Yama Rising

Soon, the tenshu pavilion was cleaned up and ready to act as a temporary meeting room. Qin Ye, Arakshasa, Qin Changxin, the Harken, Yue Fei, and Zhao Yun had all taken a seat.

This was a very spacious hall with a very pronounced Nipponese-style design, and Qin Ye turned to Qin Changxin with a smile as he said, "Heian King, the Nipponese Underworld may have been conquered, but there's still a lot of work left to be done, wouldn't you agree?"

The first thing to do was to quell all of the rebellions still taking place in the nation.

"Of course," Qin Changxin replied in a confident voice. "I've decided that as soon as the situation is stabilized, I'll send out all of the daimyos to quell the rebellions and unrest in the nation. Also, I have a few suggestions to make, and I'd like to humbly present them to you now."

Qin Changxin had been thinking for several decades about how to rule over the Nipponese Underworld, so he was extremely well prepared to discuss this topic. "The first suggestion relates to the topic of netherworldly citizens. In order to instill a sense of belonging into the netherworldly citizens as soon as possible, I've decided to scatter the distribution of netherworldly citizens."

Qin wasn't expecting Qin Changxin to be so advanced in his thinking, and he raised an eyebrow as he gestured for Qin Changxin to continue.

Qin Changxin explained, "From this day forth, the daimyos will be responsible for quelling the nation's rebellions, while I'll be overseeing the construction of super long distance teleportation arrays in the eight regions of the Nipponese Underworld. Those teleportation arrays will be connected to eight major metropolitan areas in the Cathayan Underworld. There will be underworld emissaries overseeing seamless soul capturing connections, and all captured souls will immediately be taken to the Cathayan Underworld, while the Nipponese Underworld will temporarily retain only 50 million netherworldly citizens."

He made a grabbing motion, and a document appeared out of thin air before falling in front of all of the Yama-Kings. "At the moment, there are 350 million netherworldly citizens in the Nipponese Underworld. Aside from the 50 million netherworldly citizens to remain in the Nipponese Underworld, the other 300 million will all be transferred to the major cities across the Cathayan Underworld. From then onward, the Nipponese Underworld will only retain 20% of the new netherworldly citizens that enter the underworld every year, and the rest will continue to be moved to the Cathayan Underworld. This arrangement will go on for 200 years."

This was quite a vicious decision to make, and all of the Yama-Kings silently exchanged a glance upon hearing this.

Essentially, he was undermining the nation and severing the heritage of the Shinto religion!

If this were in Usonia, there was no way that this proposal would be approved. Usonia was an immigration nation, so it didn't have the solidarity built up over the course of thousands of years. However, this was possible in the Cathayan Underworld!

If there were any nation in the world that would definitely be unified again after being completely fractured, then it could only be Cathay!

The concept of grand unification was one that was deeply ingrained in the hearts of all Cathayans. At the same time, the Cathayan Underworld was also the nation most adept at assimilating other cultures. Once the Nipponese Underworld's netherworldly citizens were sent to the Cathayan Underworld, it would only take three generations before the vast majority of them stopped abiding by Nipponese habits and traditions.

"That's a good idea," Zhao Yun replied with a nod. "Is there anything else?"

"Of course," Qin Changxin said. "In order to make them completely accept their identity as netherworldly citizens of the Cathayan Underworld, our Cathayan Underworld needs to be sufficiently powerful. At the moment, we just barely satisfy that prerequisite, but even more importantly, we have to focus on the education sector. I'll make sure all reaching materials are rewritten, and all laws, currency, clothing, and every other integral part of society is changed to match those of the Cathayan Underworld. There will be some resistance to these changes at first, but I'm determined to see them through."

All of the Yama-Kings nodded in response. These changes had to take place at the roots.

They had to erase the roots of the Nipponese Underworld step by step while simultaneously strengthening the influence of the Cathayan Underworld. After three generations, the name of the Nipponese Underworld was going to be erased from the minds of all netherworldly citizens!

"As for those who remain stubbornly devoted to the Nipponese Underworld, they'll be sent straight to the Cathayan Underworld to be reincarnated," Qin Changxin continued. "Finally, we must address the Shinto religion. So long as the heritage of the Shinto religion remains, the Nipponese Underworld's deities will not die. I'll negotiate with the mortal realm to stifle the Shinto religion while promoting Taoism. Once all of these measures are implemented, it'll only be a matter of time before the netherworldly citizens of the Nipponese Underworld are assimilated."

Qin Ye nodded in response.

"I'll leave everything to you. Aside from the governors and administrative commissioners, I give you the right to assign all other roles as you please," Qin Ye said. "Setting this subject aside for now, I have something else important that I would like to discuss with you all."

A serious look appeared on his face as he continued, "I plan to open up the Array of the Nine Gods within this year."

None of the Yama-Kings were surprised to hear this.

Qin Ye continued, "Firstly, our flying shuttles have already reached the planar walls of Limbo, so we should be able to achieve a decisive breakthrough within the next decade. In doing so, we will be taking a gigantic step, one that has never been taken in history. A new chapter in history will be ushered in where some small nations may experience unexpected success, while some of the four pillars may fall into decline. After we usher in the new era of space exploration, we can't control how the other underworlds choose to explore the universe. However, during the early phase of that new era, the four pillars will still be the four pillars. We need to establish a strong foundation now so that our economy can continue to be elevated during the space exploration era. Only then will we have the resources required to colonize other planes and develop other planets. The Array of the Nine Gods has protected us for over 100 years, and it has already fulfilled its duty perfectly. Going forward, it would be more detrimental than beneficial to continue to have it in place. All it'll do is obstruct our Cathayan Underworld from communicating with the rest of the world and reduce the influx of foreign funds. The island of Formosa alone isn't enough to satisfy the entire world's appetite. During the last meeting between world leaders, I've already revealed our Cathayan Underworld's past and current state, so everyone knows that this is a land of countless opportunities."

He rose to his feet, and his beaded bracelet fell into his grasp with a flick of his wrist. "I still haven't released the news that I plan to open up the Array of the Nine Gods. I'm sure that when I do announce it, all of the world's companies will go crazy! There's undoubtedly going to be a mad rush from international corporations to enter our nation's market, so we have to be well prepared for that."

A thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to Qin Changxin upon hearing this, and he suggested, "Yanluo Qin, perhaps we can direct this influx toward the province of Nippon first. That way, we'll be able to give the mainland more time to prepare and react."

Qin Ye nodded in response with a contemplative expression. "That's certainly a possibility. After all, if we want to fully connect our Cathayan Underworld with the rest of the world, we'll need several years to make adjustments and generate momentum. In contrast, everything in the Nipponese Underworld is already prepared, and the situation here is not much different from that in the mainland. It's also a brand new market, so foreign investors should be quite interested in it."

After discussing several important topics, Qin Ye returned to his own room. As soon as he entered the room, he caught sight of a familiar figure lounging on the sofa, drinking tea by himself.

"Unannounced entry is the same as trespassing! Do you not know that?" Qin Ye sat down across from him in a grumpy manner, then poured himself a cup of tea before taking a sip. "What do you want now? Why are you still here? Do you want to take over Hell again? I can hand the reins back over to you right now!"

The second King Yanluo rolled his eyes in response, clearly not interested in that offer at all.

In contrast with the first King Yanluo, his two successors were far lazier in completing their jobs. If anyone was willing to accept the role of King Yanluo from them, they would immediately dump the job onto them before going into happy early retirement.

"There's only around a century left before the planar scales will be opened," the second King Yanluo said, wasting no time with unnecessary words.

A grim look appeared on Qin Ye's face upon hearing this, and a slightly tense atmosphere descended upon the room as he set down his teacup. "Is the situation not looking good for us?"

"Not particularly, I'm afraid," the second King Yanluo replied as he looked up at the ceiling with an absentminded expression. "None of you have experienced interplanar wars, so you can't imagine just ruthless wars between races and civilizations can be. No side will rest until the other side is completely decimated."

Qin Ye leaned back against the sofa as he asked, "Are you sure you're not going to participate in this?"

The second King Yanluo shook his head in response. "Aside from the Heavenly Dao, no one in this plane is aware of my true power, and once the interplanar wars begin, the Heavenly Dao will most definitely be going into battle as well."

"Don't you think that's very boring?"

"No. Once the interplanar wars begin, you'll feel that those wars are very cruel. However, once you venture into the universe, you'll find that space is even crueler. Civilizations that aren't powerful enough should pray that they never step out of their planes. Once they do so, they'll leave behind traces of themselves in space, and that'll attract unimaginably powerful enemies to them."

"Can't we all always rely on you if all else fails?"

The second King Yanluo shook his head in response. "My divine nation isn't over here. My territory is already sufficiently large, and according to the rules enforced by the gods, it would be inappropriate for me to claim any more territory than I already have. All of the gods are aware that this is my home planet, so none of them would dare to attack it. However, only the truly powerful races in the universe are able to come into contact with high-end gods. The civilizations around Earth aren't even aware of the existence of high-end gods, so they naturally have no such qualms. For them, traveling through the universe is a journey of light years, whereas for us, it's nothing more than a stroll in the park that can be completed in a matter of days."

He turned to Qin Ye with a meaningful expression as he continued, "You think that high-end gods are very far away from you, but how do you know that there are no observers on this plane sent by high-end gods?"

For some reason, a chill ran down Qin Ye's spine upon hearing this, and he cleared his throat before asking in a low voice, "Are they really here?"

The second King Yanluo watched him with a half-smile and offered no response.

Several seconds later, he moved onto another topic. "Seeing as you have the ambition to expand this plane, you'll encounter these challenges sooner or later. In the grand scheme of things, the underworld plane is nothing more than a village. If you can't even make it out of the village, what right do you have to make it into the city? Why should I go out of my way to protect a bunch of weaklings? The fact that I'm willing to ensure the safety of my home planet is already the biggest cheat code that you have."

Qin Ye was developing a headache as he asked, "Then what if you have no choice but to get involved someday?!"

"I'm open to taking on one or two beings above the Yama-King level for the sake of the plane if required."

"Then what if they insist on forcing your hand?"

"I would just fake my own death, and things will be out of my hands," the second King Yanluo replied with a shrug. "Once the planar scale is completely opened, you'll encounter more and more extraterrestrial gods. This year alone, we've already warded off three probing attacks from extraterrestrial civilizations. You have to make haste in your development. Also, I approve of opening up the Array of the Nine Gods."

After that, he vanished into thin air, leaving only a parting message behind. "Make sure to prepare extensively. Once the plane is opened up, you'll face far steeper challenges than you can imagine, so you can never be over prepared."

With that, the second King Yanluo was gone.

Qin Ye stood on the spot with his hands clasped behind his back, and he was silent for a long while.

He didn't think that the second King Yanluo was joking.

Even though he hadn't interacted with the second King Yanluo much, he knew that the second King Yanluo was a very strong-minded person. He always seized the initiative and he possessed unfathomable power. If he said that he wouldn't get involved, then he would definitely follow through with that. Throughout the entire time that Qin Ye had known the second King Yanluo, he had never seen him swallow his words.

"So we only have 100 years left?" Qin Ye sighed to himself. "That's not much time at all."