Chapter 353

Fifty-four percent?

Wang Yu stared at this probability on the screen for a long time without speaking.

He had already used his predictive authority twice and had formed his own judgment on the system's probability expressions.

Perfect prediction means the technique derived can be practiced without any issues or side effects, as judged by the system.

Substandard prediction means the derived technique will likely have some flaws—perhaps barely trainable, but may conceal a major pitfall waiting to trap the practitioner.

As for prediction failure, it almost certainly wastes this predictive authority with nothing gained.

In other words, only a perfectly predicted technique or secret art is what he needs; substandard predictions and failures are unacceptable.

After all, he still doesn't know how to increase temporary predictive authority—this might be his final chance to use the Taiyuan System's predictive function.

So after years of careful deliberation, he ultimately chose to spend his last opportunity on the Chiyang Great Art, to increase his chances of advancing to Golden Core.

But faced with such a low probability of perfect prediction now, Wang Yu's expression flickered between dark and light; finally, he sighed and did not initiate the prediction, instead muttering, "Exit login interface."

The next instant, a flash of white light swept before his eyes, and he returned to the secret chamber of his cave dwelling.

"Zhuque Jue"

Wang Yu silently recited the name of this technique several times.

If he input the incantations of this technique—nearly as potent as the Chiyang Great Art—into the system, it would greatly increase the probability of perfect prediction.

But as the signature art of the Zhuque lineage, even as a true disciple, he could not read it without sufficient contribution points.

Thus, the problem returned.

To gain a large amount of contribution points in such a short time, he seemed to have no choice but to reveal his second-rank Artificer abilities.

With this decision made, Wang Yu reached into his robe and pulled out a translucent crimson jade slip, pressing it against his forehead.

As his spiritual sense swept over it, pale red characters emerged and vanished continuously within the jade slip.

These were the complete cultivation incantations for the first through tenth levels of the Chiyang Great Art.

According to the sect exchange rules from several years ago, exchange disciples who could master the other sect's technique received all its Foundation Establishment-level incantations at once.

The final three levels of the Chiyang Great Art—Golden Core incantations—were not included in the exchange, nor was it mentioned whether someone who fully mastered the technique and even advanced to Golden Core using it would receive the subsequent incantations.

But as Wang Yu reasoned, if he truly condensed a Golden Core using the Chiyang Great Art, he could likely request the final three levels from the Chiyang Sect as a Golden Core Ancestor, given the close ties among the four sects—it would probably not be a major issue.

Even so, when he received this jade slip, he was required to sign a soul pact: leaking the first ten levels of the Chiyang Great Art to another person would trigger spiritual backlash, awaken powerful demonic obsessions, and halt all future cultivation progress.

The Rishou Sect had also placed a restriction on this jade slip: it could be read by spiritual sense only three times; after the third reading, all recorded content would vanish.

With Wang Yu's hyper-accelerated eidetic memory, he memorized all ten levels in one reading, then reviewed them again—now only one reading remained.

He now intended to read it one final time, to ensure not the slightest omission or error remained.

The first through third levels of the Chiyang Great Art correspond to the early Foundation Establishment stage; with sufficient cultivation resources, progress is extremely rapid.

In just a few short years, he had already reached the second level and was on the verge of the third.

In comparison, ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators typically spend seven or eight years to complete the first level, and another ten years for the second.

Wang Yu's cultivation speed is nearly several times faster than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The Chiyang Great Art truly deserves its reputation as a gold-devouring technique—given sufficient resources, its cultivation pace far surpasses any other Foundation Establishment art.

But according to the jade slip's description, reaching the transition from third to fourth level presents the Chiyang Great Art's first major bottleneck; among the three true disciples of the Chiyang Sect who practice it, two have been stuck at this barrier for over a decade, unable to break through.

He admits his elemental affinity is inferior to that of ordinary true disciples, but thanks to the login interface, he can repeatedly test various breakthrough methods without fear of backlash or demonic deviation, and he is also preparing auxiliary secret arts derived from the system—he feels confident about overcoming this bottleneck.

What he now worries about is the cultivation beyond the fourth level of the Chiyang Great Art.

According to the jade slip, the resource demands increase sharply at the fourth level.

Other requirements aside, from the fourth level onward, besides consuming the original Fire-Refining Pills, he must periodically ingest a cold-natured pill called "Bing Li Dan" to suppress the growing, violent heat within his body.

The primary ingredient of Bing Li Dan is the core of a first-rank beast, the "Bing Li Ant," which is found only in the Eastern Wastelands and nowhere else; thus, the Rishou Sect must spend heavily each year to purchase these cores from the East and refine them into pills.

But the key issue is that although the main ingredient is a first-rank beast core, Bing Li Dan is a second-rank pill—only a second-rank Alchemist can refine it, and the success rate is shockingly low: often, seven or eight cores yield only one or two pills, offering virtually no cost efficiency.

If not for the Rishou Sect's strict rule requiring second-rank Alchemists to submit a fixed quota of Bing Li Dan annually, no second-rank Alchemist would willingly refine them.

Even so, after leaving the Rishou Sect, Wang Yu lost his eligibility to purchase this unique pill.

Of course, the Four Symbols Sect, due to the Zhuque Jue, also has a similar auxiliary substance—not a pill, but a celestial essence called "Bing Sui."

It is said to originate from the depths of thousand-year glaciers, difficult to harvest, and widely useful—for both Artificing and Alchemy—so its price is exorbitant, over ten times that of Bing Li Dan; a single small vial often costs eight to nine thousand spirit stones, and its heat-suppressing effect is even better.

Several disciples of the Four Symbols Sect who practice the Zhuque Jue have been forced to purchase it gradually from the General Affairs Hall, but even so, shortages are frequent, leaving them frustrated and their cultivation interrupted.

The reason is that most of the sect's acquired Bing Sui is consumed by the Li Huo Ancestor, who also practices the Zhuque Jue; his injuries have not fully healed and he requires Bing Sui to suppress the internal true fire.

However, before leaving the Rishou Sect, he specifically exchanged several large vials of Bing Li Dan—enough to sustain him for some time even after reaching the fourth level.

But before these pills are exhausted, he must either master the method of refining Bing Li Dan or find a substitute like Bing Sui, otherwise he will have no peace of mind.