The Empire's Ascendant Momentum, Kunpeng Project Completion

Imperial Train Station.

Here, sentries stood every ten paces, posts every five—layer upon layer of blockades, the defenses extremely tight.

Inside the station, many scientists with graying hair, along with some younger ones, gathered together discussing something.

On the tracks not far away sat a green train.

"Hurry, hurry and check the train's condition. His Majesty will be arriving for an inspection soon. Everything must be foolproof, or else..."

At that moment, a man rushed in quickly, breathing heavily, and shouted with an excited expression.

"What?! His Majesty is coming for an inspection? Quick, quick, check everything again. We must ensure nothing goes wrong—absolutely no mistakes."

Upon hearing that Ye Chen was coming to inspect, Zhou Hong, the highest-ranking official at the station, was startled at first, then hurriedly arranged for people to recheck the train, guaranteeing everything was flawless.

When the others heard the news that His Majesty was coming, they were also thrilled after their initial surprise.

After all, in their hearts, Ye Chen was the one true god, the sole faith.

Then, everyone threw themselves into the work with fervor, meticulously inspecting every single part of the train as if they wished to examine each component.

Outside the station.

Ye Chen, guarded by numerous personal guards and with the army clearing the way, slowly made his way over.

Wherever he passed, the common folk bowed low in salute. Only some children in the crowd, fearless in their youth, clutched the clothes of the adults beside them and stared at Ye Chen with wide, curious eyes.

Looking at these subjects, Ye Chen's face was stern, his eyes deep as an abyss. He wore a fitted Star Robe as his everyday attire, with the Chixiao Sword at his waist. The aura of an emperor radiated faintly from him, making him appear immensely dignified—no one dared meet his gaze.

"We pay homage to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years."

"Rise."

After entering the train station, Ye Chen looked at the crowd and said calmly.

Then, his gaze fell on the familiar green train resting on the tracks not far away.

When he had first decided on the train's design, Ye Chen had thought of the green trains from his memories.

"Minister Zhou, how is the progress on the train's construction? Can it be put into use?"

Withdrawing his gaze from the green train, Ye Chen smiled and asked Zhou Hong beside him.

Hearing this, Zhou Hong quickly replied, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Xuanhuang Hao has now been fully constructed and has undergone dozens of test runs..."

Zhou Hong dared not hide anything about the train's situation and reported it in full detail.

Zhou Hong's words made Ye Chen nod slightly. In truth, someone reported the specific status of the Xuanhuang Hao to him every day—he knew it all clearly.

"As the empire's first train, the Xuanhuang Hao carries great significance. Put it into use as soon as possible."

Saying this, Ye Chen looked at Zhou Hong with a smile. "Minister Zhou, why don't you accompany Imperial We for a ride on the empire's first train and be among the first batch of passengers on the Xuanhuang Hao? What do you say?"

"As you command!"

Hearing Ye Chen invite him to ride the train together, Zhou Hong immediately agreed with excitement, his body even trembling slightly from the thrill.

Being personally invited by Ye Chen, the empire's one true god—what an honor this was. Even Zhou Hong, as the vice president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and a man of great power and status, could not remain calm.

Seeing Zhou Hong like this, Ye Chen smiled, then led the group toward the Xuanhuang Hao.

Outside Imperial Capital, a green train sped swiftly along the tracks, moving at a steady pace and gliding smoothly toward Qinglong City, the guardian city of Xuanhuang City.

Inside the Xuanhuang Hao, in an ordinary carriage, Ye Chen sat by a window, watching the scenery flash by outside, a faint smile appearing on his face.

From starting with nothing, step by step building the Yanhuang Empire, then enduring over a hundred years to reach this point—scenes flashed through his mind one after another.

And in his rise, although the Civilization System had not directly helped him, without it, he would never have come this far.

After all, without the Super Healing Ability, let alone building an empire—just in those early years, given his physique, the harsh environment around him would have killed him.

He had to remember that the place he was in now was undeveloped North America, much of it still in a primitive state, teeming with all kinds of poisonous insects. Without his healing ability, he simply couldn't have survived.

Meanwhile, in the carriage, some officials looked out the windows at the rapidly passing scenery, clicking their tongues in admiration.

Clearly, they found it novel that this massive steel monster, the train, could run without manpower or animal power—and run this fast at that.

The empire's first train wasn't as fast as those from his past life, but it wasn't too slow either. After over an hour of travel, it arrived at Qinglong City.

At a track in Qinglong City's train station, people were already waiting early. At the head was Zhao Qingyun, the highest official of Qinglong City, along with other senior officials.

Everyone was eagerly looking down the tracks.

"Woo—woo!!"

A low, resonant whistle sounded from afar.

Hearing this sound, the waiting crowd perked up and turned their attention toward the direction it came from.

Soon, everyone saw a strangely shaped, massive steel monster speeding toward them.

"Is this the train from the Imperial Weekly? It looks so strange, and it's even puffing smoke."

"I heard this thing doesn't need manpower or animal power—just eats some kind of black stone and can keep running forever without getting tired. I wonder if it's true or not."

"..."

Watching the Green Train approach, the waiting crowd murmured among themselves.

As the train pulled into the station, Ye Chen and the others stepped out from the carriages.

"We pay homage to Your Majesty. May Your Majesty live ten thousand years."

"My beloved ministers, rise."

"Your Majesty, you must be weary from the journey. Your servant has already prepared a banquet..."

"Mm!" Ye Chen nodded, then walked out of the station accompanied by Zhao Qinghong.

Qinglong City, one of the four guardian cities of the Yanhuang Empire's capital, was no less prosperous than the imperial capital itself.

Seeing the bustling scene in Qinglong City—the people living and working in peace, the endless cries of vendors—Ye Chen couldn't help but smile. Whether a nation was strong could be seen from the lives of its common people.

Over the next few days, news of the train's inauguration spread rapidly across the empire through the newspaper network that covered every corner of the land.

At the same time, with the train's deployment, the industrial era of the Yanhuang Empire was officially inaugurated.

With such a fast means of transport as the train, quickly linking the empire's north and south, the empire's commercial channels were rapidly opened, and the economy soared.

As the empire's economy developed swiftly, the era of grand infrastructure construction began.

It could be said that every day, the empire looked different.

Watching the empire change with each passing day and feeling the time was right, Ye Chen immediately exchanged a large amount of electrical technology from the system—ranging from high to low—and invested it into the Imperial Education System.

As batch after batch of top imperial graduates entered society and joined various imperial institutions, the development of electrical technology rapidly integrated into them.

In the 182nd year of the Yanhuang Calendar, the First Imperial Automobile was born.

At the same time, the Kunpeng Project was launched.

In the 197th year of the Yanhuang Calendar, the First Imperial Airplane was born.

That day, upon hearing the news, Ye Chen set aside his government affairs and immediately headed to the imperial-built Airport.

Before he even entered the Airport, Ye Chen saw a black shadow streak swiftly across the sky, followed by the roar of the airplane's engine.

Watching the steel airplane soaring in the sky, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh heartily.

"Excellent, excellent."