moment, the netherflames across the entirety of Everburn City suddenly vanished on the screens, leaving only the sea of netherfire near the city's plaza.

There was no panic or alarm, only an extraordinarily tense and apprehensive atmosphere, much like the calm before a storm.

The entire nation was waiting in silence for the declaration of a new era.

In the next instant, a familiar song began to ring out across the entire land, spanning an area of over 11 million square kilometers. The song was grand and majestic, carrying a strong sense of purpose and responsibility as it resounded from the south to the north, from the west to the east.

This was the national anthem.

Qin Ye hadn't changed the national anthem. This anthem was far too symbolic, carrying far too much meaning and far too many dreams for it to be abandoned.

This was the March of the Volunteers.

In the abyss that humans couldn't set foot in, the national anthem slowly rang out within the boundless darkness.

Powerful emotions swept through the hearts of countless netherworldly citizens as they listened to this inspiring song.

This was the symbol of an era, the soul of an empire.

"Rise up... Those who no longer wish to be slaves... Dedicate our blood and flesh..." On the Everburn City plaza, a young Yin spirit couldn't help but sing along to the music in a hoarse and emotional voice.

He wasn't the only one; many people had begun to sing along in the instant that the music had sounded. The gentle singing of tens of millions of people formed an uneven yet peerlessly grand choir.

This was the first time that the national anthem had been heard across the entire Cathayan Underworld rather than only in Everburn.

Across one city after another, countless Yin spirits, regardless of gender or age, regardless of how long they had been in the Underworld or whether they had witnessed the rise of the Qin Dynasty from the very beginning; all of them began to gently sing along.

The national anthem rang out across the entire land, and in that instant, an overwhelming sense of patriotic pride, belonging, and confidence welled up in the hearts of all the Yin spirits.

Three minutes later, the national anthem concluded, and immediately thereafter, countless lights suddenly appeared to light up the night in Everburn.

These weren't fireworks.

Instead, these were the lanterns hanging from the corners of all of the buildings. The lanterns had all been lit, and the entirety of Everburn City was basked in a warm golden glow. Right at this moment, the netherflames in the eyes of all of the Yin spirits gathered before the screens flickered slightly.

The gate was being opened.

The gate on the second floor of the palace was finally being opened.

The light of the lanterns illuminated the entire city, and as this scene was broadcast to everyone through the screens, countless awestruck gasps immediately rang out. In contrast, the entire plaza was completely silent with the exception of everyone's breathing, which had become rather heavy and ragged.

Qin Ye was situated at the center with Arthis and the Harken on his left and his right, respectively. After that came Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobutada, followed by the rest of the entourage.

Everyone looked on as Qin Ye slowly took a few steps forward, and as he did so, the entire city fell completely silent. Even the sound of breathing had faded, leaving a silence that was as absolute as it was deafening.

They were full of anticipation for the arrival of a new era, while also retaining the utmost respect for the era that was coming to an end.

They were so excited that they wanted to scream, but they could only clench their fists and repress that urge with all their might as they looked on with wide and excited eyes.

"We've gathered here today to bear witness to a historic event." Qin Ye's voice rang out across the entire city, and to his surprise, as he cast his gaze toward the netherworldly citizens gathered down below, his wildly pounding heart suddenly completely calmed down for some reason.

Those expectant eyes and excited faces were all proof of his success.

He had started his journey in Everburn, and the new era that he had created was also being ushered in at the very same place. As he stood here now, he deserved everything that he had achieved.

He had done so much for Everburn City and he had the support of all of the netherworldly citizens, so what was there for him to be nervous about?

With that in mind, his thoughts suddenly began to wonder. He looked down at the script that he was holding, and he suddenly didn't want to follow it.

He had already read this script, and it was very well-written, but it was missing something: genuine emotion.

His emotions couldn't be expressed through someone else's words. Due to how tense he had felt leading up to this moment, he had chosen to follow this script just so he wouldn't completely freeze up and be unable to say anything. However, right here, right now, there were some other things that he wanted to say.

"On one fateful day six years ago, Hell was founded here," he slowly began, and the team of secretaries behind him drew a collective sharp breath. Secretary Jiang turned to a Yin spirit beside him with a bewildered expression and asked, "Is that part of the script?"

"No!" The secretary was so anxious that he was sweating bullets. "Yanluo Qin is going off-script! Is he going to be able to control the situation with an impromptu speech?"

"It's already too late. He's made his decision, and he can only stick by it now!"

Qin Ye was completely oblivious to the panic attack he had inflicted upon the team of secretaries. He was completely absorbed in his own world as he continued in a confident manner, "Perhaps it's impossible for all of you to imagine just how insignificant Hell had been at the time. It was only around the size of a village, and the only piece of construction was the gate that you're all standing in front of right now. It was surrounded by a forest; a real forest, not a manmade one. We started from nothing, from the most pitiful of foundations. Back then, I didn't think in my wildest dreams that I would be standing here in six years, delivering an address at a founding ceremony in front of over a billion citizens. At the time, the concept of founding a nation was so distant that it never even crossed my mind."

His words were forthcoming and completely devoid of any embellishment. In fact, it could even be said that such an unrefined speech was unbefitting of such an important occasion, but it was full of genuine emotion.

Nothing could replace one's heart and soul; a genuine emotional response could only be evoked through authenticity and sincerity. Among the countless Yin spirits gathered in the plaza, the ones from Everburn were immediately overcome by a myriad of emotions upon hearing this. 

"You're not the only one who never anticipated this; none of us did..." Huang Liangchuan was in the crowd as well, and he couldn't help but heave a long sigh as he closed his eyes and allowed the emotions to wash over him. He then reopened his eyes as he cast his gaze toward the countless lit lanterns in Everburn City. "Who could've predicted that Hell would be able to reach this point in just six years?"

"Back then, no one knew what the road ahead was going to be like. We faced one ordeal and setback after another, and even I considered giving up twice." Qin Ye's mind had drifted back to six years ago. At the time, this very city had been completely surrounded by a forest, and one Yin spirit after another had been seated at the bases of large trees, resting with dejected looks on their faces. Six years later, the city was a picture of prosperity with buildings stretching as far as the eyes could see.

I've lived up to my duty... 

A spark seemed to have ignited in his heart as he continued, "Obtaining the Obsidian Heaven's Eye Bowl from the Strait of Tsushima, meeting the twelve envoys at the imperial court meeting, marching for Ashmound, conquering Ashmound, then using Ashmound as a foundation to conquer the entire nation within the span of six years... Even looking back now, it still all seems like a dream to me."

He lowered his head to look down at the sea of netherflames around him, and his voice was choking up slightly as he declared, "But today, we can finally raise our heads high and proudly declare to the entire world that the Cathayan Underworld, which has been fractured for over a century, is whole once again! All ethnicities across our nation have come together again as one big family! Equilibrium has been restored to the cycle of reincarnation, and never again will there be settlements of netherworldly citizens living in constant fear for their lives, unsure of what the future holds! United under the flag of the Qin Dynasty, we will continue to go further and make our nation more prosperous than ever." 

A serious look appeared in his eyes, and his chest began to rise and fall with powerful emotion. A flame seemed to have been ignited in his mouth, and declared in a slightly hoarse voice, "As the leader of the third coming of Hell, I hereby announce the founding of the third Cathayan Underworld, the Qin Dynasty!"

An excessively lengthy and rambling speech would lose its impact.

He didn't want to get too caught up in his own emotions, nor did he want to waste too much time with words. Instead, he wanted to use this concise yet stirring speech to inject the power of unity into the hearts of every Yin spirit.

He wanted them to feel proud that they were a part of the Qin Dynasty.

He wanted all of Hell's netherworldly citizens to hold their heads high whenever they thought of their nation.

Silence.

However, the silence didn't last long. In the next instant, thunderous applause and earth-shattering cheers rang out as everyone yelled in celebration with all their might.

Qin Ye felt as if he were standing in a basin with raucous cheers ringing out all around him. The collective voices of tens of millions of netherworldly citizens made the entirety of Everburn tremor incessantly, and this scene was being broadcast to countless more netherworldly citizens through the Yin energy screens.

"I'll leave the rest to you," Qin Ye said to the Harken in a low voice before his body dissipated into a gust of Yin wind. In the next instant, he had already arrived in his office, where Wang Chenghao and Zhao Yun were already waiting for him.

Qin Ye sat down on his chair before closing his eyes and taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down as quickly as possible.

The address that he had just delivered to the nation was the easy part. As long as he held the nation's military power, no one would dare to rebel.

The hard part was what was about to come next: the video teleconference with all of the death gods of the world!

This was going to be the first time that the third coming of Hell displayed itself to the entire world. It was undoubtedly going to create a massive stir, and he had to treat this conference with the utmost care and caution.