Chapter 103: Seeking Balance in the Underworld (Part Three)

The ghost-headed blade scraped against the ground with a soft rustling sound, quiet yet oppressive, causing hundreds of restless spirits to tremble all over.

“Who gave you the courage to make noise at the gates of the underworld without reason?”

“Do you think this is still the living world? Do you expect me to talk about human rights here?!”

With the final words, the voice suddenly rose sharply. As the ghost-headed blade swept past, those who first stood up from the crowd—muscular men, fierce brutes—screamed in agony before their bodies dissolved into drifting shadows.

“Still too gentle.” With a light flick, the ghost-headed blade was caught in Arthas’s hand. She smiled faintly, surveying everyone.

Silence.

Every spirit was trembling. Amid Arthas’s smile, the ghost-headed blade brushed lightly once more.

Boom!

The movement was slight.

Yet the entire space seemed to be suddenly compressed by an immense force. All the spirits felt their hairs stand on end as a never-before-experienced pressure filled the air!

The authority of the judge!

In the next moment, hundreds of agonized screams echoed one after another. Countless spirits vanished, and hundreds of ghostly flames soared into the hall. In an instant, the chamber was bathed in a brilliant green light, with hundreds of lanterns ignited.

The scene was instantly cleared of a large area.

“Remember.” Her voice was calm, as if she were performing a routine task. “Here, you have but one sky, one master.”

“He is your sky.” She pointed to Qin Ye. “Anyone who dares to disobey shall be mercilessly killed.”

“That is the law here.”

“Understand?!”

The last five words caused the entire new underworld to tremble. The remaining spirits, those who had not yet tried to storm the gates, cowered on the ground, trembling as they shouted hoarsely, “Understood!”

Their voices carried tears.

“That’s what I call contempt.” Arthas said coldly. “You ignore kind words and think I’ll discuss laws with you?”

“Here, he *is* the law. Whether you were the richest man alive or a provincial governor, remember to keep reverence in your heart once you enter here.” She returned the blade to Qin Ye and whispered, “This time, I’m showing you the way. Next time, I won’t come.”

Qin Ye nodded and stepped back. Arthas’s robes fluttered as her cold gaze fixed on the hundreds of spirits frozen in fear. She said lightly, “Now, those who were draftsmen or designers in life, step forward.”

The spirits exchanged glances, but no one stood.

“No one?” Arthas’s voice remained unchanged. “Then those who ran companies related to architecture, step forward.”

Still no response.

Arthas raised an eyebrow. “Anyone who worked for the government, or served as clerks in neighborhood or district offices, step forward.”

All the spirits trembled. After ten seconds, five figures wobbly rose to their feet.

“You, you, and you.” Arthas casually pointed, dividing them into five groups. “Sixty per group. They will lead and start the land clearing.”

Land clearing?

The spirits stared at one another in shock. One spirit, appearing to be in his fifties, respectfully asked, “M-milady… how do we clear the land?”

Arthas casually drew a circle in the air. “Within three square kilometers centered on the gates of the underworld, all trees must be cut down, and the ground leveled flat! When I return next time, I will bring tools. Until then, use this time to organize your teams. If this happens again… or if anyone slacks off…”

A silent chill wind swept through, all the ghost flames flickered. Her voice grew icy: “Then… you will cease to live.”

She smiled faintly, her tone soft yet like the biting cold of midwinter, piercing into the spirits’ souls: “True annihilation. I guarantee not a single trace of your soul will remain.”

“Do you understand what must be done?”

“Yes! Milady, we understand!” “Rest assured, we will coordinate all the manpower!” The five selected responded eagerly.

Arthas led Qin Ye toward the gates of the underworld. Behind them, hundreds of spirits did not dare raise their heads to even glance.

They were truly afraid.

The ruling power of the underworld was far more ruthless than any force in the living world. Ruthless to the point that there was no room for negotiation.

Refuse?

Then die.

“Remember, no rules, no mercy. Afraid there aren’t enough spirits? As long as humans aren’t extinct, spirits will only increase.” Entering the gates, Arthas said solemnly, “With the establishment of the new underworld, spirits throughout Huaguo will sense it. Not all will know exactly where, but many will clearly feel it.”

Qin Ye’s eyes flickered. Arthas did not elaborate, seemingly implying it didn’t matter how many spirits were killed, but the underlying meaning was clear to him.

The first transfer already saw a small-scale riot. If the spirits kept increasing and the underworld administration was not yet established… once a critical point was reached, the underworld would no longer be under his control!

Manpower! Resources! These were what he desperately needed now.

Only after taking over did he realize how difficult it was to set even a modest target of one hundred million for the real estate sector.

Reflecting carefully, every question Arthas had asked before was pointed and deliberate. Any city’s establishment begins with people, then food, clothing, housing, and transportation. If he made life unbearable for the ghost citizens, they would certainly prevent this fragile underworld government from getting off the ground.

Qin Ye gazed at the spirits quietly discussing outside and sighed helplessly. “We’re in the land development phase for the new city. The settlement of spirits is the top priority. To settle them, the land must be leveled. To level the land, we need engineering teams. To support the engineering teams, we need machinery… tree-cutting saws, excavators, engineer shovels, cranes… how much will all this cost?”

“Wait…” Arthas was baffled. “Automatic tree-cutting machines? Excavators? Cranes? What are these things I don’t know?”

“Ah… people sit on them, there’s a big saw in front, press a button and it quickly cuts down trees, fast and convenient… You don’t know about these?”

Qin Ye stared at Arthas in astonishment. Arthas’s eyes widened as she stared back. After a few seconds, she awkwardly cleared her throat. “There have definitely been some changes since the mass conscription of a hundred thousand laborers centuries ago…”

Changes?

“I told you to stop binge-watching dramas online and keep up with modern times…”

“That’s not the point!” Arthas cut him off firmly. “The point is… manpower can be trusted—six out of ten positions relate to real estate; workers in the living world’s property sector are overwhelmed. Soon, supervisors and workers will be enough for you to form a construction team. But!”

She took a deep breath. “There are very few people today who truly understand ancient architecture.”

“Wait.” Qin Ye interrupted. “Ancient architecture?”

“Of course.” Arthas raised an eyebrow. “Do you think underworld buildings are like those in the living world? Just build a structure, move in, hang a plaque, and it works? No. Every building in the underworld is a magical artifact with internal automatic runic circuits. You don’t just need architectural plans, you must design how to embed these runes into the blueprints. That’s why yin spirit stones are needed—only spirit energy can fully activate these runes.”

“If you use modern architectural designs, the structure is fundamentally different from ancient buildings. The old runes won’t work. Your current situation means you could face spirit uprisings at any time. Look at the gates of the underworld—they can hold back millions of spirits. Do you want the buildings you painstakingly construct to be taken over in a single riot?”

Qin Ye looked up to the sky, exhaling speechlessly.

What on earth was going on…

Building a city is a monumental task, chaotic and overwhelming, with no clear starting point. He pressed his temples, grabbed a sheet of paper from the desk, and wrote a line: “Design Institute: Architectural Plans.”

His calligraphy was decent. Pressing his brow in pain, he began listing: “Excavators, tree-cutting saws, engineering geniuses, construction teams…”

“Also accounting and logistics personnel. Even if the plans are ready, how much ghost energy is needed? How much wood? Bricks? And other materials… Oh, right, temporary housing for spirits. If you don’t satisfy them, they’ll riot immediately…” Arthas watched as he ground his teeth and wrote feverishly, adding more.

“Is there truly no way to resign? I feel utterly unfit for this responsibility…”

“Is it helpful to say that now?” Arthas was equally stressed. Only after starting did she realize how difficult building from scratch truly was.

For over half an hour, they wrote copiously and discussed nonstop, finally outlining the essential ghost energy and machinery needed. Qin Ye held the full stack of papers, feeling his eyelids twitch.

Though still overwhelmingly complex, at least they had sorted priorities.

First, engineering machinery. Second, architectural plans.

Without these two prerequisites, as spirits accumulate, it would be game over.

“Let’s return.” Qin Ye frowned. “Look online for the prices of this machinery. Also, even if we buy them, how do we get them into the underworld?”

“Burn them. I’ll draw a few talismans and stick them on. Burning them will send them straight to the underworld… Oh, and we’ll need to rent an incineration plant. Add that to the list…”

“…I really shouldn’t have asked that!”

Taking out another fragment of the King of Hell’s seal, Qin Ye was about to channel spirit energy but suddenly paused. Then he swiftly exited the gates of the underworld, heading toward the continent’s edge.

The area where the new underworld stood was like a floating mountain. Beyond five square kilometers, a vast expanse of deep spirit energy spread. This energy was icy cold and heavy with resentment, utterly impenetrable to him now. Fortunately, the path into the new underworld led directly to the edge.

Reaching the edge, he quietly looked down.

A kilometer below, the enormous spirit Di Ting snored lightly, visible to the naked eye. Spirit energy pillars rose from him into the new underworld, dispersing cold mists of spirit energy bit by bit. The underworld silently expanded—slowly but ceaselessly.

Beside Di Ting, black forget-soul incense bloomed like a radiant ocean, swaying with his breath into a dark sea.

Only then did Qin Ye exhale in relief. His mind turned, and his form transformed into a tiny, faintly blue spirit flame, soaring up beyond the heavens.