"How long do you plan to stay this time?" Chen Tianming asked, signaling that the previous topic had concluded.
"Just half a day," Yan Yu replied. "It is a critical moment in advancing to the Hua Mansion stage; I still need to perform Breathing and Energy Refining in the Mysterious Realm tonight."
"Hmm," Chen Tianming followed up, "how much longer do you think it will take for you to reach the Hua Mansion stage?"
Yan Yu immediately realized that Old Taishan was actually trying to ask just that, but asking directly seemed too utilitarian, showing that he only cared about his son-in-law's cultivation strength. Thus, he had first made a pretext by deliberately asking how many days he wished to stay—what focus should we cultivators have during this period; do others not know, you too couldn't be unaware?
Once I mention cultivation, he can pretend to casually inquire and probe my cultivation progress!