Yama Rising

Local Bully was displeased.

“Social! Social!!” He rolled around in his own room while Qin Ye and Su Feng sat at the side, completely expressionless. After rolling about for five minutes or so, Lin Han finally got up from the ground with a flop and stared at the others, “Have you guys completed your lesson plans for the next semester?”

“Yup.” Su Feng responded indifferently, “The next semester is also the final academic semester before we delve into actual combat training. There’s still quite a fair bit to cover. So, even if I’ve finished preparing the lesson plans, I’ll still need to spend the next several days reviewing it… Speaking of which, can you please make sure you’re not dragging the name of the Blaze Squad through the dirt? What else do you have to show for it apart from your appearances? Qin Ye here has already maintained his top spot in the rankings for an entire semester. Haven’t you ever thought about playing catch up for once?”

Lin Han touched his remarkably handsome face and asked with great bewilderment, “... Isn’t it enough with a face like this?”

The other two instantly felt a prickling sensation on their hearts.

They were suddenly overcome with an inability to find an answer to that question.

“But that’s not the point!” Local Bully couldn’t hold his attention span for longer than five seconds, and he immediately stood on his bed, exclaiming with great passion, “So what about teaching credits?! I don’t care for that! Is there even any meaning in being someone comparable to Einstein? What’s most important is the social tonight! There’s going to be a total of thirteen female instructors joining the Combat Faculty! I’d treated them to a week’s worth of milk tea before they finally agreed to invite me to the social, and you guys aren’t even interested in attending it?!”

Qin Ye opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was simply too busy right now. It had been three days since he last visited Hell. With the establishment of the Community Suggestion Boxes, dozens of pages worth of suggestions would be burnt and transmitted to him from Hell each day. And that’s not all - he was currently still desperately trying to get through the contents of Hell’s legacy that he had obtained. The heavy eyebags spoke volumes about his sheer lack of sleep right now.

To make matters worse, he hadn’t even finished going through the contents of the first Qiankun Pouch he had opened.

One should never underestimate the dozens of Qiankun Pouches he had managed to retrieve from the old Hell. After all, these pouches contained a legacy that had accumulated over thousands of years, and each pouch could contain upwards of fifty kilograms worth of information. When he first started out, his main focus had been to gloss over the unimportant parts and seek out any information pertaining to armor-manufacturing technology. But after just ten minutes of skimming through its contents, he felt almost as though the information contained within had broadened his horizon and opened new doors to his perspective.

It all began with the inception of ideas and theories of Yin soldiers, to the appearance of the first batch of Yin soldiers when Goddess Mother Earth transformed her body into the six paths of reincarnation, and then down to the details of the finest considerations involved the Yin soldiers’ ongoing process of adaptation and transformation. It even discussed how talismans should be drawn, why they chose a particular style of weapons, and why a particular material was even chosen. It was completely enthralling, yet it also kept Qin Ye’s hands tied.

I’ve been burning the midnight oil just to get through this Qiankun Pouch, so where am I going to find the time to attend your damned social?!

But before Qin Ye could even respond, Lin Han immediately raised a finger and pointed it straight to his face, “Don’t say a word! I knew you were up to no good! Just look at that worn-out expression on your face! Come clean - which female student have you hooked up with this time?!”

Qin Ye sensibly kept his trap shut.

“They’re only trying to get another week’s worth of free milk tea off you. They like the fact that you’re no different from a loyal dog. If you ask me, we’d be no different from their accessories at the social.” Su Feng propped up his glasses, “Whatever the case might be, I’m not attending. On that note, I’ll be applying to write a thesis paper next semester as well. I intend to compete with Qin Ye for the top spot… Speaking of which, Local Bully, we’re both products of the SRC, so why does there seem to be such a huge chasm between our respective images?”

Qin Ye was curious about this as well.

Su Feng appeared knowledgable and exuded the vibe of an elite, while Lin Han appeared as though he was on the other end of the spectrum - he was one who should be broken apart and studied as a specimen.

“Alright, alright. Stop fighting. I’m not going either.” Qin Ye stood up and wandered out of the room, “Isn’t it better this way? You’ll have all the opportunities you desire. Ah, that’s right. I’ll be catching up on my coursework over the summer vacation, so don’t come looking for me. I won’t have the time to go anywhere.”

With that, he left Lin Han’s room and returned to his own dorm room.

Nobody from the outside could tell that there was a strange talisman attached to the back of the door to his room. The entire space within the room appeared to tremble slightly when he shut the door, almost as though he were sequestered within a completely different realm within. There was a yellowing, ancient scroll resting gently on top of his bed.

The part of the scroll that remained unopened was approximately one meter thick, and it dragged out across the ground. The part on the bed was filled with countless words and the drawings of various bizarre talismans. Arthis sat on the other side of the room, sorting through the other Qiankun Pouches. Qin Ye drew a deep breath and sighed in resignation as he picked up the scroll and continued reading where he left off.

“Year 178 of Hell, Mr Mozi achieves yet another research breakthrough, and the Yin and Yang Dragon Talisman is now able to draw power from the five elements of heaven and earth. Since then, the talismans empowering the Yin soldiers have grown more powerful. As the talisman manufacturing industry grows, so does our barracks…”

“... Year 249 of Hell. Three million Yin soldiers marched against Shikoku of Nippon, and the Nipponese Yin solders were crushed instantly. Their artillery could not even breach our defensive formations and break our ranks. Izanami, goddess of the Nipponese underworld, surrendered in the same year. Thenceforth, the eastern and northern parts of Cathay were ascribed as Hell’s territory…”

“Year 399 of Hell. Hell’s research institutions have improved the effectiveness of talismans and expanded their scope of applicability, thereby increasing the effects of weapons of mass destruction. Commander Jiang Jiya led an army towards the South Cathay Sea. Year 400 of Hell. Special envoy of the Sindhu underworld was granted entry into Hell… Year 403 of Hell. The Sindhu underworld’s army marches for Westriver. That very year, the Midian underworld raised two million Yin soldiers in response and sent their troops to Khan Tengri Peak…”

Naturally, these weren’t the only words written on the scroll. If it were, it wouldn’t have weighed more than over a dozen pounds.

The full details and particulars of every battle, including army formations, strategies, as well as the use or appearance of any new armors, weapons and tools, and the effects of any weapons of mass destruction were all documented with extreme precision. At the very least, Qin Ye saw the full particulars of at least ten weapons of mass destruction, including the Yin Conflagration Cannon, the Netherflame Chain Crossbow, and the Soul-Launching Coffin, etc.

“The old Hell was particularly focused on technological development.” Arthis took a break from her sorting duties and poured herself a cup of coffee, “The Yin Conflagration Cannon is the smallest weapon of mass destruction, and it looks no different to an ordinary cannon in the mortal realm. However, the crossbow and the coffin are weapons that are in the region of twenty to thirty meters in size. Furthermore, they’re so dense and heavy that regular Yin spirits cannot possibly shift them about. Only Judges possess sufficient strength to shift them about. Unfortunately, most Judges are commanders of an army in their own right, so they would never condescend themselves to executing such a simple, menial task like this.”

Qin Ye closed his eyes and allowed his imaginations to drift to a time when the old Hell was dominating all of the surrounding territories around it. He murmured, “Then, what did Hell use to shift these weapons?”

“Yin beasts.” Arthis leaned over and pointed to the scroll, “Yin beasts would generally appear when Hell expands into the size of a county. Then, as Hell expands, so does the strength and variety of Yin beasts that do. Thus, you can only imagine the strength and size of the Yin beasts that would appear by the time Hell reaches the size of an entire district. Some of these can even be tamed and used as part of the main force on the battlefield.”

“Perhaps you might have the impression that war of underworlds is fought like traditional wars in the mortal realm. But the truth of the matter is that it’s more multidimensional than that. The existence of tamed Yin beasts allowed wars to be fought on all fronts, including land, air and sea. We’re talking about the clash between millions of Yin soldiers at any one point in time. This was a force that not even a Yama-King would be able to oppose for an extended period of time… unless, of course, we’re talking about the second King Yanluo.”

Qin Ye nodded thoughtfully. He was getting a clearer picture of the old Hell with each day that passed.

The carapace of the blight vermin might help to kickstart the Yin artifacts manufacturing industry, but the limited resources meant that it wasn’t a sustainable solution in the long run. The development of Yin artifacts was something that required substantial trial and error, experimentation and documentation. More often than not, it would even require wars to trigger certain tweaks and inspiration in their design and implementation. Otherwise, even if they were to mass produce these artifacts, they wouldn’t be of high quality at all.

He wasn’t certain of the extent of technological advancements of the other underworlds at this point in time. However, given the rate of technological growth in the mortal realm, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the underworlds couldn’t possibly be far behind.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to worry too much now. With the advanced technological blueprints of the old Hell in hand, he would be fine even if the technologies of the new Hell stagnated for the next hundred years or so. The only issue right now was…

Money!

The establishment of the system of currencies!

Who’s going to work for you if they don’t get paid? I’ve just been encouraging them to save up and work towards the purchase of real estate in Hell, so wouldn’t I be giving myself a tight slap in the face if I don’t pay them their wages in the very next breath?

Nevertheless, this tall order had already been entrusted to Huang Liangchuan, and all he could do right now was to wait. Qin Ye spent all of his time theorizing and postulating, discussing and reading. Very soon, a week passed.

Qin Ye rubbed his swollen eyes and set down his pen. His fingers were going numb with all the scribbling he had done.

There was a foot-high pile of paperwork set right in front of him, and he was so busy that he didn’t even have the time to look through the old Hell’s legacy over the last two days. The burgeoning industries in Hell and the distribution of supplies needed his urgent attention, and more and more documents kept appearing before him in flames in overwhelming tranches. He would see fresh reports every three days, and a whole host of suggestions from the Community Suggestions Boxes with every week that passed. He would even receive several important queries from the various departments in Hell, all of which required his personal attention. He was so busy that he hadn’t even moved an inch from his desk the entire morning today.

“I used to think that all the high-ranking officials of the country did was to saunter about, flaunting their authority and power as they indulged in wine and other forms of debauchery. But I’ve only just discovered that that’s not the case…” Qin Ye massaged his temples and furrowed his brows, “What’s Su Dongxue doing? Isn’t she done with the reorganization of the government just yet? Do I really have to go through everything over here?”

“Bear with it.” Arthis spoke as though she had been there and done that, “Do you think that it’s that easy to reorganize the entire governmental framework and sort out the various scopes of work? You’ll need to give her at least another week. Back then… when I was first appointed as a governor in Hell, I recall being so swamped with work that I didn’t even leave my desk for an entire month.”

Whatever happened to the promise of relaxing drinks by day and the company of models at clubs by night?

Why is my current life so different from what I’ve imagined it to be? Am I suffering because I’m trying to be a good Yanluo? Perhaps the best choice was to be a failure after all…

Just then, almost as though she could detect Qin Ye’s despondent thoughts, Arthis suddenly paused and stared daggers at Qin Ye, sizing him up from top to toe with a murderous gaze.

Qin-vigilant-Ye coughed dryly, and he promptly picked up the document in front of him, completely resigned to his fate. Unfortunately, the more he read the reports, the more he felt a burgeoning anger blazing in his heart. For instance, the report in his hand detailed how the football league had just been registered with Hell’s Gate, and how they were applying for the right to be allocated a plot of land for their construction of five football fields and corresponding stadiums… Bloody hell! Hell’s only the size of a village right now, and you’re already looking to construct five football fields?! Do you believe it when I say I’m going to send you to paradise?!

And then, there was the Scarlet Sunset Senior Citizens Welfare Group that was applying for the establishment of a pension scheme for old folks. I’ll be damned! What the Hell does the age of one’s body have to do with the ongoing existence of Yin spirit altogether?! Are you tempting me to destroy humanity altogether?!

Fortunately, such horrendous reports weren’t too numerous in the grand scheme of things. In fact, there were even some hidden gems among the chaff.

“A single factory building requires hundreds of thousands of square meters… If I’m going to be allocating a hundred hectares of land as reserve for these purposes… and I still have to locate it some distance away from Qin Gardens Phase One…” Qin Ye slumped back weakly onto his bed, as though he were sinking deeper and deeper into the mires of despair, “There’s just not enough space to go around… A village sized Hell just isn’t big enough right now…”

With another sigh, he decided to temporarily shelf these depressing thoughts for now and quickly flipped through the rest of the reports. A week had passed, and Huang Liangchuan’s report should be arriving any moment now. The establishment of the monetary system was the cornerstone of any burgeoning nation, and the existence of a medium of common exchange was one of the most practical means to inspire work among citizens. He had already done all he could to set out the big picture and direction for Hell, as well as dangle carrots of incentive in front of the citizens. All that was left was the establishment of the monetary system, and Hell’s stability would be guaranteed for the next ten years.

No… no, and still no… Qin Ye’s heart was on fire. He was practically on the verge of calling back to Hell and demanding that the entire system be completed by tomorrow… Then, just as he was about to retract his hand from the stack of reports, he suddenly paused and did a double take at the very last document in the stack.

The cover of the document was emblazoned with a jade-green netherflame.

“Urgent report?” His eyes twinkled brightly as he picked it up.

He had previously instructed that only one should only under special emergencies affix the cover of their reports with a wisp of their soulfire. What’s going on here? This is the first time I’m receiving a special emergency report…

“Report on the establishment of Hell’s monetary system - working report number one.” Qin Ye was immediately filled with a bad premonition of what was to come. He promptly flipped the report to the last page.

Sender: Huang Liangchuan.