A year passed in the blink of an eye.
Once again, it was New Year's Eve. This time, Lingxian Sect's annual meeting was kept internal, unlike last year, with no outside guests. The sect celebrated by awarding and encouraging its disciples, followed by a grand lunch. After that, the event concluded.
There was no group dinner for the disciples this year. Instead, everyone was given a holiday break.
The seven-day New Year holiday wasn't just for Xiushui City; Lingxian Sect also observed it.
When Xiushui City was established, Lin Xiao had informed the disciples that they could relocate their families to the city if needed. For those whose families were unwilling to leave their homes, the disciples could sign up at the Miscellaneous Hall, and the sect would use spirit ships to transport them home on New Year's Eve, allowing them to reunite with their families.
Even though some disciples' homes were far away, Lingxian Sect's spirit ships, powered by at least Nascent Soul cultivators, could bring them home within half a day. When the holiday ended, the sect would send the ships to pick up the disciples one by one.
Lingxian Sect's standing in the mortal realm had changed dramatically. Now, all the cultivators in the realm were preoccupied with gathering resources and earning spirit stones, leaving them no time—or courage—to provoke Lingxian Sect. As a result, the sect no longer restricted disciples from traveling far.
In reality, though, very few disciples needed to be sent home. Most chose to bring their families to settle in Xiushui City.
This New Year's Eve, the city continued its tradition of setting off fireworks.
Lin Yun had posted a recruitment notice early at the sect's Miscellaneous Hall, hiring thirty disciples to gather on New Year's Eve to set off the fireworks for the city.
These Qingyun Peak disciples had experience from the previous year, so after taking on the task this time, they were well-prepared. Led by Bai Shu, they devised a detailed plan for the evening's fireworks display and even discussed new techniques to make the show more spectacular.
After having their New Year's Eve dinner early, the disciples excitedly rushed to their designated location, ready to give the people of the city an unforgettable fireworks display.
That night, the sky above Xiushui City was more radiant than ever.
After a year of practice, the Trade Affairs Center staff had become proficient in their work. The production and manufacturing speeds of various goods within the sect had also become more efficient. Gone were the days of scrambling to fill gaps and shortages.
Lin Xiao had gradually returned to his leisurely routine as the sect master. He spent his days either meditating or visiting the Spirit Food Hall to enjoy food and drink with Fuzi. When it was his turn to teach at the Qingyun Peak Training Hall, he would find time to attend.
Although cultivation required dedication, compared to the busy year before, his current life was indeed much more relaxed.
This shift was thanks to the persistent urging of both the system and Elder Liao. As the sect master, Lin Xiao couldn't continuously neglect his cultivation—it felt like being a student who needed constant reminders from the teacher.
Moreover, the sect's vast collection of techniques and spells had been gradually tackled by the disciples over the past year, even amidst their busy schedules. While they weren't masters of these techniques yet, every disciple had at least learned ten different skills.
Not only had they studied various techniques, but their daily routine involved fixed times for cultivation, learning new skills, managing the city, running businesses, and maintaining the operations of the sect and Xiushui City.
Many disciples, while chatting with their families during the New Year break, were surprised to realize just how much they had accomplished in the past year.
It wasn't just the disciples of Lingxian Sect who felt this way; the major sects and royal families of the mortal realm experienced a similar epiphany.
Whether they were trading with Xiushui City or running passenger transport services, by the end of the year, when they tallied up their resources and spirit stones, the managers of each sect and family couldn't contain their excitement.
When the elders reviewed the progress of their disciples' cultivation and skills, they found that everyone had made significant improvements.
Of course, this improvement was relative to previous years—it wasn't as though they had made massive leaps in just a single year.
Techniques such as talisman-making and pill-refining had improved for both disciples and elders. Moreover, Xiushui City often provided them with methods to refine items that the sects were unfamiliar with. While these methods were not for mainstream cultivation items, talented individuals could adapt these techniques and make significant breakthroughs in their refining skills.
This led many sects and royal families to frequently exchange knowledge. As a result, numerous exchange conferences were organized to facilitate learning and skill improvement, ultimately allowing them to diversify their products and techniques.
Given the convenient transportation and ample space, most of the larger exchange conferences were held in Xiushui City.
When the Xiushui City Lord's Mansion first learned about these conferences, they immediately decided to offer a free venue in the city center. Their only requirement was that the conferences be fully open to the public, allowing anyone interested to attend.
For the cultivators, this wasn't a problem. To them, letting outsiders listen was no big deal—after all, those who didn't understand wouldn't gain anything from it.
As these exchanges of cultivation techniques flourished, some sects started contemplating other ideas.
If cultivation techniques could be shared, why not exchange insights on cultivation methods and experiences as well?
After all, the highest cultivation level in the mortal realm was the Nascent Soul stage. Besides, with Lingxian Sect and its Divine Transformation stage cultivators present, who would dare claim superiority over anyone else?
No one was stronger than Lingxian Sect—that fact had been firmly established when Lingxian Sect swiftly captured Wan Wantong and the nine high-level cultivators from the cultivation world.
Some of the sects, enthusiastic about these cultivation exchange meetings, even invited Lingxian Sect to send a high-level cultivator to share their insights at each event. If they could invite that Divine Transformation stage cultivator, it would be even better.
Lingxian Sect readily agreed to these requests.