I just realized an inconsistency in cultivation novels. They always say the secondary profession could take decades or centuries to progress or master (alchemy, pills or formations etc...). Yet the MC always flashes through the ranks like never before, becoming a top-tier master. But why is it, that when it comes to actual strength, the MC is somehow less 'talented' then the current region he's in? How come he struggles in a facet that is easier to progress in compared to one that takes years of discipline. Isn't that kind of ironic?
Must be the "although all this took a long time to describe master, it actually happened in the blink of an eye"-Dao at work here.
Are we talking about an MC who is secretly a master? If so, usually they spend more time on their foundation (hence they can beat people higher stage than them), but for things like alchemy, your knowledge doesn't disappear so you can go through it fast. Only thing you might lack is the cultivation to control it.
It is also an issue with pacing among others. The secondary talent has little to do with the progression, the characters direct power and the struggles he faces. These secondary talents are often also extremely boring and uninspired. Honestly it would be better to just nuke the second talent alltogether. Make some other characters relevant for once and force the demigod with eternal grade plot armour rely on others for once.
What's really 'food for thought' is, why do these MCs suddenly catch up within a few hundred to thousand years to those masters who have godly cultivation arts as well as masters to answer their questions and have been at it for tens of thousands of years? The MC is usually using an 'ancient' method, too. Now, I understand knowledge being lost, so something could really be amazing. However, within a few thousand years there hasn't been any in-depth research to improve the remnants to be more effective and somehow stumble upon one method being just-as or even more effective than the one the MC found? It's easier to live with when you just chalk it all up to the author's plot armor.
Thats because each region has power levels... in which case the MC goes from the weakest region to the strongest region... as he goes up, the materials used by Locals are stronger, hander to use and completely different than the ones in a weaker region. THus MC must learn again on how to use those, while competing with the locals that have always used those materials. Thats the gist of it