Chapter 823: Ancient Body Enhancement(Darkness), and Preparations Before Departure (I)

Seeing how eager Chen Hu was, Chen Chu didn’t reject him outright, but instead asked, "When does the tournament begin, and what are the rewards?"

Chen Hu chuckled. "It starts on October 15th. Each cycle lasts three months, with rounds at the provincial, national, and global levels. The provincial tournament is further divided into over a dozen municipal-level regions. Martial arts students from each city’s high school must register first, and the top ten of each grade are selected.

"When it comes to the actual provincial tournament, there are no longer grade distinctions. Instead, it’s divided by cultivation level: Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Heavenly Realm. The top ten in each realm will be determined. Apparently, even just ranking in the provincial top ten can get you top-level resources sufficient to break through cultivation bottlenecks.

“As for the national tournament, its rewards are said to be god-level resources, but it’s also much tougher. Only cultivators who’ve reached at least the Fifth Heavenly Realm can participate, and only the top twenty contestants from the three great empires are qualified to enter the global tournament.

"Our teacher said the global tournament offers even more outrageous rewards. The top three will receive the qualification to become gods, with prizes awarded personally by the three councilors. Even aside from that, those who place in the top ten or fifty will receive different rewards."

By the end, Chen Hu was already glowing with excitement, while Chen Chu appeared thoughtful. The Federation's purpose in hosting this tournament, aside from discovering and cultivating monstrous geniuses with exceptional abilities, was likely a response to the recent fierce assault launched by the Purgatory Clan. It was a move to accelerate the next generation’s training.

The tournament structure also seemed fair. Second- and third-year cultivators could all register, and in the early stages, rankings were determined based on cultivation realm rather than school year.

This ensured everyone had the chance to shine, and with a three-month cycle and tiered rewards each time, it gave slower starters with deeper potential the time to grow and explode later on. First-years couldn’t join, but that was because school had only just started two weeks ago.

Seated on the sofa, Chen Chu smiled. "You’ve already investigated all the rules and rewards. Looks like you really want to join, Ah Hu."

Chen Hu nodded excitedly. "I really do. The matches will be streamed live from the start. As long as I make it to the global tournament, I’ll gain both fame and fortune."

Though Chen Hu usually came across as honest and steady, he was only fifteen, brimming with youthful passion and an eagerness to fight forward. Still, he was fairly rational—he only said he wanted to make it into the global tournament, not win it all.

After a moment’s pause, Chen Chu nodded in agreement. "If you want to go, then go."

He wasn’t at all worried about Chen Hu’s strength. Though he had only just broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm, that was just on the surface; he was still an Innate Awakener.

Once Chen Hu entered his Innate Tyrant Body state, he could rival those in the Fourth Realm. With the addition of his Gigantification ability, which explosively boosted his strength, he could easily sweep through the Fifth, maybe even challenge the Sixth.

To crush the Fifth Heavenly Realm while still in the Third... Chen Hu’s current power already exceeded what Chen Chu had back then.

However, this advantage would diminish with higher cultivation. After reaching the Seventh Heavenly Realm and beyond, his awakened ability alone would only make him unrivaled among peers of the same realm. At most, with Gigantification, he would be able challenge one major realm above.

Aside from Chen Chu and others who had prematurely graduated, the highest cultivation level among the current second-years in East Xia was still just the late stage of the Fifth Heavenly Realm—people like Li Meng and the rest.

After receiving resources from Chen Chu, Li Meng, Bai Mu, and the others had already broken through to the Fifth Heavenly Realm and returned to the southern battlefield for intense training. At this rate, they would most likely register for the tournament as well.

"Bro, you’ve agreed but what about my identity..." Chen Hu said, both excited and hesitant.

He had been worried about his background as a relative of a king. Zhang Xiaolan had repeatedly reminded him to keep a low profile, not to draw too much attention, and not to bring trouble to Chen Chu.

Chen Chu smiled. "So what if you’re the relative of a king? That doesn’t matter. No one’s going to give you special treatment in a competition like this. Besides, your talent already surpasses other Innate Awakeners. You’re no weaker than one of those so-called demon gods' descendants. As long as you put in the effort, you’ll at least make it into the global top five."

Although Chen Hu was currently only in the Third Heavenly Realm, he had time on his side. With the provincial, national, and global rounds held every three months, and with rewards from each stage, by then he would likely have already reached the Eighth Heavenly Realm.

An Eighth Heavenly Realm Innate Awakener specializing in physical body enhancement, paired with a Gigantification ability that amplified both strength and defense—that combination would be enough to suppress all opponents.

However, just as Chen Hu was thrilled to have his brother’s permission, Chen Chu added with a note of seriousness, "However, joining the tournament isn’t without risks—like safety."

After some thought, Chen Chu took out a red crystal the size of a fist. It was as though an entire world was sealed within, and a vague shadow could be seen struggling and roaring inside. This was the forbidden artifact that Xie Chen had given him when he reached the Eighth Heavenly Realm and entered the mythical world, the

Rebirth Soul Crystal.

Back when the First Councilor learned that Chen Chu had obtained the emperor’s inheritance, he had personally entered the mythical world, slain a special lifeform in the beginning stage of the mythical level, and refined its soul and bones into this crystal. The moment Chen Chu was killed by an enemy, the crystal, bound to his life through principle reversal, would take the fatal blow on his behalf.

However, the resurrection effect was only effective for cultivators below the king level. Chen Chu’s cultivation had progressed too quickly, and before he ever encountered a truly fatal crisis, he had already stepped into the mythical level. As a result, this crystal had become rather redundant in his hands, while the other three forbidden artifacts had already seen significant use.

Without hesitation, Chen Chu erased the imprint within the Soul Crystal, then placed it into a storage ring that he handed over to Chen Hu. "Take it. I’ll teach you how to refine it after dinner. This storage ring also has basic cultivation resources for you spanning from the Fourth Heavenly Realm to the Sixth, even some for the Seventh."

After reaching the Third Heavenly Realm, a cultivator would possess both true power and spiritual force, making them capable of using storage equipment, making this the right time for Chen Chu to gift it.

The reason he had only prepared basic resources was because, until recently, he hadn’t known what kind of true martial art Chen Hu would choose to cultivate, or which path he’d take. Naturally, he couldn’t prepare tailored resources ahead of time.

"

Hehe

, I knew you’d have something ready for me." Chen Hu accepted the storage ring with a grin, sliding it onto his left index finger without hesitation. After all, his older brother was a mythical-level king, and Chen Hu was his only younger brother. If Chen Chu wasn’t going to give good things to him, who else would he give them to?

Ahh!

Suddenly, a startled cry rang out from the kitchen, followed by the loud clatter of a kitchen knife hitting the floor.

Chen Hu jumped to his feet. "Yiyi, what happened?!"

Inside, Li Yiyi and the two other girls sounded flustered. "Nothing! That fish’s bone was too tough, and the knife slipped."

"Oh right, I forgot. That fish is still a mutated creature, after all. I’ll come help." As he spoke, Chen Hu rushed toward the kitchen.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Shu Jia called out, "It’s fine, Ah Hu. We can handle it. You should stay and chat with Big Brother Chen."

"No way. What if you get hurt? Don’t worry. My brother and I will have plenty of time to talk after dinner. Hand me the knife. Meiling, go wash the rice—cook ten cups, since we’ve got more people."

"Ten cups? Is that enough?"

"Should be. That big rice cooker only fits ten cups and one and a half jin. Yiyi, you and Shu Jia prep the other side dishes. Save the lettuce leaves for the hotpot base—my brother loves those the most..."

Hearing the cheerful chatter from the kitchen, Chen Chu suddenly felt an odd sensation, as if he was already getting old.

Never mind.

He leaned back on the sofa, letting the warm family atmosphere be. Instead, he pondered Chen Hu’s upcoming tournament. After a short silence, he suddenly rose and returned to his room on the second floor, tapping his smartwatch to connect to Celestial and initiate a kings' meeting.

Five minutes later, sensing that everything was ready, he locked onto the smartwatch signal, activated a satellite uplink, and released a terrifying will that surged into the sky.

***

In the void-like subspace, the air suddenly trembled. Then, four immense king’s wills descended and took the form of vague silhouettes seated on their respective thrones. Shortly after, a fifth will descended—far more vast and domineering than the others, like that of a heavenly king's. Its mere presence caused the void to quake violently.

However, the four kings weren’t surprised as they watched the five-hundred-meter phantom with black imperial robes sit on his throne. After all, this was the monster who had dared to plunge deep into the Purgatory Empire, slay seven demon kings and a great demon king, then retreat unharmed even while being besieged by two demon gods.

Xie Chen laughed heartily. "Hahaha... Chen Chu, you did a fine job this time! That was a heavy blow to the Purgatory Clan’s pride!"

Another king nodded. "Indeed. With so many demon kings and great demon kings falling, I bet Deorus was coughing up blood from anger."

The only female among the four kings remarked, "Good thing you infiltrated their rear lines, or we might’ve had to burn through some of our trump cards."

"True. Now that they’ve seen our use of weapons like the Deathline Satellite, they’ll definitely be on guard next time. It’ll be hard to replicate those results."

Chen Chu shook his head slightly at their praise. "You flatter me. I only did what I had to. But the Purgatory Clan’s rear guard really was sloppier than I expected. Or maybe not sloppy; perhaps their territory is just too vast to manage effectively. It’s a pity our high-end combat strength still can’t match theirs. Otherwise, guerrilla strikes deep in their territory would force them into chaos."

Vast territory meant more resources to plunder, but it also came with heavy limitations, as Chen Chu’s recent infiltration showed. If someone had restrained those top demon gods, and prevented Tororya from engaging head-on, the results would have been even more devastating.

Chen Chu alone could have slaughtered his way through the Dark Demonic Morkaya Empire. Even if he couldn’t wipe out every demon king, he could have forced them to retreat into the core demonic domain, abandoning over a million kilometers of outer territory.

After that, Chen Chu and Xie Chen briefly discussed the Purgatory Empire’s situation. The finer points of the battle were glossed over, and then they got to the true reason for convening the meeting.

"The Federation is organizing the Global Martial Arts Tournament, right? My younger brother plans to participate," said Chen Chu.

Xie Chen was momentarily stunned. "Your brother? But didn’t that kid just start cultivating a little over ten days ago?"

As the king stationed at East Xia’s passage, Xie Chen naturally paid attention to Chen Chu’s family. He had specifically monitored them when Chen Chu first entered the rift, so he knew about Chen Hu’s early enrollment, along with his innate awakening and his Gigantification ability.

However, as a king burdened with countless responsibilities, he couldn’t follow up unless something major occurred.

Chen Chu nodded. "To be precise, Ah Hu has only cultivated for nine days. But due to his talent, he’s already broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm."

"What!" All four kings were taken aback, almost thinking they had misheard.

Going from Foundation Building to the Third Heavenly Realm in just nine days? Even among Innate Awakeners, this is absurd. Is your entire family made up of monsters? Or is your genetic line simply this outrageous? It's one thing to have a freak who became a king within a year, but now another one?

Even Xie Chen began seriously considering whether his own family had any high school-aged descendants they could transfer to Nantian; not for political reasons, but because the Chen Family’s genetics were simply too astounding.

Even if marriage alliances weren’t on the table, if one could produce a descendant with talent comparable to the Chen brothers, their family wouldn’t have to worry for at least ten thousand years. Of course, that was assuming humanity could survive the Purgatory Clan’s threat.

Even though he was already a mythical powerhouse, Chen Chu was out of the question. Rumor had it many outstanding girls surrounded him, such as An Fuqing, whose Ninth Heavenly Realm combat strength rivaled that of a mythical being.

There was also Luo Fei, the fierce and unstoppable pilot of Mech No.1 on the frontlines, equally gifted. Since both were schoolmates of Chen Chu, no one else could compete. Not to mention Yan Ruoyi, already half a step into the mythical level, and daughter of a late-stage heavenly king.