Long before Liu An ascended the throne, the Nanxiang Liu Family had actually been secretly manipulating the Shattered Star Ring for tens of thousands of years through remote control methods. However, their techniques were not as extreme as Liu An's, who even went so far as to modify genes. Consequently, their level of control over the Shattered Star Ring was not as strong as Liu An's.
It's not that the Liu ancestors couldn't achieve this, but rather that there was no need.
At the time, the Nanxiang Liu Family had not become as powerful as they are today, were still far from the rank of Marquis, and lacked the reputation of being one of the Empire's strongest Earls. Excessively aggressive methods would have aroused suspicion and invited attacks.
