Li Gang was currently in the center of Silver Frost Province, within Bladehaven Town, near the Sword Gate.
The Sword Gate was a massive sect, covering about a billion square kilometers. This was understandable—one of the largest sects in the world, home to many Rank 6 and Rank 7 warriors. For warriors of that level, traversing the entire sect would take only minutes.
Li Gang had no plans to visit the Sword Gate. He studied the maps carefully and began considering his options.
'I wanted to join the Sword Gate since it's the weakest among the major sects of the Central Continent. But after learning from Huang Ling that those with stronger soul cultivation have faster thinking speed, I fear that old man Jiang might have left some tricks. I only have one life—I won't gamble with it.'
What Li Gang didn't know was that a person who had died long ago, even with strong soul cultivation, would only exist as an obsession, incapable of scheming. However, if Jiang had made preparations while still alive, that would be a different story.
Li Gang murmured, "It's better to go to the Heavenly Demon Sect first. Even though they're known as savages who'd do anything to achieve their goals, such a place suits my growth. They focus on combat, and I need to learn battle tactics. What I lack most is battle experience. Even in the inheritance trial, I could've destroyed more puppets if I'd had proper combat experience. And another weakness—my improper soul and body synchronization."
This was his way of probing the Hidden Enemies. This hidden enemy had the ability to read his mind, though Li Gang was currently unaware of this fact—they had already seen through all the plans he made during the Awakening Ceremony. Even though Li Gang had deduced something was wrong, his deduction had been altered, and he still believed that no one had seen through his thoughts.
But what was he really probing?
Li Gang wouldn't actively go to the Heavenly Demon Sect under normal circumstances, since the cultivation techniques he practiced were extremely high-level and should not be leaked. He would be far more prone to danger in such a sect. However, changes had appeared in his behavior. The Immortals had altered his perception and led him to believe this was merely his "growth." He was probing whether this behavior came from his own character development or from external control.
If he truly went to the Heavenly Demon Sect later on, it would prove that his thoughts had been altered. He neither thought through the result nor the question—he skipped that entire process and directly formed the idea of going to the Heavenly Demon Sect, with a faint sense of unwillingness in his emotional state.
The result here meant concluding that the Hidden Enemy could see through his thoughts, provided he truly went to the Heavenly Demon Sect.
The question referred to whether his behavioral changes were the result of personal growth or external control.
Both ideas never entered his conscious mind. Instead, he directly generated the idea of going to the Heavenly Demon Sect to probe the Immortals.
This was similar to solving a mathematical problem.
For example, four times eight is the result of adding four to itself eight times, yet you skip the entire addition process and directly arrive at thirty-two. This is memory—you make the calculation because the answer is already stored.
In a similar way, when dealing with more complex problems whose answers you haven't memorized, the brain can sometimes arrive at a solution without conscious, step-by-step reasoning. This occurs through pattern recognition—by identifying similarities to previously solved problems and applying learned structures or heuristics. The reasoning still happens, but outside conscious awareness.
For instance, with thirty-two times four, you know that two times four is eight and three times four is twelve, and you combine these fragments to reach one hundred twenty-eight without consciously performing each calculation. These processes occur subconsciously, yet the result surfaces directly.
Li Gang, without consciously thinking through the problem itself, understood the situation based on the thinking patterns he had maintained throughout his life and probed his enemies on a "whim." This understanding was the memory and experience he had accumulated through active thinking, and the probing was the action taken by skipping the conscious reasoning process.
Unfortunately, all his thoughts and perceptions were under the Immortals' control. They would not fall for such a low-tier scheme. They could not only see through his conscious thoughts but also his subconscious ones.
The Heavenly Demon Sect was about five million miles away. Given his speed, it would take him over a year to reach it.
He sighed inwardly. 'If only I had the ability to sense souls, I could've learned beast taming and traveled on something like a Whirlwind Eagle. But it's pointless to dwell on what I don't have.'
It would take around two months just to leave this city on foot. Even at full speed, he would need a month of nonstop running—which was impossible. Human stamina was limited, even with cultivation.
That was why he went to a nearby Spirit Beast Market. Here, all kinds of spirit beasts were sold. Not everyone was talented in beast taming or capable of cultivating the soul, so over time, many methods had been developed to control beasts for travel. Some people even rented beasts, and many beast tamers made their living through transportation services.
There were many ways to control spirit beasts: some tamed them from birth, some used coercion or pills, and others employed more mysterious methods.
Li Gang entered a shop—it was even more luxurious than the inn he had stayed at. He glanced around and thought, 'It seems this business is quite profitable. I might consider this field in the future.'
He approached the counter and asked directly, "I want to purchase a spirit beast."
A middle-aged man sitting at the counter looked up and nodded. He called out to one of the workers. "Hu Xin!"
A young man immediately came over.
The man said, "Show this gentleman our best spirit beasts."
Hu Xin nodded. "Hello, sir. My name is Hu Xin. Please come with me."
Li Gang nodded. "I'm Li Gang. You can call me by name."
Soon, they reached the second floor. There, all kinds of beasts were gathered, each with a dark collar around its neck.
Seeing Li Gang's expression, Hu Xin explained, "These collars are used to control the beasts. We'll provide you with the token key for the collar."
Li Gang's eyes narrowed. "Does the shop keep a spare key?"
Hu Xin replied politely, "Sir, our shop is one of the most trusted in this region. You can see our reputation from the number of customers. We would never do something as dishonorable as cheating our clients."
Li Gang scoffed inwardly but maintained a calm expression.
'Even though it's risky, I have no other choice. My cultivation is too low to travel long distances.'
Li Gang examined multiple spirit beasts, paying special attention to flying ones. Hu Xin noticed this and immediately began introducing flying beasts with even more enthusiasm.
Li Gang remained calm but wondered, 'Was I that obvious?'
He looked at Hu Xin and said, "What I want is a very fast spirit beast, Rank 4 or Rank 5 at most."
After examining many options, Li Gang finally decided on the Arcane Stormrider.
Hu Xin frowned. "Are you sure? It has no attack power!"
Li Gang nodded. "I'm sure."
Hu Xin said no more. He brought out the Arcane Stormrider, prepared a spatial ring specially made to house it, and led Li Gang back to the counter.
The middle-aged man said, "It's 7,999 spirit stones."
Li Gang looked at him. "Is there no discount? You see, it doesn't have any attack power."
The middle-aged man replied, "Don't worry, young friend. We offer the most reasonable prices. Even though it lacks attack power, its speed alone justifies the cost. It's faster than many Rank 6 beasts. And don't forget—it's very cheap for a Rank 5 beast."
Li Gang said nothing—not because he was convinced, but because he was unfamiliar with the market prices. The explanation sounded both reasonable and suspicious. 'A Rank 5 beast should be more expensive. Why is it so cheap?'
He paid anyway and glanced at his spatial ring. 'I only have a little over a thousand spirit stones left.'
The middle-aged man accepted the stones, handed over the beast, and gave Li Gang a token, teaching him how to issue commands to the Arcane Stormrider.
Li Gang left after fully understanding the instructions.
After practicing for a month, Li Gang was able to fly properly, though not expertly. He had gained enough proficiency to travel from one place to another as long as there were no obstacles.
At the same time, he felt scammed. The beast's food was absurdly expensive—it cost around seven hundred spirit stones per month! After feeding it, he was left with only a few hundred spirit stones.
After finishing his practice, Li Gang murmured, "It's time to go back."
He mounted the Arcane Stormrider and headed toward the inn.
On the way, he noticed a commotion below. Descending, he approached a group and politely asked someone nearby, "What happened?"
The man—a Sword Gate disciple in his thirties—replied solemnly, "The Sword Gate has announced the closure of all Bladehaven Town. We've been ordered to return to the sect immediately. I advise you to return home at once; otherwise, it may become dangerous."
Li Gang nodded. "Thank you. I'll leave immediately."
After moving some distance away, he stopped, gazed deep into the forest, and murmured, "It seems that old man did leave something on me. Is it on that sword?"
"I wanted to go to the Heavenly Demon Sect, but that's no longer possible under these circumstances." His eyes sharpened as he looked in another direction.
"Verdant Forest Territory is the only option now. Truly, 'plans can't keep up with changes.'"
At the same time, he understood that he was safe for the moment—and that his thoughts were not being altered right now.