This approach is certainly not wrong, but the problem is that his abilities are too strong, and over time he will find himself in an awkward situation from which he cannot extricate himself.

A smooth transfer of power is unlikely—the royal family, or rather the entire empire, probably recognizes Cheng Gujian more than the young empress. If it were just a simple return of power, he would be put on the spot by his supporters.

Even if he doesn't want to, he might be dragged into a rebellion—it's not that he can't control his subordinates, but if such a situation occurs, the Hualan Empire will inevitably fall into turmoil, and all his previous efforts will be destroyed.

Under such circumstances, he had to risk his life to ensure the stability of Dongfang Xiao's throne—the new empress, who could even overthrow the Grand Duke of Gujian, was someone who, if not all, could certainly command the respect and awe of most.

In particular, Dongfang Xiao, who suppressed and quelled his own rebellion, was even more persuasive.

However, despite these claims, the plan still faces many obstacles.

First and foremost is the Papacy. It's easy for them to die, but once they lose their restraint, given their ambitions over the years, they will inevitably seize the opportunity to launch a war.

Therefore, before dying, one must find a way to completely destroy it.

His original plan was to support another force to create a rivalry with him, while also putting the Hualan Empire into a three-way balance of power.

Then let this new force, which can be called the royalist faction, destroy the Papacy, thereby establishing more prestige for Dongfang Xiao.

Finally, they will take care of themselves; that would be the perfect ending.

Xu Shi's arrival was like a godsend – in his view, Xu Shi was ambitious, powerful enough, and, more importantly, stood on the opposite side of the Holy See, which was perfect.

Xu Shi did not disappoint him, bringing not only newer and better technology, but also truly eliminating the Papacy, the greatest threat.

The only drawback is that he is not under his own control and may very well become a second version of himself, or even a more threatening one – after all, he has no intention of seizing power, but this outsider may not.

Therefore, he had to go a step further and perish together with him, so as not to let him affect his plans.

Self-destruction was his choice—an SS-class "Chosen One" with destructive power, self-destruction was like a human nuclear bomb, and the consequences were self-evident.

He could also take his supporters with him—these people were also a threat to the imperial power. He never expected that his death would make them loyal to the little empress, so no matter how loyal they were to him, they could not be left behind.

In short, it is enough to protect Dongfang Xiao and her supporters. There are still many loyal ministers in the court. The reason why he did not choose to kill them but only temporarily controlled them was because he needed them to support and assist her after his death.

But in the end, he failed—Xu Shi couldn't let him get his way completely. Now, in his current state, he was being suppressed by Wen Shengkui. Suicide was possible, but self-destruction was unlikely.

Not to mention that Xu Shi brought all of this into the open, which went even further away from his plan.

He neither needed nor wanted Dongfang Xiao to know his plans; only in this way could she lead the empire further without any worries.

"...How could this be?!"

Looking at Cheng Gujian before him, Dongfang Xiao was so shocked that he couldn't recover for a long time, muttering repeatedly, "How could this be!"

She really couldn't accept it. After all, many years ago she had labeled him as a "traitor" and, while fearing him, she also wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.

If you tell her now that the other person is actually the one who is most loyal to you, even blindly loyal, wouldn't that mean that you've been living in the wrong world all these years?

She instinctively didn't want to believe it was true and tried hard to find reasons to refute it.

But she couldn't find it, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized that this was indeed the case.

The most obvious example is probably the clash between Cheng Gujian and Xia Wuyou just now—think about it carefully, was it really impossible for him to kill the other party with his strength? Obviously, it was possible, but he didn't. Instead, he actually did as the other party wished and sparred with Xia Wuyou.

All they wanted was to arrive at the appointed time and capture them all in one fell swoop.

As for the other party's earlier statement, "just one step away," it certainly didn't mean that they were just one step away from killing Dongfang Xiao and seizing power, but rather that they were just one step away from completing the plan's loop.

However, as the saying goes, a small mistake can lead to a huge difference, and Wen Shengkui's appearance, or rather Xu Shi's arrangement, was still a step ahead.

Conversely, if it weren't for Old Master Wen's formidable strength, Cheng Gujian's plan would definitely have succeeded.

The sudden reversal even caused the little empress to break down a bit.

"So I won't let you have your way."

Xu Shi ignored her thoughts and continued coldly, "At least you can't take my life, and I will make sure your death is meaningless."

Yes.

If Cheng Gujian can be dealt with without him being harmed, then the other party's plan will have failed halfway.

Or it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they lost everything, because without the Holy See and Cheng Gujian, the one who would dominate would not be Dongfang Xiao, but Xu Shi.

At that time, the entire Hualan Empire will fall completely under his control, and the little empress will remain a puppet without real power, which is naturally completely contrary to Cheng Gujian's expectations.

Even so, Xu Shi was still a little annoyed.

In the end, he was still outmaneuvered by the other party. Not only was he used by Cheng Gujian to destroy the Holy See, but he almost became the stepping stone for the other party to support Dongfang Xiao.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!