As Ye Chen issued decree after decree in court, the empire's future gradually came into focus.
After the Grand Court ended, Ye Chen had barely returned to his sleeping quarters when the voice of the Civilization System rang in his mind.
"Detected that the Yanhuang Empire has developed to a certain stage. A mission is now being issued.
"Mission: Industrial Revolution.
The Yanhuang Civilization System was intended to help the Inheritor advance the civilization system.
A convenient industrial system was bound to replace the primitive Labor System.
The Industrial Revolution, the starting point for the Technological Side, consisted of two stages: the Steam Revolution and the Electricity Revolution.
The Inheritor could choose to carry out these two revolutions separately, one after the other, or combine them and complete them together. The system would evaluate the difficulty and degree of completion to determine the final reward.
Time limit: 100 years.
Basic reward: "First Generation Human King Body, 500,000 Civilization Points."
Additional reward: "The higher the empire's civilization level rises during the mission, the greater the reward. Based on the empire's level of civilization, the Inheritor will receive an additional Lucky Draw Opportunity.
"What level of Lucky Draw Opportunity the Inheritor receives will depend on him."
Friendly reminder: "The advancement of civilization is not necessarily better the faster it happens. Sometimes, by taking one solid step at a time, you may eventually discover that the Gate of Stars has already opened."
"First Generation Human King Body? What does that mean? Is it a divine body?"
Seeing that the mission reward was the First Generation Human King Body, Ye Chen couldn't help asking curiously.
In the Super God Universe, the most famous things were the various divine bodies. Seeing that this reward was called the Human King Body and was also described as first-generation, it wasn't hard to guess that it was meant to be compared with the Genetic Engineering System of the Super God Universe.
"Inheritor, the God-Making System of the Super God Universe fundamentally involves making microscopic modifications to genes.
"At the same time, it uses Dark Dimension technology to help harness the energy of the greater universe, thereby granting various abilities. This system has a major flaw: it consumes an enormous amount of energy.
"Moreover, the God-Making System develops the three treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit unevenly. In particular, it does almost nothing to enhance the soul.
"The rewards within the Civilization System are better described as a Cultivation Method than a physique. The method uses the spirit as an aid to form a cycle within the Inner World, allowing one to connect with the power of the Dimensional Universe and naturally evolve their Essence, Qi, and Spirit.
"This is like the cultivation of immortality in the Inheritor's memories. It uses energy very efficiently, consumes little, and does not rely on the Dark Dimension at all.
"To help the Inheritor understand the strength of each level, the system has established specific divisions according to the rules of this universe.
"Therefore, the First Generation Human King Body rewarded to the Inheritor is comparable in strength to a First Generation Super Soldier at the peak of their power in the Super God Universe.
"And it is a peak-level body in every respect..."
After hearing the system's explanation, Ye Chen had a general idea of what this First Generation Human King Body was.
The system meant that this thing belonged not to the Technological Side, but to the Fantasy Side.
Also, the Human King Body awarded by the mission was, in essence, a physique cultivated through a Cultivation Method.
After awarding it to him, the system would help him cultivate it until he reached a level comparable to a peak First Generation Super Soldier in the Super God Universe.
And it would be a peak-level First Generation Super Soldier in every respect. In simple terms, he would be the undisputed king among First Generation Super Soldiers, invincible, and could easily beat ordinary Second Generation Super Soldiers.
Ye Chen then looked at the additional reward and the friendly reminder. The Lucky Draw Opportunity was easy enough to understand, but the system's reminder was rather interesting.
Was the system telling him to keep a low profile and avoid taking risks?
Well, that did seem to be the gist of it.
After all, the higher a civilization advanced, the harder it became to progress.
If he focused only on raising the empire's civilization level and neglected everything else, the empire would likely end up stuck at a certain stage, unable to advance any further.
And that kind of prosperity would be nothing but a house of cards, all for show.
It seemed he had been right not to force the empire to advance too quickly.
Summer, Year 145 of the Yanhuang Calendar.
The first railway connecting the north and south of the empire was completed.
At the same time, the empire's first steam locomotive was finished.
On May 1, the area around the Train Station east of the Imperial City was packed with people for miles.
They had all come to see the spectacle. Outside the station, everyone excitedly chatted.
"Have you heard? That Academy of Sciences in the empire has built some kind of train. I hear it can travel a thousand li in a day."
"A train? What kind of vehicle is that? Does it run by lighting a fire under it?"
"You really are ignorant. The Industrial Knowledge System has been developing over the past decade or so. Don't you study it?
"And the Imperial Capital Weekly explained it, didn't it? A train is driven by a steam engine. As long as you burn coal, it can keep going..."
"Uh... I can't make heads or tails of that stuff..."
Seeing the other man's expression, as if to say he didn't care about the empire's news, the man scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.
The other man was speechless. "Well, I'll be. The empire's five years of compulsory education have spread all across the country, and yet you're still slipping through the cracks.
"By the way, where are you from, buddy?"
"Xing'an Province. Why?"
"That explains it. That part of Xing'an Province hasn't been part of the empire for very long..."
A few hours earlier.
In the Imperial Palace, Ye Chen received word that the train and railway were complete. He closed the document in his hands and smiled. "Yuan Long, make the arrangements."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Yuan Long, who had been waiting on duty nearby, promptly answered and hurried off to make the arrangements.
As the Emperor of a nation, Ye Chen's outings involved a lot of fuss. It was troublesome, but also essential.
After all, Ye Chen's safety could not be compromised. The empire's crude firearms couldn't hurt him, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
No one dared to gamble on whether anyone might be able to harm Ye Chen. Ye Chen himself wouldn't take that chance, either. To do so would be irresponsible—not just to himself, but to the millions of people in the empire.
Ye Chen was the heart of the Yanhuang Empire. If anything happened to him, the entire empire would instantly fall apart.
After all, he had no children to inherit the empire.
He had been in this world for more than a hundred years. From the empire's founding until now, there had never been a harem in his vast palace, let alone three thousand beauties.
Over the years, the ministers had repeatedly urged him to take consorts, establish an empress, and leave behind heirs. But after he had outlived one generation of ministers after another, the ones who came later stopped bringing it up.
It wasn't that Ye Chen lacked desire. He simply couldn't bring himself to care for the women in the empire.
After all, with Angel A Zhui as the standard, how could he be interested in ordinary women from the empire?
There was another reason, too: his lifespan was far too long. With his current abilities, he had no way to grant ordinary people long lives—he could only extend theirs somewhat.
In the end, he would still have to watch his loved ones grow old and die one by one. That was a future he couldn't bear.
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