Strengthening Himself

"…"

All right, so she was just hungry. After all, the law of conservation of energy still had to be observed, at least symbolically. She had suddenly gained such great power; her body naturally could not handle it without enough energy.

It was a simple principle. How could someone be strong if they did not eat much?

There was definitely a huge difference in strength between someone who drank plain porridge every day and someone who ate meat every day.

If you did not believe it, just look at the Saiyans next door. The more they ate, the stronger their combat power became.

"You gave me a scare. I thought it had failed."

Chen Mu let out a sigh of relief. At the very least, Xu Jia’s example proved that the Tablet of Life truly possessed the ability to transform the human body. Moreover, it altered people at the genetic and soul levels, directly allowing life itself to evolve.

"Then next, I need to modify my own body as well."

Chen Mu’s gaze returned to the Tablet of Life.

"I may not need to fight, but my body can’t be weak either. So it has to be powerful too… Forget it, why am I overthinking this? Why not just go with the highest specifications?"

Chen Mu rubbed his chin. He had worked diligently for his country and people; could he not enjoy a little for himself?

Was it really wrong to give himself the best?

At present, the strongest talent Chen Mu possessed was naturally that of the Eternals.

Although Chen Mu’s Eternals physique had not yet reached perfection, he could upgrade it later.

For now, he could absolutely create a body not much weaker than Nezha’s!

Most importantly, he could draw upon cosmic energy. That alone would grant Chen Mu endless energy. He would not need to worry about mana when learning magic, nor would he need to worry about lacking energy when using high-tech weapons.

Being able to freely command cosmic energy meant entering a state of "unlimited firepower." He could do whatever he wanted. Just look at Nezha—did he not fear nothing precisely because he had such power?

After returning to China, who knew where Nezha had gone off to enjoy himself? After all, Chen Mu did not need anyone to protect him in China. It was perfectly safe.

"Then I’ll just make myself an immortal template. Hmm, an enhanced Eternals version."

Thinking of how Nezha had utterly crushed Thor the first time he appeared, and how he had beaten Laufey senseless in Jotunheim, Chen Mu would be lying if he said he was not envious of that unbelievably powerful strength. He was not particularly passionate about fighting, but if he could possess such a powerful body, he certainly would not refuse.

"So, let’s get started!"

After pulling up Nezha’s genetic template, Chen Mu began modifying his own genes. Following another hour or so of work, his modification plan was finally complete. He impatiently activated the Tablet of Life’s transformation ability and began altering himself. Moments later, Chen Mu could clearly feel the changes in his body.

"What an incredible feeling. Is this the foundation of Nezha’s invincibility?"

After undergoing the modification, Chen Mu finally experienced Nezha’s strength firsthand. The omnipresent cosmic energy could be freely commanded and absorbed by him. At every moment, cosmic energy was strengthening and transforming Chen Mu’s body.

Unlike Xu Jia, who needed to replenish her energy by eating, Chen Mu could directly draw limitless, ever-present cosmic energy from his surroundings to strengthen his current body.

Chen Mu could clearly feel that his body was growing stronger every moment. Eventually, it would reach Nezha’s level.

Of course, Nezha was also growing stronger, and Chen Mu now possessed the same physique as him.

"So becoming stronger really is addictive!"

With a sigh, Chen Mu felt the powerful strength within himself and could not help but feel deeply moved.

Just like that, he had obtained an endless lifespan?

He could now live as long as heaven itself!

That was the power of the Eternals.

This was something every emperor throughout history had dreamed of.

"Haha, I really can control lightning now!"

After frantically replenishing her energy in the cafeteria, Xu Jia returned to the laboratory and shouted excitedly. She stretched out both hands, and under her control, flickers of electricity seemed to dance between her palms.

"Your abilities are still very weak right now, but your potential is extremely high," Chen Mu said as he looked at her. "You need to gradually familiarize yourself with this power. Of course, what you need now is to learn magic. Only with sufficient mana can your abilities be used more effectively."

It was just like Thor. Only with sufficiently powerful mana could one unleash even greater power.

"Also, you may not know this, but your lifespan should now have reached five hundred years. That is the main result of the Tablet of Life evolving your level of life."

The most important aspect of raising one’s level of life was gaining a longer lifespan. Therefore, if one’s lifespan did not increase and only one’s power improved, that could not be considered an evolution of life itself.

"…"

Xu Jia’s face was filled with disbelief. She stared at Chen Mu so intently that he felt uncomfortable all over.

"Do you know… what this represents?"

Only after a long while did Xu Jia speak. The look she gave Chen Mu was full of disbelief.

This man had truly been creating miracles all along. He had actually managed to increase someone’s lifespan by five hundred years?

If this matter were revealed…

Wait, it seemed he did not need to worry at all.

"All Chinese people will have the opportunity. As long as they pass the screening, qualified people will be eligible for modification."

Chen Mu smiled and said, "Of course I know what the consequences will be. People do not fear scarcity; they fear unfairness. As long as everyone can have the same five-hundred-year lifespan, naturally no one will have anything to say."

As for those who were not even qualified to undergo modification, Chen Mu did not care about them at all. If you did not even consider yourselves my compatriots, why should I care whether you lived or died?

When selecting candidates for modification, they would have to undergo screening. They could use magic similar to that on Thor’s Spear to directly eliminate anyone without a sense of national identity and refuse to modify such people.

Chen Mu had deciphered the Life Equation so that people in his homeland would have the chance to evolve, not so that people who did not even identify with their own nation could enjoy its benefits.

By then, quite a few people would certainly be eliminated. They would definitely complain, but what did that have to do with Chen Mu?

The reason they had no opportunity was because of themselves, not Chen Mu. Let them insult or target him however they wanted—Chen Mu had no need to care!

"Most people in the country are qualified for modification. As for that small group who are not, I do not need to care, and neither does the country."

Chen Mu saw this very clearly.

He only hoped that the fruits of his efforts would go to those he recognized. If they were banana people with yellow skin and white hearts, then sorry—you were not worthy!

PS: It was not easy. Two hundred chapters in, and the protagonist finally remembered that he needed to strengthen himself too. There probably was not another protagonist like this in other books, haha…