Standing in Qiankun Hall, Ye Chen quietly savored the loneliness. 😳
At the same time, he carefully felt its presence.
Because this kind of loneliness could become addictive.
To be honest, sometimes he wondered whether he had made the right choice.
Or whether the life he had now was really what he wanted.
Originally, he had only wanted to complete the system's tasks and build a civilization of his own.
Then he would raise it to Level Two as quickly as possible and develop technology that could extend his life.
After that, he would accumulate Civilization Points and trade them with the system for powerful genetic technology, using it to become a god.
But things had looked wonderful in theory; reality had other plans.
When he first began building his civilization, the environment, real-world circumstances, and other factors had left him with no choice but to establish an empire.
Looking back, he had somehow been pushed into this position, bit by bit, by the tide of events.
And little by little, that same tide had forced him to learn how to govern a country well and how to make sure his people had enough to eat and warm clothes to wear.
And how to become a worthy emperor.
He felt as though the path he had taken had veered miles away from the course he had originally planned.
Besides, being an emperor was exhausting—especially being a good one.
But as time went on, he found himself enjoying it anyway.
He suspected he had come down with some kind of illness. Yes, he had "being an emperor is exhausting, but I enjoy it anyway" disease.
It was something like, "Life has beaten me a thousand times, yet I still treat it like my first love."
In modern terms, it was "Stockholm syndrome." Probably. Maybe. It had to be that, right?
His thoughts drifted, all sorts of strange ideas crowding his mind.
He shook his head, clearing away the jumble of thoughts, then leaned over his desk. As various technical details surfaced in his memory, he wrote down whatever came to mind.
If he couldn't remember something, he could always spend Civilization Points to redeem it from the system.
The Yanhuang Empire's development over the past century had, for the most part, been built up by him little by little.
He had been an excellent student in the past, but that didn't mean he could remember everything. He still had to slowly recall a great many things for himself.
The Yanhuang Civilization System hadn't helped him all that much over the past century. Ever since it had been bound to the Yanhuang Empire, he had needed to spend Civilization Points in the system's store to obtain technological information and other technological products.
Civilization Points, in turn, were earned according to the development of the Yanhuang Civilization. In other words, the stronger the Yanhuang Empire became, the more Civilization Points he received.
Over the past century, the Yanhuang Empire he had founded hadn't developed all that quickly. Of course, that was also because he had deliberately controlled its pace of growth.
Haste made waste. It had taken him great effort to reach this point and establish the Yanhuang Empire. It was now his foundation, and he wasn't about to force its growth just for some short-term gain.
Besides, his lifespan was long enough. He could afford to wait.
Forcing the Yanhuang Empire to grow too quickly would only leave behind greater problems in the future.
He believed that a large ship was hard to turn. Rather than waiting until the empire was powerful to address its hidden problems, it was better to eliminate them from the start.
His plan was to lay a solid foundation, gradually phase out the old, backward natives, focus on growing the population, then build a complete education system and spread knowledge.
Once a generation of students had completed their studies and graduated, they could begin developing industrial technology. That way, the entire social system could gradually be set in motion and put on the right track.
Yanhuang Calendar, Year 124.
After decades of effort, the education system had finally been established throughout the empire.
Once the first few graduating classes had been assigned teaching positions across the country, a sweeping nationwide education campaign began.
At the same time, officials in each province took charge of the cities under them, ensuring the smooth operation of education across the country.
In secret, Ye Chen had ordered Long Yu to establish the Imperial Guard, an organization tasked with monitoring the entire country. Any official caught sabotaging the education system or neglecting their duties could be executed first and reported afterward.
After several "chickens" had been severely punished, the Imperial Guard gradually emerged from the shadows and became a sword of Damocles hanging over every official in the country, ready to fall at any moment.
For a time, officials throughout the country trembled in fear, and the Imperial Guard's authority reached its peak.
Nor would it decline in the future, because Ye Chen, the emperor, stood behind the Imperial Guard—and Ye Chen himself would never die.
As long as Ye Chen lived, the Yanhuang Empire would remain stable.
As long as Ye Chen didn't weaken the Imperial Guard's authority, its power would not diminish.
Now, as generation after generation of elders passed away and the empire entered its second century, Ye Chen had spent years indoctrinating each new generation of children. The entire Yanhuang Empire could be said to be ruled by his word alone.
Everyone took pride in the empire, and everyone regarded Ye Chen as the one and only true god.
Just as among the angels, every member of the younger generation believed in Keisha without question and was willing to die for her.
Star Hall, court assembly.
Ye Chen wore a black Star Robe and a twelve-bead crown. Holding the Chixiao Sword—the former Sword of Flames—he sat steadily upon the imperial throne and looked down at the assembled ministers.
Yuan Long, standing beside him, called out, "Bow!"
"Greetings, Emperor!"
As everyone bowed, Yuan Long called out again, "Cry out together!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Again!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
After the court rituals were complete, Ye Chen looked down at the assembly and said in a deep voice, "Rise!"
"Thank you, Emperor!"
Once the necessary formalities were over, the ministers took their seats in their respective places.
The civil and military officials sat on either side, with a wide aisle running down the middle.
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