Cultivation Technique

The next day, Ezequiel woke up feeling completely refreshed. His bruises and cuts from the previous day's beating had vanished without a trace. As he inspected his healed body, he couldn't help but wonder why Marcus was still covered in scars. Maybe he just liked how they looked—after all, they did give him a more intimidating and battle-hardened appearance.

Ezequiel pushed the thought aside as he left his room and called out for Marie. "Do you remember what Marcus told us about the cultivation manual yesterday?"

"Yes," Marie replied, her tone thoughtful. "I think he said something about it being contained inside the blood essence of each believer."

Ezequiel was relieved that she remembered. 'She's not as careless as she sometimes seems,' he thought, reassured by her ability to at least pick up important information.

"That's right," he confirmed. "We're going to retrieve our own cultivation manuals now. As soon as you've got yours, bring your consciousness back."

With those instructions, Ezequiel closed his eyes and concentrated, descending into the lower dimension. Once there, he summoned the 25 Angels he could call upon each day. After they appeared, he turned to one of the weaker Angels.

"I need a drop of your blood essence," he said. "Don't worry, I'll help you regenerate it with Faith Points afterward."

The Angel, honored to be directly addressed by his god, immediately knelt and began the process. Moments later, a golden drop of blood, radiating immense energy and divine power, formed in the Angel's hand. The Angel had to keep the blood essence in constant contact with his body; otherwise, it would burn away within seconds, releasing a deadly amount of energy in the process. This was because of their special ability that allowed no second being to use their bloodline or its power.

Ezequiel focused all his attention on the blood drop, determined to uncover the secrets it held. The sheer amount of energy within it made the task difficult, but eventually, he succeeded.

Suddenly, an overwhelming flood of information surged into Ezequiel's mind. It was as if he had just absorbed several hundred library's worth of knowledge, and this was only the first part of the technique. The sheer volume of data threatened to overwhelm him, but he held on, his mind was working rapidly to process and understand it all.

As the last bit of information settled in his mind, Ezequiel entered a deep state of enlightenment. Time seemed to lose all meaning as he fully grasped the intricacies of the technique. It felt as though the technique was perfectly tailored for him, making it easier to comprehend than anything he had ever encountered before.

Meanwhile, the Angel who had provided the blood essence remained kneeling, waiting for Ezequiel to finish. His knees ached, but he dared not move or speak.

When Ezequiel finally emerged from his enlightened state, it felt as though no time had passed at all. The sun was still in the same position it had been when he began.

"How much time has passed?" Ezequiel asked the Angel, still disoriented.

"Exactly one day, my Lord," the Angel replied.

'A whole day?' Ezequiel was shocked. 'That means I can summon new Angels again.' But before doing so, he focused on helping the Angel regenerate the lost blood essence. The process cost him a staggering 30 million Faith Points, a significant expense, and one reason he had chosen a lower-level Angel for the task. Once the Angel was restored, Ezequiel returned to the Divine Realm, eager to test the new technique.

He opened his eyes and immediately stretched his stiff limbs, having sat in the same position for 24 hours straight.

"Ugh, finally you're back," Marie's exasperated voice echoed through the room. "I've been waiting for 12 hours!"

'Maybe her technique was less complex than mine,' Ezequiel mused. 'Or maybe I'm just slower at this. Someone like Anna, with her high-level species, would probably only take three hours.'

"Did you start cultivating already?" he asked, curious about her progress. He really wanted to know if the technique made as big of a difference as promised

"Of course I did," Marie said, rolling her eyes. "Do you really think I'd wait 12 hours without doing anything? But if you want to see how effective it is, you should try it yourself."

Ezequiel was eager to begin, but first, he opened his status screen for the first time in a while.

[Name: Ezequiel]

[Realm: 1st Stage Demi-God]

[Divinity: None]

[Contracted Species: Angels

False Believer: 0

Shallow Believer: 0

True Believer: 0

Pious Believer: 0

Fanatic Believer: 350

Saint: 1

Prophet: 0

Holy Spirit: 0]

[Uncontracted Believers: None]

[Techniques: Scripture of Reality and Existence]

[Faith Points: 20,000,000,000]

'The name sounds pretty overpowered,' Ezequiel thought. 'But I still don't know which laws it relates to.'

[Scripture of Reality and Existence]

[Grade: ???]

[A cultivation technique created for the ruler of the Heavens. It grants its user the strength to be unrivaled in any realm and even fight above their current level. As the Lord of Reality and Existence, you can control any aspect of the world around you and the fabric of existence. However, the enigmatic future remains beyond your full grasp. The technique grants one special ability for each major realm breakthrough.]

'Wait… This is insanely powerful. If I can control everything except the future, doesn't that mean I can command nearly all laws except for Fate and maybe Destiny?'

Ezequiel's excitement soared. If this was true, he wouldn't just have strong followers—he himself would be nearly unstoppable.

But then, a troubling thought crossed his mind. 'Why does Marie have exactly the one divinity I can't control? That can't be a coincidence.'

To confirm his suspicions, Ezequiel turned to Marie. "What's your technique called?" he asked, his tone more serious than before.

Marie noticed the shift in his demeanor and hesitated. "It's called the Scripture of the Future. It says I can rule everything related to the future."

'So I was right,' Ezequiel thought, his mind racing. 'The chances of both of us gaining these overpowered abilities after growing up together are way too slim. Someone must be behind this.'

His thoughts continued to race, trying to figure out who could benefit from giving them such immense power. 'No one stands to gain from this—at least, not directly. We don't have connections to anyone who could control us, and it's unlikely that someone aware of our power would just let us roam free like this.'

'Argh, I'm too weak right now,' Ezequiel realized with frustration. 'Even if I knew who was behind this, what could I do? Punish them for giving me such a powerful gift?'

He shook his head. 'The only thing I can do is cultivate and grow stronger. Only then will I be able to uncover the truth and break free from any schemes they might have laid out for me.'

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