In that split second, a hundred thoughts flashed through Sun Wukong's mind.
Could this Gift Game be a trap? Is Su Mo planning to replace me with this imposter, and then secretly replace all the Asuras, Gods, and Buddhas of Little Garden with his own people?
The grand conspiracy, which could shake the Three Realms, was dismissed by Sun Wukong the moment it formed.
No, that's impossible!
If anyone else had similar power or means, they might indeed entertain the idea of replacing all the gods and ruling Little Garden. But Su Mo definitely wouldn't.
Not because he couldn't, but because there was no need.
If Su Mo had wanted to, he wouldn't have needed to concoct some elaborate scheme.
He could have just concealed his intentions slightly, and he would have naturally been treated as the co-ruler of the Three Realms. The Asuras, Gods, and Buddhas of the Celestial Court would have shown nothing but the utmost respect to the one and only savior.
Precisely because it would be so easy for Su Mo to achieve a similar goal, it was all the more reason he wouldn't do it. Not to mention, with the combat power he had displayed, neither she nor the billions of gods were actually worth his trouble.
If her previous deduction was just a guess, Sun Wukong's confidence was now backed by decisive evidence. After a brief test, she was shocked to find that she still had one hundred percent control over her Body Outside the Body.
In other words, she could recall it as a strand of hair whenever she wished. No matter how dangerous the clone seemed, it posed no real threat to her.
Realizing this, she let down her guard and looked at her clone with curiosity.
At that moment, the clone, whose personality was a carbon copy of hers, also smiled, seemingly having guessed what her original was thinking. "Hehe, was that a false alarm?"
"Shut up!" Sun Wukong snapped, annoyed, and charged forward.
As a 3-digit class Half-Celestial Spirit, and also the Victorious Fighting Buddha, a war god of the Buddhist faction, her martial arts skills surpassed even Indra's.
Martial arts of the Divine Domain level, combined with the Sea-Fixing Divine Needle and a body of steel and iron bones, allowed her to wield the Golden-Hooped Rod like a tempest. Let alone ordinary demons, even a fellow 3-digit war god might not be able to withstand such an overwhelming onslaught.
However…
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Amidst the incessant clash of metal, within an attack far fiercer than any storm, a mere Body Outside the Body actually held its own.
Not only did it hold its own, but it also displayed a power that Sun Wukong couldn't have imagined, even showing a tendency to surpass her. After dozens of exchanges, it remained unshaken.
"Such a powerful physique!" the golden-haired girl exclaimed, her eyes wide with praise.
Without needing to use her Fiery Golden Eyes, her combat talent alone was enough to tell her why the clone could match her.
A normal Body Outside the Body had martial arts comparable to the original, but its physical constitution was far inferior, only at the level of a common Divinity holder, a 5-digit being.
Even with Divine Domain-level martial arts, a 5-digit physique couldn't exert much power and could, at best, be a nuisance to a 4-digit being.
That was why she usually summoned dozens or even hundreds of clones to use human wave tactics. Only then could the ability be effective.
But now, the clone before her had martial arts and a weapon equal to her own. The only reason a combatant who should have been instantly defeated by a single blow could fight her to a standstill was its physique.
After Su Mo's modifications, this Body Outside the Body actually possessed a physique that could rival her own, a naturally born Half-Celestial Spirit. It was terrifying.
"Lord Su Mo, how did you do it? Can this technique work on all Bodies Outside the Body?" the golden-haired girl asked, a mix of shock and delight in her voice as she fought.
If this could be applied to all her clones, did that mean with a single pluck of her hair, she could summon thousands of 3-digit level, blank-slate war gods?
One must know that in any pantheon, even the strongest ones like Christianity and Buddhism, the main combat force was still just a 4-digit level army.
If she could create a 3-digit level army, even if they were just blank slates with only physique and martial arts, it would still be a terrifying force.
If she had possessed this technique back when she was one of the Seven Great Demon Kings, she might have actually been able to overthrow the Jade Emperor and become the new master of the Celestial Court.
This power was simply too terrifying!
"This is the power that the Third Stellar Particle Origin can unleash. It is enough to transform a physical body into a stellar body, allowing a mortal to gain a physique that can rival that of a god or even a Celestial Spirit," Su Mo calmly answered Sun Wukong's question as he observed the battle.
Noticing the excitement in the golden-haired girl's eyes, he slowly added, "Of course, this technique can be mass-produced."
"Really?!" Even though she had suspected it, Sun Wukong couldn't help but exclaim in shock.
Without wasting any time, she immediately used her ability again, summoning a second clone.
After the second clone was born, it obediently ran up to Su Mo, looking at him with anticipation.
Seeing this, Su Mo gave this girl a "pat" as well, guiding and unleashing her potential, transforming her with the Third Stellar Particle Origin.
Thus, the second blank-slate war god was born.
After its successful evolution, the girl immediately took the third gold-steel weapon Su Mo had kindly lent her and joined the fray, ganging up on the original with the first clone.
"Bring it on!" Sun Wukong, delighted by the challenge, charged straight at them.
Her martial arts were identical to the two clones', and she no longer had an advantage in physique.
Without using her other divine abilities, her stats were exactly the same as the clones'. Yet, she fought two-on-one and still didn't fall behind.
Full of vigor, and in the heat of the exhilarating battle, she even actively asked Su Mo to increase the difficulty. And then…
BANG!
Fighting three-on-one, she couldn't fend them off in time, and the third clone found an opening.
If she hadn't sensed the danger and recalled the three clones in time, her skull would have been nearly cracked open by her own creations.
It had to be said, she really had the bearing of a war god when she fought, not hesitating to go for the kill even against herself.
"That was awesome! It's been a long time since I had such a satisfying opponent!" Although she lost in the end, Sun Wukong looked completely content.
It seemed she knew she couldn't win and was just testing the limits of the clones' performance. Of course, it was also possible she was just having so much fun she didn't think that far ahead.
After the battle, Sun Wukong looked at Su Mo, about to speak, but then she remembered something and immediately raised a hand to touch her head.
Sure enough, on the ahoge on top of her head, she felt three completely different strands of hair.
Although she couldn't see them, their supple texture was clearly different from the surrounding hair, even more special than the three life-saving hairs given to her by Guanyin Bodhisattva on the back of her neck.
The golden-haired girl's face immediately lit up with a pleasant surprise.
"These three clones... they can be reused?"
She had thought they were one-time creations, but it turned out they were permanent followers. Did that mean she could now summon three extra war gods, no weaker than herself, to support her in battle at any time? This effect was simply heaven-defying!
If she had had this level of divine ability during her Journey to the West, what demon could have possibly beaten four of her?
If the hairs from Guanyin Bodhisattva were life-saving, then what Su Mo had given her were truly war-god hairs. With this Gift, her combat power would at least double.
Realizing this, the golden-haired girl hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly and gently grasped the three star-colored strands of hair, her movements slow but firm. "Lord Su Mo, these hairs are your power. I will return them to you now..."
Su Mo had said he was only showing her evidence, not giving it to her. So, despite her reluctance, she couldn't just keep it.
Before she could finish her sentence, she heard Su Mo's reply. "No need."
"Really?!" The golden-haired girl snatched her hand back like lightning, a delighted look on her face.
Since Su Mo refused, it meant he was gifting the three hairs to her. It was only right for her to accept a gift from a revered elder.
"Of course." Seeing the girl take advantage of the situation so shamelessly without a hint of refusal, Su Mo found it rather amusing.
It seemed the records of Journey to the West weren't entirely inaccurate when it came to this monkey's tendency to take what she could get.
"Hehe! Thank you, Your Excellency Su Mo!" Noticing Su Mo's gaze, the golden-haired girl scratched her cheek, embarrassed, and flashed a bright, cheerful smile. What war god could resist such a temptation?
"No need for thanks. They were your hairs to begin with. There's no need to return them to me," Su Mo shook his head again. "No matter how much power I infuse into them, I have no right to take ownership of your hair. Wouldn't that be chaotic?"
Fortunately, she had used hairs from her head to summon the clones.
The Sun Wukong of the Little Garden world was in human form, not covered in fur like a monkey. If she hadn't used her head hair and had instead used hairs from... down there to cast her ability, would she have to pluck them out and return them to him now?
Setting aside the pain, that scene would have been too hellish.
Hearing Su Mo's words, and perhaps sensing his concern, the golden-haired girl blinked and waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing! I have a lot of hair anyway, and the only hair I have is on my head. There won't be any awkward situations!"
At this, Su Mo subconsciously sized her up and found that she was indeed telling the truth.
Her skin was as smooth as jade, without even the finest down on her cheeks, arms, or calves. According to her, other places were also as smooth as jade stone.
As expected of one born of stone, or rather, a "born white tiger." [T/N: In Chinese slang, a "white tiger" refers to a woman who is naturally hairless down there.]
However…
"Let's not discuss such private topics in public," Su Mo said, stopping her with a slight headache. Was this monkey's personality a bit too... natural?
"It's fine, it's fine! This isn't a public place. It's just us!" the golden-haired girl said nonchalantly.
"..." You really are a social butterfly.
Su Mo decided to give up discussing such strange things with this idiot and turned the conversation back to business. "So, how did it feel?"
"It felt great! I mean, the fight was great!" the golden-haired girl said, her spirits high as she recalled the battle. "Those three clones had incredible physiques! They were even evolving constantly during the fight. If you gave them a few hundred years to grow, I probably wouldn't be able to beat even one of them!"
After her exclamation, she looked up at Su Mo with great seriousness. "Lord Su Mo, you said just now that this Third Stellar Particle is for human use and can even be mass-produced. Is that true?"
It was precisely because she had just experienced the power of the Third Stellar Particle Origin that she had this question.
Or rather, it was because she had experienced its heaven-defying strength that she had such a huge doubt in her heart.
Could humans really be cultivated to a level comparable to 3-digit gods through the Third Stellar Particle?
Even though she held hope for humanity and had mentally prepared herself for the technological explosion Su Mo had mentioned, she still couldn't accept such a huge leap.
Mass-producing 3-digit level deities... had she gone crazy, or had the world gone crazy? Forget a technological explosion, even a technological nuclear explosion couldn't be this heaven-defying!
"Of course, not everyone can reach the level of your clones." Hearing Sun Wukong's words, Su Mo could roughly guess what she was thinking. He immediately shook his head and denied it.
"Oh, that's good." At this, the golden-haired girl subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn't out of some despicable desire to prevent ordinary humans from easily surpassing her years of hard training, but simply because it felt more realistic this way.
It meant Su Mo wasn't just spouting nonsense but had truly grasped a certain possibility for human evolution.
And so, she immediately perked up her ears and listened attentively to Su Mo's explanation.
"The Stellar Particle degrades during the process of replication and mass production. The degraded Stellar Particle then needs to combine with the organism's genes for selective expression. Therefore, the physical performance of users of the degraded particle will be doubly limited. Only the holder of the Third Stellar Particle Origin possesses a nearly limitless capacity for evolution."
If it weren't for the limitation of Origin degradation, a single Earth could produce over seven billion 3-digit level beings. India would become a cosmic superpower.
If humanity could advance at such a rate, the Trisolarans would be scared to death, the Singers would kneel, and the Zero-Homers would be begging to ride their coattails. It was obviously unrealistic.