"After spending this time together, I've really grown to like you. Let's get married. If you're willing, give me a betrothal gift of three hundred thousand; if not, call me Daddy right now."
"Daddy."
Fang Yang looked at the chat history between himself and his 99th blind-date match, his expression completely undisturbed.
He was twenty-eight years old this year. Thinking back to three years ago, when he went on his very first blind date, he had been full of nervous anticipation and burning enthusiasm.
He had dreamed of meeting a gentle, lovely woman who shared his ideals, of walking hand in hand with her into the palace of marriage, raising children, and growing old together.
Yet three years had passed, and he still hadn't managed to get a wife.
Actually, Fang Yang's personal conditions weren't bad at all: he stood one meter eighty tall, had regular facial features, and possessed a steady yet ruthless personality that had allowed him to eliminate countless rivals in the cutthroat corporate world and finally become a department manager.
Even so, his meager advantages still fell far short compared to a Saudi prince, completely failing to satisfy the demands of those blind-date partners.
What truly changed Fang Yang, however, was his tenth blind date.
She was a female college student with twin ponytails, pure and sweet, and she reportedly majored in software-hardware engineering.
Fang Yang was quite satisfied and invited her to the movies, but she said she was interning and had to work the night shift every day.
The next day, Fang Yang bumped into this same female college student at a KTV. Shedding her arrogant facade, she wrapped her arm around his waist and said:
"Big brother, let's go upstairs."
From that day on, Fang Yang began to treat blind dates as a business.
Hit and run, changing locations every time; and if he couldn't even get a hit, it ended up like today's situation.
At the very least, he had to make the other person call him Daddy.
Expertly blocking his 99th blind-date match, Fang Yang stood up and walked out of the company.
Suddenly, the sky turned extraordinarily brilliant, and gasps of astonishment rose up all around. Looking up in a daze, Fang Yang saw a massive fireball plunging down from the vault of heaven.
"What the hell! I haven't even gotten a wife yet!"
Fang Yang only had time to curse before the fireball smashed into him, and his consciousness plunged into darkness.
"Is the sect really going to assign wives to us?"
"Our Tianhuan Sect scored a huge victory over those so-called righteous sects this time, and the Sect Master said that deserving disciples can all go up on stage to draw lots. Those with good luck might even draw a righteous-sect female cultivator as a wife!"
"Damn it, those righteous-sect female cultivators act like lofty immortals, every single one of them with their noses in the air, but now aren't they just going to be ridden by us!"
"I heard all these righteous-sect female cultivators were fed the Spirit-Sealing Pill, leaving them with zero spiritual power so they can only obediently serve us!"
"I hope I can draw one!"
He had no idea how much time had passed, but noisy clamoring and excited discussions rang in his ears. Feeling as though he were crawling up from an endless darkness, Fang Yang snapped his eyes open.
Only to find himself inside an antique-style building with painted pillars and carved rafters. Everyone around him was dressed in ancient clothing, and every face was filled with excitement and anticipation.
Ahead was a high platform holding countless glowing items, with five graceful, dignified women in flowing white dresses standing in the center.
Only, all of them were bound with ropes, wearing masks, and trembling as they were pointed at and discussed by the people below.
Where was this?
Were they filming a movie?
Fang Yang stood in a daze for a moment, and countless memories that did not belong to him suddenly surged into his mind.
This was no longer the modern world, but a world of immortal cultivation called the Qinzhou Continent.
The original owner of this body was also named Fang Yang, having grown up in an ordinary mortal village since childhood.
At age fourteen, a wandering immortal told him he possessed spiritual roots and could cultivate, so he took him away from the village.
The original owner thought he was going to become an immortal, but little did he know he was being brought to a Demon Sect that everyone feared.
The Tianhuan Sect.
This Tianhuan Sect acted in strange and cruel ways, and its cultivation techniques mostly relied on absorbing the spiritual energy of humans and Monster Beasts, as well as Dual Cultivation Harvesting, earning the hatred of countless righteous-sect cultivators.
Yet the Tianhuan Sect was powerful, and despite doing evil for many years, it stood unshaken.
Its sphere of influence stretched far and wide for thousands of miles, encompassing dozens of towns.
The town Fang Yang had been brought to was one of them.
Yunyu Town.
The original owner had once tried to escape, but quickly realized that as a Demon Sect disciple, so long as one possessed strength, one could do whatever one pleased.
Those high-level disciples enjoyed endless resources and could decide a person's life or death with a single word.
Therefore, the original owner worked hard at cultivation, wanting to become superior to others.
Yet his aptitude was mediocre, and after several years of joining, he had only reached the Qi Refinement 2nd Layer, remaining a junior disciple.
A month ago, the Righteous-Demonic War broke out. The Demon Sect won a great victory, and the Tianhuan Sect seized countless resources and treasures, while also capturing over a hundred righteous-sect female cultivators.
During the battle, the original owner had been pushed to the front lines as cannon fodder, relying on the lives of junior disciples like them to grind down and exhaust an elder of the Qingtang Sword Sect to death.
Out of hundreds of junior disciples, only a dozen or so survived.
The original owner had actually died back then, which was how Fang Yang's soul was able to enter this vessel, replace the Fang Yang of this cultivation world, and become a Demon Sect disciple.
Perhaps the integration of an unfamiliar soul and body required a process, as Fang Yang's consciousness had remained muddled all along.
Only at this moment did he fully merge the memories of the modern world and the cultivation world.
The original owner's residual soul completely dissipated, and this body finally belonged entirely to him.
And he had completely bid farewell to his former world.
Dad, Mom, your son is unfilial. Not only can I not find a wife for you, but I can't even stay by your sides anymore.
I'm sorry, you must take good care of yourselves.
I will also live well in this world!
In his heart, Fang Yang made a final farewell to everything in his past. With a clear and lucid gaze, combined with the original owner's memories, he immediately sorted out his current situation.
At this moment, he was inside the only brothel in Yunyu Town, Zonghuan Tower.
The Tianhuan Sect Master had ordered the spoils of war and the captured righteous-sect female cultivators to be awarded to the meritorious disciples.
However, the Tianhuan Sect governed dozens of towns, and the spoils and righteous-sect female cultivators allocated to Yunyu Town were limited. With over a hundred meritorious disciples in Yunyu Town, there naturally weren't enough to go around.
Thus, Elder Zheng, who managed Yunyu Town, decided that the disciples would draw lots to determine their rewards.
This lot-drawing ceremony was taking place right here in Zonghuan Tower.
Right now, Zonghuan Tower was packed with people. The glowing items on the high platform ahead were spoils of war such as talisman paper, spirit pills, dharma tools, puppets, and spirit stones.
And those five women bound with ropes and wearing masks were the captured righteous-sect female cultivators.
They all wore the white Linyun gauze dresses of the Qingtang Sword Sect, graceful and ethereal like immortals. Even though they had fallen into captivity, it was hard to hide their elegant and poised demeanor.
At this moment, being watched and profaned like objects, all five women trembled, evidently filled with extreme shame and anger.
On the high platform also sat a red-wood round table holding a lot box, inside of which were talisman lots, pill lots, puppet lots, beast lots, dharma tool lots, and... person lots.As the name suggested, drawing a talisman lot allowed you to choose a piece of talisman paper, and drawing a beast lot allowed you to choose a Monster Beast.
Drawing a person lot would grant you a righteous female cultivator to be your wife.
Do not be fooled into thinking this is an immortal cultivation world; in reality, it is no different from the modern world.
Only those high-ranking disciples and elders with high cultivation and abundant resources could easily take wives, or even have a wife and concubines.
As for the majority of junior disciples, marrying a wife in this lifetime was an absolute impossibility.
Cultivators were human too, possessing the same seven emotions and six desires, and often even stronger urges.
Just as male cultivators desired women, female cultivators were equally rigorous in screening men.
Therefore, for a junior disciple like Fang Yang, trying to marry a wife was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Yet right now, there was a chance to obtain a beautiful, dignified, and gracefully ethereal righteous female cultivator, to make them lower their proud heads and obediently call them "husband."
This windfall of sudden good fortune made those Demon Sect disciples qualified to take the stage and draw lots utterly ecstatic and excited!
Fang Yang observed everything around him, but inwardly, he let out a secret sigh.
A windfall of sudden good fortune?
I am afraid it is a heaven-sent death warrant!
In his past life, he had managed to become a department manager in a large corporation, so he naturally understood the principle of a man treasuring a jade ring becoming a target for crime.
Right now, he was merely a low-level junior disciple with weak cultivation. If he were to genuinely acquire a breathtakingly gorgeous righteous fairy as a wife, how could it not provoke jealousy and hatred?
This was the Demon Sect, after all; even if someone killed for a wife, the higher-ups would likely turn a blind eye.
In fact, the higher-ups of the Tianhuan Sect pulling such a stunt were probably intentionally making their disciples slaughter one another, so as to cultivate venomous insects in a jar and breed powerful, loyal, high-ranking cannon fodder!
At that moment, a tall, slender figure in a black robe descended from the sky, emanating powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy.
The countless clamorous discussions abruptly ceased.
All the Tianhuan Sect disciples bowed in salute:
"Greetings, Elder Zheng."
This person was the administrator of Yunyu Town, an elder of the Tianhuan Sect, Zheng Chengdan.
Fang Yang followed those around him and bowed as well.
Zheng Chengdan casually raised a hand, and only then did the disciples dare to straighten their backs. He spoke slowly, his voice stirring:
"Thanks to our Tianhuan Sect's great victory this time, the Sect Master is immensely pleased and has brought out all the spoils of war to reward our meritorious disciples!"
"This grace you must engrave in your hearts!"
"When we break the Qingtang Sword Sect in the future, anyone who renders meritorious service, regardless of rank, will have the hope of taking Qin Xueyan, Nangong Yan, and Luo Ling'er as wives and concubines!"
Roar!
Countless disciples emitted earth-shaking shouts, bowing down in excitement one after another:
"We thank the Sect Master for this immense grace! We shall shatter our bodies and smash our bones to repay it, and shall not shirk from anything!"
Fang Yang had no choice but to kneel along with them while stealing glances at the people around him.
Every single one of them had flushed, excited faces, brimming with gratitude toward the sect.
Fang Yang inwardly shook his head. He was all too familiar with this routine of higher-ups drawing big blueprints of empty promises for their subordinates.
The Qingtang Sword Sect was the mortal enemy of the Tianhuan Sect. In this righteous-demonic war, the Tianhuan Sect's primary opponent had been the Qingtang Sword Sect.
As for Qin Xueyan, Nangong Yan, and Luo Ling'er mentioned by Elder Zheng, they were the three most prestigious fairies of the Qingtang Sword Sect.
Especially Qin Xueyan; blessed with peerless natural talent and matchless beauty, she was universally recognized as the number one fairy of the righteous path.
During this righteous-demonic war, Fang Yang had caught a glimpse of Qin Xueyan from afar.
Clad in white, she drifted like an immortal, single-handedly fighting three Tianhuan Sect elders without falling into a disadvantageous position.Though the Qingtang Sword Sect suffered a crushing defeat, Qin Xueyan still slaughtered countless disciples of the Demonic Heaven Sect, and no one dared to cross swords with her edge.
Toward Qin Xueyan, the Demon Sect disciples felt a mixture of awe and yearning.
Fang Yang's original vessel had hidden a portrait of Qin Xueyan beneath his bed, taking it out to soothe his loneliness in the dead of night.
Hearing the grand promise painted by Elder Zheng now, how could these disciples not be excited?
While shouting about shattering his bodies and smashing his bones, Fang Yang found the scene rather amusing.
This PUA tactic was far too crude.
After the leader finished speaking, the lot-drawing finally began.
There were over a hundred meritorious disciples in Yunyu Town this time, among them over thirty Huang-grade Disciples, with the rest being entirely junior disciples.
The hierarchy within the Tianhuan Sect was strictly enforced, with ranks from high to low being Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, Yellow, and Junior.
Junior disciples were the cannon fodder like Fang Yang.
Huang-grade Disciples held a higher rank, so they got to draw lots first.
The thirty-odd Huang-grade Disciples stepped onto the stage one after another to draw lots. As they drew, they muttered under their breath, their burning gazes locked onto the five righteous female cultivators.
Huang-grade Disciples were already capable of practicing the Tianhuan Sect's unique Dual Cultivation Harvesting technique. If they managed to draw a righteous female cultivator, not only would they enjoy endless sensual pleasures, but they could also use the righteous fairy as a cultivation cauldron.
To gain a beautiful wife while rapidly increasing one's cultivation was simply an almighty blessing.
Thus, all of them desperately wanted to draw a person lot.
Every time one of them drew, thunderous cheers erupted from beneath the stage.
It was just like unboxing blind boxes on a live stream—those opening them felt anticipation, while the onlookers felt excitement.
However, these thirty-odd Huang-grade Disciples lacked good fortune; not a single one managed to draw a person lot.
One by one, they wore expressions of disappointment and dark complexions.
"Even the Huang-grade Disciples didn't draw any! That means we have a chance, hahaha!"
Hearing the junior disciples who were about to take the stage for the lot-drawing shouting with ecstatic joy, Fang Yang sighed inwardly.
If you get something your superiors failed to obtain, aren't you just asking for death?
Fang Yang quietly shifted backward, hoping only that the people ahead of him would draw away all four death warrants before he had to take the stage.
Soon, the junior disciples went up one by one, and finally, one disciple drew a person lot.
"Haha, I got it! I got it!"
He was beside himself with excitement, rubbing his hands as he walked around the five righteous female cultivators before finally choosing a tall female cultivator with voluptuous curves.
"This fairy, from today onward you are my wife. You had better serve me well, hahaha!"
Amidst the deafening, frantic cheers, the righteous female cultivator trembled all over, letting out soft sobs as she was led off the high stage by the junior disciple.
The atmosphere at the scene grew even more fanatical.
The junior disciple who had acquired a wife was immensely proud, dragging the righteous female cultivator around the crowd to flaunt her, completely failing to notice the several jealous and cold gazes fixed upon him.
Fang Yang kept his head down, praying silently: *Hurry up and draw the remaining four away!*
Before long, the junior disciples ahead of Fang Yang had all gone up to draw their lots, and finally, it was Fang Yang's turn.
He stepped onto the high stage with a bitter expression.
In the center of the high stage, only the last remaining righteous female cultivator was left.
*You bunch of unlucky bastards!*
Looking at those miserable wretches who had failed to draw a person lot, Fang Yang felt deeply depressed.
Resigned, he thrust his hand into the lot bamboo cylinder, only to find several dozen wooden lots still inside.
Fang Yang's heart relaxed slightly. With so many lots left, it shouldn't be that easy to draw a person lot.
His hand fumbled about for a moment before he finally grasped a wooden lot and slowly pulled it out.
Instantly, Fang Yang's scalp went numb.