The Great Forest, core area, 1 week later.
22nd July, Year 42014 of the Elemental Era
There are many beasts inhabiting the forest. It is said that even rank 6 Beasts exist here. Elders from various sects in Jade Harbour City have already arrived. They have also cleared the nearby area to prevent any accidents caused by a beast charging in.
There are 5 factions here, in the order of strength:/
Spirit Dragon Clan
Shadow Phoenix Sect
Thunderous Peak Sect
Moonlight Sect
Locals from Azure Mountain
Within the Spirit Dragon Clan faction, a young man with great temperament stood alongside a middle-aged man, who acted like a servant despite having extraordinary strength.
Long Yifan looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "How long, Elder Chang?"
"It could open anytime now, Young Master," Long Chang said politely.
Long Chang was a rank 7 Warrior, sent here to protect Long Yifan, who was the future Clan Leader of the Spirit Dragon Clan. Many clan disciples were also present, but all of them were from rank 3 to rank 4. There was another young man at rank 5 early stage.
Long Yifan was a genius from the very beginning, with A-grade talent. He reached rank 1 at the age of 7, rank 2 at 11, and rank 3 by 19. Now, at just 60 years old, he had already reached rank 5 peak!
"Yo, Long Yifan, why are you getting anxious? We'll have plenty of time in the inheritance. Two years are more than enough for you to accidentally trip and die while walking!"
Long Yifan looked at the newcomer. He snorted coldly and said, "Do you want to die, Huang Weimin?"
Huang Weimin looked at him with disdain. "You really think too highly of yourself."
Long Yifan snorted but didn't speak. He knew Huang Weimin was also very strong. He was already at rank 5 late stage at just 63 years of age. They had faced off multiple times—most ended in a draw or Long Yifan's victory, but there were also times when Long Yifan lost.
At this time, the Wang family, Li family, and many other villagers from different parts of Azure Mountain had gathered. Among them, a couple stood together.
Wang Xueyao and Li Gang watched the drama in silence.
'It's true. In the real world, everything is probabilistic. A rank 5 fighting a rank 4 can never guarantee victory. They can only say they have a higher chance, not a guaranteed win,' Li Gang murmured inwardly.
Li Gang wasn't wrong. Take Earth, for example: if being a better chess player guaranteed victory, then World Champions would never lose. But reality is different—they do lose, just with lower probability. In combat, although probability shifts more heavily toward the stronger side, uncertainty still exists.
For example, against a rank 4 peak Warrior:
A rank 5 early stage has a 90% chance of victory.
A rank 5 mid stage has a 99% chance.
A rank 5 late stage has a 99.9% chance.
A rank 5 peak has a 99.99% chance.
These are just averages. In reality, outcomes fluctuate depending on a Warrior's foundation. Sometimes, a rank 4 Warrior has the combat strength of rank 5, and sometimes a rank 5 fights only at rank 4 level.
At this moment, a huge space-time turbulence opened into a massive circular gate. The surrounding airflow intensified several times!
But no one had the courage to enter such an unknown place first. They were all cautious. People are generally rational—they won't do such idiotic things.
As everyone hesitated, two people suddenly rushed forward. Li Minghui and Wang Jinlong immediately broke into a sweat. 'Why these two…'
They were none other than Li Gang and Wang Xueyao.
Looking at Wang Xueyao, Long Yifan's heart skipped a beat. 'So beautiful!' He glanced at their camp and asked, "Who are these two?"
Wang Jinlong sweated but still answered politely, "Young Master Long, this is my daughter, Wang Xueyao, and my son-in-law, Li Gang."
Long Yifan looked at him deeply and said, "Son-in-law, you say?"
Li Hao's face changed. He leaned closer to Li Minghui and whispered so only they could hear:
"He might target Li Gang."
Even though he hated Li Gang's rebellious nature, no family member would want their kin to die, unless bound by a life-and-death feud.
Li Minghui's face turned grim, helplessness welling in his heart. It had already been declared: only those below the age of 100 could enter the gate. He could only pray silently.
'Oh Elemental God, please protect my child,' he murmured inwardly.
Soon, one after another, they all entered the gate.
In the depths of a nameless forest.
"Where are we?" Li Gang asked.
Wang Xueyao glared at him. "You truly have a death wish. Why did you drag me here?"
Li Gang looked at her calmly. "We would only be wasting our time there. Time is precious."
Wang Xueyao studied him deeply. "You might have annoyed those arrogant so-called young masters."
Li Gang smiled. "With you, I don't think they're any danger."
Wang Xueyao replied coldly, "I won't help you deal with them. Do it yourself."
Li Gang smiled. "That's what I was saying. With you around, I don't find them dangerous. I'd rather fight a mad beast than a calm strategist."
Wang Xueyao didn't respond. They both focused on scanning their surroundings. Suddenly Li Gang said, "We need to find a high position for a better view."
Wang Xueyao looked at him like he was an idiot. Li Gang noticed and asked, "What happened?"
"You didn't notice anything special?" she asked.
Li Gang thought, but nothing came to mind. Then he said, "Is it about the clear mind? As soon as I arrived, I felt my thinking speed increase. I thought it was just an illusion!"
Wang Xueyao looked at him deeply. "Is that all?"
Li Gang asked, "Is there anything else?" At the same time, he thought: 'Is there something special here? Looking at her face, there must be, or else she wouldn't ask a meaningless question. Is it because I don't possess a Spiritual Imprint? Doesn't matter, I can't use it anyway. Since this place is an entirely different space, there must be a way to leave—not back to Azure Mountain, but to another world altogether. If I can grab the inheritance and leave, that would be ideal. Given Wang Xueyao's nature, I doubt she'd take revenge on my family, as long as she knows I can't contact them.'
Wang Xueyao also thought: 'He really doesn't have a Special Ability. In that case, he's useless to me. Should I kill him now? Forget it, he might serve as a pawn in this inheritance. Though I doubt anything here would impress me, I still need resources to rise quickly. At the end of the inheritance, I'll decide based on his usefulness.'
Both of them were scheming against each other. It's true—lovers often think alike!
At this time, Wang Xueyao spoke. "This place is a small world, very suitable for Soul Cultivation."
Li Gang immediately asked shamelessly, "Do you possess a soul cultivation method?"
Wang Xueyao looked at him with pity. "I can give you many, but without the ability to sense the Soul, you can't cultivate at all."
Li Gang chuckled. "No problem, just give them to me. Maybe someday I'll be able to use them."
Wang Xueyao glanced at him and tossed two scrolls.
"One is the Celestial Serenity Technique, which can be cultivated to rank 9 Warrior—it's a Spiritual Cultivation Technique. The other is the Arcane Soul Fusion Method, which also reaches rank 9."
Li Gang looked at her in shock. "You're quite rich!"
Wang Xueyao looked at him with disdain and thought inwardly: 'It's just that I don't have any technique lower than rank 9. Rank 9 is the lowest I know, otherwise I'd have given him a weaker one. And I'm too lazy to create one. The only reason I gave them is to see if he can escape my clutches. If he survives this crisis, I'll do anything to find him again and either make him my puppet or ally. I'll never allow a Wanderer to escape my grasp. Wanderers are the greatest variables in this world.'
At the same time, the entire small world grew lively. Because of space-time fluctuations, everyone was scattered randomly! Only those who entered the gate together were teleported together.
This small world was covered entirely in forests. Closer to the center, mountain ranges and valleys appeared. A great river spread its branches throughout the land like a vast network.
Like the outer world, this small world also had day and night without a sun. Light appeared every 12 hours, creating day and night cycles.
Two days later.
Wang Xueyao's impression of Li Gang had completely changed. In the last two days, ever since he got the techniques, he had been practicing 12 hours a day while also playing chess intermittently, multitasking with ease.
He even practiced while walking.
Wang Xueyao suddenly asked, "Aren't you exhausted, practicing all day long?"
Li Gang was stunned and subconsciously asked, "What?"
"I said, aren't you fed up with practicing all day long?" she repeated.
Li Gang looked at her calmly. "I don't possess talent. This is the only way I can make up for it. Time is something I don't have! Also, I've noticed my cultivation speed here is much faster than before. It seems my aptitude has risen!"
Wang Xueyao looked at him deeply. 'It's true. He doesn't possess talent. A D-grade aptitude allows a person to reach at most rank 4—but only if they also have a Spiritual Imprint of the same level. So for him, his limit should be mid rank 3, if he works hard. But the way he's utilizing his time… he's practicing around 9 hours daily on average! Even a hardworking person can at most manage 4–5 hours, because sometimes they train the whole day and sometimes they can't. But this guy is squeezing out every second, even while walking. If he continues, he might really reach that stage!'
She explained, "In this place, the compatibility between body and soul is high, so it drastically increases aptitude. Your current aptitude should be B grade."