Chapter 480

Chapter 480: Celestial Spirits: Who Dared Claim Divine Child Mu Lin Isn’t One of Us!

Pushing himself through calamities and extreme trials, Mu Lin sought to evolve his Celestial Spirit body further.

Though most attempts failed, his clones healed rapidly through the powers of life, allowing endless retries.

While Mu Lin worked tirelessly, surrounding Celestial Spirits watched in bewilderment.

"What’s the Divine Child doing?"

"Why’s he torturing his own clone out of nowhere?"

"Does… does the Divine Child have loose screws?"

None grasped his methods or motives.

Even the Goddess of Life couldn’t comprehend.

Though naturally wielding life’s powers, she didn’t fully understand them—a paradox no stranger than humans not knowing their own bodies before modern science.

People once didn’t know about cells, gender determination, or bodily functions. How could deities fully grasp their powers then?

The Goddess never cared about mortal evolution, leaving her clueless about Mu Lin’s goals. Yet his performance thrilled her.

The first perfect Celestial Spirit body alone impressed her—five innate holy patterns marked supreme talent she’d have nurtured as her own child even in the world’s prime.

What truly shocked her was Mu Lin’s boundless energy reserves.

Within an hour, he’d consumed energy equal to a celestial master’s total capacity. Yet instead of draining dry, his power kept swelling—an impossible feat that baffled even a True God.

"How?!" The Goddess stared wide-eyed.

Others shared her confusion. "Activating higher-ranked powers demands our total effort and energy! How can you spam it?!"

Mu Lin’s display crushed foreign monsters’ hopes. Their fears proved right—they stood no chance.

The Goddess of Life had seen enough. She was satisfied.

His actions even surpassed the Goddess of Life’s expectations.

Thus, she had already secretly chosen him as her divine successor.

She kept this unspoken because these outstanding talents were her invited guests—powerful individuals representing significant factions. Denying them assessment opportunities might create conflicts. Though unafraid personally, her impending death forced consideration for her tribe’s future.

Though proceeding with assessments, the Goddess began strategizing Mu Lin’s victory.

"They all fear and oppose Mu Lin, plotting to gang up on him… Unacceptable. The battles must enforce single combat rules."

"Prevent endless cycle of battles…"

"Mu Lin can harmonize with the Heavenly Dao. Opening the Spirit Flower Garden will let him channel the Cang Feng Tree’s power…"

When divine authority favors an heir, no others stand chance.

Mu Lin had already sealed his victory.

Meanwhile, the Goddess’ Divine Kingdom drifted toward human territories—preemptive protection against potential sieges after her passing. Aligning with the Human True Lord’s domain would ensure Mu Lin received mortal support upon inheriting godhood.

…

Mu Lin remained oblivious to the Goddess’ plans.

He continued subjecting his Celestial Spirit body to calamities, forcing transformative evolution.

Natural evolution required millennia, yet Mu Lin braced for tens of thousands of failed attempts.

Six hours later, breakthroughs emerged.

Whether through fortune or the Celestial Spirit tribe’s adaptable physiology—akin to elves shifting between moonlight, underground, or elemental forms—mutations manifested.

The might of the powers of life was another factor. Regardless, his experiment succeeded.

Calamities awakened dormant genes. One clone swelled into a Great Celestial Spirit—bulkier form storing greater energy reserves. Others turned translucent or elemental. Most changes merely diversified existing traits rather than true evolution.

"A foundation suffices."

Using the Great Celestial Spirit’s genetic template, Mu Lin employed creative authority to breed enhanced clones.

"This feels like cultivating premium rice strains."

Primitive rice required generations of refinement to achieve high yields. Similarly, Mu Lin iteratively optimized his Celestial Spirit body.

Fueled by nuclear fusion’s limitless energy and life-manipulation powers, his enhancements progressed smoothly.

In the sixth hour, Mu Lin successfully nurtured a Great Celestial Spirit that met his standards. At this point, its normal height already reached thirteen meters.

By the ninth hour, the Great Celestial Spirit had grown to seventeen meters.

At the thirteenth hour, its base form stabilized at thirty-three meters.

—Don’t assume a thirty-three-meter Great Celestial Spirit is weak. Remember, this measurement refers to one without any special cultivation methods or activated techniques.

Their foundation being thirty-three meters meant that with identical training and growth, a Great Celestial Spirit would always be thirty-three times stronger than ordinary Celestial Spirits.

Such strength was terrifying.

…

The Celestial Spirits in Spirit Flower Garden were all elites carefully nurtured by deities. They immediately grasped the significance.

Watching the towering Great Celestial Spirit and sensing the boundless energy within its body, they realized Mu Lin’s goal.

“No cultivation methods! This is natural development… The Divine Child is upgrading our species!”

“Reaching thirty-three meters as adults? Strength comparable to generals? Impossible!”

Gasps of shock rippled through Spirit Flower Garden as the remaining Celestial Spirits marveled. Some turned questioning eyes toward their Goddess of Life.

“Can powers of life achieve such things?”

“Why didn’t our Mother Goddess improve us earlier?”

The Goddess of Life responded to their stares with an awkward smile. Optimizing her tribe’s genetics had never occurred to her—like how humans observed steam for millennia without inventing engines.

Was this strange? Not at all.

Deities of the feudal era lacked scientific thinking, barely utilizing their powers. Moreover, conservative traditions had bound her. Before the Celestial Spirit tribe’s downfall, altering ancestral genetics was unthinkable.

Why did current Celestial Spirits accept this so readily? Most were open-minded youths. More importantly, their fallen world made them desperate—they’d embrace even forbidden power for strength.

A young Celestial Spirit smashed his fist against a wall: “If we’d had this power before, our world wouldn’t have fallen!”

Silence followed.

Finally someone declared: “It’s not too late! Let Divine Child Mu Lin transform us. With his genius and our enhanced strength, we’ll retake our homeland!”

Murmurs of agreement rose: “Yes! Under Mu Lin’s leadership, we’ll fight back!”

Though not officially appointed, the Great Celestial Spirit’s creation cemented Mu Lin as their leader. All suicidal thoughts vanished—where despair once reigned, hope now bloomed.

Eager Celestial Spirits prayed fervently: “Heaven and Mother Goddess be praised! You sent us a savior in our darkest hour!”

“He’s not a Celestial Spirit—he’s human!”

Opportunistic outsiders tried fanning discord. Before they finished speaking, furious glares silenced them.

“Silence! Lord Mu Lin is Heaven-sent, our true Divine Child!”

“Denying his status insults our entire tribe!”

The united front left spectators dumbfounded. Most baffled was the human Fourth Prince, who could only stare:

“???”