Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!-Chapter 349: Ancestral Spirit’s Fury

Witnessing this, a strange energy began to converge around the skull. Ethan immediately sensed a surge of danger prickling along his spine.

"Panther form..."

Whoosh—he shot forward, crossing the dozen yards in a single blur. But that eerie power was even faster.

Just as Ethan reached him, a beam of green light burst out from the skull.

"Ethan, watch out! That’s ancestral energy—don’t take it head-on!" Uncle Jed’s shout came from behind.

Ethan didn’t need the warning. The moment the light appeared, he felt the searing pressure rolling off it. His body twisted mid-stride, veering away in a sharp ninety-degree turn.

But who could have predicted—the green light adjusted course, following him as if alive, heading straight for the back of his skull.

He pivoted, glimpsing it trailing right behind.

’What the hell...’

A homing missile?

At such close range, Ethan finally understood what this strange ability was. That familiar fluctuation...

It was Soul Sense.

But realization didn’t mean he could escape. It was too late to dodge.

"Gate of Ascension—open!"

At the brink of impact, Ethan used the Soul Sense technique. A tiny gate, no wider than an inch, blinked into existence in the air. In the darkness, no one noticed it.

The last time he had summoned the Gate of Ascension was inside Frostveil Cavern, when he absorbed the energy of the frost pond.

Whoosh—

The green light darted forward and vanished into the gate. A heartbeat later, the gate snapped shut.

Ethan’s body stiffened. He stood motionless, head tilted back, eyes vacant. Everyone stared at him in stunned silence, then, his lips curled into a smile. A low laugh rumbled from his throat.

Inside his Mindscape, the green light crashed through, surging wildly, trying to escape. But with the Gate closed, there was nowhere for it to go. It slammed into the edges of his Mindscape, pain lancing through his body, making his muscles twitch.

Then, high on the enormous tree at the center of his Mindscape island, a single leaf detached from the crown and drifted down.

With impossible speed, it swept toward the green light.

The leaf expanded as it fell, growing until it blotted out everything. It wrapped the energy completely in a single motion.

A fraction of a second later, the leaf burst apart, dissolving into pure Soul energy that trickled down into Ethan’s Energy Pool

The green light vanished without a trace.

Ethan’s smile only widened. The water in his Energy Pool had risen—by about a millimeter, but even that tiny increase felt like a victory.

How could he not be delighted?

He turned, waving lazily to Tribe Leader Butcher.

"Again!"

For the first time, Tribe Leader Butcher’s composed expression faltered. His eyes flickered with confusion.

"How...how is that possible? Where did you put the ancestral energy...?"

His voice trailed off as disbelief overtook him. He mumbled something under his breath, words Ethan couldn’t make out.

This time, Ethan didn’t bother to interrupt. That strange aura was growing thicker, the converging energy more oppressive by the second.

"Ethan..." Uncle Jed started to warn him again.

But halfway through, he caught sight of Ethan’s calm expression—and the satisfied little smile—and swallowed the rest of his words.

Instead, Jed backed away, shielding Dot and her mother behind him.

Ethan studied Tribe Leader Butcher, thinking, ’Go on... Give me more!’

He’d finally found a way to replenish his Soul Sense. Of course he wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

A low buzz built in the air as the power neared some threshold.

The monster skull in Tribe Leader Butcher’s hands began to tremble. Slowly, it lifted off his palms and floated into the air.

Vast Soul Sense energy poured from it, mingled with that same strange aura, gathering into a shape.

It was enormous. Twenty feet tall, forty feet long, blotting out half the moonlight.

Ethan had to take several steps back just to see it fully. A giant wild boar—its bristles like spears, eyes flickering with green fire.

Gasps echoed all around.

"Ancestral Spirit... It’s the ancestral spirit of our Butcher Tribe..."

"A hundred years ago, during the war with the Gold Tribe... the ancestral spirit was damaged..."

"I never thought...after a century, it would return..."

"This is a blessing from the gods..."

The elders of the Butcher Tribe dropped to their knees, pressing their foreheads to the dirt. Others around them bowed again and again, their voices trembling with reverence.

Even Uncle Jed stood frozen, mouth agape. Clearly, he’d never expected to see such a thing either.

Only Tribe Leader Butcher looked unsurprised, though his eyes gleamed with fervor.

"Tribe Leader...why have you summoned the ancestral spirit?"

Seven or eight elders approached from the shadows. Their backs were hunched, their hair as white as frost.

"Exactly! Our ancestors commanded that the ancestral spirit must never be disturbed—unless the Butcher Tribe faced a life-or-death crisis! What is this?"

Their voices were both questioning and awestruck.

"Hmph..."

Tribe Leader Butcher’s gaze hardened. He ignored their protests, addressing the towering boar instead.

"Respected Ancestral Spirit. I am the current Tribe Leader."

"This outsider possesses spatial items. If the Butcher Tribe claims them, our future will be secure. You will have endless offerings and sacrifices."

"I ask you now—suppress him!"

At his words, the elders turned in unison to stare at Ethan, shock rippling across their faces.

Ethan’s brows rose. He hadn’t seen these old men before—where exactly had they all been hiding?

"Tribe Leader Butcher...you..." One of the elders lifted a trembling finger, but the Tribe Leader cut him off, voice rising in fury.

"’You’ what? You were the previous Tribe Leader. If you hadn’t lost the tribe’s spatial pouch, would we be in this state?"

Tribe Leader Butcher’s beard quivered as he roared.

"In the end, it falls on me to clean up your mess!

All you old geezers—hiding in jars, never needing to eat or drink—while we were out here scraping to survive!

And what about us? Once, the Butcher Tribe was mighty. We had territory, thousands of warriors! When it was handed to me, there were barely three hundred souls left!

Before that? We had three thousand warriors, countless blood sacrifices, a clear spring! And you still have the nerve to question me?"

Spittle flew as he shouted, his pent-up resentment boiling over.

Ethan tilted his head, more curious about this talk of ’hiding in jars’ than anything else.

The old man facing Tribe Leader Butcher went red with shame but said nothing.

He had been the Tribe Leader who lost the spatial pouch in battle against the Gold Tribe. That defeat had cost them everything—the territory, the water source, their strength.

In the end, he’d led two hundred survivors out of the encirclement, only to die from his wounds soon after. His soul had become a remnant, sealed into the ancestral altar.

By the tribe’s laws, Tribe Leader Butcher, with the highest merit among the living, inherited the leadership.

The ancestral altar was both the resting place for all their former leaders and one of their greatest ancestral artifacts. No living Tribe Leader was supposed to be able to summon its spirits—only the ancestral spirit skull could be wielded.

But seeing the giant wild boar manifest still rattled the elders enough to drag them out of hiding.

"Beast!" the old man rasped, his voice hoarse.

"The Butcher Tribe has always followed the teaching: ’Peace above all—we do not offend unless provoked!

This young man may hold spatial items, but how can we forcibly steal them? Tribe Leader Butcher—I command you. Recall the ancestral spirit immediately!"

As soon as he finished, the rest of the elders stepped back in unison, leaving him alone at the front.

"Hmph... Impossible. Attack!"

Tribe Leader Butcher formed a seal and bellowed.

Ethan’s heart lifted. He’d been worried the Tribe Leader would be persuaded and withdraw the spirit, ruining his chance to absorb its energy. But this guy was determined.

The colossal boar ignored the elders completely. It only responded to its master’s call.

Snort... Snort... Snort...

It pawed the dirt, then charged Ethan with thunderous force.

"Tribe Leader Butcher—you dare!" the elder cried, voice cracking.

"I dare. So what? What can you do to me? Without me controlling the ancestral altar, you’re nothing but decorations in there!"

Tribe Leader Butcher bared his teeth in a feral grin.

"You...you..."

The elder spun around, searching for support among the kneeling tribespeople. But most only gaped, their foreheads pressed to the earth, too frightened or awed to speak.

He let out a long, defeated sigh. "The Butcher Tribe has changed."

His eyes seemed to dim, as though he’d seen everything he needed to see. Just then, two roars echoed across the clearing.

"Ethan, dodge quickly! Don’t take it head-on!"

"Gate of Ascension—open...bigger...bigger...bigger..."

Every head turned. For a moment, everyone froze in stunned silence.

Then, as they grasped what they were seeing, their mouths dropped open, eyes widening in disbelief.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m