"Yi Tian, there's no other way... The Daoist tradition can't hold out any longer. Right now, only the three sects on the council are still supporting it. Including your Unity of Heaven Sect, it's practically one sect per side. We came up here this time to surrender as well. The authorities have strength in numbers. This isn't something you can shoulder alone anymore. Sigh, let's each take a step back. Surely, Fellow Daoist Nie, you won't refuse, will you?" Zou Zhiwen stepped forward and sighed. He had been so excited after seeing me vent my anger that he had lost himself in the moment. Only after recalling Nie Zhengguo's words did he seem to return to reality. Reality was cruel, after all. The authorities' Daoist sects had already swallowed up eighty to ninety percent of the Daoist tradition. If we kept resisting, all the other side needed to do was refuse to recognize us, and these few sects of ours would ultimately be nothing more than wild sects and unorthodox schools.
After all, with seventy or eighty sects facing two or three isolated ones, even spit alone could drown you. If people said you weren't part of the Daoist tradition, who among the common folk would know whether you were or weren't?
Shen Bingying and Lu Chengshan both let out long breaths. The glory of grand supreme sect leaders had vanished from their eyes, leaving only defeat—the pitiful begging of stray dogs from ruined homes.
"Fellow Daoist Zou, why would you say that? Since we're all members of the authorities' Daoist tradition, we're one family. Back then, I urged you to come over to the authorities early on. We were desperate for worthy talent! It's a pity you couldn't see the situation clearly then, but what does that matter? Just