My Infinite Cultivation System-Chapter 39: Increment in limit

Elyndros led him into the reinforced training hall and, without warning, slammed him onto the ground.

Despite the impact, Alex’s physique, which now surpassed even Level 9 Martial Lords, made the floor feel like soft hay. He felt no pain, but he was a quick study in social cues; he grunted and winced, acting as if the blow had actually landed.

"Master, be gentle with your disciple. How can you be so harsh?" he complained, dusting off his clothes.

"Brat, I am going to put you through a very harsh training regime," Elyndros countered, his eyes burning with a stern intensity.

"Master, before that, I have a question," Alex asked, straightening up. "How many objects can you control at a single time?"

"Twenty-five," Elyndros replied proudly, crossing his arms.

"Were you always able to control twenty-five?"

"No," Elyndros replied slowly, leaning back. "My innate talent is Telekinesis, which naturally amplified my Spirit Master capabilities. At first, I could only control five objects. With Telekinesis active, that number jumped to fifteen. After my Inheritance Trial, I obtained a specialized technique that allowed me to push the limit by five more."

"But that is only twenty," Alex noted. "Where did the remaining five come from?"

"I received a boost when I reached Grandmaster Level 7; my limit expanded to twenty-two then. After I finally broke through to the Emperor Realm, I underwent my final evolution and reached twenty-five," Elyndros explained.

Alex nodded thoughtfully.

"So that means, without your talent and your inheritance, your natural limit is just ten? The same as mine?"

The words hit Elyndros like a physical blow to his pride as a Spirit Master.

"Yes... but you can’t exactly deny the value of my talent, can you?"

"That’s true, Master. Can you teach me that technique? The one that expanded your limit by five?" Alex was desperate to try something.

Elyndros paused, thinking for a moment.

"I could teach it to you, but are you sure? You can challenge the Inheritance Tower yourself and gain a technique perfectly suited to your own soul. As talented as you are now, you might even be able to win an SS-rank trial."

"That’s a good point," Alex nodded, falling into deep thought.

Breaking the Limit

Alex’s mind raced.

"He said his limit expanded when he hit Grandmaster Level 7.

Right now, I have the strength of a Martial Lord... does that mean my capacity has already increased?"

Excitement surged through him.

He reached into his storage and withdrew the ten Saint-grade flying knives his master had given him, along with the three he already possessed.

With a flick of his fingers, all thirteen knives rose into the air, hovering in a deadly, shimmering circle.

"What?" Elyndros blurted out. "Your limit was ten yesterday. How can you manipulate thirteen now?" He was in total disbelief.

"Master, do you have more knives? Please. I want to find the absolute limit."

Elyndros wordlessly pulled ten more knives from his space ring.

Alex focused, and a fourteenth knife began to float.

Then a fifteenth.

He tried for a sixteenth, but the knife remained on the floor.

His limit had jumped from ten to fifteen overnight.

"Tell me... how did you do that?" Elyndros asked, his voice low with shock.

"Yesterday, I broke through to the Grandmaster Level 7," Alex lied smoothly, keeping his true Martial Lord strength a secret. "I think that’s when I got the boost."

"What did you say? You are already a Martial Grandmaster Level 7?" Elyndros shouted. All his own years of rigorous, painful cultivation suddenly felt tasteless and slow.

"Actually, I’m stronger than a Martial Lord," Alex thought privately, but he simply nodded.

"Yes, Master."

Elyndros took a long, shaky breath to steady his nerves.

"Now... tell me. What is it you want to learn?"

"Master, I want to go all out. I want to test every combination of my powers. I think it would be best to try this on monsters. What do you think?"

"The outside world is not safe for you yet," Elyndros said, turning serious. "If you really want to go out, I’ll talk to Arthur. We will assemble a special team for you, five Saints and one Emperor. They won’t interfere in your fights unless you are in a life-and-death situation. But before that... I want you to go all out on me."

Anna had been watching from the sidelines, after hearing what Alex said,felt a sudden, sharp sting of incompetence despite being one of the Light Domain’s greatest prodigies.

Alex turned to her. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Anna, I’m sorry I hid the extent of my talent before. But believe me, Gravitational Manipulation has far more potential than you realize."

Anna’s ears perked up instantly.

Even Elyndros listened closely to what Alex had to say about his favorite great-granddaughter’s power.

Alex said calmly. "Gravity isn’t just about increasing the pulling force of the earth. You need to develop your Divine Sense first. Once you can perceive things at a sub-atomic level, even a 1% change in pulling force can crumble an entire structure from the inside out. For now, focus on your physical defense. Make your body as strong as possible; don’t rely too much on external energy."

"Kid... can you really do that?" Elyndros asked, stunned by the theory.

"I can, but it’s not the style I want to focus on. I’m comfortable with my current combination. Now, Master... be ready. My strength increased significantly last night."

"I am an Emperor-level Spirit Master," Elyndros smiled, his aura flaring. "Let me see what you’ve got."

Anna left the field, her mind racing with a new training regime.

She believed Alex without question.

"Master, here I come!"

Boom!

The fifteen flying knives vanished with a sonic crack, reappearing from unpredictable angles to strike Elyndros.

But the old man just smiled.

He didn’t even use spirit energy; he let the knives strike his raw physical body.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The knives hammered against him like a metal storm.

"Huh? Did I get the geezer that easily?" Alex wondered.

But as the dust cleared, he saw the knives grinding against Elyndros’s skin, unable to leave even a scratch.

Elyndros had removed his suit’s protection from those areas just to show off.

"Is that all you’ve got?" Elyndros taunted, though internally he was shaken. Alex was already stronger than he had been when he was a Martial Lord.

Alex didn’t reply.

He activated Gravitational Manipulation, cranking it to 1,000 times normal gravity.

Simultaneously, he applied his sub-atomic destruction theory to Elyndros’s suit.

Elyndros could feel Alex’s Divine Sense trying to pry apart the molecular bonds of his Emperor-class battle suit.

It was enough force to shatter a King-level artifact.

If Alex grew any stronger, he would be a King-killer.

Alex wasn’t done.

He drew his sword and used Blink.

Boom!

With a thunderous sonic boom, his sword struck Elyndros.

It felt like hitting a divine mountain.

"Master, even without energy, how is your physical body so strong?" Alex asked, frustrated.

"Did you really think you could defeat me, brat?" Elyndros snorted. "Now, try to break my barrier."

He conjured a shimmering sphere of spirit energy.

Until noon, Alex threw every combination, every talent, and every ounce of strength he had at that barrier, but it remained unyielding.

"Okay, take a rest," Elyndros finally said. "You are as strong as a Martial Lord. I’ll talk to Arthur about the team. Now, tell me... do you want to challenge the Inheritance Tower?"

"No, Master. I can challenge it anytime before I turn twenty, right? I’ll become as powerful as I can before then to ensure I get the best possible inheritance."

"Very good. It is good that you aren’t chasing short-term progress. Go and rest."

As Alex walked away, he pulled up his status panel, looking at his talents with mounting anticipation.

[Talents: Eternal Sword Talent, Existential Nullity, Primordial Chaos Physique, Eye of Revelation.

External Talent (4/15): Space Manipulation, Gravitational Manipulation, Flame Manipulation, Light Manipulation.]

"Damn! It really did increase my cap," Alex whispered. "It looks like my Spirit Master talent is directly tied to this talent-copying limit."