Blood Moon

In the Great Chang Empire, the relationship between the Association, the imperial family, and the Churches of the Gods was extremely complicated and delicate.

Take the Son of Heaven, for example. He was truly ordained by Heaven and borne along by its mandate, the son of the Heavenly Emperor. In theory, he was protected by the entire Divine Path. As emperor, he could even command all the gods of mountains and rivers below Level Six, along with the yin ghosts and myriad spirits. His authority was so vast it beggared belief.

But in reality, with true gods able to manifest themselves and colossal organizations like the churches in existence, divine authority had always stood above worldly affairs—and seemed to be gradually surpassing imperial authority.

There was no helping it. Though the upper echelons knew that harmony and unity were the general trend, to those below them, sacrificing their own interests for the greater good was all but impossible.

That was true of the churches, and even more so of the imperial authority.

Thus, to counter the churches, the imperial family had no choice but to support a large number of extraordinary talents. The Association had emerged against this backdrop.

Those True Immortals of the Land feared nothing, not even the descent of true gods. They powerfully restrained the churches' influence and allowed imperial authority to assert itself.

But the various sects and academies that made up the Association all had interests of their own. In the places where they were based, they were like local tyrants. Though not every one of them was guilty of every evil under the sun, or of bullying men and abusing women, none of them had clean hands.

These three forces checked one another, creating a thoroughly novel system of governance in the Great Chang