Family Management Game In Immortal Continent Chapter 1: Immortal Cultivation Family Simulator
The year is 3014.
California’s most prestigious academy for cultivation studies stands as a beacon of the era.
As the school day ended, the sky filled with students soaring homeward on flying swords. Li Wei, however, remained on the ground. With a faint shimmer from his Storage Ring, a sleek sports car materialized on the pavement.
"Heh, being underage doesn't stop me from driving, and I never have to deal with the after-school rush," he muttered.
He pressed a jade token against the steering wheel to ignite the engine and began his commute. "What a bizarre world this has become."
Despite living here for three years since his soul crossed over, Li Wei was still frequently awestruck by the marvels of this reality.
A millennium ago, this planet had been nearly identical to the Blue Star of his past life.
That changed when spiritual energy returned. The world shifted, evolving into a sophisticated fusion of cutting-edge technology and ancient cultivation.
Now, every soul strives for immortality through cultivation. In a remarkably short span of time, humanity even reached the stars, beginning an era of interstellar travel.
"Hey, look, isn't that the Li family’s Young Master?"
"There he goes again in that magical car. I heard commissioning such a tool costs a fortune in spirit stones. Just driving to and from school probably burns three low-grade spirit stones a day. Must be nice to be that wealthy."
"What’s there to envy? He’s just a commoner with a mixed spirit root like the rest of us. Word is the Li family essentially discarded him. The other Young Masters call him a total embarrassment to their bloodline!"
...
The roadside was crowded with students who lacked the skill to fly swords or the wealth to own high-tier magical tools.
Driving a sports car powered by precious spirit stones naturally made Li Wei the target of every gaze.
Li Wei overheard the whispers of the pedestrians, but he felt no spark of anger.
Sliding on his sunglasses, he caught the reflection of the jealous students in his rearview mirror. With one hand casually on the wheel, he dangled his other hand out the window, flashed a middle finger to the crowd, and accelerated away.
He had no interest in their drama; his only goal was to get home and sink into his games.
...
After a quick stop for groceries, Li Wei arrived at Jixian Village. The elderly guard overseeing the high-level Dongfu District’s protective formation was busy eating a meal of coarse rice and a chicken leg. Recognizing the roar of the engine, the old man set his bowl aside and kindly deactivated the barrier for Li Wei.
"Young Master Li, you went out just for groceries? Is the high-grade fasting pill not to your liking?"
"Uncle Chen."
Li Wei grinned as he replied, "Even the best fasting pills are completely flavorless. No matter how high our Cultivation reaches, we shouldn't force our palates to suffer, right? Otherwise, what’s the point of seeking the Dao?"
Uncle Chen’s eyes brightened at the remark, and he gave an approving thumbs-up. "Well said. Starving the senses for a 'pure body' is a fool's errand. A free mind is the true path to cultivation."
"I'll be heading in to cook then, Uncle Chen."
Li Wei drove toward the residential sector, waving politely to the various elders and neighbors he passed.
The cultivators residing in Jixian Village were far more grounded than the students at school.
Their life experience made them more pragmatic; they didn't look down on Li Wei for his youth or his mixed spirit root. They always returned his greetings with warmth. After all, everyone knew that no one living in this district was truly "ordinary."
The villas in this Dongfu area appeared standard from the outside, but most were built over hidden spiritual wonders.
His own home, Jixian Village No. 1, sat at the very edge of the estate.
As he pulled up, a girl of ethereal beauty appeared. She wore a white maid’s outfit, her slender legs clad in white silk stockings visible beneath her apron—a sight that was hard to ignore. Her face, framed by elegant sleeves at her temples, was breathtaking.
Even after living with this puppet for three years, Li Wei still found himself dazed by her gentle smile.
"Welcome back, Master." The puppet’s voice flowed like a refreshing spring, washing away the day's stress.
"Yuexian, take the car to the garage."
Li Wei tossed the keys to her. "The front trunk is full of groceries. Prepare dinner and bring it to my room. I’m planning a two-day gaming marathon."
"Understood, Master."
Yuexian nodded, but as Li Wei turned toward the house, she added, "By the way, Master, the monthly spirit stone allowance from your family hasn't arrived. Our reserves are running low. Should I reach out to them?"
Li Wei had never been able to determine the puppet’s true grade. She had raised him since infancy and possessed an intelligence far beyond any AI from his previous world.
"Late again?"
Li Wei frowned. "Send a reminder. Contact Old Gui first; he’s reliable. See if he knows what the delay is."
"I will, Master."
Li Wei put the matter out of his mind and headed to his bedroom.
While the Li family was one of California’s elite cultivation clans, Li Wei was largely a stranger to them. Whether it was due to his mediocre talent or his missing parents' strained ties to the main house, he had spent his life in Jixian Village under Yuexian's care.
He had encountered his own kin fewer times than he had spoken to the neighbors in the village.
Despite his isolation, as a direct bloodline descendant, he received a substantial monthly stipend for his lifestyle.
He had heard from the village elders that his parents had performed great services for the Sect and the family.
As long as the Li family endured, his branch would be honored and supported forever.
Because of this, Li Wei never worried about his survival.
Entering his room, Li Wei sat before his computer, staring at the screen for a long moment.
"I suppose in this life, my only destiny is to be a do-nothing."
He chuckled at the thought and powered on the machine.
This was his ideal existence. Being a 'rich second generation' allowed for a life of comfort. He was perfectly happy with his lot; as long as he didn't go looking for trouble, his life was something others would kill for.
Li Wei had already mapped out a future that was blissfully unremarkable.
"And yet..."
He paused, thinking of the legendary masters who traversed the stars and witnessed the vastness of the universe, while he remained confined to Jixian Village.
"I really am a greedy one," he mocked himself.
The computer finished booting. Even in a world of high-level cultivation, games existed for people like him to kill time.
Most modern games were VR simulations designed to hone a cultivator’s combat reflexes—essentially just another form of training.
Li Wei, however, preferred the "ancient" style of gaming from his past life—the kind played with a mouse and keyboard. He found modern VR combat games tedious after the initial novelty wore off.
He opened a directory of old games Yuexian had recovered. She had found them on a thousand-year-old hard drive purchased from an antique market, a relic as ancient as his specialized computer.
He scanned the list, not immediately finding anything he hadn't already played to death.
On a whim, he opened a hidden folder, hoping for a forgotten gem.
A specific file name grabbed his attention.
"Immortal Cultivation Family Simulator? A management sim?"
Intrigued by something new, Li Wei launched the application.
The game loaded in an instant.
The visuals were simplistic and retro, looking dated even by the standards of his previous life.
A stylized landscape painting faded in, centering on a humble wooden shack.
A young man was shown arranging a memorial tablet and lighting incense before a weathered copper burner.
[On this day, your sole surviving descendant offers you worship. As a lowly slave, he possesses no surname. He only knows from rumors that honoring his ancestors might grant him a blessing.]
[Please designate a surname for this family, which stands on the brink of either greatness or extinction.]
[___ Family]
"Pfft."
Li Wei nearly choked on his drink. The game started with just one person? That was a pathetic beginning for a clan.
Nevertheless, he typed [Li Family] into the prompt.
Once the name was set, the interface shifted, though it remained quite basic.
Li Wei began to explore the mechanics.
On the left, a [Time Rate] slider was visible, currently set to 1 hour/year in real-time.
"Is there no way to pause?"
He searched the settings. It appeared the game only paused during ancestor worship or major plot points, and even then, the worship phase would auto-cancel after five minutes.
Right now, the tutorial-style ancestor worship was active. On the screen, a tablet appeared on the altar, emblazoned with the character for "Li."
The lone descendant noticed the sudden change in the tablet, and a speech bubble popped up over his head.
"The ancestor has responded! My name is Li. I finally have a surname! Hahaha!"
Seeing the NPC's joy, Li Wei felt a mix of amusement and a strange, faint tug of emotion, despite knowing it was just code.
Simultaneously, a log appeared on the right side of the screen.
[Your descendant sensed your divine presence and is overwhelmed with joy. He has named himself Li Dalong.]
[Incense +1]
Checking the member list, Li Wei saw the start of a family tree.
[First-generation member: Li Dalong]
He clicked the profile; Dalong was a completely average human with no special traits.
"Immortal Cultivation Family Simulator... so I just sit back and watch them grow?"
He was still trying to grasp the core gameplay loop.
[Your descendant is performing the worship; a major ceremony occurs every ten years.]
[Sacrifice: A pile of yellow paper ashes]
[Do you wish to retrieve this?]
"Why would I want a pile of ash?"
Seeing no inventory system for himself, Li Wei clicked 'No'.
[You have rejected the sacrifice.]
On the screen, a sudden wind whipped through the shack, blowing the ashes away.
The lone descendant fell into a state of panic.
"Ancestor, please forgive me! This unfilial descendant is worthless. I failed to provide an offering that pleased you!"
[During this ceremony, do you wish to bestow a gift upon your descendant?]
Li Wei froze. His hand, still holding his drink, began to shake. His eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped in shock.
It wasn't because of anything on the monitor.
On his cluttered desk, right next to his computer, an incense burner that hadn't been there a second ago had manifested out of thin air.
The pungent, distinct scent of burnt ritual paper filled the room.
The burner was an exact physical replica of the one shown on the screen.
"What... what the hell is this?"