Daily Life

At the Saint Realm level, Carl had spent years figuring things out and had reached a conclusion.

Thirtyfold Mental Power growth as a talent, along with superior elemental affinity—that was the kind of talent required to reach the Saint Realm.

As long as nothing went wrong and one trained steadily, it was enough to ensure a breakthrough to the Saint Realm in the prime of one's life.

That didn't mean someone who lacked this level of talent couldn't become a Saint Realm mage. It was possible with slightly less talent, but it would take much longer.

In other words, they would have to tough it out.

Carl had also used aptitude enhancements of the eighth level, ninth level, and Saint Realm level on members of his family.

He had long since figured out the differences between them.

A Level 9 Aptitude Enhancement Talisman brought someone up to the threshold between the early and middle stages of Level 9.

With Level 9 aptitude, one could steadily reach the early stage of Level 9 at around a hundred years old, then enter the middle stage after another century or so.

By Carl's estimates, with this level of talent and uninterrupted training, one could reach a level close to the late stage of Level 9 by around age four hundred and fifty.

As for the Saint Realm, warriors had an easier time training. In about fifty years, they could reliably reach Level 9, and at least until the late stage, they wouldn't face much difficulty.

But after that, things got harder. From the late stage of Level 9 onward, it usually took decades or even a century to reach the peak.

That was why the strongest of Carl's disciples had only reached the late stage of Level 9, while most of those who had only been granted Level 9 aptitude were still in the early stage.

"More than twentyfold Mental Power growth and superior elemental affinity. This kind of talent might be enough to support you in becoming a Level 9 Great Mage, but after that, it could take you hundreds of years to have a chance of reaching the peak of Level 9."

A Level 9 Great Mage who reached the peak of Level 9 was already a Saint Realm candidate. They simply needed time to passively comprehend the Momentum of Heaven and Earth and step into the Saint Realm.

Before long, Carl arrived at the patriarch's estate.

After years of growth, the Taros Family had long since expanded from a single estate into an entire compound.

The compound could practically be called a city of towering buildings. Carl's estate stood at its center, with a large area left open around it. Luo'an's estate was there, clearly marking the area as the future residences of the family's Saint Realm powerhouses.

Farther out were the family's important members. If the central area was made up of manors, this section consisted of large courtyards.

The owners of those courtyards were all Level 9 powerhouses.

Beyond them stood rows of high-rises, where only family members with a strength of Level 7 or higher were allowed to live.

"Most likely Lin's idea."

Indeed, the compound had clearly been planned out, and many places had been renovated.

The compound covered an area nearly half the size of a small town.

The patriarch's courtyard.

It was the closest place to the central area. Carl appeared in the hall like a ghost, startling Lin Taros, who had been drinking tea.

With a bang, his teacup fell to the floor.

"Look at you. One little noise, and you're startled like that. You don't have an ounce of a patriarch's bearing."

Seeing this, Carl was instantly irritated.

Hundreds of years had passed, and Lin still hadn't changed one bit.

To put it kindly, he was cautious. To put it bluntly, he was a coward.

Even back when he took part in the war, Carl had practically forced him to go.

Without intense training, how could he have advanced to Level 9 so quickly?

"Father."

Lin had no way to express his grievances. When he was little, Carl had loved sneaking up on him and scaring him, making him timid. As an adult, he had made caution his guiding principle and never taken unnecessary risks.

The upside was that he had lived a long time. Even when he was young and enlisted in the army, he had survived entirely thanks to his good judgment: whenever things looked wrong, he ran for it.

Later, once he began wielding power, the more he had to lose, the more he feared unexpected trouble.

After all, the situation on the Yulan Continent was of no concern to ordinary people, who had no power to change anything. But for those in high positions, it was hardly peaceful. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so much room for assassin organizations to thrive.

Organizations like Saber, Black Rose, and Faceless were all among the top assassin groups on the Yulan Continent.

But it was said that Faceless later offended Saber and vanished overnight, giving some of the continent's powerful figures a chance to catch their breath.

Black Rose, supposedly made up entirely of female assassins, was also well known on the Yulan Continent. But unlike Saber, which preferred direct assassinations, Black Rose favored using seduction.

As a result, Black Rose's reputation was utterly overshadowed by Saber's.

"Father, what brings you back?" Lin asked cautiously.

"I came back mainly to see Luo'an. You've done well, boy. One of your descendants has reached the Saint Realm." Carl was very pleased as he said this.

With a first Saint Realm powerhouse, there could be a second and a third in the future. Carl had once given up hope of the family producing three Saint Realm powerhouses, but now the clouds had parted, and there was a chance.

"And another thing. What's going on with your strength? You're still in the late stage of Level 9?"

Carl sensed Lin's strength, and his expression suddenly turned cold.

Compared to more than twenty years ago, Lin's strength had barely changed.

Before Carl left, Lin had already reached the late stage of Level 9. Now, he was still in the late stage.

Usually, reaching the late stage of Level 9 was a matter of pure luck. But Carl had improved Lin's aptitude long ago.

It was true that advancing beyond the late stage of Level 9 was difficult, but it shouldn't have taken him this long.

By Carl's reckoning, if Lin's strength were quantified, he would be at Level 9 (75%). Before Carl left, Lin had been at around Level 9 (70%).

Level 9 had four stages: early, middle, late, and peak.

Based on Carl's past training experience, if those stages were expressed as percentages, 1–33 meant the early stage of Level 9, 34–66 the middle stage, and 67–99 the late stage.

Only after going beyond 99% and reaching 100% could one be considered at the peak of Level 9. The peak was the ultimate limit of Battle Qi, and the key to being able to enter the Saint Realm at any moment.

It was a matter of steady, gradual progress. As long as one had the talent, reaching the peak of Level 9 was only a matter of time.

Lin clearly had the talent, but his progress was too slow.

In the past, Carl's own slow training had been unavoidable. Back then, he had only had Level 6 aptitude. His breakthroughs to Levels 7, 8, and 9 had all depended on the system's help. He had wanted to train on his own, but a whole year of practice hadn't even matched one day of the system training on his behalf.

That was what happened when one lacked talent and rose to a level one wasn't meant to reach. Relying on oneself meant making no progress at all.