Foundation
He didn't know he had to set a foundation.
If his thoughts were right, most geniuses of these paths, before even practicing them, most likely spent years refining their foundation.
Martial artists would spend their entire childhood honing their fundamental martial skills while learning as many martial arts as possible, Arcane lords would spend years reading endless amounts of tomes and grimoires while beasts most likely spent days on end harmonising with nature and comprehending its flows and ebbs.
Even those who practiced the True Golden Path most likely spent years focusing on True Aether control before they ever began to cultivate.
This was his mistake—but at the same time, it wasn't necessarily his fault.
While in the ruins of life and death, though he didn't remember it, he was sure he'd spend countless years mastering these same arts he was mastering now, he simply couldn't clearly remember any of it and all this skill had been locked away.