Combat in the Magic Beast Mountain Range and Becoming a God (Part 2)

The golden rays of the setting sun spilled over the edge of the Magic Beast Mountain Range as Lin Tian and his two companions flew out of this training ground. On the return journey, Porter and Laun occasionally exchanged insights from battle with Lin Tian, and Lin Tian in turn shared his new understanding of the Fire Element Mystery. Their laughter echoed through the air, tinged with fatigue but even more with the joy of gain.

Soon, Lin Tian returned to the imperial palace. The towering palace walls and glazed tiles glowed warmly under the morning sun; the familiar atmosphere instantly relaxed Lin Tian's taut nerves. He first took his leave of Porter and Laun, then headed straight for his parents' bedchamber.

"Father, Mother." Lin Tian pushed open the hall door and saw Habo and Nicole sitting by the window discussing matters. He quickly stepped forward and bowed.

Lei Habo put down the scroll in his hand, surprise flashing in his eyes. "Lin Tian? You're back! This training trip seems to have yielded great results." Though only a ninth-rank expert and not yet at the Saint Domain, he could clearly sense the increasingly condensed flame aura around Lin Tian, one that seemed to merge with heaven and earth.

The Empress hurried forward and took Lin Tian's hand, her fingertips brushing lightly over the nonexistent dust on his sleeve, her eyes full of concern. "It's good that you're back. Sit down and rest. Your grandfather said you went to the Magic Beast Mountain Range—you must have suffered a lot."

Lin Tian sat down with a smile and told them he had already broken through to the Saint Domain. Then he floated up into the air. Habo and Nicole's first reaction was disbelief, but when they saw Lin Tian hovering without relying on any energy, they were utterly shocked. Nicole's eyes glistened with tears of excitement.

Habo paused, then spoke first. "Lin Tian, now that you're in the Saint Domain, you rank among the top experts on the Maya Continent. But you must not become complacent. Remember, the Leo Family has been passed down for thousands of years, with over a dozen divine-level experts within the clan. The Saint Domain is at the peak on the Maya Continent, but there are still many gods above."

"Father, I understand." Lin Tian replied. "On this trip, I first went to Fire God Mountain and met the ancestor—Leo I. Grandpa Porter also showed me the family's foundations."

Habo grew even more excited. As the founder of the Leo Family and the strongest being on the Maya Continent, Leo I never lacked admirers, especially among Leo Family members like Habo, who had grown up hearing stories of Leo I.

Habo said cheerfully, "Good! Good! Well done, Lin Tian. You've far surpassed me. I'm proud to have a child like you."

Nicole smiled and interrupted Habo's excitement. "Alright, it's rare for Tian'er to be back. Let's not talk about all that now. I've had them prepare your favorite dishes. Let's eat first and talk while we eat."

Before long, exquisite dishes filled the table. Nicole kept putting food on Lin Tian's plate, asking about his daily life on Fire God Mountain. Habo occasionally chimed in, inquiring about the current state of Fire God Mountain and news of Leo I. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

After the meal, Lin Tian returned to his own palace. He declined the servants' attendance and sat alone in his cultivation chamber, closing his eyes. The scenes of battle in the Magic Beast Mountain Range flowed through his mind: the subtle fluctuations of fire elements quietly annihilating as the Jade Vine Python's vines regenerated; the energy ripples produced when flames collided with lightning as the Thunder Blaze Qilin's bolts tore through the air... One by one, the images converged into a single leaping flame, resonating with the fire elements within him.

In the days that followed, Lin Tian cultivated behind closed doors every day. He no longer deliberately pursued combat techniques but instead settled his mind to feel the essence of flame—the notes he had seen in the Scripture Pavilion, the sparring with Saint Domain experts, the life-and-death struggles with magic beasts. All these insights flowed like streams into a river, gradually settling and merging within his heart.

Sometimes he transformed into flame, freely darting through the palace, feeling the rhythm of elemental flow. Other times he sat in meditation, letting his consciousness sink into the core of flame, experiencing that contradictory power which could both incinerate all things and nurture life. He discovered that flame was never simply "destruction."

One morning, the first rays of sunlight streamed through the window lattice onto Lin Tian. He sat cross-legged, surrounded by a faint halo of fire. Suddenly, a realization stirred within him—all his past insights in that moment connected completely: the fire elements lodged in vines, the flames that canceled out lightning, the lightness of transforming into elements... all pointed to the same truth.

"Flame is me, and I am flame."

The moment this thought arose, Lin Tian's consciousness seemed to merge with all the fire elements between heaven and earth. He was no longer a cultivator controlling flame; he was flame itself. Flame was no longer a power he commanded but an extension of his body, an embodiment of his will. He could clearly "see" the surging magma in the earth's veins beneath the imperial city. He could "hear" the roar of flame colliding with rock deep in distant volcanoes. He could even "touch" the faint fire elements ignited by sunlight in the clouds at the horizon.

Just as this realization of "I and flame are one" reached its peak, the sky suddenly darkened. Thick clouds gathered, the laws of heaven and earth flowed within them, and a vast, overwhelming pressure enveloped the entire imperial city.

"Is this... the descent of the laws?" The Emperor pushed open his window, staring at the churning phenomenon in the sky, his eyes filled with shock and ecstasy. "Is Tian'er... about to become a god?"

As if guided by instinct, Lin Tian's heart naturally sensed it—he clearly perceived that he had crossed the boundary between the Saint Domain and the Divine Domain.

Lin Tian opened his eyes and looked up.

"Hum—"

A vast, soul-shaking force of the laws of heaven and earth suddenly descended, completely enveloping Lin Tian. The surrounding space instantly twisted, forming a domain of laws that isolated everything. Lin Tian's body slowly floated up, beyond his control.

The force of the laws invaded his soul, instantly seeing through the Fire Element Mystery he had comprehended in his lifetime.

"Rumble—"

Endless fire-attribute law power converged violently above his head, compressed, and finally condensed into a single point—

A rhomboid Divine Spark, fiery red all over, flowing with the essence of the Fire Element Mystery, quietly took shape.

The moment the Divine Spark formed, it forged an innate bond with his soul.

At the same time, an icy will of the laws transmitted directly into his soul:

"Choice: Divine Spark, External? Internal?"

"External Deification allows cultivating multiple Divine Clones, granting extra lives. Internal Deification merges the Divine Spark with the soul, deepening Mystery comprehension, but the Divine Body and Divine Spark live and die together..." Harry's words echoed in his ears.

Lin Tian did not hesitate for a moment. From the instant he chose to focus on the fire laws, from the moment he transformed into flame in the Magic Beast Mountain Range to evade attacks, the answer had long been decided.

He moved his mind: "Internal Deification."

As the words fell, the fiery red Divine Spark instantly turned into a stream of light, drilling straight into his brow and merging into the deepest part of his soul.

"Chi—"

The Divine Spark entered his body, and boundless fire-attribute divine power erupted instantly, sweeping through his limbs, bones, meridians, internal organs, mind, and even the origin of his soul.

Every minute structure of his muscles and bones was reconstructed in earth-shaking ways, strengthened thousands of times each second. Cells disintegrated and reformed, impurities were burned away, and his mortal body transformed into a pure fire-attribute Divine Body.

His soul and the Divine Spark merged perfectly, with no barrier remaining. The Fire Element Mystery became like instinct—with a single thought, he could summon the flames of heaven and earth.

After a long time, the light faded.

Lin Tian hovered in midair, his black hair moving without wind, his aura deep as an abyss. The immaturity of the Saint Domain was gone from his eyes, replaced only by the majesty and calm of a god.

He, a fire-attribute Lower God, had succeeded.