On the other side.
Great Sage's Bide Time had successfully reached Entry Level and was steadily marching towards Proficiency. Yi Tian calculated the time needed for every 1% increase. There were 4.5 hours left. Dividing the two, it was enough.
Good news came one after another. Evolution Factor Exploration (Simplified) also successfully reached Entry Level.
Yi Tian immediately let Great Sage start using the skill to explore the evolution factors in his body. Evolution factors, these things, hidden in the Beast's body, stored the possibilities of Beast evolution. To this day, scientific research hasn't been able to give a clear answer as to why evolution factors exist.
[Detected evolution factor exploration process, Target: Great Sage] [Do you wish to spend 50,000 Dragon Coins to simplify?]
Choice: Yes.
Yi Tian had guessed long ago that the exploration process could also be simplified. But to his surprise, the simplification actually failed.
[Simplification Failed!] [Hint: Beast potential is too low, need to increase skill proficiency]
Yi Tian was stunned. This was the first time encountering a simplification failure. Fortunately, a hint was given after failure, pointing out the direction.
"Need to increase skill proficiency?"
"But the booklet given only recorded knowledge up to Entry Level cultivation. To continue improving, there is only one way... pass the assessment to get a more complete skill. But if I don't improve, I simply can't pass the assessment. Isn't this an infinite loop?"
Yi Tian scratched his hair, somewhat helpless.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up. "No, there is another way. The skill Evolution Factor Exploration was created by humans. Maybe I can simplify this creation process and deduce higher proficiency."
When this thought appeared in Yi Tian's mind, the familiar prompt sounded. Yi Tian was ecstatic.
[Detected skill deduction process, Target: Yi Tian] [Do you wish to spend 200,000 Dragon Coins to simplify?]
Now Yi Tian had 440,000 Dragon Coins left. Gritting his teeth—no pain, no gain. Spent it! Although knowing that after simplifying the deduction process, even if the skill was deduced, he would need to spend money again to simplify Great Sage's learning process, Yi Tian wanted to gamble.
[Simplification Successful!] [Skill Deduction Process -> Collect 7 materials with different attributes]
This was simple. Yi Tian went directly to the bookshelf in front and picked out materials of seven attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Darkness, and Light.
Completed the simplification plan.
[Race: Stone Monkey] [Level: Bronze (97%)] [Potential: Bronze] [Skills: Drunkenness - Mastery (1%), Eight-Direction Staff - Perfect (0%), Evolution Factor Exploration (Deduction Ver.) - Entry (0%), Bide Time - Entry (0% → 3%)]
In Great Sage's data panel, the suffix "Simplified" in the Evolution Factor Exploration skill changed to "Deduction Ver."
Continue to simplify the cultivation process.
[Detected Evolution Factor Exploration (Deduction Ver.), Target: Great Sage] [Do you wish to spend 200,000 Dragon Coins to simplify?]
By now, Yi Tian had no turning back. This money had to be spent.
[Simplification Complete!] [Evolution Factor Exploration (Deduction Ver.) -> Consume 100g Spirit Stones] [Hint 1: This simplified plan can raise skill proficiency to Proficiency at maximum] [Hint 2: This skill lacks data, unable to continue deducing]
Yi Tian clenched both fists. "Great! Bet right!"
According to the rules Yi Tian summarized, simplified plans could be divided into two types. One is Time-based, requiring spending time doing a certain thing to improve. Like spending time drinking, spending time staring blankly, spending time doing addition and subtraction, etc. The other is Collection-based, requiring collecting specific items to improve. Like when upgrading Eight-Direction Staff to Perfect, collecting Silver-tier or above staffs, or like now requiring collecting 100g Spirit Stones to consume.
What to do next was very simple. Spirit Stones were also provided in the exam room, limited to 50g per person. This wasn't a problem for Yi Tian. He ran directly to Zhou Qiong and made a request.
"Sister Qiong, can you collect 50g of Spirit Stones and give them to me?"
Zhou Qiong agreed readily. She was extremely grateful to Yi Tian now; she certainly wouldn't refuse this small matter.
Getting the Spirit Stones, he crushed them into powder in a vessel and let Great Sage take them. Spirit Stones can increase Beast cultivation speed, but usually, placing them nearby is enough. Never heard of a Beast taking them internally. But the system required it, so he could only follow suit.
"Whether I can enter the Evolution Department, whether I can get an extra 1 million, depends on whether the Proficiency-level skill can explore evolution factors."
According to the hint given by the system, the skill could no longer be deduced further upwards. If it still didn't work now, he could only go home, prepare more money, and come back to take the exam next month.
When Great Sage consumed the Spirit Stone powder, the data panel changed again.
[Race: Stone Monkey] [Level: Bronze (97%)] [Potential: Bronze] [Skills: Drunkenness - Mastery (1%), Eight-Direction Staff - Perfect (0%), Evolution Factor Exploration (Deduction Ver.) - Proficiency (0%), Bide Time - Entry (9%)]
Great Sage closed his eyes and began running the Evolution Factor Exploration skill. Actually, this process could also be simplified, but Yi Tian really had no money left.
More than four hours remaining; it depended on whether Great Sage could find evolution factors.
About an hour passed.
Great Sage suddenly opened his eyes joyfully and sent telepathy to Yi Tian.
"Oh? Found it."
Yi Tian was pleasantly surprised. He discovered that when Great Sage used the skill, he could share the sensation of the situation inside Great Sage's body. He saw in Great Sage's forehead, a golden point of light visible only to him was shining.
"Is this the evolution factor?"
Temporarily didn't know what use finding this thing had. It seemed he still had to enter the Research Institute first to obtain relevant knowledge. Yi Tian let out a fierce sigh of relief. No matter what, he would definitely pass the assessment.
"Very good, next, find as many factors as possible."
Participating in this assessment almost emptied him out; his family assets only had 40,000 Dragon Coins left.
"Wonder how others are progressing? Do my best, leave the rest to fate."
Yi Tian sat comfortably on the chair.
And this action of his, in the eyes of others, was abandoning the assessment and starting to rot (give up).
Not far away, Zhang Sheng noticed Yi Tian's behavior and nodded. "As I expected. However, lasting until now before giving up is already not easy."
He thought Yi Tian would give up right at the beginning of the assessment. Now it seemed, when choosing the topics, Yi Tian's action was indeed grandstanding.
On the other side.
"Gave up after persisting for less than an hour?"
Zhang Qisheng glanced at Yi Tian, chuckled lightly, and withdrew his gaze. After all, Yi Tian suppressed him in the first round to take first place, so naturally, there would be more attention on him. When Zhang Qisheng saw Yi Tian's Beast was just a Stone Monkey, he had already predicted the outcome. Now Yi Tian's action just confirmed his guess earlier.