Henry Parker recalled the past with a sigh. “I can understand how you feel. Three years ago, I met a girl who was bitten by a blood demon.”

Grace Bennett was startled. “Ah? What happened to her afterwards?”

Henry Parker was silent for a few seconds, then said, “She died.”

Grace Bennett's hands trembled slightly on the steering wheel, immersed in lingering fear. She asked with lingering anxiety, “After going through all this, can you handle it psychologically?”

Henry Parker said, “It was hard to adapt at first, but I gradually got used to it.”

Grace Bennett asked the question she most wanted to know: “A few of my colleagues went for psychological counseling after missions, and their state became very abnormal. May I ask how you managed to adapt?”

The chubby man smiled. “My method might not work for you. In the first few years, I felt uncomfortable all over, kept having nightmares when I slept, and whenever I felt bad, I’d go get a massage to distract myself. That way, I didn’t have time to think about anything else.”

Grace Bennett wasn’t surprised by this answer. She had long heard of Consultant Parker's reputation for being a bit of a playboy. She changed the subject: “Consultant Parker, honestly, with your abilities, you could live well with a more stable job. Please don’t be upset by what I’m about to say, but with your poor health and still hunting demons while injured, what is it all for?”

Henry Parker said, “Everyone has something they insist on. My conviction is that I will never coexist with demons.”

Grace Bennett turned her head to look seriously at Henry Parker's profile, suddenly becoming a bit poetic. “I read a line in a book: Some people are great because, when facing adversity with others, while others lose faith, they keep forging ahead. Consultant Parker, you are my role model.”

Henry Parker gave a self-deprecating smile. “You think too highly of me. Words like ‘great’ have nothing to do with me.”

Grace Bennett said earnestly, “You don’t have to be so modest. In my heart, you are the light of ordinary people.”

The chubby man was amused. “That line doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. The light of ordinary people is still just an ordinary person.”

Grace Bennett got excited. “So what if you’re ordinary? You’ve accomplished things that many cultivators can’t. Anyway, I’m a fan of your looks. Let me tell you a secret—I’m your number one little fangirl.”

“Fan of my looks?”

The chubby man’s cheeks quivered. “Little fangirl, are you insulting me?”

“Absolutely not! I’ve seen your old photos—they made me swoon. Even your ID photo is so handsome it made me dizzy.” Grace Bennett was getting carried away.

“Don’t mention the ID photo. A few years ago, when I showed my ID, I couldn’t even get through security. No one believed it was really me. I had to get the police to issue a certificate. In the end, I got so mad I changed to a new ID.” The chubby man looked pained.

Grace Bennett gripped the steering wheel tightly, her expression conflicted, and sighed softly. “Consultant Parker, you’re really outstanding. If only you had a spiritual root.”

The girl’s sigh carried a deeper, unspoken meaning.

Henry Parker caught the implication: I wanted to get closer to you, but unfortunately, you don’t have a spiritual root.

His ex-girlfriend had said the exact same thing.

Then, she married a cultivator with a spiritual root.

That’s the reality on Cultivation Star—people flock to cultivators.

Most parents hope to marry their daughters to cultivators.

First, with a cultivator backing them, they can rely on their protection when demons cause trouble.

Second, the current trend is “Genetic Cultivation Studies.” It’s said that the children of cultivators have a higher chance of awakening.

The third reason is the most practical: cultivators earn much more than ordinary people.

There’s also a less mentionable reason—cultivators are more powerful than ordinary people in certain respects.

Any girl with some looks would rather be a cultivator’s mistress than marry a muggle without a spiritual root.

The chubby man had learned this lesson the hard way. After nine years in the field, not a single girl was willing to spend her life with an ordinary guy like him.

Even before his body changed shape, the few female cultivators he met were only interested in his looks.

He was about to chat with his little fangirl to pass the time when a song started playing from his pocket:

“That man is an ordinary person, alone in that world.”

“His childhood friend awakened in third grade.”

“The girl he secretly liked in middle school suddenly gained a spiritual root.”

“In college, he mustered all his courage to confess his feelings. The girl said: You’re a good person, but unfortunately, you can’t cultivate.”

“He wanted to cultivate too, risking everything again and again, only to end up covered in scars.”

“He’s bled and fought for his life, every time piercingly painful…”

This song is extremely popular. Its name is “That Man Is an Ordinary Person.”

It once made the whole internet cry, and is said to hit home with every word.

Most of the stories of ordinary people on Cultivation Star are condensed in its lyrics.

Two years ago, the chubby man set this song as his ringtone.

Except for not having gone to college, he could relate to everything in the lyrics.

Caller ID: Brother Mountainwind.

The chubby man looked at the incoming call, his expression indescribably desolate.

If he answered, he’d have to work overtime while injured.

If he didn’t answer, many people would die.

Chapter Three: The 101st Persistence

On Yangliu Street, every evening at sunset, people could always see a spectacular scene.

Every so often along the street, there stood girls dressed to the nines.