Chapter 822: The God of Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Global Martial Arts Tournament! (II)

On the way back to Chen Hu’s house, Li Yiyi held the warm sweet potato in her hands and curiously asked, "Chen Hu, do you know the name of that roasted sweet potato vendor?"

Chen Hu shook his head. "No idea. He’s never said. Everyone around here just calls him Old Ka."

Another pretty girl giggled and teased, "Yiyi, are you trying to say that the sweet potato guy looks like he might be related to Chen Hu? They’re both huge!"

The shorter girl nodded in agreement. "I felt that too."

"Uh... I don’t think we’re related." Chen Hu scratched the back of his head. "I’m this big because I awakened a physical ability. My brother’s height is normal."

"That makes sense." The three girls nodded thoughtfully.

Then Li Yiyi asked, "Hey Ah Hu, I heard that your brother’s already entered the mythical world. Is that true?"

Chen Hu nodded. "Yeah. After he finished dealing with all the rifts, he went back in. I heard we’re at war with aliens over there again."

"Aliens... I heard those monsters are even scarier than mutated beasts. Really scary."

"Don’t worry,” Chen Hu said confidently. “Those aliens can only stir up trouble in the mythical world. With my brother and the other kings holding them down, they’re not gonna make any real waves. Just give me two more years. Once I reach the king level, I’ll charge in with my brother and wipe those aliens out for good!"

Rather than thinking he was boasting, the three girls looked at him with absolute belief. Li Yiyi clenched her small fists. "Go for it, Ah Hu! With your talent, you’ll definitely make it. You might not even need two years to reach king level!"

"I think Ah Hu will break through in a year and a half, tops."

"For sure. Ah Hu’s older brother is the Divine Might King, a once-in-a-generation monster who became a king in a single year!"

As the four walked toward the Chen residence, munching on sweet potatoes and chatting cheerfully, Chen Chu wore a slightly odd expression as he withdrew his divine will and senses. If he kept listening, he would actually start feeling embarrassed.

These kids truly had no fear—like newborn calves unafraid of tigers. From the way the three girls spoke, becoming a king-level cultivator sounded easy, something to achieve in a year or two, with no awareness of how many cultivators had been stuck at that threshold for their entire lives.

Still, it wasn’t strange for Chen Hu to have that confidence. As an Innate Awakener, he was gifted from the start—nearly able to leap directly into the Ninth Heavenly Realm. Not long ago, he had also obtained a fortunate opportunity, awakening a transformation ability that allowed him to gigantify.

Add to that the resources funneled to him from his king-level older brother, along with the newly developed body enhancement art Chen Chu had just created... Even a conservative estimate would place him as being able to become a king within two years.

Lying lazily on the couch, enjoying a rare moment of rest, Chen Chu grew slightly bored. He picked up the remote control from the coffee table and turned on the TV.

"Welcome to Cultivation News. Last night, October 1st, a clash between cultivators broke out at a public bus station in Tiannan City, causing widespread destruction to public property. So far, there are no reports of civilian injuries. Law enforcement agents responded immediately, detaining the two high-level cultivators involved, and the damaged facilities were restored overnight by the relevant departments. The cause of the conflict has not yet been released. Our station will continue to monitor updates from the authorities."

As the host spoke, the screen behind them showed chaotic footage of the bus station’s collapse, with the ground cracking and rumbling violently.

"Next up—breaking news. This morning, the chairman of Qingtian Martial Arts Academy, advanced cultivator Mr. Li Qing, announced the full restructuring of East Xia’s premier martial arts dojo and welcomes talented individuals nationwide who wish to learn high-level cultivation arts. Already, many families who are financially well-off, but whose children were granted only low-level cultivation access after entering high school, have rushed to the site."

Behind the host, the screen shifted to footage of a lavishly renovated building, where a dozen young and middle-aged men stood in a line on the steps, performing a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

"We now turn to international news. Kleide, formerly hailed as the top young talent in the world of gene martial arts, suffered defeat at the hands of the Divine Might King. Recently, Covato—the new number-one genius—failed his breakthrough to the Seventh Heavenly Realm and suffered severe depletion of vitality.

"Covato’s failure has once again sparked doubt among gene martial arts cultivators. Is the path of true martial arts really stronger than gene martial arts? In response, senior cultivators of the gene martial arts path have stepped forward to clarify: Covato’s failure does not represent the limitations of gene martial arts as a whole. As the saying goes, ‘The master opens the door; cultivation depends on the individual.’

"As for that traitor Kleide, there’s no need to bring him into the comparison. While he was indeed gifted, his opponent was none other than the Divine Might King—a peerless prodigy who counterattacked and defeated an Eighth Heavenly Realm avatar of a god while only at the Sixth Heavenly Realm.

"In other news, through exclusive channels, our station has obtained firsthand updates from the sea. Just a few days ago, a new breed of fire-type flying mutated beast evolved in the ocean, completely defying everything we know about marine mutation. Experts believe this is a lingering effect from the world-altering anomaly half a month ago. From here on, mutations will become more diverse not just in the ocean, but across all terrestrial species.

"However, the public need not worry. Compared to those passively evolving creatures, humanity, with both cultivation and technology, is far stronger. A well-known domestic tech company, Tianhua Group, has just developed a vitality-enhancing pill that grants ordinary people a chance to awaken cultivation talent. Currently, however, production is limited. Interested viewers can scan the QR code in the bottom-left corner to access our website..."

A pill that can give ordinary people cultivation talent?

The advertisement caught Chen Chu off guard, disrupting his previously casual enjoyment of the program.

Ever since the great upheaval half a month ago and the alien invasions, the government had loosened restrictions on cultivation-related news, to the point where it had become a nationwide topic of discussion.Thanks to a well-controlled and orderly online environment, less than a year had passed and cultivators and mutated beasts had already become part of daily life for the public.

Now, the hottest trending topics were no longer celebrities and gossip, but stories about where cultivators had fought, what powers they had displayed, and how much destruction they caused, alongside tales of low-level cultivators teaming up to hunt mutated beasts in the wilderness, returning with corpses that sold for millions.

Click!

The sound of the door opening echoed from outside, followed by Chen Hu’s cheerful voice. "Come on in, everyone! I told my mom this morning that you guys were coming for dinner, so she already bought the groceries. I’ll show off a bit in the kitchen later—Bro!"

Just as Chen Hu and the three girls entered the house, they spotted the black-haired young man sitting on the sofa. Chen Hu’s eyes lit up with delight as he called out, "You’re back, Bro!"

Chen Chu smiled softly and gently replied, "I wrapped up my business while I was out—thought I’d stop by on the way back. These must be your classmates...?"

As he spoke, Chen Chu’s gaze landed on the three girls. He had seen them a few times on the road when walking with Chen Hu to school.

"Hehe, Bro, let me introduce them to you." Chen Hu grinned. "This is Yiyi, her older brother is Li Meng. And these are Shu Jia and Jian Meiling. They’re all good friends of mine. Last night, I caught a golden mutated fish by the river. Not only does it taste great, but even ordinary people can digest it. So I asked Mom to buy some side dishes this morning and invited Yiyi and the others over to try it."

"I see." Chen Chu nodded and smiled gently at the three slightly nervous and reserved girls. "No need to be nervous. Just treat this place like your own home."

Li Yiyi looked at the black-haired young man in front of her with a mix of anxiety and awe. She stammered, "G-Greetings, Divine Might King."

"No need to be so formal," Chen Chu said warmly. "I’m good friends with your brother. Just call me Big Brother Chen."

Then he looked at the other two girls. "You can call me that too, if you want."

"R-Really?" The two girls looked surprised and delighted.

Chen Chu nodded casually. "Of course."

"B-Big Brother Chen!" they chimed in joyfully.

Letting them call him that wasn’t just acknowledging their identity as Chen Hu’s friends—it was also an implicit elevation of their own status. If anyone in Wujiang City tried to bully them or their families in the future, they could drop the fact that they knew the Divine Might King and even called him "Big Brother" as a deterrent. Even if it was only because they were with Chen Hu, outsiders wouldn’t know the difference.

After the excitement settled, the sensible Li Yiyi quickly said, "Ah Hu, since Brother Chen is home, you should stay here and catch up with him. Leave dinner to us."

𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"You guys..." Chen Hu hesitated.

The curvaceous Shu Jia confidently responded, "Don’t worry, we all cook at home. It might not be as good as a professional chef, but it’ll definitely be fine."

Jian Meiling nodded. "Yeah, Ah Hu, you talk with your brother. We’ll handle the kitchen."

With that, the three girls tactfully headed off toward the kitchen. Seeing this, Chen Hu didn’t protest. He just turned to Chen Chu and gave a sheepish grin at his brother’s odd expression.

Chen Chu shook his head. "I’m not going to interfere in your business—just don’t end up causing a scandal too early."

Chen Hu scratched his head awkwardly. "Bro, I’m still in middle school. That kind of thing is way too early for me."

"So you still remember you’re only in the third year of middle school," Chen Chu said, deadpan. Then his gaze swept over Chen Hu, and he nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad—you’ve reached the Third Heavenly Realm. Looks like you haven’t been slacking off lately."

Mentioning that made Chen Hu visibly excited. "Bro, cultivation really is easy! I feel like I’ll break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm any day now!"

He had achieved Foundation Building in a single day, birthed true power in his body, and directly entered the Second Heavenly Realm. Because of the stone he’d consumed, his true power had grown rapidly, and in just six days he had broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm.

Combined with his powerful awakened physique, all Chen Hu needed to do was grow his true power and practice combat techniques. With the way his true power was increasing, he was confident he could reach the Fourth Heavenly Realm within a month.

That was why cultivation felt so easy to him. After all, if his brother became a mythical king in a year, then reaching the Fourth Heavenly Realm in a month didn’t sound too outrageous.

At that point, Chen Hu suddenly said, "Oh yeah, I want to sign up for the competition."

Chen Chu paused. "Competition? What competition?"

"The Global Martial Arts Tournament the Federation just announced! Each province is selecting the most talented young geniuses. The requirement is to be in the second year of high school, but my teacher said since I’ve already broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm, they’ll make an exception and let me join!"