Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

The tenth year of the Zhenguan era.

Three years have passed since that world-shaking "global fiefdom".

Three years is but a tiny moment on the scale of the universe, but for this blue star, it has undergone a terrifying reshaping that can be described as a generational upheaval.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty could no longer be simply described as an empire.

It became a true "captain".

The first rays of morning sunlight fall upon a vast plain in the distant western hemisphere.

This place was once known as America. But now, in front of that massive governor's mansion built of reinforced concrete, a bright Tang Dynasty dragon flag flutters in the Atlantic sea breeze.

Prince Li Ke of Shu, dressed in a stylish, specially made woolen overcoat, held a steaming cup of coffee (the latest variety cultivated by the Tang Dynasty Royal Botanical Garden) in his hand. He stood on the balcony of the governor's mansion, looking down at the endless fields of corn and potatoes.

Thousands of early tractors, powered by crude internal combustion engines, were belching black smoke and making a deafening roar in the fields.

The indigenous Indians who once wielded spears and stone axes are now dressed in uniform blue overalls. They skillfully operate these steel machines, greeting each other in Mandarin.

"Well done."

Li Ke took a satisfied sip of coffee and turned to look at the clerk behind him.

"Pack up this newly harvested three million shi of grain, along with the ten tons of pure gold that were transported from the gold mine last night, and have Zheng He's Fourth Pacific Fleet transport them back to Chang'an."

On the other side of the earth.

In the far north, there lies Greenland, an island perpetually covered in ice and snow.

The dazzling green aurora borealis changes unpredictably across the sky.

Inside a Datang outpost built with heavy, cold-proof materials, a fire was burning brightly in the stove.

Several soldiers from the Shenji Battalion, dressed in specially made polar cold-weather suits, were gathered together eating a hot pot of seal meat that had just been stewed in a pressure cooker. From an old-fashioned gramophone on the wall, the most popular operas of Chang'an were playing softly.

"This wretched place is nothing but ice and snow, not even a single savage to fight. I really don't know why the imperial court made us guard this place."

A soldier muttered as he picked up a piece of meat.

"Enough nonsense. His Highness said that wherever there is no owner on this earth, if our Great Tang flag is planted, it belongs to the Great Tang. Anyone who dares to pull down our flag will be dealt with by our cannons."

Then the gaze shifts again.

Egypt, at the top of the ancient and mysterious pyramids.

A fully armed expeditionary force from the Tang Dynasty had just roughly planted a crimson dragon flag on the stone spire that had withstood thousands of years of wind and rain.

Below, a newly laid desert railway stretches out. A steam train, laden with spices and antiques, roars through the endless yellow sands, heading towards the Tang Dynasty's private port on the Mediterranean Sea.

From the Thames River in Europa, where the roar of Tang Dynasty steam engines echoed day and night, to the kangaroos on the Australian grasslands stamped with the seal of "Royal Ranch of the Tang Dynasty".

The entire world, under the crushing force of the Tang Dynasty's terrifying industrial machine and financial hegemony, has been transformed into a highly efficient and perfectly functioning super factory.

Chang'an, the homeland of the Tang Dynasty.

This is the only city in the world that never sleeps.

The tallest building in Chang'an City—the Royal Observatory of the Tang Dynasty.

At the top of this magnificent building, which is tens of meters high, is a giant astronomical telescope that took Mo family craftsmen two years and countless pieces of the finest glass to polish.

late at night.

A cold wind howled.

Li Chengqian, wrapped in a snow-white fox fur coat, stood in front of a huge telescope.

He didn't look down at the dazzling, bustling megacity beneath his feet, a city so beautiful it seemed like a fairyland. Nor did he look at the merchants from all over the world on the streets of the West Market, bidding against each other and even haggling in Tang Dynasty pinyin to buy a few more feet of Tang Dynasty silk.

His eyes were peering through that sophisticated optical eyepiece.

I gaze intently and mesmerized at the deep and vast starry sky above me.

He lived comfortably for the past three years.

Ever since his father, Li Shimin, drank that vial of "longevity gene optimization liquid," he seemed to have been given a second spring, or even a third spring.

This energetic Khan of the Tang Dynasty was like a war maniac on steroids every day. One day he was planning in court how to catch penguins in Antarctica, and the next he was clamoring to personally oversee the fleet to conduct live-fire exercises in the Atlantic Ocean.

As for the mountains of government affairs and the annoying memorials from countries around the world that have imposed lockdowns.

Naturally, the emperor, eager to establish an everlasting and indestructible legacy, took over all of this responsibility.

Li Chengqian, the crown prince, finally achieved his wish and became the highest-ranking and most justified top-level salted fish in the Tang Dynasty.

I sleep until I naturally wake up every day at the East Palace.

Sipping chilled wine from the Western Regions, and teasing that iron-eating beast that's gotten so fat it can barely walk. When I'm in a good mood, I'll draw up some blueprints for a basic generator for Mo Ju, pushing the Tang Dynasty's technology tree forward another notch.

This is the retirement life he has always dreamed of.

But at the moment.

As he looked through the telescope at the unknown stars that emitted a cold light.

A rare hint of loneliness flashed in Li Chengqian's usually languid eyes.

"This Earth... is still too small."

Li Chengqian sighed, looked away from the goggles, and straightened up.

Even though the Tang Dynasty's territory encompassed all seven continents and four oceans, and even though Li Shimin's footprints had covered every corner of the planet.

For a transmigrator who possesses a system and has forcibly elevated civilization to several dimensions.

This blue water sphere has no secrets left, and poses no challenge whatsoever.

Just then.

Deepest in Li Chengqian's mind.

That system that has been silent for a long time.

Sudden.

It emitted a crisp, resonant sound, even carrying a resonance that transcended dimensions!

【bite--!】

[Detection has shown that the Tang Dynasty's territory has substantially occupied 99.9% of the Earth's surface!]

[Detection indicates that the Tang Dynasty's industrial level has surpassed the steam age, and has made initial contact with electromagnetism and internal combustion engine theory!]

The global colonial system has been perfectly established, and Earth's resources have been fully integrated!

[The ultimate criteria for the God-level Salted Fish System have been met!]

Li Chengqian's pupils suddenly contracted.

Immediately afterwards, a holographic panel radiating a deep, dark blue light, seemingly woven from pure starlight, slowly unfolded before him.

The text on it is no longer gold.

Instead, it is filled with a cold, mysterious sci-fi feel.

[Activate the 'Interstellar Travel Tech Tree' immediately?]

[Note: Once activated, the system will directly provide the theoretical foundations of controlled nuclear fusion, blueprints for a rudimentary anti-gravity engine, and blueprints for deep space exploration satellites.]

Li Chengqian looked at the flashing "Yes" and "No" options.

His breathing stopped.

Just click "Yes".

The technology of the Tang Dynasty will skip the long electrical and information ages in a crazy, even abnormal way.

It hurtles straight into that deep universe!

The dragon flag of the Tang Dynasty will no longer be confined to this blue planet.

Instead, they will be planted on the craters of the moon, in the red deserts of Mars, or even in those distant Centaurus star systems!

Is it tempting?

It's so tempting.

That is the ultimate romance for humankind.

But Li Chengqian's finger remained suspended in mid-air for a long time.

finally.

He suddenly laughed.

That smile carried a hint of cunning, a touch of laziness, and a trace of "filial piety" towards his battle-crazed father.

"No rush."

Li Chengqian casually waved his hand, directly closing the system panel that emitted a ghostly blue light.

"The old man just took the elixir of immortality and is running wild all over the world."

"If you slapped the blueprints of the universe in his face right now, he'd probably go crazy."

Li Chengqian turned around and wrapped the snow-white fox fur coat tighter around himself to ward off the night wind from above.

He strolled leisurely toward the exit of the observatory.

"Let Father Emperor play with this ball thoroughly first."

"Five hundred years is a long time."

Li Chengqian's voice gradually faded into the night wind.

He raised his head.

Those clear eyes took one last look at the dazzling, boundless starry sky.

A knowing smile appeared on his lips.

"The sky over the Tang Dynasty was black."