Zhang Daofeng was still alive, and he had returned, now standing right before him. Even Zhang Yang, now at the fourth layer of Inner Strength and having experienced so much, felt a chill rush from the soles of his feet straight to his brain, leaving him cold and speechless.

All this time, Zhang Yang had used Zhang Daofeng as an excuse to explain the origin of his Inner Strength. Now that Zhang Daofeng stood before him, it was as if the lie had been exposed.

This instinctively made Zhang Yang flustered, but thankfully, his control was strong; though his heart raced, his face betrayed nothing. "Grandfather!" Zhang Yang murmured the address.

This was indeed Zhang Daofeng. After being reminded by Zhang Yungan, some memories automatically surfaced.

Though he had seen Zhang Daofeng infrequently as a child, a sighting was a sighting. Now, verification confirmed Zhang Daofeng’s identity instantly.

"Very good!" Zhang Daofeng nodded slightly, his eyes fixed intently on Zhang Yang, making the younger man hesitant to meet his gaze. "Father, I told you this kid would surely be much better than all of us!

Twenty years old, he’s only twenty!" Zhang Yungan burst into laughter. His smile hadn't faded since he entered.

Though he didn't state it plainly, everyone, including Zhang Yang, understood his implication. Reaching the fourth layer of Inner Strength at twenty was indeed a tremendous source of pride.

"I know. You are Yangyang's maternal uncle.

You should be present at the engagement today; go accompany Keqin!" Zhang Daofeng nodded slowly. Zhang Yungan, who had been smiling, paused slightly before nodding in assent.

Zhang Daofeng was correct. Although Zhang Keqin was a man of the secular world, he was still his brother-in-law.

Furthermore, the Zhang family had always resided in the mortal realm, unlike those reclusive, thousand-year-old clans; they paid close attention to secular etiquette. Zhang Yungan, as Zhang Yang's direct maternal uncle, was perfectly entitled to, and indeed should, be seated at the main table.

"Mi Xue, take Uncle over there!" Zhang Yang spoke softly. His composure had finally somewhat recovered, and he dared to look up at Zhang Daofeng now.

One thing he could be sure of: Zhang Daofeng was back, he knew of Zhang Yang’s existence, and he certainly knew about the lie. However, he had not exposed it, or Zhang Yungan would not be reacting this way.

That it hadn't been exposed eased some of the anxiety in Zhang Yang’s heart. "Follow me!" Zhang Daofeng gave Zhang Yang a profound look, then turned and walked directly toward an unoccupied room.

Zhang Yang glanced around before following him in. As soon as Zhang Yang entered, Zhang Daofeng shut the door and immediately reached out, gripping Zhang Yang’s vital meridian points.

Zhang Daofeng’s speed was rapid, but with Zhang Yang’s own agility, evasion would not have been impossible. Zhang Yang had assessed Zhang Daofeng’s strength upon meeting him; he was at the mid-stage of the fourth layer.

He did not evade, allowing Zhang Daofeng to hold his critical meridian points. He could sense that this action carried no malice from Zhang Daofeng.

After holding for a moment, Zhang Daofeng released his grip and sat down, nodding heavily. "Yangyang, you've had it hard these past years.

To cultivate independently to the fourth layer of Inner Strength without anyone to guide or teach you—it must have been extremely difficult!" Zhang Daofeng sighed as he spoke, a hint of sorrow lingering on his face. Zhang Yang started slightly, nodding quickly.

"It has indeed been very difficult these years!" This was the truth. Both the previous 'Zhang Yang' and the current him had endured hardship.

Putting the past aside, even now, he had navigated numerous twists and setbacks, facing danger several times. Fortunately, he had turned peril into safety, ultimately achieving great fortune.

Zhang Daofeng sighed again. "Your Inner Strength was taught to you by your mother, wasn't it?

I knew it. That girl back then wasn't purely pursuing it out of simple interest!" After speaking, Zhang Daofeng mused further, "But it’s also fortunate she taught you.

I was foolish back then, strictly adhering to the ancestral instruction, never imagining the calamity that would strike today. If not for you, the Zhang family's legacy would likely have been severed!" Zhang Yang stood there, watching Zhang Daofeng in a daze, saying nothing.

"Your aptitude is excellent, completely beyond my imagination. While Shihua could teach you theory, she couldn't impart the practical aspects.

To achieve what you have today relying only on her memory—it truly wasn't easy!" Zhang Daofeng spoke with deep emotion, and Zhang Yang simply listened quietly beside him. After Zhang Daofeng spoke for a while, Zhang Yang finally grasped his meaning.

The Zhang family ancestral instruction dictated that secret arts were passed down to males, never to females. Girls were forbidden from cultivating Inner Strength or viewing the family’s secret manuals.

However, this was just an instruction. Over the years, many ancestors had violated this rule; it wasn't unheard of for daughters to practice Inner Strength, though they were always the minority, and it never caused adverse consequences.

Zhang Yungan had taught Zhang Yang's mother, Zhang Shihua, Inner Strength, but this cultivation was very shallow—comparable to Qu Meilan’s previous level. Moreover, lacking martial forms, she was actually inferior to Qu Meilan in a real fight.

Zhang Daofeng had also transgressed the ancestral rule, but in a different manner. The Zhang family possessed numerous secret texts, many of which Zhang Shihua had seen.

Zhang Shihua was deeply interested in traditional Chinese medicine, having majored in it in school, and pursued it in her career—many family resources were greatly helpful to her in this regard. By the time Zhang Shihua viewed these manuals, she was already older, past the prime age for learning Inner Strength.

Being her father, Zhang Daofeng pretended not to notice, allowing her to peruse them. Zhang Shihua had an excellent memory, possessing eidetic recall from childhood.

Zhang Daofeng therefore concluded that Zhang Yang’s Inner Strength must have been taught by Zhang Shihua, and he had reached his current level through subsequent personal cultivation. "After you were poisoned back then, I noticed something amiss about you, but I didn't think deeply about it.

Looking back now, you must have been close to manifesting Inner Strength at that time, which caused those anomalies!" Zhang Daofeng seemed to be reminiscing, speaking slowly while nodding to himself repeatedly. Suddenly, he looked up, staring directly at Zhang Yang, and asked again, "After your mother left, you cultivated entirely on your own, right?

Why tell Yungan that I taught you?" Zhang Daofeng finally asked the question that had caused Zhang Yang the most worry. Had this question arisen earlier, Zhang Yang would surely have panicked, unsure how to answer.

But after listening to Zhang Daofeng’s self-directed narrative, Zhang Yang suddenly found an answer, one that arose from the deepest part of his heart. "My mother told me that all of this was given to me by you!" As soon as these words left his mouth, a faint memory flooded his mind.

This memory was ancient, feeling almost unreal, like a blurry segment from a film. It was from when Zhang Yang was just over two years old.

Zhang Shihua had indeed tried to teach him Inner Strength then, but ultimately failed. However, at that time, Zhang Shihua had indeed said those exact words—the sentence Zhang Yang had just uttered.

"All of this was given to you by your maternal grandfather!" But the statement was only half complete; the rest was: "It’s a pity I am too clumsy to make you as formidable as your grandfather and uncle!" The surfacing of this extremely vague, early-childhood imprinted memory validated what Zhang Daofeng had said. Zhang Shihua had genuinely reviewed many Zhang family manuals.

It was precisely because of these manuals that she had been able to employ the most correct method when Zhang Yang was poisoned, ultimately saving his life. "This foolish child.

I couldn't bear to see her disappointed, so I turned a blind eye and let her peruse the family manuals, but she mistook this as me deliberately allowing her to look, which is why she told you that!" Zhang Daofeng appeared somewhat saddened. After all, she was his daughter, his own flesh and blood.

Although their relationship was strained due to opposition over her marriage, the bond of blood remained, and Zhang Daofeng deeply loved his daughter. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't have rushed back upon hearing the news; he had simply arrived a step too late.

Zhang Yang was stunned again, quickly grasping the situation. The reason his mother had said it was from his grandfather was because Zhang Daofeng had broken tradition by not stopping her from looking at the texts.

His mother held gratitude in her heart for this, hence her statement. She intended for Zhang Yang to understand that if he managed to cultivate Inner Strength, it was all thanks to his grandfather, not her.

If Zhang Yang could learn the Inner Strength and become superior to others, it was all because of his grandfather, thereby fostering a sense of gratitude toward him. Zhang Shihua’s intentions were kind, but ultimately, she failed.

Her own Inner Strength was too low; attempting to build a foundation for a rootless, two-year-old child to cultivate Inner Strength with such meager power was immensely difficult. It wasn't impossible for a genius to achieve it, but such individuals were rare.

Now, Zhang Daofeng was treating Zhang Yang as one of that rare few, assuming his Inner Strength came from Zhang Shihua, who possessed very low cultivation. "Yangyang, you must remember this: what you have today is not because of me, but because of your mother.

Everything you possess was given by her, including giving you life twice!" Zhang Daofeng suddenly became more serious. Zhang Yang nodded silently.

He understood Zhang Daofeng’s implication perfectly: Zhang Daofeng had attributed the origin of his Inner Strength to his mother, which was why he said what he did. This allowed Zhang Yang to breathe a small sigh of relief.

His lie had been exposed, but a satisfactory explanation had automatically materialized for it. He had managed to pass this test.

As for why Zhang Daofeng hadn't exposed the matter in front of Zhang Yungan, it was likely because Zhang Shihua’s perusal of the secret texts was a breach of rules, something he preferred not to elaborate on, thus keeping it concealed. As a result, Zhang Yungan still believed his Inner Strength came from Zhang Daofeng.

But this was fine; he no longer needed to worry about the source of his Inner Strength in the future. It wasn't an outright lie either; his mother had indeed tried to initiate him and teach him the mental cultivation for Inner Strength, only to fail in the end.

Now that his mother was gone, this secret would remain unknown to everyone as long as Zhang Yang kept silent. "Ten years flashed by, and you’ve grown up.

I never expected you to reach the fourth layer of Inner Strength in such a short time. My Zhang family will no longer be rigidly bound by those ancestral rules, but you must not reveal too much to those without a blood tie!" Zhang Daofeng added another sentence.

He certainly wouldn't have said this previously, but things were different now. His daughter had passed away, leaving him such an outstanding grandson, which completely shifted his perspective.

"I understand, Grandfather, please don't worry. I absolutely will not disclose it externally!" Zhang Yang nodded, but as soon as he finished speaking, his brow furrowed, and he glanced toward the door.

(To be continued)