Yama Rising

He had thought that this was going to be paradise for pretension.

He had thought that he was going to be able to maintain an image of being an approachable S-class member and make random posts whenever he was idle and free. Who would have expected such a tight slap to the face by the wolf clan chieftain almost as soon as he let loose?

Turning his grief into his strength, Qin Ye gritted his teeth and scrolled through the rest of the forums and finally found a post he was looking for.

“What’s with the special treatment? We need an outlet for communication as well! Community: 71273563, S-class members are welcome to join! Information is the source of your strength!” -- S4396.

This is it!

Qin Ye immediately clicked on it and was redirected to a download link. As soon as he clicked on the download link, he immediately closed it.

“What’s the matter?” Arthis was baffled.

“... I might have clicked on the wrong link…” Qin Ye hesitated, and clicked on the message again. He was redirected to download the same app.

“Would you like to download the app, Momo? You’re not connected to Wi-Fi at the moment. Please note that data charges may apply.”

God damn it, Momo!

Qin Ye couldn’t help but give the app developer a huge thumbs up - the cultivator who developed this app must be a genius!

“Is that not it?” The ancient old granny, Arthis, peeked over Qin Ye’s shoulder and attempted to probe further for his response.

Qin Ye gazed deeply into the distance - Do you really not know what exactly the Momo app is all about?

“It’s undoubtedly directing me to this link… But I get the strange feeling that I’ve downloaded the wrong app…” He clicked on the confirmation, and the download was promptly completed. As soon as he opened the app, the word “Momo” immediately appeared in the foreground with a striking pink colour, overlaid across a beautiful lady’s picture in the background. The logo was all too familiar to Qin Ye’s eyes.

Did I accidentally download a fake chatting app?

Incidentally, Wang Chenghao happened to glance curiously over at Qin Ye’s phone at exactly this moment, and he immediately gave Qin Ye a look of horror.

“No… Brother Qin, how thirsty must you be feeling right now?” Then, almost as though he were a dog that had just sensed meat on a bone, he mischievously minced his way towards Qin Ye’s side and added enthusiastically, “It’s great if you are! Brother Qin, let me explain to you how amazing Momo truly is… I’ll teach you how to geolocate, how to search. Most importantly… you’ll need a picture of my half-naked body! And a perfect profile message!”

Qin Ye silently sized up Wang Chenghao.

Come to think about it, Wang Chenghao is indeed good-looking, and well-built. Damn! He’s even got money!

He was suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to kill Wang Chenghao.

“You?” Qin Ye sneered.

“Brother Qin… I’ll admit you’re fairly good looking too. But what’s popular on Momo these days are muscular, pretty boys like me, and not innocent, effeminate men like you. Come on, come on… let me teach you. First, you’ll have to have some branded goods, understand? LV, Gucci and DG used to be alright, but you’ll be despised if you have them right now.”

“Oh? Must I?”

“Of course. These days, apart from your body and appearances, the next thing the ladies on Momo look at are whether your branded goods make the cut or not…”

Just then, Arthis’ chilling voice cut through the impassioned discussion of both men, “Shouldn’t you at least open the app?”

Instant silence.

Qin Ye coughed dryly and glanced at Wang Chenghao with a somber look on his face, “What’s in your mind? Do you think about these kinds of things all day long? Mr Sledgehammer, how many times must I repeat myself?! If you want to succeed in life, don’t be a coward and just go for it! As soon as the Academy of Cultivators is enrolling students, I’ll recommend you, and you can give it a shot.”

Wang Chenghao’s heart was flustered, confused and all over the place. It was almost as though the person who had been discussing the app with him with such immense passion and vigor were a completely different person.

Qin Ye picked up his phone and switched it back on. In an instant, rows of pictures that could easily be rated 9/10 showed up.

“Looking for a husband, lonely.” The picture was that of a pair of lovely, slender legs in black stockings. The message stated, “Don’t come looking for me if you’re not at least Operative-class. I won’t entertain you if you’re less than 18. I don’t want to have to look after you when we’re expunging ghosts together!”

Signed: S7483.

“Vulgar!” Arthis snorted, “Fortunately, there’s still some basic morality left in this world. At least she knows not to prey on minors.”

Qin Ye coughed dryly, “18… might refer to centimeters…”

Arthis was instantly silenced.

Qin Ye was somewhat speechless as well. Were all female cultivators so loose these days?

Each and every single picture was provocative in some way or another. As he scrolled through the profiles, he finally came to one that appeared somewhat normal. The picture was that of a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair, wearing a long white dress. Her legs dangled by the edge of the pool, gently splashing the surface of the water.

Not bad… Qin Ye’s eyes brightened. She suited his tastes perfectly. Yet, as soon as he clicked on her profile, his eyes almost fell out of its sockets.

“This is the villa that my ex-husband gave me.”

“But I’m still lacking a Maserati. Are you willing to give one to me?” -- S1102

“Rubbish!” Qin Ye closed her profile in a fit of rage, “How are all of the women on Momo so outrageous these days?! It’s already so hard to find someone who’s easy on the eyes, yet the first thing she talks about is money! Can a rich man have the qualities I have as well?!”

Wang Chenghao leaned over and took a look at the lady’s profile, “Dear, this profile uses a picture of Dilireba.[1]”

“......”

Endure.

Resist the urge, and endure.

No wonder the picture looked so familiar.

He keyed in the name of the community in the search bar and quickly joined its group. A voice prompt told him that the group had allowed members to join automatically as long as they met the necessary prerequisites. The verification was processed by Styx against its database, and its accuracy was undeniable. Qin Ye’s application was accepted almost immediately after making his request to join the group.

“Welcome to the group! *flower emoticon*x2” -- Roly-Poly.

“Eh? We’ve got a newcomer? Not bad! Welcome, welcome.” -- The Blade That Cuts the World.

“Newcomer, you’ve not changed your default username yet. Why don’t you change it, and then introduce yourself? *saliva emoticon*” -- Woman on a Swing.

I can finally change my damned username!

Qin Ye heaved a sigh of relief, and changed his username to “Muscular Pretty Boy”.

Then, he glanced at Wang Chenghao, “Send me a picture of your half-nudes.”

Wang Chenghao sent him a bunch.

“I only asked for your topless pictures!! What the hell did you send me!! Bloody hell… my eyes! My eyes!!”

“You didn’t specify… Brother Qin, you’re far too reserved…”

Everything was done within moments, and the entire group was silent as soon as the Muscular Pretty Boy took centerstage.

Seconds later, the Woman on a Swing laughed awkwardly, “Friend… do you really think that this app is one and the same as Momo…”

Qin Ye’s heart grew somewhat bitter. He did think of this place as Momo…

Whose fault is it for making it look so similar?!

“Forget it. The name doesn’t matter. It’s oddly catchy as well… Friend, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“Greetings. I’m 18, and I’ve just taken up office as a sentinel in the City of Salvation…” Qin Ye typed slowly as he responded.

“Hang on!” The Blade That Cuts the World interjected, “You’re only 18?!”

“That’s right.”

“Sentinel?” Another user named Berserk Old Dog responded with a series of shocked emoticons, “Are you messing with us?!”

A torrent of abuse immediately filled the page.

“If I recall correctly, the prerequisite for being a sentinel is that you must be at least of the Soul Hunter level.” “That’s right… Are you sure you were referring to your age? And not centimeters?” “An 18 years-old Soul Hunter? Bloody hell, have I been wasting my time cultivating?”

Eh?

Everything felt right with the world once again.

When god closes the door to paradise to you, he will surely open up the door to another heavenly kingdom.

Qin Ye couldn’t help but praise god.

He responded resolutely, “That’s right. I didn’t want to join before, but the supernatural outbreak last night has made me change my mind. You can verify my details with Styx.”

Everyone was immediately silenced.

After a long time, the Woman on a Swing finally responded, “Embittered. Signing off. Going to eat some desserts to pick myself up.”

“Ditto… This group is getting more and more evil… I don’t think I’ll be revisiting the community in a while…” “I’m filled with vexation. It suddenly feels as though there’s a hierarchy, even amongst us S-class members…” “I feel like I’m more suited to be labelled an M. This group is no longer suitable for me. This is farewell, world.”

Oops… Qin Ye’s heart felt awash with emotions…

Can you guys even breach nine hunting zones in one night like I did?!

Just then, Qin Ye suddenly received a call.

He picked up the call. The caller on the other end spoke with the voice of a young man, “Soul Hunter?”

“Yes. And you are?”

“I’m the deputy leader of the community. You can call me Cang Haixiao. I’m also a Soul Hunter.” Qin Ye discovered that he had just been promoted to a moderator of the group before the man had even finished speaking.

“All Soul Hunter experts are moderators. This is one of the rules of this community.” Cang Haixiao explained casually before asking, “Are you at the City of Salvation?”

“Yes.”

“You… did you experience anything out of the ordinary last night?”

Qin Ye furrowed his brows before responding in earnest, “No. In fact, there’s only one hunting zone left within the City of Salvation. It can be disposed of summarily at any time.”

Cang Haixiao didn’t respond.

Seconds later, the other person continued hoarsely, “My registration number is S2328, and I’m an officer of the Anomaly Investigations Center located at Yan Capital. Last night, we detected an immeasurably large reading of Yin energy emanating from the City of Salvation. I can confirm that Styx isn’t malfunctioning either.”

“That’s impossible!” Qin Ye rebuffed, “The head honcho in the City of Salvation is already dead. The appearance of an existence exceeding the Soul Hunter level is just impossible. Besides, the inspector, who’s also a Hellguard-class expert, is still at the City of Salvation.”

Cang Haixiao remained placid, “But Styx can’t be wrong either. That leaves us with one possible explanation…”

He continued gravely, “Would a person perceive anything anomalous from the sky?”

Qin Ye didn’t immediately understand what he was talking about.

Nevertheless, the man continued with his explanation, “In other words, that source of Yin energy might have been so great that it had completely surpassed the limits of your perception when it blanketed the entire city. This would explain why all of you weren’t able to perceive it. It’s because you’re right in the midst of it all.”

“Do you know what the Yin level is?”

Then, without waiting for Qin Ye’s response, he added, “Thirty million.”

“Do you know what the Yin energy reading was when the entire country was plagued by the great famine in the ‘60s?”

Qin Ye suddenly had a bad hunch about the situation, “How much?”

Cang Haixiao chuckled softly, “Six million.”

“And to put things into perspective, if we convert the amount of energy available at the disposal of Soul Hunters like us to Yin energy, our reading would range from five thousand to ten thousand.”

Qin Ye covered his speaker and turned to Arthis, “Did you feel anything amiss last night?”

“No.” Arthis had also heard the conversation, “I didn’t detect any anomalies. But that level of Yin energy is far greater than the level of Yin energy I possess… I can’t quite believe it.”

After all, wouldn’t believing in such an outrageous phenomenon be endorsing the idea that the City of Salvation hides an existence that was five times stronger than the drought demons that had ravaged Cathay back in the ‘60s?!

What kind of concept was that?

Even the term ‘millennial ghost’ couldn’t sufficiently describe how terrifying such an existence was!

“These news are privy to only the top brass within the City of Salvation. Friend, do be careful.” Cang Haixiao cautioned with a deep, profound voice, “As we speak, three teams from the National Institute of Anomalous Sciences are already rushing towards the City of Salvation. You must take care. S-class existences… are our final bastion of hope. Do take care at the public broadcast in three days’ time. I’m afraid… something anomalous might occur at that time.”

“Separately…” The man smiled, “You should’ve received your employment letter from the Academy of Cultivators, right?”

Qin Ye smiled, “That’s right. I’ve accepted it.”

“Then in that case… we’ll be seeing each other very soon.” The man’s voice grew somewhat distant and profound, “The Academy of Cultivators… It’s a good place. I’ve got some C-grade cases on hand right now, and I was just fretting over locating the right partner for the job.”

“Don’t die, and don’t tell anybody about our conversation. I’ll see you soon.”

1. A famous chinese actress.