Yama Rising

Izanami and the nameless god of death weren't present. They knew that if they were to try to suck up to the Cathayan Underworld now, they would be denounced by both sides. As the two underworlds that had stood the most decisively with the three pillars, they couldn't afford to incur the wrath of the three pillars. They still had to rely on the three pillars to protect them.

Even so, there were already dozens of death gods gathered here. They were conversing with one another, and occasionally, one of them would pick up a glass of champagne from one of the servers traversing between the tables, but for the most part, everyone had their eyes firmly trained on the entrance.

This type of setting was supposed to be the ideal place for death gods to exchange information and establish good relations with allies, especially for the smaller underworlds, but no one was in the mood to talk about any official matters. One side would raise some idle small talk, while the other party would give a halfhearted response, and everyone's hearts were pounding violently.

A new energy resource was right in front of their eyes! They could accept being called hyenas or vultures, but there was no way they would be willing to pass up this opportunity!

They hadn't accepted the olive branch extended by the Cathayan Underworld several days ago, so they had to take full advantage of this banquet to leave a good impression on the Cathayan Underworld! Even if they couldn't secure any benefits, they had to ensure that it wasn't entirely impossible for them to become allies of the Cathayan Underworld in the future!

Right at this moment, a server walked in before extending a graceful bow. "My apologies, everyone, but the Cathayan Underworld has just notified me that the banquet will be delayed by an hour as they have to attend to several important guests. Yanluo Qin would like me to apologize to everyone on his behalf, and if anyone has any urgent matters to attend to, you can feel free to leave."

Silence.

An elderly death god said with a smile, "That's quite understandable."

"It's alright, we don't have anything better to do anyway. All of us are here to see Yanluo Qin."

"Indeed, how could we not celebrate the return of the Cathayan Underworld after a century-long absence?"

"Rest assured, we'll be sure to wait."

"There was no need for Yanluo Qin to even notify us. After all, anyone would be willing to wait an hour for a good friend."

There were no objections to this announcement at all.

An hour was not a long time, and after about 45 minutes, all of the death gods were already beginning to take frequent glances at the clock hanging on the wall. Right at this moment, all of the servers at the entrance of the hall parted before extending respectful bows, and the death gods in the hall immediately rose to their feet.

At the entrance, Qin Ye was leading the way, and behind him were all of the death gods who had joined the Zhu Rong plan. They were walking with their heads held high and chests puffed out, looking as if they had the entire world on their side.

The death gods of the Star Cluster Federation were among them, and as they scanned their gaze across the faces of all of the death gods present, they were greeted by the sight of the fawning smiles of one death god after another from all of the third-rate and second-rate underworlds. All of them were smiling in such a benevolent and friendly manner that it was as if they were looking at their long-lost father.

Never had the death gods of the Star Cluster Federation felt international conferences to be so wonderful and hospitable.

The Star Cluster Federation was one of the handful of the weakest underworlds in the entire world. Even the Red Moon Federation looked down on them, yet right now, Kuwal, Antee, and all of the other death gods of the Red Moon Federation were looking at them with scorching envy in their eyes!

They weren't the only ones, all of the underworlds were staring at them with envy and indignation in their eyes, looking as if they wanted nothing more than to take their place.

A tiny underworld like yours has no right to stand there!

The death gods of the Star Cluster Federation puffed their chests out even further upon seeing this, and they felt as if they were on cloud nine!

That's right, envy us! We're going to stand here forever while all of you watch and despair! This is what you get from picking the wrong side! No matter how you try to bring us down, we'll cling tightly to the coattails of the Cathayan Underworld and ensure that we don't go anywhere!

Of course, the scrutiny directed at the Star Cluster Federation lasted for only an instant before everyone quickly focused their attention on Qin Ye, and soon, a burst of warm applause had rung out within the hall. The applause spread like wildfire, and every single death god began to clap with all their might, as if the ones who clapped the loudest would gain the favor of the Cathayan Underworld.

"Greetings, Yanluo Qin!"

"Congratulations to the Cathayan Underworld for returning to the top of the world!"

"Even after a century-long absence, the power of the Cathayan Underworld hasn't waned in the slightest!"

Qin Ye smiled and nodded at everyone in acknowledgment, and only when he and everyone in his entourage had sat down did the other death gods finally begin to return to their seats.

The table that Qin Ye was seated at was a massive round table to seat 40 people. There was no way that such a table would be present during an international conference in the mortal realm. After all, human voices weren't loud enough to be heard from the opposite side of a large table, so everyone would constantly be wondering if the other people seated at the table were secretly plotting against them.

However, this was the underworld, and most of the Yin spirits attending this banquet were Abyssal Prefects. If they wanted to, they could hear and see everything within an entire province, let alone across a table like this. Furthermore, every single death god had their ears peeled, and there was no way they would miss anything that Qin Ye said.

With a brisk clap of Qin Ye's hand, the banquet commenced. Qin Ye swept his gaze around the entire table, and he smiled as he said, "Thank goodness there's no ghost worship ceremony being held today. Otherwise, I still wouldn't be able to see all of you today."

A week ago, all of the underworlds' death gods had been absent from the Cathayan Underworld's welcoming banquet, citing the excuse that they were attending a ghost worship festival, and no one accepted his olive branch.

This was a thinly veiled insult, but no one dared to display any displeasure to this.

"Ghost worship festivals are splendid occasions, but they can't even begin to compare with the welcome banquet for the Cathayan Underworld," a death god said with a smile, seemingly completely oblivious to the barbs hidden in Qin Ye's words. "We returned immediately after receiving news of the Cathayan Underworld's arrival, but we still couldn't make it in time. I hope you won't hold that against us, Yanluo Qin."

"Indeed, I've already fired the underworld emissary responsible for reporting information of this nature to me. His failure to report the arrival of the Cathayan Underworld to me in a timely fashion was a grave error, and I hope you won't take offense to this, Yanluo Qin," another death god said with an apologetic expression.

He was immediately followed by another death god. "We will be sure to make up for our absence during the Cathayan Underworld's welcome banquet, please accept our sincerest apologies."

"Who would pass up an opportunity to meet the representative team of the Cathayan Underworld for a mere ghost worship ceremony?"

"Only an idiot would mix up their priorities so severely."

"A ghost worship ceremony is held once every 50 years, but the opportunity to meet with the Cathayan Underworld may not come even once in a century! We're all well aware of how precious this opportunity is. What happened last time really was a misunderstanding, please don't take it to heart, Yaluo Qin."

Many of these death gods were unable to reach the Yama-King level due to insufficient population and area of territory, but that didn't mean that they were any less experienced than the death gods of major underworlds.

Having no shame was a basic skill that they had honed over the past several thousand years.

Qin Ye merely gave a faint smile and an ambiguous nod, refusing to comment on this matter any further.

You think that's enough? Where were all of you when I was extending an olive branch during the welcome banquet? Where were all of you during the entire week prior to the conference? You were busy licking the three pillars' boots all this time, you think I'd let you off the hook so easily? What a joke!

He was a very petty man, and he certainly wasn't going to forgive and forget. They were all going to reap the fruit that they had sown, and in addition to that, he was going to show them what an underworld would get in return for following the Cathayan Underworld with absolute loyalty.

Are you envious? You should be! I love watching all of you squirm and seethe with envy, yet still have to put on respectful smiles and suck up to me!

However, there was no hurry.

He took a glance at the clock on the wall. The important actors of the show still hadn't turned up yet. In contrast with a bully like the second King Yanluo, who had to immediately exact revenge on anyone who had wronged him, Qin Ye was content to delay his vengeance, but when he did exact his revenge, he was going to make sure that the entire world remembered the occasion so vividly that they would think twice before they ever crossed the Cathayan Underworld again!

Right at this moment, the servers began to bring on the dishes.

It was still kaiseki-ryōri of the highest caliber. No matter how distraught Izanami was, she still had to keep up appearances in this regard. Each successive dish was more resplendent than the previous one, but no matter how delicious the dishes were, they still tasted like clay to all of the death gods in the presence of Qin Ye.

Qin Ye paid no heed to them, scooping up a spoonful of sea urchin before placing it into his own mouth. The rich sweetness of the sea urchin flesh intermingled with the joy of victory spread from the tip of his tongue all the way to the bottom of his heart, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled and said, "This is truly premium seafood. It's a pity that the Cathayan Underworld's coastline isn't very long. The sea produce of the southern regions of the sea just aren't as delicious as that of the northern regions."

Right as his voice trailed off, a female voice sounded. "If I may interject, Yanluo Qin."

It was Anko.

"The Celtic Underworld has always had an abundance of marine produce." Anko set down her cutlery with a smile as she said, "If you enjoy premium seafood, I can send a few boatloads of our top quality marine produce to the Cathayan Underworld right away. Under the low temperatures of the Arctic Ocean, the fish have firm and dense flesh, and they're even more delicious than the fish from Hokkaido of the Nipponese Underworld."

Qin Ye raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Has it already begun?

Back when he had asked about the Red Moon Federation's agriculture and stock farming industries, their representative had refused to go along with the topic of conversation, yet he was only making an offhand comment here, but Anko was immediately clambering to try and appease him.

As soon as Anko's voice trailed off, Death God Kuwal of the Red Moon Federation immediately countered, "Yanluo Qin, the Arctic Ocean may not be the best choice. The main fish farms for the best Atlantic bluefin tuna are located at the 35th parallel north of the equator in the center of the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The first fish farm of the Red Moon Federation is also located there."

He took a sip of champagne as he looked at Qin Ye with a smile and continued, "I recall that the Cathayan Underworld had always been communicating with our underworld 200 years ago to negotiate marine produce exports. However, not long thereafter, the Cathayan Underworld entered its period of seclusion, so the negotiations fell through. I hope we can have a chance to resume the negotiations today."

All of the death gods present turned to Kuwal with stunned expressions.

You can do that? There's no olive branch being extended, but you plucked one down yourself, then accepted it as well? That's... That's... That's brilliant! We have to keep up!

"There are more marine produce in the sea than just sea urchins, lobsters are royalty when it comes to seafood, and the red lobsters in our Gulf of Mexico are renowned all over the entire world!"

"The Australis Underworld has been refraining from participating in international conferences lately due to supernatural disasters, but the caviar of our Maluku Islands is not inferior to that of the Australis Underworld! How about we ship some over to the Cathayan Underworld for you to have a taste, Yanluo Qin?"

"When you're talking about the world's best seafood, you can't keep the Chinook salmon of our New Zealand Underworld out of the conversation. The salmon is bred in the natural fish farms of Stewart Island, and they are truly a delight! If the Cathayan Underworld is interested, we can sign a contract right away!"

A seafood storm had suddenly swept up over the table, all because of an errant comment from Qin Ye.