Yama Rising

What kind of questions is that?

Heihachiro Fujii still hadn't stood up straight from his bowed position, and his mind was rapidly racing.

His instinct was naturally to look after his consortium's interests above all else. To him, the Nipponese Underworld was only a springboard.

However, he had been invited here by the Cathayan Underworld to see its King Yanluo, whom no one else had been granted an audience with, which meant that there was a very good chance that they had been chosen.

The Cathayan Underworld was interested in collaborating with the Sacred Treasure Consortium!

If he were to answer truthfully, then wouldn't it make him appear too selfish in that he was prioritizing the interests of his own consortium above all else? No one would like a collaborative partner like that.

What if he were to say that he would prioritize the interests of the nation?

The problem there was that the Sacred Treasure Consortium was based in the Nipponese Underworld, and if he were to provide an answer like that, he would essentially be declaring that he was standing by the Nipponese Underworld. In that case, how could he expect the Cathayan Underworld to be content with working with him?

This seemed to be a very simple question, but it was actually extremely difficult to answer.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Heihachiro Fujii replied, "I would act according to the signed agreements and the requests of the collaborative parties involved."

There was no response.

A few more seconds passed before he finally heard the voice that was like music to his ears. "Bring out a chair! How could we leave the esteemed chairman of the Sacred Treasure Consortium to stand like this? Where are your manners?"

Heihachiro Fujii heaved an internal sigh of relief upon hearing this. He knew that at the very least, he had passed the first test.

Only now did he get a chance to take a look at Qin Ye, and his first impression of Qin Ye was that he was very young.

Qin Ye was wearing a golden dragon robe and a white jade crown on his head. His legs were folded, and he was leaning casually against one of the armrests of his throne.

His sitting posture was very lazy and informal, but Heihachiro Fujii certainly wasn't going to look down on him for that. The new ruler of the Cathayan Underworld seemed so young and harmless on the surface, but within the span of less than 20 years, he had completely transformed the Cathayan Underworld and single-handedly warded off the three pillars.

It was rude to look directly at a ruler, so Heihachiro Fujii quickly withdrew his gaze. At this point, a table and a chair had already been brought out by the servants, and Heihachiro Fujii sat down in a formal manner. Only after hearing the sound of Qin Ye picking up his teacup and taking a sip did he pick up his own teacup so that he could quench his own parched throat.

Qin Ye smiled as he said, "I've looked into the Sacred Treasure Consortium briefly in the past, but I'm still currently unsure of exactly what areas the consortium specializes in."

Is he assessing the power of our Sacred Treasure Consortium now?

Heihachiro Fujii gently set down his teacup. He knew that he was situated at an extremely important crossroads, and if he could pass Qin Ye's test, then the Sacred Treasure Consortium would be set for centuries of glory! However, if he couldn't provide satisfactory answers, then he would immediately be eliminated, and there would be at least nine competitors capable of taking his place.

Heihachiro Fujii knew that Qin Ye already knew the answer to this question. At the very least, he already knew what the Sacred Treasure Consortium specialized in on the surface, so what he wanted to know had to be confidential information lurking beneath the surface.

"Our main source of revenue comes from cutting-edge machinery," Heihachiro Fujii replied. "The companies under our consortium produce roughly 30% of all of the cutting-edge machinery in the world. As I'm sure you're aware, the machinery of the underworld is different from that of the mortal realm. All we have to do is replicate the models of the mortal realm, then inscribe Yin runes upon them or power them using Yin jade or Yin spirit stones, and they can achieve the same effect as the machinery in the mortal realm, even without the need for an energy resource. Our Sacred Treasure Consortium has the best Yin rune designers in the entire underworld. Among the top 100 machinery Yin rune designers in the world, 32 of them are Nipponese Yin spirits, and 25 of those belong to our Sacred Treasure Consortium."

Qin Ye's expression changed ever so slightly upon hearing this, and even he couldn't help but be impressed.

The occupation of Yin rune designer was one of the top occupations in the underworld, and they were responsible for designing Yin runes according to different conditions raised by their employers. These people were the foundation of the underworld's Yin rune development.

The fact that the Sacred Treasure Consortium possessed 25 of the top 100 Yin rune designers in the world was a very tempting prospect for Qin Ye. These people were exactly what he needed for what he was about to do next!

"Of course, that was in the past. Yin rune design is a very time-consuming and complicated process. For example, for a single crane to function perfectly, millions of Yin runes must be inscribed upon it, and those Yin runes are not of a low caliber, either. Thus, in the past, it would've taken as long as two to three years to produce something like that. However, everything is different now. With the new energy resource, we can consider mass production of machinery, something that was impossible for us in the past, so our Sacred Treasure Consortium must find a suitable new direction to take during this industrial revolution."

There were clearly some implications behind Heihachiro's words.

He had praised the new energy resource, stating that it allowed for the possibility of mass production of machinery, which had previously been impossible in the past.

However, the new energy resource also posed a major threat to the core interests of the Sacred Treasure Consortium. However, he was still willing to hold a discussion with the Cathayan Underworld to find a "suitable new direction", and he wanted Qin Ye to tell him what this new direction should be.

"In the field of machinery, the two most renowned Yin rune machinery construction companies in the world are the Heaven Corporation and the Apostle Corporation, both of which our Sacred Treasure Consortium holds majority shares in. However, not many people are aware that they belong to our Sacred Treasure Consortium. We also have some other projects that are dependent on the development of machinery Yin runes, but that information is publicly available, so I'm sure you already know about it."

That was indeed the case.

The Heaven Corporation and the Apostle Corporation dominated virtually the entire cutting-edge Yin rune machinery industry, but they had made sure not to form an absolute duopoly. It was quite a surprise to Qin Ye that both of those companies belonged to the Sacred Treasure Consortium.

The more he heard about the Sacred Treasure Consortium, the more convinced Qin Ye became that they were the ideal collaborative partner.

With that in mind, he didn't want to waste any further time, and there was no point in doing so, anyway. Thus, he smiled as he said, "So what if our Cathayan Underworld wants to use the Yin rune designers of your Sacred Treasure Consortium? Just to make things clear, we want them to work on a project that they don't have any prior experience in."

This is it!

A sense of excitement immediately welled up in Heihachiro Fujii's heart. This meant that the Cathayan Underworld's future path of development clearly involved cutting-edge Yin runes, and the only Yin runes worthy of such a title had to be in the eighth circle or above!

What could it possibly be? Computers? Sea exploration? Weaponry?

Regardless of which area the Cathayan Underworld was going to choose to focus on, if the Sacred Treasure Consortium could become its main collaborative partner, then its position at the top of the financial world would be assured for at least the next few centuries!

No one in the underworld was more aware than he was of just how profitable the cutting-edge Yin rune industry was!

A hint of urgency crept into his voice as he said, "If the Cathayan Underworld is willing to grant our Sacred Treasure Consortium this opportunity, then we're willing to put our reputation, built up over 1,500 years, on the line! We'll be sure to do everything in our power to complete whatever task is assigned to us!"

"Even if it means that the Cathayan Underworld will be using all of your Yin rune designers?"

"Of course!" Heihachiro Fujii replied without any hesitation.

Take them all! If you need more, I can get you over 200 first-rate designers and hundreds of second-rate designers! I'm not passing up this opportunity for anything!

The Cathayan Underworld's world-leading energy resource technology was a perfect fit with the Yin rune designers under the Sacred Treasure Consortium, and the Sacred Treasure Consortium would receive patents for everything that was developed by this partnership!

At the very least, the percentage of patents that the Sacred Treasure Consortium would receive would be no less than 10%, and if it could reach 30%…

Just the mere thought of this was enough to fill Heihachiro with excitement!

However, he knew that it was at times like this that it was extremely important to remain calm, and he took a moment to compose himself before asking, "May I ask exactly which area the Cathayan Underworld is choosing to focus on?"

Qin Ye took a sip of his tea before replying in an unhurried manner, "We are pursuing aviation, specifically space exploration."

Heihachiro Fujii instantly raised his head to stare directly at Qin Ye upon hearing this, then immediately lowered his head again as he realized how rude that gesture had been.

At the same time, the netherfire in his eyes was beginning to turn red.

As expected, the Cathayan Underworld wasn't just going to rest on its laurels after ushering in this new era. Instead, it had already decided on its next main area of focus!

If this collaborative partnership could succeed, then the Sacred Treasure Consortium would be able to expand its industries into space exploration and even the exploration of foreign planes!

If he could take 30% of the patents involved… No, even 20% would result in astronomical sums of profit!

Of course, there was no way that he was going to tell anyone else about this. Qin Ye had summoned him for this private meeting and imparted such an important secret upon him. If he were to go out and tell someone else about this, his days in the underworld would truly be numbered.

The profits that could be generated were going to be downright astonishing, but before considering that, the issue of feasibility had to be considered.

How was the Cathayan Underworld so sure that space existed for the underworld? In order to conduct space exploration, Yin rune designers will be required to develop new arts and arrays. In fact, given the emergence of the new energy resource, there could even be a brand new type of technology emerging from this collaborative partnership!

His hand suddenly shuddered slightly, and a splash of tea fell onto the back of his hand. He had suddenly realized that the combination of the new energy resource and Yin runes would give rise to the industry of fantasy machinery, something that had only ever been seen in the movies, games, and cartoons of the mortal realm!

Alternatively, it could be named something like Yin energy technology. In any case, this was going to be a complete fusion between two different branches of technology, and if it could succeed, the future potential would be limitless!

Furthermore, the Sacred Treasure Consortium would be able to claim dozens, perhaps even hundreds of new patents from this!

Even 10% of the resulting patents would be a sum that the other nine top consortiums would fight to the death over, and just as importantly, the Sacred Treasure Consortium would become one of the dictators of the rules in this new era!

"We'll do everything in our power to fulfill the Cathayan Underworld's requirements." There was no point in wasting time with words here. In the face of such a massive opportunity, the most important thing to do was to express his stance.

"Good." Qin Ye raised his teacup to offer a parting toast. "We'll discuss the specific details after the conference. You have no issues with that, right? I hope you really can put your reputation on the line, as you proclaimed."

"Of course! We'll do everything you say!"

Thus, Heihachiro Fujii left, and he did so in extremely high spirits.

After just a brief conversation, he had found out the answer that all of the other top consortiums were desperately trying to find.

Right after his departure, a figure emerged from behind a screen beside Qin Ye's throne.

It was Qin Changxin.

He was rather perplexed as he asked, "Your Excellency, why did you want me to be present during this meeting? And why are you only using the Sacred Treasure Consortium?"

If Qin Ye had chosen to inform all 10 of the top consortiums, they would definitely be willing to offer the Cathayan Underworld a tremendous amount of benefits. However, in doing what he had just done, he had minimized the benefits that the Cathayan Underworld would receive.

Qin Ye picked up his teacup before taking a sip, then called out, "Oda Nobunaga."

It had been far too long since someone had referred to him by this name, and Qin Changxin immediately fell to one knee upon hearing it.

"I never go back on my promises. You joined the new Hell during the most difficult period of its development, and I've seen all of the contributions that you and your son have made. At the same time, I never forgot my promise to the two of you."

He cast his gaze toward Qin Changxin, who suddenly began to tremble as he anticipated what Qin Ye was about to say next.

"I told you that I'll be deploying troops to Amano-Iwato within the next 20 years to fulfill my promise to you. It looks like it's going to take a little longer. At the very least, we'll have to wait until we've successfully developed second-generation forbidden arts, but I've just planted a wedge in the Nipponese Underworld."

Qin Changxin would be weeping if he had any tears to shed, and he didn't say anything as he kowtowed heavily to the ground.