At first, cults were nothing but an annoyance for the three tribes.

Yes, they kidnapped commoners and caused damage in some remote villages. Still, the anticultist groups could reduce their numbers faster than they appeared, making it impossible to amass any significant power.

But that changed after the appearance of the patrons.

The information about these entities is limited, as the leaders of the cults treat them with secrets, but each time we discover something about them, it becomes clearer that they are the real threat behind the cults.

With a power capable of challenging that of Heaven's Will, those powerful demons grant immense power to their followers in exchange for sacrifices. Such a temptation has become the fall of great cultivators that had seen their hearts corrupted and turned to the dark side.

To this day, we still need to find out how many patrons exist. Still, we have confirmed that they have managed to infiltrate their people into the majority of the relevant organizations of the three tribes.

Most of the time, those undercover cultists would lay low, trying not to attract anyone's attention, waiting for their chance to attack and gain the most benefit possible.

Because of this, I declare Sacro's priority to fight these cultist groups and reduce their patron's influence over our world before they corrupt everything inside them.

—Official letter from the leader of Sacro, Nathan, "The Ascended."—

But that was easier said than done.

Because of his situation as a member of the second area, he would only be able to get cultivation techniques from the Yellow Blood family if he gained it with merits or exchanged something of equal value for them.

The first would be impossible, as he didn't have any talent and wasn't in a position where he could do anything worth those techniques. And about the exchange, he was sure that Blorg would do everything on his hands to make it the most expensive possible if he asked for prices, so asking for them directly at the Yellow Blood Family was out of the question.

Not only that, if Blorg realized he had begun to cultivate, he would treat him even worst as he may feel threatened by him.

But there were other possibilities.

He could secretly trade with one of the subordinate families or even with some outsider. Dealing with someone from outside the fortress could be dangerous and expensive. Still, if he managed to do it, the fact that he had started cultivating would remain a secret for everyone until he became strong enough to protect himself.

Another possibility was to search historical records and his mother's diaries for information about cultivation and try to form a cultivation technique.

After all, techniques didn't grow in the wild. Someone had to be the first to create them.

With some information, Xan may be able to develop his own, and even if it is weaker than those used by others, it would be a starting point and definitively better than not having one.

And finally, there was also the possibility of trying to steal Rad's diary to learn his techniques, but he felt it wouldn't end well. After all, if they caught him stealing, there would be real consequences like ending up in a dungeon for the rest of his life or even death.

The way Rad had talked with him made it look like he was suggesting Xan enter his room and steal the diary, but he didn't want to risk it. After all, Rad's mind didn't work as it should, and maybe he didn't think the same as he did before.

While considering the options, Xan couldn't help but think about his mother. In her diaries, she talked about how she would teach him cultivation when he reached ten years old, so she didn't leave any techniques behind him to study.

Now, having reached fourteen years old, he would have to find a way to learn cultivation by himself.

While he thought about his various possibilities, Xan went to his bathroom, where he had a bottle of green and blue ointment, and applied it to his stomach.

He had begun to buy those bottles a few years ago after Blorg's beatings became more common. It was a medicine that low-stage cultivators used to treat their wounds. Made by using magical plants from the lowest stage, it could heal bruises in a few minutes, and its price wasn't too high, so even he could buy it from time to time.

As he finished applying it, he stood still for a few seconds.

'I should stop using this. I need to save all that I can to buy techniques.' Xan thought as he looked at the half-empty bottle in his hands.

After that, he began to look for everything that could be valuable around his house. Buying a cultivation technique would be expensive, so he better know how much money he had before even asking for them.