Yama Rising

“Since when was I ever single?” Su Feng stared back at Qin Ye with incredulity, “My other half simply isn’t from around these parts.”

His words were like an awl that was driven through Qin Ye’s heart.

Bloody hell… Forget it, I can’t be bothered with you ignorant fools.

“Yanqiu?” Qin Ye barked back, “Are you two so close that you’re already on a first-name basis already? So, what’s next? The wedding?”

Qin Ye couldn’t be bothered with him any longer. Just then, Xu Anguo spoke up, “Instructors, please settle down.”

Everyone immediately grew silent.

None of them were daft. If the matter to be discussed were something that could be resolved by Hellguard-class cultivators, Xu Anguo would never prompt Zhou Xianlong to talk about it. The fact that it involved Zhou Xianlong meant that it was a matter that not even Hellguards were able to resolve, and it required someone as powerful as Zhou Xianlong to properly describe it in detail.

“Everyone.” Zhou Xianlong stood up and swept a frigid gaze across the hall, before promptly breaking the news, “The three eastern provinces… have devolved into chaos.”

The three eastern provinces have devolved into chaos? But… how? There could only be one possibility - and that was the appearance of a Ghost King equivalent that was clashing directly with the mortal realm!

“Don’t be alarmed!” Zhou Xianlong slammed the desk and continued, “The situation has already come under control. The Eastsea Branch of the Special Investigations Department has already activated the highest level of alert on its supernatural perimeter, and the chaos is sequestered from the rest of Cathay for now!”

Why?

Qin Ye knew much more about the situation than any of the others seated around him right now. Most importantly, he was fully aware that the three daolords were all at the level of Incarnate Revenants!

“That’s unbelievable…” He raised his head and gazed deeply at Zhou Xianlong.

“Old Qin, you look rather pale. Are you feeling alright?” Local Bully glanced at Qin Ye in confusion, only to be rebuffed immediately, “Pay attention! Why do you keep looking over?!”

As expected…

A sea that sat right between Cathay, Daehan and Nippon. It was a map of the Strait of Tsushima which Qin Ye knew all too well!

To be precise, it wasn’t jet black.

The wings of the butterfly effect have begun to flap… His heart grew somber and sullen. The consequences of the great battle at the Strait of Tsushima was only just coming to light. It first triggered Emperor Wu of Song’s visit to Cathay, and now… even a daolord was beginning to stir.

“26 July. The Strait of Tsushima exploded with an incredible amount of Yin energy. By our estimates… the Yin energy reading of the eruption was well over thirty million…”

The entire hall was set abuzz instantly, but Xu Anguo rapped the table loudly, “Silence.”

It’s impossible for mere mortals to see Emissaries of Hell… but that idiot Azai Nagamasa was so confident that he didn’t even bother concealing his own presence from the mortals around… DAMN IT! Qin Ye cursed in his heart, and his heart began to palpitate wildly. His hand was already resting on the shard of King Yanluo’s Seal in his clothes, and he was ready to flee at the moment’s notice.

Unfortunately… he also had a human form!

Come to think of it, forcing the use of the Incense of Paramnesia back then was a masterstroke. The only ones who could possibly know of my true identity right now are the two monks from Mount Koya. But, that said…

It was practically impossible to leave no traces behind regardless of the endeavours one undertook. Either refrain from a course of conduct altogether, or expect that traces would be left behind in some way or another.

Zhou Xianlong had mentioned it in passing. However, Qin Ye keenly picked up on it, and he promptly opened up the Slay app on his phone and began searching for more information on the Albatross Division.

The Albatross was the Special Investigations Department’s most elite reconnaissance unit. All 108 personnel were minimally peak Soul Hunters, and they are more commonly known as the Strength of Malignance, because their involvement… meant that Cathay was getting serious.

They neither had names nor records of their achievements. The only other thing that was known about the Albatross Division was that they had never made any mistakes on their investigations, save for cases involving Judge-class Yin spirits and above.

Zhou Xianlong continued, “Following the eruption of Yin energy at the Strait of Tsushima, we received news that there was a supernatural outbreak at Skytribute City at midnight on 4 August. Every single person forming part of the city, including the citizens of the remotest counties, towns and even villages, witnessed the birth of the nest of ten thousand captive ghosts. I’d pause here to commend Instructor Qin for his predictions here. The term ‘ten thousand captive ghosts’ is all too apt for the phenomenon that has arisen.”

Just then, the LED screen changed once more. This time, everyone sat up straight and stared at the screen with widened eyes.

The time was indicated in red at the bottom right corner of the screen. At midnight, the vault of the sky suddenly trembled, and countless netherflames suddenly poured straight out from the sky, accompanied only by a powerful nethergale that swept through the lands. Within moments, a massive hole opened up in the clouds above the city. As far as the eyes could tell, countless illusory Yin spirits poured out from the hole in the sky, screaming and wailing at the top of their voices!

“All of the personnel belonging to the Skytribute City Branch of the Special Investigations Department immediately resisted with all their might as soon as they noticed the supernatural outbreak. Unfortunately… they were all martyred in the line of duty.” Zhou Xianlong’s voice had lowered to a hush, “An hour later, one of the Special Investigations Department’s strongest forces arrived on scene, and they were fortunately able to safely evacuate millions of citizens… We should be grateful for their prompt response. If it weren’t for them, Skytribute City would already have become a land of the dead by now.”

Zhou Xianlong presented his case without any exaggerated emotions. But all who were present in the hall could only imagine just how bloody and terrifying the battle would have been!

“This incident - the storm that is brewing outside, and the internal struggles that the nation is facing - are things that you needn’t concern yourselves about. This is why I’ve only given you the lowdown on things.” He swept a placid gaze across the room, “Because even if you knew the full details of these things, this isn’t a battle that you would be able to participate in.”

He paused for a moment, “We’re going to be making some changes to the syllabus next semester.”

“Secondly, I’ll be personally taking charge of the actual combat training to take place on a monthly basis. All other faculties apart from the Faculty of Combat will see their schedules rejigged slightly so that they will have time to join the Faculty of Combat for actual combat training.”

After all, everyone could tell just how serious the situation out there must be if the academy were to take such drastic measures. Zhou Xianlong’s tone of voice may have been placid, but the situation was most certainly grave.

Zhou Xianlong couldn’t be bothered about what the other instructors were thinking. He set down his documents, stared everyone in the eye, and continued to impress his point, “This change in syllabus has been presented at board meeting and approved unanimously. We… can’t get complacent. Cathay needs new blood! We’re cultivators. Having indulged in the benefits that the state has showered upon us, it is only our duty to take responsibility for our own duties and give back to our nation!”

“For every night of restful sleep you get, know that there are a multitude of other families out there who worry about what lurks in the dark.”

“The First Academy of Cultivators is not a place for you to gild yourselves with gold and rest on your laurels! Anyone who even harbors a modicum of such thoughts can leave right now and head back to where you’ve come from!”

1. Named after two of the 108 Stars of Destiny, namely the Strength Star (天罡) and the Malignant Star (地煞).