Chapter 579: Both Of Them

Gasps were heard in the cultivation chamber as realization struck everyone.

Up until now, the focus had always been on adapting the Unarmed Foundations Art to better suit them individually, as the entire purpose of this set of exercises was to do just that.

It was a platform upon which one built a routine to strengthen themselves.

Following that mentality, whenever Lucas or anyone else tried to pair the Unarmed Foundations Art with a Cultivation Technique, they had always taken the approach of modifying the Stances, Figures, Motions, and Forms as that was the ’logical’ course to follow.

What Elizabeth Carlson was proposing, however, was that they do the exact opposite!

While it was true that their Cultivation Techniques were the product of many years of research and study, how could they compare to the collective knowledge of an entire advanced civilization which had gone into developing the Unarmed Foundations Art?

Obviously, the latter was much closer to a ’perfect’ technique than the former, so instead of altering the Foundations Art to match their Cultivation Techniques, they should be altering their Cultivation Techniques to match the Unarmed Foundations Art!

Just as the excitement was building in the room, however, Elizabeth Carlson dumped a bucket of cold water on everyone’s head, "Unfortunately, that won’t be as easy as I’ve made it out to be."

"Why so?" Celestina asked somewhat impatiently.

She too had been stuck at her current Realm for far too long, and although she had unlearned the Flowing Flame Art already, if there was a way to significantly enhance it, she wouldn’t mind re-learning it, especially if there were prospects to continue improving it in the future.

Smiling wryly, Elizabeth sighed and explained, "Because while the Unarmed Foundations Art seems to be perfectly suited to train Mortal Realm Practitioners, the same can’t be said about those in the Spirit Realms. In other words, it’s an incomplete technique."

Lucas frowned upon hearing this comment, but after thinking about it for a moment, he realized that Elizabeth Carlson’s analysis was probably correct.

The Unarmed Foundations Art was created in the other universe, so it only made sense that it didn’t take into account the extreme physical abilities that one developed by cultivating.

In the Four Mortal Realms, this wasn’t an issue as while a Peak Sea Establishment Practitioner was certainly much stronger than an ordinary human from the other universe, that was only once they actively began using their Internal Qi.

A Mortal Realm Practitioner’s base physical body wasn’t actually that different from a human who had never cultivated before.

That all changed once one broke through to the Grand Spirit Realm.

While the vast majority of a Spirit Realm Cultivator’s strength was still only accessible when they were actively circulating their Internal Qi, their baseline physical stats were significantly higher than an ordinary human’s for several reasons.

The autonomic flow of Internal Qi was a major reason, but the bigger one was simply the enhancement their bodies underwent by constantly being nourished by said Internal Qi.

Speed, strength, reflexes, agility, flexibility, dexterity, and all other physical stats saw a significant and permanent boost after one broke through to the Spirit Initiate Realm.

Lucas suspected this was also the primary reason why Cultivators tended to be more physically attractive as the nourishment of their physiques steadily improved all aspects of their bodies.

As for why True Cultivators didn’t constantly smash cups when they picked them up, or rip doors of their hinges when they tried to open them, that was mostly due to their motor controls improving in tandem with their raw strength.

The most obvious examples of there being a disconnect between a Cultivator’s strength and their control tended to appear right after a breakthrough. The abrupt rise in power often took some time to re-adjust to.

"Haa... I should have known it wouldn’t be that simple," Celestina grumbled, her hopes of a quick breakthrough to the Peak Adept Realm having been temporarily dashed.

Lucas also shook his head in disappointment, but he soon collected himself, slapping his cheeks before smiling, "Thank you for your insights and all your hard work, Elder Elizabeth."

"Not at all," Supreme Elder Carlson waved her hand lightly, "I’m more than happy to help; after all, helping you is the same as helping myself."

"En," Lucas nodded, "As for which of these paths we should pursue..."

"Both of them," Celestina declared, taking the words from her Disciple’s mouth.

Smiling wryly at his Master, Lucas concurred, "Agreed. While we look into how to ’complete’ the Unarmed Foundations Art and then how to adapt our Cultivation Techniques to it, we can attempt to create a cultivation environment in which the new cultivation method can still function for Spirit Realm Cultivators."

"We probably won’t be able to use it for regular cultivation, but if it’s just about making breakthroughs, it should be doable," Lucas concluded.

"So... what should we do?" Christina, as the representative of all those still in the Mortal Realm asked.

Weighing the potential benefits and costs, Celestina replied, "Carry on with how you are cultivating for now, using the Unarmed Foundations Art and Focused Breathing Art."

Sasha, Eris, Christina, and Lucas all nodded, none of them having any objections.

While using higher-Grade Cultivation Techniques was still faster than this new method, it didn’t actually provide as much benefit when it came to strength and control.

A perfect example of this was how Lucas, Eris, and Christina could all fight opponents well above their own Realm thanks to the new cultivation method strengthening their foundations.

"We can focus our efforts around the Balfour Family’s Flowing Flame Art and my Carlson Family’s Stormcaller Art for now as they are the ones we’re most familiar with," Elizabeth mused, "As for Princess Christina’s Grand Mountain Record..."

"Don’t worry about that," Celestina shrugged, "I’ll find someone from the Rockwells with free time and enough knowledge of their Cultivation Technique to join the project."

Hearing this, Christina bowed her head slightly, knowing that her Master was giving her special consideration.

In this room, Sasha, Eris, Celestina, and even Allina all currently cultivated the Flowing Flame Art or did so in the past, so it made perfect sense for them to focus on enhancing it as that would provide the most immediate benefits.

As for including the Stormcaller Art, no one was going to fault Elizabeth Carlson for that as she was the primary researcher on Project Ascension.

Lucas was a bit of an oddball, having never used any other cultivation method than the new one, but he was still likely a decade or more away from reaching the Spirit Initiate Realm, so he also wasn’t in a rush to learn a traditional Cultivation Technique.

Only Christina would benefit from bringing someone from her family in to study the Grand Mountain Record, so she was naturally quite thankful.

Clapping her hands, Celestina gathered everyone’s attention, "Well, now that the serious business is taken care of, I believe we still have a party to attend to."

Smiles formed all around as the small group stood from their seats, made their way to the exit, and headed back to the residence, where a much bigger crowd had already assembled, along with a giant feast to celebrate Eris’ breakthrough.