I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

“Senior Brother Zhao!”

The armed men in the warehouse district gasped as they watched the man in the suit, impaled by a long blade.

In that moment, Xue Jing was too close to the suited man, making them afraid to shoot for fear of hitting the wrong target. They found themselves frozen in place.

“Cough—”

The blade had seemingly pierced the man's lung, forcing him to cough up blood. He clutched the blade with his uninjured hand, glaring at Xue Jing in disbelief:

“How are you this powerful!?”

According to Junior Brother Li Chengxuan, this person was supposed to be on par with him in terms of strength.

Moreover, the martial arts of the Hidden Dragon sect are not even specialized in blade techniques; why could this man unleash such a formidable slash?

Blade energy—a skill not easily mastered even by those who have devoted decades to the craft—how could this be achieved by a mere youth?

Damn it, had he known the depths of this blade mastery, he would never have engaged so directly. A single misstep and all was lost...

Xue Jing offered no response, his silver, divine eyes reflecting the suited man's image with disdain, as if gazing at an ant.

“Crack—”

With a surge of force into the blade, Xue Jing twisted his wrist, wrenching the man's grip off the blade.

Then, he sliced the long sword sideways.

“Whoosh—”

The sharp edge, imbued with energy, cut through flesh and bone, slashing from the man's abdominal center outward to the right. It left a stomach-rending wound, nearly bisecting him.

The man screamed, dropped to his knees in agony, clutching his belly, yet the incision was too large. His intestinal and internal organs spilled uncontrollably.

“Senior Brother Zhao!”

The gunmen afar were struck with horror. How had Senior Brother Zhao fallen so easily...?

Unable to hold back, one pulled the trigger at Xue Jing reflexively.

“Bang!”

With the first shot, several others, driven by reflex, followed suit, pulling their triggers.

As the gunfire erupted continuously, the mob mentality took over entirely, and everyone raised their guns.

“Bang Bang Bang Bang—”

With countless steel bullets hurtling his way, Xue Jing activated his innate ability, "Twin Instinct,"

Trusting his instincts completely, he surrendered his body's control, allowing intuition to guide him.

Retreating, leaping left, sidestepping right...

Simultaneously, Vutu in his hand was in constant motion, deflecting attacks. Bisected bullets clattered to the ground, producing a harmonious metallic rhythm.

Amidst the hail of bullets, he remained unscathed. Each bullet either missed or was sliced down, as he moved with fluid grace, as if dancing.

“How is this possible!?”

The men stared, dumbfounded.

“Interesting, so this is the doubled 'Intuitive Reflex'...”

Amidst the hail of bullets, Xue Jing closed his eyes.

It was like how any ordinary person, threatened with a sharp blade at their neck, would instinctively feel the prickle of fear even without realizing it.

This is an avoidance instinct buried deep within our genes, a natural defense against danger.

In the world of martial artists, through constant training and battle, this instinctual avoidance becomes much more acute. Dodging a bullet or two becomes a manageable feat.

Now activated, Xue Jing’s Twin Instinct heightened this sense of danger, allowing him to perceive the direction of approaching threats with exceptional clarity.

It was a feeling that defied the five senses, something one could only describe as a kind of cosmic intuition.

Every bullet was like a thin, dangerous thread in his mind’s eye, and his body naturally evaded these threads just a split second before the bullets followed their predicted trajectories.

Occasionally overwhelmed by too many of these ‘threads’, he would dodge some and use his blade to deflect or slice through others.

“Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Concrete shattered and flew through the air, iron railings bent and buckled under fire, but not a single bullet found its mark on him.

As he evaded and sliced through the barrage, Xue Jing advanced towards the warehouse district where the armed men waited.

Pushing off the ground, he leapt airborne, bounced off one wall, then another.

The bullet storm pursued his every move, yet never succeeded in hitting him.

He weaved between buildings with fluid agility, rapidly closing the distance to the warehouse.

Upon seeing the near-supernatural figure approaching, the gunmen panicked.

“No… stay back!!”

“What do we do!?”

“Shoot, keep shooting, he’ll find it harder to dodge the closer he gets!!”

“Swish—”

A flash of silver cut across the air, and a young man standing at the front with a pistol froze mid-trigger pull, a diagonal slash appearing from his shoulder to his waist.

The severed upper part of his body slid to the ground, blood and viscera spilling, as he was cleaved in two.

With the first death, more silver arcs slashed through the air.

“Slash, slash, slash—”

Yet more fell as limbs and torsos littered the floor, blood pooling rapidly and staining the ground red.

With each crescent of the blade, the number of broken bodies grew.

“Mo...monster!”

“Run!!”

Witnessing the fate of their comrades, the men, already terrified of Xue Jing, were overwhelmed with sheer fright, dropping their weapons and fleeing, cursing their lack of extra legs to escape faster.

“Damn it!”

The bald leader cursed, forcing his fear down while emptying his gun at the sword-wielding youth.

Run you may, kill him you can’t, we’ll all die otherwise.

Yet witnessing how no amount of bullets could touch even a hair on Xue Jing, despair crept into the bald man’s heart.

How could anyone be so powerful?

"How is it possible that even such overwhelming gunfire couldn't stop him?"

"Why did Senior Brother Zhao fall at a single encounter?"

"Why am I even here trying to combat this monster?"

"AAAAAAAAHH!!" A bald man's cry of despair pierced the night.

A young man wielding a sword descended from above, landing right in front of him.

The bald man stared wide-eyed at the airborne figure, his pupils contracted in fear.

He saw a pair of silver eyes utterly devoid of emotion, filled with such disdain as if they had never regarded him and his comrades as worthy opponents.

A long, narrow, silver-white blade swung towards him.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as it approached.

The black rifle in his hands was sliced effortlessly, starting from the muzzle, like a knife through tofu—blade, shell, handle, all the way to his fingers.

The blade cut between his fingers, slicing through flesh and bone, severing his hand in two, passing through his arm and chest, and finally, cleaving him entirely in half.

Regret, despair, anger, frustration... All emotions dissipated, leaving only a peculiar thought as he gazed into those disdainful eyes.

Ah... How could I dare to oppose him? This fate is truly deserved...

Xue Jing was oblivious to the serene expression on the bald man's face, almost serene in defeat.

"Elder Brother!!"

"The boss is dead! The boss is dead!!"

With the death of their leader, the remaining foes descended into utter chaos.

The gunfire ceased entirely, and they all fled in terror.

Xue Jing watched them retreat, then swiftly shook the blood from his Vutu sword and sheathed it.

He charged after them, delivering precise, bone-shattering punches, downing each foe, one by one.

Collecting their unconscious bodies, he stacked them together, then calmly sat on a bullet-riddled stone bench nearby.

...

"Woo—"

The wailing of sirens grew louder as a fleet of police cars swarmed into the dock.

Doors swung open, disgorging heavily armed officers who immediately drew their weapons, aiming them at the gruesome scene before them.

"This..."

"Ugh—"

A young officer clutched his mouth, unable to suppress his urge to retch at the sight.

The ground was littered with dismembered limbs, severed heads, entrails, and unrecognizable body parts of yellow, green, and black hues, creating a stench that pervaded the area.

Amidst this hellish tableau, a lone figure sat undisturbed on a nearby bench—a youth with an unblemished appearance, his striking features marred only by an unsettling calm, as if the chaos spread before him was nothing more than a field of beautiful flowers.

"Don't move!"

A middle-aged officer raised his pistol, aiming it at the young man with a grave expression.

His words jolted the dazed female officers to attention, prompting them all to raise their guns and aim at the young man.

Xue Jing smiled gently, his tone soft and soothing, "Rest assured, officers, I am a law-abiding citizen."

His statement drew skeptical glances from those around him.

"It's true," he continued, "I was merely defending myself. Forced self-defense due to the dangerous individuals attacking me with guns... I just might have retaliated a bit more aggressively than I meant to."

The middle-aged officer addressed him sternly, "In any case, please do not act rashly. You must come with us for an investigation. If things are indeed as you claim..."

Before he could finish, Xue Jing reached into his pocket, pulling out a black card.

This movement instantly triggered the officers' nerves, the sound of guns being cocked filled the air.

Facing the imminent threat of numerous guns aimed at him, Xue Jing remained unmoved, as calm and composed as ever.

He first showed the front of the black card to the middle-aged officer.

The officer's expression shifted upon seeing the card, lifting a hand and saying, "Hold your fire!"

Xue Jing then spoke, "Officer, catch."

He tossed the black card, which was caught by the middle-aged officer.

【Wu's God Relic Containment and Research Company】

【Specially Appointed C-Class God Relic Containment Agent: Xue Jing】

"A containment certificate..."

The middle-aged officer murmured.

"For the details of what happened, officer, you can ask them," Xue Jing replied with a smile, pointing to the pile of over twenty unconscious individuals nearby.

...

After Xue Jing left, a female officer gazed at his departing figure, blinking only once he'd disappeared from view.

She turned to the middle-aged officer, who was lost in thought, "Captain Zhou, is it really okay to just let him go?"

Captain Zhou responded absentmindedly, "According to protocol, it's perfectly fine."

"What kind of protocol is this? I've never seen it," she asked in confusion.

"You'll see it once you climb two more ranks," Captain Zhou replied with a glance at her.

"However, rules are dead, people are alive. Though protocol states this, it doesn't mean we necessarily have to follow it."

"Even in cases where there are numerous fatalities and the manner of death is so brutal, even if he holds a 'containment certificate,' we can still detain him..."

The female officer asked, "Then why didn't we detain him?"

Captain Zhou gave her an odd look, "Are you kidding? This guy took out dozens of armed men with just a blade and walked away spotless. You think we can detain someone like that?"

"What if he loses his temper? I guess we could all die if that happens."

"If there's an excuse to let him go, then of course, we should just let him go."

The female officer was dumbfounded: "This... in that case, yes."

Only now did she realize the youth's appearance was too deceiving. He was so good-looking that she temporarily overlooked the terrifying danger he posed.

Captain Zhou glanced at the dozens of armed criminals being escorted into the vehicle and remarked, "These ruffians in the southern district dared to shoot inside the city... However, this might be a good opportunity, Director Shang would probably be pleased..."

...

Due to a shooting incident, the dock had been locked down for some time, and the ticket-checking process was thus delayed.

After wandering outside for a while, Xue Jing dragged his suitcase into the waiting hall, approached the service counter, and used his ID to complete some procedures, receiving a card.

According to the receptionist, this card served as both a ticket and a room key and needed to be carried onboard and offboard.

After completing the procedures, Xue Jing placed the ticket-card in his pocket and randomly found a chair to sit down on, opening a panel for a quick glance.

【You have undergone an intense battle, unlocking your physical potential, fitness experience +933】

【...Experiencing the taste of victory, you feel quite pleased, well-being experience +799】

【...Running experience +322】

【...Aiming experience +518】

【...Combat experience +299】

【...Hidden Dragon Technique experience +635】

【...Armed Combat experience +896】

【...True Visualization experience +428】

【Well-being upgraded to Lv7】

【Armed Combat upgraded to Lv6】

Xue Jing nodded, feeling the boost from his newly leveled-up skills.

"Indeed, fighting really brings greater boosts… Such a deadly brawl is equivalent to many days of hard work."

He exhaled lightly.

"But… really chopping this many people to death in reality, it's quite unnerving after all."

Xue Jing calmed his slightly disturbed emotions.

This was the second time he killed since the activation of Shadow Flame, still ruthlessly cutting down a group.

The wound of the shared kind still struck a chord.

Xue Jing was adjusting his mood with a strong mental and cognitive control when a voice greeted him from beside.

"Hello… Are you Mr. Xue?"

Xue Jing opened his eyes and turned his head.

It was a tall, lean middle-aged man meticulously groomed from head to toe.

...