Yama Rising

A servant was carefully fastening the strap of Qin Ye's headwear under his chin, while another servant was meticulously combing his hair and making sure there wasn't so much as a single crease on his black dragon robe. This was his first international conference, so he didn't want to wear something that was too eye-catching. Zhao Yun was standing right beside him, and all of a sudden, he raised an eyebrow and said, "My Lord, as you anticipated, the second King Yanluo has intervened."

The power of the second King Yanluo was so formidable that it could be felt even from across the entire Pacific Ocean. Qin Ye didn't know what reactions the three pillars would have to this, and he didn't care. He merely said in a calm voice, "That's only to be expected. Are you feeling a little guilty?"

Zhao Yun shook his head in response. "I am loyal only to the current King Yanluo, not any particular person. However, I'm very curious, how did you know that the second King Yanluo would definitely intervene?"

Qin Ye's expression darkened slightly as he raised his arms, allowing his servants to adjust his robes as he harumphed coldly, "Those so-called Heavenly Dao restrictions on his arms were fucking drawn on with paint! I can't believe he thought I would be stupid enough to fall for that! Can't he at least show a little sincerity when lying? From the way he executed Xu Fu, I knew that he wasn't bound in any way by the Heavenly Dao, and the oil paint was way too obvious!"

After that rant, his voice calmed down a little as he continued, "As for why I was certain he would intervene, it's very simple: I've always been analyzing his thought process through the perspective of a ruler. What has he done since he met me? He set me up for the Hungry Ghost Festival incident, he deceived me into going to the Huang Clan's earthen building... He set up one trap after another, but he would always step in right in the nick of time if things went out of hand. He has the heart of a kind mother."

Qin Ye raised his head and sighed to the heavens, "He's a good, good man..."

K, K, Kind mother?!

Zhao Yun's eyeballs had almost popped out of their sockets, and only after a long while was he able to spit out an affirmative response.

Whatever you say, Your Excellency.

"He's training me. While he's still here, he's training me to become a worthy successor as quickly as possible. Of course, he's not going to just step in anytime I'm in any danger. As I'm sure you recall, on all of the occasions that he intervened, he only did so right in the nick of time."

This was a habitual treatment that one would give their successor. It was just like how ancient emperors tasked their crown princes with running some of the nation's divisions. The experience would hold them in great stead once they officially took over.

However, it was also this precise attitude that could allow a crown prince to find a pattern in the way that the emperor did things.

It was like a protective hen watching her chicks grow, allowing them to roam and explore freely and only stepping in once they were about to enter a fatal situation.

Qin Ye was very adept at psychological analysis, and during his interactions with the second King Yanluo, he had already gotten his measure.

"This is what gave me the confidence not to send you to the new continent. The best arrangement would be for the two rulers of the new continent to see you, but if you go, then he wouldn't have done anything, and there also wouldn't have been that eruption of Yin energy just now. I really want to see the expressions on the faces of the three pillars; I can guarantee you that they’re not in a very good mood."

The servants finished dressing Qin Ye and backed away in a respectful manner. Right as they were about to exit the room, one of them said in a low voice, "Your Excellency, the conference is going to commence in an hour."

Qin Ye nodded in response. The black dragon robe had given him an additional sense of majesty and authority, and he gracefully picked up his teacup as he said, "You could say that I was forcing him to act, but I couldn't do it too blatantly. Otherwise, a man like the second King Yanluo really would completely let go. All I can say is that his mindset is the reason he decided to intervene. However, there was still a catalyst that was missing. What do you think that catalyst is?"

Zhao Yun considered this question for a moment before replying, "There had to be something that encroached upon his bottom line. Everyone has been constantly working to uphold the rules of the world, and seeing those rules being broken in such a brazen manner was what urged him to finally act."

"That's right." Qin Ye snapped his fingers in response. "Assassination is the most unscrupulous of actions, and that applies both in the mortal realm and the underworld. Ever since I came to Nara, they've broken the rules over and over again. There was that assassination attempt against me, the interception of the Alkebulan Underworlds at the Strait of Tsushima, and this latest incident concerning Viracocha was the third instance."

He set down his teacup as he continued, "I was confident that if I had actually been placed in life-threatening danger during the assassination attempt made against me, the second King Yanluo would've definitely intervened, and I'm certain that he would've kept the fact that he had intervened a secret because he wouldn't have wanted to undermine my authority."

This was the debut of the third King Yanluo on the world stage, and the second King Yanluo had to step aside.

"I'm guessing that the second King Yanluo would've already been tempted to intervene when the Alkebulan Underworlds were intercepted at the Strait of Tsushima, but the situation wasn't dire enough yet for him to have to act."

The smile of a cunning fox appeared on Qin Ye's face as he continued, "The new continent is our final trump card, and if Viracocha were to be intercepted, then our defeat would be sealed, so the second King Yanluo had no choice but to step in. That's why I didn't send you to address any of the previous situations. An assassination attempt was already made against me, and as the weakest King Yanluo in history, I needed your protection here. Under these circumstances, someone had to intervene, and there's only one candidate for the job."

Zhao Yun was extremely impressed by Qin Ye's analysis. Never did he think that the third King Yanluo, who had only been in power for less than seven years, would manage to have even the second King Yanluo wrapped around his finger! He was constantly forcing the second King Yanluo's hand, luring him into a war of attrition, and without even realizing it himself, the second King Yanluo had fallen right into Qin Ye's trap!

It was a clash of minds between the most powerful being in all three realms by far and a nascent Yama-King, and the latter had come out on top!

It could be said that if Qin Ye had made even the slightest miscalculation, then the second King Yanluo wouldn't have intervened. Now that he had stepped in, his intervention was going to have a massive impact on the conference.

You can disrespect us, but you can't not be wary of us because we also have trump cards of our own! If you force us too close to the edge, then we'll take you down with us!

Once the three pillars became wary of the Cathayan Underworld, they would act with a lot more restraint, and it could be said that Qin Ye had maximized all of the favorable conditions available to him.

However, Zhao Yun's brows then furrowed slightly as he asked, "Will the second King Yanluo be displeased at being used like this?"

This was a valid concern. After all, the second King Yanluo's temper was far from mild.

Qin Ye replied with a wide smile, "He won't. I can guarantee you that in the instant he intervened, he would've already realized that I've been forcing his hand all along. However, not only will he not be angry, he might even give me a thumbs-up."

Right at this moment, the door was opened.

Qin Changxin and the panel of advisors were already standing outside. According to the rules of the four pillars, they were permitted to bring their panels of advisors to official conferences.

"Your Excellency." Qin Changxin took a deep breath as he cupped his fist a respectful salute. "Please make your way to the Heavenly Radiance Hall! The conference of the re-signing of the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts will officially begin in 40 minutes!"

It's finally here...

Qin Ye closed his eyes and laid a hand over his own chest, then took several deep breaths in succession to calm himself down.

No one could remain calm on the cusp of their first clash with the most powerful figures in the world, and Qin Ye was no exception.

Just the mere thought of his name appearing alongside those of the legendary gods of so many different cultures was enough to set his heart racing like a hummingbird's wings.

Come! I've already done everything in my power, all that's left is to calmly watch everything unfold.

…………………………………………………..

New Hell's Legacy: On the 7th of June in the 7th year of the third coming of Hell, the Coalition of Underworld's re-signing ceremony for the treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts was held in Nara, Nippon.

The Heavenly Radiance Hall was the largest conference hall in the entire pavilion. It was a tiered hall that was around 100 meters in size, and the flags of all of the underworlds were hanging behind the main stage. At the very center of the hall was a relief depicting a skeleton wearing a regal crown in the ancient Cathayan style shaking hands with a human king who was also wearing a golden crown.

At the very front of the hall were four large tables, each of which had three seats, all of which were lavishly decorated bejewelled chairs.

The central chairs among these trios of chairs were especially grand and majestic. They were two-meter-tall thrones constructed out of bones, and the throne for each nation was different.

The Cathayan was a dragon, the Aegyptian one was a cerberus, the Hindustani one was a giant elephant, and the Argosian one was a majestic eagle. These were the thrones reserved for the rulers of the four pillars, and the chairs on either side of the thrones were for the maximum of two representatives that each ruler of the four pillars was permitted to bring with them.

The rows of seats behind these four tables were for the panels of advisors, and after that came the seats for the first-rate underworlds, then the second-rate underworlds, then the third-rate underworlds, and finally, the rest.

Every single death god knew their place, and none of them sat out of turn. This was an extremely realistic and pragmatic world, and no one protested the fact that the more powerful underworlds were granted seats nearer to the front of the hall.

The gates were gently opened, and Qin Ye led his entourage into the hall. The chatter in the hall immediately subsided, and everyone turned their eyes toward the Cathayan Underworld's representative team.

The emotions of the bystanders were extremely mixed.

Those who didn't want to see the utopia alliance become the only voice in the world were looking at them with hope and anticipation, those who were standing on the side of the three pillars were looking on with wariness and enmity, and the fence-sitters were watching them with sympathetic expressions. However, everyone then quickly looked away one after another, and the chatter gradually resumed as if nothing had ever happened.

Qin Ye ignored the scrutiny and made his way directly to the throne at the very front. To his side was the Aegyptian Underworld.

The other three pillars had already arrived three hours ago, but he hadn't gone to greet them. Furthermore, the three pillars had arrived at the same time, and as that happened, the cries of surprise that rang out from within the conference hall were clearly audible throughout the entire pavilion.

They had made it very clear that they were standing together and ready for anything the Cathayan Underworld had to throw at them.

Anubis, the death god that Qin Ye had met once during this inauguration ceremony, was sitting no more than 20 meters away from him.

He was a very imposing figure, standing at over three meters tall, and even though he had the head of a dog and was seated in a very casual manner, there was a sense of peerless authority in his eyes. He wore a golden serpent crown, and two golden tassels were trailing down from his chest ornament, which consisted of a round golden plate with sapphires and diamonds embedded onto its surface. His skin was of a deathly white color, and crimson Yin runes were roaming over the surface of his skin like flames, giving him a nightmarish appearance.

From this angle, Qin Ye couldn't see Yamaraja and Hypnos, and Qin Ye didn't bother to turn around to look at them. Right as his gaze flashed over Anubis, the latter seemed to have sensed his scrutiny, and he turned toward Qin Ye before giving him a polite smile.

It was perhaps the friendliest smile he had ever displayed in his entire life, but Qin Ye felt as if he could almost hear the sound of sharp blades being drawn.

"Yanluo Qin." To Qin Ye's surprise, Anubis was the first person to break the silence between them, and he maintained a polite smile as he asked in a voice audible only to those directly around them, "Have you seen Death God Osiris?"

"I have not," Qin Ye replied with impeccable etiquette and an identical smile.

Anubis looked straight into Qin Ye's eyes as he pointed at the seat beside him. "This is his seat. He just so happened to have something to do in the Pacific Ocean, yet following the emergence of the second King Yanluo's Yin energy, I haven't heard from him for a few hours, and his Yin energy has also disappeared. Do you know where he's gone?"

Qin Ye picked up his teacup in a calm manner and asked, "How am I supposed to know that?"

"Do you not keep tabs on what your subordinates are doing?"

Right at this moment, a figure strode onto the main stage, then extended a deep and respectful bow.

All of the death gods present sat up straighter at the sight of the figure's emergence. He was the chief secretary of the Coalition of Underworlds, the man with almost no presence, Borfis.

His emergence meant that this international conference was about to officially commence!

Which side was going to come out on top in this epic power struggle?

From this moment forth, both sides were going to hurl their remaining trump cards at one another until one side ran out of ammunition, and a brand new era was about to be established!