I'm not a drama god

"If I had to name one of the most distinctive characteristics of your alchemy society, it would be your ability to endure."

"You are too eager for immortality. You know that even when you grow old, you can seal yourself away in the underground palace of the Imperial Observatory. One day, your descendants will find the way to immortality and then take you all with them..."

"So, you're willing to give up everything for immortality—time, energy, and effort... Anyway, you have endless lifespans to squander. What's wrong with gambling away a few decades of your life to build trust with His Majesty?"

"Thus, generation after generation of alchemy guild masters, leading generation after generation of alchemy guild members, devoted their lives to building magnificent super-high walls for the eight prisons, constructing countless towers to ward off calamities, and frantically creating interdimensional trains that shuttle between the various prisons..."

"Lord Chong...have you ever ridden a donkey?"

"Hang a carrot in front of a donkey, and you can entice it to work tirelessly all day long... Is there anything better in the world than this?"

Lord Chong stared blankly at Duke Zhao, feeling as if his thoughts had been shattered... For over three hundred years, their Alchemy Society had been complacent, taking pride in its steady development under the guise of the Imperial Observatory, thanks to the emperor's trust. He still remembered the previous president secretly pulling him aside to analyze how to exploit the emperor's greed for immortality to gradually gain greater power...

But now it seems that this was just a self-indulgent fantasy of the Alchemy Society that lasted for more than three hundred years. From the beginning, Ying Fu did not take them seriously, but treated them as nuclear-powered donkeys!

"Impossible... He's the First Emperor! Doesn't he want immortality?! Is he really willing to just die of old age like this?!"

Chong Daren seemed to have grasped at the last straw and screamed hysterically.

"Who told you that His Majesty the present is the same one from the past?"

Duke Zhao snorted coldly.

Lord Chong's expression stiffened again.

"Leaving aside the Philosopher's Stone, which can only grant immortality to the spirit... even if a way were found to grant immortality to the body, so what? There are countless paths to divine immortality in this world. Do you really think His Majesty only has your alchemy society as a crutch?" Duke Zhao continued unhurriedly.

"Moreover, over the past three hundred years, not only have you been secretly developing your power under the guise of the Imperial Observatory, but His Majesty has also been using the core of your Alchemy Society to gradually expand the Imperial Observatory... Whether it is the method of refining the Philosopher's Stone or other Alchemy Society traditions, some people have already mastered them all."

"Don't even mention killing you now. Even if you slaughter the entire Alchemy Guild, someone will immediately take your place... When the sun rises, the Grand Historian will still be the Grand Historian, His Majesty's most loyal right-hand man."

Duke Zhao raised his hand, patted Lord Chong on the shoulder, and said earnestly:

"so……"

"Don't take yourself too seriously, Lord Chong."

“In His Majesty’s eyes… you are nothing.”

Lord Chong was nailed to the boulder, his lips cracked and his face ashen...

He knew that no matter how hard he and the Alchemy Society fought back, it would be to no avail... The destruction of the Alchemy Society was a foregone conclusion. They were like chess pieces that had been squeezed dry in Ying Fu's hands, casually thrown into a pool of water, not even causing a ripple.

"In any case, thank you for the contributions your alchemy society has made to humanity..."

"After all, without your desperate self-sacrifice, how could we have such an impregnable human fortress today?"

As soon as Duke Zhao finished speaking, the aura of the Book God erupted once more. Countless inkstones, covering the sky and the sun, surged out from the wooden box behind him, instantly engulfing the terrified Lord Chong.

……

The Realm of Heavenly Embrace.

Royal study room.

A slender brush gently glides across the paper, its sharp strokes penetrating the surface. A faint scent of ink wafts through the air. A figure sits behind a thin beaded curtain, only a vaguely discernible, aged silhouette visible.

Suddenly, as if sensing something, the image paused slightly in its fluid strokes...

He held the pen in the air for a moment in silence, then slowly put it down.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you?"

He Jing, who was serving in front of the beaded curtain, asked respectfully.

“Chong Zhi Qiu is dead.” Ying Fu’s voice rang out calmly.

He Jing raised his eyebrows slightly, but he didn't seem surprised by the result. He spoke slowly, "The entire Imperial Observatory was slaughtered by the calamity, and the former head, Chong Zhi Qiu, was attacked and killed in the Gray Realm... This news will soon spread throughout the court."

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"The Imperial Observatory was the mainstay of Chengtian. Now that it has been wiped out, it is natural to need to fill the vacancies with new personnel... Those noble families will probably fight tooth and nail for a few spots again."

"With new prey appearing, those jackals will probably quiet down for a while, shifting their attention away from His Majesty and focusing on their internal strife."

"Of course, ultimately, it is His Majesty's decision who gets into the Imperial Observatory and who doesn't."

As He Jing finished speaking, a weak cough came from behind the beaded curtain.

"Cough cough cough cough..."

He Jing's expression changed, and he immediately asked, "Your Majesty, should I go and summon the imperial physician now?"

“…Even imperial physicians can hardly extend a person’s lifespan.” Ying Fu paused for a moment, as if he had finally made up his mind. “Even if the vacancy in the Imperial Observatory can attract the attention of those parasites… as long as I do not show myself, they will not have a moment’s peace.”

"Your Majesty means..."

“It’s about time,” Ying Fu said slowly. “He Jing… are you ready?”

He Jing's expression immediately turned serious. He knelt down before the beaded curtain and answered without hesitation:

"Your Majesty, I am ready to give my life at any time!"

"I don't need your life... Ten years is enough for me."

Ying Fu casually waved his hand behind the beaded curtain, and the wall on the side of the imperial study flipped over like a chessboard, exposing a black and red wall to the air... At the edge of that wall, an exquisitely designed gambling table sat quietly, covered in dust, as if it had not been used for many years.

He Jing took a deep breath, walked straight to one side of the gambling table and sat down, looking ahead with a look of fearlessness.

at the same time,

An elderly figure dressed in simple white attire slowly emerged from behind the beaded curtain.

He was an old man whose brows exuded majesty. His hair was white, like withered branches about to fall in winter. He was hunched over, and his breathing was shallow and frequent, but the imperial aura he exuded in every gesture still made people tremble with fear.

He slowly sat down at the gambling table, his deep eyes looking at He Jing, who felt a tremor in his heart as if he were gazing at a vast starry sky.

"let's start……"

Ying Fu lifted the black round cup on the gambling table, and a die lay quietly inside.