Yama Rising

This man was the heir to the Rachman Clan of the Abbasid Consortium, one of the top consortiums in the world. He had an ungodly amount of wealth at his disposal, and even Yama-Kings and death gods had to treat him with respect.

Very rarely would there be any death gods outside of the four pillars, but that didn't mean that a clan like this didn't possess power equivalent to death gods. It was even rumored that the Rachman Clan had 10 forbidden arts hidden all over the world, and if anything were to happen to the clan, the forbidden arts would be immediately activated.

"I'm naturally well aware of your attitude toward science." Khilok adjusted the white keffiyeh on his head as he said with a smile as warm as the noon sun, "However, this is an extremely important matter, so I had to invite all of you for a meeting in person to discuss some things, I hope you don't mind. Please, come and take a seat."

Gold-plated teaware with prominent Arabic elements had already been placed in the room, and as soon as everyone sat down, a group of women with seductive figures wearing veils over their faces came in while carrying a series of exquisite snacks.

There were two types of Arabic desserts that were renowned across the entire world, one of which was cheese, while the other was fondue.

Thus, cheese and fondue were the main components of all of the snacks being brought out. However, in contrast with the large chunks of stiff cheese being sold on the market, all of these snacks were petite and elegant like artistic masterpieces. Coupled with other ingredients such as snowy white cream, beautiful red cherries, and thick chocolate, the snacks could make one's stomach growl on sight.

However, none of the Yin spirits present were in the mood to taste them.

Khilok picked up his teacup and took a sip, then gently set it down again. Khilok had an interesting nickname, which was the "underworld fox". Following the war during which the Aegyptian Underworld conquered the entire Arabic Underworld, the Rachman Clan was the only prominent clan that survived, and on top of that, it became even more powerful than prior to the war.

Normally, he was a very reserved Yin spirit who hid his own emotions extremely well, but he was unable to hide his urgency and excitement here as he took a sip of tea just for show, then immediately cut straight to the chase. "Everyone, the press conference that the Cathayan Underworld is going to be holding is going to be just as significant to the underworld as the Millennium Prize Problems and the Riemann hypothesis are to the mortal realm. All of the leading figures in the scientific fields will be present during such a significant press conference, and the Cathayan Underworld will be doing everything in its power to prove itself. In technical terms, this will be known as a Great Revelation Debate, and the only ones able to enter the official debate hall will be recipients of extremely prestigious prizes such as the Nobel Prize, the Lars Onsager Prize, the Fields Medal, and the Copley Medal. During this press conference, I want you to..."

Hideki Yukawa gently swirled the tea in his cup with a slightly dark expression. "This is our duty and also something that we must do to uphold our pride as scholars."

He looked straight into Khilok's eyes as he said, "The new energy resource concerns the three major fields of mathematics, chemistry, and physics. All of the major prize recipients in those fields will be present aside from those from the new continent, and we'll be asking the most stringent of questions in order to get the most meaningful answers."

His voice carried an implacable tone as he continued, "We must hold this attitude in order to pay our due diligence to this world and to the new energy resource, and no compromise can be made on this front."

"No, no, no, you're misunderstanding my intentions," Khilok hurriedly said as he waved his hands. "Our Rachman Clan is preparing to accept the requests made by your laboratory right away, and at the same time, we ask that you don't hold back at all during the Cathayan Underworld's official press conference! Make sure to pose the most difficult-to-answer questions and don't give them any chance to weasel their way out of answering your questions!"

Reona Esaki was rather taken aback to hear this. "Are you sure you want us to do that?"

"I'm certain!" Khilok replied in a serious voice. "Also, I want to inform you that this is a joint decision made by the Rachman Clan and our close ally, the Sacred Treasure Consortium. The exact same instruction will be issued by all of the decision-makers of the top 10 consortiums to their subsidiary laboratories. Make sure you don't hold back and don't overlook any questions! Do not give them a chance to stall for time!"

The room fell completely silent.

Makoto Kobayashi wore a surprised and bemused expression as he said, "Pardon me for stating the obvious, but even if the direction of their research is incorrect, if you can take on the project, you'll be sure to be greatly inspired, so..."

"There's no way we'll be able to take on the project," Kana Fujii said in an indifferent voice. "This is the Cathayan Underworld, not some laboratory, no one can threaten them. You're not a member of any consortium, so you don't know what we have to deal with. What we have to do is to wait for the Cathayan Underworld to release its yellow papers! If there's a mistake that they fail to discover now, it could lead to the loss of billions of USD in the future! Even an error in a decimal point could lead to catastrophic consequences, and if we invest recklessly without first ensuring beyond any doubt that the project is 100% accurate and viable, then we could be losing astronomical sums of money somewhere down the line! As such, your duty is to do everything in your power to check for holes and flaws in the project. Otherwise, you'll be doing us a massive disservice!"

I see... All of the scientists nodded in response.

The times were changing, and the costs required to complete certain projects proposed by certain laboratories could be a significant sum even for an entire nation. Thus, most laboratories had financial backers such as the Abbasid Consortium, the Sacred Treasure Consortium, and all of the other major consortiums.

Out of all of the renowned scientists in the underworld, half of them answered to their respective governments, while the other half was under the control of the consortiums. Thus, their decision was going to have a very major impact.

"Rest assured." The Nipponese scientists rose to their feet as they promised, "We'll be sure to do our best!"

In the world of academia, there were no nationalities, only right or wrong!

………………………………………………

At the same time, in another luxurious room, there was an elderly Yin spirit seated on a wheelchair, pushing a stack of documents to the other side of the table with a cane, at the top of which was embedded a diamond the size of an infant's fist.

This was a redwood table constructed in an antiquated and elegant style, and across from the elderly Yin spirit were seated five other Yin spirits wearing immaculate suits.

"This is the list of names of people who will be attending the press conference in Jeju-do in 15 days. Go ahead and take a look," the elderly man said, then pulled a silken handkerchief and gently coughed into it.

A middle-aged man with a mustache accepted the list and took a quick glance, upon which the netherfire in his eyes immediately flickered slightly.

Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, recipient of the Nobel Prize of Physics in 1901 for inventing X-ray technology.

Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for their pioneering research in radioactivity.

Philipp Lenard, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905 for his work on cathode rays.

Guglielmo Marchese Marconi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1909 for inventing and refining the wireless telegraph system.

The list included names of at least 100 recipients of Nobel Prizes, Lars Onsager Prizes, Fields Medals, and Copley Medals, and they were all going to attend the same press conference in 15 days!

This was going to be one of the most prestigious academic events in history, and one could only imagine how much pressure the scholars of the Cathayan Underworld would be placed under.

There weren't going to be any physical attacks, but the waves of questioning were going to be even more fearsome. According to the rules of Great Revelation Debates, if anyone were to raise their hand, then their question had to be answered. None of the people qualified to enter the official debate hall were going to be inept in this field, and there was no way any of them would ask pointless questions.

Every single question was going to be a stern test in itself, and if there were any falsehoods involved in the project, it would definitely be uncovered within an hour!

The elderly man turned toward them and said, "This may seem like a formidable list, but don't forget that all of you have also claimed some of the most prestigious awards in the scientific fields! You are not inferior to any of the people on this list! Your good friend, James Rainwater, won't be able to attend the press conference as he's unable to leave the new continent, but you're just as capable as him and everyone else! You've always been able to splendidly complete all of the research and development tasks assigned to you by our Imperial Consortium, and..."

He suddenly burst into a fit of violent coughing here as he covered his mouth with his handkerchief, and after taking several seconds to catch his breath, he continued, "I'm sure you'll continue to live up to our expectations. Use your vast knowledge to pick out every single hole and flaw in the project during the press conference in 15 days! Make sure you don't leave any stone left unturned!"

His face had become slightly flushed, and several seconds later, a wry smile appeared on his face as he said, "How I wish the Cathayan Underworld can withstand all of the questions and scrutiny that are about to be directed at them..."

Ben Roy Mottelson couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. "Wouldn't you rather see them be crushed by the academic world?"

The elderly man didn't reply. He merely waved a hand, and the scientists in the room quietly left.

Thus, the room fell silent again, and after a long while, the elderly man finally murmured to himself with a wry smile, "Who knows what I want to see? If they can't stand up to the test, then they'll be sure to produce something better next time. However, if they do manage to transcend this tribulation, then we'll be able to expect the release of the yellow papers within the next decade. I bet those other old farts are also tossing and turning at night like I am. After all, this is a debate that could decide the direction of an entire era. Even a Yin spirit like me, who is outside of the academic world, can't help but feel excited at the prospect of being able to participate in this unprecedented debate..."

………………………………………………..

Cathayan Underworld, Everburn, North Yin Pavilion.

"Assistant Wang, this is the list of names from the Imperial Consortium requesting participation in the upcoming debate, please give your approval."

"Secretary Jiang, this is the list of names from the Index Consortium requesting participation in the upcoming debate, please give your approval."

"Please give this list of names to Assistant Wang or Secretary Jiang right away. These are the representatives of the five nations of Northern Europa wishing to be granted participation in the debate, and the group consists of Fenrir and five Northern Europa scientists who are recipients of prestigious awards in the relevant scientific fields!"

Inside the office of King Yanluo, Wang Chenghao and Secretary Jiang were about to be drowned under the documents flooding in from all parts of the world!

Initially, they hadn't thought much of this.

The first entry request they had received was from the Nipponese Underworld, and their list of names included Izanami and an Infernal Judge who was a subordinate of hers.

It was only a duo consisting of an Abyssal Prefect and an Infernal Judge, and Wang Chenghao had only taken a quick glance at the document before filing it away to be signed by Qin Ye when he had some spare time.

However, next came the list of names from the Sacred Treasure Consortium.

The list of six Nobel Prize recipients had him furrowing his brows slightly, but he didn't think much of it, either, and placed it together with the request sent by Izanami.

Thinking back now, he realized that he was still too young and inexperienced. He had failed to realize that the Nipponese Underworld's application was clearly the precursor of a massive tsunami!

During the three days after that, all of the applications from all over the world arrived one after another!

Each nation was bringing several scientists that had received prestigious awards in their fields. These were the type of people that he could only see on television and in textbooks during his time at school!

After that came the participation requests from the world's top 10 consortiums.

Some of the chairmen of these consortiums were even coming in person, and what was even more troublesome was that the number of prestigious scientists requesting participation was quickly climbing!

At this point, there were already over 100!

Every single one of those names was enough to send chills running down his spine, including the likes of Archimedes, the Curies, Wilhelm Röntgen, Philipp Lenard... These were all nightmarish figures from his school days, and the fact that they were all going to be in attendance during the Jeju-do press conference was raising goosebumps all over his skin!

"How many are there in total now?" he asked in a strained voice.

Secretary was looking up at the ceiling as if he had lost his soul, and he replied, "All of the recipients of the Nobel Prizes in Physics, Lars Onsager Prizes, Fields Medals, and Copley Medals since 1900 are coming with the exception of the scientists from the new continent, and that amounts to a total of 176 individuals..."

"My god..."