Although Athena didn't know Shiroyasha and had only heard of this Sun Celestial Spirit of the Little Garden world from Su Mo, Shiroyasha had actually seen Athena in the chat group's live stream.
That was back when she had just joined the chat group, still harbored doubts about Su Mo's words, and was subsequently proven wrong by the abilities he displayed.
At that time, Su Mo, by his own power, had transformed Athena, an Unfollowing God, into an Earth Celestial Spirit.
It was only after this that Su Mo first entered the world of Little Garden and successfully met Shiroyasha.
Therefore, seeing Athena, a being from another world, appear before her, Shiroyasha was incredibly surprised.
She was stunned for over ten seconds before finally realizing Su Mo's plan.
So, the suitable candidate for a Celestial Spirit that Su Mo mentioned... was her?
Considering the precedent with Michael and her loyalty to Su Mo, this indeed seemed like a good choice.
"Indeed." Seeing Shiroyasha reveal her identity, Athena was slightly surprised, but she didn't ask further. Instead, she said, "The Master has entrusted me with a new task, which is why I have come here."
"However, please wait a moment, Miss Shiroyasha. It is not convenient for the Master to receive you at the moment."
"Not convenient to receive me?" Hearing this, Shiroyasha was taken aback. Only then did she hear a faint "gulping" sound, as if someone was swallowing something.
Eating this early in the morning? No, that's not right! Her rich theoretical knowledge immediately made her think of something strange. Her eyes widened, and she tried to look past Athena into the room to confirm.
Just then.
"Good morning, Lady Shiroyasha!" The blonde, red-eyed loli vampire, Leticia, walked over primly and greeted Shiroyasha.
"It's a pity you didn't come yesterday, Lady Shiroyasha!" Beside Leticia, Lamia yawned as she greeted Shiroyasha.
Seeing her look exhausted yet spirited, with a hint of pity in her red eyes, Shiroyasha couldn't help but feel puzzled. It was early morning, yet the two of them looked drowsy, as if they hadn't rested all night.
Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the black stockings Leticia had been wearing yesterday had vanished, and although Lamia appeared nonchalant, her legs were faintly trembling.
The two vampire sisters had unintentionally, and "coincidentally," blocked Shiroyasha's view into the room.
"You're both here!" Seeing the two of them, Shiroyasha breathed a small sigh of relief. Good, these two didn't sneak ahead.
But why hasn't the watery sound stopped? In her confusion, her attention was diverted by Lamia's words.
"It was all that idiot Kurma's fault yesterday. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have missed our appointment. Speaking of which, is there a study session today? I definitely won't be fooled again and miss this opportunity!"
"Today..." Hearing this, the Leticia sisters exchanged a glance, and Lamia shook her head regretfully. "I'm afraid it won't be possible for the next few days. As you know, Lord Su Mo is more interested in the structure of the Earth Celestial Spirit recently."
"Alright then..." Shiroyasha lowered her head in disappointment. "No wonder he called her over too. But it's true, with the Little Garden crisis at hand, we have to prioritize the bigger picture. I'll just wait for the next opportunity."
With that, she glanced at Athena and patted her head. "By the way, when will it be convenient for Su Mo to come out? The monkey told me about the Earth Celestial Spirit matter. She said Su Mo already has a way to awaken her as an Earth Celestial Spirit recognized by Little Garden?"
Under Su Mo's modifications, Athena from the Campione! world had indeed become an Earth Celestial Spirit. But she was only a Celestial Spirit in the worldview of Campione! and its parallel universes, not one recognized by the central hub of Little Garden.
As mentioned before, Su Mo had altered Athena's identity by rewriting the planetary chronicles of the Campione! world.
He had elevated the goddess to a world-symbolizing Earth Mother and Creator Goddess through the mythic ritual "Genesis Mother Goddess," equating the concept of the ancient world with the planet, thereby making Athena the Earth Celestial Spirit.
Admittedly, after the rewrite, Athena's Divinity had also changed, and even upon entering Little Garden, her connection to Celestial Spirits was clearly perceptible.
But this was different from when Su Mo had negated the two "counterfeit" Sun Celestial Spirits, Shiroyasha and the Halloween Queen, to claim the position of the Lord of Sun Celestial Spirits for himself.
There were far too many candidates for the Earth Celestial Spirit. Due to its unique position, the central hub of Little Garden imposed many restrictions and trials.
As a result, even if Su Mo rewrote the central hub through his Sun Authority, he could at most make Athena a Half-Earth Celestial Spirit.
Even so, this had still given Athena an unimaginable boost, allowing her to reach the 3-digit Almighty Domain, and a prominent one at that.
But to awaken her as a 2-digit Full-Authority Domain level Earth Celestial Spirit recognized by the central hub was not so easy.
To have Athena's Divinity recognized and to maximize her potential, she had to overcome the trials in the most orthodox way. As for how to do that, no one but Su Mo could be certain.
Hearing Shiroyasha's question, the silver-haired loli glanced at Su Mo's bedroom out of the corner of her eye, then used a small hand to cover her slightly bulging belly.
"After a night of hard work, the Master has already grasped the technique to complete my Divinity as the Earth Celestial Spirit."
After saying this in a slightly heated tone, she noticed the watery sounds behind her stop and turn into a muffled grunt. Athena then deliberately raised her voice to attract Shiroyasha's attention.
"I have made all the necessary preparations and am just waiting for the Master's arrangements. As for when the Master will be available—"
Halfway through her sentence, the sound of unsteady footsteps came from behind them.
"Lord Su Mo is already up!" The big-breasted, child-faced Archdemon of the Azure Flames leaned against the wall, poking her head out and speaking to the group in an extremely weak voice.
After catching their attention, she immediately flushed red and ducked back inside with a swoosh.
"Veles?!"
Shiroyasha had thought the room was empty, which was why she had let her guard down. She never expected this girl to have been inside the whole time!
So, what exactly was that sound I heard earlier? And, if I'm not mistaken, when Veles poked her head out just now, wasn't there a strange white speck at the corner of her mouth?
Recalling the inexplicable look of pity in Lamia's eyes at the beginning, Shiroyasha suddenly felt that she had missed out on a jackpot worth at least a few billion yesterday.
At this thought, she couldn't help but grit her teeth and howl at the sky.
"That idiot Kurma! I'll never forgive you!"
---||---
Half an hour later, in Arcadia's main hall.
Kurma, who had been inexplicably dragged out and beaten up by Shiroyasha first thing in the morning, clung to Su Mo's arm aggrievedly, complaining about the violent idiot.
The Archdemon of the Azure Flames, who had grown much closer to Su Mo, obediently followed behind Lamia and Black Rabbit, ready to learn from her two seniors and become a personal maid that Su Mo could be proud of.
Athena, brought over by Su Mo from the Campione! world, stared at him intently, awaiting her master's command.
"To construct the Human Cosmological View, we only need to grasp three elements," Su Mo, showing no signs of fatigue after a long night's work, began his analysis of their future course of action in a calm and clear voice.
"Humanity, the Earth Celestial Spirit, and the Catalogue of Life."
"As of now, we have enough Half-Earth Celestial Spirits." As he spoke, he glanced at Athena, Sun Wukong, and Veles standing below the steps. "To obtain a fully awakened Earth Celestial Spirit, we only need to complete the basic trial for a Half-Earth Celestial Spirit."
If you won't do it, there are plenty of others who will. This applied to ordinary people, congenital gods, and naturally-born Celestial Spirits alike.
The competitive mechanism of Little Garden had always been cruel. Those who could not fulfill their mission were bound to be eliminated.
In the past, the pantheons that could not meet the requirements for constructing human history and could not overcome humanity's Last Embryo had been mostly wiped out.
And now, if Sun Wukong was unwilling to complete the trial, there were naturally others who could take her place.
After a night of research studying Veles's physical structure, Su Mo had successfully granted Athena the qualifications of a Half-Earth Celestial Spirit.
Next, as long as Athena could complete the trial in Sun Wukong's stead, she could, with Su Mo's assistance, complete her own Divinity and become a full Earth Celestial Spirit recognized by Little Garden.
"And the trial for a Half-Earth Celestial Spirit is not difficult in itself. It only requires vanquishing the 5-digit class Demon King of Confusion." Su Mo briefly explained the trial's content.
"The Demon King of Confusion's combat power is quite weak. The only trouble is his ability to conceal himself. As the personification of a wanton heart, he holds a Host Master authority that only affects children. He is the culprit who deceives innocent hearts and causes them to be spirited away. He is also the holder of the Gift of 'wasting time and achieving nothing'."
In short, the Demon King of Confusion's Divinity was the potential for children to squander their future.
Defeating him represented overcoming the immaturity of childhood itself, defeating the possibility of achieving nothing, and completing one's individual growth.
Both in terms of his Gift's power and its mythological meaning, this was a Demon King born to be a stepping stone.
Therefore, even though Athena was not Sun Wukong, she could still use the ritual of defeating this Demon King to complete her transformation from an incomplete Celestial Spirit to a complete one.
"The biggest challenge in completing the trial is finding him... For that, we need a child to act as bait, to lure the Demon King out with a pure, innocent heart."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present looked at each other.
Shiroyasha shook her head, feeling that she didn't meet the criteria.
Although she looked like a loli and wasn't exactly mature, she had at least a hundred thousand years of experience.
The Leticia sisters exchanged a glance and also shook their heads. Not to mention that they had entered the hall of adulthood in recent days, even without that, their past experience of having their family destroyed made it difficult for them to retain a childlike innocence.
Kurma, who was childish in appearance and quite immature on the inside, didn't even consider herself. She prided herself on being elegant, mature, and intelligent, not a child at all.
As for Canary, Sun Wukong, and the others, it was even more out of the question.
And so, the bunny-eared little girl in a maid outfit, who was diligently fulfilling her duties by holding a teapot and pouring tea for everyone present, blinked her eyes and found that everyone's gaze was focused on her.
"Eh?"
The bunny-eared little girl was confused.