100: The authority of life and death

It's like being given a pocket that can hold the entire universe, but being told you can only put one thing in it at a time.

However, before Lin Yu could feel disappointed, the next piece of information immediately appeared in his consciousness.

Beyond "Archaic" there was an even higher tier: Origin.

And the proficiency required to advance from "Archaic" to "Origin" was... one trillion times.

Lin Yu's breath hitched for a moment.

Trillion.

This unit made him feel a sense of unreality.

He remembered a long time ago, when he was still in school, a teacher who taught basic skill theory once joked in class:

"Students, don't underestimate any basic skill."

"Legend has it that even a common skill like the Lightning Spell, as long as you can cast it countless times, can eventually touch the Origin of its power!"

"Because the initial origin of all laws and all energy in our world is consistent!"

Of course, even the teacher who said this only regarded it as a joke to encourage students to train hard.

Or rather, it was an inspirational quote that could never be verified.

What a joke.

Can you become infinitely stronger just by repeating?

Then would there still be so many mediocre and useless people in the world of professionals?

Talent, resources, and comprehension are all indispensable.

This was the universally accepted truth.

But today, Lin Yu knew.

What the teacher said was all true.

Repetition can indeed touch the Origin.

It's just that this "countless times" was far too many.

So many that everyone treated it as a joke.

One hundred billion proficiency, he spent a full day and night.

What about one trillion times?

Lin Yu's brain raced.

One hundred days.

One hundred days of non-stop, extreme operation, with an unlimited supply of mental stabilizers.

He had no doubt that before the skill could advance, he would first completely collapse due to excessive mental exhaustion, becoming a true idiot.

Right now, this path was completely unfeasible.

Just then, another new piece of rule information clearly appeared in his consciousness.

For every additional ten billion proficiency points, Archaic Snap can increase one storage slot.

Lin Yu's mind was instantly enlightened.

So that's how it is!

Although he couldn't reach "Origin" in one step for now, he could increase the practicality of the snap by accumulating proficiency.

Add ten billion, get one more slot.

One hundred billion, that's ten.

This was the most realistic path for improvement at this stage.

But what Lin Yu thought of went far beyond that.

His thoughts instantly returned to his core ability.

Ghost Card Amplification Cycle!

His current maximum amplification per cycle was 1,048,576 times.

Therefore, he needed to perform nearly ten thousand cycles to accumulate ten billion proficiency.

But what if... what if his mental power could once again make a qualitative leap?

The upper limit of Multiplication Cards he held was twenty-two, but under extreme operation, he could only use twenty, because he had to keep two as seeds, but in reality, through mirror replication, he could keep only one seed in extreme conditions.

But as long as his mental power increased, the number of Multiplication Cards he could use would increase!

Each increase in Multiplication Cards was not a simple addition to his strength, but an exponential explosion!

He began to calculate frantically.

If he could use twenty-seven Multiplication Cards, one amplification would be two to the power of twenty-seven.

Over 130 million times!

By then, ten billion proficiency would be less than a hundred cycles for him.

One trillion proficiency would only require less than ten thousand cycles.

The hundred days of arduous training would be compressed to within three hours!

What if... what if he could use forty Multiplication Cards?

Two to the power of forty.

That was a terrifying, suffocating number exceeding one trillion.

By then, he would only need to perform one Amplification Cycle.

One time.

He could directly max out a skill from zero proficiency to the "Origin" tier instantly!

All it would take was a mere forty Multiplication Cards.

Having figured all this out, Lin Yu's thoughts suddenly cleared.

The core of all problems returned to the starting point once again.

Improve the four basic attributes, especially mental power!

As long as his mental power was strong enough, he could withstand higher multiples of amplification and turn everything impossible into possible.

The pharmaceutical company's matter must be accelerated.

Lin Yu's thoughts quickly returned from his skill research to reality.

His purpose for this trip was not merely to seclude himself for cultivation.

The three major pharmaceutical merchants in Linzhou, and Qingyun Pharmaceutical behind them.

These behemoths entrenched in Linzhou and even several surrounding provinces were the first tough nut he had to crack in his plan.

He needed to use these companies' channels and research capabilities to seek higher power, or, if they weren't qualified as a stepping stone, then use their laboratories to research and develop higher-tier potions that could break through the 500-point attribute limit.

To quickly take over these local tyrants, he needed to display a power that they could not resist, and even feared.

Was pure destructive power enough?

Lin Yu pondered quietly.

True authority was never destruction.

He thought of Zhao Tianyang.

The high school student who signed a master-servant contract with him in despair and was utterly devoted to him.

Death and life.

This was the greatest authority in the world.

To control life and death.

Death was too simple.

A million-fold amplified Lightning Spell should be enough to physically wipe out the headquarters of any one of them.

Now, Lin Yu, who had insight into the "Archaic" tier and touched the essence of skills, might not be unable to try to master... life!

What would happen if he could also stack a most basic healing skill to the "Archaic" tier?

A healing spell that could instantly heal all injuries, even regrow severed limbs, and bring the dead back to life?

By then, he would temporarily control the two extremes of "life" and "death."

Once his thoughts were clear, his actions were swift and decisive.

Lin Yu immediately opened the black market's skill trading platform.

Holy Light Infusion: Chants for three seconds, restores a large amount of health to the target, and adds a "Holy Light" effect, continuously dispelling negative statuses.

Too slow.

Spring Breeze and Rain: A channeling spell that continuously consumes mana to provide continuous healing to friendly units within range.

Not suitable for single-target burst.

Life Link: Links one's own vitality with the target, sharing damage.

An unorthodox method, and not purely "giving."

Lin Yu's filtering conditions were extremely strict.

Must be instant cast.

This was to match the efficiency of the Ghost Card Amplification Cycle; any skill that required channeling would become a disaster under a million-fold amplification.

Must have the lowest consumption.

Because he was going to perform hundreds of millions of repeated castings.

Power, on the other hand, was the least important thing.

After sifting through a massive skill library for nearly half an hour, Lin Yu even paid to enter several encrypted private skill libraries, but the results were still unsatisfactory.

The more powerful a healing skill, the more complex its casting conditions were, either requiring specific hand seals, or devout prayers, or even consuming precious materials.