Puppet Emperor, the Empress Wields All Power and Calls a Deer a Horse

If Liu Yu is defeated, the power of the City Defense Force will fall into the hands of the Emperor.

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager’s face darkened, her expression growing increasingly unpleasant.

Had it not been for Gu Changsheng pulling out a crucial pill at the key moment, allowing Lu Tao to break through his cultivation and reach the eighth level of the Great Power Realm, Liu Yu would not have lost.

She could have smoothly gained control over the City Defense Force’s military power.

However, judging from the current battle, Liu Yu’s defeat seemed inevitable.

Watching the fight in the Martial Arts Arena, Gu Changsheng’s lips curled into a slight smile. His gaze, filled with amusement, landed on the Empress Dowager as he nonchalantly remarked:

“Empress Dowager, it seems your judgment is a bit lacking!”

“Hmph!”

The Empress Dowager let out a cold snort, her face showing anger as a cold and oppressive aura surged towards Gu Changsheng.

“Your Majesty, don’t be too quick to celebrate.”

“Even if you control the hundreds of thousands of troops in the City Defense Force, opposing me will be like a mayfly shaking a tree—an act of overestimating your abilities.”

“I advise you to surrender early, lest you suffer needlessly.”

“Hehe!”

Gu Changsheng completely ignored the Empress Dowager’s threat, his face remaining dignified as he responded coldly:

“I am the Emperor of Great Zhou, the supreme sovereign, with countless strong warriors under my command and millions of troops awaiting my orders.”

“Has the Empress Dowager considered the price of opposing me? Let it not be said I didn’t warn you!”

As his words fell, Gu Changsheng’s expression turned domineering, and an unprecedented, vast and terrifying emperor’s aura erupted from him, enveloping the area like a tidal wave.

It clashed with the aura emanating from the Empress Dowager, and the two forces confronted each other from a distance.

Witnessing this scene, Empress Dowager’s face was full of shock, and her heart was in turmoil.

The emperor’s aura that Gu Changsheng exuded could actually contend with her own.

Although she wasn’t using her full strength, it was still not something Gu Changsheng should have been able to resist.

The Empress Dowager was tempted to strike Gu Changsheng down then and there.

But doing so would expose her true identity, and years of careful planning would be ruined.

Thinking of this, Empress Dowager forcibly suppressed her anger and withdrew her aura, as if it were receding like the tide.

Seeing the Empress Dowager retract her aura, Gu Changsheng maintained his indifferent expression, with a trace of a mocking smile at the corner of his mouth, his eyes flashing with an almost imperceptible cold gleam.

It appeared that the Empress Dowager still didn’t dare reveal her true strength to attack him.

Boom!

At that moment, a deafening explosion erupted from the Martial Arts Arena, interrupting Gu Changsheng’s thoughts.

In an instant, the vast platform of the Martial Arts Arena began to shake violently. The surrounding void shattered inch by inch, and countless cracks appeared, with dust filling the air.

Watching this scene, Gu Changsheng’s face grew serious, his eyes fixed on the Martial Arts Arena.

When the dust finally settled, revealing the scene before him, Gu Changsheng’s face lit up with a smile, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Lu Tao had not disappointed his expectations.

At this moment, as the dust cleared, the civil and military officials also saw everything that had transpired in the Martial Arts Arena. Their eyes flickered, their expressions changed slightly, and no one knew what was going through their minds.

In the Martial Arts Arena, the deputy commander of the City Defense Force, Lu Tao, stood with his armor in tatters, his expression disheveled and exhausted, but his grip on his longsword remained firm. It was planted in the ground, supporting his body and keeping him from collapsing.

On the other hand, Liu Yu’s body was covered in blood, his flesh mangled beyond recognition. He could no longer stand, and his body had collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Seeing this, Gu Changsheng immediately understood.

Lu Tao must have fought with a resolve to die in order to defeat Liu Yu.

Otherwise, both sides would not have paid such a heavy price.

As the battle came to an end, Gu Changsheng’s expression remained calm but commanding, as his voice rang out across the arena:

“From this day forth, Lu Tao will serve as the commander of the City Defense Force!”

With those words, Gu Changsheng rose to his feet, flicked his dragon robe with a wave of his sleeve, and turned to leave the Martial Arts Arena.

Watching Gu Changsheng’s departing figure, the civil and military officials were filled with complicated emotions, and none dared to voice any opposition.

Empress Dowager’s brows furrowed slightly, her gaze cold as she stared at the direction in which Gu Changsheng had left, her heart boiling with murderous intent.

…

In the towering imperial palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, within the Imperial Study.

[Ding! Deputy Commander of the City Defense Force, Lu Tao, has been appointed as Commander of the City Defense Force, loyal to the host. Plot altered, 20,000 plot points awarded!] [Ding! The Empress Dowager harbors murderous intent towards the host. 10,000 plot points awarded!]

As the system notifications rang out, Gu Changsheng’s expression was filled with delight and a bit of surprise.

He hadn’t expected his plan to work so smoothly.

Not only did he gain control over the military power of the City Defense Force, but he also earned 30,000 plot points.

With this, his power had surged tremendously.

It should be noted that the City Defense Force, with its hundreds of thousands of soldiers, guarded the imperial capital.

Whoever controlled the City Defense Force essentially held the Great Zhou imperial capital in their hands.

Moreover, inside the palace itself, his three thousand noble guards had already replaced the Imperial Guards.

Now, for him, both the Great Zhou Imperial Palace and the capital were under his control.

Next, he felt highly confident about dealing with the Empress Dowager.

“System, consume 30,000 plot points and draw three times!”

Gu Changsheng sat upright on the dragon throne, silently ordering in his mind.

[Ding! Drawing…] [Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Hundred-Year Sword Dao Enlightenment Inheritance!] [Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the Emperor-Tier Sword Technique ‘Ten Thousand Swords Technique’!] [Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 3,000 Shadow Guards!]

“Hiss!”

Gu Changsheng couldn’t help but take a deep breath upon seeing the rewards, his face filled with excitement.

With his Emperor Divine Physique, combined with the assistance of his divine-level cultivation technique, Heavenly Son’s Qi Observation Technique,

Gu Changsheng dared to say that in the entire Shen Zhou, even some holy sons or saintesses from powerful factions couldn’t match his cultivation speed.

Although his cultivation speed was fast, he was still young and lacked experience in combat and killing.

However, with the Hundred-Year Sword Dao Enlightenment and the Emperor-Tier Sword Technique ‘Ten Thousand Swords Technique’, his shortcomings in the art of war were fully compensated.

“System, extract the Hundred-Year Sword Dao Enlightenment Inheritance!”

Gu Changsheng silently commanded in his mind.

As soon as the words fell, a wave of pain surged through his head, causing his body to tremble slightly as an overwhelming amount of sword dao comprehension flooded his mind.

“Hiss!”

Gu Changsheng gritted his teeth, his face filled with discomfort, feeling as if his head was about to explode.

Fortunately, as time passed, the pain gradually subsided.

A massive transformation was occurring within Gu Changsheng’s body. His eyes narrowed, emitting a terrifying sword intent.

In the next moment, his body trembled, and an unprecedented, vast, and boundless sword intent erupted from him, engulfing the entire palace and drawing the attention of countless experts in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

As this sword intent spread, Gu Changsheng’s robe fluttered, and his cultivation surged wildly, breaking through from the Divine Sea Realm to the Life and Death Realm.

He hadn’t anticipated that the Hundred-Year Sword Dao Enlightenment Inheritance would not only grant him formidable killing techniques but also help him directly break through a major realm.

From his ascension to the throne until now, it had only been a matter of days.

Yet his cultivation had skyrocketed from the Innate Realm, breaking through multiple realms to reach the Life and Death Realm.

If news of this breakthrough speed spread, it would shock the countless factions across Shen Zhou and cause a massive uproar.

“Now, even if I face a King Realm expert, I can fight them.”

Gu Changsheng felt his incredible progress, his eyes gleaming with confidence.

With the Hundred-Year Sword Dao Enlightenment Inheritance and the Emperor-Tier Sword Technique ‘Ten Thousand Swords Technique’, even though he had just entered the Life and Death Realm, he wasn’t afraid to face King-level experts.

However, the enormous commotion caused by his breakthrough likely had already attracted the attention of numerous powerful figures in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

After pondering for a moment, Gu Changsheng shook his head.

The strong figures of the Great Zhou Dynasty, no matter how they guessed, would never suspect that the source of the terrifying sword intent was none other than their Emperor.

At most, they would speculate it came from the powerful being backing him.

Gu Changsheng then turned his attention to the final reward—the 3,000 Shadow Guards.

[3,000 Shadow Guards: Originating from a high-martial world, they are experts in assassination, intelligence gathering, and group attack techniques.]

Reading the system’s description, Gu Changsheng felt a surge of excitement.

These 3,000 Shadow Guards were even more terrifying than his 3,000 noble guards.

The leader of the Shadow Guards was a peak Great Expert Realm, and the rest were at least King-level experts, with several hundred of them in the Great Expert Realm.

That was several hundred Great Expert Realms!

From what he knew, across Shen Zhou, only superpowers like Holy Lands and Empires could gather several hundred Great Experts.

Of course, this didn’t mean that having several hundred Great Expert Realms under his command made him equal to those superpowers.

Superpowers like Empires and Holy Lands often had saints watching over them, with some even possessing more than one.

Thus, even though he now commanded several hundred Great Expert Realms, he still couldn’t match the strength of an empire or a holy land.

“With the number of Great Experts I control now, even if I tear off the mask and confront the Empress Dowager, I stand a fighting chance.”

Gu Changsheng’s face lit up with a smile as he muttered softly.

Recently, he had been planning to eliminate the Empress Dowager’s faction and replace the officials in the court to consolidate all power into his own hands.

With the addition of the 3,000 Shadow Guards, he now had even greater confidence in his plan.

“Once I clean out the Empress Dowager’s faction in court, the next step will be to deal with her directly.”

Gu Changsheng’s expression turned icy, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips. His eyes grew deep as he gazed through the grand hall of the Imperial Study, looking in the direction of the Cining Palace.