Yama Rising

The three pillars were already standing at the top of the world, so they were constantly focused on securing more political power and international speaking rights. In contrast, other underworlds had so little influence that international speaking rights weren't even a consideration, and they were far more interested in leading their nation and citizens to prosperity.

Perhaps in several centuries, when they became truly powerful, they would realize that they had no international speaking rights, but that was too far away. At the moment, their priority was to improve the economy and the overall quality of life of their citizens.

Once the new energy resource was released to the world, both of those areas would be rapidly improved.

Who knew what was going to happen several centuries down the track? The world was constantly changing, and no one could predict the future.

Death God Kuwal of the Red Moon Federation heaved a faint sigh as he said, "With all due respect, only time can tell us whether our decision is correct or not. At the moment, we believe that your decision is incorrect."

The ruler death gods of the three pillars were furious, and Anubis looked on at all of the death gods present with a cold expression as he said, "Veto rights are a privilege granted to the four pillars, you have no right to revoke our veto rights under any circumstances!"

This was not an easy declaration for him to make. In doing so, he was forcing the rest of the world to make a decision, and it was very likely that this would result in massive fracturing of the Coalition of Underworlds!

He was taking a gamble, gambling that the smaller underworlds had to rely on the Coalition of Underworlds to maintain their international statuses, and that they weren't willing to abandon the Coalition of Underworlds. If that were the case, then at the very least, they would have to remain silent on this matter.

The commotion in the hall slowly died down.

It wasn't that they didn't want to say anything, the problem was that Anubis was right! They didn't have the right to revoke the four pillars' veto rights! Thus, everyone turned toward Qin Ye.

Qin Ye declared in a cold voice, "In that case, the Cathayan Underworld officially announces the founding of the Pan-AsianTrade Organization following the conclusion of this international trade conference. All preparations have already been made in advance, and we will be uniting all nations within Asia to join our association, as well as any other nations that wish to join. In this new trade organization, we will be using our own method to settle new energy resource transactions."

There was no need to argue with the three pillars. With the new energy resource in his grasp, he would undoubtedly have the support of all other underworlds. Once electricity networks were set up in all of the nations surrounding the three pillars, they would undoubtedly be struck by severe civil unrest that could lead to catastrophic consequences.

"Do you insist on fracturing this world?" Anubis spat through gritted teeth. "The Coalition of Underworlds has stood for thousands of years, are you trying to use your new energy resource to destroy it?"

"I'm not the one insisting on fracturing this world, it's you!!" Qin Ye stabbed a finger in Anubis's direction as he said in a cold voice, "You are stubbornly refusing to listen to the wishes of all of the other underworlds, and that is what has resulted in this outcome! Let me issue you one final warning: it's still not too late to turn back, but if you go any further than this, the consequences will be irreversible!"

"Are you disregarding our veto rights?"

"Not at all. On the contrary, I hold your rights in extremely high regard, and that's why our nation is going to the trouble of establishing a new trade organization to satisfy everyone!"

None of the other death gods were able to interject on this conversation.

It had finally dawned on them that if an unfavorable outcome were to be reached here, then there really was a chance that the Coalition of Underworlds could collapse after standing for thousands of years!

"Your veto rights cannot be used here!" Right at this moment, another voice rang out, and the death gods of the three pillars immediately turned toward that direction.

Who said that?! Do you want to die?!

Even Qin Ye was quite surprised to hear this voice, and all of the other death gods present had already risen to their feet in astonishment while looking up with incredulity in their eyes.

"How could this be? Did they... Did they really speak just now?" Anko was so astonished that even her voice had taken on a sharper pitch, and her eyes were full of disbelief. "Aren't they only supposed to be observers?"

"This is the first time that witnesses of history have ever directly interfered with the progression of history..." another death god said in a trembling voice. "They didn't do this on any of the six previous occasions that they appeared, so why are they doing this now?"

The entire hall had erupted into chatter, and all eyes were focused up above, where a witness of history was hovering in mid-air.

Gusts of Yin wind were revolving around them, giving them an illusory appearance, and their robes and silver hair were flapping incessantly.

Their hands were concealed with their sleeves, and it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female. Right at this moment, they repeated, "Your veto rights cannot be used here."

"Who are you?" Yamaraja's black robes began to surge. This was their final struggle, and they had to win at all costs.

A series of white skeletal hands emerged from beneath his robes, then pointed directly at the witness of history. "Who do you represent? What right do you have to say this?"

"I represent the law," the witness of history replied in a calm voice. "I am the original edition of the first-ever 'Basic Underworld Laws' book authored by all of the death gods at the time. Thus, I represent all of the rules of the underworld. Your veto rights can only apply to things that have already appeared or happened, it cannot be used to revoke things that still haven't happened yet. Also, I come from the world's gate."

The expressions of the three pillars' ruler death gods changed slightly upon hearing this, and they all remained silent. Meanwhile, the witness of history continued, "The future is a culmination of everyone's choices, and everyone should be free to bear the consequences of their choices. The future should not be stifled before it has a chance to eventuate."

"But have you thought about the outcomes of this?!" Anubis frantically yelled. "This world is going to be completely tipped off balance! Your intervention here could lead the world to a catastrophic future!"

Silence.

Several seconds later, the witness of history replied, "The future holds countless possibilities, and you've only described one of them that stems from your imagination. However, there are many underworlds in the world, and their wishes may not align with yours. This is also a request from all of your seniors in the world's gate."

The rest of their words were communicated directly into the ears of the four pillars' ruler death gods as voice transmissions, making the message inaudible to everyone else.

"The seal is already loosening, and we need new weapons and new strategies. Far too many Yin soldiers are perishing beyond the world's gate every year, so much so that the balance of the cycle of reincarnation is beginning to be affected, so please consider your decisions carefully."

Deathly silence descended upon the entire hall for the nth time.

Several seconds later, Anubis nodded with barely contained rage as he said, "Fine! Remember the decision that you made here today, everyone. All you have to bear the consequences for the future that you've created! You think they'll continue to uphold peace in the underworld once they become a dominant powerhouse in the world? You're wrong! In their position, any underworld would aim to replicate what Usonia has become in the mortal realm! There was no dominant force in this world, but you've created one through your actions here!"

His eyes were bloodshot as he swept his gaze across the entire hall. "Why is there no reply? Do you not dare to reply?"

He shook his head before turning and departing from the hall, leaving only one final parting message. "All of you will regret this."

With his departure, Yamaraja and the Hindustani Underworld's representative team, and Anubis and the Aegyptian Underworld's representative team also left in silence.

Thus, only one pillar remained in the hall!

Under normal circumstances, there would be no point for a conference to continue in the absence of three of the four pillars.

Even if the conference were to continue, the outcome wouldn’t be acknowledged, and the atmosphere would also be extremely heavy.

However, that didn't apply here!

With the departure of the three pillars, everyone knew that the showdown was over.

An outcome to the clash between the four pillars had been decided on the very first day! No one could stop the wheel of history, not even the three pillars, and thus, they chose to depart.

However, in the instant that they left, all of the death gods who had their heads lowered, seemingly contemplating life and other profound subjects, suddenly raised their heads again as they turned their eyes toward Qin Ye with urgency and anticipation etched on their faces.

Go on! Don't stop! The pesky hindrances are gone, let's enjoy our time together without them!

Qin Ye was slightly stunned by how quickly the death gods' demeanor had changed, and after a brief pause, he asked, "Should we continue?"

The response was elated smiles and enthusiastic applause from everyone, including all of the members of the Utopia Alliance.

Why had they joined the Utopia Alliance? It was for the sake of developing their nations and securing benefits from the three pillars, of course! There were no true alliances between nations!

However, now that the three pillars had clearly had a falling out with the Cathayan Underworld, would they be able to secure more benefits if they defected to the Cathayan Underworld's side instead?

The new energy resource wasn't a piece of innovation like the invention of paper or gunpowder, it was something that could shape an entire era! It could rapidly transform a small nation into an economic powerhouse, and it was just as capable of bringing a large nation to its knees. No one in their right mind would be opposed to the spread of the new energy resource!

The netherfire in the eyes of all of the death gods present had turned bright red and had risen up like burning pyres!

The scraps that the three pillars didn't want were absolute blessings to smaller underworlds, and even if they had to join the Pan-Asian Trade Organization to secure the full benefit of the new energy resource, they were prepared to do that.

In the eyes of smaller underworlds, international speaking rights weren't even a factor for consideration, all they were focused on was taking full advantage of the imminent industrial revolution.

The future was never clear, and everyone chose to disregard the warning from the three pillars.

Qin Ye's gaze slowly roamed over the entire hall.

He knew that none of these nations were truly loyal to the Cathayan Underworld. No nation was willing to submit to another nation, it was simply about securing the most benefits.

At this moment, the Cathayan Underworld was like a glowing savior to the world. Once electricity was released to the entire world, all underworlds would focus research and development powers on conquering the obstacles to the new energy resource. After that, countless patents would appear one after another, and the entire world was going to flourish in the wake of these drastic changes!

As the leader of this new era, Qin Ye had become the center of attention for everyone.

"A slight mishap has just taken place, but I'm sure the three pillars will eventually come around and see the light. Next, you will get to see just how far our Cathayan Underworld has developed the new energy resource these past few years!"

Whoosh... A series of LED screens suddenly descended all around the pagoda.

Their descent was silent, but that didn't make them any less eye-catching!

Has the Cathayan Underworld already developed LED screens? Just how long has it been since they successfully developed the new energy resource? How many patents have they claimed over the past decade, and how many have they left for us?