After returning to the Neo-Demon Realm, Zatiel's first stop was the Garden of Creation. Before anything else, he needed to heal the wounds on his soul and consciousness that Blood Child's attacks left on him.
Thanks to his True Will, the pain he felt was manageable, but it was better to handle it sooner rather than later.
Rebirth Force could heal any injury, no matter how horrible it was, but it would take time. Instead of spending a few years in seclusion, Zatiel chose to consume a Soul Apple from the Sacred Soul Tree.
The Neo-Demon showed a comfortable expression after consuming the apple and feeling how the wounds on his True Soul were healing at an accelerated rate.
The Soul Apple healed Zatiel's soul wound in less than fifteen minutes!
'Truly a divine panacea. No wonder they need so much time to ripen.' Zatiel stared at the other Soul Apples in the tree before sending a command to the NRAI and teleporting.
The next second, Zatiel appeared in the void surrounded by countless waves of elemental chaos. Now that he finished healing his soul, it was time to fix his body.
He threw dozens of high-quality origin stones to his mouth, activated his stomach's Apocalyptic Star to swallow massive amounts of elemental chaos before finally putting his body in a dormant state.
The Neo-Demon slept for two months before waking up. He smiled after analyzing his condition and feeling how his body and soul were at their peak, and he could finally express his full battle power again.
Now that he had time, Zatiel began to analyze the fights in the Blood Fortress. The first that came to his mind was that of the Fiend Dragonborn against Blood Child.
'If I had fought against Dior without the help of Beyond Reality, I would have lost.'
The Fiend Dragonborn's cultivation put him at the 3rd Engraving Stage, and Zatiel's battle power reached that level if he goes all out.
However, Dior was able to push his strength to Pseudo 5th Engraving Stage. Even if that state lasted a few seconds, it would have been enough to defeat the Neo-Demon.
Zatiel knew that the Fiend Dragonborn was not the only one with those types of abilities. Everybody who had lived for thousands of years would have trump and live-saving cards.
'I should use this time to finish my Animax Soul Rune.' After deciding what to do, Zatiel left the Neo-Demon Realm's void and teleported to the Beta Heavenly World.
He appeared in the Fornes continent, near the Underworld Forge. Above the forge was Hades restoring his power, like always, but this time he was not alone.
In front of the Ancient Being of Laws, Zatiel saw a man with three faces and six arms.
There were dozens of magic matrices floating in the air around the Supreme Neo-Demon. He was analyzing them and at the same time creating artifacts.
Usually, someone like Hades would disdain just speaking with a life form that was still bound to his life span, but Zatiel could see the interest in his eyes as he saw Ezequiel working.
The Ancient Being of Laws even gave guidance from time to time as Ezequiel created artifacts. Hades only provided small bits of advice and let the Neo-Demon find the complete answer on his own.
Zatiel got near the duo. Ezequiel was immersed in his work and did not notice him, but the Ancient Being of Laws turned to him.
Hades noticed Zatiel's gaze and understood what he wanted to know.
"He came to me asking that I would teach him how to create Living Artifacts and Rising Artifacts. Since we have a deal, I revealed the principles and systems behind those schools of Magic Creation. I was sure that it would take him a few years before he could even begin to comprehend them, but not even a week has passed, and he already grasped their essence. I am bored, and it is fun to teach a genius."
Zatiel nodded after hearing Hades' words. Even if the loneliness could not affect his mind, his days must be very dull since he doesn't do anything other than healing.
The Neo-Demon focused on the magic matrices around Ezequiel and was sure they were of a very high level.
Living Artifacts and Rising Artifacts is a more complex and potent form of magic creation, just like Runic Sets and Soul Runes in rune crafting.
Zatiel was happy that Ezequiel did not leave his training as Magic Creator, and that feeling was greater when he saw that its profession could keep up with his prodigious battle power.
Professions like Runemaster and Magic Creator help individuals temper their souls, increasing the battle power of those who had awoken their True Soul.
By tempering your soul, you can increase your Soul Origin's density and purity. You can also improve your consciousness, the size of your energy pool, and enhance your ability to comprehend the laws.
All those benefits were why Zatiel told Sophia and Ezequiel to learn a profession from the beginning of their path.
Although many people knew the help that training a profession would bring, they were too time-consuming, and it was not easy to keep up with their cultivation. There was no point being a Rank 1 Magic Creator when you're a Rank 3 lifeform.
There are other ways to temper one's soul, like Soul Runes or treasures, but professions are the most common.
Ezequiel had a Rank 5 Animax Soul Rune tempering his True Soul, so improving his profession was like adding wings to a dinosaur.
Zatiel was curious about the strength of the man who had the title of Will of the Neo-Demon Race's Ancestor. He made the NRAI scan the Supreme Neo-Demon quietly so as not to disturb him.
"Bip... Scanning target.
...
...
Task finished.
Name: Ezequiel Invictus
Race: Neo-Demon (Primordial Bloodline)
Paths of Power: True Soul (Third Origin Cycle)/ True Will (Low Star Breaker)/ True Doomsday Body (Second Heaven)
Strength: 9.4
Physique: 8.9
Speed: 4.2
Elemental Chaos: 4.7
Soul Origin: 4.4
Astral Origin: 3.9
Laws: Law of Strength (Low Initial level), Law of Inner Force (Low Initial Level), Law of Lightning (Middle Initial level), Law of Fire (Peak Potential level), Law of Wind (Peak Potential level), Law of Earth (Peak Potential level), Law of Water (Peak Potential Level).
Note: Target's spirit defenses are astonishingly high. Soul invasion spells that cannot instantly kill Rank 5 life forms at the 2nd Engraving Stage are useless against him. The soul attacks need to reach the 4th Engraving Stage in battle power to start posing a threat."
Zatiel was not surprised by Ezequiel's monstrous physical power that could compare with a Demon Lord at the 3rd Engraving Stage who focused on body-refinement. Still, the scanning showed him some things he found interesting.
The Neo-Demon race have inherently robust spirit defenses thanks to their True Will, but even with one at the Star Breaker Rank, being immune to soul invasion spells with 2nd Engraving Stage's battle power was too overbearing.
Zatiel did not know it, but thanks to his great spirit defenses, Ezequiel captured a Demon Lord who had reached the 3rd Engraving Stage named The Great Illusionist Surik.
Of course, the Supreme-Demon beat him to within an inch of his life and literally split his body in two, but the fact he managed to defeat him without killing him was impressive.
'It must be due to the unique condition of his centers of power. Ezequiel's soul, body, and energy act like one, so his physical defenses and energy pool's radiation can act as shields for his soul.'
Another thing that attracted Zatiel's attention was Ezequiel's Soul Origin. The Supreme Neo-Demon had already reached the Third Origin Cycle.
It was easy for Zatiel to figure out the secret behind Ezequiel's cultivation speed. He could see how while the Supreme Neo-Demon's full attention was on the magic matrices in front of him, his body was devouring copious amounts of energy and Origin Power.
'It is like an enhanced version of Dragon Sleep. His soul, body, and energy never stop training even while he fights, sleeps, or completely ignores everything else and focuses on his profession.' Zatiel's spirit defenses were as robust as Ezequiel's, thanks to his bloodline and unique Mind Force. Still, not even he could compete with the cultivation speed of a supreme talent who never stopped training, not even for a second.
The one thing Zatiel could not figure out was Ezequiel's laws. He understood that thanks to the Supreme Neo-Demon's ability to commune with the world, it was easy for him to comprehend the elements and decipher their mysteries.
However, not because a law was easy to comprehend meant that you should start training it.
Zatiel would have an easy time developing comprehension over the Law of Sword or the Law of Fire, but he did not.
Not even one hundred laws at the Potential level could compare with the boost in power that one at the Minor Completion level could grant.
'I am sure he knows that quality is better than quantity. The only reason for him to develop comprehension over the elemental laws is a technique related to his bloodline. I cannot grant much help when it comes to the Primordial Bloodline, so I should offer advice only if he asks me.'
Zatiel did not want to bother the Ancient Being of Law or the Supreme Neo-Demon, so he went to a different location and began to work on an Animax Soul Rune.
