And currently, at the Xiao Clan's manor, there is an event that occurs annually being hosted.

This event gathered every youngster in the Zhu Rong City that is under thirteen years of age and without a Spirit. The purpose of this event is simple — to see if there are any children in this city with the apt.i.tude to become Spirit Masters and hopefully rope those with such talent into joining the Xiao Clan and increasing their military power.

Spirit Masters are as the name implies, people who successfully called upon a Spirit from the Spirit Realm to a.s.sist them in Cultivation.

In this world, there exists a Human Realm and a Spirit Realm, both separated from each other by a profound barrier that is unbreakable by either side. However, that being said, as long as both parties accept, it is possible for Spirits to traverse to the Human Realm by becoming a Summoned Spirit.

However, not every human has the ability to call upon Spirits, as only one in a thousand are born with the apt.i.tude to become Spirit Masters.

At the Xiao Clan's summoning area, thousands of people gathered around a handsome young boy with short black hair and clear eyes as he prepared to summon his Spirit.

"Xiao Tian! You can do it! Mother believes in you!" A beautiful woman cheered for him in the crowd.

The young boy was Xiao Tian, the youngest of five children in the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Tian had turned eleven years old just last month and 'decided' to join this year's Spirit summoning event. Most people that are born with the apt.i.tude to become Spirit Masters usually succeed in summoning their first Spirit at the age of thirteen, whilst some people, also called geniuses, manage to achieve that earlier.

As for Xiao Tian, he was actually urged by his family to partic.i.p.ate in this event despite being two years younger than the recommended age, as all of his siblings managed to summon their first Spirit at his current age.

Xiao Tian looked at the pebble-sized Summoning Crystal in his hands with a calm face and sighed inwardly, "A low-grade Summoning Crystal? Can you really call upon a Spirit with this thing?"

Summoning Crystals are what allow humans to communicate with the Spirits in the Spirit Realm. There are different grades and types of Summoning Crystals, and depending on the Summoning Crystal, one can even call forth a unique Spirit that cannot be summoned by normal Summoning Crystals.

"Well, here goes nothing…" Xiao Tian closed his eyes and began mumbling the chant used to call for Spirits.

"My name is Xiao Tian, here to call upon the Spirits that reside within the ancient Spirit Realm. If you can hear my voice, heed my summoning — Spirit Summoning!"

The instant Xiao Tian finished his chant, the Summoning Crystal in his hand glowed a bright light, indicating that he had successfully made contact with a Spirit.

"Yes! That's my baby!" Xiao Tian's mother began crying tears of joy upon seeing the Summoning Crystal glow.

However, a few seconds later, the Summoning Crystal in Xiao Tian's hand began showing signs of fracture. After another moment, the Summoning Crystal shattered into many tiny fragments, and the Spirit Summoning came to an official halt.

"..."

The place instantly turned silent, and Xiao Tian's mother stared at him with a shocked face.

Xiao Tian opened his eyes to look at the shattered Summoning Crystal in his grasp. Despite failing the Spirit Summoning, he did not look disheartened at all. In fact, his calm expression barely changed from start to finish, almost like he'd expected this outcome.

A few moments after Xiao Tian failed his Spirit Summoning, his mother approached him and immediately hugged him once in distance.

"It's okay, my dear. Although you failed your Spirit Summoning today, you are still only eleven years old. You still have two chances before…"

His mother did not finish her sentence, as she did not want to remind him that almost all people that have failed to summon their first Spirit by the age of thirteen will never succeed in summoning a Spirit no matter how much they try again, and they are also what Spirit Masters in this world address as 'cripples'.

Additionally, because Spirit Summoning is a profound ritual that humans have yet to fully comprehend, one can only engage in Spirit Summoning once per year, or else they will risk suffering life-threatening injuries.

"I am fine," Xiao Tian said as he gently pushed away his mother.

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"Xiao Tian…"

His mother quickly misjudged his action as him being depressed and began thinking of ways to cheer him up.

However, before she could think of anything to say to him, Xiao Tian walked away and returned to the Xiao Clan's living quarters.

"What should I do to cheer him up?" His mother sighed as she watched his small figure walk away.

Once Xiao Tian returned to his own room, he locked the doors and closed the windows, sealing himself in the room.

He then stared at the empty air before him and said, "If you want to say something, come out and say it."

However, nothing happened even after many seconds of waiting, making Xiao Tian look like he can see and speak with ghosts.

"So you still don't want to acknowledge me, huh? Very well! Then you can watch me engage in another Spirit Summoning right now!"

When Xiao Tian said those words, the atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, and a Spirit Gate with complex patterns and a pitch-black gate appeared before him.

Spirit Gates is what connects the Spirit Realm with the Human Realm, allowing Summoned Spirits to traverse to the Human Realm but not the other way around.

A few seconds after the Spirit Gate appeared, a figure that was two heads taller than Xiao Tian could be seen walking out of the Spirit Gate.

Once the Spirit fully left the Spirit Gate, a young lady that looked around sixteen years old with otherworldly appearances stood before Xiao Tian. This Spirit had the figure and appearance of a human, and she was extremely beautiful to the boot, looking like a G.o.ddess from the Heavens.

She had wavy red hair flowing down her back like a river dyed in fresh blood, and her clear eyes resembled that of a beast staring at a red moon. Her skin was akin to white jade, and she wore a black one-piece dress.

However, while everything about her resembled that of a human girl, the dangerous and profound aura that surrounded her body was something that could not be achieved by normal humans.

"How dare a lowly human like you threaten a superior Spirit such as myself with such a vile threat! Do you have a death wish?!"

The beautiful Spirit began shouting at Xiao Tian the moment she left the Spirit Gate, even threatening to kill him.

However, Xiao Tian's expression did not change much and remained nonchalant to the Spirit's unpleasant att.i.tude.

"Who told you to break the Summoning Crystal before I could even speak with the Spirit on the other side?" he said.

Indeed, the reason why his Spirit Summoning ritual had failed was purely this red-headed Spirit's fault. If she hadn't intervened by pressuring the other Spirit away during the ritual, he would've been able to gain another Spirit.

It should also be mentioned that Spirit Masters normally start out with only one Spirit, gaining more as their Cultivation increases, so for Xiao Tian to be able to have two Spirits at his age is almost unheard of in this world.

"You actually want someone as prestigious as myself to share my precious s.p.a.ce with some lowly Spirit? Are you insane?" The red-headed Spirit looked at him with an unbelieving face. "Not to mention the Spirit World supported by your Cultivation is not even as big as my bathroom in the Spirit Realm! I cannot imagine two Spirits living in here when I am already suffocating by myself!"

Hearing his Spirit ramble on and on, Xiao Tian sighed inwardly, wondering why out of all the Spirits he could've summoned, she was the one to appear before him.

"Can you shut up for a second?" Xiao Tian suddenly narrowed his eyes and raised his voice slightly, and the innocent air around him instantly disappeared.

Now, instead of looking like a child, Xiao Tian emitted a feeling of supremacy, almost like he'd turned into an emperor of sorts.

"..."

The red-headed girl unconsciously closed her mouth and stared at him with wide eyes.

Xiao Tian then continued, "I know that you still don't believe me when I say that I am actually the reincarnation of the first Emperor of Spirits, but you willingly answered my summon four years ago, and that makes you my Spirit! And as my Spirit, your att.i.tude towards me is unacceptable!"

"T-That was because..." The red-headed Spirit's domineering aura suddenly became as small as an ant.

"I do not want to hear any excuses!" Xiao Tian interrupted, his experiences as the first Emperor of Spirits showing as clear as day. "And I don't actually plan on accepting another Spirit, because as you said, my Cultivation can realistically support only one Spirit at this moment, and having two of you will only be a burden to my body."

The red-headed girl showed relief on her face after hearing his words, as that was her biggest worry.

"Now with that out of the way, I will be looking for ways to increase my Cultivation base as fast as possible, as there are still things I have yet to fulfill in my previous life that I will definitely accomplish in this life!" Xiao Tian spoke with a serious voice and a profound aura that did not match his age.

"..."

The red-headed Spirit couldn't help but feel awe when looking at his current image.

"This is Xiao Tian, my Master…" she sighed inwardly, wondering whether she should consider their encounter to be a fortunate one or the opposite.