I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 542 How is His Holiness the Pope? (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)
"Your Majesty, this dress is a little small," Consort Yi frowned slightly, tugging at her light purple gauze dress with some unease.

The fabric clung tightly to her voluptuous body, outlining stunning curves, and the fabric at her chest was stretched almost transparent, vaguely revealing the snow-white skin beneath.

She felt the dress looked familiar, but couldn't quite place where she had seen it before.

That's right, this is the same palace dress that Li Sining wore yesterday, but now it looks particularly ill-fitting on the mature and beautiful Consort Yi.

Li Chen admired the ripe woman in front of him.

Consort Yi was more voluptuous and fuller than her daughter. Wearing Li Si Ning's dress, she looked exactly like a "larger version" of Li Si Ning. This wonderful sense of déjà vu pleased him greatly, and he found it pleasing to the eye.

"Consort Yi looks beautiful in this." Li Chen's deep voice carried an undeniable air of authority.

Consort Yi's fair cheeks immediately flushed red.

She was naturally gentle, and now she lowered her head in embarrassment, her slender fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt: "But...but this dress..."

"It's alright, I really think it's great," Li Chen said, standing up.

The next morning, Li Chen stepped out of the palace feeling refreshed. After walking for a while, he bumped into Li Si Ning, who had come to pay her respects.

When the girl saw Li Chen, she ran over excitedly, her light purple skirt fluttering in the morning light like a butterfly. "What a coincidence! What are you doing here so early in the morning? Would you like to come with me to pay our respects to Consort Yi?"

Since this was a corridor in the palace, Li Sining didn't think much of it.

Li Chen straightened his collar without changing his expression: "I still have official business to attend to. Si Ning, you can go by yourself."

Li Sining thought so too. Her brother was very busy, so there was no need to bother him with such trivial matters.

Watching his younger sister's cheerful departing figure, Li Chen's lips curled into a slight smile.

Li Sining arrived at her mother's palace, only to be told by a palace maid that Consort Yi was still resting.

He was puzzled; his mother was always an early riser, so why was she so sleepy?

However, she didn't say anything and prepared to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager and her aunt Li Xueying, which was a daily routine for someone living in the palace.

Li Chen had already returned to his palace.

He dismissed the left and right menus and brought up the system interface.

As a flash of light appeared, a new mission slowly emerged:
【Task Name: First Impression of the Sect】

[Mission Location: Southern Seas, Eight Gates Overturning Heaven Palace]

[Task Requirement: Enter the library to learn a martial arts technique]

[Task Rewards: 1 Heavenly-Grade Void-Breaking Pill, 1 Space Illusion Bell]

"The Eight Gates Overturning Heaven Palace?"

Li Chen understood what the system meant; it wanted him to come into contact with hidden sects.

If the world were to follow the original plot, now that I have a certain level of strength and resources, I would need the support of a hidden sect in order to gradually ascend to the throne.

Everyone knows how unattainable the hidden sects were in the past. Let alone entering the library, even entering the sect itself was something that many cultivators could never achieve in their entire lives.

But now Li Chen is the emperor, and he still knows the sect leader of the Eight Gates Heaven-Shattering Palace.

Coincidentally.

He was just about to return the Immortal Token when the system task pointed him there.

"It's convenient to stop by the Eternal Day Empire on the way," he muttered to himself, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

He had long wanted to find out more about that mysterious papal organization.

There's also that silver-haired, ascetic nun, Lina; it's time to meet her. Anyway, I have connections with the Emperor of Eternal Day, and I've also received an invitation from the Pope, so this trip can be considered a legitimate incognito visit.

Just as Li Chen was about to leave the palace, Eunuch Cui rushed over to report: "Your Majesty, Prince Morris of the Yongzhou Empire requests an audience."

Li Chen raised an eyebrow and a playful smile appeared on his lips: "Send it."

Before long, Prince Maurice entered the hall with elegant steps.

Today, he was dressed in a silver-white suit unique to the Eternal Day Empire, with an amethyst badge symbolizing his royal status pinned to his chest, exuding an aura of nobility and elegance.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor of Tian Ce." Morris placed his right hand on his chest and performed a standard noble salute of the Yong Zhou Empire.

A glint of shrewdness flashed beneath his lowered eyelids. This prince had been lying low in the capital for many days, not just for sightseeing.

He had many tasks to complete. He not only needed to understand the culture, military, and cultivation methods of Tian Ce, but also needed to communicate more with Li Chen and learn more about this new emperor of Tian Ce.

Unfortunately, Li Chen was always busy, so he didn't have many opportunities to meet him.

Li Chen leaned back lazily on the dragon throne and said, "Your Highness, there's no need for such formalities. I've heard that you've been getting along very well with Chancellor Zhao lately?"

"Thanks to Prime Minister Zhao's guidance, I have benefited greatly," Maurice replied respectfully, while taking out a gold-embossed envelope from his pocket. "This is a reply from His Holiness the Pope."

The envelope was printed with the Holy Cross emblem unique to the Eternal Day Church, radiating a faint holy light.

Morris held the envelope with both hands, his posture as reverent as if he were holding a sacred object.

In the Eternal Day Empire, the Pope's decree is indeed more sacred than an imperial edict.

Just as Eunuch Cui was about to step forward to take it, Li Chen waved his hand and stood up to take the envelope himself.

His slender fingers traced the envelope, and he could feel the sacred power contained within it.

"How is His Holiness the Pope?" Li Chen did not open the letter immediately, but instead asked casually.

A flicker of surprise crossed Maurice's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure: "Thanks to His Majesty's good fortune, His Holiness the Pope is well. However..."

He hesitated.

"Just what?" Li Chen looked at him with a half-smile.

“It’s just that the Vatican has been very busy lately, and His Holiness the Pope often stays up all night.” Morris carefully chose his words, but in his mind he was already planning how to steer the conversation toward serious matters.

The two exchanged pleasantries back and forth, much like two chess players tentatively placing pieces on the chessboard.

Finally, Morris couldn't contain himself any longer and asked casually, "Your Majesty, I've heard that Tian Ce has developed a new type of mobile phone chip?"

A hint of a smile flashed in Li Chen's eyes, but his face showed surprise: "Ah? So your country also has crystal mines? I thought the reserves were not large, so I had the Ministry of Works develop alternatives on its own."

He shook his head regretfully, "What a pity, we were originally planning to import it from Yongzhou."

Morris's lips twitched slightly.

He had personally witnessed the sheer scale of Tian Ce's crystal mining operations; the emperor's ability to feign ignorance was truly remarkable.

“Indeed. What a pity.” Morris forced a smile, but his heart was bleeding. This was an astronomical trade loss!
If we can make Tian Ce rely on chip technology, we can also control part of Tian Ce's economic lifeline.

The plan did not succeed.

Li Chen changed the subject at the right moment: "By the way, how is the construction of the Eternal Day rail train going?"

"Thanks to His Majesty, the road has been opened to traffic smoothly." Morris regained his spirits. "Thanks to the technical support provided by Tian Ce, our engineers are full of praise."

(End of this chapter)