Great Ming: The Rebellious Son of Mount Longhu Refuses to Inherit the Daoist Legacy

In the first year of Hongwu, Zhang Zhengchang, the forty-second Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, brings his second son, Zhang Yi, to the capital to meet the emperor. He assumes that their old friendship will win him an official title in the new dynasty. Instead, Zhu Yuanzhang says, "Why would Heaven need a teacher?" The Celestial Master title is revoked on the spot, and all Zhang Zhengchang receives is a nominal title as a Perfected One.

Zhang Zhengchang returns to his lodgings, crestfallen, only to discover that the emperor has changed into plain clothes and taken on the identity of "Huang He." He has come in person with the Crown Prince, and their target is none other than Zhang Yi, the "rebellious bad omen" his father had mentioned.

Father and son had long ago made a wager: if the emperor really revoked the Celestial Master title, as Zhang Yi predicted, he would no longer be bound by the family rules. But Zhang Yi has calculated everything except that his wild claim about an ancestral master appearing in a dream would reach Zhu Yuanzhang's ears word for word. The emperor is not angry. Instead, he continues asking with keen interest, posing as a guest: "What should be done with the Zhang family from now on?"

Facing the ruler of the realm in disguise, Zhang Yi lays bare every one of Longhu Mountain's secrets: restrict the ordination certificates, consolidate real power, render the Celestial Master Residence powerless. Every measure strikes at the heart of the Zhang family's interests.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.