"You're just a mortal, but according to the Dark Data I scanned, you've never been exposed to Gene Technology or anything else that could extend your lifespan."
"To be honest, I'm really curious how you broke through the limits of a mortal lifespan."
Looking at the face before her, which had barely changed in a hundred years, A Zhui fell into thought.
Looking at A Zhui, Ye Chen smiled. "If you want to know, why not study me yourself? And have you ever heard this saying? Sometimes, falling for someone starts with curiosity."
As he spoke, Ye Chen opened his arms and smiled at her.
Ye Chen wasn't worried about being examined at all. After all, a mere ability to heal himself was nothing special in the Super God Universe.
Seeing Ye Chen openly flirt with her, A Zhui really wanted to beat him into a pulp.
"You really are full of yourself. You're not strong enough to make me fall for you yet.
"If you haven't rotted away in the ground by then, there's a slight chance I might like you."
Angels sought eternal love, aiming to find a male god who wouldn't rot away in the ground.
That was because angels lived so long, and each angel loved only one person in her lifetime.
If their other half had too short a lifespan, then after their beloved died of old age, the one left behind would be worse than dead through the endless years to come.
"Enough. I have things to do, so I'm leaving. I hope you'll still be alive when I come back in another hundred years."
As soon as she finished speaking, A Zhui vanished without a sound.
Watching A Zhui leave so quietly, Ye Chen smiled. "Another hundred years... Is that a promise? Heh. I'll be waiting."
"Long Yu, Yuan Long, come in!" Ye Chen called in a low voice, looking toward the hall's entrance.
"Creak~"
As the door opened, Long Yu, the Black Dragon Guard's commander, and Yuan Long, Ye Chen's personal guard and chief secretary, entered the hall. They glanced around and saw that the foreign woman had already left.
"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."
Once inside, Long Yu immediately dropped to one knee.
"Rise. This isn't your fault. With that person's abilities, no one on Blue Star can stop her right now."
"Thank you for Your Majesty's forgiveness."
Hearing that Ye Chen wasn't going to blame him, Long Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Otherwise, this dereliction of duty could easily have implicated his family.
As the Emperor's personal guard, it was both an honor and an extremely dangerous position.
"Yuan Long, go to the Education Department and oversee its work. I want the entire country's education system in place within twenty years, from provincial capitals down to the smallest villages. At the same time, find a site near the imperial capital and build the Imperial Academy of Sciences..."
Ye Chen calmly announced the empire's plans and the decrees to follow.
Yuan Long quickly wrote everything down, then left to make the arrangements.
After Yuan Long had left, Ye Chen looked at Long Yu. "Long Yu, I intend to establish the Imperial Guard. Its duty will be to monitor the empire's officials and gather intelligence from every corner of the empire for me.
"This agency will answer directly to me and have the authority to execute first and report afterward. It will wield great power, and it will be extremely important. So I need someone I can trust absolutely to lead it.
"Long Yu, tell me—can I trust you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, immense pressure bore down on Long Yu. Feeling an aura as vast as the sea and unfathomable as an abyss, Long Yu could barely breathe.
Cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
Long Yu hadn't expected Ye Chen not only to spare him this time, but also to entrust him with such an important agency. But he quickly recovered.
"Thank you for Your Majesty's great favor. Long Yu will not betray Your Majesty's trust."
Seeing this, Ye Chen nodded with satisfaction. After a century as Emperor, and drawing on what he'd learned online in his former life as well as what he'd figured out over the years, he had developed his own approach to the Art of the Emperor.
By now, he had become so practiced at it that he could hardly be more skilled.
If he'd been in his old world, he would've made a great boss. After all, he knew how to paint a rosy picture, an essential skill for any boss, and with his methods for managing people, he could hardly fail.
Ye Chen then dismissed Long Yu.
Soon, only Ye Chen remained in the great hall.
Looking at the vast, empty hall, so cold and desolate, Ye Chen shook his head and sighed.
For some reason, he suddenly felt a little lonely. All right, maybe he was being a little sentimental.
But if he had chosen the path of an emperor, loneliness was inevitable.
For an emperor could have no equal at his side.
And that was the imperious nature of an Emperor.
Before you continue