"This son of Qiao Zhenhua is close to the Earth Ranking; among our family's younger generation, he is considered quite outstanding," one of the Qiao family elders remarked.
"Indeed. Currently, our Qiao family has eight youths who have entered the Earth Ranking. Among them, the most talented is undoubtedly Qiao Ying'er, who ranks ninth on the Young Genius List. The lowest-ranked is Qiao Hongshan, at 98th place. If this son of Qiao Zhenhua can enter the Earth Ranking in the future, he will undoubtedly be an outstanding descendant of our family."
"Mmm, if Qiao Zhenhua's son truly manages to enter the Earth Ranking, then we can consider making Qiao Zhenhua's lineage the main branch of the family."
Just then, Zhou Hong and Qiao Zhenhua walked in through the grand hall entrance.
"Greetings, Patriarch. Greetings, elders."
Zhou Hong and Qiao Zhenhua bowed respectfully to the old men in the hall.
"No need for formalities. Qiao Zhenhua, is this your son who was missing? Introduce him." one of the elders quickly asked.
"Reporting to Third Elder, this is my son Qiao Feng, who has been missing for many years. However, he now goes by Zhou Hong. Since he's used to it, I won't change his name. When he's registered in the family genealogy, we'll simply add the surname, making him Qiao Zhou Hong. What do you elders think?"
"Heh, that's your decision. Qiao Zhenhua's son, Zhou Hong, what is his current strength?" the Qiao family Patriarch asked.
"Zhou Hong, tell them yourself," Qiao Zhenhua said, turning to instruct Zhou Hong.
"Uh!" Zhou Hong was taken aback, unsure how to respond. If he directly said he was the reclusive peerless expert who had been very popular a few days ago, they probably wouldn't believe him.
After a moment of hesitation, Zhou Hong said, "I am currently at Martial Master Stage One."
"What?" Qiao Zhenhua was shocked, and the Patriarch and elders in the hall were also somewhat surprised.
"Qiao Zhenhua, didn't you say your son was close to the Earth Ranking? How has he become a Martial Master Stage One? If he is Martial Master Stage One, he would rank around 95th to 96th on the Earth Ranking," the Qiao family Patriarch said with a shocked expression.
Qiao Zhenhua was also a little surprised. He quickly asked, "Zhou Hong, weren't you around Martial Practitioner Rank 90 in Jin City before?"
"Heh, I've been training outside for these past two months, so my level has increased a bit," Zhou Hong said lightly. It wasn't that Zhou Hong was showing off; he simply wasn't interested in explaining further, as it would lead to a lot of talking. It was better to just state a slight increase as before.
"Hahaha, that's great!" Qiao Zhenhua burst into excited laughter.
"What's so funny about this? Martial Master Stage One is quite common in the capital, isn't it?" Zhou Hong said speechlessly.
"You wouldn't know that. Those around Martial Practitioner Rank 97 or 98 can already enter the top 100 on the Earth Ranking. Now that you've reached Martial Master Stage One, you can enter the Earth Ranking at 95th or 96th place."
"Oh, oh!" Zhou Hong nodded. It seemed that whether on the Zi Xiao Continent or Earth, people liked rankings. Schools had rankings, society had rankings, as if without rankings, one couldn't differentiate between high and low.
Zhou Hong was also helpless about this.
Even if Zhou Hong revealed his true strength now, there would likely still be higher rankings. In short, no matter which tier one was in, there were corresponding rankings.
Since that was the case, Zhou Hong could only let things take their course. His goal was to wait for the call of his mission on Earth, then complete it and return to the Zi Xiao Continent.
As for other matters, there was no need to create unnecessary complications.
The elders of the Qiao family also smiled and said, "Zhou Hong, it seems we have underestimated your martial cultivation talent. In just two months, you have improved by ten ranks through your own cultivation."
"Heh, thank you," Zhou Hong replied with a faint smile.
"If that's the case, then quickly find a time to arrange for a match with the geniuses on the Earth Ranking and get yourself ranked. This way, with two Earth Ranking geniuses in your branch, you can be promoted to the main family branch," the Qiao family Patriarch declared.
Qiao Zhenhua was overwhelmed with excitement.
Zhou Hong said nothing.
"Patriarch, I plan to arrange for Zhou Hong to work at the Criminal Investigation Bureau. What do you think?" Qiao Zhenhua quickly asked.
"Why go to the Criminal Investigation Bureau? Wouldn't it be better to send him directly to the First Martial Cultivation Academy?" one elder asked Qiao Zhenhua, confused.
"It's because Zhou Hong himself doesn't want to go to the Martial Cultivation Academy anymore."
The Patriarch looked at Zhou Hong and asked, "Zhou Hong, do you want to work at the Criminal Investigation Bureau yourself?"
"Yes, I was at Jinzhou University before. I figured the First Martial Cultivation Academy wouldn't be much different. It's not interesting."
"Alright then. Cultivation is a personal journey. The elders can at most provide cultivation resources. If you can enter the Earth Ranking, the family can provide you with at least one spiritual medicine of 500 years or older annually."
"Thank you, Patriarch." Zhou Hong certainly wouldn't refuse. Spiritual medicine of 500 years or older could allow Zhou Hong to refine two to three spiritual pills.
Once spiritual medicine was refined into spiritual pills, its effect would increase by at least tenfold.
He just wondered why the Patriarch didn't directly give him spiritual pills.
Perhaps, on Earth, not everyone knew how to refine pills.
Thinking this, Zhou Hong intentionally asked, "Patriarch, why can't this 500-year-old spiritual medicine be refined into spiritual pills?"
"You know about spiritual pills too?"
"Heh!"
"Indeed. If these spiritual medicines could be refined into spiritual pills, their effects would increase severalfold. It's just a pity that very few people can refine pills. Currently, only the upper five-rate families have alchemy prodigies. Our lower five-rate families, however, have no geniuses in this regard, so even if we obtain spiritual medicine, we can only consume it directly."
"Oh, oh!" Zhou Hong smiled. It was just as he had thought; refining pills wasn't that easy on Earth.
It was a shame they had no idea that refining pills was as easy as urinating for Zhou Hong.
He wasn't sure if Zhou Hong should reveal that he knew how to refine pills.
If Zhou Hong could help the family refine pills, it would also make the Qiao family stronger. However, Zhou Hong didn't feel much sense of belonging to the Qiao family yet.
After a moment of hesitation, Zhou Hong decided to speak up. After all, he had already returned to the Qiao family, so there was no need to be so secretive.
"Patriarch, I have something I want to tell you."
"What is it, Zhou Hong?"
"It's like this, I know how to refine pills," Zhou Hong stated directly.
"How is that possible? You didn't have a master to teach you; how could you possibly know something so complex? Do you know how high the mental strength requirement is for refining pills? Ordinary people wouldn't even dare to imagine it," the Patriarch quickly shook his head, disbelieving, thinking Zhou Hong was joking.