Dispatch Candidate

The first New Year’s Eve in Xiushui City was a delightful surprise for the villagers of the former Xiushui Village, but to the newly arrived residents, it was a shock beyond words.

They had never imagined that immortals would celebrate the New Year alongside ordinary folk, let alone put so much thought into arranging one event after another for them.

By now, Xiushui City was home not only to the villagers of the former Xiushui Village and the residents of the villages incorporated into its territory, but also to people from the surrounding towns, counties, and prefectures. There were even quite a few low-level rogue cultivators who had come from afar, drawn by the city’s growing reputation.

These rogue cultivators were neither numerous nor highly cultivated. Some were natives of the Pushi Kingdom, while others came from neighboring nations. Some had inherited a connection to cultivation from their ancestors, while others had once joined sects but eventually found themselves unable to progress any further on the path of cultivation and had left their sects. Through various channels, they had heard of Lingxian Sect, this newly established sect, and had eagerly come to try their luck.

At the beginning, there really had been a few people who passed Lingxian Sect’s Trial of the Heart and successfully became disciples of Qingyun Peak, but they were ultimately very few in number.

Most of those expelled by the Trial of the Heart had finally abandoned the last of their hopes and decided to settle down among ordinary people. Seeing that Lingxian Sect conducted itself differently from other sects, they chose to settle here.

As a result, the residents of Xiushui City now came from all walks of life.

Ordinary people made up the overwhelming majority. The rest consisted of low-level rogue cultivators and spies from various sects. And now, there would probably be several dozen more people in charge of various sects joining their ranks.

Even so, compared with a major city like Xiushui City, these newcomers were still pitifully few.

For Xiushui City to become a truly prosperous city and operate at full capacity, it still needed a massive population.

That would be the focus of Lin Yun’s work from now on.

On New Year’s Eve, everyone in the city was immersed in a festive atmosphere they had never experienced before. From elderly people in their eighties and nineties to toddlers who had barely learned to speak, everyone excitedly stayed up to welcome the New Year. It was well past midnight before they reluctantly went to bed.

While the people slept, the city lord of Xiushui City, Lin Yun, led ten Qingyun Peak disciples—including Yuan Jinsheng and Xuanyuan Haoyue, the two principal administrators of the city—into the city lord’s residence. There, they buried themselves in work at the administrative hall.

Everyone wished they could split themselves into ten people.

The workload involved in establishing a new city was immense.

There were all sorts of matters to coordinate with the Pushi Kingdom’s imperial court, plans for attracting new residents, the planning and leasing of the commercial district, the types of goods to be traded, management regulations, and more. Only the general framework for these matters had been determined beforehand. Every detail still needed to be revised and refined again and again.

The next day was the first day of the New Year.

Every inhabited area was bustling with activity.

However, the market remained closed.

The entire city of Xiushui had been placed under a citywide order from the city lord suspending all work.

This included the small shops and street stalls run by ordinary residents.

The city lord’s order repeatedly emphasized that the entire city would be on holiday from the first through the third day of the New Year, and no one was permitted to open for business. Anyone caught doing so would be fined. The fourth through the seventh days were also designated as holidays in Xiushui City, though those with truly urgent work were allowed to resume operations during that period.

Thus, some cultivators who had failed to listen carefully to the Lingxian Sect disciples’ announcement after leaving the auction—that work would not resume until the seventh day of the New Year—hurried to the commercial affairs center at daybreak.

Only to find the doors tightly shut.

A sign hung above them reading “Closed,” with a smaller line beneath stating that the center would reopen at the mao hour on the seventh day of the New Year.

They were dumbfounded.

Seven days was not a long time for cultivators.

But at a time when they were desperate to finalize the matter of leasing their shops, waiting seven days felt painfully long.

There was nothing they could do, however. The place was closed, and ever since New Year’s Eve, the members of Lingxian Sect and the members of the Li imperial clan had vanished as completely as if they had disappeared from the mortal world. No matter how anxious the cultivators became, all they could do was wait.

Little did they know that the Li imperial clan and Lingxian Sect had gone to hold a private meeting.

“Sect Master Lin means that the Li clan should send someone to specialize in managing external trade, have him take the Trial of the Heart, and join Lingxian Sect?” Li Zhanying asked in surprise.

Lin Xiao nodded. “That is our proposal. It will deepen our cooperation in the future. If a member of the Li clan cultivates within Lingxian Sect, it will also make it more convenient to handle matters involving trade and the like. What does the Li clan think?”

Li Zhanying was naturally willing. His attitude toward Lingxian Sect was entirely different from his former attitude toward the three major sects. Even if the chosen candidate turned out to be Li Zeyuan, the most talented cultivator among the younger generation of the Li clan, he would still agree.

In the past, sending a talented clan disciple to cultivate in one of the three major sects would have amounted to weakening the Li clan in order to provide those sects with an outstanding disciple. Worse still, the disciple might be brainwashed by the sects and come to disregard the Li clan’s interests entirely, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the sect instead.

Lingxian Sect was different.

Putting aside the fact that Li Zhanying personally held a favorable impression of them, from the perspective of the Li clan’s overall interests, sending a clan member to cultivate in Lingxian Sect would allow them to maintain a bond between the two sides. And with the trading center established in Xiushui City clearly showing great potential, one clan disciple could ensure that the Li clan continued to follow behind the deep-rooted Lingxian Sect, enjoying a steady share of the benefits for a long time to come.

That was undoubtedly an extremely advantageous arrangement.

Previously, the Li clan had already earned far more than it used to simply by working with the three major sects within the kingdom.

Now Lingxian Sect had attracted so many more sects…

Moreover, from the perspective of the clan member they would send, this was also an excellent opportunity.

After all, although the Li clan did not claim to know the exact talents and backgrounds of all the disciples who had passed the Trial of the Heart, they had a fairly good idea of them.

Yet after only a few months, every Lingxian Sect disciple they had seen possessed a cultivation speed that would have earned them astonished cries of “genius” anywhere else.

It was obvious that Lingxian Sect not only possessed abundant cultivation resources, but also had an extraordinary cultivation method.

What reason could Li Zhanying possibly have to reject such a wonderful opportunity? How could he refuse?

As a result, both sides reached an agreement swiftly and amicably.

However, when the Li clan began selecting a candidate to challenge the Trial of the Heart, they encountered a slight difficulty.

Lingxian Sect had only one requirement for the person the Li clan sent: he had to possess solid administrative ability.

But what exactly did “solid” mean?

Lingxian Sect had not explained clearly.

Li Zhanying knew, however, that they could not try to deceive the sect on this matter. If something went wrong later, it would affect the relationship between the Li clan and Lingxian Sect.

The chosen candidate therefore had to possess truly exceptional administrative talent.

Lingxian Sect had also stated that anyone attempting the Trial of the Heart needed a resilient temperament and outstanding character.

Li Zhanying could certainly shamelessly claim that every disciple of the Li clan was resilient and excellent.

But what use would that be if the Trial of the Heart refused to acknowledge it?