Yama Rising

The sun, the moon, the stars, the order of Hell had finally been restored. Far away in Lotus City, Arthis looked up at the starry sky before extending a heartfelt bow.

She was situated on the top of a golden pillar. All of the pillars were hollow, and this was the office of the six paths of reincarnation. The interrogation rooms, the archives, and the entrance to the six paths of reincarnation were all gathered here. At this moment, she wasn't the only one standing on the top of the pillar, tens of thousands of Emissaries of Hell serving under her were situated at the top of the pillars, and they all fell to their knees.

As the bright stars returned to the sky, a type of power that was unique to Hell was silently permeating through the air. It was impossible to describe exactly what it was, yet whatever it was, it was extremely profound and vast, rendering everyone completely speechless. This feeling was growing more and more pronounced, and finally, it formed a black and white vortex of revolving light that surged into the six paths of reincarnation.

An earth-shattering boom rang out, and the six-layered lotus flower of karmic fire opened up. A series of paths appeared right in the midst of the flames, stretching all the way to the center of the fiery lotus. At the center of the six paths of reincarnation, a massive and majestic palace that was over 200 meters tall was also slowly rising up from within the flames.

With every single inch that it rose up by, all of the flames in the six paths of reincarnation surged and churned violently. Furthermore, the six-layered lotus flower of karmic fire was gradually changing color!

Black, white, red, yellow, purple, green... It was as if one world after another were taking shape within it, causing it to flash incessantly. After close to an hour, the palace finally completely rose up above the sea of fire. At the very front of the palace were inscribed the words "Yama-King Palace" in powerful and flowing text, and just the mere sight of those words was enough to send shivers running down the spines of all Yin spirits.

Boundless netherflames drifted out from the palace amid the anguished wails and beseeching howls of countless Yin spirits, and it was as if the flames were substantial objects. In the instant that the sea of fire rose up, the entire Cathayan Underworld suddenly trembled violently. Immediately thereafter, boundless netherfire began to converge rapidly like shooting stars from all eleven million six hundred thousand square kilometers of the Cathayan Underworld and all nine million six hundred thousand square kilometers of the mortal realm.

They were like mighty rivers flowing into the sea, and there were far too many of them to count. They obscured the clouds and all of the celestial bodies, and even the light of the stars and the moon were completely kept out. All of the Emissaries of Hell present were stunned by this marvelous spectacle.

Those were the souls that Hell had been unable to receive, they were the natural spirits that hadn't perished during the span of the past century.

With the completion of the six paths of reincarnation, they finally had a home to return to, and they were converging toward it in a frenzy.

Not only could this spectacle be seen in Lotus City, everyone across the entire nation could also witness this resplendent meteor shower. It heralded the restoration of order in Hell. From this point onward, the cycle of reincarnation was complete, and the Heavenly Dao was whole once again. Countless Yin spirits joined their palms together in prayer, even though they didn't even know what they were praying for themselves.

Perhaps they were praying for Hell to become a better place.

Perhaps they were praying that they would be reincarnated into a good life.

Perhaps they were praying for forgiveness for the sins they had committed during their lives.

Qin Ye was also looking on with countless emotions in his heart. He felt as if these shooting stars were a metaphor for his life. Once upon a time, he had also been drifting aimlessly through the sky like these shooting stars, and only now has he truly found stability and a sense of belonging.

"It's very beautiful, isn't it?" A voice suddenly rang out beside Qin Ye, and he didn't even have to look to know that it was the second King Yanluo.

"It really is," he replied in a soft voice as he looked up at the sky.

Everyone had these moments where they would be overcome with emotions, and no one knew when those moments would arrive.

The second King Yanluo also seemed to be slightly entranced as he said, "Whenever I see things like this, it makes me feel like I've led a meaningful life and that I'm worthy of the status that was bequeathed upon me."

Qin Ye nodded in earnest agreement.

"Having said that, when you see a lot of stuff like this, it's not really interesting anymore. The fact that you're so awestruck by this means that you're still far too inexperienced."

Qin Ye: "..."

Why did he have to always ruin the moment?

Qin Ye turned around to look at the second King Yanluo with an expression that suggested that he had just eaten a turd, yet the second King Yanluo merely ignored him and turned toward a certain direction. "As King Yanluo, you don't have the time to be awestruck by spectacles like this. Do you know what this entails?"

Before Qin Ye had a chance to reply, he answered his own question. "It entails the creation of a world. It's not the creation of a complete world, but it's the process of shattering and reforming an existing world. Countless laws and daos of heaven and earth are imbued within this meteor shower. All those at or above the Yama-King level will be able to sense this and benefit immensely from the process."

Qin Ye's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "Why don't I feel anything?"

Because you're fucking useless!

The second King Yanluo really wanted to tell Qin Ye, but he refrained from doing so in the end. All he did was glower at Qin "the weakest King Yanluo in history" Ye with a derisive expression until Qin Ye pretended to hang his head in shame.

He didn't know why he was being glared at, but he couldn't go wrong by conceding his faults, even though he didn't know what they were...

Clearly, his willingness to accept his own ineptitude was greatly pleasing for the second King Yanluo to see, and several seconds later, he turned and cast his gaze toward another direction. "This power will be actively captured by Yama-Kings, and some of it will also seep into some other places. After all, some things are even more sensitive than us, and there's a very good chance that they'll be able to undergo evolution amid this miraculous spectacle."

"What are you referring to?"

"I'm referring to artifact spirits." In the sky above the North Yin Pavilion, boundless light had already appeared as if a star were plummeting toward the earth. "These laws and daos are already largely useless to divine artifacts, but for artifacts below that caliber, they're very beneficial. Oh, by the way, I forgot to introduce this to you..."

The light in the sky was becoming brighter and brighter, and Qin Ye's brows furrowed slightly as he cast his gaze in that direction. What artifact spirit was being referred to here? When had he placed an artifact up there?

Wasn't the artifact up there the Peach Blossom Lantern?

What else was there?

All of a sudden, his pupils contracted drastically, and a sense of realization dawned on him.

Wait a minute... There really is something else up there!

It was the disobedient artifact that refused to follow Qin Ye's orders and was intent on experiencing the Great Dao of heaven and earth on its own!

Boom! A burst of shockwaves swept through the heavens, transforming into a flurry of light that rapidly converged to form an antiquated mirror the size of a human head.

It was the Mirror of Eminence!

In contrast with its past self, its aura had become deeper and more profound. Dancing dragons were entwined on either side of the mirror, and its surface resembled that of a calm lake. It seemed to exist somewhere between illusion and reality, making it impossible for one to see it clearly. Furthermore, the entire mirror was giving off a sense of unprecedented authority and might.

"Has it become a divine artifact?" Qin Ye asked.

"No, it's only a quasi-divine artifact." The second King Yanluo waved a hand through the air, and the mirror instantly flew toward him. "After all, this isn't truly the creation of a world, it's only the restoration of the world, and the Mirror of Eminence was a rank below divine artifacts to begin with. Now that it's passed over the most difficult obstacle to overcome, it'll definitely become a divine artifact within the next 500 years."

Qin Ye glowered at the mirror with tightly gritted teeth, and memories of their past conflicts immediately came flooding into his mind. However, before he had a chance to erupt, the second King Yanluo clicked his fingers and said, "Allow me to introduce to you your representative team's etiquette teacher and negotiation teacher, Mirror of Eminence..."

"Greetings, almighty, unmatched, incomparable King Yanluo!" A heavenly voice immediately rang out from the mirror as soon as it landed in the second King Yanluo's grasp, and Qin Ye's jaw dropped straight to the ground upon hearing this. It seemed that following its evolution to become a quasi-divine artifact, it had learned to speak politely for once!

Could it be that its moral compass had also evolved? It was incredible to see this bastard of a mirror handing out compliments!

However, before he even had a chance to finish that thought, the Mirror of Eminence quickly continued, "During your absence, even that useless noob dared to touch me! I've never been so humiliated before! He's just a little shit who hasn't even hit 20 yet, but he dug me out and took me to Nippon without saying anything! Doesn't he have any self-awareness at all?! Aside from the mighty and glorious second King Yanluo, anyone else who touches me will tarnish my 800-year-old regal soul!"

The second King Yanluo thrust the mirror toward Qin Ye in an expressionless manner.

"From this day forth, you'll be responsible for teaching them diplomatic etiquette and negotiation strategies."

The atmosphere instantly became extremely awkward.

Silence.

Five seconds later, a clear "ptui!" rang out from within the Mirror of Eminence, and it scoffed, "Don't think that daddy wouldn't recognize you just because you grew up a little! There's no way daddy's going to teach you!"

"I refuse!" Qin Ye was also firmly against this arrangement. He didn't even dare to imagine what it would be like to be taught by this damn thing!

"Don't be rash," the second King Yanluo said in an unhurried voice. "The Mirror of Eminence can record all past events, and it has records of all of the past international and domestic conferences. It's Hell's only DVD player, and it provides high definition footage with no watermarks, so it's more than enough to teach you."

The Mirror of Eminence was feeling extremely indignant.

So its evolution had essentially transformed it from a camcorder into a DVD player? What was it going to become after evolving to become a divine artifact? A blue ray player?

The second King Yanluo turned toward the Mirror of Eminence and continued, "In addition to that, he's right, and I'm not here to reclaim my spot from him. He's been doing very well, so there's no reason for me to return. He is officially the third King Yanluo of Hell, one that has been acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao and all three realms, understood? In other words, if you want to evolve to become a blue ray pla... I mean, a divine artifact in the future, then you'll have to rely on him."

If it had eyes, the Mirror of Eminence's eyes would be bulging right now!

You were about to say blue ray player just now, weren't you? So I'm not the only one who was thinking that, you never saw me as an official divine artifact! You only saw me as a video recorder!

The Mirror of Eminence turned to face Qin Ye, and the two stared at each other in silence. Both of them seemed to be settling their own emotions.

Qin Ye looked on with a cold expression, and he was prepared to attack the Mirror of Eminence as soon as it dared to say anything rude to him!

A minute later, the Mirror of Eminence broke the silence first, and its voice was as warm and bright as the sun at noon. "Ah, it's the esteemed third King Yanluo! Please forgive me for not recognizing you sooner, I would be more than happy to serve you to the best of my abilities!"

Countless alpacas stampeded through Qin Ye's heart upon hearing this. This world was far too cruel, to the extent that circumstances could force anyone to say anything! He repressed the urge to gag as he forced a smile onto his face. "So... we'll be working together from now on?"

"That's right! What a fantastic honor this is for me, hahaha! As soon as I woke up and saw this thriving city around me, I knew that the current King Yanluo had to be a wise and capable ruler!"

Qin Ye could tell that the Mirror of Eminence was doing everything in its power to repress its own fury, and he couldn't help but wonder if forcing the Mirror of Eminence to teach them would leave everlasting trauma in its heart...