Hearing Minos' strange question, Abby furrowed her brows and looked closely at him. She didn't even know about the history of 100,000 years ago, let alone millions of years...
And that was to be expected in a weak place like the north of the Central Continent where there were no ancient powers that had information from such distant times.
With the weakening of the spiritual concentration of this region, those families originating from this place, who had high-level talents, had already left here a long time ago.
With that, the information that these families had left this region with those power, leaving these areas without many people who knew about the past of the Spiritual World.
And even if there could be some people who knew something, through orality, with the weakening of the region, cultivation became more complex. Consequently, people started to live less and less, decreasing the chances of the information passed on being passed on with success.
Even if there were ways to keep the information from the past, it still depended a lot on the people who knew that knowledge. And in the interminable passage of time, data like this had already been completely lost in this region where Abby and Minos lived.
"I don't know. I think it should be the same as it is today." She replied uncertainly. "But why do you ask that? What information does such a primordial time have in relation to the Black Plain?"
Minos smiled at her and then began to speak. "Well, it's expected that you don't know. So, let me teach you."
Minos then got up from the wooden bench he was sitting on, starting to tell Abby what he knew, as he gestured and walked around the room in which they were.
"Just as Silver-grade techniques came before Golden-grade techniques, White-grade techniques came before Blue-grade techniques. The same goes for people's talent."
"There are no data from the beginnings of the time when humanity was not yet able to cultivate. The oldest data left behind dates from about 80 million years ago, a time when humankind had already started to cultivate!"
"However, contrary to what you think, the average talent of the human population at that time was much worse than the current one." He then looked the young Abby in the eye and said seriously. "Be sure, those with Blue talent were the strongest at that time!"
"What? This cannot be true. If there were no people with Black talent, how can there be so many today?" She tried to refute Minos' words, bringing up contemporary reality.
The young Stuart laughed and said. "Abby, you could say it's impossible to change someone's talent..." He closed his eyes for a moment and then continued. "But what about that someone's children?"
"What do you mean? The chances of a child having a talent more remarkable than that of his parents are very small. Even in 1 million children, there may be none with a talent superior to that of his biological parents!"
"Hmm, you are kind of right. I'll give you an example, if two people with White talent cultivate, they can reach the maximum, with external help, at level 49."
"But level 49 is the maximum that someone with Blue talent, without external resources, can reach cultivating. In other words…" Minos was talking when Abby suddenly interrupted him.
"Are you saying that someone with White talent, but at level 49, can be compared to someone with Blue talent?" She asked in shock.
"More or less. For the person who was born with a talent, it is practically impossible to change it. But if that person managed to go to the limit of his cultivation, then with the spiritual cleansing that their bodies undergo in each stage reached, the genetic quality of someone with White talent, level 49, is almost as good as someone born with Blue talent."
"In this case, for a couple with White talent, both of whom are in the 5th stage of cultivation, the chances of their first-generation descendant having a Blue talent is over 50%."
He watched Abby's expression for a moment and then continued. "Going back to the remote past, at that time, there were no people with a Silver or Golden talent. But there were some with Blue talent since even when a person does not reach his limits, there is a small chance that the child will have a higher talent than the parents."
"Because of these individuals, through those who went on to specializations, such as alchemy, human hereditary improvement was made possible."
"From then on, those who managed to exceed their natural limits developed average talent within their families, using the resources that those professionals have brought to this world, moving from White talent to Blue talent, enabling the emergence of the first individuals with Black talent!"
"After millions of years, we have finally come to the present, where we even have people with Golden talent." He finished his speech, returning to sit next to Abby.
This genetic improvement that Minos was talking about was possible because the spiritual cleansing that a cultivator's body received in each advance to the next stage acted differently in each type of cell.
In addition to expelling the impurities present in the cells of the whole body, there was also an increase in the spiritual energy that these parts of the cultivator's body could have and a qualitative change, which allowed greater vitality for that organism.
And that improved the specific functions of the different types of cells in a cultivator's body. As a result, as the reproductive cells were not forgotten in this process, their quality was improved. Their reproductive characteristics were evolved, enhancing these individuals' offspring's chances of having a natural talent greater than that of their parents!
As to why a cultivator's talent could not be improved from this spiritual cleansing, it was related to the soul. Talent was related to the body, concerning genetics, and the soul, the center of the individual.
With that, even if the quality of a cultivator's cells could be improved, the quality of the soul could not do that unless someone's soul absorbed a soul fragment left by someone else!
But this was very difficult to happen since only those specialists at level 100 could separate a soul fragment, at the cost of their own life, leaving it behind...
With only cultivation, one's soul strength would be continually improved, up to one's original limit. Still, the characteristic related to quality couldn't be improved by leveling up!
Anyway, due to these factors, increasing a person's talent was almost impossible, but it was not so difficult to improve a family's talent. That is why humanity, like the other races, had managed to reach the current point in history, where there was even the possibility of someone getting at level 100.
As for spiritual beasts and elves, even though they are more compatible with spiritual energy than humans, they have also evolved their 'talents/lineages' through the endless passage of time.
But that was not the only factor that allowed humanity to continue to exist. No, there were other limitations related to this subject...
Finally, Abby had been silent for almost a full minute, trying to get her mind in order. What she had heard from Minos actually made some sense. After all, any cultivator who has broken a stage a few times would know how fantastic the change brought with the spiritual cleansing was.
It was not only a quantitative increase but also a qualitative improvement. Comparing a person before and after spiritual cleansing was like comparing an opaque glass with impurities produced in an archaic way, with the transparent, crystalline glass made in the best possible way, taking full advantage of the material's potential.
Because of that, even though she had no proof of what Minos was telling the truth, Abby thought it was really reasonable, considering all of this. She then put her thoughts aside and asked. "So, you want to improve the talent of the families in this place?"
"Hmm, more or less. But for everyday work, there is no need for these people to be very talented, so it's not a waste of me to invest in this place."
"And these families can have their average talent improved quickly, so I can still have great harvests in the future, without depending on people from outside." He finished while he got up again and went to the kitchen of that apartment.
While Abby sat there in that place, thinking about everything she had heard from him, Minos quickly made iced tea, bringing the cups to the kitchen counter.
"Try this tea. You will feel great when you taste it." He said, indicating with his finger a blue cup filled with red liquid.
"Ehh, thanks."
"But Abby, let's stop talking about my business... I want to know about you. How has your life in the Miller family been?"
"OK, I have a lot of things to talk to you..." She said with a smile on her face as she started talking about her things with Minos.
They were friends, and Minos and Abby hadn't had much time to talk about it during the Spiritual Tournament. As a result, this was the perfect opportunity for the two to get to know a little more about the time when they were apart...
The two talked for several hours, sometimes laughing, and at other times they had serious expressions on their faces, discovering each other's personal experiences. And of course, Minos didn't say anything about his biggest secret, the inheritance left by the God Henricus Longus...