World version update

Chapter 304 Yama? Yama Luo!
The turbid river of the Yellow Springs transcends illusory time and space, seemingly reflecting the rise and fall of the seven kingdoms and running through the entire era.

With the end of that invitation from the underworld, the six archangel kings departed, and the brief myth that had descended finally returned to the history between reality and illusion.

Only the lingering chill of the other side in the mysterious world testifies to its past arrival.

Apart from the six archangel kings who were still shaken, no one knew what had actually happened at that banquet in the underworld.

No one knows how the Storm Angel King, who wielded the storm and walked the world in place of the Storm God, fell silently in that dilapidated Ancestral Hall, and even the history of his existence was erased.

No one remembers the existence of the Storm Angel King; some people are unable to feel fear towards him precisely because they do not know the reasons behind it.

The six angel kings, however, knew too much, which only increased their fear.

Under the terrifying power of Lu Yan's killing of the Angel King, the remaining six Angel Kings, after a brief but intense exchange and deliberation in secret, ultimately chose to temporarily back down.

They represent the righteous churches behind them and tacitly approve the decrees of the underworld to establish the Yama Palace and spread the faith in the mysterious version.

This means that the spread of the underworld belief in the secular world and the continued development of guilds in the Seven Kingdoms were both tacitly approved.

At least on the surface, there will be no open obstruction or suppression from the seven major orthodox churches.

But both the six archangels, who were tacitly aware of this, and Lu Yan, who was strategizing, knew very well that this was only a temporary compromise, a brief calm before the storm.

The fact that the Underworld swiftly and decisively killed the Storm Angel King proves that the Underworld possesses immeasurable resources and terrifying, unknown power.

But this does not mean that the underworld can rest easy and expand recklessly in the mysterious version.

The fall of the Storm Angel King was orchestrated by the Storm God, the most volatile and fiercely divine of the seven great gods.

This true god, who has already stolen the position of the only one in this world, will absolutely not be content with this.

When He awakens from His slumber, or is able to project more power into the mortal realm, the underworld will almost certainly be met with the raging fury of the God of Storms.

Moreover, the other six righteous gods, who were also participants in the old feast, will surely take this opportunity to conduct a deeper test on this suddenly emerging underworld and the Fengdu Emperor.

Slaying an angel king merely grants the underworld the right to share faith in this land, and a ticket to participate in the game.

But to truly claim a share of that ancient authority, to get a piece of the pie in this upcoming feast of the old, one must ultimately gain the approval of the seven great gods, or rather, possess power that they fear.

However, Lu Yan was not too worried about this.

Through his previous conversations with Elizabeth and the information inadvertently revealed by the Angel Kings, he had subtly learned the exact timeframe for the complete awakening of the Seven True Gods, which would be approximately one month from now.

Before this, their power projection was limited, and they could mainly intervene in the mortal world through the King of Angels.

However, Lu Yan's version update progress has reached 85%, and there is less than a month left.

Before the seven great gods fully awaken, Lu Yan will welcome the arrival of the next version update.

At that time, the entire world will undergo another version update. Not to mention the seven newly awakened gods, even the resurrected ancient beings will not be able to easily cross the version barrier to interfere with Lu Yan.

Furthermore, Lu Yan deliberately left behind enough legends of the underworld and the absolute deterrent effect of slaying the King of Angels. Before fully understanding the true nature of the underworld and the Emperor of Fengdu, neither the Seven Gods Church nor any other possible evil god sects or hidden evil gods dared to easily take action to overthrow everything.

As for the seven righteous gods, as long as Lu Yan does not occupy the old feast, they will have even less interest in the mortal world.

In this way, the cooperative relationship between the Kingdom of Victoria, which serves as an important anchor for the belief in the underworld in the present world, and the underworld will most likely be preserved.

Of course, all of this is only going according to the best-case scenario.

Life is unpredictable. If an unexpected situation were to occur, Lu Yan would not be unprepared. He had already left some hidden contingency plans to deal with possible changes.

Time slipped away silently beneath this calm surface of undercurrents.

With the tacit approval of the Church of the Seven Gods and the transfer of power from the Victorian royal family to the other six royal families, the wave of unions spread like wildfire, quickly sweeping across every corner of the Seven Kingdoms and even the mortal society of the entire world.

After all, the pursuit of a better life, the pursuit of food, clothing, dignity, and fairness is the most basic human nature and instinct.

With official support and tangible benefits provided by labor unions, all the oppressed and exploited people at the bottom yearn for equality and to pursue the benefits they deserve.

In this context, the belief in the underworld, which complemented the development of the trade unions, also spread rapidly like spring rain into the hearts of the people, quickly reaching every town and village in the seven kingdoms, and even every corner of the world.

Wherever there are trade unions, there are legends of the underworld and believers.

McDonald City was once just an ordinary industrial city in the Kingdom of Victoria.

However, with the rise of the workers' movement, and given that there were not many noble forces in the city of McDonald, the city took the lead in launching industrial reforms and promoted the belief in the underworld at the first opportunity.

Under the general trend of the kingdom, what was originally an ordinary industrial city has now become somewhat special due to the rise of the belief in the underworld.

A brand-new and magnificent temple to the underworld has sprung up in the heart of the city.

Unlike the simple underworld temples that people had built spontaneously out of their simple faith, this underworld temple had now received official recognition and support from the Kingdom of Victoria.

It was built by Queen Elizabeth herself, who ordered the gathering of extraordinary artisans from across the kingdom and personally oversaw its construction.

Originally, this underworld temple was supposed to be built in the capital, Orank, but due to strong opposition from the Steam Cult, the location was ultimately changed to McDonald City.

This underworld temple is magnificent in scale and solemn in style, full of mysterious oriental charm.

Its location was also carefully chosen, right across from the union building that symbolizes the power of workers, echoing each other.

Every time the factory closed for the day, the Underworld Temple would be filled with crowds. The crowds surged and flowed endlessly.

Some of these people were poor workers who came to get a free communion from the temple.

Some were devout believers who received revelation from the Holy Spirit in their dreams and came to pray sincerely.

There were also ordinary workers who simply had nothing to do after get off work and wanted to come to the temple to chat with people, listen to strange tales from all over the world, or just enjoy the lively atmosphere.

Under the soft lights of the temple, the workers enjoyed a leisure time that previous generations could not have imagined.

With relaxed expressions after their fatigue, they chatted in twos and threes, sharing the changes brought about by the union and their hopes for the future.

A faint, ethereal power of faith, like a gentle stream, emanated from these devout or casual individuals, eventually converging on the holy spirit statue carved from pure white jade in the center of the temple.

The statue's face was kind and peaceful, just like Anna's. Lu Yan slowly walked into the bustling temple. Although he was in the temple and walking among the crowd, he seemed to be isolated from the whole world.

Neither the believers and workers who came and went, nor the monks and nuns who were responsible for guiding and preaching in the temple, were aware of his existence, as if he were just air or a phantom.

Only when his gaze fell upon the pure white statue of the Holy Spirit in the center of the temple did a barely perceptible glint of light flash in the statue's eyes, which were originally just jade carvings filled with compassion.

Then a phantom spirit, dressed in a pure white robe and with a face identical to the statue, slowly floated out from the statue.

"I've met Your Majesty!"

Anna appeared before Lu Yan, her face filled with pure joy, her eyes brimming with affection and admiration as she looked at him.

Lu Yan gazed at Anna, his eyes falling on the tangible power of faith emanating from her.

The immense power of faith gathered from the Seven Kingdoms was helping Anna quickly digest the extraordinary characteristics of the underworld pathway within her, but at the same time, it was also subtly eroding Anna's self-awareness to another degree.

She gradually transformed into the merciful Holy Spirit that people hoped for, rather than the simple little girl she originally was.

Lu Yan couldn't say whether the outcome was good or bad.

This is the inevitable result of digesting extraordinary characteristics through faith, and also the price that must be paid to gain great power.

He simply reached out and gently stroked Anna's ethereal head, a hint of barely perceptible pity flashing in his eyes.

The time was still too short. If Anna had more time to accumulate experience, she might have been able to digest her extraordinary abilities more easily and maintain more of her individuality.

However, the current situation does not allow them to proceed step by step. If given more time, Anna would not have had to risk being rapidly assimilated by the power of faith.

Anna seemed to sense Lu Yan's thoughts. She tilted her head up and, with a serious tone beyond her years, said to Lu Yan:

"Your Majesty, this is the path Anna wants to take."

Anna is pleased to have been able to assist Your Majesty; Your Majesty need not take offense.

Anna already knew that her promotion and the underworld pathway she represented were of immense value to Lu Yan.

Therefore, she did not hesitate to abandon her soul state, which allowed her to move freely to a certain extent, and chose to directly attach herself to the statue. Through the statue, she spread faith and entered dreams to reward good and punish evil, fully digested her extraordinary characteristics, and tried her best to increase her own power so that she could share more of Lu Yan's burden.

“Your Majesty!” Anna’s eyes were firm. “Anna has successfully digested the extraordinary characteristics of the Judgement Officer and wishes to ask Your Majesty for a path to further advancement.”

Upon hearing Anna's words, Lu Yan suppressed his emotions and his expression turned serious.

He nodded; that was precisely why he had come.

"Sequence Seven, the Judge of Crimes, is the pinnacle of the underworld's conventional path at the mortal level."

Lu Yan said in a deep voice, "Going a step further will truly touch the core sequence of the Divine Court and the Underworld. Are you really prepared to bear the responsibilities and dangers it represents?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Anna knelt respectfully on the ground and bowed deeply to Lu Yan with a solemn expression: "Please grant me the law, Your Majesty!"

Lu Yan slowly reached out and gently placed his hand on Anna's head, just as he had done before.

This time, what flowed from his fingertips was no longer simple soothing, but a profound power containing the origin and authority of the underworld.

"The sixth path to the underworld is named: The Impermanent Underworld General!"

Lu Yan's voice echoed in the temple, but only Anna could hear it.

"The Impermanent One is unpredictable and walks between the realms of Yin and Yang, observing the cycle of life and death in the world, taking away souls and capturing the dead. It is one of the orders of the Divine Court and the Underworld, and also an important assistant under the King of Hell."

Anna's spirit trembled violently. She suddenly raised her head and looked intently at Lu Yan, whose expression was gentle. This was the first time she had heard such specific information about the Divine Court and the Underworld from Lu Yan.

In the previous cultivation in the underworld sequence, whether it was wandering souls, soul-collecting messengers, or judges of sins, although they would be involved in some information about the underworld, those were only scattered fragments.

More often than not, it's just a glimpse of the true underworld in legend, hazy and distant, awe-inspiring yet elusive.

With the bestowal of that incomparably pure and powerful authority from the underworld, Anna was clearly feeling her extraordinary status rapidly advancing.

Her soul is undergoing a radical transformation, and her understanding and control of the extraordinary characteristics of the underworld pathways are increasing at an exponential rate.

However, this was only the beginning of the promotion.

Lu Yan remained calm, yet exuded an undeniable authority, as he gently made a gesture in the void.

In an instant, Anna felt an even more primal and terrifying power descend upon her.

That power was vast and boundless, unfathomable, as if it were the manifestation of the will of the entire underworld.

Faced with this power, she, who had just been promoted to the title of Wuchang Yin Marshal, was as insignificant as dust.

Immediately afterwards, Anna sensed that a small portion of that vast primordial power had been forcibly "cut off" by Lu Yan in a way she could not understand!

The seemingly casual "slash" motion contained a world-shaking power.

The severed portion of the Divine Court and Underworld's primal power rapidly condensed, compressed, and shaped in Lu Yan's palm, eventually transforming into a magnificent and majestic black seal, which quietly appeared in Lu Yan's hand.

The seal was entirely black, made of neither gold nor jade, yet it exuded a cold and heavy aura, as if bearing the weight of countless dead souls and the order of the entire underworld.

Below the seal, the two ancient and vigorous seal characters "Yanluo" are clearly engraved, each stroke seemingly containing the supreme authority to judge life and death and to control reincarnation.

Just seeing this seal made Anna feel her soul tremble; it was a sense of awe and submission that came from the very instinct of life.

She understood that this seal represented not just ordinary authority, but a position truly belonging to the core of the Divine Court and the Underworld.

Lu Yan held the black Yama Seal in his hand, his gaze fixed on Anna, his voice calm yet possessing a penetrating power that reached straight to the soul:

"I wish to establish the Fifth Court of the Ten Kings of Hell in this realm. You are the only Impermanent Underworld Commander in this world, qualified to serve in the Divine Court and the Underworld, and to wield the authority of the King of Hell in this era. You may take this position."

"King Yama!"

(End of this chapter)