Yama Rising

The door was closed, and Zhao Yun, Qin Changxin, Jörmungandr, Hela, and the representative of the Coalition of Alkebulan Underworlds, Mythic Spirit Black Mamba, were all present in the room.

Qin Changxin's face was flushed with excitement, and as soon as Qin Ye entered the room, he said in a heartfelt manner, "Thank you for your hard work, Your Excellency."

This was only his debut on the international stage, yet even the three pillars combined hadn't been able to get the better of him. In fact, he had crushed them so comprehensively that even they didn't dare to vote against him. With him at the helm, the future of the Cathayan Underworld was looking absolutely splendid!

In the instant that he walked into the room, Hela, Jörmungandr, and Mythic Spirit Black Mamba immediately rose to their feet with irrepressible excitement on their faces. Mythic Spirit Black Mamba could barely keep his own voice from trembling as he said, "We meet again, Yanluo Qin."

He had so many things that he wanted to say, but common etiquette stated that one couldn't be too direct and forthright in the political sphere. Most politicians would usually begin with some small talk, both to establish a friendly atmosphere and to assess the attitude of the other party. It was often the case that the direction that a nation was going in could be determined through their answers to a series of seemingly unimportant questions. Furthermore, cutting straight to the chase made one seem too desperate and distant, and it could evoke thoughts within the other party along the lines of: "You came to me just to discuss official matters? Is there no personal friendship element to your visit?"

While it was true that there was no place for personal friendships on the international political stage, appearances still had to be kept up.

Thus, even though the three death gods felt as if they were constipated with all the things that they wanted to say, they still remained silent with refined and restrained smiles on their faces.

Qin Ye was rather amused to see this, but he didn't explicitly point this out. A servant immediately rushed over with some tea, and he sat down onto the main seat before accepting the teacup from the servant. "Thank you for your support, everyone."

"You're very much welcome, Yanluo Qin," Jörmungandr replied with a wide smile. "Our Northern Europa Alliance has always held a great deal of respect for the Cathayan Underworld. We can't allow there to be only one voice in this world, and we've submitted many reports denouncing the domineering fashion in which the three pillars did things. This is a mutually beneficial partnership for us all, and I can only foresee it becoming more and more prosperous in the future."

All types of flattery and congratulatory words were exchanged for close to 20 minutes before the elation of securing this victory finally died down a little.

However, Qin Ye still hadn't made any mention of the Zhu Rong plan.

Hurry up and talk about the Zhu Rong plan! You have to at least mention it so that we can discuss it with you! If I could sweat, I would already be sweating bullets here!

Hela and Jörmungandr exchanged a glance, and they decided that they couldn't wait any longer!

In the wake of such a monumental shift in the world's power balance, it was already a testament to their self-control that they were able to hold back for close to 20 minutes. The Alkebulan Underworlds had been ravaged by forbidden arts, while the five nations of Northern Europa were facing the threat of the Argosian Underworld's Hades Lighthouse plan, so they desperately needed the protection of the Zhu Rong plan!

Initially, they had thought that Qin Ye was only putting on a show, but much to their astonishment, everything that he had said was true!

This was like waking up from the most glorious dream, only to realize that it was real life!

"Yanluo Qin." Jörmungandr cleared his throat before asking, "May I ask when the inspection team for the Zhu Rong plan will be visiting our nation?"

The entire room immediately fell completely silent, and three sets of eyes were staring so intently at Qin Ye that it was as if they were trying to bore holes into his face.

"There's no hurry." Qin Ye gently set down his teacup and replied with a serious expression, "Truth be told, the Zhu Rong plan..."

Hela and Jörmungandr immediately tensed up upon hearing this.

Please, please, please don't tell me the Zhu Rong plan is actually all a ruse! My heart won't be able to take it!

After a sly pause from Qin Ye that felt like an eternity to the three death gods, Qin Ye finally concluded, "Is real. Our Cathayan Underworld really has already discovered a new energy resource."

Even though they had experienced so much during their lifetimes, the three death gods couldn't help but display visible relief in response to this announcement. Hela released the hem of her dress, Jörmungandr resumed breathing again, and Mythic Spirit Black Mamba was so relieved that he was feeling a little giddy.

"However, we still need at least 10 years before we can develop an energy resource that can see widespread usage, which means that only after 20 years will we begin construction on the new continent, and only 20 years from now, with the foundation established on the new continent, will we be able to fulfill our agreement."

Hela heaved a long sigh of relief as a smile appeared on her face. "It's alright, 20 years is certainly not too long to wait."

"We've already waited several thousand years, 20 more is nothing!" Jörmungandr was ecstatic as he said, "If the Cathayan Underworld needs anything from us, feel free to speak up! We'll provide you with everything in our power!"

Right at this moment, the door was opened, and a servant rushed into the room before handing Qin Ye a stack of visiting cards. "Your Excellency, I've turned down all of the visiting cards that I can, but these were ones that I couldn't turn away."

Qin Ye nodded in response and accepted the visiting cards. Only after a single glance, his expression changed ever so slightly, and he folded the visiting cards away before casting his gaze toward the three death gods.

The trio was naturally intelligent enough to read between the lines, and they quickly took their leave. In any case, they were going to meet with Qin Ye later that night anyway, and no one was closer with the Cathayan Underworld than them.

The door was closed again, and Qin Ye immediately pulled out the visiting cards again as he asked with an excited expression, "Where are they right now?"

"They'll arrive in Nara in two hours!" the servant replied in a respectful manner.

Qin Ye exhaled as he handed the visiting cards over to Zhao Yun. "Take a look at this, Brother Yun."

Zhao Yun did as he was told, and even he couldn't help but draw a sharp breath upon seeing the visiting cards, then immediately turned toward Qin Ye. "We can't afford to pass up this opportunity!"

This was a small collection of three visiting cards.

The first one was inscribed with the words, "Sirian International Underworlds Research Center", the second one read "Euler's Gem No. 1 Energy Resource Research and Development Station", and the third one bore the name of "Thaurissan Yin Rune Research Center".

"Those are the top research and development teams in the world," Zhao Yun said with a smile. "If you can recruit them to our Zhu Rong plan, you would have the undisputed best in the world. I heard that the representatives from the international Underworlds Energy Resource Association and the International Underworlds Trade Association have also arrived. The fact that they haven't visited us yet most likely indicates that they're still gathering information from Borfis. The consortiums are most sensitive to opportunities and have arrived before anyone else, but the most important people to us are actually the leading Yin rune researchers in the world!"

He licked his own lips in an excited manner before continuing, "These three research centers are the leading experts in the world, and they can even rank alongside the round table of the Argosian Underworld! The projects that they take on are all in the hundreds of billions of Yin jade, projects able to change an entire era! If our research and development team could be bolstered by them, then developing a new energy resource within the next decade would be far from a pipe dream! Each research center has at least 50 Yin rune researchers that are not inferior to the likes of Diophantus, and the best thing about them is that they don't belong to any nation, so no nation can force them to do anything! They are true ivory towers cut off from the rest of the world, and they only have headquarters where they accept funding, mostly from consortiums. It's clear that they've been tempted by our project."

Indeed, it would be an honor of an unimaginable magnitude to have one's name tied to the Zhu Rong plan.

They would be known throughout the rest of history as the Fathers of Energy, and no rune researcher and research center could resist this temptation.

If the Cathayan Underworld had already opened up communication with the rest of the world, messenger birds would be flocking to Everburn in the thousands!

Qin Ye contemplated this situation momentarily, and a sly smile appeared on his face as he said, "I understand. This is indeed a brilliant opportunity. They've delivered themselves straight to our door!"

Qin Changxin cupped his fist in a genuine salute. "All of these opportunities were created by you, Yanluo Qin. I am truly in awe."

This wasn't just flattery, it was authentic reverence.

He had witnessed how Qin Ye had started from nothing, then gone on to rapidly evolve into a leading figure on the international political stage.

He had only been King Yanluo for less than seven years!

Initially, he had held a very bad impression of Qin Ye, feeling as if he had been swindled. Never did he think that the Cathayan Underworld would be so pathetic and decrepit, yet step by step, Qin Ye had created an almighty empire, and he had nothing but reverence for the brilliant King Yanluo now.

He didn't even bother to mention attacking the Nipponese Underworld as there was simply no need to do so.

His own army could already contend with Izanami's regular army, and he was also an Abyssal Prefect! All that he was waiting for was an opportunity to strike.

He smiled as he said, "I think it was also a brilliant strategy to inform our three allies of the truth. During the next decade, the entire world is going to be paying close attention to the Zhu Rong plan, and we have to release some progress reports from time to time. The implementation of this agreement will inevitably be delayed, and there's no way to keep that a secret from our allies. Now that we've told them, they'll be able to offload some of the pressure on us as well. At the very least, in order for the Zhu Rong plan to truly be implemented in their nations, they'll vehemently oppose all of the underworlds who dare to raise doubts against this plan. Having said that, can we really accomplish this in 10 years?"

Qin Ye nodded in response. "The difficult thing isn't completing the project in 10 years, it's tracking down Xu Fu's notes. I've already spoken with Mictlantecutli and Mictetikasiwa, and once everything is taken care of here, I'll be making a trip to the new continent in person."

Zhao Yun's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but before he had a chance to say anything, Qin Ye shook his head and said, "There's no need to dwell on this matter, Brother Yun. Xu Fu's notes are the key to the next era, and I have to go in person to track them down."

Qin Changxin smiled and said, "If we can release our progress reports and tag the names of those research centers onto the end, I'm sure many underworlds will be completely shocked."

Qin Ye nodded with a smile and declared, "Notify all of the death gods! In order to facilitate a meeting with several important guests, the banquet tonight will be delayed by an hour."

The times had completely changed.

Just a few days ago, everyone had been avoiding the Cathayan Underworld like the plague, but now, everyone was desperate for an audience with the Cathayan Underworld.

If you want to attend the banquet, then you'll have to accept the delay. If you don't, then piss off! No one cares!

………………………………………………..

Shanhai Hall.

This was a hall with extravagant decor, and its doors were wide open. There was still an hour until the banquet was scheduled to begin, but all of the death gods were already here. Of course, that didn't include Izanami, the nameless god of death, and the three pillars.

The three pillars weren't in a position where they needed to suck up to the Cathayan Underworld, and it would be extremely awkward for them if they were to arrive too early.

Many of these death gods had been intent on impeaching the Cathayan Underworld just a day ago, yet at this moment, if one were to interview them about the utopia alliance, their response would most likely be something along the lines of: "Utopia alliance? What's that? Even if I die! Even if I have to hang myself right now, I would never even consider joining such an alliance for even a millisecond! What? We already signed the agreement? Nononono, you must be mistaken. We advocate for diversity in the world, not autocracy, there's no way we would stand with the utopia alliance! What do you take me for? An idiot?!"