28: Chapter 28 A Peaceful Life

"Ding... Ding... Ding."

Li Fan got up, picked up the terminal by the bedside, and turned off the alarm.

He strapped the terminal onto his wrist, listened to its broadcast, and quickly washed up and got dressed.

"The shuttle to the Secret Realm cultivation site is about to depart."

Li Fan sped up and jogged toward the station.

Three hours later, he finished his day's work and returned home just in time for lunch.

"The ten-day salary for your position has been issued. Please check your account."

Li Fan shoveled down his lunch, looked at the salary deposited into his account, and nodded with satisfaction.

Today was his tenth day of official work. After graduating from high school, he hadn't chosen to attend university; instead, he obeyed the official unified assignment and became a member of the cultivation System.

The job was very simple.

Although there was no such thing as a holiday, apart from needing to go to the Secret Realm cultivation site to clock in every ten days, he just had to remotely monitor the parameters from home the rest of the time.

"Time to surf the web."

Li Fan freed up a hand to open the web browser, but what popped up was the familiar System interface.

[Strongest Sign-in System offline; Strongest Mind-Clearing and Truth-Seeing System online.]

[State of mind has improved!]

The next moment, forgotten memories surfaced in Li Fan's mind.

He was briefly stunned, then, as if nothing had happened, he picked up his drink, took a large gulp, and continued eating lunch.

"So that's how it is."

Knowing the whole story, Li Fan still pulled up the terminal page to look for entertaining hot topics.

"The Zhonghuang Imperial Clan announces the official marriage arrangements for the Third Princess."

"The eleventh round of the Stellar Cycle unified marriage matching has begun. Eligible citizens, please go to the terminal matching interface to view details."

During his familiar web-surfing routine, Li Fan propped up his head with his hand, rested his feet on the stool, and gazed at the unfamiliar ceiling through the terminal interface.

"Although I know this is an illusion, I still find it hard to let go."

If the System hadn't appeared, this would have been the future life Li Fan had hoped for.

A simple, easy job, surfing the web for fun every day, and finally, when reaching the right age, being matched with a partner to live a peaceful life.

"There shouldn't be a time limit on the illusion, so let me enjoy it a little longer..."

Saying this, he opened the matching interface.

The list appeared, mostly containing women of similar age to Li Fan.

As for the information about these women, there were only text descriptions, no pictures.

This was the same as the matching process of the Xuannü Civilization that Li Fan had heard of; to prevent physical appearance from being a factor, they first checked if they were compatible in terms of family background and other aspects.

Only afterwards would the two parties apply to meet offline for a more in-depth understanding.

"Cultivators call them Dao Companions, while Mortals call them spouses; in reality, there's no difference."

Li Fan scrolled through the interface, his eyes scanning line after line of text.

"Female, 19 years old; requires spouse to own a property in the central district school zone and provide supporting cultivation resources."

"Female, 19 years old; requires spouse to have Golden Core Stage cultivation and provide resources for cultivation up to the Golden Core."

"Female, 20 years old; requires spouse to have compatible Prodigy Aptitude and be able to provide sufficient cultivation resources."

...

Looking down line by line, Li Fan's mouth twitched.

In the current environment of the cultivation craze, most women his age who were willing to seek a partner were doing so to gain more assistance on the path of cultivation.

Continuing to scroll down, as more matching information appeared, his fingertip suddenly stopped; an unusual piece of information caught his attention.

"Female, 18 years old; requires spouse to be able to stay together for life."

Li Fan raised an eyebrow. He clicked on the details and confirmed that there were no other requirements at all.

"There's such a good deal?"

He continued to check.

"Huh!? ...What does it mean by 'matched over thirty times in this round'?"

This eleventh round of unified marriage matching hadn't been open for long... Li Fan did some research.

These thirty-plus times didn't mean she had already dated thirty-plus men, but that she had already met them offline.

This actually made Li Fan a bit curious. Seeing that this person could be booked for the afternoon, his desire to be entertained began to stir again.

"How about... I go take a look?"

In the afternoon.

At a roadside beverage shop, Li Fan casually ordered a drink and sat down, though he wasn't waiting for the woman he was matched with.

His gaze passed through the floor-to-ceiling window; inside another restaurant across the street, a man and a woman were discussing something.

The previous offline meeting hadn't ended yet, and the official matching System had already called Li Fan to wait nearby.

Looking from afar, the woman was stunningly beautiful, which made Li Fan feel a bit strange.

"Then why has she been matched so many times? Could there be some hidden requirement?"

With this question in mind, Li Fan took a sip of water, watching the woman and the man across from her chatting happily, looking like they were in mutual agreement.

"Is there nothing for me to do then?"

The man took out his terminal screen, placed it on the table, and turned it toward the woman.

It was likely an electronic agreement to apply for marriage. The woman opposite him wore a faint smile and reached out her finger, about to press her fingerprint at the end of the agreement.

Everything was progressing very smoothly.

Just before pressing her fingerprint, the woman looked up, as if wanting to confirm one last time whether this person was worthy of being her husband.

As their gazes met, her pupils suddenly changed into a heterochromatic purple and blue.

The man opposite her instantly had his hair turn gray-white, his face twisted in agony, and his five fingers clawed at the table, leaving long scratches.

In just a moment, he clutched his chest and collapsed onto the table.

Seeing this, the woman stood up in a hurry, looking panicked. She grabbed the man's wrist and desperately channeled Spiritual Qi into him.

She also took a few Medicinal Pills from her bosom and stuffed them into the man's mouth, trying to wake him up.

But it was all in vain. The man's whole body quickly turned gray-white, and before long, he turned into ashes and vanished completely.

She didn't know how many men had turned into ashes before her eyes like this.

The woman stumbled back two steps and collapsed into the chair.

The purple and blue heterochromia in her eyes faded; she looked ashen, staring blankly at the ceiling, despair in her heart.

"It's like this again... Why is it always like this!"

She waved her hand to sweep the water cup off the table, grabbed her hair tightly with both hands, and banged her forehead against the edge of the table repeatedly.

"Is it possible that in this life, I am destined to never have any friends or confidants?"

With her emotions completely out of control, she dug her fingernails deeply into her scalp, and blood flowed out.

After a long while, the woman finally calmed down, and the restaurant was deathly silent.

In the silence, she silently sensed her own state; the wound on her head had already healed, and her cultivation had actually improved once again.

"It improved again. Hahaha, I've become stronger again!"

"Since the heavens bestowed upon me such a Physique, not allowing me to have even a single soulmate."

"Then from this day forward, I shall absorb all living beings in the world!"

Arrogant and chilling laughter echoed in the restaurant; the woman seemed to have fallen into a demonic state.

Just then, a crisp notification sound from the terminal rang out.

"The scheduled time for your next matched man has arrived."

Her crazed expression immediately vanished, and she whispered in a chilling tone.

"Come, all of you come. Let me suck you all dry..."