Yama Rising

A speck of Yin energy gathered at Qin Ye's fingertip, and it quickly transformed into a burst of golden light. Qin Ye placed his finger onto the golden screen, but didn't immediately write his name down.

The names of all of the death gods in the world were inscribed onto the screen, including the ones that had already passed away.

However, only four Yama-Kings had successfully emerged from the trial of inner demons, namely Thanatos, Anubis, Yamaraja, and the first King Yanluo.

Now, a fifth name was going to be added to that exclusive list.

He took a deep breath, then wrote down his name in elegant and free-flowing text.

Dazzling light erupted from the screen as Qin Ye's name was cemented onto its surface, and the screen then began to slowly fade.

At the same time, Hell's Record, which had already lied dormant in Qin Ye's chest for a very long time, abruptly flew out amid a burst of dazzling golden light, then suddenly exploded.

The scraps of its countless pages transformed into specks of pure white light that revolved around him, and at the same time, a passage of golden text slowly appeared in the air.

Name: Qin Ye (Nickname - Dogballs)

Place of Origin: Liu Er Mound Village, Gazi Gully, Tang An County, Qingguang City

Family Members: Grandfather (deceased), Parents (deceased)

Date of Birth: 1 October 1938

Occupation: Ruler death god, ruler of the Cathayan Underworld.

Duration of term: 20 years, six months, and seven days.

Cultivation level: Advanced Yama-King!

I've finally done it…

A faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face, and words couldn't describe the overflowing satisfaction that he was feeling in this moment.

During the first three years of his reign, he had been going back and forth between the Cathayan Underworld and the Special Investigations Department. During that time, he had found the Book of Life and Death, Qin Changxin, and the Mirror of Eminence.

During the six years after that, he had united the nation, felling Dong Zhuo, taming Su Daji and Qin Hui, constructing the new six paths of reincarnation in Lotus City, recovering the Outer Mongolian Underworld, and expanding the Cathayan Underworld's territory to an unprecedented size in excess of eleven million square kilometers. These achievements were all sparkling entries on his resume as ruler of the Cathayan Underworld.

In the 10 years after that, he defeated Xu Fu and obtained Gui Xu, then developed the new energy resource to completely turn the tables on the rest of the world. The Cathayan Underworld's foundation was still quite shaky compared with that of the other three pillars, but at this point, it had already well and truly entered the fast lane in terms of development.

The largest port in the world was the Longmen Port of Formosa.

The largest energy resource exchange market in the world was the Cathayan Underworld Energy Resource Office on the island of Formosa.

The largest customs office in the world was the Longmen Sea Customs Office.

The most powerful currency in the world was the dragon jade, which was connected directly to the new energy resource.

It was used by 27 underworlds, including the three pillars and the Russian Underworld!

In the most recent five years of his reign, he had completed the trial that only four death gods in the world had previously completed.

A series of accolades appeared around him, revolving rapidly, but he no longer wanted to look at those familiar numbers. Instead, he closed his eyes with a satisfied expression, spreading his arms open as he sensed the Yin energy around him, which was growing more and more potent.

At this moment, he truly felt worthy to serve as the ruler of the Cathayan Underworld.

The Yin energy around him had become dense to the extreme, and there seemed to be no end to it in sight.

Around a minute later, all of the surrounding Yin energy gushed violently toward him, yet just as he was preparing to accept this hard-earned gift, he suddenly opened his eyes and cast a surprised gaze toward the Cathayan Underworld, following which a faint smile appeared on his face.

"So Arthis is also undergoing a breakthrough right now… Looks like good things really do come in pairs."

As soon as his voice trailed off, he abruptly shot upward like a speeding arrow, traveling directly toward Limbo right before the Yin energy reached him.

At the same time, the Yin energy that had already gathered around him followed him upward like a long, black dragon.

Nothingness's cloak flapped incessantly amid the vast Yin energy, and They looked up at the sky with a complex expression.

There seemed to be no end to the Yin energy that was following Qin Ye toward Limbo, and it had even created a Yin energy vortex in the sky that was ascending alongside Qin Ye.

"So you're planning to relinquish the Yin energy of the underworld, choosing to travel to the mortal realm instead. In order to fuel your breakthrough, you'll be devouring all of the wandering spirits in Cathay, and you'll even be drawing upon Yin energy from other nations… Looks like you've finally worked up the courage to declare yourself to the world. Congratulations, Yanluo Qin."

………………………………………

"Hurry! Don't let it get away!" On the outskirts of Yanjing, four investigators from the Special Investigations Department had surrounded a headless evil ghost.

It had already been many years since the conclusion of the supernatural disasters, and many people from the new generation didn't even know about the supernatural disasters at all. All records of that horrific period had already been filed away, and since then, the Special Investigations Department had also been laying off more and more staff. However, those who remained were all the cream of the crop.

The group wasn't very large, only consisting of four people, and it was a standard battle team in the current Special Investigations Department, with two main attackers, a protector, and an auxiliary unit. The special thing about this team was that the auxiliary unit was the captain.

This was a young man with snowy white hair and extremely pale skin, and it was clear that he was suffering from albinism. At the same time, his eyes were devoid of pupils, yet he was able to accurately track the evil ghost with his eyes without the need for any equipment to assist him.

"A17, approach from the left! A18, prepare to assist!"

As he issued the orders, a series of silver threads emerged from his sleeve before falling silently onto the ground. However, with just a gentle tug, the threads became even sharper than steel wire. At the same time, two tall and imposing young men had already surrounded the evil ghost.

"3, 2,… Hold on!" Before he had a chance to finish his countdown, the white-haired young man abruptly shuddered as he stopped counting.

"What's wrong?" a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his early thirties standing behind him asked.

The white-haired young man shook his head in response. Just now, he had been struck by an extremely terrifying premonition, but it had passed just as quickly as it had struck him, leading him to believe that it was just a figment of his imagination.

Just as he was shaking his head to shake off that lingering sense of discomfort, he faltered once again as a stunned look appeared on his face.

The evil ghost that they had surrounded, which only possessed Soul Hunter level power, had collapsed to its knees, and its entire body was trembling uncontrollably. Even though it had no head, its upper body was swinging up and down like a seesaw, as if it were kowtowing incessantly, and for the first time, it spoke.

However, its voice was trembling with horror.

"Pl… Please spare me!!"

All of the investigators were rather taken aback by this.

They were also Soul Hunters, and they had only reached this level not long ago. In contrast, this evil ghost was a seasoned Yin spirit that had been prowling the outskirts of Yanjing for many years, yet it was begging them to spare it?

All of a sudden, the white-haired young man's teeth began to chatter uncontrollably, and he was struck by that same terrifying premonition again. It was screaming at him frantically, telling him to leave this place right away.

Gusts of Yin wind swept up around them out of nowhere, and he drew a sharp breath as the unease in his heart climbed to a peak. He immediately ordered without any hesitation, "Retreat!"

However, it was already too late.

Right as the order was issued, a massive eruption of Yin energy appeared 30 meters in front of them, resembling a volcanic eruption of darkness!

There was more Yin energy than they could even fathom, and even in the internal records of the Special Investigations Department, there were no accounts of such terrifying eruptions of Yin energy. As soon as the Yin energy appeared, it quickly encompassed the entire sky.

However, that wasn't what the investigators were looking at. Instead, they were staring at the figure rising up into the sky, standing right at the peak of the eruption of Yin energy.

It was a skeleton, yet it had a head of long, black hair, and it was wearing a golden crown, as well as a dragon robe, and a white jade belt around its waist. It was holding a silver pen, and it was giving off an indescribably formidable yet regal aura.

At the same time, a burst of frantic beeping rang out from the investigators' bodies in unison, but the beeping only lasted less than a second before it was silenced by a dull thump.

The white-haired young man was jerked back to reality by the sound, and his hands were trembling so violently that it looked as if he were racked by spasms. He pulled out his Yin energy meter before taking a look, then closed his eyes in despair.

The Yin energy meter had been blown out… These were Yin energy meters capable of containing the Yin energy of Prefect-level ghostly beings!

Are we going to die here?

Before he had a chance to think about anything else, the evil ghost before them let loose a horrified screech, then rapidly flew up into the sky as if it were being dragged away by a giant, invisible hand.

Furthermore, it wasn't the only one.

All of the evil ghosts in the entire city of Yanjing were converging toward this place, before involuntarily revolving around that regal figure.

"Is it… Is it devouring those evil ghosts?!"

"What kind of monster is this?! Is it an underworld emissary or another evil ghost?!"

The astonished cries of his teammates snapped the white-haired young man out of his reverie, and he immediately pulled out his phone before speaking into it in a trembling voice. "A15, we are experiencing an emergency and request communication with our higher-ups!"

However, his report was completely superfluous.

In this instant, the sound of Yin energy alarms rang out across the entire nation of Cathay once again, after they had been lying dormant for the past decade.

"My god… It's already over five billion!"

"Have we received any notification from Hell?! Contact the city gods right away! Have they been notified?!"

"Report! The city gods have not received any recent notice from Hell, and they're just as unprepared as we are!"

"What about the lords of the land? Have you visited their temples?"

"I did, and they also have no idea what's going on!"

"Damn it… Inform the central government right away! We have encountered a special emergency!"

"There's no need for that, Old Man Li… Take a look."

At this moment, all of the Special Investigation Department branches across the nation that hadn't yet been closed down were all witnessing the same bizarre scene.

The map of the Cathay had been green for 10 years, yet it had turned bright red in the span of just a few seconds!

Was the ruler of all ghosts emerging in the nation?!

……………………………………………………

Inside a large conference hall, the prime minister of Cathaya was holding a national conference, and right at this moment, the general secretary hurriedly made his way into the room with an urgent expression, then whispered something into the prime minister's ear, upon which his expression changed ever so slightly.

"Don't panic, keep calm," he urged in a low voice. "Have you contacted Hell? Also, gather all investigators at the Anitya Hellguard level and above…"

Before he had a chance to finish, the door was opened again, and another secretary rushed into the room before reporting in a hushed voice, "Prime Minister, we've received news from the city god's temple of Baoan. An Abyssal Prefect of Hell is making a breakthrough to become a Yama-King, while a mid Yama-King is making a breakthrough to become an advanced Yama-King. Due to insufficient Yin energy in the Cathayan Underworld to facilitate both breakthroughs, one of them will be using the evil ghosts of the mortal realm as an energy source instead, so there's no need to be concerned. Hell also informed us that after this, there will no longer be any Yin spirits in Cathay."

The prime minister was very relieved to hear this, and at the same time, he cast a complex gaze toward Zhou Xianlong and Lei Jun, who were also in attendance.

The Special Investigations Department had once been an extremely powerful department, being the only government unit in history that possessed both political and military power. Was it finally time for this glorious department to be disbanded?

It was a sad thought, but this was a good thing.

No one wanted to live in constant fear.

The supernatural disasters that had lasted 10 years had been an extremely horrific passage in Cathay's history. Many cultivators and soldiers had courageously sacrificed themselves for the good of the nation, but their sacrifices were finally no longer going to be needed.

"Pass on my congratulations to Hell," he instructed. "Also, make sure to take care of all of the cleanup work as well. Completely seal off the area where the mid Yama-King is making their breakthrough. According to past convention, the higher-ups of Hell must engage in correspondence with us after this event."

"Yes!"