I'm not just human!

Xia Fa was slightly startled:

When was it reviewed?

For the past three days, in order to avoid being affected by the extreme cold of the Snow Demon's land, he had been working as a volunteer at the church, but as far as he could remember, he had never encountered any scrutiny.

Chestnut's bright almond-shaped eyes were filled with seriousness:

"It was during these three days that we assessed your mental state every time you came to the church. We found that your mind was unusually stable. The church therefore judged that even if you became a superhuman, the risk of you losing control would be much lower than that of an ordinary person, and you would be more likely to control the power of the secret code. So, the review was passed directly!"

She paused for a moment, then quietly added:

“If it were anyone else who had been possessed by the snow demon, they would have had a mental breakdown by now. Even the church’s higher-ups find it rare to see someone like you who is completely mentally sound.”

Xia Fa was a little confused because he had previously inquired about the extremely difficult conditions required to become a superhuman in any of the major churches. He never expected that it would be so simple for him.

But it is estimated that this is also because he was already involved in supernatural events, and as Archbishop Chestnut said, his mind has always been very stable.

"However..." Chestnut suddenly changed the subject.

Upon hearing those three words, Xia Fa's heart skipped a beat. According to common sense, this change of topic meant that he would have to pay some price.

"But what?"

“Hmm… Your body is too weak to withstand the infusion of the power of the secret contract, not even the most ordinary secret contract. Therefore, the church requires you to strengthen your body first!” Chestnut said decisively.

As a grown man, being told he was physically weak by a cute rat girl should have been very embarrassing, but Xia Fa didn't feel it at all.

Because what the chestnut said is true.

He looked down, and through the collar of his loose wool coat, he could clearly see his protruding ribs, each one clearly defined. His body was so thin that it looked like a skeleton wrapped in human skin, without a trace of excess muscle or fat.

"All right……"

Xia Fa smiled helplessly.

Chestnut encouraged him, saying:

"It's alright. According to the church's assessment of you, you'll probably be able to sign a secret contract and become a superhuman after about a year of training."

She paused slightly, then continued:

"After we eliminate the Snow Demon's threat for you tomorrow and reach a preliminary agreement with the Church, the Church will provide you with comprehensive nutritional support and some financial assistance every week. As for the training plan, for the first few months, you can just run, do push-ups, and lift stone weights every day to get your body in good shape. Later, we will send a Divine Punishment Knight to give you specialized training."

A year is neither a long nor a short time, and Xia Fa can accept it.

After all, his previous job was just a dockworker who had been unemployed for a few months.

"Okay, I'll try my best," Xia Fa replied jokingly, but there was a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

His eyes were pure black, without a single blemish, yet very bright, like charcoal about to burn.

"Okay, good luck!" Chestnut clenched her little fist, giving him a look that said, "I absolutely believe in you," and then added, "Alright, I'm going to get busy now!"

Watching her figure disappear into the distance, Xia Ding composed himself, glanced around, found a bench, sat down, and began to eat his meal for the day.

It must be said that adding beef and butter made the already delicious tomato and chickpea stew even better, and the brioche bread was also exceptionally sweet.

After wolfing down his food, Xia Fa wiped the red sauce from his mouth with satisfaction, then handed the utensils to the other volunteers in charge of meals at the church.

He immediately stood up and looked towards the church's backyard, a marble courtyard with a fountain.

After having eaten and drunk his fill, he prepared to start exercising!

……

"one!"

"two!"

"three!!!"

With withered palms supporting him on the marble floor, his bamboo-like arms trembled violently as Xia Fa, panting heavily, barely managed to complete the first three push-ups.

"Huff, huff, huff—"

He sat on the ground, catching his breath for a while, and then pressed on, preparing for the second set.

It has to be admitted that what Banli said is right. His body is really too weak. Let alone the infusion of extraordinary power, he probably couldn't even handle a very nourishing meal.

Fortunately, I have plenty of time to exercise and recover my health.

"Four!"

"five!"

"six!!!"

……

Just as Xia Fa was working hard to exercise.

At the same moment, in some desolate and lonely corner of the universe.

A planet that was once inhabited by life but is now completely barren is slowly revolving around a star.

Two blurry human figures were chasing a supernatural creature of cosmic scale, just passing by the planet.

Suddenly, something unexpected happened!

The planet shuddered violently, sending shockwaves surging across the surface. These shockwaves overturned mountains and plains, destroyed buildings left behind by past civilizations, and even the oceans and rivers were not spared.

The two human figures were stunned. They retreated to a great distance in an instant before stopping to watch.

Just a few seconds later, this once life-bearing planet suddenly collapsed, and endless essence was "drawn" out, gathering into invisible particles that flew to the unknown distance.

"Is this... some great being... preparing for a godhood ritual?"

One of the figures remained silent for a moment, then spoke with difficulty, his tone filled with disbelief.

"No, it doesn't seem like it. The scale of an ascension ceremony isn't like that, but..."

The other figure stared silently at the particles that even He couldn't track, his eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

……

The backyard of St. Vivian's Cathedral.

"seven!"

"Eight!"

"Nine--"

With a thud, Xia Fa lost his strength in his arms and fell directly to the ground, kicking up a lot of dust.

At that moment, without his knowledge, countless invisible particles came from the depths of the universe, crossing the earth and the sky, and poured into his mouth and nose.

"Huh, huh-"

Xia Fa was panting heavily, waiting for his strength to recover, but he suddenly found that his body was starting to feel slightly warm all over.

"Huh? These push-ups are actually having some effect."

He was pleasantly surprised, and after resting for a while, he was full of energy and continued exercising.

"ten……"

"eleven……"

"twelve……!"

Chapter 2: Extremely Rare Supernatural Creatures!

An hour later.

"Fifty-eight!"

"fifty-nine!"

"sixty!!!"

After gritting his teeth and making one last count, Xia Fa collapsed to the ground with a thud, his body limp.

"Today's workout plan is probably going to fall through..."

He managed to push himself up and turn over, his slightly thin face facing the azure sky, looking at the snow-white clouds, and sighed.

Originally, Xia Fa's fitness plan consisted of doing 100 push-ups, 100 pull-ups, and running 1,000 meters every day.

But now it seems that even doing a hundred push-ups is so difficult for this body, so achieving this training plan is a long and arduous task.

Feeling her body still slightly warm, Xia Fa couldn't help but look forward to the day when she could complete her daily exercise plan.

By then, my physical fitness will probably improve significantly every day, right?

"The benefits of physical training in this extraordinary world seem to far outweigh those in my previous ordinary world..."

Xia Fa murmured to himself, feeling it all too clearly, yet also understanding it.

After all, it's all about physical exercise. In the world of cultivation, you might become a body cultivator through practice. In a fantasy world, it's practically equivalent to cultivation. Now that I'm in a transcendent world, isn't it normal to gain some benefits through physical exercise?

Therefore, he didn't think much of it and rested quietly to conserve his energy, preparing to go to the washroom to clean up later.

Just then, footsteps came from the passageway leading from the back door of the church to the courtyard.

Along with that, the sound of two people talking could be heard.

"Have you heard? Another underground cave has appeared in Rum City!"

"I've heard about it. I need to find some time to check it out. This is a rare opportunity."

"Absolutely! Let me tell you a secret: someone saw... the doll girl in that cave!"

Doll Girl?

Xia Fa was shocked. Did such a thing even exist in this world?

Seeing that the two people didn't seem to be heading in his direction, but were just passing through the courtyard to the Sacred Relic Room, he immediately held his breath and continued to eavesdrop.

"To be honest, I've heard rumors about burrows every year when they appear, but how could such a rare supernatural creature as the doll girl be so easy to encounter?"

"Well, that's true. After all, in our entire Augu Kingdom, only Princess Victoria of the royal family keeps a doll girl. Apart from her, there is no other one in the entire kingdom."

"But then again, it would be great to gain the allegiance of a doll girl. I've heard that all doll girls are proficient in cuisines from around the world, can tidy up their rooms for their contractors, and can even brew unique spirits. Not to mention, doll girls are always absolutely loyal to their contractors..."

The two gradually quieted down, followed by the sound of a door closing, indicating that they had entered the sacred artifact room.