The most shameless alchemist in history

After all, Dure was a distinguished guest of Stormy City at this time, and Sandro had no reason to refuse whatever request he made.

Moreover, he was fully authorized to make the decision on this matter. Soon, he led Du Lei to the reception room, where someone was waiting for him.

Although Sandro did not say who was waiting for him, Dure quickly noticed that the security measures inside the mansion had become much tighter.

Not only were there many more guards, but Dure also noticed that there were quite a few hidden sentries nearby, and these sentries were all very powerful magic users.

This was a significant increase in security compared to yesterday. In Storm City, no one else would be entitled to such a level of security, so he wasn't surprised at all when he saw a man around thirty years old in the reception room.

The man was dressed in fine clothes and had a refined demeanor. When Du Lei entered the room, he was making tea with practiced ease and grace.

It's clear that he takes very good care of himself and is a man with great personal charm.

It's obvious without even guessing that this man must be the owner of this mansion, and also the owner of Stormy City, Jester.

"You must be Mr. Dure. Please have a seat." Jester waved for Dure to sit opposite him.

"I didn't expect Lord Jester to have such leisure time." After sitting down, Dure noticed that Jester's abdomen was wrapped in gauze.

It's clear he was just injured, and it was a gunshot wound.

“Mr. Dure, you’re too kind to accept this. I learned this from a merchant from the East. This is some tea they brought over. It costs two gold coins for just this little bit, which is more expensive than the wine in my vineyard collection.” Jester gently poured Dure a cup of tea.

"I've read about Eastern tea in books. It's made through a variety of processes, resulting in a clear and bright color and a pleasant aroma. Long-term consumption is very beneficial to health," Du Lei nodded and said.

“Mr. Dure is truly learned. That’s absolutely right. The cost of such a small amount of tea is probably less than a silver coin, maybe even less. But after being packaged by merchants, it can be sold at such an exorbitant price. Those merchants are truly despicable,” Jester said with emotion.

“If this were in the East, it would definitely be worthless, but they traveled a long way, crossing a great cliff to reach the Western Continent, so it’s understandable that they would sell it for a higher price. They invested a lot of resources,” Du Lei said dismissively.

“Mr. Durei makes a good point, but you’ve overlooked one thing. Now the railway connects the two continents, and it only takes half a month to travel from the East Continent to the West Continent. This is much shorter than the journeys that used to take several months. Yet, the price of tea has not decreased at all. What do you think is the reason for this?” Jester asked rhetorically.

"This..." Du Lei was stumped by the question, even though he had read many books and been to many places.

However, he did not learn much about the connection between the Eastern and Western Continents.

“It’s the Land of Sand,” Jester told Durei the answer to his question.

"The Sand Kingdom? Is it a transit point between the East and West continents?" Dure remembered, after Jester's reminder, that there was a place between the East and West continents that could not be bypassed, namely the Sand Kingdom. This was because the Great Railway was not complete. Due to geological reasons, when the Great Railway was built, it was divided into two sections within the territory of the Sand Kingdom.

One end is from the Western Continent to the Sand Kingdom, and the other end is from the Sand Kingdom to the Eastern Continent.

This gave the Sand Kingdom a unique geographical advantage.

“That’s right. The Sand Kingdom used to be a very poor country. But many years ago, when Duke Lin Ye of the Azure Thunder Empire built the Great Railway, he chose the Sand Kingdom as a transit point. As a result, the poor Sand Kingdom rose to prominence. Whether it was from the Western Continent to the Eastern Continent or from the Eastern Continent to the Western Continent, he collected protection fees from both ends. It was because of the existence of the Sand Kingdom that the cost for merchants increased, which is why the price of tea transported to our Western Continent is so expensive,” Jester said softly.

"The Azure Thunder Empire... a powerful empire that suddenly disappeared fifty years ago and was lost to history?" Du Lei was no stranger to the Azure Thunder Empire.

It is difficult to find any trace related to the Azure Thunder Empire simply by searching in books.

But as he rose through the ranks, he gradually discovered the existence of this country.

After all, some of the people he had met before, such as Night Raven and Red Sparrow, seemed to have some connection with the Azure Thunder Empire.

According to what Du Lei knew, this was a powerful nation that, at its peak, occupied most of the western continent.

Steam technology also emerged during the reign of the Azure Thunder Empire. The great railway that runs east to west was also built by the Azure Thunder Empire at great expense of manpower and resources. However, at the height of its power, the country vanished into the dust of history.

Moreover, countries have tacitly removed this country from their textbooks.

However, erasing the traces of a country's existence is no easy task, and after expending a little effort, Dure learned quite a bit.

“Yes, without the Azure Thunder Empire, we probably wouldn’t enjoy so many of the conveniences we have today. We wouldn’t be able to travel by train; we’d probably only be able to travel by horse-drawn carriage. We wouldn’t be able to use electric lights; we’d probably have to continue using candles,” Jester said, pointing to the electric lights.

“That’s true.” Dure nodded, agreeing with what Jester said.

"The Azure Thunder Empire made great contributions, yet it has been forgotten in the dust of history. What a heartbreaking thing that is, don't you think?" Jester said with some regret.

“Although I don’t know much about the Azure Thunder Empire, I think the downfall of any country is never sudden; there must be a reason, whether it’s external or internal. The Azure Thunder Empire is probably no exception,” Du Lei said after thinking for a moment.

It's clear that Jester has done extensive research on the Azure Thunder Empire.

"Perhaps this reason is inextricably linked to Duke Lin Ye, the architect of the Empire," Jester remarked with emotion.

“Duke Lin Ye, he was a great figure who was ahead of his time,” Dure nodded and said.

Although his name was erased from the book, he had many other ways of obtaining records about the Azure Thunder Empire when he served as the Inspector General.

After all, he was still bothered by the appearance of Night Raven and Red Sparrow during that time, so he wanted to figure out what was going on with the Azure Thunder Empire.

Through his investigation, he learned that the predecessor of the Azure Thunder Empire was the Lionheart Empire, which was originally a powerful country on the continent. After a series of turbulent events, the Lionheart Empire completed the change of power and eventually merged with several surrounding countries to form the Azure Thunder Empire.

It can be said that this was an unprecedented behemoth in the history of the Western Continent. Although Lin Ye was not the king of the Azure Thunder Empire at that time, but only the Duke of the Far East, he had an unquestionable influence on the continent. Whether it was humans, beastmen, or elves, they all obeyed his orders.

Under the vigorous integration of this Duke of the Far East, almost exhausting the resources of the entire Western Continent, a comprehensive railway network was built, and the so-called insurmountable cliff was broken through, connecting the Eastern and Western Continents and greatly influencing the era.

Some have commented that the actions of the Duke of the Far East propelled the history of the Western Continent by at least two centuries.

Few people are able to leave their mark on history; in each era, only a handful are truly remembered.

However, the name Lin Ye is destined to be the most dazzling existence in the history of the Western Continent over the past five hundred years.

Even though his name has been temporarily banned by a coalition of countries, Dure has every reason to believe that one day his name will reappear in textbooks and be remembered by future generations.

"That's right, we are able to have the peaceful life we ​​have now, all thanks to him. But people are always forgetful and despicable. They betrayed Lord Lin Ye at the height of their power, and in an instant, they disintegrated the Azure Thunder Empire, causing this unprecedented behemoth to crumble in an instant."

Jester was deeply moved by this, and even felt a little resentful.

“Betrayal? What does that mean?” Dure frowned.

"The Azure Thunder Empire was formed by merging the Lionheart Empire with several surrounding countries. These countries were originally full of conflicts, but most of them had good personal relationships with the Duke of the Far East and were impressed by his personal charm. In order to realize his great ideal, the Duke of the Far East integrated the resources of several countries and began a massive infrastructure construction project, especially the excavation of the Great Cliff to build a railway network that runs through the East and West continents. Even today, people would think it is an incredible thing."

“That’s true. Even with the current level of productivity, it would be impossible to accomplish such a great feat.” Dure nodded, acknowledging the point. Completing that enormous workload was beyond the capabilities of any single country or even a few countries at present.

This would require the combined efforts of almost everyone in an era to accomplish.

It is very difficult to achieve this. In the last five hundred years, only that former Duke of the Far East has done it.

"After completing the construction of the Great Railway, Lord Lin Ye disappeared without a trace."

"Where has he gone?" Du Lei began to realize that the problem lay with Lin Ye.

“Yes, you could say he was a man who stood at the pinnacle of his era, the most powerful person in the entire Western Continent. Few people in history could compare to his power. In fact, calling him ‘the Great Emperor’ wouldn’t be inappropriate. But suddenly he relinquished all power and disappeared, as if he had vanished from the face of the earth, as if he were sent down by a god to save humanity… No, he was the god of the previous era. Because of his existence, no one in the entire Western Continent dared to act recklessly; everyone could only obey his orders. But after he left, the situation changed,” Jester said with emotion.

"Historically, whenever such an iron-fisted figure leaves, it always triggers unrest, right?" Although Dure didn't know much about that Far Eastern Duke, he was well-versed in history and could find numerous examples in his yellowed books.

“Mr. Dure, you’re right. Lord Lin Ye’s personal charisma is undeniable. But you must understand that building a massive railway network is an extremely costly undertaking in terms of manpower and resources. No country is willing to contribute, and the amount of money required is astronomical. Furthermore, accidents are inevitable when building such a large-scale project. Many people have died by the railway, which has drawn complaints from those ignorant people. They seem to have forgotten that without Lord Lin Ye, they would still be living in war, and where would they find a stable life?” Jester said sarcastically.

"And then? What happened?" Although Du Lei knew something about the Azure Thunder Empire, the information he had didn't seem to be as extensive as that of Jester.

"In the initial period after Lord Lin Ye left, his old subordinates were able to keep the situation under control because no one knew when Lord Lin Ye would return. His personal prestige suppressed the situation for nearly ten years. However, after ten years, Lord Lin Ye was still nowhere to be found, and people no longer believed that he would return. Therefore, those ambitious people were eager to make their move. Compared to the old era, the new era that Lord Lin Ye had drastically reformed was much more tempting. The ambitious people took action one after another, and the Cang Lei Empire began to split. In just one year, the entire empire collapsed. The original Cang Lei Empire was divided into seven countries."

Which seven countries?

“They are now the Land of Snow, the Land of Wind, the Land of Mountains, the Land of Swamps, the Land of Thunder, the Land of Flames, and the Land of Rain,” Jester replied.

“I see. All seven countries are currently powerful nations. Even just two combined would be very strong. If there were seven…” Du Lei nodded. If the territories of these seven countries were added together, it would indeed be a truly astonishing behemoth.

"The Azure Thunder Empire has been destroyed for fifty years now. It's laughable that those foolish people back then accused Lord Lin Ye of being too cruel, forcing them to build such a massive project. But Mr. Du Lei, look at the present. People enjoy the convenience brought by Lord Lin Ye when they travel, yet they still deny Lord Lin Ye's existence. Isn't that ridiculous and unfair?"

“I don’t think the Duke of the Far East himself would care about these things. When he chose to pursue this great ideal, he probably thought about what the consequences would be,” Dure said after thinking for a moment.

“That’s not right,” Jester said, shaking his head.

“Something’s not right? What’s wrong?” Du Lei frowned.

“Lord Lin Ye’s ideals have not yet been fully realized,” Jester said calmly.

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898 The Power of God

"Lord Jester, are you referring to the ideals of that Duke of the Far East? What do you think those ideals are?"

Dure asked calmly, "Jester is very young, not even thirty years old."

At his age, he had already become a powerful figure in the country, wielding significant influence.

If Jester were just an ordinary, mediocre nobleman, that would be one thing, but Jester is ambitious and exceptionally capable.

"Lord Lin Ye's ideal? Of course, he wants to unify the entire Western Continent, create an unprecedentedly vast empire, then march eastward, and finally conquer the Eastern Continent. In this way, he can fulfill the ultimate dream of unifying the world, a dream that has never been realized before!" Jester said excitedly.

"Unify the entire Western Continent? It seems that no one in history has ever accomplished such a thing, has they?" Du Lei was somewhat surprised.

“That’s right. The largest empire in history was the Azure Thunder Empire. It was formed by the merger of seven countries, whose territories occupied nearly half of the entire Western Continent,” Jester nodded and said.

“To be able to establish such a vast empire is already a remarkable achievement. Only a great figure like that Duke of the Far East could have done it. We, the later generations, are probably far from being able to catch up with him,” Dure said softly.

“Lord Dure, please don’t underestimate yourself. We should help Lord Lin Ye fulfill his unfulfilled dream,” Jester said firmly.

“But Lord Jester, you should know that the Western Continent is now divided into dozens of countries, large and small, with different customs and habits in different regions. Just merging two countries is not an easy task, not to mention that there have been conflicts between the countries in history. Not long ago, the Snow Country and the Wind Country went to war. There are also many restless forces within each country. Under such circumstances, how easy is it to integrate all the countries into one place?” Dure shook his head, although he did not deny that Jester was a very capable and courageous person.

But to achieve what Jester said is simply a pipe dream!

"We certainly can't do it on our own, but Mr. Du Lei, what if we were to use Lord Lin Ye's power?"

Jester seemed to have anticipated Dure's response. Instead of being angry, he calmly inquired.

"Use the power of that Far Eastern Duke? But he has been dead for at least a century. How can we possibly use his power?"

Dure shook his head; he couldn't figure out what Jester was up to.

"Mr. Dure, do you think that Lord Lin Ye is just a fallen nobleman? How did he manage to integrate most of the Western Continent in just over a decade, and even open up the Great Cliff and build a great railway that runs across the East and West Continents?" Jester asked rhetorically.

"This... must be due to his outstanding personal abilities, right?" Du Lei didn't experience that era and wasn't sure about it.

In reality, he wouldn't have much information available. Judging from the current situation, Jester definitely knows much more than he does.

"No, the reason why Lord Lin Ye was able to achieve this level is not only because of his strong personal abilities, but also because he relied on the 'power of the gods'."

Jester got a little excited as he spoke; he wasn't one to share secrets with others.

But the young man in front of him, who was about the same age as him, was the target he needed to win over.

"The power of God? What does that mean?" Dure frowned, knowing that Jester was about to get to the heart of the matter.

"It means exactly what it says, a power not controlled by humans, a mysterious power bestowed by the gods," Jester said, his eyes burning.

"The power of God? I thought such things were just rumors and fairy tales. I never expected to hear them from Lord Jester."

"Please believe me, Mr. Dure, this power truly exists. Although I don't know where it comes from, Lord Lin Ye found it and used it, which is why he created this unprecedented and magnificent feat."

"And then what happened?" Dure knew there was more to come, so he gestured for Jester to continue.

"Later, after Lord Lin Ye went to the Eastern Continent, he never returned, but he did not take the 'power of the gods' with him. He sealed it away in an unknown place." Jester seemed very excited.

"An unknown place? By 'unknown,' I mean it's completely unknowable, with no way to find it, right?"