245: Hidden Dragon in the Abyss

"Respectfully invite the ancestral spirit to return!" The old man shouted at the top of his lungs. He lit another stick of incense, and as the smoke swirled, all the ancestral spirits who had not chosen an infant returned.

The ceremony ended, and the old man checked the memorial tablets. Finding that the ancestral spirits on sixteen tablets had departed, he immediately beamed with joy.

Next was the inspection of the infants chosen by the ancestral spirits. When it was Xu Le's turn, the old man saw him sleeping soundly, and a flash of disappointment crossed his eyes.

An infant chosen by an ancestral spirit would have their Mental Energy nourished by the spirit; they would not fall asleep under any circumstances.

In the end, just as his tally showed, Xu Le was not among those chosen by the ancestral spirits.

"Dad!" Father Xu walked up.

"Address me by my title," the old man said with a serious face.

"Clan Chief, please give Xiao Le another chance!"

"This is not something you should be saying." The old man shook his head in disappointment, burying a hint of regret in his heart.

The Zhua Zhou ceremony was an annual event, only for infants between half a year and one and a half years old. If one missed it due to illness or other reasons, that was destiny!

To defy destiny and offend the ancestral spirits would bring endless misfortune.

Father Xu lowered his head and sighed, his expression looking as if everyone owed him five hundred billion... By the time Xu Le woke up, it was already evening.

The setting sun reflected on the distant mountains, where a thin mist was gradually rising. The lush green trees hid within the twilight, their shadows stretching very, very far.

Father Xu sat on the balcony, silent, without saying a word.

This was his first time coming home in nine months, and also the first time seeing his son and daughter.

Xu Le opened his mouth and softly called out, "Dad." Father Xu instantly perked up and said over and over, "Son, say it again."

"Good son, say it again."

"Little baby?"

Xu Le rolled his eyes.

Father Xu did not give up. After trying for a long time without success, he started his ultimate move: "Call me Daddy, Daddy, Daddy..."

Xu Le's eyes were bright and agile. He reflexively wanted to respond with a feigned ignorance, but fortunately, he held back.

After being teased childishly by Father Xu, it was luckily his younger sister Xu Huan who drew the fire, and Xu Le was finally carried away by the wet nurse.

Lying alone in his small bed, he began to sense the space that had appeared earlier. Ghost's voice echoed in his heart: "Master, I'm sorry, the space is too small."

"Mm, it's fine."

Xu Le responded very familiarly in his heart, but as a result, his Soul became exhausted again, and he fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Father Xu had already left.

Xu Le felt a bit of regret in his heart.

Time flew by.

Xu Le entered his first year of high school, and gradually, he was saddled with the stigma of being "weak."

However, no one dared to call him that to his face. Not only because Xu Le was handsome and had a large female fan club, but also because he fought dirty; even someone two sizes larger than him would be floored with a single punch.

As for being "weak," it was because of Ghost.

Because Ghost was Divine-Grade, it required an exceptionally large space.

Over the years, in order to construct a space suitable for it to reside in, Xu Le had been consuming his Soul to help it repair and expand. The price was frequent paleness, extreme lethargy, and often falling asleep in class.

If not for his wealthy family and the various tonics and nutrition he received, he would likely have been plagued by illness, and the speed of shaping the space would have been even slower.

But these miserable days were finally coming to an end. According to Xu Le's calculations, in a week at most, the expanded and repaired space would be able to completely accommodate Ghost. At that time, he would also be able to clear his name.

"Xu Le, here!" Xu Huan handed over a stack of pink envelopes, several of which were folded into heart shapes, with two-inch headshots attached to the envelopes.

"You should call me 'Brother.' Help me throw those letters away."

"Heh, it's only a few minutes difference, why care so much? I've called you 'Brother' for sixteen years; it's your turn to call me 'Sister.' Xiao Le, call me 'Sister' and I'll give you a surprise." Xu Huan tucked the letters into her backpack with a look that said she already knew.

Xu Le rolled his eyes: "But for as long as I can remember, you've never called me that."

Xu Huan jumped up: "Nonsense, I clearly called you that the day before yesterday!"

"Heh, the day before yesterday was because you were begging me to look at those letters."

"Then what do you think of Wang Xueting? I'm telling you, she's my best friend. She's pretty, has a gentle personality, and a good figure. Since junior high, I've never seen her get angry."

"That's because you blackmailed her for three meals."

"How did you know? No, can't best friends have a meal together?"

Xu Huan looked guilty for being caught, but secretly sighed in her heart, "My foolish Mortal brother, I can only stay with you for two more years at most. If no one takes care of you, what will you do?"

Xu Le said with disdain: "Are you bad-mouthing me in your head?"

Xu Huan "calmly" denied it: "How could that be?"

The two stepped into a luxury car and were driven back to the villa.

Along the way, Xu Huan dutifully promoted her best friend, praising her as the second-best beauty in the world.

Xu Le shook his head; he really had no interest in sixteen-year-old girls. Besides, with Ghost's "help," he simply didn't have the energy to care about such things.

The luxury car drove smoothly, and Xu Le drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

A flash of pity crossed Xu Huan's heart: "My poor brother. It's one thing to be a Mortal, but his health is also poor. Could it be because I snatched away too much nutrition when we were in Mom's belly?"

In the dead of night.

Xu Le heard the slight sound of a door closing in the bedroom next door; he knew Xu Huan had snuck out.

When she first started junior high—specifically, the night she turned thirteen—she had started sneaking out.

When he first discovered it, he thought she was in a relationship and followed her, prepared to exercise his brotherly authority to educate any punks. However, he found her with several cousins from the Xu family. He instantly knew it was related to the other side of the world, and he felt relieved.

Xu Le adjusted his breathing and directed his excess Soul Power to repair the Ancestral Spirit Space. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep due to his weakened Soul Power.

A week later.

Xu Le once again used his excess Soul Power to repair and expand the Ancestral Spirit Space.

Hum!

There seemed to be a soft sound as the space capable of accommodating Ghost was finally completed.

Just as Xu Le was about to fall into a deep sleep due to his Soul's weakness, a surge of majestic Divine Soul energy poured in.

His Soul, which had been empty for many years, was finally filled and was nourished and strengthened within the massive energy.

Ghost rolled over in the space. Previously, every movement would have caused the space to shatter, so it could only stay stuck and not dare to move, letting Xu Le consume his Soul Power to save it.

Finally, it could move freely, and it immediately spared no expense in using its Origin power to help Xu Le recover.

"Master, thank you. You've worked hard all these years!"

Xu Le smiled: "You've also worked hard all these years."

For sixteen years, not only had Xu Le worked hard, but Ghost had also been as if under a Seal, extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the storm had passed and the sun was out.

From today on, he might be able to uncover a corner of the mysterious world.

Nine-Four: A dragon leaping in the abyss; advancing brings no blame!

The door to the bedroom next door was pushed open gently; Xu Huan was going out again.