The year is 3014.
California's premier institution for cultivation studies.
On the way home from school, unlike the students flying on swords in the sky, Li Wei activated the ring on his hand, and a sports car appeared on the road.
"Hey, racing cars even though I'm underage, not being afraid of traffic jams after school?"
He then pressed the token in his hand on the steering wheel of the sports car, started it, and headed home, thinking, "What a magical world."
Even after three years of crossing over, Li Wei still marvels at the wonders of this world.
A thousand years ago, this world was similar to his previous home, Blue Star.
However, as spiritual energy recovered, the world evolved into a blend of technology and cultivation.
Everyone practices cultivation to seek immortality. In a short period, Earth even embarked on interstellar travel.
"Look, isn't that the young master of the Li family?"
"He's out with his magical car again. I heard making that magical tool cost a lot of spirit stones. It takes at least three low-grade spirit stones to go to and from school each day. It's great to be rich."
"What's so special about him? He's just an ordinary mixed spirit root like us. I heard he was kicked out by the Li family. The other young masters say he's a disgrace to the Li family!"
...
There were many students on the roadside who couldn't fly with swords and couldn't afford magical tools.
Li Wei usually drove his spirit stone-consuming sports car, naturally becoming the center of attention.
Listening to the passersby, Li Wei wasn't angered.
Putting on his sunglasses, he glanced at the students in the rearview mirror who were still jealously whispering. He held the steering wheel with one hand, put his other hand out of the car, extended a middle finger, and then drove away.
Instead of dealing with them, he preferred to get home early and play games.
...
Soon, Li Wei bought groceries and drove back to Jixian Village. The old man guarding the high-level Dongfu District magic formation was eating whole-grain rice and gnawing on a chicken leg. Hearing the accelerator's sound, he put down his bowl and kindly opened the formation for Li Wei.
"Young Master Li, went all the way to buy groceries? Isn't the high-grade fasting pill delicious?"
"Uncle Chen."
Li Wei replied with a smile, "No matter how high-end the fasting pill is, it's tasteless. No matter how much we cultivate, we shouldn't let our mouths suffer, right? What's the point of cultivating otherwise?"
Hearing this, Uncle Chen's eyes lit up, and he gave a thumbs up in agreement, "You're right. Eating fasting pills for a pure body is foolish. An open mind is needed for true cultivation."
"Uncle Chen, I'll go cook then."
Li Wei drove towards the villa area. As he passed by, he greeted some uncles, aunts, or elders with a smile.
The cultivators in Jixian Village were different from those students.
Years of experience had made them more worldly, and they didn't mind that Li Wei was young with a mixed spirit root. They responded warmly and friendly. After all, everyone knew that those who lived here weren't simple people.
The villas in the Dongfu area were no different from ordinary villas, but most had hidden wonders.
And his residence, Jixian Village No. 1, was at the end of Jixian Village.
As soon as Li Wei's car drove back, a fairy-like girl came into view. She was dressed in a white maid outfit, with slender white silk legs under her apron that were particularly hard to look away from. Especially her charming face between the long sleeves at her temples.
Even after three years with this puppet, Li Wei almost lost his focus under her smiling eyes.
"Welcome home, master." The puppet's voice was like a clear spring, instantly soothing his school-day irritations.
"Yuexian, drive the car back to the garage."
Li Wei tossed a bunch of keys to the puppet. "There's a lot of groceries in the front trunk. You cook today and bring the dishes to my room. I plan to spend the next two days playing games."
"Yes, master."
Yuexian nodded and, as Li Wei stepped towards the villa, said, "By the way, master, your family's monthly spirit stone allowance hasn't arrived yet. We don't have many spirit stones left. Should I contact them?"
Even Li Wei didn't know the puppet's level. She had been taking care of him since birth, far more advanced than the high-end artificial intelligence he knew in his previous life.
"It hasn't been delivered yet?"
Li Wei frowned, "Call to remind them. Call Old Gui first. He's one of us. Let's see what's going on."
"Yes, master."
Hearing Yuexian's response, Li Wei didn't mind and returned to his room.
There were many cultivation families throughout California, and the Li family was among the top. However, Li Wei knew little about the Li family. He didn't know if it was because of his poor aptitude or his missing parents' poor relationship with the family, but he had lived in Jixian Village, raised by Yuexian.
He had met Li family members fewer times than he had interacted with the uncles and aunts of Jixian Village.
As a direct descendant of the family, Li Wei received a lot of pocket money every month for daily expenses, even though he didn't grow up in the family.
He heard from the elders that his parents made great contributions to the Li family.
As long as the Li family survived, his lineage would be enshrined by the Li family forever.
So Li Wei wasn't worried about life.
Back in his room, Li Wei sat in front of the computer, lost in thought for a long time.
"It seems in this life, I can only do nothing."
Saying this, Li Wei smiled and turned on the computer.
This kind of life was his dream. Being a 'rich second generation' allowed him to live comfortably. He was satisfied with the status quo. As long as he didn't seek death, his life was enviable.
Li Wei even planned an ordinary and carefree future.
"Although..."
Li Wei paused, thinking of the magnificent lives of the masters in this world. They could see a broader world in the starry sky, but he could only stay in Jixian Village.
"I'm really greedy."
Li Wei mocked himself, but at that moment, the computer turned on. Though this world had cultivation, it also had games for idlers like him to pass the time.
But more often, it was VR games that trained cultivators' reaction speeds, serving as an alternative form of education.
However, Li Wei preferred traditional games from his previous life, like the old ones that he still played with a mouse. The current VR games are focused on fighting, but they got boring after a while.
He opened the ancient games Yuexian had found. These games were copied from a thousand-year-old computer Yuexian bought from an antique market, as old as his computer.
Looking around, Li Wei didn't immediately click on a game. After all, he was tired of most of them.
Thinking for a moment, Li Wei opened a folder, looking for anything new that might have been forgotten.
While searching, a game file caught his eye!
"Immortal Cultivation Family Simulator? Is it a management game?"
Curious to try something new, Li Wei opened the game.
The screen loaded instantly.
The simple art style came into view, looking very retro even for his previous life.
A landscape painting gradually revealed a small wooden house.
A young man arranged a memorial tablet and burned incense in front of a copper stove.
[On this day, your only living descendant is worshiping you. As a slave, he doesn't even have a surname. He only heard from others that kneeling and worshiping his ancestors would bring blessings.]
[Please establish a surname for this family that is about to rise or disappear from the world.]
[___ Family]
"Pfft."
Li Wei, drinking, almost spit out. Was the start that miserable? Only one person in the entire clan?
However, Li Wei still entered [Li Family] according to the game interface.
After entering the surname.
The game's interface began to change but remained simple.
Li Wei checked it out a bit.
There was a [Time Rate] slider on the left, set to 1 hour/year - real-time.
"Is there no pause option?"
Li Wei checked. It seemed it would only pause during ancestor worship or special events, automatically canceling the ancestor worship after five minutes.
And now, the start was the first ancestor worship.
However, it seemed to be a beginner's tutorial. On the screen, the Li family's tablet appeared out of nowhere, with a big character "Li" on it.
The only descendant of the Li family saw the change in the tablet, and a line of large characters appeared above his head.
"The ancestor has appeared. My surname is Li. I finally have a surname, hahaha!"
Seeing the ecstatic expressions of the Li descendant, Li Wei didn't know whether to laugh or be moved. After all, he couldn't empathize with a game NPC.
And at the same time.
There was a large black interface on the right side of the game screen, with a line of text.
[Your descendant felt your presence and was ecstatic. He named himself Li Dalong.]
[Incense +1]
And on the member list.
Li Wei actually saw the genealogy...
[First-generation member: Li Dalong]
He could even check Li Dalong's personal information. Well, he was a completely ordinary person.
"Immortal Cultivation Family Simulator, does it mean I can only watch the family grow?"
Li Wei still didn't fully understand the game.
[Your descendant is worshiping ancestors, with a grand ceremony every ten years.]
[Sacrifice: a pile of burnt yellow paper ashes]
[Do you want to take it out?]
"Why would I want this?"
Although he didn't see an equipment column, Li Wei still clicked 'No'.
[You canceled the sacrifice.]
On the screen, a gust of wind blew, scattering the ashes of the burnt yellow paper.
But the only descendant of the Li family panicked.
"Ancestor, please calm down. Unfilial descendants are too useless. I can't give you a sacrifice that makes you happy!"
[In this ancestor worship ceremony, do you plan to give gifts to your descendant?]
Looking at the screen, Li Wei was stunned. His hand holding the drink was suspended in the air, trembling slightly. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened.
It wasn't because of the game screen, but...
An incense burner that shouldn't exist appeared next to the computer on the messy desk.
Li Wei could even smell the smoke of the burnt yellow paper from the incense burner!
The incense burner was exactly the same as the one on the altar in the game.
"I...what the...?"