You're being downvoted because you're misunderstanding what "free climbing" means. It is a technical climbing term meaning that the weight of the climber is supported by the climber himself at all times during ascent; safety gear such as ropes are used only to protect against falls. "Solo free climbing" (or "free solo climbing") is climbing without any gear, including safety gear. It is basically suicide on a climb above 25 feet in height.

This climb is historic because it is the first time any person (let alone two) has managed to climb the entire height via free climbing methods, that is, without using ropes to bear some/all of their weight during the ascent.

Eventually, someone will try to free climb El Capitan similar to the manner you described: pitch by pitch, without returning to a base camp, resting along the way. However, such a climb is a long ways off; it took nearly a decade to plan this climb. Planning a climb with shifting camps will likely take another several years just to plot out plausible routes and resting points.