Chapter 769 First Meeting
The gap between complete silence and deafening cheers was less than a second.
Even though Qin Ye had already returned to his office, he could still hear the thunderous cheers sounding outside.
These cheers were audible throughout the entirety of Everburn and beyond, traveling into the ears of over a billion Yin spirits. It told them that from now on, they were a part of a greater whole.
"Your Excellency," Wang Chenghao was holding a laptop as he carefully made his way over to Qin Ye. "There are still 20 minutes left until the start of the video teleconference, are you..."
Qin Ye shook his head, indicating for Wang Chenghao to wait.
His emotions were still far too turbulent for him to face the death gods of the world.
As soon as he finished his speech, his heart rate climbed through the roof once again. Even he hadn't anticipated that such a short speech would evoke such strong emotions within himself.
Back in Clear Creek County, he had been desperate to alter the course of his own fate, yet now, he was standing at the top of a nation.
Time and time again, the Harken and Arthis had pushed him onto the frontlines, and his mindset had changed from that of a helpless coward barely keeping his head above the water to that of a conqueror willing to carry the weight of a nation on his shoulders.
He lit a cigarette, and his fingers were trembling slightly as he cast his gaze out the window.
Deafening cheers such as "Long live the Qin Dynasty!", "Long live Yanluo Qin!", and "We're finally a united nation!" were ringing out incessantly, causing the windowpane of his office to rattle slightly.
He took a deep breath, allowing the smoke from the cigarette to scatter the myriad thoughts in his heart. He then smiled as he murmured to himself, "I've lived up to my duty."
"Indeed, you have," Zhao Yun chimed in with a smile. "Even with the resources left behind by the old Hell, it's truly incredible that you've been able to achieve so much in just six years. Granny Meng hasn't chosen the wrong person for the job."
Qin Ye snuffed out the cigarette, then wiped his own face with a wet towel before looking directly forward. "Let's begin."
He was about to face all of the world's death gods and make the voice of the Qin Dynasty heard on the international stage for the very first time. He had to present himself in the best possible light for the occasion.
"Yes!" Zhao Yun cupped his fist in response, and everyone in the room aside from him promptly departed. The door was gently shut, and at the same time, an extremely complex Yin talisman appeared in Zhao Yun's grasp before quietly exploding.
Whoosh! Golden Yin talisman patterns spread along the ground like gushing mercury, instantly rushing out of Everburn virtually at the speed of light before quickly exiting the nation's borders as well. Meanwhile, all of the death gods of the international underworlds, as well as their advisors and high-ranking officials, had taken a seat in their respective conference halls.
In Argos, Thanatos and Hypnos were seated in front of a long stone table. The table was extremely intricately crafted, and beneath them sat the Three Judges of the Underworld, as well as Aristotle, Euclid, and a few other select individuals.
Thanatos was gently drumming his fingers onto the surface of the table, and aside from that, the room was completely silent. It was like the calm before the storm, and everyone was waiting for the figurative storm to arrive.
Inside a magnificent Buddhist temple in India, there was a three-meter-tall golden lotus throne situated at the foot of a statue with three heads and six arms, which stood at around 50 meters tall. At the center of the throne sat a silent figure wearing a tattered black cloak, but adorned with extremely ornate accessories, presenting a peculiar contrast.
This was Yamaraja, the Hindustani lord of death.
His hair was as dark as night and was currently raised up like the tail feathers of a raven. Crimson karmic flames were erupting out of all five of his orifices, and the image of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was etched onto the ground around him. Furthermore, there were 10 other death gods present, including the likes of King Peacock and Sky Serpent King!
In the Aegyptian Underworld, Anubis was standing at the feet of the Scales of Eternal Justice, wearing an intricately woven pharaoh robe while holding a golden scepter in his right hand. Standing on either side of him were the past pharaohs and great priests of Aegypt, as well as the god of the dead, Osiris. The Yin energy of 14 death gods swept over heaven and earth, engulfing even the entirety of the Red Sea.
There were also other death gods of different statuses, including Death God Ah Puch of the Maya Legends, Izanami and Susanoo-no-Mikoto of Nippon, all of the major chieftains of the Alkebulan Underworlds, Mictlantecutli of the Aztecs, Supay of the Inca Empire, Donn of Ireland, Sedna of the Inuits, Anko, Giltine, Hopi, and Aita of the Celts, and many more...
All of the death gods had their attention focused on the same thing.
This was the first time that Hell had initiated contact with the rest of the world in over a century.
However, all of the death gods wore rather disgruntled expressions, presumably because the way in which they had been invited to join this video teleconference was far from gentle...
Whoosh... Golden threads of light made their way into each of the Underworlds, and 10 minutes later, several dozen Yin energy screens abruptly appeared in front of Qin Ye. A series of strange-looking faces then emerged on the screens, and each and every one of them was surrounded by extremely dense Yin energy, but none of them had concealed their true appearance.
In a conversation between death gods, the most important thing was to be open and forthright.
Qin Ye gently clasped his hands together before relaxing them, putting on a casual display as he rested his hands across his stomach. He then put on a calm facade as he said, "Greetings, everyone. I believe this is the first time we've met, so allow me to introduce myself. I am the third King Yanluo of the Cathayan Underworld, Qin Ye."
Dead silence.
In the instant that his voice trailed off, all of the death gods immediately focused their gaze on him through the Yin energy screen, and in that instant, his image was branded firmly into everyone's minds.
However, all of the death gods displayed different reactions.
Izanami of Nippon seemed to be smiling, but in reality, she was clenching her teeth so hard that they were on the verge of shattering. Outside of the screen, her armrests were creaking and groaning from her white-knuckled grip.
It's him! He's the emissary who abducted Susa Boy! I can't believe he's now the King Yanluo of the Cathayan Underworld!
The nameless god of death remained completely expressionless, yet the armrests of his chair were also on the verge of being torn off.
However, the most astonished death gods of all were the ones from the Alkebulan Underworlds.
The Alkebulan death gods almost burst out screaming in the instant that they saw Qin Ye, and Black Mamba had to viciously pinch his own leg to calm himself down.
They had made the right gamble! Their beloved Qin Ye really had ascended to that paramount throne!
From now on, the Alkebulan Underworlds will have a powerful ally! No, I still can't be sure that they won't turn on us... The second round of trading must be commenced as soon as possible! On top of that, they need to give us a definitive answer!
Only after a full 10 seconds of stunned silence did the death gods begin to speak, and all of them were using fluent Cathayan.
"Greetings, Yanluo Qin."
"Congratulations on leading Cathay out of its recent period of political turmoil. We look forward to seeing the Cathayan Underworld make its voice heard during the next meeting of the four pillars."
"Congratulations on further extending the millennia of glory that the Cathayan Underworld has already enjoyed, Yanluo Qin."
Qin Ye gave a slight nod to acknowledge their greetings. There definitely wasn't going to be anything important being discussed during this video teleconference, but it had to be held nonetheless.
This was the best way for all of the death gods to assess Cathay's current situation, so there was no way they would be satisfied without at least seeing and speaking to the new King Yanluo.
"Due to some of the second King Yanluo's policies, this political transition was a little tumultuous, and everything has only recently settled down again. I'm immensely fortunate to have found myself in this position, and I'll do everything in my power to reintegrate Cathay back onto the international stage. However..."
He swept his gaze across the faces of all of the death gods as he paused momentarily here. It would obviously be a lie to say that he wasn't nervous. After all, he was currently facing the gods of death of all of the world's branches of mythology, including ones from civilizations that were no less powerful than Cathay.
He forcibly repressed his own nerves as continued, "It'll still take around another century before we return to the four pillars."
After making that declaration, he calmly swept his gaze across the faces of all of the death gods again to gauge their reactions. This was something that he had to declare, and he had to do it now.
Cathay had already been absent from the international stage for over a century, so it had to exercise discretion in the matter of returning to the four pillars. In its current state, it would be extremely unwise for the Cathayan Underworld to return to the four pillars right away.
"Why is that?" Yamaraja asked in a slow voice, and tiny sparks flew out of his mouth as he spoke, accompanied by dense smoke, and the sparks quickly transformed into wisps of scorching flames.
"There are some things that must be taken care of first. On top of that, I still haven't received the inheritance of the second King Yanluo, so Cathay currently has no intention of getting swept up in troublesome international affairs," Qin Ye replied in a calm manner.
"Well... There are some documents that require Cathay's signature, such as the recently re-signed international anti-forbidden-arts treaty. What do you plan to do about that?" the nameless death god asked.
Of course, the nameless death god wasn't actually worried about the treaty; he was merely using it as an instrument to coax more information about Cathay's current state out of Qin Ye.
A faint smile appeared on Qin Ye's face as he replied, "What is the past precedent set for similar situations?"
"A first-rate underworld can be chosen to take Cathay's place in the signing of important documents," Anubis answered in a slow and methodical voice, "However, I don't mean to force the issue, but the four pillars were founded with the goal of maintaining order across all underworlds and putting an end to war and conflict, thereby creating a safer and better world for all netherworldly citizens. The collective efforts of all underworlds are required to achieve this goal, particularly the four pillars. If Cathay continues to shirk its duty as it has done so for the past century, then I suggest that Cathay may simply be unfit to continue as one of the four pillars."
Anubis was looking straight into Qin Ye's eyes as he spoke.
I was waiting for this...
Qin Ye picked up his teacup and gently skimmed its lid over the surface of the tea in silence.
He knew from the very beginning that such an announcement would be met with opposition. Cathay had already been absent from the four pillars for over a century, and a seat on the four pillars was extremely alluring to all underworlds. If Hell were to abstain from returning to the four pillars for another century, that would equate to an absence of over two centuries in length, which was indeed too long for the rest of the world to wait. However, Qin Ye was surprised to see that the first party to be issuing an objection would be the Aegyptian Underworld, another one of the four pillars.
"What the four pillars need is stability, and stability comes from power. Cathay isn't lending its power to the four pillars, yet it's enjoying the corresponding benefits, and I just don't think that's appropriate." Anubis's voice was very calm, and none of the other death gods opened their mouths to interject; they didn't have the right to speak on such matters.
This was an arm-wrestle between two of the four pillars, and this was bound to happen sooner or later, but no one had expected it to come so soon.
Qin Ye took a sip of tea before asking with a smile, "What does everyone else think?"
Hypnos replied in a calm voice, "There is a backup clause in the treaty of the four pillars: clause number 12. The clause states that if an underworld is unable to fulfill its duties and responsibilities as one of the four pillars on more than 20 occasions, then it will be replaced by another underworld."
Hypnos was one of the most human-looking death gods in this conference, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he continued, "Of course, this number applies only to important conferences that affects all of the world's underworlds. Revoking Cathay's status as one of the four pillars is naturally out of the question, so another proposal was raised during the conference held 12 years ago, in which we discussed measures to combat supernatural disasters. Due to the repeated absence of Cathay, we had no choice but to pass a new act which increases the number of members in the four pillars."
This is where the real kicker is!
A chill immediately ran down Qin Ye's spine. This was what everyone else wanted!
What purpose would revoking Cathay's status as one of the four pillars serve?
Its influence still remained, it still had a mighty military, as well as the most death gods in any underworld, and now, it even had another being above the death god level. There was simply no point in removing one of the four pillars, so what could everyone else do to negate its power and influence? The only effective course of action was to increase the number of seats!
If the four pillars were to become 10 pillars, everything would become different. With Cathay's lack of presence on the international stage during the past century, there was no way that it would be able to secure one of the seats. After that, it would be slowly ostracized, and it would have nothing to do with the benefits and favorable policies that the members of the four, or 10, or however many pillars received.
"I see." Qin Ye was doing his best to keep up his calm facade. He was dealing with a bunch of sly old foxes. The conversation was still very civil and placid, but Qin Ye felt as if a sharp blade had been pressed against his neck, and the immense pressure being exerted upon him made the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end.
"May I ask how many meetings the four pillars have held in the past century that can affect all of the world's underworlds?"
"19," Thanatos replied with a smile, "In a year from now, the Nipponese Underworld's treaty on the non-proliferation of forbidden arts is going to be re-signed, and that will be the 20th conference of international significance since Cathay's exit from the world stage."
A grim look surfaced in his eyes, and he remained silent.
Everyone was waiting for his response, and he was in a very difficult position.
All of the world's death gods were participating in this conference, so any decisions that he made here would be absolutely binding. His hand was being forced here, and he didn't know what to do. After all, an expansion of the four pillars would be far too detrimental for the current Hell!
"Accept the proposal." Right at this moment, Zhao Yun's voice rang out beside his ears. "We have no choice. In doing this, we'll be earning a century of peace for Hell. Truth be told, at the current rate of Cathay's development, I think that three decades is all we'll need to become a significant force on the world stage again! Don't forget that our underworld has a higher population than any other underworld out there; this is a natural advantage that we can make full use of!"