Yama Rising

“Qin Ye!” Arthis cried out, “Don’t…”

“Shut your damn mouth.” Qin Ye interjected again with much impatience. Arthis’ lips twitched slightly, and then finally shut her mouth with some measure of resignation.

For some strange reason, there was an instant there when she sensed… a sense of overwhelming authority from Qin Ye.

His cultivation isn’t even above mine, so why do I sense such a presence of authority from him?

Qin Ye turned back and stared at the Harken. Everything he had done since the establishment of the new Hell flashed across his mind in an instant, and he spoke with a deep, authoritative voice, “I was living just fine back in the mortal realm. Why should the friction between the mortal realm and the netherworld bother me in the first place? Having consumed the taisui fungus, I can live for all eternity, until earth itself is destroyed, and then some. So, have you ever considered why I had to take up this office in the first place?”

He had initially thought that he would be able to take everything lying down.

After all, his experiences in the mortal realm had trained his patience, endurance and forbearance to inhuman levels.

But it was only when the Harken started undermining his efforts that he soon realized he couldn’t take it lying down anymore!

“And do you think everything was a walk in the park? When I first took office, do you know how much I had to patiently endure the Yin spirits’ displeasure and resentment against me? But I did it. And when I finally got over those humps, and Hell finally started to take shape, the satisfied smiles on the faces of these citizens of mine filled me with great joy. Do you think I’m trying to take advantage of this office?! Do you think I’ve got nothing better to do with my life?!” Qin Ye’s voice slowly got louder and louder, “Do you know what made me finally accept and embrace the office of King Yanluo? It’s all because of YOU!!”

He raised his finger and pointed at the Harken. Seething with fury, he failed to notice that his voice had begun to reverberate endlessly throughout the entire realm they were in.

It was almost as though… countless people were echoing his words.

“This is…” Arthis was completely taken aback by the strange phenomenon. But a split second later, a trace of ecstasy filled her eyes as she glanced at Qin Ye with incredulity.

The Harken was also startled, and its pupils narrowed as it glanced around at its surroundings with disbelief.

As a result of his boiling fury, Qin Ye failed to realize that the inverse scales on the Harken’s back were no longer standing and primed to fire. Instead… they laid flat on its back and swiftly smoothened themselves out.

There was a dead silence.

The only thing that could be heard in the entire world right now was the manifestation and ventilation of Qin Ye’s fury, “If it wasn’t for you… it wouldn’t have mattered what Granny Meng entrusted to me at all - I could have simply absconded with the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal and lived freely for the rest of my life! The only reason why I had reluctantly accepted the office of King Yanluo was because I was afraid that you would arise from your slumber and kill us in cold blood! Do you think I was a willing party?! Do you really think I’d rather not play with my phone and surf the internet all day long?! Why should I undertake all of this thankless work?! Who the hell cares about being King Yanluo in the first place?!”

Boom!!!

Arthis glanced at the vault of the heavens in shock. As Qin Ye’s voice grew louder and louder, so did the new Hell begin to emit a soft humming sound.

This was by no means a feat that a mere Hellguard could achieve.

After all, no matter how small it was, the new Hell was still a realm of its own, one that was governed by its own set of rules! In fact, not even the Harken could make a realm tremble like that!

But as it turns out, Qin Ye could.

“Unbelievable…” Arthis closed her mouth and watched the incredible sight in amazement.

The preceding events began to replay themselves in Qin Ye’s mind - from their humble beginnings back in Clear Creek County, all the way through to their journey to and through the City of Salvation. The last year had been incredibly eventful. He wasn’t pleased, nor was he happy. In fact, no matter how hard he thought about it, he simply couldn’t wrap his mind around why he had accepted the damned office of King Yanluo in the first place, together with all of the trials and tribulations that had come along with it.

You want to make a scene? Let me make this clear - I’m not messing around anymore!

“Do you know how much it took before I finally managed to come to terms with the heavy responsibility that has been set on my back? And yet you deign to flaunt your arrogant attitude in front of my face?” Qin Ye opened his eyes and stared at the Harken without concealing a trace of his fury, “Does it even occur to you what exactly you are?! You’re a divine beast of Hell! Where were you when we placed our lives on the line for Hell’s survival?”

“Sure, I may be a measly Hellguard in your eyes, but where were you when we were out there on the Strait of Tsushima, fighting to the death just to reclaim the Book of Life and Death?!”

“You’ve enjoyed the glories of Hell for such a long time, so it’s only natural that you have your own set of duties and obligations to uphold! What’s wrong with the third King Yanluo of Hell taking a little bit of your Yin energy?! Hell has collapsed, and the mortal realm is in chaos. Are you happy about that?! We’re slogging it out and working our asses off back in the new Hell, and where have you been this whole time?!!”

Qin Ye’s voice reverberated throughout the corners of Limbo, as though hundreds of thousands of people were clamoring behind him. He straightened his collar in exasperation as he continued, “If you’re as good as you say, then walk the talk! Don’t just lie there and flap your lips! If you still identify yourself as a divine beast of Hell in any measure, then stop being a deadweight and holding us back!”

Arthis’ jaws dropped in horror. She knew that Qin Ye was sore and displeased about having assumed responsibility as the next King Yanluo of Hell, but she had never expected him to… ventilate it all against the Harken with such sharp, incisive words.

The human heart was a rather strange thing.

Any person forced to change against his own will would invariably develop complaints and grievances in his heart. Nobody could embrace change without the slightest measure of dissatisfaction in their hearts.

Besides, humans aren’t saints. Even Confucius had his moments of weakness.

Arthis knew full well that no matter how satisfied and fulfilled Qin Ye felt with the works of his own hands, there would still be some trace amounts of resentment in his heart. It was inevitable - he wasn’t pleased.

After all, it was entirely a matter of fate that he had ended up where he was right now.

Arthis had initially thought that if she forced Qin Ye to focus on the tasks at hand and the multitude of work to be completed, the resentment in his heart would eventually diminish and vanish altogether. After all, the power of habit was undeniable. Besides, she could tell that Qin Ye thoroughly enjoyed matters pertaining to governance.

Unfortunately, not even Arthis would have expected Qin Ye to have an outburst like that.

And to think that the object of his outburst was even the Harken - one of the most powerful existences in the entire world at this very moment.

Most of all, she would never have expected the Harken to stand down in the face of such a massive outburst. The Harken had even disarmed his reverse scales of its own volition.

“Arthis, let’s go.” Qin Ye ignored the Harken, and turned to leave. Just then, the Harken called out with a somewhat muffled voice, “Kid… aren’t you afraid that I’ll wake up in just a few centuries, raze that sandbox Hell of yours to the ground, and then appoint whoever I wish to be the new lord and master over Hell?”

“Like I said, if you still consider yourself to be the divine beast of Hell by any measure, you wouldn’t do it, nor would you dare to do it!” Qin Ye snorted coldly, and both he and Arthis promptly departed for Hell.

Everything was serene once again.

It wasn’t until their silhouettes vanished into the new Hell that the Harken looked around warily, “Admonition of the Heavenly Dao?”

“My murderous intent earlier… had actually triggered a reaction from the Heavenly Dao?”

“That’s impossible… Doesn’t this mean that… the heavens approve of him?”

The heavens would naturally be watching someone in Qin Ye’s shoes. There wouldn’t be a mistake about this.

He’s taking the office of the future King Yanluo, and the heavens must have been watching his every move for some time now. And yet… they’ve actually… approved of him?

“How is it possible…” The billowing Yin energy below began thickening once more, transforming into dense, roiling clouds that engulfed the Harken altogether, “In other words, even the heavens believe that he will be able to restore Hell to its former glory? But does he have the guts to do so? Does he possess the requisite wisdom to do so? This puny human being, whose legs tremble at the earliest sign of trouble?!”

“I don’t believe it… I refuse to believe it!!!”

…………………………………………….

Whoosh… The clouds of Yin energy trembled. When Qin Ye opened his eyes again, he discovered he was already back in the new Hell once more.

It was only then that he felt a chill run down his spine. He took several deep breaths, and then began to slap himself gently across the lips, “Damn you and your big mouth! Who told you to run off your mouth like that! It might have felt good for a moment, but you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life! Where am I going to flee to once the Harken makes its way out of Limbo? Arrrrghhh it feels like the clock of death is now starting to tick down for me!”

“Do you finally realize what you’ve done?” Arthis teased him from the dark clouds above, “What gall… Over all these years that I’ve been with the old Hell, this is still the first time I’ve seen someone speak to Lord Harken like that - and then live to tell the tale.”

Qin Ye’s hands paused for a moment, and then he asked with some measure of apprehension, “Say… If I present a hundred pound blood offering to Lord Harken and plead for forgiveness right now, do you think it’ll accept it?”

“Bloody hell…” The clouds of Yin energy were so dense that it obscured Arthis’ expressions altogether. Nevertheless, Qin Ye knew exactly how her expressions looked from the tone of her voice. She drew several deep breaths and suppressed the great vexation in her heart, “Be at ease, and just fix your mind on your responsibilities as a King Yanluo. It… wouldn’t dare to do anything to the new Hell right now.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Are you absolutely certain?”

“... I’m absolutely certain!!” Arthis gnashed her teeth. Damn it… To think that you’d only be able to maintain that magnificent display of yours for three seconds…. And to think that my heart had even begun to race for a moment there. I must’ve made a fool of myself.

Qin Ye patted his chest and heaved a sigh of relief. Just then, a ray of light peeked through the dense clouds.

“Prepare yourself.” Arthis’ voice grew austere, “Hell’s first expansion is complete. Take a good look for yourself at the brand new place to call home…”

The ray of light promptly expanded before Arthis could even finish speaking. Then, just like that moment of brilliance when a glorious sun peeked out from behind the cloud cover, Qin Ye covered his eyes for a moment. Whoosh. When he opened his eyes once more, the dense clouds had already receded.

Hell’s Gate was still standing right where it was.

And so was the gathering of a hundred thousand Yin spirits.

However… everything else had changed!

“This is…” Qin Ye glanced at the sky with great delight, because he could see that there was now… a glorious sun suspended in the skies!

No… It wasn’t the sun. Rather, it was a fireball. Furthermore, there was even a small moon that was drifting silently in the background, some distance behind the sun.

There was now day and night!

“That’s incredible…” He smiled as he eagerly turned his gaze to the distance.

It’s changed… Everything has changed!

The area in the distance that used to be covered by a dense fog of Yin energy had now been completely uncovered! The endless fog of Yin energy had receded like the tide, revealing the vast world hidden within.

There still wasn’t any water in sight, nor animals for that matter. That said, he could see a vast region of silvery white below!

They were trees.

However, they were a species of trees that were completely different from the Southsea Huanghuali!

There was still a region of Southsea Huanghuali growing close to them. However, as the forest extended out into the distance, the leaves of the trees slowly turned into a mix of both red and white. And then, in the far distance, the canopy of the trees turned completely silvery white, almost as though they were covered in snow.

“That’s beautiful…” Qin Ye lamented. 

Yet, perhaps the beauty that Qin Ye was referring to wasn’t the scenery in Hell; perhaps he was simply referring to his bittersweet persistence.

“Oh dear heavens… What are those silver things?” “Snow? Is it snow?” “That can’t be… They look like trees…” “White trees? Are there even such things?” “Everyone, look! Look over there! There! Right there!!” “That’s… a mountain? A mountain!! It’s really a mountain!!”

The cheers of a hundred thousand Yin spirits below immediately shook the skies.

The monotonous world of black and red had finally welcomed a new colour to its palette, and everyone felt as though they were looking at a whole new world! It was the exhilaration that accompanied the discovery of a new continent! Every single citizen of Hell couldn’t help but cry out with astonishment at this moment!

In fact, they’ve already been screaming at the top of their voices for some time.

Mountain? Qin Ye’s heart thumped wildly as he glanced over. The smile on his face grew wider and wider, until he confirmed it with his own two eyes.

It’s a mountain. It really is a mountain!!

Even though the edge of Hell was still sequestered by walls of Yin energy, he could tell that the foot of a mountain had emerged from it and extended straight into the current Hell as it stood!

The foot of the mountain was short - a hundred meters tall at best - and yet… its existence was still sufficient to get everyone pumped up!

“Where’s Yin Construction?!” Qin Ye clapped his hands excitedly, and the seven division heads immediately stepped forward and responded, “Your humble servants are here!!”

“Send out a team of surveyors right away and find out what that is! Actually, on second thought, I’ll head over first. You guys catch up as soon as you can! Su Dongxue, preside over the rest of the ceremony and wrap up the proceedings here. As for everyone else here, wait for our confirmation that there’s nothing dangerous in the new frontiers. We’ll make an announcement in three days’ time!”

With that, he transformed into a nethergale and sped into the distance.

“There aren’t any Yin beasts.” Arthis flew right beside Qin Ye, “Hell’s still somewhat lacking right now. There aren’t many types of vegetation, and we don’t have flowing waters either. But, even though there shouldn’t be anything that can endanger our lives, it would be wise to keep our vigilance about us as well. After all, the vegetation of Hell aren’t always benign entities… Hey, there’s no need to rush that much.”

Despite Arthis’ warnings, Qin Ye’s eyes simply gleamed brightly as he casually changed the topic, “Arti, let me ask you something - have you ever seen a white tree before?”

“No.” Arthis responded without hesitation, “Like I said before, there are endless possibilities with each great expansion of Hell. The exact things that appear depend on a multitude of factors, such as the density of population and the aggregate Yin energy of Hell, the influence of the reigning King Yanluo, as well as the local conditions of Hell.”

Qin Ye continued to stare intently at the white canopy of the trees as he licked his lips greedily, “Then… if these white trees are things even you haven’t seen before, wouldn’t it be safe to say that… these things are now the first special produce of Hell?”

Arthis blinked vacantly, and then gasped with great realization. A split second later, Qin Ye felt himself being grabbed by something, and he shot straight into the distance, towards where the canopy of white trees lay.