Yama Rising

Right at this moment, all of the light instantly shone onto them, and Qin Ye abruptly discovered that they were the only two people on the ship.

What was even more of a surprise, was that the shadow cast by the second King Yanluo under the light had taken on a massive and terrifying form!

It was impossible to tell what the shape was supposed to be as it was very abstract and indistinct, but just the shadow alone was enough to strike him with a sense of immense pressure, as if looking at it for even a moment too long would result in catastrophic consequences.

Just how powerful is this man? He cast a meaningful glance toward the second King Yanluo in silence, and right at this moment, all of the Yin soldiers standing atop the city wall fell to one knee in unison as they greeted collectively, "We welcome the third King Yanluo and the Yellow Emperor!"

"They've seen me before?" Qin Ye asked.

"No," the second King Yanluo replied. "But they're aware of the existence of every single ruler death god in this world."

He paused momentarily before continuing, "Also, the current state of the Cathayan Underworld isn't a secret here, either, but rest assured, no one here knows anything. Only the handful of guardians here are aware of what things are currently like in Cathay, and they won't disclose this information to anyone. You must take note that this place doesn't intersect with the outside world. All of the beings you see here are Yin spirits, with some rare exceptions of top-tier cultivators from the mortal realm among them as well. However, they're not under the jurisdiction of any underworld, and they hold no jurisdictive power over you, either."

At the foot of the massive gate, a small entrance opened up. It was small only in relative terms, in reality, it was still around 10 meters tall and 20 meters wide. A group of ancient Europa cavalry was rapidly charging toward them, and their leader was riding an imposing skeletal warhorse, with a tricorne from Europa's middle ages sitting on his head and a rapier strapped to his side. The tricorne was embroidered with golden patterns, and it was matched by a blue surcoat with golden edges that was flapping behind the cavalryman as he rode along on his steed.

"You must be wondering why there are so few Yama-Kings in the mortal realm, right?" The second King Yanluo pointed at the gate up ahead with a smile and said, "That's because all of them are in here. The three saints of Hell, Lao Tzu, Guiguzi, and Mencius, are all on the brink of progressing beyond the Yama-King level, and they'll most likely be making their breakthroughs within the next 300 years. As for the other living Yama-Kings of the Cathayan Underworld, there are four of them here!"

A serious look appeared on his face as he continued, "If you don't come into contact with the black box, you'd never be aware of their existence, and no one in the mortal realm would ever imagine that there would be living people capable of progressing beyond the Yama-King level. If someone like Director Lei from the Special Investigations Department were here, he'd be in absolute awe. If you're lucky, this guardian could make an exception and let you inside, upon which you may be able to see the most powerful beings in this world."

Right at this moment, the group of cavalry arrived before them, and their leader was a mid Yama-King!

So this is Napoleon? Qin Ye inspected the figure before him with an intrigued expression.

The Argosian Underworld had conquered all of Europa aside from Northern Europa, so theoretically speaking, Napoleon should've been under the rule of the Argosian Underworld.

However, Qin Ye had seen the list of Yama-Kings and Abyssal Prefects in the Argosian Underworld, and Napoleon's name wasn't on that list. As it turned out, he was situated here.

"Oh my goodness, it's the third King Yanluo!" To Qin Ye's surprise, Napoleon was a portly, middle-aged man. Even though he was a Yin spirit, he looked no different from a normal person, and there was a cunning gleam in his eyes.

He rubbed his hands together, and the tips of his mustache perked up slightly in a rather comical manner as he smiled and extended a slight bow. "To what do I owe this great honor? Your arrival truly marks a spectacular occasion!"

Qin Ye was rather perplexed as Napoleon seemed to be looking behind him, rather than at him as he was talking.

"Save your energy," the second King Yanluo said in an indifferent voice. "There's no one else."

Silence.

The smile on Napoleon's face gradually stiffened, then disappeared altogether, and several seconds later, an extremely authoritative look appeared on his face as he asked in a cold voice, "Did the Cathayan Underworld not send its army here?"

"I'm just here to take a look," Qin Ye replied in a calm voice.

"I see," Napoleon said with a smile, then immediately turned away. "Farewell then."

The remaining cavalry then situated themselves directly in front of Qin Ye and the second King Yanluo, and Qin Ye was stunned to see this.

As the Cathayan Underworld's King Yanluo, he had never received such treatment before!

Even the ruler death gods of the other three pillars wouldn't dare to do this!

"Aren't you being a little too pragmatic?" The second King Yanluo didn't seem to be surprised at all to see this, and he asked, "Is this how you Franks treat your guests?"

Napoleon remained on his steed as he replied in a cold voice, "No one is allowed to enter this place until they've opened Pandora's Box, this is a rule that you personally set."

He pointed at the gate behind him as he continued, "This is the World's Gate, not the diplomacy hall for welcoming the leaders of the four pillars. If you insist on entering this place, I can immediately label you as an intruder. You know that I have this right."

"Can't you make an exception?" the second King Yanluo asked. "Do you not plan to count on the Cathayan Underworld's support in the future? Also, I've already given him the black box, and it's only a matter of time before he opens it. When has the Cathayan Underworld ever shirked its international responsibilities?"

As soon as his voice trailed off, Napoleon was already standing beside Qin Ye with a warm smile, gently dusting some non-existent lint away from Qin Ye's shoulders as he said in a voice as gentle as marshmallows and feathers, "You've already received the black box? Why didn't you tell me that earlier? We're constantly praying for the arrival of new reinforcements! Seeing as you've already received the black box…"

He cleared his throat before concluding, "Then you can take a tour to Puerto Santa Cruz."

I still can't go in?

Qin Ye cast a bewildered gaze toward Napoleon, then looked at the World's Gate again, and Napoleon suddenly put on a serious expression as he said, "Yanluo Qin, you may be a ruler of one of the four pillars and have obtained the black box, but you can't enter this place until you've opened the box!"

Your mood swings are more unpredictable than the weather!

Qin Ye's brows furrowed slightly as he asked, "Then what if I don't open the black box in the next 300 years?"

Napoleon withdrew his hand from Qin Ye's shoulder, then slowly made his way back to his steed. On this occasion, he couldn't even be bothered to say anything to Qin Ye anymore, and he merely waved a hand, upon which the cavalry converged once again.

Holy shit, does this man have no shame?!

Even as shameless as Qin Ye was, he couldn't help but be stunned, and only after a long while did he give a thumbs-up in awe and veneration. "What an inspiration to all of us…"

"Let's not waste any more time here," the second King Yanluo said as he swept a hand through the air, upon which all of the cavalry instantly vanished. "I never intended to break the rules, let's just go on a tour of Puerto Santa Cruz."

Napoleon didn't even bother to reply as he got onto his skeletal warhorse and vanished into the darkness as a plume of smoke.

"That was badass!" Qin Ye couldn't help but praise. "The degree of shamelessness he just displayed is reminiscent of my younger self…"

This was completely different from the Emperor Napoleon depicted in history books!

"Don't underestimate him," the second King Yanluo said in a casual voice. "None of the guardians here are slouches. Back when the planar scale triggered this barrier here, Napoleon and the other three emperors guarded the entrances with their lives, killing countless invaders until the three saints arrived to reinforce them. Let me tell you this: he's far more powerful than the average mid Yama-King. As an example, the likes of Brando and Arlot wouldn't even last half an hour in a battle against him."

Qin Ye cleared his throat quietly upon hearing this.

What about me? How would I fare? Please praise me! Please hug me! Please raise me up high!

The second King Yanluo cast a derisive glance toward him before giving a cold harrumph.

Qin Ye was rather displeased to see this, and he cleared his throat much louder this time.

The second King Yanluo rolled his eyes in response, and the message was very clear from his expression: "know your place, you idiot!"

An awkward silence ensued…

"Can't you flatter me just a little?" After a minute, Qin Ye finally gave up, and a resigned look appeared on his face as he said, "I'm the ruler of one of the four pillars! You're making me feel quite ashamed here…"

"I didn't know you were capable of feeling such an emotion," the second King Yanluo finally replied with a derisive expression. "Figure out what your strong points are and stick to them! Don't always compare the strong points of others to your own weak points!"

The second King Yanluo was just about to continue in his lecture, but a serious look had already appeared on Qin Ye's face as he cast his gaze toward the distance.

He then brushed the second King Yanluo aside before quickly rushing forward.

They had arrived at a port, so there were many ships here.

Directly ahead of him was a pure white eagle figurehead that was spreading its wings to encompass the entire ship, which was a giant ship over 500 meters in length!

It was still in the ancient Europa style and had a fantasy element to it. Qin Ye could tell that the figurehead of the ship was constructed from one of the hardest types of metal in the underworld, the Moonwheel Stone. This type of special ore was very easily identifiable by the gorgeous luster that it gave off, which strongly resembled moonlight.

However, there were four massive cracks running along the body of the ship.

They had pierced through the Moonwheel Stone and obliterated the structure of the ship. In all honesty, Qin Ye felt like it was a miracle that this ship was even floating at all.

"This is the Moonlit Crown," the second King Yanluo introduced with a forlorn sigh. "It was destroyed when the planar scale hit 72 degrees 100 years ago. All of the soldiers on the ship perished aside from the Abyssal Prefect level general, who managed to escape."

I see… Qin Ye made his way forward, inspecting the severely ravaged ship with an unblinking gaze under the dim moonlight. After a long while, he finally concluded, "These are claw marks."

The second King Yanluo didn't deny this.

Qin Ye didn't say anything further.

This discovery alone was already extremely shocking to him.

He had considered why the second King Yanluo had taken him here and why these people had been sent here to guard this place.

What the second King Yanluo had told him on the ship had been very ambiguous, and he was scrambling to make sense of what he had been told.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him like a bolt of lightning!

"There must be some type of fearsome being sealed in here, right?" He turned his gaze away from the Moonlit Crown before turning toward the World's Gate with a grim expression. "It must be either something extremely powerful, or extremely difficult to kill, or both, and that's why you have to guard this place, is that correct?"

The second King Yanluo's smile faded as he gave Qin Ye a nod of approval. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. Keep going, let me see what else you can figure out."