“For me, Father risked his life to enter the core area of the Northern Mountain Range?” Henry Johnson murmured to himself. “No wonder in previous years, Father only led the team to hunt on the outskirts of the mountains, but this year he entered the core area of the Northern Mountain Range and even fought with those top-tier great monsters.”

Ordinary monsters can be slain by regular martial artists, but as for great monsters, even Martial Masters have to risk their lives to fight them.

All of this was just for him, so he could obtain enough powerful monster essence blood for his baptism.

“Does Father hope I can perform as well as possible?” Henry Johnson lay on the bed and slowly closed his eyes.

Chapter 8: The Grand Sacrificial Ceremony

Winter noon.

On the martial arts training ground of the The Johnson Family Manor, thousands of people had already gathered. More than half of the entire The Johnson Family Manor’s population had assembled here.

“Whoosh, whoosh”—battle flags fluttered.

Today was the annual winter sacrificial ceremony.

Around the main hall beside the training ground, large candles rarely seen on ordinary days had been lit. The gathered The Johnson Family clansmen were all dressed in rarely seen ceremonial attire, appearing solemn and dignified.

Through the main hall’s doors, the people in the training ground could clearly see everything happening inside the hall.

Henry Johnson was holding his mother’s hand. He could see that the huge altar in the main hall from a few days ago had been completely cleaned. On that massive altar, his grandfather ‘Samuel Johnson’ was standing alone, dressed in a loose white robe.

“Ancestors above, we offer this ancestral sacrifice to express our gratitude for the nurturing of our forebears and the virtue of their teachings. On this day of the grand sacrificial ceremony, may all our ancestors bless the The Johnson Family clan, so that our The Johnson Family may prosper and flourish!” Samuel Johnson bowed respectfully, kneeling high atop the altar, both knees together, palms pressed to the ground, appearing extremely devout.

There was a table on the altar, dark green in color, with fragrant incense curling on both sides. On it was placed the ancestral tablet, but there was only one such tablet.

“This world, just like my previous life, values ancestors and worships forebears,” Henry Johnson thought to himself. “But our The Johnson Estate has only reached the fourth generation with me. Grandfather is the second generation manor lord, and the ancestors before great-grandfather didn’t even have their names recorded.”

At this moment—

“Bow!” Robert Johnson shouted from the side. As the confirmed heir to the clan leader, Robert Johnson was also responsible for part of the sacrificial ceremony.

Immediately, whether inside the main hall or outside on the training ground, everyone knelt down.

Henry Johnson also knelt down with his mother.

The manor lord Samuel Johnson was the first to bow and kowtow, his forehead touching the ground with a muffled sound.

Behind him, Jack Johnson, Tom Johnson, and other senior members of the manor followed suit, performing the kneeling and kowtowing ritual.

After that came the other ordinary clansmen.

Throughout the manor, inside and out, everyone knelt except for the ceremony host Robert Johnson.

“Ritual complete.”

Robert Johnson’s voice spread out, and only then did all the clansmen begin to stand up.

With the sacrificial ritual finished, everyone stood up. The previously solemn atmosphere instantly relaxed, and many clansmen began to converse with each other. The senior figures of the manor also returned to the crowd on the training ground.

“Father.” Henry Johnson stretched out his small hand, calling to Jack Johnson, who came over to stand beside Vera Quinn and Henry Johnson.

The nearby The Johnson Family clansmen were all discussing. The sacrificial ceremony and ancestor worship were just the beginning.

“Our The Johnson Family has reached four generations, and now our population exceeds ten thousand.”

“When we first established the manor here, who could have predicted today’s prosperity?”

“Soon it will be the true blood baptism. I wonder if this year we’ll have a few children with sixth-grade talent.”

Everyone was discussing the true blood baptism.

“Xiao Han, do you have the confidence to surpass your fifth brother?” A burly man nearby laughed.

Henry Johnson just smiled and said nothing.

“We’ll see.” Jack Johnson, dressed in white beside him, also smiled.

The burly man continued to laugh and said, “Xiao Han, your seventh brother is a bit younger than you, but he’s been strong since childhood. Today, both of you should do your best and aim for sixth-grade talent.”

“Old Ninth, we’ll find out soon enough,” Jack Johnson chuckled. He knew his son had always been physically strong and very smart since childhood, so his talent shouldn’t be weak.

“Does being strong mean you’ll definitely have good talent?” Standing beside his father, Henry Johnson knew Ninth Uncle was joking, but he couldn’t help but smile.

Normally, children who are smart and precocious or born with great strength tend to have excellent cultivation aptitude, but it’s not absolute. Some people are weak, sickly, or even dull, yet happen to possess astonishing cultivation talent.

Fate is a hard thing to fathom.

However, Henry Johnson didn’t really care. For years, he had been cultivating his soul. Although he hadn’t reached the heights of his previous life in the underworld, he could faintly sense that his body’s affinity with the world’s vital energy was very high.

Cultivation talent, at its core, is actually the body’s affinity with the world’s vital energy.

“When I reincarnated, I obtained purple essence blood. Even if I couldn’t keep it, it should still be enough to greatly enhance my aptitude,” Henry Johnson thought to himself.

He had already known this when he was in the underworld.

Among humans, talent is divided into nine grades. The top three are considered superior, blessed by heaven and earth, easily able to stir up storms and become dominant powerhouses.