As Carl understood it, the Saint Realm could broadly be divided into two levels. The first ranged from the Early Saint Realm to the Mid Saint Realm, where one cultivated the Momentum of Heaven and Earth. The second ranged from the Peak Saint Realm to the Saint Realm Limit, where one cultivated the Laws of Heaven and Earth.
Early Saint Realm, Mid Saint Realm, Peak Saint Realm, Saint Realm Limit.
These were the divisions of strength within the Saint Realm. Among the continent's top experts, the vast majority were at the Peak Saint Realm, with only a few reaching the Saint Realm Limit.
The reason was simply that experts at the Peak Saint Realm had already grasped the power of the Elemental Laws. Even the tiniest trace of it could unleash strength that far surpassed that of the Mid Saint Realm in an instant. A newly ascended Peak Saint Realm expert could kill a Mid Saint Realm master who had fully comprehended the Momentum of Heaven and Earth with a single strike.
Only by comprehending the power of the Laws could one be said to have stepped onto the path to godhood.
The Laws were elusive. Even the slightest trace of them possessed far more explosive power than ordinary people could imagine, and naturally, comprehending such a tremendous force was exceedingly difficult.
From the Early Saint Realm to the Mid Saint Realm, one cultivated the Momentum of Heaven and Earth. Reaching the Saint Realm was already incredibly difficult, and cultivating the Momentum of Heaven and Earth after becoming a Saint was harder still. Saints from humble backgrounds might remain in the Early Saint Realm for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Saints from powerful factions, however, were different. Their inheritances were ancient, and they had ample experience. As a result, they had created ultimate techniques tailored to various attributes.
Cultivating these techniques was, in essence, cultivating one's own Momentum of Heaven and Earth. Once a technique had been perfected, there was a slim chance of comprehending one's own power of the Laws through it.
This power of the Laws, still insufficient to carry a Saint across the divide into the God Realm, was also known as a Mystery.
The bustle in the City Lord's Mansion began to die down, and the nobles started to leave.
Behind the City Lord's Mansion lay the Taros Family estate.
A family was a family, and a territory was a territory.
Karl Talos stood silently beside the stone table in the rear courtyard, gazing up at the moon as countless thoughts swirled through his mind.
Ultimate techniques were special moves created by experts at least at the Peak Saint Realm, drawing on everything they had learned throughout their lives. They contained not only changes in the Momentum of Heaven and Earth, but also the power of Mysteries. They were one of the few paths on the Yulan Continent that led directly to the Peak Saint Realm.
The Holy Alliance, the Dark Alliance, the O'Brien Empire, and the Yulan Empire—why were these four factions the peak powers on the Yulan Continent? It was because they possessed sufficiently complete inheritances.
Carl glanced at the Mall. It had plenty of items, but clearly none of those ultimate techniques.
She sighed softly. Since even the Level 2 Mall didn't have those techniques, Carl was sure they wouldn't appear even at Level 3.
Perhaps, in the system's view, it had already provided all the necessities for cultivation. Lacking talent? As long as one reached one's personal limit, the system would unlock automatic cultivation. Unless one was entirely alone, there would always be some way to benefit from one's family or territory. With either one, one could gain a boost to cultivation speed, and surpassing one's limits would follow naturally.
To break through from Level 6 to Level 7, all she needed was a blood relative. Given some time, she could break through smoothly. This kind of automatic cultivation was enough to take her all the way to the peak of the Level 9 Warrior stage.
As for what to do after reaching the peak of Level 9, Carl's experience had already provided the answer. Either one lacked physical talent but had exceptional insight, and could rely on oneself to comprehend the Momentum of Heaven and Earth, or, like Carl, one lacked both physical talent and exceptional insight, leaving the system's Mall as the only option: buy an Attribute Seed and begin cultivating the Momentum of Heaven and Earth.
The system's Mall didn't sell ultimate techniques because their ultimate purpose was to fully comprehend the Momentum of Heaven and Earth, then seek that slim chance to cross over into the Peak Saint Realm.
The system's approach was straightforward. Since the purpose of cultivating ultimate techniques was to cultivate the Momentum of Heaven and Earth, with a chance to comprehend a Mystery upon reaching mastery, then automatic cultivation could take one all the way to mastery of the Momentum of Heaven and Earth. There was no need to struggle to comprehend it further. One only had to buy a Mystery Seed to be sent straight to the Peak Saint Realm.
As for whether Carl could fully bring out the strength of her improved command of the Momentum of Heaven and Earth, that was the host's concern. The system couldn't interfere.
After all, there were plenty of people like that on the Yulan Continent. They might comprehend the same Mystery to nearly the same degree, yet some could weave it into every move they made, while others could only incorporate it into their ultimate technique. The difference in strength was immediately clear.
Carl was quite satisfied now. When her system ran automatic cultivation, it wasn't limited to a single use. As long as she had enough points, she could use it as often as she liked. For now, though, there were only two things she could cultivate automatically.
The first was her Battle Qi, and the second was her comprehension of the Momentum of Heaven and Earth.
Since these improvements came from the system, her foundations were exceedingly solid. But Carl's talent was only average, and no matter how solid her foundations were, she could hardly bring out her full strength. It was like the system had given her an adult's body, but she could only wield the strength of a child.
"The path of cultivation must be taken one step at a time."
For 1,000 points a day, the system could cultivate automatically for a full day, bringing Carl a slight improvement in her Battle Qi. Once points were no longer a concern, she simply started automatic cultivation in both areas. For 2,000 points a day, her Battle Qi and the Momentum of Heaven and Earth each improved a little.
At the Saint level, at least from what Carl knew of the Early Saint Realm to the Mid Saint Realm, the progress for both Battle Qi and the Momentum of Heaven and Earth was only 10,000. At that rate, it would take less than thirty years. Even though Carl had spent the first few years scraping by because she had so few points, that would only set her back a few extra years.
Back when Carl was a Level 6 Warrior, that was when her Golden Finger had truly awakened. She had gone from a hundred-year-old Level 6 Warrior to a two-hundred-year-old Level 9 Warrior. She had waited for more than a hundred years before; what was a little more time now that she had reached the Saint Realm and possessed an almost eternal life?
In a Material Plane, Saint Realm experts and God Level powerhouses were scarce and rarely interested in ruling. Taken together, these factors meant that, unless an invasion came from another plane, Saint Realm experts on the Yulan Continent enjoyed long and peaceful lives.
Under the leadership of Carl, a powerful expert with deep foundations, Spark City began to develop steadily. Meanwhile, the situation in the Anlan Kingdom began to deteriorate.
A Grand Duke who controlled an entire province chose to break away from the Anlan Kingdom and establish his own principality.
Someone had already made the first move. Carl was certain that the Anlan Kingdom would have a hard time surviving this crisis.
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