Seeing his expression, Zhang Yang shook his head again and continued, "I can't be involved in something like this. How would your Second Uncle view you? Besides, you’re bringing your girlfriend home—that's a very formal occasion, and it’s your family's business. It’s inappropriate for an outsider like me to get involved!"

As Zhang Yang spoke, he sighed softly to himself.

Su Zhantao was doing quite well now, having several years of business experience. He appeared capable of standing on his own two feet, but that wasn't quite the case. His temperament was still like that of a child; people raised in a greenhouse from a young age were generally like this.

"You're right, you aren't suitable!"

Su Zhantao slumped down dejectedly. He had hoped to bring Zhang Yang along to bolster his courage, but what Zhang Yang said made sense—this was his family matter, and Zhang Yang really shouldn't be there.

"Sit up straight!"

Zhang Yang's tone suddenly gained intensity, and his expression grew serious.

Su Zhantao unnaturally straightened up, looking at him with some surprise.

"A real man, a proper gentleman, must be brave and decisive. Meeting the parents isn't a monumental event. If you're this hesitant and indecisive over something like this, what great things can you achieve in the future?"

Zhang Yang spoke slowly, his tone calm yet carrying a distinct air of authority.

In his previous life, Zhang Yang had been a Vice Director, a Vice Director at the department level. He often had to reprimand subordinates, and this long-term habit naturally imbued him with a leader's gravitas. Though he was younger in this life, that presence still lingered.

When he chose to exert himself now, it unintentionally pressured those around him.

Su Zhantao stared at him with his mouth agape, and Yang Ling also turned her head in surprise to look at him. This was the first time Yang Ling had seen Zhang Yang present himself this way.

"You're right. A real man, a proper gentleman, shouldn't be afraid of such a small thing! Come, Zhang Yang, let's have a toast!"

After a moment, Su Zhantao finally nodded heavily and raised the wine glass in his hand.

Zhang Yang shook his head helplessly, then picked up his own glass to clink it against Su Zhantao's.

Under Zhang Yang's persuasion, Su Zhantao finally shed his earlier demeanor, stopped bringing up the matter, and focused on eating and drinking.

They occasionally recounted the details of the recent hunt, and when they spoke of the wild boar encounter, Yang Ling still showed lingering fear.

If Zhang Yang hadn't arrived in time that day, she and Su Zhantao would likely both have been finished.

Mi Xue and the others were unaware of the relationship between Su Zhantao and Yang Ling; upon hearing Su Zhantao mention it, they all expressed surprise.

The curious Hu Xin directly asked what the wild boar looked like.

When he learned that Zhang Yang had brought cured wild boar meat, Hu Xin excitedly called out that he wanted to taste it—that was genuine wild game.

They drank quite a bit of wine at dinner; even Mi Xue had a few glasses.

Unfortunately, Mi Xue’s tolerance for alcohol was very low. After a few cups, she was nearly incapacitated, and in the end, Zhang Yang had to take her home and help her into bed to rest.

Long Feng left on his own; a bodyguard couldn't follow Zhang Yang twenty-four hours a day.

Long Feng had been cultivating diligently these past few days. The medicinal effect of the Ginseng Pill was nearly fully absorbed, and he intended to save the Immortal Fruit Pill for later. If he took the Essence Blood Pill, his strength could firmly enter the middle stage of the second layer, marking significant progress from before.

Long Feng worked hard, but Zhang Yang wasn't idle either.

After settling Mi Xue in, Zhang Yang returned to his room and locked the door.

He was already at the late stage of the second layer, very close to the third layer—even closer than in his past life. This single step, which previously might have required extensive preparation to cross, wasn't simple for the breakthrough from the second to the third layer. Although the Zhang family's cultivation method was superior, it offered no hundred percent chance of success.

Now, with the Saintess Pill, the outcome was different; it was equivalent to //Fastest text update from Book Fan Tower

Back in the room, Zhang Yang first settled the two little ones before sitting on the bed, cross-legged, to meditate.

The two little ones were not yet fully awake; digesting this Essence Blood Pill wasn't easy. It contained the essence blood of spirit beasts, and spirit beasts absorbed it differently. Such pills could directly enhance their innate abilities. For instance, Lightning could evolve its venom, making it stronger, and Shadowless could enhance its treasure-seeking capabilities.

Sitting there, Zhang Yang took out a box from his body and retrieved a single pill.

This was an Essence Blood Pill. Its best function was enhancing inner strength, which was why true inner strength cultivators cherished this spiritual medicine.

Zhang Yang had never consumed an Essence Blood Pill before; the first time would yield the best effect. He was currently at the critical juncture between the second and third layers, and this spiritual medicine could save him a great deal of time.

Inhaling the intoxicating aroma, Zhang Yang hesitated no longer and swallowed the spiritual medicine directly.

As soon as the Essence Blood Pill entered his abdomen, a massive surge of heat erupted within his body, a reaction far more intense than when he had taken the Ginseng Pill or the Immortal Fruit Pill.

Zhang Yang quickly gathered his mind and focused entirely on absorbing this medicinal power.

The Zhang family's cultivation method began to operate automatically, and Zhang Yang's inner strength circulated continuously inside him. He felt like a snowball, and the Essence Blood Pill was the raw material constantly feeding it.

Under the provision of the Essence Blood Pill, the snowball grew increasingly fierce and massive. The eyes Zhang Yang kept closed twitched involuntarily, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead.

Zhang Yang's inner strength increased exponentially, but his body seemed unable to contain this much energy, constantly bottlenecking the growth.

It was like a river being blocked by a dam. Initially, the dam held firm, but as the river's water surged, the dam gradually showed signs of yielding.

The inner strength continued to grow, and the suffocating sensation made Zhang Yang intensely uncomfortable. He could only grit his teeth and force the inner strength to push forward.

Impact after impact, cycling the inner strength again and again, Zhang Yang didn't know how long passed until, suddenly, after a sense of relief, his body's inner strength finally resumed its rapid circulation.

This time, the speed was faster than any previous circulation, even faster than before taking the spiritual medicine.

This sensation caused Zhang Yang to let out a soft groan of comfort as he slowly opened his eyes.

When his eyes opened, the first thing he saw was a pair of concerned eyes; Mi Xue was sitting beside him, watching him tensely.

"Zhang Yang, you're finally awake!"

Seeing Zhang Yang open his eyes, Mi Xue cried out with great excitement, her eyes turning incredibly red again.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

Two white shadows jumped onto Zhang Yang, one in front of the other. Lightning and Shadowless had woken up at some unknown time and had been right beside him.

It was only then that Zhang Yang noticed the sky was already light. But it was dim, not the faint light of early morning, but rather resembling dusk.

"Congratulations."

Long Feng suddenly spoke. Long Feng was also in this room; he had been pulled there by Mi Xue.

Mi Xue felt something was strange when Zhang Yang hadn't woken up that morning, so she knocked on his door.

Usually, Zhang Yang woke up earlier than her, but having drunk too much the night before, she had slept in slightly. To her surprise, Zhang Yang was even later than her.

However, no matter how many times she knocked, the door wouldn't open. At that point, she began to panic and remembered that Long Feng was next door, so she called him over.

An ordinary wooden door was naturally no match for Long Feng. When he opened it, they saw Zhang Yang meditating and cultivating on the bed, his expression occasionally shifting dramatically.

By then, Lightning and Shadowless were already awake and guarding Zhang Yang's side.

With a single glance, Long Feng recognized that Zhang Yang was on the verge of a breakthrough. At such a time, Zhang Yang absolutely could not be disturbed, or he would certainly suffer Qi deviation and enter a demonic state.

Once Qi deviation occurred, the consequences ranged from the complete ruin of one's cultivation to death.

He didn't tell Mi Xue these details, merely comforting her for a while and assuring her that Zhang Yang was fine. But Mi Xue didn't believe him and insisted on sitting there to guard him. She had been watching for nearly a whole day.

It was now evening; Zhang Yang’s meditation session had indeed been quite long.

"Congratulations?"

Zhang Yang looked at Long Feng with some confusion, then moved his body slightly, and a flash of wild ecstasy immediately appeared in his eyes.

His inner strength had broken through without him realizing it, reaching the early stage of the third layer. He had originally planned to use the Essence Blood Pill to enhance his inner strength and then use the Saintess Pill for the breakthrough, but unexpectedly, he skipped that stage and broke through directly.

The third layer of inner strength was absolutely different from the second layer.

Zhang Yang now felt his entire body filled with power. Even if he faced that Five-Crowned Golden Python again, he was confident he could fight it one-on-one.

The efficacy of the Essence Blood Pill completely exceeded Zhang Yang’s expectations. He knew the pill was excellent, but since it was his first time consuming one, all prior knowledge of its effects came from ancestral records.

The Essence Blood Pills refined by his ancestors mostly utilized the essence blood of second-layer spirit beasts. Spirit beasts powerful enough to reach the third layer were extremely difficult to capture and kill, making their essence blood scarce.

This discrepancy between the ancestral records and the Essence Blood Pill Zhang Yang actually possessed explained why a single pill allowed him to jump from the second layer to the third.

Of course, this was also because Zhang Yang was already in the late stage of the second layer, just one final step away from the third. The Essence Blood Pill perfectly served as that final push, enabling his direct breakthrough.

Long Feng looked at Zhang Yang, his expression somewhat complex.

How old was Zhang Yang? Only twenty. At Zhang Yang's age, Long Feng had just broken through the first layer to reach the second.

Even so, many in his family called him a rare talent.

Zhang Yang breaking through to the third layer at twenty—what did that make him? A genius? Even that descriptor seemed insufficient. Even with the aid of spiritual medicine, an ordinary person couldn't break through to the third layer by age twenty.

One had to remember that even the current Head of their Xuanyuan family was only at the late stage of the third layer of inner strength.

After observing for a while, Long Feng composed himself. Zhang Yang was a unique anomaly. Compared to others, he was much better off. Now that he also had spiritual medicine, as long as he cultivated diligently, he was sure to catch up to his two older brothers and become the foremost figure among the younger generation in the family.

For him, becoming the foremost among the younger generation was already enough. A breakthrough to the third layer as fast as Zhang Yang was something he hadn't even dared to dream about.

Having not eaten all day, Zhang Yang was extremely hungry. Mi Xue had also accompanied Zhang Yang the entire day without taking a single sip of water or bite of food.

Upon waking, Zhang Yang took a quick shower and immediately took Mi Xue out to eat; Long Feng joined them as well. All three hadn't eaten all day, and even poor Little Lightning hadn't eaten that morning.

…………………… Third update! Book Net

For more novels, visit storyread.net.