Five Elements Dongtian, Yuekong Mountain of Yu Province, ancestral clan hall.
This day happened to be the anniversary of the ancestor's birth. Outside the ancestral hall on the rear mountain of Yuekong Mountain, dense crowds of people stood packed together.
At this moment, the atmosphere inside the ancestral hall was solemn and dignified. Three clan elders stood before the ancestral tablets, quietly gazing at the twenty-some young juniors below.
Among the crowd below were youths of around twenty, as well as several seven- or eight-year-old little children with yellow downy hair. Each held three long sticks of incense in their hands.
The chief clan elder gazed at the juniors below and shouted in a grave tone, "Today is the birth anniversary of our Yuekong Zhao Clan's ancestor, and also the day your names are entered into the clan genealogy. Since our Zhao Clan rose to prominence two hundred and eighty thousand years ago, our descendants have always kept in mind the eight-character maxim left behind by the old ancestor. Have you all engraved it upon your hearts?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the twenty-some juniors immediately shouted in unison, "...Of one heart and one virtue, nothing can stand in our way!"
"Good!" The chief clan elder nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Light the incense! Pay respects to the old ancestor with me."
With that, he flicked his fingers, sending out dozens of wisps of firelight that instantly lit the incense sticks in everyone's hands.
Then the chief clan elder flipped one hand and produced three thumb-thick offering incenses. After lighting them, he held the incenses and turned to face the rows of ancestral tablets. With utmost respect, he bowed three times, then finally inserted the incenses into the Purple Essence Incense Cauldron at the center of the offering table.