One thing a lot of power up novels get wrong is the idea that a perfect foundation is extremely important. In the real world, if being one realm above your opponent isn't enough, just be two realms. If that isn't enough, just be three realms higher. The only people that go for perfect foundations are absurdly wealthy idiots. The time and resources wasted could have easily increased their strength by multiple factors enabling more compound growth. Even if someone has more talent, if they waste their time on each stage, they'll fundamentally be behind in terms of absolute power.