Chapter 1073: Contest of the Hundred Races, Battlefield of the Heavens (II)

After a long while, Chen Chu sighed. "It seems like we must advance faster. Otherwise, we’ll never catch up with those ancient predecessors."

The moment he spoke, even Zhenwu raised his head toward the ceiling, suddenly unsure of what to say, or rather, unwilling to speak at all.

In less than two years you’ve reached the late stage of the ancient titan level, and you complain the speed isn’t fast enough. Does that even make sense?

Chen Chu looked at the three of them strangely. "Qian Tian, why are you all staring at the ceiling?"

"

Ahem

, nothing." Qian Tian cleared his throat. "But Chen Chu, you are right. We do need to cultivate harder. Otherwise, even if we enter the outer heavens, we won't be able to protect ourselves."

If relations with the human divine regions went smoothly, Qian Tian and the others were already preparing to use that opportunity to step into the chaotic void, to enter a broader battlefield. If fate favored them, then with their talent, they could soon break through to the true spirit level.

After all, even in the relatively barren Blue Planet, with access to only the mythical world, they had still managed to break through to the ancient titan level within a decade. How much faster would it be outside the chaotic heavens?

Chen Chu turned to Shi Feitong. "Feitong, how long before those envoys arrive?"

Shi Feitong thought for a moment. "With precise coordinates, and considering that the envoys are at least true-spirit-level experts, they should arrive within two day-cycles."

"Two months or so. That should be enough." Chen Chu’s expression grew solemn. "I’ll return to the Solar System to enter seclusion, and see if I can push my cultivation to the peak of the ancient titan level earlier. Feitong, if the envoys arrive ahead of time, you will receive them and hold them off. Send someone to notify me immediately. Sirs, I will mobilize all of the Federation’s forces to hunt mutated beasts and colossal beasts around our territories. Gather as many Life Crystals as possible and send them to the sun."

Within Chen Chu resided a strand of world creation power that could complete the fusion of a supreme principle with great speed. Moreover, his soul essence had already begun to transform, and his True Demon God Form had reached the primordial infant stage. Even if he couldn’t break through directly to the primordial level, he faced no bottleneck before the semi-primordial level.

Of course, being free of bottlenecks didn’t mean it only required resources. He also needed to comprehend the principles of heaven and earth to perfect his own path. By burning attribute points, he could enter the epiphany state, and for that, he required Life Crystals.

***

"You’re certain you can come with me?"

Beneath the phantom of the Golden Divine Tree, towering hundreds of thousands of kilometers high, Chen Chu looked at Shi Feitong. Even after she had concealed her aura, the faint vastness of her true-spirit-level power still lingered.

She smiled. "Don’t worry, Big Brother Chen. Outside the chaotic heavens, I often seal my power and enter weaker micro-worlds.”

She stretched out her hand, and space tore open, revealing a blank white scroll. "This is a Heavenly Domain Tome, refined from the bark of the Ancient Void Tree. It allows me to transform the space I occupy into a self-contained bubble, cut off from everything outside."

As she spoke, the scroll emitted a gentle radiance as it hovered beside her, releasing a white halo that slowly enveloped her and a ten-meter area around her. In an instant, the overwhelming fluctuations of her true-spirit-level aura disappeared; even the essence of her energy was concealed. What remained was only the aura of an elegant woman, her beauty exaggerated to the point of seeming otherworldly.

Compared to the Human Federation, the six divine regions had developed their cultivation systems to the absolute peak. Not just combat, but even every functional detail of life had been refined to perfection.

Shi Feitong’s eyes gleamed with a trace of anticipation. "Big Brother Chen, what do you think would make a better gift when I first meet Aunty?"

Chen Chu paused. "...There’s no need for such trouble."

Naturally, when he returned, Chen Chu planned to first visit Zhang Xiaolan, then head into seclusion within the sun. As for Chen Hu, that fellow needed no attention. Having already won first place in the global tournament, he was preparing to enter the mythical world for training.

Chen Chu originally hadn’t intended to bring Shi Feitong back. Although the Solar System had been upgraded, the passage could only bear the entry of ancient-titan-level beings. The Solar System would violently reject any true spirit. However, since she had already sealed away her power, Chen Chu could only shake his head slightly before turning toward the golden phantom.

The entire divine tree burst into radiant brilliance. Its branches swayed, scattering dazzling light and filling the surroundings with the aura of powerful space. Beyond the Blue Planet’s atmosphere, a golden vortex ten thousand meters in diameter slowly revolved.

Boom!

Suddenly, it quaked violently, and Chen Chu’s figure slowly emerged. At once, the transcendent energy, dense enough to spread across space, roared and transformed into seven-colored brilliance that swirled around him, forming ring after ring of radiant halos that illuminated the starry sky as if to welcome his return.

Though Chen Chu had stripped away all power and relinquished the position of the Heavenly Dao, as the one who had held up the heavens and saved the world, his status in the Solar System stood above all, equal to heaven itself.

"Creation’s radiance! And the ancestral world seems to have separated from the original world, becoming a complete great world of its own!" Watching the seven-colored glow around Chen Chu’s body and the vivid principles of heaven and earth in the air, feeling the wholeness of the world’s aura, Shi Feitong was stunned. The time had been too short, and she hadn’t yet learned of the Blue Planet’s changes, nor that Chen Chu had already succeeded in holding up the heavens.

On a floating platform dozens of kilometers wide at the edge of the atmosphere, guarding the passage, Xie Chen smiled faintly. "Welcome back, Chen Chu."

At the same time, the several thousand high-level cultivators stationed below shouted excitedly. "Greetings, Divine Might King!"

"Xie Chen, your aura is fluctuating. It seems you’ve already touched the threshold of the heavenly king level. Congratulations."

"

Hahahaha

... it was thanks to your fortune. If not for you holding the frontlines in the war, I wouldn’t have been able to focus behind and fight those demon kings. Borrowing the deadlock of battle and the pressure of principles filling the world, I tore open the bottleneck that blocked me for years."

"This was your own accumulation reaching the point of breakthrough. It had nothing to do with me." Chen Chu then nodded slightly to the other cultivators. "Everyone, no need for formality."

"And this is?" Xie Chen now noticed Shi Feitong standing behind Chen Chu, hesitating.

Although Shi Feitong had sealed her power, the noble and majestic life aura upon her, even greater than Qian Tian and other ancient-titan-level powerhouses, couldn’t escape his perception.

Chen Chu faintly smiled. "This is Shi Feitong, a powerhouse of the Flamewheel Divine Region, one of the six divine regions of the Ancient Civilization. She’s the vice palace master of Jiantian Palace. Qian Tian will pass more details on shortly."

The arrival of a divine region's powerhouse was news that couldn’t be concealed. After tidying up the details, Qian Tian would send the information to all experts in the Alliance at the mythical level and above.

Of course, the announcement would emphasize the might of the human divine regions. What could be said of the more delicate details would be said, and what could not, would remain hidden from the other three civilizations.

"An Ancient Civilization powerhouse!?" Xie Chen’s mouth gaped open, his face full of shock.

"Greetings." Shi Feitong nodded slightly, taking the initiative to address him. Though Xie Chen was only at the peak of the mythical level, worlds apart from her, Chen Chu’s respectful tone meant she couldn’t take him lightly.

"Greetings, Vice Palace Master Shi." Xie Chen’s voice trembled with excitement.

With that exchange done, Chen Chu twisted space, and vanished from the edge of the atmosphere with Shi Feitong.

At this time, the entirety of Wujiang City was booming with construction. New buildings rose everywhere, high-rises shooting upward at speeds visible to the naked eye. Even around Chen Chu’s home, the old neighborhoods not far away had been cleared. The old courtyards gave way to mid-rise towers a dozen stories high, filled with the sounds of hammers and drills.

Luxury cars occasionally passed along the streets, but whenever they neared Chen Chu’s house, their drivers slowed with extreme caution, not daring even to press their horns. On the sidewalks, stylishly dressed girls with bright and graceful temperaments passed by. Their looks were extraordinary, attracting the gazes of many men.

At the street corner, beside a roasted sweet potato stand, the burly stall owner respectfully wrapped two yams while speaking. "My king, many new households have recently moved near Madam’s residence. I’ve checked them all. Among them, four are families of heavenly kings, seventeen are direct descendants of king-level powerhouses, thirty-one belong to globally renowned corporate clans, and more than a hundred households are families of top-level cultivators. But these people are clever. None have disturbed Madam, so I didn’t interfere."

Chen Chu nodded. "As long as they don’t disturb my mom, nothing else matters."

He accepted the two roasted sweet potatoes, passing one box to Shi Feitong. "Feitong, try it. Kavadora’s roasted sweet potatoes are quite good. Though just a commoner’s snack, eating them once in a while has its own charm."

"Alright, Big Brother Chen." Shi Feitong didn’t refuse, smiling brightly as she accepted it.

Chen Chu patted Kavadora’s shoulder. "You’ve worked hard during this time."

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Kavadora shivered, shaking its head hastily. "Not at all, not at all. Serving the king is the greatest honor of my life."

Then its eyes shifted toward Shi Feitong, a trace of hesitation and excitement flashing across them, before it nervously asked, "M-My lord, are you... a supreme god?"

Shi Feitong smiled faintly. "So you did recognize me."

"S-Supreme God, it truly is you!?" Kavadora’s face lit with wild excitement, its eyes reddening. Its legs nearly gave way as it prepared to kneel before her.

Back then, a heavily injured Shi Feitong had recuperated in the forbidden zone of the Tyrannosaur Race. In passing, she had taken a group of ordinary alien followers under her wing, teaching them the cultivation system of battle patterns. Before leaving, she had even bestowed upon them an inheritance token.

At that time, her figure had been blurred, so they couldn’t see her true appearance. However, Kavadora remembered her voice with perfect clarity. With just a few words now, it recognized her instantly.

As Kavadora was about to fall to its knees and perform a grand salute, her cold, commanding voice rang directly in his mind. "Stand. Do not kneel. Do not shatter the ordinary image I must uphold with Big Brother Chen."

"Y-Yes, my lord." Kavadora trembled, quickly straightening itself.