I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

The death of the Sea Bee Queen left the swarm leaderless, causing chaos as they darted erratically across the seabed.

With more than a hundred thousand sea bees tumultuously swarming, it created waves of turmoil on the ocean's surface.

"Boom—crack—"

Xue Jing looked up, his pupils ablaze with shadowy flames, his vision undisturbed even underwater.

He clearly saw the hull of the "Infinite Nova" was pitted with countless dents, and there were several breaches. Without the Sea Bee Queen's guidance, the swarm’s haphazard strikes caused the boat to sway violently, occasionally creating new holes.

Seawater poured in through the fissures, the vessel sinking slowly yet steadily.

Nonetheless, compared to the previous relentless assault, most of the swarm, now unguided, instinctively retreated from the ship.

"This level of damage should be salvageable."

Xue Jing confirmed the condition of the hull, preparing to surface and board the ship.

Yet, hundreds of massive figures swiftly approached his position.

"Hmm? These soldier bees..."

Xue Jing's gaze sharpened.

Though the Sea Bee Queen was dead, the soldier bees didn’t become disoriented like ordinary sea bees; they targeted him instead.

Was this an instinct of vengeance?

Xue Jing tightened his grip on the Vutu sword.

Compared to regular sea bees, the soldier bees had distinct features.

Not only were they larger, a size bigger than an adult human male, but two of their six legs were lethal blades rather than flippers.

Their head’s exoskeleton hammer was more enormous and menacing, their stingers lined with barbs that would rip flesh from bone.

"Phew—"

In the undersea silence, only the sound of water currents was audible as a soldier bee charged at Xue Jing, moving faster like it was flying rather than swimming.

Its rapid motion decreased the pressure around it, creating a bubble trail that formed a white line.

Maintaining his dual-speed state, Xue Jing kicked off the seabed, dodging the soldier bee’s thrust while swinging his sword at the weak link between its head and chest.

"Gugugu—"

Whether due to underwater resistance or the bee’s hard body, his strike failed to kill, merely sending it flying over ten meters like it had been struck by a club.

Seeing this, Xue Jing made a quick decision.

"I can’t fight underwater... Better head to the surface."

Having dived to nearly sixty meters to slay the Sea Bee Queen, he now wished to ascend, but the soldier bees were blocking him.

Massive figures stirred up white bubbles, launching continuous charges.

Forced to dodge and block, Xue Jing found the bees’ attacks always pushed him further from the surface, though whether by design or chance was unknown.

"This isn’t going well..."

Using martial energy requires synchronized breathing techniques.

Although proficient in swimming, he remained human, lacking gills to extract oxygen from water, rendering his martial power ineffective underwater.

His earlier use of the 'Black Sky Blade: Gale of Thunder' relied on an exceptional lung capacity that had taken in copious air before diving.

With a powerful slash, Xue Jing's oxygen supply in his lungs was nearly depleted, only enough to support the consumption of one more deadly strike.

Merely executing a single lethal move was insufficient to eliminate hundreds of soldier bees, and afterward, he would face the dire situation of suffocation from lack of oxygen.

“Glug-glug—”

Blocking a soldier bee's horned assault with his blade, Xue Jing was knocked back but had a sudden flash of insight.

“I could try this...”

He oriented himself, adjusting his position to ensure his head was facing the sea surface.

Then, bending his legs, he channeled the last of his lung oxygen through his alveoli into the bloodstream, surging it throughout his body and mobilizing all his strength.

A spiraling indentation began from the base of his thigh, extending downwards towards his soles.

Like wringing a towel, all the indentations converged at a point on the sole, resembling a drill bit.

Xue Jing forcefully stomped with both legs.

“Boom!”

Water exploded with a loud sound that could be heard even underwater.

He shot towards the surface like an arrow, propelled by the powerful bounce as if he stepped on two highly elastic springs.

The intense force displaced the water beneath him, creating twin vacuum spirals like a rocket's tail flame.

His whirlwind-like speed left the soldier bees unable to intercept him as he shot towards the surface, trailing behind him like a wake.

“Splash!”

Xue Jing emerged from the sea, continuing to ascend several meters into the air before landing on a bustling sea bee and using it as a springboard to leap onto the cruise ship's deck.

His wine-red suit was drenched and tattered, prompting him to yank it off with a ripping sound.

Revealed in the open air was a physique perfected as though sculpted by a deity.

“Splash-splash-splash—”

Countless waterspouts burst from the sea as giant soldier bees rose from the water, attacking Xue Jing on the deck anew.

On their backs unfolded nearly four-meter-long transparent wings, vibrating with a tremendous buzzing sound.

These sea soldier bees could actually fly.

Taking a deep lungful of oxygen, Xue Jing caused such violent air currents around him that they distorted the light.

Replenishing his oxygen-starved body, he shook powerfully, dispersing the water droplets on him into a fine mist.

The sword in his hand, pointed obliquely at the ground, transformed his silver-white eyes into vertical dragon pupils.

“Glimmer Flow—”

Activating his newly realized ultimate move, Xue Jing concentrated on the approaching soldier bees.

Surpassing human capability, his vision nearly reaching the 'Extraordinary Realm,' he scrutinized the monstrous creatures before him.

Every hum of their wing beats, every movement limit of their limb blades, every detail on their bodies laid bare, as if under the dissection table in Xue Jing's gaze.

From his perspective, myriad 'lines' and 'points' appeared on the soldier bees' bodies.

Some were thick, some thin, some long, some short; some dim, some bright, all constantly shifting with the soldier bees' movements.

Xue Jing raised his sword, targeting a specific line on the foremost bee, and slashed.

The blade cut through along that line with such precision it felt as if slicing through cake, splitting the soldier bee smoothly along the marked line.

"Eye-Tracing Technique... Did it directly reveal the weak points on its body?"

Another soldier bee attacked, and Xue Jing thrust his long blade, accurately striking a particular 'spot' on its body.

"Sss—"

The long blade penetrated directly into its body, seemingly hitting something crucial. The soldier bee's body stiffened instantly, losing all movement.

With a flick of the corpses hanging on his blade to the side, Xue Jing relentlessly continued slicing through the swarming giant soldier bees.

Each cut was not overly forceful, but rather, a routine application of power followed by a swift strike.

Yet, as long as he hit the precise line and pierced the point, each soldier bee met its demise.

Hundreds of fearless soldier bees, one perishing after another, soon formed a heap of corpses on the deck.

By now, due to the queen bee's death, the sea bee swarm, like headless flies, had mostly scattered.

The wobbling cruise ship gradually stabilized, though the damage to the hull caused water to seep in, occasionally giving rise to creaking sounds of further deterioration.

"Sss, sss, sss—"

After effortlessly dispatching the last few attacking soldier bees, Xue Jing allowed himself to relax, succumbing momentarily to a wave of dizziness.

His eyes burned fiercely, swelling with pain, as the silvery-white vertical pupils faded, reverting to normal deep brown irises. A deep fatigue engulfed his entire body.

Staggering a bit, Xue Jing used the Vutu sword to brace himself against the ground, maintaining his balance.

Throughout this battle, physical exhaustion was secondary, the primary concern was the mental strain.

Especially while scanning the sea from the lookout to locate the sea bee queen, his brain operated at an extraordinary pace for pattern analysis. If it were a computer, the fan speed of the graphics card would have blown the casing off.

"It's over."

Xue Jing exhaled, leaning on the Vutu sword while standing to alleviate his dizziness.

"Next is the harvest time."

This time, the harvest would undoubtedly be immense!

Eagerly, Xue Jing opened the panel to check.

【You experienced a deadly battle, your physical potential was stimulated, fitness experience +881】

【... Health maintenance experience +431】

【... Running experience +267】

【... Aiming experience +338】

【... Combat experience +915】

【... Hidden Dragon Strength experience +813】

【... Charm Skill experience +325】

【... Charm Skill experience +526】

【... Charm Skill...】

【Charm Skill advanced to Lv9】

The first noticeable gain was from the previous deadly fight with the male and female of the Giant God Brigade, mixed with countless Charm Skill experience points, elevating this skill to Xue Jing's first Lv9 skill.

He clicked his tongue and shook his head, looking further down.

【You experienced an intense deadly battle, your physical potential was stimulated, fitness experience +2187】

【...After the ordeal, feeling reinvigorated, Life Experience +1687】

【...Running Experience +668】

【...Aiming Experience +1069】

【...Combat Experience +502】

【...Hidden Dragon Force Experience +1960】

【...Weapon Mastery Experience +2388】

【...Meditation · Truth Experience +1726】

【...Swimming Experience +825】

【Fitness Level Up to Lv9】

【Meditation · Truth Level Up to Lv5】

【Swimming Level Up to Lv4】

A vast, vast amount of experience!

Feeling the enhancement of his skills bringing physical and spiritual fortification, Xue Jing couldn't help but revel in the palpable sensation of growing stronger, a satisfaction unparalleled.

The thrill of battle.

Reaching Lv5 in Meditation · Truth bestowed a refreshing coolness upon his mind, soothing his weary, parched thoughts.

Before even assessing just how much stronger he had become, Xue Jing suddenly noticed an inconspicuous little notification at the end of his interface.

【Divinity +82 from slaying a creature with divine attributes】

Huh?

His eyes widened slightly.

Divinity?

Divinity!?

Besides divine relics and extracting from the Phoenix Silk, there's now a new method to obtain divinity!

Slaying creatures with divine attributes... Which one was it? The Sea Bee Queen?

"There's only one prompt, it must indeed be the Sea Bee Queen."

Suppressing his excitement, Xue Jing delved into contemplation.

"Is it something unique about the Sea Bee Queen? Or is it inherent to all ‘Borderland Creatures’?"

"If it’s the former, then it's better than nothing, but if it's the latter..."

His gaze flickered with intensity.

"According to the interface prompt, ordinary sea bees and soldier bees don’t count as ‘divine creatures’, only the Sea Bee Queen... If that's the case, perhaps only the Sea Bee Queen is special."

"But it could also be because all sea bees are born from the Queen, hence they lack divinity..."

"If all ‘native’ Borderland creatures are considered divine..."

The more Xue Jing thought, the more excited he became.

Suddenly, he was filled with anticipation for the upcoming Borderland missions.

"If one Sea Bee Queen can offer over eighty points of divinity, then if I can slay a hundred or so like it in the Borderlands, even ten or eight would be a significant gain!"

...

In the cabin area, thousands of passengers and crew members huddled together, trembling as they awaited their fate's verdict.

This wasn't merely a sea storm or a collision with an iceberg; it was an attack by terrifying creatures from the borderlands.

Faced with a swarm of sea bees, escape was impossible. They could only stay onboard, hoping the swarm wouldn't tear the cruise ship apart, and that rescue ships would arrive in time if they were exceptionally lucky.

“Mom, are we going to die?”

A little girl in her mother's arms looked up and asked.

“No, darling, the gods will protect us...”

the mother replied absentmindedly, holding her daughter tighter.

The little girl was puzzled.

Hadn't she heard her mother say that the gods were dead?

Can gods still protect us even when they're dead?

Time passed, and the violent shaking of the cruise ship gradually subsided.

Despairing passengers slowly came back to their senses.

“Is... it over?”

“Have we died?”

“Did the sea bees leave?”

“This ship is so big, maybe the sea bees can't do anything to us...”

“It's so quiet outside.”

A murmur grew among the passengers and crew, voices rising from whispers to shouts.

Some couldn't suppress their cheers.

“Let's go and take a look!”

someone suggested.

The more daring ones agreed.

Soon, a group of around several dozen nervously made their way out of the cabin, peering cautiously towards the deck.

As the first group ventured outside, many others couldn't remain seated.

Seeking reassurance, a large crowd moved towards the cabin exit.

Outside, scattered everywhere were the broken bodies of sea bees, their amber blood staining the vessel.

Everyone was taken aback by the sight, uncertain of what had transpired.

Gradually making their way to the deck, they saw the massive corpses of soldier bees scattered about...

And at the center stood a figure, wielding dual blades, his upper body bare, as unyielding as a pine tree.

In that moment, it became clear to everyone that this person saved them.

“Mom, is he the god protecting us?”

The little girl's innocent voice rang out.

God...

Under the dim lights, the figure's silhouette seemed to radiate a divine glow.

Everyone's gaze unfocused for a brief moment.

They seemed... to have seen a god.

...