I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

A metallic clash echoed once more, as Xue Jing felt the immense force transmitted through his blade, inwardly sighing, "This is indeed worthy of myself."

Another powerful surge infused into the blade, and the 'Xue Jing' opposite him mirrored his actions simultaneously. At the point where their blades met, an explosion occurred, clearing a vacuum of nearly three meters in diameter amidst the rainstorm, sending both figures flying backward over ten meters.

Thunder roared and lightning flashed in the sky again, bringing light and casting innumerable shadows on the ground.

These shadows only existed for a fleeting moment, but both Xue Jings seized this instant, transforming them into black currents, igniting vast black flames that surged towards each other with a roar.

The pitch-black shadow flames, though appearing as fire, were not truly flames; they possessed pure annihilating destructive power.

As two masses of seething shadow flames collided, they incessantly obliterated each other, silently dissolving into the air.

...

After more than half an hour, the scene conceived by Xue Jing had been almost completely destroyed, riddled with crisscrossing rifts and massive craters everywhere.

Xue Jing, having completely let loose without any reservations, displayed destructive power beyond human comprehension.

The battle was far from over, yet his mental endurance was wavering.

The continuous consciousness simulation and intensely high-stakes battle had brought his mental strength to the brink of exhaustion.

He decided, in his mind, to halt the fight. The 'Xue Jing' that was charging towards him burst into countless pixel shards, dispersing into the void.

"I finally understand just how troublesome I am."

Sighing, Xue Jing reflected after battling himself, gaining a true appreciation of his own might.

Defense, speed, destructive power... all maxed out, an overwhelmingly versatile hexagonal warrior.

Even he found himself unable to deal with himself, unable to discern a victor.

"Unless I'm crushed with absolute strength in an instant, otherwise, as long as I have the ability to counterattack, it's very difficult for me to lose... This is the allure of the comprehensive barrel."

So mused Xue Jing. With a thought, he exited his mental space.

[You simulated a real combat scenario, gaining +269 martial skill experience.]

[... +202 combat experience.]

[... +196 Concealed Dragon Technique experience.]

[... +251 True Visualization experience.]

[Martial Skills upgraded to Lv5.]

Xue Jing sat cross-legged, placing the Futu Saber across his knees, gently stroking its sheath with his hand.

A strong sensation of bloodline connection resonated from the contact point on Futu.

Faintly, it seemed he could perceive the blade's 'emotions.'

Serenity, gentleness, darkness... like the moon in the sky, quietly watching the earth, unshaken for millennia.

Sheathing the sword is as if the dark moon sets in the west; drawing it is as if the bright moon fills the sky.

Xue Jing sat with a sense of enlightenment, unmoving in his spot.

Gradually, though he wasn't wearing 'glasses', his presence slowly faded.

His eyes began to fill with silver-white, but unlike the previous indifferent, contemptuous, divine aura, this moment's silver-white felt like moonlight, gentle and calm, giving a sense of stability.

A squirrel, clutching an acorn, scampered to Xue Jing's side, fearlessly leaping onto his knee, where it sat gnawing on its bounty.

A gentle breeze blew by. Xue Jing's soft eyes looked at a carp in the lake.

Like moonlight gently bathing down, soft and silent, the carp split silently into two halves, as if unaware of its condition, its divided body still swaying gently with no struggle.

A few seconds later, the severed carp ceased its movement, never showing signs of pain or struggle, passing peacefully.

Xue Jing reached out his palm, gently lifting the squirrel on his knee, his silver eyes gazing at it calmly.

The squirrel curiously met his gaze, sensing no danger.

Xue Jing smiled, placing it on the grass before standing and stretching.

【In your interaction with the blade, your comprehension of the Heavenly Blade's essence deepened, leading to an epiphany and a novel application, Combat Experience +1026】

【In your interaction with the blade, your comprehension of the Heavenly Blade's essence deepened, leading to an epiphany and a novel application, Vision·Truth Experience +1582】

The gentle silver faded from his pupils. Xue Jing was delighted.

“Another ‘epiphany’ triggered, what a haul of experience points!”

“The experience is secondary; the most important part is learning a fascinating new move...”

He recalled the scene where he split the carp in the lake with just a look.

“Barring any surprises, this move should be purely an awareness slash, capable only of affecting others' spirits.”

Thoughts flickered in his mind as he speculated.

After all, a martial artist can only achieve ‘mental interference in one's reality’, not something akin to superpowers that can sever matter from thin air.

But due to 【Vision·Truth】, his mental power gained a slight ability to interfere with reality beyond himself, allowing his ‘spiritual slash’ to possess the real ability to sever matter.

“Incredible... Although the move isn't powerful, it can barely cut a fish. Yet, using it to slit an ordinary person's throat is evidently within reach, making it unmatched for stealthy assassinations.”

“And its true prowess lies in mental attacks on others... The effects remain unknown for now, as mental simulations can't predict unseen scenarios. I'll have to find a chance to test it later.”

Xue Jing gently touched his hand to the Vutu, caressing it tenderly as if caressing a lover, feeling the sword's serene, gentle essence.

“This epiphany owes its success to you, Vutu.”

He contemplated and then murmured to himself:

“Since it's a mental blade move inspired by the moonlit scene, I'll name it ‘Moonlit Slash’.”

“A single glance and the opponent kneels, truly lives up to the name ‘Moonlit’...”

Xue Jing covered his face with a palm, one eye peeking through his fingers, suddenly feeling a tinge of adolescent nostalgia.

"...A true hero defeats others with just a glance!"

...

Two days later.

On the small garden track, Xue Jing paused, glancing at the panel.

[Running upgraded to Lv7]

He did an introspective check, noting his enhanced legs and lungs, nodding in satisfaction.

"Great, running has finally been upgraded."

Initially, this was his fastest skill to level up, yet it gradually fell behind.

This was partially due to Xue Jing starting to overlook it, after all, the improvement of other skills was so prominent. In comparison, the effort put into running didn't seem quite worth it.

He would just run for an hour daily as a warm-up.

Xue Jing opened the panel to review his current stats.

[Fitness] was just two thousand experience points short of reaching Lv9, and [Wellness], after days of Dragon Thunder workouts, was nearing Lv7.

[Aiming], although not practiced much recently, was also approaching Lv7.

New skills [Swimming] and [Riding] both reached Lv3 within these days, nearing Lv4.

"Quite impressive."

Xue Jing looked at the panel, feeling a sense of accomplishment well up inside him.

Opening his messages, he saw one from Wu Youqing.

[Wu Youqing: Come to the library if you have time.]

When the CEO invites, there’s no decline.

Xue Jing replied "Alright," then immediately went home to shower, left to take the bus to Qing University campus, heading straight for the library.

Swiping through, he reached the seventh floor.

What met his eyes was the usual serene view—a girl, sitting upright, holding a book, as picturesque as ever.

Strangely, an inexplicable sense of peace washed over Xue Jing, similar to meeting a long-lost friend who hasn't changed from how you remember them—the kind of peculiar comfort.

Wu Youqing was such a woman, one who could evoke tranquility.

Seeing Xue Jing walk in, she closed her book, blinked, and gestured to the seat across from her.

"Please, sit."

Xue Jing stepped forward and sat down.

Two teacups were already on the wooden table. The cup in front of him held a black liquid, crackling softly with occasional bubbles rising.

It was clearly cola.

"Sister finally understands my taste, I’m touched."

Xue Jing spoke in a calm tone as he picked up his teacup and took a sip.

“……”

His lips moved slightly as he helplessly glanced at Wu Youqing.

A hint of mischief appeared on the young girl's previously serene face, as if she was slightly proud.

“I've already arranged everything for you. Tomorrow noon's ship ticket, purchased with your ID, goes directly to Maple City. You should have received a text message.”

Xue Jing set aside the sugary cola, picked up his phone to check, and sure enough, there was a message.

【Dear esteemed passenger of the Infinite Nova cruise ship's first-class cabin, your reservation...】

The message outlined the boarding time, the pier checkpoint location, room number, and included a website detailing the 'Infinite Nova' cruise ship.

“Thank you, BOSS. This ship ticket must be quite expensive.”

Xue Jing asked with a smile.

Wu Youqing crossed her arms, “Riding a cruise isn't that costly unless you're renting the entire ship.”

“Traveling by water is mainly faster. From Sunny City to Maple City, the land route involves multiple transfers and is quite cumbersome. Air travel... isn't very safe. By water, it only takes a day or two.”

She retrieved a document with numerous sheets of paper from a small bag on the chair beside her and handed it to Xue Jing.

“Your manager, arranged by me, will contact you tomorrow. This is the profile of your opponents in the Maple City elimination contest.”

Xue Jing accepted it.

“With your current skill level, there's no need to worry. After all, it's just an elimination contest... but learning more about your opponents is always good to avoid any unexpected mishaps.”

Wu Youqing spoke in a gentle tone.

Xue Jing opened the document, scanning through it as he casually said, “BOSS, a few days ago, someone named Ning Yuantai from 'Stopping Conflict' invited me to join as an unofficial member, similar to the offer from the White Crow side, and I agreed.”

“Is there anything I should be cautious about?”

Wu Youqing pondered for a moment and said, “Ning Yuantai? That name rings a bell. He should be from the Ning family.”

“Since you practice martial arts, associating with Stopping Conflict generally counts as a good thing.”

“But there's one thing to be cautious of.”

Xue Jing briefly reviewed the document, finding no noteworthy opponents, and closed it, looking curiously at Wu Youqing, “What is it?”

The girl contemplated briefly before saying, “From Stopping Conflict, any commission even slightly related to the word 'Mischief', you must avoid accepting.”

Xue Jing looked puzzled, “'Mischief'? What does that mean?”

It sounded like a term used humorously with children. Could it possibly be a divine relic of some sort?

Wu Youqing seemed equally uncertain how to describe it, pondering for a while before answering unsurely:

"Should we consider it a terrorist organization... perhaps?"

Xue Jing: "Perhaps?"

The young girl sighed.

"Their official name is the 'Prankster Club'... a bizarre global organization."

"The name alone sounds like something kids would concoct, and to some extent, it does resemble a child's play... merely, this 'play' gets rather intense."

"According to their own assertions, the sole purpose of this organization is to 'make the world more lively'."

Xue Jing pinched his chin, "That sounds quite intriguing."

Wu Youqing nodded, "Indeed, it's quite intriguing."

"But anything, when taken to extremes, can turn into something terrifying."

"Things like kidnapping a lawmaker's child solely to engage in a real-life gunfight with the sheriff, releasing 'Titan-class' creatures in city centers and then pretending to be superheroes to defeat them, infiltrating two countries as spies, inciting them into war for amusement... as long as it 'makes the world more lively', they'll do anything."

"Sometimes, they declare war on superpowers for the sake of bullied small countries; at other times, they'll wipe out a century-old powerful heretical cult merely for a little girl's tears..."

"In simple terms, they're a bunch of maniacs whose logic normal people can't grasp."

Wu Youqing twirled a lock of her soft, long hair around her finger, then brushed it to her back.

"If they were just maniacs, it wouldn't be much of a problem, but these people... are absurdly strong."

Xue Jing nodded, "I gathered that much."

"In short, they are terrorists capable of doing anything as long as they find it 'interesting' or 'lively'."

"And they're like a persistent vendetta; once they fixate on you, they'll keep coming back."

Wu Youqing pinched the bridge of her nose, looking quite troubled as she sighed.

"According to Zhige's team, these people are like 'a lump of excrement when gathered, a scattered mess when dispersed'."

"Even with a one in ten thousand chance, you better avoid getting involved with them, or you'll definitely regret it."

"I understand." Xue Jing nodded in agreement, committing the name 'Prankster Club' firmly to memory.

...

After spending a bit more time with Wu Youqing and exchanging some small talk, Xue Jing left the library and took a bus back home.

He intended to tell Catcat about taking the cruise to Maple City tomorrow, only to find she was not home.

Xue Jing did not mind too much and instead picked up the darts from the quiver and began practicing his throws at the dartboard.

He now needed to apply only gentle force, or else the darts would splinter the dartboard.

Every throw hit dead center, precisely on the bullseye, with no deviation even by a millimeter.

After twenty or so minutes, a notification popped up on the panel.

[Aiming upgraded to Lv7]

...