Yama Rising

At the top of a tall building stood the families of several important government officials, and a small boy was holding onto his father's hand as he asked in a perplexed manner, "Daddy, I don't see anything, isn't there supposed to be a fireworks display tonight?"

This was the tallest building in the city of Eastwood, also its government building, and it had been constructed by the Eastcloud Real Estate Corporation. At this moment, all of the city's most important officials and their families were standing on the top of the building.

However, the atmosphere of excitement had long since been replaced by one of confusion and impatience.

"What on earth is going on?" a young Yin spirit asked as he looked at the city around him. Even though the vision of Yin spirits wasn't restricted by the night, they could only see black and white at night time, which gave the entire city a very bland and eerie appearance, making for a less than pleasant visual experience.

"There's always been firework displays at night on the 1st of October every year!"

"Back in the mortal realm, no one was this interested in fireworks. It was a visual spectacle, but even the average family could easily afford fireworks if they wanted to. Now, it's actually become a highlight of every year…"

"You should be happy with what you have, you didn't even experience the early days of the new Hell. Apparently, even chess sets were extremely scarce back then."

"Is that true? Surely that's an exaggeration!"

There were many more rooftops like this one all over the Cathayan Underworld.

The rooftop of the North Yin Pavilion was different from other places in that there was a particularly large number of Yin spirits gathered there. However, it was still very orderly and quiet without any Yin spirits displaying signs of impatience.

They knew that the entirety of the Cathayan Underworld was going to undergo massive changes on this night!

Qin Xinzhong approached Qin Changxin as he said, "Father, it's already been 47 minutes, and some unrest is beginning to appear across Everburn."

Qin Changxin had been looking up at the sky this entire time, and he didn't even move upon hearing this. Instead, he asked in a calm voice, "Have you sent out Yin soldiers to maintain order?"

"I have… Should I release an explanation to the entire city?"

Qin Changxin didn't reply, and only after a long while did he speak again. "Xinzhong, do you know why I've stood so firmly by the Cathayan Underworld's side this entire time, even though I would immediately be granted an extremely high status if I were to return to the Nipponese Underworld?"

Qin Xinzhong shook his head in response.

Qin Changxin smiled as he pointed up at the sky and continued, "In the vast universe out there, surely there have to be other planes like ours, with three realms combined into one. Who's going to be able to take us to search for those planes? At this point, only the Cathayan Underworld is capable of that. Once the new energy resource emerges, the rise of superpower nations will follow not long thereafter, and all types of competition in the world will become far fiercer than they were prior to this monumental breakthrough. We are witnessing the arrival of a new era! I would stand here for a year if I had to, let alone 47 minutes! As for their complaints, there's no need to worry about them. Once the light of the new era dawns on them, all of the unrest will instantly be quelled!"

………………………………………………..

Yin Xiangnan was looking up at the sky with a displeased expression.

He was surrounded by several companions, and their necks were growing sore from straining and looking up, but there was still no sight of the long-awaited fireworks display.

"What the hell is going on?" a Yin spirit complained. "The fireworks display has to be overdue by at least half an hour at this point! Has the annual celebration been canceled this year?"

"Who knows? We didn't receive any notification beforehand…"

"This is going too far! I was waiting for this day to have some fun! The next opportunity to let loose would be the Cold Suit Festival, which is still over a month away!"

"This is appalling from the government! How could they not notify everyone in advance of the cancellation? Are they blind? Do they not see so many netherworldly citizens waiting for the fireworks display? I'm going to report them!"

"Exactly! Why are we paying taxes if they don't even care about us taxpayers!"

Yin Xiangnan heaved a faint sigh.

It was an undeniable fact that forms of recreation were sorely lacking in the underworld.

Fireworks displays had gone off on the nights of the 1st of October for the past 10 years without fail, and it had already become a tradition.

Countless Yin spirits were looking forward to this day, and all of the stall owners lining the streets selling snacks were looking on with uneasy expressions, as were all of the other stall owners selling other products. The fact that no prior notification had been issued was making everyone feel extremely disgruntled.

So be it, it's not like we can do anything about this…

Right as Yin Xiangnan was about to depart with disappointment in his heart, he suddenly faltered momentarily.

A very pronounced buzzing sound had suddenly rung out in close proximity to the North Yin Pavilion, which stood at the absolute center of the city.

It was as if something had been activated, arising from a slumber, causing the entire area to tremble slightly.

"What on earth…" He looked up with a surprised expression, only to be met by the sight of the slack-jawed faces of all of his companions.

"What's going on with you guys?" He waved a hand in front of their faces in a perplexed manner. His companions had been complaining just a moment ago, yet they had suddenly been completely rooted to the spot with their mouths gaped wide open. Only after Yin Xiangnan had waved his hand in front of their faces for a while did one of them raise a trembling finger to point directly forward.

Yin Xiangnan was just about to turn around to cast his gaze in that direction when he discovered that the faces of his companions… were green!

It wasn't the green light released by netherfire. Instead, it was… light! Pure green light!!

All of a sudden, a string of mechanical cracks rang out, and the light behind him was becoming brighter and brighter! This was the light that he was familiar with, light from the mortal realm!

The light washed over the ground and instantly passed him by. In the next instant, a three-meter-tall lamppost beside him suddenly lit up with pure white light.

This wasn't the faint netherfire that could only illuminate a radius of five to six meters, this was light that could illuminate everything within a range of several dozens of meters, and it lit up the night in a flash!

Starting from the North Yin Pavilion, one circle of light after another appeared throughout the entirety of Everburn like ripples spreading over a pond!

Deathly silence.

The entire nation had fallen completely silent!

The netherfire in Yin Xiangnan's eyes was flickering violently, and he couldn't bear to tear his gaze away from the beautiful scene in front of him, yet he still forced himself to turn around.

Standing around 100 meters behind him, the entirety of the North Yin Pavilion had become brightly lit! The laser beams at the top of the building were sweeping across the entire city, basking anything that it shone down upon in brilliant green radiance!

In a span of no more than five minutes, the entire city had been lit up, and a series of bright searchlights had even been activated on the city walls.

"Is this… light?" A Yin spirit finally returned to his senses as he stared at his own trembling hands while murmuring to himself in a shaking voice, "Is this… electricity? Please don't let this be a dream!"

Soon, more and more Yin spirits across the entire nation began to react to what they were seeing, and within the span of 10 seconds, a raucous commotion had swept through the entire Cathayan Underworld like a tsunami!

"Holy shit!!" In Shadowend City, a young man flung open his windows like a madman, then cast his gaze toward the street lamps across the street as he yelled with all his might, "We have electricity!!!"

Countless netherworldly citizens had already gathered on the streets to see the lights, and just like the young man, many of them were also screaming at the top of their lungs!

"We have electricity now! I can't believe I'm seeing electricity in the underworld!!"

"A new era has arrived!! Long live, Hell!! Long live, Yanluo Qin!!"

The lights had allowed them to see color in the night, making it a warm and inviting environment.

At the same time, they knew that with the emergence of electricity, everything in the mortal realm wasn't going to be too far away from them.

Inside a university, there was a student reading a book at night under a netherfire lamp, and he was extremely displeased by the fact that the netherfire in the lamp had suddenly been snuffed out. However, in the next instant, brilliant radiance had washed over the entire university!

Deafening yells instantly rang out from all of the dormitories, and countless windows were flung open as all of the netherfire on the schoolyard was extinguished in unison. The inky darkness of the night had been illuminated to be as bright as day!

The schoolyard wasn't very large, but the fact that it was illuminated by this new source of light made it the most sought-after place in the entire university, and many students were already breaking curfew to drift toward the schoolyard like moths to a flame.

"Hey, stop! You're all breaking curfew! Return to your dormitories right now or you'll have five marks deducted off your next exams!"

"Stop, everyone, stop! You have to follow the rules! Ah, the dean is here!"

Unfortunately, no one paid any heed to these frantic cries.

The light that they hadn't seen in so many years filled them with a sense of intimacy, and the aura of the mortal realm had completely lit up this bland and dreary schoolyard.

Countless students drifted out of their windows to stroll under the lights of the schoolyard. Never did they think that a day would come where they would cherish electric lighting as much as they did now!

Some were quietly strolling through the schoolyard, basking in the brilliant and familiar radiance, but they were severely outnumbered by the students who were roaring to the heavens in excitement. "We have electricity now!!!"

"Long live, Hell!! Long live, Yanluo Qin!!"

"I didn't think that this day would ever come! It truly brings a tear to my eyes…"

"I can't wait for televisions and movies to appear now! I've been bored out of my mind these past few years!"

"Fuck these books, I need a phone to play games on! My fingers are already twitching just thinking about it!"

"This is what the world should be like!"

Celebratory voices had rung out across the entire nation.

One city after another lit up in sequential order from the east to the west, and soon, the entire Cathayan Underworld had been illuminated, becoming the first nation in this plane to bask in the light of the new era!

Countless lights glowed with scintillating radiance, dispelling the dim and depressing light cast by netherfire. Looking down from the heavens, it was as if an old and tattered veil had been slowly cast aside, or as if the page of an ancient book was being turned over.

The new page was one that was dazzling as the stars!

Countless golden stars appeared all over the previously dark and bleak Cathayan Underworld, forming a sea of light that heralded the arrival of the new era, and a giant dragon seemed to have awakened amid everyone's deafening cheers.

The blood of the giant dragon was beginning to flow again.

Within the span of half an hour, countless golden stars spread from the east to the west, from the south to the north, like dragon scales emerging across the entire nation, and thunderous roars of excitement could be heard all over the nation, spanning an area in excess of ten million square kilometers.

The normal netherworldly citizens were filled with excitement, but for the Yin spirits who had already been notified of this in advance, they were more astonished than anything else.

On the rooftop of the North Yin Pavilion, Qin Changxin closed his eyes and took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down, but to no avail.

A thunderous commotion could be heard all around him, and the impatience and frustration of all of the city's netherworldly citizens had been transformed into excitement and elation!

The entire city had been illuminated by the light of a new era, and no one could remain unmoved by this astonishing sight.

"They did it! They really did it!" an underworld emissary beside Qin Changxin couldn't help but roar with all his might as he flung both of his hands up into the air. "After 10 years of painstaking work, we finally did it!! We are the ones who have ushered in the new era for the entire world! Hahaha!"