Chapter 821: The God of Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Global Martial Arts Tournament! (I)

"I’ve truly been wrung dry this time..." Chen Chu leaned weakly against the towering black gate stretching ten thousand meters tall, utterly drained. Crimson cracks spread across his entire body, as if he were a shattered porcelain figure barely glued back together.

This injury was even more severe than when he fell into the Lost World. The instant he returned through the spatial jump, the power of his divine soul, divine law power, vitality, and even life force had been completely drained—utterly, with not a single drop left. He had been left so weakened that even an ordinary demon king could defeat him.

Of course, there wasn’t any need to mention those below that level; they couldn’t break through his defenses at all. Just his unmoving true form radiating its invisible pressure field was enough to keep them at bay.

Feeling the utter depletion of his true form, along with the waves of tearing pain coming from his divine soul, Chen Chu estimated he’d need at least half a day to recover and regain a sliver of strength—just enough to find the councilors to help him break the seal.

Then he could activate the Space-Time Altar, summon the Destructive Dragon Emperor’s true body, and bring over the Little Purple Dragon to give him a few healing boosts.

Back when he had clashed head-on with the two demon gods, he had almost burned through his very life essence just to keep the Dragon Emperor’s Dark-Red Form active long enough to severely wound one of them.

Under normal circumstances, such damage would have struck at his very foundation. Though the Dragon Emperor’s later evolutions had restored much of his physical injuries with its surge of energy, the depleted life essence remained unrecoverable.

Wounds that touched upon life essence couldn’t be healed unless he encountered a divine object of creation-level potency—or, alternatively, broke into a higher realm and underwent another metamorphosis to shatter the shackles of life.

Yet either of these options was easy for Chen Chu. Even without the Little Purple Dragon, he was confident he could break through to the heavenly king level in a short time. Back then, his decision to fight to the brink of death had been to kill three birds with one stone.

First, to feign weakness and reduce the sense of threat he posed to the demon gods. Second, to bait the Silver Time Butterfly into action. Third, to delay the two empires’ plans for full scale war by heavily injuring a demon god, giving both himself and the Federation more time to grow. By all accounts, his infiltration into the rear of the Purgatory Empire had achieved every intended goal.

While he leaned silently against the stone gate, lost in thought, his body was already absorbing the chaotic void’s energy at full speed. His surface wounds healed rapidly before the naked eye.

Roughly an hour later, Chen Chu finally let out a slow exhale. In that hour, he had recovered about ten percent of his divine law power, and his physical wounds had mostly healed. His strength had returned by about twenty percent.

Feeling the power once again filling his body, a faint smile appeared on Chen Chu’s face as he stood up. Then he turned his gaze toward the storm-wracked, thunder-rumbling black world before him.

Although he was now within the planar worlds, there still remained a layer of invisible barrier between himself and the full extent of the realm. Due to the seal, neither the Law of Power nor the planar power could be manipulated. This was the power of a supreme principle—only power on an equal level could shatter it.

Fortunately, this power of principle had no true foundation. The councilors should be able to break it without trouble. Casting one last deep glance at the sealed planar worlds, Chen Chu turned and pushed the black gate open just enough for a rift to form, then vanished.

***

In Wujiang City, a little past four in the afternoon, the warm autumn sunlight poured through the Chen Family house’s windows, filling the living room with a soft golden brightness.

The door on the second floor opened, and Chen Chu stepped out, his long black hair falling loosely over his shoulders. His face looked slightly pale, giving him a distinctly weakened appearance. He wore a grey long-sleeved shirt and white casual trousers, dressed comfortably and leisurely.

At this time, Chen Hu was still in school, and Zhang Xiaolan had probably gone to work, so the house was empty. Yet the moment Chen Chu opened the door, the subtle disturbance instantly alerted the nearby powerhouses. One after another, hidden auras stirred faintly.

Chen Chu, having deliberately caused this noise, calmly said, "No need to be on edge, everyone. It’s me."

A suppressed but excited voice immediately followed. "Divine Might King, you’ve returned!?"

Chen Chu mildly replied, "Mhmm. I’ve taken care of my matters. Help me inform Xie Chen that I’ll visit him tomorrow morning, and plan to enter the mythical world then."

"Understood."

The news of Chen Chu’s return spread rapidly through the upper ranks of the Federation. In less than five minutes, all Ninth Heavenly Realm experts and the seated kings had learned of it. Many breathed a collective sigh of relief.

At the southern battlefield military base, a faint smile appeared on Li Yi’s face. The world origin Chen Chu had gifted him allowed him to conceal his presence, and he was on the verge of stepping into the mythical level.

"I knew nothing could happen to him. These peerless prodigies always carry great fate. Who knows—maybe this ordeal turned out to be a blessing in disguise, and he’s now even stronger."

***

After the surrounding surveillance lifted, Chen Chu made his way to the first-floor living room. He sank into the soft sofa and let out a contented sigh as the warm sunlight filtered through the windows and settled gently on his body.

It had been a long time since he’d felt this relaxed. Ever since he stepped onto the battlefield in Kyrola, his spirit had been gradually drawn taut. As his strength grew, so too did the secrets he uncovered and the enemies he encountered. The invisible sense of urgency pressing down on Chen Chu became ever more suffocating, so much so that it had forced him into constant cultivation and advancement.

In truth, this was a manifestation of a deeper insecurity—an unconscious distrust in everyone around him. The lack of a sense of safety was easy to understand; in a world filled with transcendent strength, one could never truly feel secure unless they stood at the very peak.

There was also his lack of faith in the kings, heavenly kings, and even supreme powerhouses of the human race, that they could hold back the threats from other races. However, this was a misjudgment on Chen Chu’s part, underestimating the overall strength of humanity. It was compounded by the fact that he had risen so quickly, the supreme powerhouses of the human race had barely had time to speak with him in earnest.

Under normal circumstances, the Human Federation’s situation would have been more difficult without Chen Chu, but not hopeless. The performance on the two major battlefields earlier had already demonstrated this. The orbital weapons around the Blue Planet were another example—they were clear evidence that the Federation had long been laying the groundwork, preparing for a final, all-out battle.

Even the fallback plan to retreat into the depths of the mythical world with a portion of humanity, in the event that they couldn’t hold off the Purgatory Clan, had been in place, not to mention the secret strategic alliance with the Alliance of Gods in the Expansion Division’s jurisdiction—a force no weaker than a typical Purgatory Empire.

Then there were the recent emissaries from the Heavenly Feathered Race. From this, it was evident that the Federation’s upper echelon had always been forging diplomatic ties and building alliances—it was just unclear how the current negotiations between the two races had progressed. There was also that expedition Xie Chen had mentioned... Had it already set out?

Leaning back on the sofa, Chen Chu let his mind wander freely for a while. Then, he reached out with his divine soul and will.

“Kavadora, anything unusual lately?”

Two streets away, at a roadside intersection, a towering brawny man who had been roasting sweet potatoes beside a tricycle stiffened slightly, then respectfully responded.

—

Reporting to you, Supreme God, my lord. All is normal so far, including the hidden sentinels tasked with guarding your mother and younger brother.

As he relayed this, the 2.6 meter, fierce-looking man with a rugged face smiled warmly and handed a roasted sweet potato to the waiting auntie. "Here’s your sweet potato. 19 yuan in total."

The elderly woman took the sweet potato, but as she handed over the money, she muttered, "Old Ka, your sweet potatoes are delicious, but can’t you cut me a deal?"

Kavadora shook his head. "Can’t go any cheaper. I’d be losing money. Just look at these sweet potatoes. I roast them raw, and they take over two hours to cook. The sugar inside fully caramelizes, and the aroma alone is worth it. This method is totally different from those flashy knockoffs who boil their sweet potatoes first and only lightly roast the surface. That’s not real roasting. Between the time investment and the cost of the charcoal, I spend more than any other sweet potato vendor. So of course the price is higher."

"Fine, fine. A little pricey then." Realizing she wouldn’t be getting a discount, the old lady shook her head and went to sit on a small stool nearby with her roasted sweet potato.

Watching this scene through his divine soul perception, Chen Chu was somewhat dumbfounded.

Wait a minute... You're a middle-stage mythical powerhouse, and you’re out here selling roasted sweet potatoes? Isn’t this a bit... off-brand? I just asked you to secretly protect my family for three years, not open a street food stall.

Kavadora’s existence was only known to a few of the Federation’s kings, like Xie Chen. No one else knew there was a mythical powerhouse suppressing threats near Chen Chu’s family.

Even the other Federation experts assigned for protection had no idea. After all, people’s hearts were unpredictable—what someone thought one moment could be different the next. Considering the Purgatory Clan’s many secret arts, who knew if some strange ability could let them infiltrate the Blue Planet again?

Chen Chu had considered the idea of moving Zhang Xiaolan and Chen Hu to a more secure location, such as the rift world where other kings’ families were sheltered. If he hadn’t subdued Kavadora, he would have talked to Zhang Xiaolan before heading deep into the Purgatory Empire, persuading them to move into the designated rift world for safety.

Then, once he had crushed the Purgatory Clan and eliminated the threat, he would have brought them back. However, with Kavadora’s protection, there was no need for Zhang Xiaolan and the others to relocate. Life at home was far more comfortable.

As Chen Chu was still processing how quickly Kavadora had managed to compress his true form and even learn the Federation’s language to blend in, his divine soul suddenly picked up Chen Hu approaching.

Today, he was wearing his Nantian High School uniform, though he carried a middle school-style shoulder bag. He was accompanied by three pretty middle school girls.

Grinning, Chen Hu said, "Yiyi, look! That tricycle over there—that’s the street stall I told you about. His roasted sweet potatoes are super sweet, like the ones we used to eat in the countryside when we were little."

The cute and well-behaved Li Yiyi looked intrigued. "If Ah Hu’s praising it that much, then it must taste amazing."

"Come on, my treat. Let’s try it out." Chen Hu led his three classmates to Kavadora’s stand and greeted him with familiarity. "Boss, give us five roasted sweet potatoes—make them a bit drier, with more caramelized sugar."

"No problem, just a moment." As he spoke, Kavadora opened the oven, reached directly into the scalding chamber with his bare hand to turn the sweet potatoes, then took out five steaming hot ones and placed them on the digital scale.

None of the bystanders found this scene unusual. The Federation had spent the past half-year performing a widespread campaign to educate the public about transcendent powers. Coupled with the recent global upheavals and the scene of Chen Chu suppressing an invading race outside Tiannan City, people around the world had grown entirely used to the idea of the transcendent.

Kavadora’s unusually massive frame clearly marked him as someone beyond ordinary. It was obvious he was likely a mutated ability-user. Still, after seeing him selling sweet potatoes at a street stall, and not recruited by any major organization, people naturally assumed his strength was mediocre—just another low-level physical mutation type.

"Five sweet potatoes, that’s ninety-seven yuan. But since you’re a regular, I’ll give you a 40% discount—just fifty yuan will do." As he spoke, Kavadora packed the five sweet potatoes into separate cardboard boxes, each with a small plastic fork for convenience.

However, when the girls heard the cost, their eyes went wide. "Ninety-seven? Your sweet potatoes are that expensive?" Li Yiyi exclaimed.

Another girl, petite at only 1.5 meters tall but surprisingly well-developed for her age, was also shocked. "Yeah! Aren’t roasted sweet potatoes usually like ten yuan each?"

Though the three girls all came from fairly well-off families, they still had a grasp of basic prices and immediately felt like Chen Hu was getting ripped off.

Before they could voice their protests, the auntie sitting nearby who had just started eating chimed in angrily, "Old Ka, I’m a regular too. Why are you only giving them a half-off discount?"

"You’re not a student. You don’t have to worry about saving your allowance—why should I give you a discount?" Kavadora, now fully immersed in his role, replied in a deep, gruff voice. "These kids are the future of the Federation. They’re still growing. If they’re hungry and want roasted sweet potatoes, of course I’ll cut them a break."

"Growing, huh..." The auntie glanced over at Chen Hu—over two meters tall, just slightly shorter than Kavadora himself. That burly frame hardly looked like someone still growing. She suddenly had the feeling this guy was taking her for a fool.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The "future of the Federation" already stands over two meters tall in middle school? Grow what, exactly?

Nearby, Chen Hu chuckled as he watched. He knew that auntie—she came here around the same time every day to eat sweet potatoes and chat idly with the boss. She seemed to have taken a liking to the rugged, weathered middle-aged uncle with his dark skin.

"Boss, you don’t have to give me a discount every time. I know this job isn’t easy." With that, Chen Hu pulled out a hundred yuan and handed it over.

"No way. I said I’d give you a discount, and I mean it. You kids are the Federation’s future." With his Supreme God watching from afar, Kavadora didn’t dare go back on his word. He found a fifty and forcefully shoved it back at Chen Hu.

They pushed the bill back and forth a couple more times, but finally Kavadora declared that if Chen Hu refused the discount, he’d stop selling sweet potatoes altogether. That settled it, and Chen Hu took the fifty.

Only after the four teens walked off did Kavadora finally exhale and wipe the cold sweat from his brow. Normally, he’d just accept it if Chen Hu insisted. Today, however, was different.