Divine Power

January 11th, auspicious for burials, sacrificial rites, and repairing graves.

Today is the day of the Ancestral Rite.

The sun is bright, and the sky is cloudless.

Today, Hu Chengwen, He Yanling, Hu Zhao, and Hu Long have all changed into formal attire.

At the entrance, Hu Chengwen's personal driver has already been waiting for a long time.

The car had just driven out of the residential complex and hadn't gone far.

They saw traffic congestion appearing everywhere ahead.

Looking through the car window.

One could see a group of fire trucks parked on the side of the road.

Firefighters were hurriedly laying out a life-saving air cushion, and a dense crowd of onlookers had already gathered in a dark circle.

Hu Long followed their gazes toward the heights.

A figure was sitting on the edge of the rooftop.

People below held up their phones, some recording videos.

Suddenly.

That figure leaned forward without warning.

Without hesitation, without pause, like a gray tile blown off by the wind, it fell straight down.

In that instant, gasps erupted from the crowd.

And the next second, a dull thud of flesh hitting the ground echoed.

Perhaps due to an accident that caused the angle to deviate, the person landed on the concrete ground beside the air cushion.

A pool of dark red bloomed on the ground.

"They really jumped? Why would this person jump off a building?"

Someone among the onlookers asked.

"I know this young man; he was a pitiful soul. He was an orphan who caught a serious illness that couldn't be cured. Without money for medical bills, he had to take out online loans. He ended up in debt he couldn't repay, and with nowhere left to turn, he finally jumped."

An old man with his hands behind his back explained from the side, shaking his head after he finished speaking.

"A young life, just gone like that."

Perhaps because his body had been strengthened, Hu Long's hearing was more sensitive than before.

The conversations of some onlookers in the distance basically reached his ears.

It also gave him a rough idea of what had happened.

Hu Long withdrew his gaze.

Human life is actually very fragile, no different from that of a cat or dog.

It is not that one only dies when they are old; one can die at any time.

Various illnesses and accidents can lead to such situations.

However, Hu Long does not want to experience that feeling again.

With the existence of the Tai Su Download Panel, coupled with the weirdness of this world.

He believes he can live longer than anyone else.

Because the person was already dead beyond saving, there was no need for rescue efforts.

Therefore, there was no more business for the fire department, and the fire trucks drove away.

The road naturally cleared up.

The car continued to drive for more than half an hour.

Leaving the center of Huanyang City, they arrived at the North City District, which lies in the opposite direction.

Compared to the bustling, high-rise-filled South City District, this area is primarily a resort destination due to its terrain.

If you really calculate the housing prices, they are actually higher here.

Soon, they arrived at the location of the Hu Clan Ancestral Hall.

In this area where every inch of land is worth gold, it occupies a massive space.

At this moment, the exclusive parking lot was already filled with vehicles.

Although Hu Long is not very familiar with the models of cars in this world.

But just by looking at their exteriors, it is not hard to tell that these cars are basically quite expensive.

After parking the car, Hu Long and his party walked toward the ancestral hall. The layout of the Hu Clan Ancestral Hall follows a rigorous three-courtyard, three-path design.

The first courtyard is the ceremonial gate, over ten meters high, with a pair of white marble stone lions guarding both sides.

Upon entering, a vast plaza appeared before the ancestral hall.

Hu Long swept his gaze across the area and found it already packed with people, a dense sea of heads.

According to the information he had gathered.

No matter where they lived, members of the Hu Clan returned here every year without fail to participate in the Ancestral Rite.

This was an extremely important tradition.

Hu Long was no stranger to such scenes.

In his past life, even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen pigs run; he had once watched many videos of clans performing their ancestral rites on short-video platforms.

However, he never expected that one day he would experience it himself.

"Chengwen, Yanling, you're here!"

The moment Hu Chengwen and He Yanling stepped into the ancestral hall, someone greeted them warmly.

Hu Chengwen was well-off and stood out among the branch families as someone who had done quite well for himself.

Naturally, there were other branch members who wanted to use this opportunity to climb the social ladder and get closer to him.

After a brief explanation and a few polite exchanges with some familiar clansmen, he naturally blended into that circle.

At the same time, several women sought out He Yanling.

Hu Zhao also had her own place to be; she gathered with a few cousins she frequented, and they were soon chatting away.

The ancestral hall was generally like this: the older generation had their own circles, while the younger generation gathered in groups, laughing and talking.

When it came down to it, they were all connected by blood, and the annual Ancestral Rite was also an opportunity to strengthen the bonds between clansmen.

However, no one came to look for Hu Long.

Ever since the original owner of the body fell ill, he had first been confined to his home and later hospitalized for treatment; counting it up, he hadn't attended the Ancestral Rite for four full years.

Coupled with the changes in Hu Long during this period, bolstered by his Master-level Comprehensive Combat Arts, his entire demeanor was different; compared to the frail original owner, he was practically a different person.

Hu Long didn't mind this at all; in fact, he was happy for it.

He declined Hu Zhao's suggestion that he chat more with his cousins to get better acquainted.

He was never one for noise, so he simply leaned quietly against a lacquered pillar in the corner, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the moving figures within the hall.

After a moment of thought, he pushed off the pillar and began to walk around.

In a corner, several figures stood together, chatting and exchanging pleasantries.

A tall woman with permed hair and a fashionable outfit leaned against a pillar, her eyes fixed on the figure strolling slowly in the distance, a smile curling the corners of her lips.

She turned her head and spoke with a light chuckle to Hu Zhao, who was standing beside her.

"I remember... didn't your brother get diagnosed with 'persecutory delusion' and sent to a mental hospital? Aren't you afraid he'll have an episode right here and disrupt the Ancestral Rite by bringing him along?"

Hearing this, Hu Zhao turned her face and gave her a cold, sweeping glance.

"Hu Xiao, your mouth is truly as insufferable as ever."

Her voice was low, yet every word was clear.

"I don't know who it was, but a few years ago, you kept claiming you had 'severe depression,' shouting all day about wanting to slit your wrists, and even carving someone else's name into your arm..."

"You..."

The smile on Hu Xiao's face stiffened abruptly, and her expression darkened visibly.

But sensing the gazes from those around them.

She seemed to think of something, and a cold sneer tugged at her lips.

"Hu Zhao, I hope you still dare to speak to me like this after the Ancestral Rite is over."

Hu Zhao ignored her words.

She and the other woman were of the same clan and had been classmates since childhood; logically, their relationship should have been decent.

But the reality was far from it.

It had been fine at first, but as time went on.

Hu Zhao grew increasingly stunning, and her academic performance was also exceptionally brilliant.

This caused Hu Xiao to feel unbalanced, as she had a competitive personality.

Because they were of the same clan, she insisted on comparing herself to Hu Zhao in everything—grades and running when they were young, and appearance and family background as they grew older.

Unfortunately, without exception, she lost to Hu Zhao in every single category.

Previously, upon learning that her brother had been admitted to a mental hospital, she naturally couldn't resist mocking her.

Thinking of this, Hu Zhao frowned slightly.

She felt that something was wrong.

In the past, whenever she retorted like that, he would invariably leave in a huff, but today seemed a bit different.

Today, this guy was inexplicably brimming with a mysterious sense of confidence.

Hu Long was completely unaware of the situation over at Hu Zhao's side.

At this moment, he appeared to be wandering around aimlessly.

But in reality, that was not the case.

He was using the opportunity of getting close and brushing past people to check the skills of these Hu Family members.

However, it was not those ordinary skills he was after.

He was looking for something else.

He was looking for the aptitude to practice Secret Martial Arts.

Regarding this point, even Hu Chengwen did not have a clear understanding of what exactly this aptitude entailed.

But one thing was certain: the better the physique and the greater the strength of a Hu Family member, the better their aptitude.

Almost every year, a few clansmen were accepted by the main family to be taught Secret Martial Arts.

If the information provided by Hu Chengwen was accurate, Hu Long's current physique should, by all rights, be enough to meet the requirements.

Still, since he was already here, he might as well look around; he might just stumble upon an unexpected harvest.

No one paid any mind to these casual, accidental brushes.

Unfortunately, they were all just ordinary skills.

Clearly, these were all Hu Family members from the branch lines; none of the main family members were here.

As he was pondering this, he suddenly paused as he brushed shoulders with someone.

A line of silver text refreshed and appeared before his eyes.

[Target: Hu Zetong]

[Physical Talent: Innate Divine Strength (Oxen Strength)]

[Size: 6M (Status: Downloadable)]

(Description: Possesses Oxen Strength, capable of lifting a thousand catties.)