Chapter 1

“Oh-ho-ho-ho~” In the room shrouded in darkness, Yu Xuan's voice was hoarse. “Ah, Xuan'er, listen to me.” “Starting tomorrow, I'm going to abstain from pleasure! I'm serious this time!” “That's a great idea.” “But could you get off me first?” That was Yu Xuan's last thought before he passed out. …… “Xuan'er, Xuan'er, wake up!” A crisp voice kept ringing in his ears. Yu Xuan felt as though his entire body had gone limp, like someone had taken him apart bone by bone and then put him back together. He struggled to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a pure and beautiful face. The young woman had long, jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders, and her bright, watery eyes were filled with concern as she gazed at him. “Xuan'er, you're finally awake!” Feng Lingya let out a sigh of relief. Yu Xuan propped himself up against the bed, his head still somewhat groggy. Looking at the familiar young woman before him, scenes from the previous night inevitably resurfaced in his mind. And then…… Yu Xuan fell silent. Hadn't Feng Lingya said something last night? “Starting tomorrow, I'm going to abstain from pleasure!” The corner of Yu Xuan's mouth twitched. It seemed someone's plan to abstain from pleasure had already failed before it even began. Thinking about this, he couldn't help glancing at Feng Lingya. The young woman's face also seemed to flush as she recalled something, and she quickly looked away. Neither of them mentioned what had happened last night. Yu Xuan cleared his throat. “Ahem… What time is it?” “It's already the Chen hour.” “Why did you wake me up so early?” Yu Xuan rubbed his temples, trying to ease the fatigue in his body. As he looked at the woman before him, his supposed girlfriend, he felt rather helpless. As for why she was only pretending to be his girlfriend, that story went back to when he had just awakened the memories of his previous life. …… In his previous life, Yu Xuan had been a student in the Xia Kingdom on Blue Star. But after staying up late one night playing games, his lips suddenly turned purple, and he died from a sudden cardiac arrest. When he opened his eyes again, he discovered that his current self was already eighteen years old. “So this counts as breaking through the mystery of the womb and awakening memories from my past life?” “Eighteen years later, and I'm a good man once again.” Yu Xuan couldn't help sighing inwardly. In this cultivation world, he was the eldest son of the Yu family in Xuanzing City. Even though this was a matriarchal world where women held a higher status, his identity was still highly esteemed. He had grown up surrounded by fine clothes and lavish food, and he had never lacked cultivation resources. The only thing that gave him a headache was the marriage engagement that had been passed down from his ancestors. The Li family. Li Ruoxue. She was a heaven-blessed prodigy who had once amazed the entire Xuanzing City. She was already breathtakingly beautiful, possessing a beauty capable of making fish sink and flowers shy away. Her talent was even more extraordinary. She had awakened a mutated Ice Spiritual Root at a young age and broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement at only sixteen. Everyone believed that she would at least reach the Golden Core Realm in the future, and that she might even have a chance to break into the Nascent Soul Realm. A woman like that should have given Yu Xuan no reason to refuse. But…… A few years ago, Li Ruoxue encountered an accident. Her cultivation was completely crippled, and her spiritual root was damaged. At that time, Yu Xuan had not yet awakened the memories of his previous life. He had no idea what had gotten into him. He had actually taken the initiative to call off the engagement. After awakening his memories from his previous life, Yu Xuan finally realized just how ridiculous a thing he had done. “What on earth was I thinking back then?” Whenever he recalled the matter, he couldn't help but get a headache. A fallen prodigy whose cultivation had been destroyed? Those were exactly the kind of people you absolutely should never offend! A fallen prodigy seeking revenge was the most terrifying kind! And this was a matriarchal world at that. When the time came, he would be the one suffering. Unfortunately…… It had already happened. The engagement was broken, and there was no going back. After awakening his past-life memories, Yu Xuan came up with what he thought was the perfect solution. Protagonists like this were usually obsessed with purity, so he had to make absolutely sure there was no room for reconciliation. So why not get himself a girlfriend and put an end to her hopes? Thinking of this, Yu Xuan couldn't help admiring his own cleverness. As a veteran reader of online novels in his previous life, he knew that all those novels hadn't been a waste of time after all. Thus, Yu Xuan specifically chose a beautiful young woman from among the adopted children raised by the Yu family. Feng Lingya. Originally, he had only asked her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Who would have thought…… The fake relationship would eventually become real. And perhaps a little too real. It was all because of his strange physique. Whenever the full moon appeared, his entire body would grow feverish, and he would become unusually excited. And as fate would have it, Feng Lingya happened to always be by his side. After the first unexpected incident, both of them had felt somewhat awkward. The second time…… It didn't seem quite so awkward anymore. The third time…… Forget it. By the end, the two of them had completely become inseparable, spending their days clinging to each other. Pretending to be his girlfriend? Who still remembered that it had started as an act? It had become real a long time ago! Thinking of this, Yu Xuan suddenly frowned. Wait. He seemed to remember something. Last night…… Hadn't Feng Lingya said something? “Xuan'er.” Just then, Feng Lingya softly called his name. Yu Xuan came back to his senses. “What is it?” Feng Lingya didn't answer immediately. She lowered her head, tightly clutching the corner of her clothes with both hands. Her hesitant expression immediately gave Yu Xuan a bad feeling. “Xuan'er……” She bit her lower lip. “I might… have to leave you for a while.” Yu Xuan froze. “Leave?” He instinctively looked at Feng Lingya. The first thought that flashed through his mind was: Could the Yu family have mistreated her somehow? That shouldn't be possible. If she wanted cultivation resources, she had them. If she wanted spirit stones, she had those too. As for a beauty…… Yu Xuan instinctively touched his own face. He should count as a beauty too, right? Although he rarely went out, Xuanzing City had long circulated the title of him being the number one handsome man. There were enough people who wanted to marry him to form a line from the south of the city all the way to the north. Seeing his bewildered expression, a trace of heartache flashed through Feng Lingya's eyes. She suddenly stepped forward and gently kissed his cheek. The warm touch disappeared in an instant. Before Yu Xuan could react, he saw that tears had already welled up in the corners of her eyes. “Xuan'er, I'm sorry.” “It's not because I don't love you anymore.” “It's just……” She took a deep breath. “Actually, I obtained an Immortal Artifact.” “An Immortal Artifact?” Yu Xuan was stunned for a moment. Feng Lingya nodded. “It says its name is… the Sign-In System.” “……” The room instantly fell silent. The expression on Yu Xuan's face slowly froze. A system? Had he heard that correctly? Could it be that he had transmigrated into a novel? “As long as I go to different places throughout the Spirit Realm and sign in, I can obtain all kinds of resources and spiritual treasures.” Feng Lingya's voice was soft. “I can even obtain heaven-defying physiques.” Yu Xuan's pupils contracted slightly. A Sign-In System? The young lady's fake girlfriend? An orphan adopted by the family? Wasn't this the standard protagonist template? He stared at Feng Lingya before him as countless thunderbolts seemed to explode inside his mind. Could it be…… She was the true Daughter of Destiny? And he, the transmigrator, was actually just a supporting character? Heaven's Will, are you kidding me? What do you mean I'm Yu Xuan, the amateur here?! “I wanted to take you with me too.” Tears finally rolled down Feng Lingya's cheeks. “But the system says I have to go to different places to sign in, and those places are more dangerous than the last.” “I hate that I'm too weak and my cultivation is too low. The outside world is so dangerous that I don't dare take you with me……” By the time she finished speaking, her voice was already choked with emotion. “Xuan'er, if you don't want me to leave……” She raised her head, her eyes completely red. “I'll unbind myself from this stupid system right now.” “I'll stay here and keep you company.” Yu Xuan: “……” He stared blankly at Feng Lingya. At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind. Holy crap. She was actually willing to give up her system for him? This was a system! If this were one of those protagonists from the novels in his previous life, forget about a girlfriend. Even their parents would have to step aside. Yet Feng Lingya had revealed such a secret to him without the slightest hesitation. She was even willing to give it up for his sake. This…… Yu Xuan's heart trembled slightly. “Lingya.” He reached out and gently wiped the tears from her face. “Don't cry.” Feng Lingya looked up at him. Yu Xuan remained silent for a moment before slowly saying: “The path to becoming strong has always been a lonely one.” “If you can truly rely on the system to reach the Immortal Venerable Realm, or even the Immortal Emperor Realm……” “By then……” He smiled. “Won't I be the man behind an Immortal Emperor?” Feng Lingya stared at him blankly. “And besides.” Yu Xuan pulled her into his arms and gently patted her back. “What I look down on the most are women who give up the Great Dao because of romantic attachments.” “You've been given such an incredible opportunity, so you should seize it.” “Don't stop because of me.” Feng Lingya rested her head against his chest without saying anything. Only her shoulders trembled slightly. After a long while, she finally murmured: “But I can't bear to leave you.” “I know.” “I really can't bear to.” “I know.” “Xuan'er……” “Hmm?” “I still want to hold you for a little while.” Yu Xuan smiled softly. “Okay.” …… After spending some time together. It wasn't until the sky outside had grown completely bright that Feng Lingya finally stopped crying and reluctantly pulled herself away from Yu Xuan's embrace. Before leaving, she stood at the courtyard gate and turned back to look at Yu Xuan several times. “Are you really not going to regret this?” “I won't.” “Then I'm leaving?” “Go.” “You really aren't going to stop me?” Yu Xuan couldn't help laughing helplessly. “If you don't leave now, will you even be able to leave today?” Feng Lingya's pretty face flushed red. “Then I'm really leaving.” She turned around. After walking a few steps, she suddenly turned back. “Xuan'er!” “Hmm?” “Wait for me to come back!” “Okay.” The morning mist gradually rose. The girl's figure slowly disappeared into the mist. Yu Xuan stood at the courtyard gate and watched for a long time. Only after he could no longer see her did he let out a soft sigh. “Looks like……” “From now on, I'll really be living alone.” He dragged his weakened body back into the room. He took a Fasting Pill from his storage pouch and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he fell onto the bed and immediately went to sleep.