Zhang Tian and Zhang Qilin exchanged a look, both harboring a mix of doubt and surprise.
Logically, Zhang Tian should have anticipated this, but hearing it directly from his father still left him somewhat shaken.
"Dad, when did you and Mom start cultivating? And you didn't tell me?"
Zhang Tian shot his father a sideways glance.
It was such a great thing, yet his father had tried to keep it from him. It was too much.
Zhang Tian understood the reasoning; it was likely out of concern for him getting caught up in danger.
"The martial world is quite perilous. Your mother and I have experienced it, so we understand. We never expected fate to play such a trick on us."
"You still ended up on this path, but what surprised us was that you managed to survive until now."
Zhang Xiangtian spoke with earnest gravity.
Zhang Tian's face was a picture of exasperation.
What did he mean, 'managed to survive until now'?
Was that something a father should say?
"Dad, am I really your son? How can you talk to me like that?"
Zhang Tian couldn't help but roll his eyes at his father.
"I'm just expressing my feelings. Besides, in the martial world, life and death are uncertain. But to what level has your cultivation reached?"
"As far as I know, the highest cultivation is the legendary Grandmaster. I haven't heard of any Grandmaster appearing yet."
"I'm not sure about your master's cultivation, but it should be considerable."
Zhang Xiangtian looked at Zhang Tian with curiosity.
He knew Zhang Tian had gone through a lot in recent years.
After so many years, he was eager to know how much his son had grown.
"Grandmaster?"
Zhang Tian's mouth twitched.
His father was still stuck at such a low cultivation level.
But then again, his father had likely gone into seclusion very early on; knowing about Grandmasters was already quite good.
Zhang Tian glanced at Zhang Qilin.
There was no need to hide anything.
"Dad, don't worry. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I am likely the strongest person alive today."
Zhang Tian said this with almost no exaggeration.
After all, the Queen Mother of the West had dominated history for thousands of years without being defeated, suggesting no one before or since had been stronger.
In that light, in this era of scarcity, Zhang Tian felt it was perfectly justifiable to claim the title of number one.
"Son, don't be so arrogant. Prodigies are often brought down by their pride."
Seeing Zhang Tian's burgeoning pride, Zhang Xiangtian suddenly became serious, afraid his son might suffer from it.
Zhang Tian smiled.
"Don't worry, Dad. The Grandmaster you mentioned was my cultivation level years ago. I wonder if you've heard of my current level."
As he spoke, Zhang Tian slowly uttered a few words.
"Currently, both Zhang Qilin and I are in the late stage of the Core Breaking Realm. If the opportunity arises, we might be able to break through to the Ancient God realm."
Zhang Tian stated.
Zhang Xiangtian blinked, completely bewildered.
What was the Core Breaking Realm? What were Ancient Gods? He had never heard of them.
"Son, what kind of cultivation is this? Our Zhang family ancestor's highest level was only Grandmaster. How have we never heard of your cultivation?"
Zhang Xiangtian was stunned.
Good heavens, could his son be some ultimate expert?
Zhang Xiangtian couldn't believe it. If his son was a hidden powerhouse, wouldn't their Zhang family usher in a new era of glory?
"Dad, there are realms above Grandmaster, namely the Inner Core Realm and the Core Breaking Realm. Each is divided into upper, middle, and lower stages. Above the Core Breaking Realm is the Ancient God, which is what you would call a deity. I don't know about anything beyond that."
Zhang Tian explained slowly.
Zhang Xiangtian took a sharp breath.
So, his son was just one step away from becoming a deity?
After a moment of stunned silence, Zhang Xiangtian abruptly stood up.
"No, I must go report to our Ancestral Master. Our Zhang family has produced a genius!"
"This is wonderful! Our Zhang family will prosper eternally!"
Zhang Xiangtian was quite excited and was about to rush out to perform ancestral rites.
Zhang Tian quickly stopped him.
"Dad, our ancestors can't withstand our kowtowing right now. Let's forget it. My sect is Taoism, and it's the sect of the Taoist Ancestor himself. If we kowtow, it would be indirectly akin to the Taoist Ancestor kowtowing."
"Dad, our Ancestral Master would be furious!"
Zhang Tian exclaimed.
Zhang Xiangtian swallowed hard.
Good heavens, it was one thing for his son to be powerful, but he also had a sect.
If his son encountered an enemy he couldn't defeat, he could simply invoke his sect, and that would lend him considerable weight.
Moreover, with Zhang Tian's current cultivation, as he said, it was unlikely anyone alive could defeat him.
"Son, you truly seem invincible."
Zhang Xiangtian murmured, a mix of excitement and shock in his heart.
With these two complex emotions warring within him, Zhang Xiangtian didn't know what to say.
"Dad, let's be low-key. Even if we're invincible, we still need to abide by the law."
Zhang Tian waved his hand.
Zhang Xiangtian: ...
Good heavens, this sounded so familiar. Wasn't that what he had just taught Zhang Tian?
It had been completely reversed. Zhang Xiangtian felt a pang of annoyance.
"Yes, we must be law-abiding citizens. By the way, I heard you also started a company?"
Zhang Xiangtian was a little curious.
Zhang Tian rubbed his chin.
"It's all in the name of contributing to the development of Xia Guo."
"I plan to expand the company next, bringing together wealthy powers from other regions and straightening them out."
Zhang Tian said softly.
His Nine Gates organization couldn't possibly be run by just a few shareholders; Zhang Tian needed to expand his influence.
At the very least, he needed to set up some branch companies and establish new bases in Xinjiang, Henan, and other places.
This way, Xia Guo could develop more quickly.
Xia Guo's technology was not advanced, but Zhang Tian possessed knowledge from his previous life, which was enough to accelerate technological progress in a short period.
However, if Zhang Tian didn't act, Xia Guo's development would naturally be relatively slow.
Zhang Xiangtian slowly gave Zhang Tian a thumbs-up.
"Son, you're doing great. Dad supports you. Speaking of which, what is the current extent of your company's influence? Should I invest?"
His father asked.
He was somewhat concerned about Zhang Tian's financial situation.
Zhang Tian waved his hand.
"You know the Nine Gates, right? They are all under our command now. The Nine Gates Group is ours, and we are currently expanding both overseas and domestic businesses."
Zhang Tian estimated that he was now likely the wealthiest person in the country.
Zhang Tian stated.
Zhang Xiangtian's legs went weak, and he nearly fell to the ground.
Good heavens, in just how many years had his son accomplished such a heaven-defying feat?
If someone else had told him this, Zhang Xiangtian would have definitely thought they were bragging and were mentally unstable.
But coming from his own son's mouth, he couldn't help but believe it.
"Xiao Tian, what have you been through in the past few years?"
Zhang Xiangtian said, taking Zhang Tian's hand.
He knew very well that Zhang Tian had not used a single cent of the family's money.
This meant he hadn't leveraged the family's influence, implying that Zhang Tian had single-handedly built this formidable power.
The effort he must have put in must have been several times that of others.
Zhang Tian smiled, feeling the warmth of his father's hand, and a thought struck him.
He looked out the window; the sky was already darkening.
"Dad, close your eyes. I have a surprise for you."
Zhang Tian said. Zhang Xiangtian hesitated, then closed his eyes.
His son had returned like a king; what surprise would he bestow upon him?