Yes, I became a god just by exercising.

The snow intensified, and the weather was bitterly cold.

Shapha pulled his slightly grimy wool overcoat tighter as he headed toward the church not far ahead.

In the extreme cold, he shivered uncontrollably, as if wringing out every last bit of warmth from his body to resist the bone-chilling cold that pierced him from head to toe.

Three days.

Since transmigrating to this world and arriving in the small town of Rum City, he hadn't had a full meal in three days. Each day, he relied on the church's relief meals—chickpea and tomato stew, served with dry, hard baguettes.

And it was only one meal a day.

But that wasn't the biggest problem. The biggest problem was...

Shapha looked up at the sky.

The warm sun of spring hung in the refreshing clear sky, surrounded by a soft halo.

The gentle sunlight illuminated the streets and buildings, making them appear clean and bright.

Among the pedestrians on the street, men mostly wore thin embroidered vests with breeches, while women wore light white or sky-blue silk dresses.

Yes, it was spring.

And it was March, the best time for the climate in Rum City and the entire Kingdom of Augus.

Shapha lowered his gaze and looked around him again. Heavy goose-feather snow drifted down, and the cold wind felt like ice knives stabbing his cheeks, even mixed with tiny ice shards.

Even though the entire world was bathed in sunlight, a small, extremely cold zone, typically found only in the harshest winters, had formed within a few meters radius around him.

More importantly, the pedestrians on the road seemed oblivious to this phenomenon, instead casting strange glances at Shapha from time to time.

They wondered why this fellow was still wearing a thick wool overcoat for warmth, even though spring had arrived.

Wasn't he hot?

Shapha sighed and continued toward the church.

The bizarre situation he found himself in was actually very simple to understand.

It meant... he had encountered an extremely rare and very dangerous supernatural event!

A Snow Spirit, a notorious supernatural entity, became active after the end of winter each year, randomly afflicting ordinary people.

Those afflicted would fall into this semi-real, semi-illusory extreme cold zone, gradually freezing into ice sculptures as the temperature dropped over five days.

By then, the malevolent and beautiful Snow Spirit would descend, gnawing on the ice-sculpted people piece by piece, like ice pops.

Shapha even suspected that the original owner had been scared to death by the Snow Spirit, which was why he had transmigrated.

Having transmigrated to a world of the supernatural, Shapha certainly didn't want to go back. He used to be a small-time employee with a monthly salary of only a few thousand.

But in this supernatural world, he had the chance to become a Transcendent, to grow powerful, and even to become a legendary deity, pursuing immortality.

But first... he had to survive!

And the hope of survival lay in—

Shapha looked up at St. Vivian's Church before him and quickly walked toward it.

The moment he stepped through the church's arched doorway, the heavy snow, cold wind, and ice shards—all the harsh weather signs that threatened to kill him—vanished. The warmth of spring once again enveloped him.

Along with it came the noisy clamor of voices from within the church, accompanied by the aroma of food, as if he had suddenly arrived in a long-lost mortal world.

The church was spacious and bright, with sunlight streaming through the carved stained-glass windows above. Refugees queued up, receiving their daily portion of chickpea and tomato stew.

This cheap, filling, and delicious food was highly favored by the refugees.

A war blade crafted from bones lay flat on a golden sword stand on a marble altar in the deepest part of the church.

The war blade was about 1.5 meters long, covered in obscure and profound secret runes, making it look savage and majestic. Its hilt was wrapped in blood-stained cloth, and its straight blade with a curved edge made it an excellent weapon for cleaving.

Legend had it that this war blade was a holy relic of the church, crafted by "Silver Universe," one of the nine deities, who had killed the giant beast Baal and pulled out its ribs.

"Shapha, you're here!"

A clear and melodious voice, like the tinkling of wind chimes, rang out. A young girl in a pure white clerical robe approached him, carrying a small, steaming iron pot.

The girl had skin like goat's milk, smooth as silk, and straight black hair that fell to her shoulders. Her large, clear eyes, black and white, were as fresh as post-rain air, carrying a rare innocence.

Her long legs were graceful beneath her robe, and her body was slender and light, appearing as holy as an envoy sent by a god to the human world. But most striking were the round ears on top of her head.

Two fluffy ears, cream-colored on the inside and pure black on the outside, looked as if she were wearing a headdress, but that wasn't the case.

Shapha had been coming to the church almost every day recently, so he naturally recognized the girl.

She was Chestnut, the Arch-Bishop of St. Vivian's Church.

Chestnut was not human, but a member of the Ratfolk, a unique race in this world. Furthermore, she was a noble within the Ratfolk, an upper-tier Ratfolk given the title of "Silver Iris."

Both noble and commoner Ratfolk were named after food, differing only in their surnames. The fluffy, round ears atop their heads were the distinguishing mark of their race.

Upon reaching him, Arch-Bishop Chestnut handed the steaming pot she held to Shapha.

Shapha took it and saw the familiar chickpea and tomato stew.

But what was different was that the bread soaked in it was no longer dry and hard baguette, but brioche bread with a rich milky and wheaty aroma. The stew also contained more than a dozen chunks of beef and melting butter.

"Here, you've worked hard these past few days, so I specially made you an extra meal!" A smile flickered in Chestnut's large, dark eyes.

Shapha swallowed, not from hunger, but from a premonition of something bad. He said, "It's so rich, this wouldn't happen to be my last meal, would it?"

The chickpea and tomato stew from the past two days certainly didn't have beef and butter!

Chestnut stared at him blankly for a moment before understanding what a "last meal" meant, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"No way, it's really just an extra meal for you. I mainly saw that you were too thin. Don't worry, the Mithril Sacred Emblem will be delivered tomorrow morning."

The Mithril Sacred Emblem was a sealed artifact of the Silver White Church, specifically used to help the poor souls afflicted by Snow Spirits.

As long as one wore the Mithril Sacred Emblem and exposed it to sunlight for an hour, the bitter cold would disappear, and the Snow Spirit would no longer be able to find its locked target.

Shapha felt relieved, but then asked curiously, "Didn't they say it would be this afternoon? Why was it changed to tomorrow?"

Arch-Bishop Chestnut sighed softly.

"Alas, too many people have been afflicted by Snow Spirits this time, and some of them are nobles. So, we have to satisfy them first."

Shapha fell silent for a moment. Still, there was nothing he could do. After all, they were nobles, and he was a commoner.

Only by becoming a Transcendent would his situation change.

Chestnut suddenly clenched her small fist, her delicate face filled with righteous indignation.

"I hate those nobles the most! They bully people! You were here first!"

Shapha chuckled slightly. "But, Arch-Bishop Chestnut Silver Iris, aren't you also a noble among your Ratfolk?"

"That's different!" Chestnut said earnestly. "We always take care of commoners first, because they are weaker."

"Alright." Shapha admitted he was convinced, as the Ratfolk indeed operated this way.

Moreover, since there was no reproductive isolation between the Ratfolk and humans, many commoners preferred to seek a livelihood in Ratfolk territory.

"Eat up, eat up. Tomorrow you'll be rid of this nasty Snow Spirit. Then, I have something to discuss with you."

Chestnut extended her fair, delicate hand and, quite familiarly, patted Shapha's shoulder, giving him a few instructions before preparing to leave.

As a promising young Arch-Bishop, who became a Wolf-level Transcendent at nineteen, she had many official duties to attend to every day.

Shapha asked curiously, "What is it? Can you tell me now?"

Chestnut stopped, turned back, and her clear large eyes scrutinized him for a moment, particularly noting his sunken cheeks. After some deliberation, she finally spoke.

"Hmm... I'll tell you quietly, but you can't tell anyone else, okay?"

Shapha said righteously, "Don't worry, I always keep secrets."

Chestnut giggled. "Oh, please, I don't believe you. But it's fine to tell you in advance. It's just... the church has approved your review and is preparing to recruit you as a Transcendent!"

Shapha was slightly surprised. "When was I reviewed?"

For the past three days, to avoid the influence of the Snow Spirit's extreme cold, he had stayed at the church as a volunteer. But he couldn't recall ever undergoing a review.

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

"It was these past three days! Every day you came to the church, we actually assessed your mental state. We found that your sanity has been extraordinarily stable, and the church therefore concluded that even if you become a Transcendent, your risk of losing control is much lower than average, and you'll find it easier to control the power of the Covenant. So, the review was directly approved!"

After a slight pause, she quietly added, "If it were anyone else afflicted by a Snow Spirit, they would have had a mental breakdown by now. Someone like you, with no mental issues at all, is rare even to the high-ranking officials of the church."

Shapha was a bit bewildered. He had heard before that the conditions for becoming a Transcendent in the major churches were extremely strict. He never expected it to be so simple for him.

However, he guessed it was also because he was already involved in a supernatural event, and, as Arch-Bishop Chestnut said, his mental state had remained very stable.

"However..." Chestnut's tone suddenly shifted.

Hearing those three words, Shapha's heart sank. From common sense, such a shift in topic usually meant he would have to pay some price.

"However, what?"

"Well... your body is too frail. You can't withstand the infusion of Covenant power, not even the most ordinary Covenant. So, the church requires you to first get your body in shape!" Chestnut said emphatically.

As a grown man, being told he was physically frail by a cute Ratfolk girl should have been embarrassing, but Shapha didn't feel it at all.

Because Chestnut was speaking the truth.

He looked down, and through the loose collar of his wool overcoat, he could clearly see his protruding ribs, each outline distinct. This body was so thin it looked like a skeleton wrapped in human skin, with not an ounce of excess muscle or fat.

"Alright..."

Shapha smiled helplessly.

Chestnut encouraged him, "It's alright. According to the church's assessment of you, if you train for about a year, you'll be able to form a Covenant and become a Transcendent."

After a slight pause, she continued, "Once your Snow Spirit affliction is removed tomorrow and a preliminary Covenant is established with the church, the church will provide you with comprehensive nutritional support and some weekly financial aid. As for the training plan, for the first few months, you'll just run, do push-ups, and lift stone weights daily to get your body strong. Later, Divine Punishment Knights will be sent to give you specialized training."

A year, neither too long nor too short, was acceptable to Shapha.

After all, his previous identity was just an unemployed dock shipping clerk who had been out of work for several months.

"Okay, I'll work hard," Shapha responded playfully, though his eyes held a hint of seriousness.

His eyes were pure black, without a trace of impurity, yet very bright, like burning coals.

"Mmhmm, you can do it!" Chestnut clenched her small fist, looking as if she had complete faith in him. Then she said, "Alright, I'll get back to work now!"

Watching her back disappear, Shapha steadied himself, glanced around, found a long bench, and sat down to eat his meal for the day.

He had to admit, with the added beef and butter, the already delicious chickpea and tomato stew tasted even better, and the brioche bread was exceptionally sweet.

After devouring it, Shapha contentedly wiped the red sauce from the corners of his mouth, then returned the utensils to the other volunteers in charge of food at the church.

Then, he stood up and looked toward the church's backyard, a marble courtyard with a fountain.

Feeling full and energized, he was ready to start training!

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!!!"

His bony palms pressed against the marble floor, his stick-thin arms trembling violently. Shapha, panting, barely completed his first three push-ups.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo—"

He sat on the ground, gasping for a while, then renewed his efforts, preparing for the second set.

He had to admit, Chestnut was right; his body was truly too weak. Forget about the infusion of Transcendent power; he probably couldn't even handle a single hearty meal.

Fortunately, he now had plenty of time to slowly train and get his body in shape.

"Four!"

"Five!"

"Six!!!"

While Shapha was diligently exercising.

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

A planet that once harbored life, now completely barren, slowly orbited its star.

Two blurry human figures, chasing a star-level supernatural creature, happened to pass by the planet.

Suddenly, an anomaly occurred!

The planet vibrated violently, and layers of shockwaves rippled across its surface, overturning mountains and plains, destroying the remnants of a past civilization's architecture. Even the oceans and rivers were not spared.

The two human figures were stunned, retreating to an extreme distance in an instant before stopping to observe.

Just a few seconds later, this former living planet rapidly collapsed, and endless essence was "extracted" from it, gathering into invisible particles that flew off to an unknown distant location.

"This is... a great existence... preparing for a ritual of godhood?"

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

"No, it doesn't look like it. The scale of a godhood ritual isn't like this, but..."

The other figure silently watched the particles, which even it couldn't track, its eyes filled only with shock and bewilderment.

St. Vivian's Grand Church, backyard.

"Seven!"

"Eight!"

"Nine—"

With a thud, Shapha's arms gave out, and he collapsed directly onto the ground, kicking up a lot of dust.

It was at this moment, without him noticing, that invisible particles from the depths of the universe traversed the earth and sky, flowing into his nose and mouth.

"Hoo, hoo—"

Shapha panted heavily, waiting for his strength to return. But then he suddenly noticed that various parts of his body were starting to warm up slightly.

"Huh? These push-ups actually have some effect."

He was pleasantly surprised. After resting a little longer, filled with motivation, he continued his workout.

"Ten..."

"Eleven..."

"Twelve...!"