Although others might be hopeful about his chances, as the one who had painstakingly sifted through countless Talents over the years, Theodore was aware that there was no such ideal target for enhancement in his current repertoire.
Finding anything worthwhile that was still at Inferior-grade was merely but a pipe dream, as there were almost no Talents that he hadn't got at least twice by now, upgrading them to Average-grade as a result. Therefore, the 1,000 Talent Energy that it would take to enhance a Talent from Inferior- to Average-grade simply couldn't be saved.
'What a shame. But I won't give up this easily. There's still a slight chance!'
Focusing his perception on the more than 20 million captive Naxsir, a glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes. Whilst every single one of them would provide him with far more than a mere 1,000 Talent Energy, he still aspired to save this–in all honesty–negligible amount.
After informing everyone about his impending actions via Kiran's network, and also telling them to give him some time to think, he encased all of these enemies in Eternal Ice, froze them, and then shattered them.
A familiar deluge of Heavenly Dao notifications popped up in his field of view, causing the corners of his lips to rise. With a satisfied smile, he deactivated the Lesser Void Guarding Array that had been keeping Pytho stable and practically unharmed throughout this lengthy clash.
For a moment, it felt as if the world itself heaved a sigh of relief. The World's Will had been figuratively at the edge of its seat this entire time, dreading its seemingly inevitable destruction. If it hadn't been for Theodore's reinforcements to the site of battle, then there would certainly not be a Pytho any longer.
"I won't allow any enemies to get close to this place again, don't you worry. In the coming days, you'll have lasting peace. That, I promise you."
Silently whispering these words, only Theodore and the World's Will knew about this exchange. Whether or not it believed him, that was hard to say–but to him, this expression of his stance felt adequate enough. From here on out, it was time to let his actions do the talking.
It was high time to deal with a few of the surrounding civilizations, as the power at his hands was now more than sufficient to do so.
'But enough about that. Back to Talent upgrade matters!'
Refocusing on his most recent haul, he rapidly worked through its entirety in a couple of minutes. By the time that he was finished, there was both a hint of joy and some frustration evident in his gaze.
'Nothing of note at all... as expected. But at the very least, I got a good chunk of Talent Energy to work with. There is still a long way to go before I can improve Coattail Ascension, but now I'm more than just one step closer to that goal.'
If Theodore were to be asked which of his Talents that he wanted to upgrade to Transcendent- or even Heavenly Dao-grade, then he would simply reply with: All of them–as that was truly what he was aiming to eventually do.
There was endless untapped potential in everything that he had gathered up to this point, and surely far more to come in the future. However, there was still a significant problem that he was facing: Not all Talents are made equal.
Improved Threat Perception was originally just of Inferior-grade and barely provided much of a benefit. Only once it was enhanced a lot further did it begin to shine and showcase its splendour. Still, even now that it was at Legendary-grade, it could be argued that it was somewhat underwhelming–at least in comparison to its more impressive brethren.
Regression was the best example to look at. Not only had there never been a recorded instance of it being less than Legendary-grade, but at higher grades, its effects were simply outrageous. Theodore couldn't even begin to speculate what a Heavenly Dao-grade Regression Talent would look like, yet he was sure that it would make him pretty much functionally invincible in the Heavenly Court.
One of these two was 'born' at Inferior-grade, yet could shine brightly if upgraded a lot, and the other originated at Legendary-grade but appeared to easily outshine its kin, even at equal grades. Plainly speaking, this seemed outright 'unfair'.
However, in truth, that simply wasn't the case at all. The Heavenly Dao–at least when grading Talents–didn't play favourites. Each and every single one of them was worthy of the evaluation that it had bestowed. It was the people's preferences and limited perspectives that caused some Talents to be valued more than others.
'... although I have all of that in mind, it still doesn't help with making my impending choice any easier.'
A helpless sigh escaped Theodore's lips. In truth, he was no different from many others. His own circumstances forced him to be very selective in his decisions–he couldn't just choose any old Talent and play it by ear.
'I've analysed my Status Panel over and over again, but the results are always the same: There is only one single aspect that I comparatively lack in–survivability.'
While knowing the problem was the first step to resolving it, he truly felt somewhat powerless at the moment. Not a single one of his lower grade Talents was anything too impressive. Their names were also as run-of-the-mill as they come!
If he wanted to gain something on the level of his Regression, Cheong Suhyeon's Devout Substitute, or Vigdis' Array Anchor, then all that he could do was to make his best guess and practically... gamble. Yes, there was no other way.
'I don't like this. I don't like this at all! ... screw it. I won't do it. I won't trust that luck is on my side. I can always kill some more Heaven's Chosen. Eventually, I'll gather additional life-saving trump cards this way. For now, I'll go with stable development instead!'
Completely discarding the idea of picking something that sounded promising and praying for an almost impossibly good result, Theodore changed his way of thinking about this issue from the ground up.
Instead of worrying about having Talents that could save his skin in the event of his near-death or death, he would reinforce himself to the point where he simply couldn't be killed to begin with!
'Well, to be utterly invulnerable is impossible for now, but this strategy will allow me to ignore the vast majority of all dangers until I reach that point.'
With that in mind, he once more considered all of his options, eventually setting aside a small group of Talents that he would focus on enhancing in the future. All of them were extremely unassuming in their current Average- or Rare-grade states, and simply served to improve an aspect of his physical body.
'I can worry about other defences later. Anything related to the soul is extremely rare, so I'll have to hope to encounter some suitable enemies in due time. For now... let's go with this one. It should be the most important foundation!'
[ Sturdy Bones (Average):
• Bone density: +10% ]
Informing the Heavenly Dao that his choice had been made, he immediately felt powerful, fundamental changes within his body. Despite having anticipated something like this, he still felt borderline overwhelmed by the sensation. Clearly, the ongoing enhancement was far beyond his initial estimates!
[ Talent Upgrade in process.
...
Physique-type Talents discovered: Supreme Empyrean Physique, Sacred Phoenix Physique, Undying Physique.
Adjusting Talent Upgrade direction.
...
Talent Upgrade successful. ]
[ Undying Empyrean Phoenix Bones (Transcendent):
• Synergizes with the following Talents: Supreme Empyrean Physique, Sacred Phoenix Physique, Undying Physique.
• Improves the effects of synergistic Talents by 500%.
• One's bones are immune to any sort of damage or negative effects.
• The above will not be absolute if faced with a Supreme-grade Talent, Transcendent-level Proficiency, or an attack by an entity vastly surpassing one's own cultivation realm.
• Bone density: +999,900% ]
'... so, let me get this straight. In my attempt to not rely on mere chance... I lucked out?'
Caught between exasperation and profound delight, he felt not just his skeleton, but also his entire body rapidly evolving in all regards. Although he was not anywhere close to surpassing the heights that he had reached in his illusory lives, he still felt an unprecedented might welling up in his very being.
His Supreme Empyrean Physique had been with him ever since before his birth, and for the first time in what felt like forever, it fundamentally improved! This, coupled with the transformation of his other Physiques and bones, gave him almost an illusion of invincibility.
Fortunately, he wasn't one to get lost in such sensations. Very quickly, he recovered his mental state and focused on his body, where the manifold evolutions that he had just undergone had finally come to an end.
Although before, he could already be called divinely beautiful–in fact, that was precisely how the description of his Supreme Empyrean Physique evaluated him–he had now become even more otherworldly. It was to the point that he felt a hint of narcissism shroud his mind as he observed himself.
None of his physical features had actually changed, as they had already been at the peak of perfection previously, but the aura that he exuded was now simply irresistible. Even the most accomplished Incubi were plainly inferior!
'... I've got to be careful. If I don't want to end up as some sort of gigolo, I'd best restrain myself.'
Furrowing his brows, he hastily suppressed his devastating, fatal appeal. At least when out in public, he should really not flaunt himself, as otherwise, even more maidens than usual would practically and literally throw themselves at him.
Of course, he hadn't merely become more handsome, that was just a rather inconsequential side effect. Every single aspect that his three Physique-type Talents had already improved previously had become far more powerful.
Whether that be his immunity to all negative or controlling effects, the difficulty of his breakthroughs, his wound healing speed, his life force recovery speed, his immunity to further ageing, the potency and rate of his revival from ashes, the effectiveness of healing others...
The list went on and on. Many of these effects had already stacked with each other, outright surpassing what Talents of such grades should have been capable of. With these further enhancements, they were even more outrageous.
For example, his immunity to all negative or controlling effects had now been raised to the point that it couldn't be regarded as Supreme-grade any longer, but had entered the realm of Unique-grade Talents.
And as for his wound healing speed? He couldn't even damage himself fast enough to leave any lasting injuries. Unless he was instantly obliterated or corroded constantly by a power or force far surpassing him, there should be few ways to actually physically end his life by this point.
Last but certainly not least, every bone in his body had become dense to the extent that he began to fear that he might soon inadvertently create black holes all throughout himself. They wouldn't be able to harm him, of course, but they would still be very annoying to deal with–especially because they would continue to be there perpetually.
Thankfully, once he reached the Celestial Stage, his physical vessel would cease to be a part of the spacetime that it resided in, and its internal laws would change. Therefore, he shouldn't actually have to worry about such a freakish affliction torturing him.
As he took a deep breath in satisfaction, he suddenly felt the spacetime around him tremble and almost shatter. Even raising an eyebrow in surprise at this caused further damage to it!
Amidst the plethora of improvements, his body had now reached the point where worlds like Pytho simply could no longer physically accommodate him.
'... well, this was bound to happen. It just occurred a lot sooner than originally intended.'
Showing a wry smile, he consciously suppressed himself until the world wasn't trembling in his presence any longer. For now, as long as he wasn't in the Lesser True Void or stronger worlds, this was simply an inconvenience that he would have to put up with. Until he reached the Celestial Stage during the third round of the Heavenly Succession, that is.
Usually, only those who had become 'divine' would be capable of destroying the spacetime of worlds like these merely by their presence. This, at least in part, was one reason as to why they would simply cease to be a part of it.
In the Heavenly Court, there were plenty of outstanding figures who could reach such a point before breaking through to the Celestial Stage, but there were hardly any that Theodore had ever heard of who had done so at the insignificant Holos Acclimation Stage.
'Considering my vastly enhanced strength, I can now move a few of my plans up a little. As for the Naxsir... Even now, whenever I think about fighting them, I still feel a significant danger... Interesting!'
Clenching his fists in anticipation, his smile widened.