Summary of the Beginning of the Year,

First, a report on the metrics: average subscriptions stand at eighty-two thousand.

When I launched the new book, considering my previous work concluded with eighteen thousand subscriptions, I dared to imagine it might match its predecessor's reach, or perhaps venture further—thirty thousand would have been extraordinary.

My editor was bolder than I, hazarding a guess at fifty thousand.

As it turns out, we were both short-sighted.

The current figure far surpasses our initial reckonings.

The success of "Who Let Him Cultivate Immortality!" could never have been achieved without the grace of my fellow Daoists; my deepest thanks to you all.

The performance of "The Mahayana Realm Only Gets a Counterattack System" has actually progressed by leaps and bounds as well, climbing from an average subscription of eighteen thousand at its conclusion to fifty-five thousand now, though few have paid it much heed (you might look into it while waiting out the dry spells between updates; I remain quite satisfied with that tale).

Having commenced this writing journey at the end of February last year, with nearly a year slipped away, the changes in my life have been utterly earth-shattering—who could have foreseen that in twelve months, I would transform from a greenhorn author into a zombie king bearing the future of both the undead and humankind?

After the Mahayana story drew to a close, I had no intentions of spinning a new yarn quite so soon, but I could not withstand the tide of your rumors insisting I was housebound, nursing a pregnancy, and incapable of beginning anew.

That such a preposterous falsehood found believers is a wonder; had it been allowed to fester, heaven knows what it would have mutated into, leaving me no choice but to unveil the new book.

To write is a joyous endeavor, particularly given the tone of this volume; there are times when I revisit a certain passage and find myself laughing aloud.

Those familiar with my ways know that I never stifle the innate genius of my protagonists—this was true of Jiang Li, and it holds equally true for Lu Yang.

Lu Yang's pace of cultivation is actually swift; his ascent from a mere mortal to a Great Power of Qi Refining, a Grand Cultivator of Foundation Establishment, and an Ancestor of the Golden Core took a mere two years and change.

If anyone deems Lu Yang slow in his spiritual progress, it is likely not his cultivation that lags, but my own updates...

As a Golden Core Ancestor, he still has a vast path to tread before achieving immortality; realistically speaking, Lu Yang will not become a Sword Immortal this year, so this chronicle will remain to keep you company for a good while longer.

Still wandering the zombie city, I wish that all fellow Daoists might find themselves under the divine protection of Fairy Doudou.

I entreat you for the monthly votes of this new month in the new year.