Chapter 1303: Steam Evangelical
Qi Xuansu was not surprised by the so-called “Anti-Daoist Bill.”
Over the years, the Holy Court had been secretly promoting the idea of the Daoist menace, slandering the East as a threat to the West and calling for Western nations to unite against it. There was even a famous painting of an apostle with wings leading seven valkyries standing on the seashore, gazing across the ocean, where an Eastern dragon carrying a cross-legged Easterner was flying west. The scene was titled “The Roar of the Evil Dragon.”
This anti-Daoist bill was nothing more than another extension of the Daoist menace narrative.
Whether the bill would actually be enacted was still uncertain. If this were the Western Continent itself, the Holy Court would certainly not allow such a bill to pass. That was because the Holy Court had no confidence in defeating the Daoist Order, and the two sides maintained extensive trade relations. As a result, they dared not openly tear relations apart.
The situation on the New Continent was somewhat more complicated. Although it was also within the Holy Court’s sphere of influence, many factions existed here.
The Daoist Order had three major sects. Each of these sects was further divided into numerous sub-branches, some of which had already vanished, such as the Gezao Sect. The Holy Court was no different.
After entering the era of the Steam Revolution, the Steam Evangelical Sect rose rapidly. They were somewhere between the traditional factions of the Holy Court and the Arcane Council, believing that steam was a gift of the Supreme Will and the goddess’s gospel. As steam technology came into widespread use, the Steam Evangelical Sect grew increasingly powerful, spreading widely across the New Continent, where the Holy Court lacked deep roots.
In other words, the Steam Evangelical Sect was the true ruler of the Northern New Continent. Nominally, they belonged to the Holy Court, but in practice, they possessed enormous autonomy. When necessary, they might not obey the Holy Seat’s commands, nor would they deliberately align their actions with it.
It was well known that the broader Holy Court forces lost the Southern New Continent because of fierce internal conflict. That was because of the disagreement over the ownership of the new territory between the Holy Seat and the newly rising Steam Evangelical Sect.
In this respect, the Steam Evangelical Sect was rather similar to the Western Daoist Order.