Fwoosh!

If one were to say that the tension earlier amounted to boiling and toiling, then the current situation could only be described as a massive explosion!

The one-two combination punch of the Forbidden Arts and the Argosian Underworld had practically landed right on the nerves of the Alkebulan Underworld.

However, the Black Mamba didn’t appear too upset by this. Instead, he simply waved his hands and told everyone to take their seats. Having lived for such a long time, his experiences told him that it was far better to act with prudence and caution than to react hastily.

“Second generation Forbidden Arts?” He tilted his head and looked up at the immeasurably tall ceiling of the grand hall, “And how do you know that the Argosian Underworld is involved?”

Qin Ye smiled, “The second generation Forbidden Arts contains explosive might that is at least ten times more powerful than the first generation Forbidden Arts. As to how exactly this comes about, it’s difficult to explain it to an underworld that doesn’t possess its own Forbidden Arts. Besides, I wouldn’t purport to be an expert in this field, and my knowledge in this regard barely scratches the surface.”

“As to how we know that the Argosian Underworld is involved, this is the result of investigations carried out by our darkfeathers. First of all, we are aware that every underworld bears a slightly different notion of the Forbidden Arts. After all, every nation would have to rely on its own environment and resources in selecting the right Yin Talismans to employ. Otherwise, the four existing Forbidden Arts would all bear the same effect and have the same name. That said, the existing Forbidden Arts still bear a certain measure of overlap in some of its Yin Talisman algorithms. This is what we call the Forbidden Arts Module.”

“In turn, this algorithm is among the most closely guarded secrets of the P4 underworld. It’s nigh impossible that such knowledge would fall into the hands of other underworlds. But the Russian Underworld still caught wind of it. How did they manage that? This piqued our interest, and we decided to investigate if one of the other P4 underworlds had a hand in something like this. Suffice it to say that after layers of screening and investigative work, we’d finally managed to pinpoint the Argosian Underworld as the culprits involved.”

“How exactly these investigations were carried out, and how the conclusion was drawn, are unfortunately matters of top secrets, so pardon me if I’m unable to comment further in this regard. However, you can take it from me that this information comes from the highest echelons of Hell’s government, and I can assure you that there can be no errors in this regard.”

There was silence as he spoke. However, Qin Ye couldn’t help but feel a sense of uneasiness in his heart.

There were times when a particular approach seemed seamless in theory, but things were different when put into practice.

Just like now.

It was only after saying all these things that he discovered a crucial shortcoming in these allegations of his, and that was the fact that his words didn’t bear sufficient weight.

After all, given the gravity of such accusations, it was only reasonable to expect a commensurate level of evidence, including documents or detailed inferences.

What is a second generation Forbidden Art? How can you expect us to believe these claims of yours?

What they needed was proof of the Forbidden Arts Module that represented the second generation Forbidden Arts. At the very least, they would need to be able to show how explosive the second generation Forbidden Arts could potentially be, and how quickly things could spiral out of control if the Russian Underworld’s operations were left unhindered. In fact, this was only the first step.

The second step was to show proof of his allegation that the Argosian Underworld was involved.

How did they discover something like that? From where? Who’s involved? Why are they doing something like this? What’s the logical deduction process like?

He needed a perfectly defensible conclusion. Unfortunately, he wasn’t prepared for something like that.

Time was too tight, and he simply didn’t have the luxury of time to have all of these things prepared!

He only had 50 days to convince the Alkebulan Underworlds - something that might easily take him five months or more if he weren’t under such immense time pressure!

Furthermore, he couldn’t help but feel as though… there seemed to be some level of loopholes in his story thus far.

He wasn’t daft. At the very least, few Emissaries of Hell could’ve come up with the idea of pitting the tiger that was the Alkebulan Underworlds against the wolf that was the Russian Underworld. Fewer would possess the courage to sit here like Qin Ye and negotiate with an Alkebulan Mythic Spirit and his Prefect-class aides. And most of all, fewer yet were there Emissaries of Hell who could possibly fool the Mythic Spirit to such an extent as Qin Ye did.

Not only did he need to be thick skinned and bolt, he would also have to possess a heart of steel.

I’m afraid that this is as far as I can go…

 Qin Ye suddenly felt powerless about the entire situation. Just then, he glanced up, only to see Black Mamba smiling right back at him.

Qin Ye did his best to maintain a placid expression on his face, save for trace levels of haughtiness and pride that accompanied his stature as an Emissary of one of the P4 underworlds. Despite the baptism of suspicious gazes landing on him right now, as well as the fact that his heart was beating right out of his chest, he knew that he absolutely had to keep the farce up!

Hang in there, and there was still a remote possibility that he might succeed.

But back off now, and he would become the greatest laughingstock across the history of the netherworld.

Black Mamba asked, “So… tell me, how did Hell first grow suspicious about the Russian Underworld’s intentions?”

“The largest Resentment Crystals Mine in the history of the netherworld has just appeared in the Mongol Empire. Due to certain reasons, we recently crossed paths with the Russian Underworld. Suffice it to say that they’d gone to great lengths to compel a reaction from us, and certain overtures during our dealings alerted us to the possibility of the Russian Underworld’s desire to enter the foray of researching and developing Forbidden Arts.” Qin Ye responded with a smile.

Since my words were vague and ambiguous earlier, then I may as well continue with that. At the very least, I might just be able to pull a veil over their eyes and make it more difficult for them to distinguish the truth from the lies…

It was just like how a self-professing prophet or clairvoyant often spoke vaguely and enigmatically, yet did so with such a palpable sense of justice that everyone chose to believe in him…

Why did Qin Ye choose to do this?

It was because he would much rather appear as a fool before the Black Mamba Underworld than risk allowing all of his efforts to go to waste right now!

After all, this was a matter that concerned the entire situation in the East Continent! In fact, the consequences of leaving this matter unresolved was potentially dire! If the problem wasn’t nipped at the bud right now, then it was only going to be a matter of time before the Russian Underworld’s foray into Forbidden Arts triggers an earth-shattering phenomenon that would be picked up by the Hindustani Underworld. If they were to get involved, then they might even seek to use the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Forbidden Arts as an excuse to establish a forward military base in the Mongol Empire on the pretext of monitoring the situation! That would be the very worst case scenario!

The entire room fell silent.

However, none of them appeared to be incensed or enraged due to the mention of Forbidden Arts. Rather, they were all looking down, as though deep in thought.

I’ve screwed up…

 Qin Ye sighed softly. Time wasn’t on his side, and he wasn’t able to give them a satisfactory response.

That said, he knew that he had already done his best in the circumstances. Whatever happened now… would be left entirely up to fate.

His heart was swamped with frustration and regret, but he had no choice but to maintain that same look of placidity on the surface. 

International affairs… are truly difficult to manage… 

Qin Ye sighed softly. Just like an accused person who was waiting for the verdict, he waited patiently and with bated breaths as he slowly sipped at his wine.

I’ve got to maintain this persona of Hell no matter what happens!

I’m one of the P4 underworld, and rightly so! Who cares if you know that I’m lying to you?

“I understand.” Unexpectedly, Black Mamba suddenly spoke up just a few seconds later, “Babulu, please send the Angel of the East back to his abode.”

“Yes.” Babulu nodded, and then raised his hand with a gesture of invitation to Qin Ye.

Qin Ye braced himself and cupped his fists respectfully to Black Mamba with an impeccable smile on his face, “Then, I eagerly await your favourable response.”

He spoke quickly, but his lips were clearly filled with bitterness.

Clatter…

 The door opened up, and Qin Ye’s silhouette vanished into the distance. It was only then that Ancestral Shaman Cain sneered, “My Lord, this is clearly something that is falsified. What do you think Hell is trying to do?”

Black Mamba didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he simply stared blankly at the ceiling.

“As Hell would say, their words are as light as a feather. None of those claims are backed by any evidence.” Elder Yonder Star spoke up for the very first time, only to reveal that she was actually a lady, “He’d practically glossed over all of the details. What in the world is Hell trying to do here?”

Just then, Black Mamba raised his hand and revealed a mysterious smile on his face, “But… have you considered what if everything he says… is true?”

“Impossible.” Elder Bright Moon responded hoarsely, “There are neither documents nor other forms of solid evidence. Besides, matters pertaining to the Forbidden Arts are of international importance, so how could he speak of it so lightly? Does he think we’re fools?”

Black Mamba shook his head and then stood up with a grave expression, “Then, let me say this once and for all… In all likelihood, there’s not one bit of falsehood in what he had said earlier!”

At once, the emissaries seated at the table couldn’t help but gasp in horror as they stared back at their master.

“Are you saying that… the last dozen or so statements he’s made are true? My Lord, I was of the view that he was merely trying to pull a stunt over here. This Emissary of Hell looks fresh out of the oven, and perhaps he might simply be here to gain exposure in preparation for his future.” Shaman Cain shook his head.

However, Black Mamba began to pace around the room with some measure of annoyance, “I don’t know why he hasn’t pulled out any documentary evidence, or perhaps it might just be the case that they’re not willing to produce these things now. But… have you ever considered what his identity truly is?”

“Zhu Clan of the Ming Dynasty? Li Clan of the Tang Dynasty? The Zhao Clan? Or the Aisin-Gioro Clan? Or perhaps… one of the representatives from the Ten Abyssal Courts?” Elder Blazing Sun looked up with flickering netherflames in his eyes, “Regardless of who he might be, an Abyssal Prefect like him would probably be affiliated with one of the more powerful Clans.”

“None of the above!” Black Mamba licked his lips as he walked right back to the table and slammed his hands onto the tabletop. And then, he swept a devilish glance around as he declared categorically, “His claims might have seemed doubtful and suspicious, but I wonder if it might have been intentionally so. Regardless, what I’m certain about is that… he’s definitely someone that represents the internal workings of Hell. In other words, he represents Hell as a whole!”

“He’s definitely not part of any of the Great Clans of Hell. He’s here to negotiate with us directly on behalf of Hell!”

These words were like a bolt out of the blue, and everyone couldn’t help but stare at each other, completely confused. Moments later, Shaman Cain was the first to snap out of his stupor, and he immediately slammed his fist on the table in deep realization, “Are you talking about… his attitude?”

“That’s right.” Black Mamba’s eyes narrowed as he turned to the now-shut door, “He’s come for two things. The first item on the agenda was to talk about business prospects. His performance in that regard was practically flawless. But as soon as we got to the second order of business…”

He smiled, “Didn’t you notice?”

“His stance changed.”

“Although he tried his level best to maintain some measure of neutrality, he still appeared somewhat agitated, and clearly on behalf of Hell at that. What kind of person would speak like that apart from an official that represented Hell?”

“Had he merely been from one of the Eight Great Clans, he would do nothing more than to incidentally refer to the Forbidden Arts without saying anything more. Instead, Prefect Qin… appeared to be filled with the desire to explain everything to us with great clarity, yet at the same time appeared to have his hands tied in some way or other. Most importantly, he wasn’t able to pull out any evidence to show for it. How difficult would it be to convince us with just words and rhetoric?”

Elder Yonder Star’s eyes flickered wildly, “Then why… did he even bother bringing up the idea of trade? And even label it as smuggling?”

Black Mamba hissed in laughter, “Do you remember what he told us before? About Hell’s current situation?”

“The Second King Yanluo has posed ten difficult questions to them all in an attempt to seek out a successor. I don’t think he’s lying. I’ve crossed paths with the Second King Yanluo before, and I can assure you that he’s a person who does whatever comes to his mind, because the power he wields allows him to change the Three Realms as we know it. Truth be told, the entire netherworld was practically living on the edge during the few centuries he remained in power. Everyone was concerned that he would start a great war for conquest. Surprisingly, he didn’t do so.”

“I reckon that the situation in Hell must be far worse than Prefect Qin had described. There have been records of nine successors coveting the throne in ancient Cathayan history. If you ask me, there are probably dozens of potential successors coveting a spot on the throne in Hell right now. The situation is probably so messed up that they can’t even bother to concern themselves with the Russian Underworld. And in order to mask the situation in Hell, they chose to lead us in with the pretext of smuggling and commerce, greasing our palms, before seeking our commitment to deploy our forces. What a splendid plan… Hahaha…”

Elder Blazing Sun responded, “Then… What do we do?”

“Since Hell might very well be weaker than before, this means that the balance of powers in the netherworld is on the cusp of change! Should we… test it out?”

“No! That would be foolish!” Black Mamba hissed back, “We’re talking about a monstrosity of an underworld that has stood at the pole position in the netherworld for thousands of years. This is only an abdication of the throne, and it’s far from having collapsed. Test the waters? Are you not afraid of the potential consequences if the Second King Yanluo were to return to these Three Realms? Do you think I would be able to resist his advances in any way?”

His eyes gleamed with ferocious murderous intent, “Watch this Emissary of Hell closely. There’s a good chance that whatever he says is true. That said… we’ve still got to test his claims a little bit further.”

“For now, everything remains but a possibility. If he wants to convince us, then he would have to show us something much more compelling!”