Yama Rising

Amid the incredibly oppressive silence, the panel of arbiters finished counting the votes, and their representative extended a respectful bow before declaring, "17 votes."

That was exactly half of the total number of votes!

Qin Ye's heart was already beginning to thump violently. As expected, the three pillars wouldn't have lashed out unless they had absolute confidence, and they really did hold sufficient votes to ensure their victory.

His gaze was already creeping over to the gates rather than continuing to watch the rest of the death gods. He already knew that there was no way all of the remaining death gods would vote for him.

"Those in support of stripping the Cathayan Underworld of its international forbidden arts supervision rights have secured half the votes, which means that the Cathayan Underworld must receive all of the remaining 17 votes in order to force a revote," Borfis declared. "Now then, those who are against stripping the Cathayan Underworld of its international forbidden arts supervision rights, please raise your..."

"Hold on a minute." Right at this moment, a voice suddenly rang out. "I think we should discuss this again."

Right in front of everyone's astonished eyes, three figures rose to their feet, and they were none other than Xolotl, Ah Puch, and Supay, the three representative death gods of the new continent!

Yamaraja, Anubis, and Hypnos's eyes immediately lit up upon seeing this.

This was going to be the decisive blow!

If the three representatives of the new continent were to vote in favor of the proposal, then the outcome would be decided without the need for a revote!

Hypnos forcibly repressed the excitement that was welling up in his heart as he said, "Do you have something to say, death gods of the new continent?"

Xolotl exchanged a glance with his companions, then replied in a calm voice, "We think we also have the right to vote."

A stir immediately ran through all of the death gods present upon hearing this.

They were going to vote? Which side were they going to vote for?

The outcome still wasn't decided, and there was still a chance for the Cathayan Underworld to force a revote. In that case, were they going to punch the final nail into the Cathayan Underworld's coffin? No, even if they didn't vote, the Cathayan Underworld's defeat was still sealed. In that case, they weren't doing this to secure victory for the three pillars, they were sending a signal to the rest of the world through their actions!

They were blatantly expressing to everyone that they were latching onto the coattails of the three pillars, thereby paving the way forward for themselves following the demise of Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa!

All of the death gods belonging to the three pillars immediately rose to their feet to stare intently at the three death gods of the new continent, while Xolotl turned to face Borfis and said, "We want to vote on the matter of the Cathayan Underworld's international forbidden arts supervision rights!"

Qin Ye cast a cold gaze toward him, and Xolotl wasn't avoiding his gaze at all as he continued in a calm voice, "As one of the four pillars, the Cathayan Underworld has not just failed to perform its duties in the past century, they've even allowed a Yama-King to escape to the Pacific Ocean! I think they are no longer fit to continue in this role, and out of fairness and openness, I approve of rescinding the Cathayan Underworld's international forbidden arts supervision rights!"

Dead silence.

Three seconds later, a massive commotion erupted forth!

One of the four pillars had just been felled!

The Cathayan Underworld had always been the most powerful of the four pillars during the past several thousand years, yet following its re-emergence after a century-long absence, it had been stripped of its international forbidden arts supervision rights!

"That's 20 votes!" The nameless god of death was so excited that his face had become completely flushed. There was no other first-rate underworld fit to take the Cathayan Underworld's place aside from the Russian Underworld!

This meant that the Russian Underworld was also going to be one of the four... no, the five pillars!

All of the death gods who were still yet to cast their votes had sprung to their feet and were staring at the main stage with astonished looks in their eyes. They then cast their eyes toward the Cathayan Underworld camp, and a myriad of emotions welled up in their hearts.

"Has the Cathayan Underworld truly fallen?"

"To think that there would truly come a day where a glorious dynasty spanning over 3,000 years falls from grace..."

"After this, their rights will continue to be stripped away from them one after another. It looks like the three pillars are determined to bring them down!"

"I can't believe this! Over half of the underworlds in the entire world have defected to the side of the three pillars, and they even managed to convince the new continent to vote for the first time in several centuries!"

Borfis was also completely rooted to the spot. The state of the entire world was going to undergo a massive change brought on by the fall of the Cathayan Underworld...

"Announce the verdict right away!" Yamaraja's urgent voice instantly snapped him out of his stunned reverie. "What are you waiting for? As the chief secretary of the Coalition of Underworlds, you are responsible for announcing this decision and informing the entire world! Tell everyone about this important verdict and immediately hold another vote to choose a suitable underworld to take the Cathayan Underworld's place! Hurry!"

His voice echoed throughout the conference hall like rumbling thunder, and Borfis hesitated momentarily before heaving a long sigh. "20 of the 34 available votes have been cast in approval of removing the Cathayan Underworld as one of the international forbidden arts supervision nations. From this day forth, the Cathayan Underworld's international forbidden arts supervision rights will be temporarily rescinded, and its replacement will be decided by a vote."

The commotion that erupted throughout the entire hall in the wake of this decision was like a volcanic eruption!

Everyone knew that the underworld that was going to take the place of the Cathayan Underworld here was virtually guaranteed to become the fifth pillar!

No one cared about the Cathayan Underworld anymore, it was like a piece of trash that had been tossed in the corner.

However, right at this moment, Qin Ye rose to his feet as he watched the three death gods of the new continent with a derisive expression. "Objection! Who gave you the right to vote?"

"Yanluo Qin!" Yamaraja turned around with an ecstatic expression, and he couldn't hold back his own joy as he countered, "All underworlds with autonomous jurisdictive powers have the right to vote! This is an agreement forged between your first King Yanluo and all of the other world leaders, have you forgotten about this? Do you need me to issue you a reminder?"

Qin Ye didn't back down in the slightest. "They have no right to vote! The supervising ambassador of the new continent has always been in charge of the new continent's voting rights, yet the votes of these three are being accepted in the absence of the supervising ambassador? Is this the fairness and openness that you've been advocating for? In the future, can I send a random representative to cast my votes for me at international conferences and you'll accept that as well?"

He turned to Yamaraja and continued, "If I blow up your Mahabodhi Temple with a forbidden art, then send a footsoldier to apologize, will that count as a personal apology from me? These three aren't the rulers of the new continent, nor are they the supervising ambassadors, who gave them the right to vote? In light of this, their votes cannot count, and a revote must be held!"

"What a joke!" Supay immediately countered with a cold sneer. "Which law states that the representative of the new continent can only be the supervising ambassador? This is a domestic affair for our new continent, and it's not an official international law, so why can't we vote on behalf of the new continent?"

He slammed the table and rose to his feet as he continued, "Yanluo Qin, everything that has befallen the Cathayan Underworld here is a direct result of your own actions! Besides, we're not voting to have your Cathayan Underworld removed as one of the four pillars, so there's no need for you to target us!"

"Yanluo Qin," Anubis chimed in in a menacing voice. "Even if the supervising ambassador is the representative of the new continent, in his absence, these three are just as qualified to represent the new continent, isn't that right, Borfis?"

Borfis sighed before nodding in response.

"From a legal perspective, the new continent possesses independence and autonomy, and it consists of three major religions. If Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa were present, they would be the representatives. In their absence, the supervising ambassador would become the representative, and in the case where all three are absent, then the death gods can act as stand-in representatives. There's nothing wrong with that as the three death gods are also a part of the representative team and also hold voting rights, so..."

Right at this moment, the sound of door-knocking rang out, and all of the death gods turned toward the gates of the hall.

Why was someone knocking on the door?

There was no way that a conference of this caliber was to be disrupted for any reason. Qin Ye had also cast his gaze toward the gates, but as opposed to the confusion etched on everyone else's faces, his eyes were glowing with excitement!

"Your Excellency!" Qin Changxin could barely keep his own voice from trembling. Even he could sense just how fearsome the Yin energy of the figures standing outside the hall was!

No, it couldn't even be described as just fearsome anymore.

The new arrivals made no attempt to disguise their Yin energy at all, allowing it to seep through the gaps of the entrance. Their Yin energy was dense, dark, and giving off a suffocating odor of blood and gore. Within the span of just a few seconds, all of the death gods had risen to their feet in alarm

These were advanced death gods!

How could there still be advanced death gods who weren't present in the hall yet?

"No one's opening the door for us..." A forlorn male voice rang out. "These young'uns are becoming ruder by the day! Looks like we'll have to go in ourselves."

The voice was unfamiliar to many, but in the instant that it traveled into the ears of Xolotl, Supay, and Ah Puch, the netherfire in their eyes instantly contracted drastically.

It's them! It's those two deranged geezers! Why are they here? What could've possibly convinced them to come here? Wasn't Viracocha intercepted?!

The instinctive respect and fear that the three death gods held toward Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa had already spurred them involuntarily to their feet. Upon seeing the reactions of the three death gods from the new continent, all of the other death gods in the hall instantly realized who had arrived.

It was Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa!

Anko was seated right beside the entrance, and as soon as this thought dawned on her, she immediately sprang to her feet with an alarmed cry before rushing away as if her life depended on it.

The other death gods near the entrance quickly followed suit, and soon, a large area of empty space had been opened up, immediately following which a resounding boom rang out!

The two massive marble gates shattered violently, then disintegrated and erupted into the hall as huge chunks of marble that were burning with intense netherfire. Yin energy then gushed into the hall in a torrential wave, transforming the entire hall into a suffocating dark mire.

Two familiar elderly figures were revealed standing at the entrance, and the elderly man smiled as he swept his gaze across all of the death gods present. "Long time no see. Looking at your familiar faces makes me sick..."

Mictetikasiwa didn't say anything. Instead, she hobbled with difficulty toward the three death gods of the new continent, leaning heavily on her cane every step of the way. All of the death gods before her frantically got out of her way in a scene reminiscent of Moses parting the sea, and even Izanami had picked up the hem of her kimono before hurriedly rushing over to a corner of the hall.

"I heard that you can make decisions on our behalf, is that right?"

The netherfire in the eyes of the three new continent death gods were flickering in a panicked manner as they frantically looked around the hall, but all of the surrounding death gods avoided their gaze like the plague.

Xolotl reflexively cast his gaze toward Hypnos, yet even Hypnos was avoiding his gaze.

The weak feared the strong, while the strong feared the fearless, and these two were well and truly fearless and deranged!

You're holding a conference? We don't give a shit! You want to impeach someone? We don't give a shit! All we want is to survive, and anyone who gets in the way of achieving that objective is our sworn enemy!

Mictetikasiwa's cloak was rippling violently, and a series of skeletal snakes emerged and spread her cloak open amid a furious eruption of Yin energy, revealing nothing but boundless darkness beneath her cloak. Her raspy voice took a menacing turn as she continued, "I heard that you dare to go against our orders?"

She had already made her way over to the three death gods, and she raised her head to look up at Supay. "I've been far too kind to you three."

She heaved a forlorn sigh, and in the next instant, a resounding boom rang out as she slammed her hand into Supay's neck, smashing him into the ground.

The resounding booms continued to ring out one after another, and by the time the commotion subsided, Supay was laying at the bottom of an incredibly deep crater, enshrouded in complete darkness, so no one knew if he was dead or alive.

"The new continent vehemently objects to the rescinding of the Cathayan Underworld's international forbidden arts supervision rights!" she declared in a sharp, ear-piercing voice that reverberated throughout the entire hall. "The enemies of the Cathayan Underworld are our enemies! That vote just now doesn't count! We demand a revote! Also, according to the rules of the underworld, in the case of revotes, there must be a day for reconsideration before the next vote is to be held!"

After that thunderous declaration, she erupted into a violent coughing fit. A blue eye then lit up beneath her cloak, and the vertical pupil at the very center of the eye watched all of the death gods intently as she asked in a menacing voice, "Any objections?"