It could not be denied that the Wang family had rendered great service in establishing the Poluo Daoist Mansion, but the Daoist Order was not the Imperial Court, so they could not grant the Wang family a hereditary title to rule Poluo forever. Such a practice ran contrary to the Daoist Order’s philosophy.0

Of course, this was a double standard, because one could insist on bringing up the Li family’s rule in Qizhou and the Zhang family’s rule in Wuzhou. One could question why the Li and Zhang families were considered representations of the Daoist Order. But this was a taboo subject.0

Both Qizhou and Wuzhou were within the Central Plains, where the Daoist Order’s power was absolute, leaving no room for secession or self-rule. In contrast, Poluo was isolated overseas, where the Daoist Order’s control was weaker. Thus, vigilance was necessary.0

To put it more bluntly, the Li and Zhang families had invested heavily into the Daoist Order before it was even formed. They already possessed immense strength before the Holy Xuan rebuilt the Daoist Order. Even without the Order, they were already regional overlords. Like the imperial family of the Great Xuan Dynasty, they were original shareholders in the Daoist Order’s reconstruction. The first...0