Yama Rising

Qin Ye didn’t respond. There were surveillance devices everywhere in this place, so it wouldn’t be prudent for him to speak too much. Qin Ye shut his eyes and hummed to himself.

The situation was incredibly peculiar right now.

The three remaining daolords of the six paths were still laying low and biding their time. They were probably afraid. After all, having been tormented by Hell for thousands of years, the shadows of Hell must have left an indelible mark that constantly struck fear in their hearts. That said, the longer they dragged things out, the more Yin spirits there would be at their disposal. They weren’t in any rush in any event.

Furthermore, Qin Ye was now more certain than ever of the need to reestablish Hell in order to suppress the three daolords. As soon as Hell was reestablished, the millions of Yin spirits would finally be able to enter the underworld, and this would be tantamount to snatching and depriving the three daolords of their resources in their fight against the mortal realm. As the number of Yin spirits pledging allegiance to the daolords dwindle, while the mortal realm’s understanding of Yin spirits increase, the ones prevailing at the end of the fight would most certainly be the mortal realm.

Thus, as soon as the daolords discover such developments that point to the reestablishment of Hell, they would most certainly do everything in their ability to weed out the problem before Hell establishes a foothold. The war with the mortal realm would even take a backseat in light of their hatred towards Hell’s existence.

Given the complexion of the circumstances, it was evident that the safest place to establish the new cornerstone of Hell would most certainly be in the heart of the City of Salvation.

He now had yet another pull factor.

At the very least… I’ll be able to use the Exalted Father’s Yin energy to set up the framework for Hell’s reestablishment first…

Swish… Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a second lieutenant walked in and saluted Qin Ye, “Mr Qin, please follow me.”

Qin Ye followed him to the main entrance of the SRC, where the other members were already waiting with an incredibly downcast expression. Zhou Xianlong stood in front of them all.

“Pretty capable, huh.” Zhou Xianlong sized up the agents standing in front of him with displeasure as he gnashed his teeth, “Can’t you guys have some measure of self-consciousness like other regular Hunter-class experts?! You’re part of the core forces, and yet you’re still sneaking around like Emissaries of Hell?”

Nobody dared to talk back when the boss was chiding them. All of them hung their heads lowly like obedient little quails.

“The SRC has already been established for decades, and not a single person has been able to pinpoint their location to date. But you fellas are truly capable… Your first instance of collaboration made all the wrong kinds of ripples… you’d be made a huge laughing stock if word gets out!”

“You’re all about to become teachers and professors of the Academy of Cultivators soon! The first batch of students would be arriving in just a few months’ time. Yet you can’t even follow simple instructions? You’d even trespassed restricted zones without proper authorization?! What? Are you feeling aggrieved now?”

“Chief… we didn’t know…” Lin Han coughed dryly as he feebly attempted to explain the situation, “They should’ve marked the area as well. That way, we would’ve known and refrained from entering in the first place…”

“Haha…” Zhou Xianlong fervently resisted the urge to slap him across the face as he sneered, “So I have to mark out top secret zones for your eyes now? Fine. Since you’ve been so naughty, I’ve already decided on the perfect punishment for you.”

Qin Ye suddenly had a bad premonition.

“The Blaze Squad and S9527 shall have one month’s worth of merit points deducted from their wages. Furthermore…” The corners of his lips curled up, “Those who can discover the existence of SRC are undoubtedly capable, even though they might be reckless and hotheaded. Therefore, you shall join the Faculty of Combat and temper your character through live experience.”

The Blaze Squad’s expressions immediately turned grave and somber, as though their parents had just passed on.

Zhou Xianlong couldn’t care less about their reactions at all. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around and left.

On the other hand, Qin Ye looked completely thunderstruck.

“The Academy of Cultivators… gives us wages?” He stared at the companions around with a look of sheer amazement.

This was the first time I’m hearing about it!

Why didn’t anyone say anything about such important news, especially at the public conference several days ago?!

“What’s going on with you guys?” Qin Ye nudged Lin Han with his elbows, “I’m only moderately shocked. So why do you guys look like you’re in the late stages of Parkinson’s?”

“We may as well be that.” Lin Han appeared almost suicidal, “Faculty of combat… Do you know who the head of the faculty of combat is?”

Qin Ye blinked his eyes and shook his head.

“It’s Zhou, the exploiter!!” Lin Han gnashed his teeth, “What’s a Deputy Chief Investigator of the Special Investigations Department doing holding a concurrent appointment as the head of the faculty of combat in his spare time? Let me tell you something, the faculty of combat is the most dangerous faculty in the entire academy! Have you seen the curriculum for trainee cultivators? A semester is five and a half months long, with two and a half months dedicated to theory, and the remaining three dedicated to combat experience!”

“And combat experience naturally refers to being sent to different provinces and cities across the country, only to be desecrated and toyed with by all types of different ghosts!”

Qin Ye felt somewhat baffled, “Shouldn’t we be the ones who are desecrating and toying with these ghosts instead? After all, there are generally only two Hunter-class hunting zones within each city. The City of Salvation is an exception to the norm. Shouldn’t you be more careful with the usage of the subject and the object in your statements?”

Lin Han sneered, “What if I add that you don’t get merit points for it? You only get course credits in the academy, dear! And even though we’re teachers and professors, it would be considered no more than our duty as a teacher, dear!”

Qin Ye was no longer smiling right now.

“And what if I tell you that the target of such desecration and toying was in fact your few unsuspecting rookie students who aren’t even Operative-class experts, and you’ll have to do your best to protect them along the way? And it’s three months’ of such escort work in that regard!”

Qin Ye’s expression similarly turned suicidal.

There’s nothing worse than this…

“In other words… the moment we joined the school was also the moment the merit points flew away from us?” Qin Ye fervently suppressed the pangs of immense pain in his heart as he asked.

The heart-rending pain that cut deep into his heart was incredibly real…

“There’s a silver lining. When you get promoted or conferred titles, the school would probably give you some. Otherwise, wouldn’t you find it strange that the government would provide you with such a relaxed environment and even shower you with resources for your cultivation? And then give you merit points on top of that?”

With these suicidal thoughts weighing heavily on their hearts, none of them said anything more as they slowly returned to their own homes and residences.

When Qin Ye returned to his hotel, Wang Chenghao was still in the midst of playing video games. Wang Chenghao was just about to say hello when he keenly noticed the forlorn expression on Qin Ye’s face.

“You… what happened?”

“Don’t… don’t talk to me. I want to be alone right now…” Qin Ye shooed Wang Chenghao back to his own room and hid himself under his blanket.

“Hey, I’ll say, aren’t you being a little bit too unconcerned about the Special Investigations Department and the Academy of Cultivators?” Arthis rolled out and remarked, “The instructors’ training is about to commence soon. Can’t you pull yourself together?”

“Mm.” Qin Ye took out his cell phone, and his fingers slipped past the “Slay” app, and tapped on “Momo”.

“... Can I assume that you’ve clicked on the wrong app?”

“... What do you know? I’m gathering intel from the exchange of information. Just look at the press releases from the government. How sincere do you think they are?” As soon as he tapped on Momo, Qin Ye began scrolling through the pictures of the various goddesses’ profiles. Suddenly, his eyes lit up - the picture of a long-haired girl with sharp features had appeared on one of the profiles.

His bad mood was instantly dispelled. Then, just as he was about to ‘wave’ to her, Arthis nodded in approval, “Not bad. The future King Yanluo does need a few harems. This woman is considerably outstanding.”

“Can you not sneak up on people and intrude on their privacy?! I’m a Leo, alright?!” Qin Ye tried to cast Arthis aside in a fit of anger, only to receive the most apposite response from her, “I think I’d just seen her TV series a few days ago. I think it was called… The Story of Yanxi Palace?”

I’ll be damned!

I knew you were trouble when I met you!

Arthis continued, plunging the theoretical blade deeper in Qin Ye’s side, “I think she was playing the queen in the story? Quite the tragic one at that.”

Qin Ye silently swiped away that lady’s profile. All copyright infringers must die!

“There’s really no reason for you to remain with these mortals. Think about it - as soon as you reestablish Hell, all of them would come here when they die. Can’t you take your pick then? I’ll let you in on a little secret. My previous boss had a rather… intimate relationship with Chen Yuanyuan.[1] What kind of expression is that? Do you think I’d lie to you about these things? It’s the very same Chen Yuanyuan that you’re thinking of.”

Qin Ye looked at Arthis as though he had seen a ghost - Bloody hell… the darkness in your heart is extraordinary…

Compared to you, the darkness in my heart can at best be described as ordinary. You, on the other hand, have a darkness in your heart that is glossed over with a shiny coat of paint… It’s so dark that it’s even gleaming like oil…

“No… there’s such a function as well?” He responded expectantly, “Then… whether domineering girls, intelligent girls, sweet girls, ice queens, or girls with a beautiful smile… are they… cough cough, I mean, are they really all part of the consideration?”

“While I don’t know exactly what you’re referring to, I can tell that that’s an expression of a toad lusting after a swan’s flesh… Alright, alright, you can ignore what I’ve just said… please put down your pillow. Cough cough, anyway, like I was saying earlier, as long as Hell has been reestablished, where else would they go after death but here?”

Qin Ye was instantly filled with motivation.

“This is why you should do your best to learn more about the Special Investigations Department and the Academy of Cultivators, and do your best to infiltrate the inner circles of the SRC, all so that you can finally regain access to the Exalted Father as quickly as possible…”

“I understand. I’ll work on understanding the respective organizations right away!” Qin Ye immediately tapped on the ‘Slay’ app and began to pore through it with great interest.

Who could’ve thought that the Cicerone of the Great Demons would have its day as well?!

Arthis watched silently as Qin Ye shut Momo obsequiously, and she couldn’t help but reveal a mysterious smile on her face.

Trying to laze around in front of me?

I’ve still got a thousand and one other ways to motivate you!

“That’s right… where else would they go after death? But, that said, this is only if they perish right now. If you wait for them to die of old age, the only thing that will be greeting you would be a whole bunch of wrinkled skin… hehehe… hahahaha!”

Unfortunately, Qin Ye was oblivious to the insidious qualifiers that Arthis had earlier intentionally left out. Instead, he had already immersed himself into the contents of the information section in the app.

His heart had already calmed down by now. He was aware just how little he knew about the Special Investigations Department as well as the Academy of Cultivators that was soon to be built. Now that he had finally learnt of the identities of the enemies that the mortal realm was faced with, it would be prudent to learn more about the Special Investigations Department as well. After all, if you know yourself and know your enemies, you would not be imperiled in a hundred battles.[2]

There were no meaningless and unimportant posts here. Anyone who put up unimportant posts on this forum would immediately have their accounts suspended. The only posts here were red-framed posts that contained information of vital importance.

The first post read - All incidents E-grade and above involving the death of more than 100 persons.

Qin Ye didn’t click on it. He knew the information within this post was useless to him. After all, there was a strict lockdown in effect within the City of Salvation. Even if there were rewards to be had, could he really just leave the City of Salvation like that?

What he tapped on was instead the second post in the forum.

Special Investigations Department Organizational Structure.

“The Special Investigations Department was established more than fifty years ago. The headquarters is located in Yan Capital, and there are a total of two Chief Investigators.”

“The Adjudicating Division - Responsible for investigating and auditing the actions of all investigators, and all of their members have been clothed with the power to make arrests as they deem fit. They liaise at arms’ length with officers of the Public Security Bureau at the rank of Deputy Superintendent and above. They also liaise with the military on a brigade-level, as well as the National Guard on a battalion level. Whenever a dispute occurs between parties, the Special Investigations Department always takes precedence.”

“The Finance Division - Responsible for liaising with major companies and interfacing with the central government.”

“The Political Affairs Division - Responsible for chartering the development of the Special Investigations Department, as well as reviewing the spiritual alert level in the various regions. They are also in charge of recruiting and enlisting the applicable clans and cultivators across the regions. They liaise directly with the governors of cities and other leaders of higher ranks. Whenever a dispute occurs, the Special Investigations Department always takes precedence.”

“The Operations Division - Responsible for the distribution of assignments and tasks, as well as the allocation of manpower. They also interface with the leaders of the city level and above. Whenever a dispute occurs, the Special Investigations Department always takes precedence.”

…

A total of six major divisions constituted the overall structure of the Special Investigations Department.

1. She was one of the eight famous courtesans in the Ming-Qing Dynasties.

2. This is one of the tenets from Sun Tzu’s Art of War.