Chapter 3

On a throne piled high with gemstones in the Sea Dragon Palace of the Water Domain, a black-haired man lounged lazily among the glittering jewels. His gaze drifted downward as he casually swept his eyes over the subordinates kneeling below.

“What did you just say? Congratulate me? For what reason?”

Under the crushing pressure, a subordinate said shakily, “My lord, the Female Matching Center sent word. You’ve been assigned a matriarch.

“My lord, you have just advanced in rank. Your mental energy’s in a volatile state, and your esper abilities are unstable. If a matriarch soothes you, your mental energy will stabilize very quickly.

“Then, there’ll be no need to keep suppressing it like this.”

“Matriarch?” The man on the throne tightened his fingers slightly. With a sharp crack, the pink gemstone in his palm turned to powder.

“I have never needed a matriarch.”

Women would only slow down his plan to unify the interstellar empire.

The Dragon Palace Grand Elder, standing on one side, hurried to persuade him when he heard this.

“My lord, I know you do not wish to be bound by a female, but you just advanced in rank. Your mental energy is unstable, and you urgently need soothing.”

The man’s indifferent gaze swept over him. Cold sweat slid down the elder’s forehead.

He knew their lord hated females and despised the Beast God’s matching system even more.

Yet, males truly needed a female’s soothing. This was especially true for high-ranking males like his lord. The higher the esper rank and the stronger the mental energy, the more violent their agitation became.

If it continued, it would eventually spiral out of control, leading to mental collapse and frenzy. It would reduce him to a beast that knew only slaughter.

The elder stepped forward and continued, “My lord, you don’t need to truly bond with this matched female. After the Beast God System completes a match, there is a three-month period for both sides to choose.

“We can request her to help soothe you during this time. Once your mental energy stabilizes, we can have her terminate the bond.”

The man on the throne fell silent for a moment. “Will she agree?”

Females were fragile, troublesome, and greedy. If she learned his identity, would she really be willing to let go?

The elder smiled confidently. “Please rest assured, my lord. I have already investigated her based on the information from the Matching Center.

“She lives on Planet F268. Her name is Lara. She is a newly advanced fourth-ranked esper, has no family, just turned 23 years old, and has almost no savings because she spent everything to advance in her rank. As long as we offer enough star credits, she’ll definitely agree.”

After all, they had no lack of treasures or star credits.

Seeing no objection from the man on the throne, the elder continued, “My lord, your mental energy has been extremely agitated lately. If you have no objections, I’ll make the arrangements. We should go to Planet F268 as soon as possible to find her.”

If possible, they would rather summon her directly to the Sea Dragon Palace. However, females were precious and protected by the Beast God’s blessing.

No male dared to ignore a female’s will and forcibly take her away.

Such an act would invite punishment from the Beast God.

At best, one would lose ranks. At worst, one would lose their life.

Especially since she had been matched to their lord, they dared not force her. They could only negotiate politely.

If negotiations failed, then that was another story.

On Central Star, on the top floor of Sacred Tree Technologies, there was the Star Rift Space.

Inside, the white-haired Nick Vale spread his arms wide open. His fox-like eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at the mountain of beast cores before him in pure enjoyment. Beneath his feet, star credits built the floor and stairs.

The entire Star Rift Space was built from the most expensive gemstones and ores.

Star Rift Space was the empire’s newest dimensional technology. It was enormous and comparable to a small asteroid. It was portable and incredibly sturdy. Even the most powerful warships could not break it.

“The scent of star credits!”

It was his favorite scent.

[Ding!]

A message suddenly popped up on his photon computer. His narrowed eyes widened.

“What?! A matriarch?”

He scoffed.

The Beast God had dared to find a woman who would steal his wealth!

This was despicable!

No one was taking even a single star credit from him.

The man immediately exited Star Rift Space and summoned his assistant.

“Lewis, investigate this… Lara.”

Although the Beast God System would not provide males with any information about their matched matriarchs for three months, that did not mean he could not find out for himself.

He was the richest man in the entire interstellar realm. Investigating a single female was effortless.

Five minutes later, his assistant returned.

“Star Lord, I have found her. The female matched to you by the system is named Lara. She currently lives on Planet F268 and is a fourth-ranked esper.”

“Planet F268.”

Nick brushed the red-tinted ends of his hair back. His tone was filled with disdain.

“That backwater? Looks like the Beast God matched me with a pauper.”

That was even more unacceptable.

Not a single penny of his money was going to this poor woman!

Seeing the shifting expression on Nick’s face, the assistant asked carefully, “Star Lord, do you plan to go to Planet F268 to meet your matched matriarch?”

“The Beast God System has warned that if you go too late or apply to terminate the bond without meeting her, you will be fined 5 million star credits and barred from matching with any matriarchs for 100 years.”

5 million star credits would be as meaningless to Nick as a single hair on a giant beast because he was rich.

What mattered was the ban on matching for 100 years.

But Nick was notoriously stingy. He had rarely ever spent even one star credit and made his fortune by exploiting others.

So, taking 5 million star credits from him was like asking for his life itself.

“Of course, I’ll go.”

Nick’s fox eyes gleamed in amusement. “If I don’t, that’d mean she’ll take my star credits, right?

What a nightmare!

Lewis lowered his voice. “But if you officially bond with the matriarch, all your assets will be packaged by the system and transferred to her account.”

Nick sneered. “Who said I was going to bond with her?”

Not only would he refuse to bond with her, but he would also make her willingly terminate the bond within three months.

If the female terminated it voluntarily, even the Beast God could not punish him.

“There is no rush to go in person. I will just contact her on the photon computer for now.”

On Planet F268, Lara drove her hover car home. Just after storing it away, she saw the beautiful Ava Langley next door being held by her partner as they came out of their house and hurried over.

“Lara, when I woke up earlier, I remembered that you turned 23 today, right?

“Today’s finally the day you get matched with partners!”

Ava stepped out of her partner’s arms and gently placed her hand on Lara’s. Her silver eyes sparkled with warmth as she smiled.

“Ava, I just came back from the Female Matching Center.”

Lara happily held Ava’s hand. Ava wore a long purple dress. Her hair was neatly pinned up. Her features were gentle and refined, and her expression was bright and warm.

She was a tender and kind woman.

Lara truly adored Ava.

“The Beast God System matched me with nine partners.”

Thinking about having nine husbands, Lara could barely suppress her smile.

Seeing how happy she was, Ava smiled as well.

She had met Lara three years ago, shortly after she and her partner moved in. That time, they had gone to Moonfall Forest to hunt a sixth-ranked mutated beast for its beast core.

Ava’s partner had been gravely injured while protecting her, and she had run out of medicine. By sheer luck, Lara happened to pass by and gave him life-saving treatment, which helped him survive.

Over the past three years, Ava had truly come to see Lara as her younger sister. She knew how difficult life had been for her alone.

Lara was finally about to have partners, and Ava was genuinely happy for her.

“The photon computer will have added their contact information already, right?

“You’ve been back from the Matching Center for a while. Have they contacted you yet?”

Lara opened her photon computer and checked. The nine matches lay quietly in her contact list.

She shook her head.

“No one’s contacted me yet.”

Ava frowned. That was strange.

Once males were matched, their photon computers would immediately receive a system notification. After receiving it, they usually contacted their matriarch right away.

Of course, some might be busy or temporarily unable to contact her right away.

But all nine of them being unavailable was impossible.

Males failing to contact their matriarch was simply outrageous.

Afraid Lara might feel upset, Ava comforted her. “It’s fine. They may not have received the notice yet, or they might contact you a little later.

“If no one contacts you by tonight, then you should reach out to them.

“Lara, you’re their matriarch now. Listen to me. Show some authority and make them come to you. You cannot spoil males too much.”

Ava thought they really had some nerve to not contact Lara right away.

Having never dated before, Lara felt like she had learned something important.

“I understand. Thank you, Ava.”