A governor-general could oversee provincial governors, but he could not appoint or dismiss them at will.
All officials of provincial governor rank were appointed and dismissed directly by the imperial court.
Even so, the governor-general of a region still wielded immense authority, a true provincial overlord in every sense.
The Central Plains governor-general's residence stood in none other than Taikang Province, slightly north of the region's center.
The provincial capital of Taikang was a household name throughout all ninety-nine regions of Great Qian.
There was only one reason for this: the Great Chan Temple stood on Taishi Mountain in Taikang Province. Famed for thousands of years, it had flourished on countless offerings, with thousands of magnificent halls so widely spread that lighting their incense required traveling on horseback.
Although the Great Chan Temple lay within Taikang Province, its fame far eclipsed the province's, and even that of the entire Central Plains. Mention the Central Plains, and people beyond the borders would think of its Great Chan Temple.
But the Great Chan Temple had long since been destroyed. Only ruins remained.
Stars glimmered in the pitch-black night. Gusts of wind swept through the chilly air, setting the mountain forests howling.
Awooo! Awooo!
A series of piercing wolf howls rose from deep in the mountains. Answering calls soon came from every direction, enough to make one's hair stand on end.
Crack!
Lin Yi walked onward, step by step, and crushed a roof tile underfoot. He bent down and picked up the broken tile, discovering that it was made of exceptionally sturdy, blue-black iron.
Time had worn away the patterns carved into it, leaving countless mottled marks. Only then had it grown so brittle that it could no longer bear a person's weight.
"The ravages of time! A thousand-year-old monastery, reduced to rubble."