I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

“Only when the five deadly moves merge into one can it be called 'the finishing touch'... But the method of concentrating energy for each move is utterly different…”

Xue Jing pondered deeply.

“Is it really possible to achieve this?”

In the Canglong Style, executing each deadly move requires a precise coordination of the whole body to marshal a unique kind of energy.

Take, for instance, the Whirling Thunder. Although it mainly focuses on the 'muscles,' for the muscles to forcefully form a spiral compression, the blood, bones, tendons, and even skin must collaborate indispensably.

Among the five major moves, only the Piercing Stream is somewhat unique; it only needs the tendons to be mobilized... Yet even so, activating the tendons to use the Piercing Stream means you can't simultaneously execute other moves that also demand tendon coordination.

“Unless you can make various parts of your body move independently…”

“Whirling Thunder only uses muscles, Shaking Star Fire only uses blood, Sealing Cloud Tail only uses bones, Spinning Golden Scales only uses skin, and Piercing Stream only uses tendons... Right now, it seems only Piercing Stream can manage it.”

Xue Jing clenched his fist.

If it's merely making one part of the body move on its own, he can actually do that now.

The [Canglong Force] allows his energy to transform into a true dragon, almost possessing self-awareness. Coupled with [Visualization·True], his mind has transcended and transformed, allowing him to reach the realm of 'energy reaching the four extremities.'

The so-called four extremities refer to the fingers, tongue, teeth, and hair.

These are actually four smaller realms, the first being 'energy reaching the fingertips, a flick to kill.'

Xue Jing has already mastered the most challenging 'energy reaching hair tips,' being able to forcefully manipulate nerve-less hair with energy as if controlling his limbs.

With such a degree of energy control, manipulating a single body part independently without disturbing others is achievable.

However, that's all it is.

Just like a newborn baby who can wiggle its feet but can't yet walk.

Forming that spiral compression shape with just his muscles, like in Whirling Thunder… To Xue Jing, the difficulty is akin to asking someone who just learned basic arithmetic to solve complex mathematical functions.

“There's no point in considering merging all five moves for now; it's simply impossible.”

Xue Jing contemplated.

“However, I could try combining two moves first…”

“For instance—merging the explosive force of Whirling Thunder with the penetration of Shaking Star Fire to ignite directly within an enemy's body.”

“But that's highly difficult, as one move is the epitome of hard force, while the other is the pinnacle of soft force.”

How could they possibly be combined?

The very thought made Xue Jing's scalp tingle.

“On the other hand, the energy flow of Sealing Cloud Tail doesn't conflict much with Whirling Thunder or Shaking Star Fire, so it's worth a try.”

“However, it's best to start with the simplest attempt.”

With a thought, Xue Jing's pupils transformed into the vertical slits of dragon's eyes.

At the moment, without invoking the Heavenly Sword Concept, the color of his pupils wasn't silvery white but had shifted from deep brown to dark gold.

After initiating the Mokuan-ryu, Xue Jing looked at his senior brother standing before him.

Unlike the many 'lines' and 'dots' he saw when facing the Sea Bee, looking at Meng Boxiang through the Mokuan-ryu, he saw—nothing at all.

These so-called lines and dots are the materialization of flaws and weak points.

But right now, Senior Brother Meng Boxiang stood there, hands clasped behind his back, with a serene expression, and in the Mokuan-ryu's view, not a single flaw or weak point was visible.

"...As expected of Senior Brother."

Xue Jing shifted his gaze, looking down at the deck beneath him.

Focusing on one of the rectangular planks, several lines immediately appeared on its surface.

Xue Jing concentrated a sliver of sharp force into the tip of his right foot's big toe and traced it along one of the lines.

The plank was effortlessly sliced open, and from the cut, one could see that the line followed the wood grain—the plank's weakest point.

"Senior Brother is unapproachable for now. Let's try someone else."

Meng Boxiang's figure pixelated and disappeared, replaced by Wei Chu, the man from the Giant God Brigade.

A robust figure appeared, and as Xue Jing focused his gaze, he spotted a few lines across various parts of Wei Chu's body. However, the dots were sparse, appearing only faintly on the chest, neck, and head.

Such a cyborg, packed with foreign implants, had very few weaknesses.

"Maintain the state of Mokuan-ryu, then unleash other killer moves..."

Xue Jing exhaled softly, calming himself.

The true dragon within him manifested, surging with energy, his blood boiling to a cascade of starlit sparks.

Filaments of soft force began to form along with the body's circulatory system, ready to gather at his fist's edge...

Xue Jing struggled to control this, trying not to disturb the pathways, while maintaining Mokuan-ryu's operation.

But soon, the involuntary interaction affected some of the pathways, causing disruption in the Mokuan-ryu, and his pupils reverted from slit to normal.

Xue Jing felt a sharp pain in his forearm, a small protuberance bulging like a buried marble.

This was due to an error in energy flow that tangled the pathways into a knot.

"Difficult... but not impossibly so."

Xue Jing nodded, circulating his energy to dissolve the knot in his pathways.

He then continued his attempts.

On the second try, Xue Jing's energy flow was more aggressive, resulting in a blood spray from his right shoulder, where boiling blood and tangled pathways pressed together explosively.

Though the wound seemed severe, being in a consciousness simulation, Xue Jing disregarded it, restoring his body with a thought, and continued his trials.

The third time, he was overly focused on maintaining Mokuan-ryu, resulting in a loss of control over the starlit sparks, as the boiling blood invaded his entire body, causing severe internal bleeding.

The fourth attempt saw him forcibly control the true dragon's energy along with the two killer moves despite the errors, causing energy to flood his eyes, leading to optic nerve rupture, and he went blind.

"The fifth time..."

This time, Xue Jing, taking advantage of the fact that this was a consciousness simulation, conducted various bold experiments without any reservations. While his body was being pushed to the limit, his mastery of the 'Dual-Kill Combination' technique rapidly advanced.

Half an hour later.

Xue Jing opened his dragon-like eyes, the pupils slit, as countless tiny bumps appeared and retreated constantly on the skin of his right forearm, like boiling water.

His blood boiled and burned within him, showing signs of slipping out of control, yet he managed to firmly hold onto it.

A dozen seconds later, he finally completed the full sequence of the "Shaking Star Fire" technique.

Powerful flexible energy coalesced at the tip of his right fist. Within his enhanced vision, Xue Jing locked onto a dim "point" on Wei Chu's chest ahead of him.

"—Shaking Star Fire."

As his right fist swung out, it carried with it a trail of sparks, cutting through the air as it surged forward.

When the fist collided with Wei Chu's chest, all the energy was precisely infused into that "point."

Despite having a protective membrane highly resistant to martial artist energy invasions, Wei Chu couldn't block it this time.

Although nearly half of the energy was still stopped by the membrane, the other half successfully flowed through the "point" into Wei Chu's body.

"Guh—Pff—"

After a peculiar sound, Wei Chu's chest suddenly ballooned like a balloon, strange noises rustling from within.

Then it deflated again.

Blood oozed simultaneously from his ears, eyes, nostrils, and mouth, followed by a loud vomit.

Countless fragments of flesh and blood were spat out by him, and he collapsed forward into a pool of his own blood, barely clinging to life.

"Not bad."

Though still quite unfamiliar and yet unusable in a real battle, he had at least successfully executed it.

Mokuan-ryu + Shaking Star Fire.

Xue Jing stretched, feeling slightly fatigued.

He calculated the time; the consciousness simulation had been running for over half an hour.

"There's still some room for improvement... Although this over half an hour has been intense."

At Level 4, 【Visualize: Truth】 would last around half an hour before he felt mentally exhausted, dizzy.

After upgrading, the simulation not only became more realistic but also lasted longer.

Xue Jing practiced a bit longer; about ten minutes later, he began to feel mental exhaustion symptoms and exited the consciousness simulation.

Opening his eyes, he pressed his temples, rested for a moment, and then opened the panel.

【... Hidden Dragon Technique Experience +339】

[...Consideration Art: True experience value +267]

After closing the panel and resting for a while, Xue Jing commenced his daily practice of Rattling Armor Technique and Hibernating Dragon Art.

As he trained, time quietly slipped away.

…

The next day, near noon.

“...No need, I’ll meet my family first. After gathering with them, I’ll contact you.”

“...Alright, thank you.”

In the suite, Xue Jing lay on the bed, holding a phone in one hand while gently stroking the back of a cat resting on his chest with the other.

With his martial arts training enhancing his bodily control, his technique for smoothing the cat’s fur had significantly improved; his slender fingers glided over the cat’s back, and his gentle strength coaxed purrs of delight from the feline.

“...Let's do that. I’ll contact you then.”

After some social pleasantries, Xue Jing hung up.

“Was that the manager from the Milky Way Club?” asked the cat, enjoying the caressing, speaking lazily.

Xue Jing nodded and acknowledged.

On the other end was Wu Youqing’s arranged personal manager, responsible for all affairs during his upcoming competition in Feng City.

“Director Chen mentioned they’d arrive in Feng City by dusk. I’ll grab a meal with my sister and explore the city a bit to see what’s fun.”

Xue Jing continued with his plans.

The cat yawned, its emerald eyes drowsy, almost falling asleep. Somehow, it had become increasingly sleepy lately.

Xue Jing smiled, lightening his strokes, and picked up his phone with his other hand, browsing the news.

[...The U19 Unrestricted Elite Combat Tournament’s Feng City elimination round is about to start. The elimination list will be released tomorrow, alongside the draw ceremony... Dark horse contestant Li Chengxuan declared there are none formidable... ]

[...At 9 PM the night before last, the 'Infinite New Star' cruise was attacked by a swarm of sea bees at the junction, remarkably with no casualties, all thanks to a mysterious young man...]

[...The 'Air Pirate Gang' becomes more rampant. The chiefs of the Qing City Security Bureau, Ming Yang, and Qing City Security Bureau, Xin Qingyun, together with Kong De’s Security Company’s Guan Yingzhi, and Black Tide Security's Ye Si'an... issued a joint statement, vowing to eradicate the 'Air Pirate Gang' and restore a clear blue sky to the Fifth Metropolis Circle]

…

After casually browsing the news and watching some funny videos, Xue Jing set the phone aside.

He then opened the panel, his gaze fixed on the divinity skill section.

[Possessed Divinity: 506]

Last time, upon encountering the ‘At the Pinnacle’ skill, he gained over six hundred divinity points, spending three hundred on Shadow Flame, leaving him with three hundred sixty-eight.

In these past few days, he diligently extracted divinity from Ning Fengwan nightly, gaining a handful to a dozen points daily. Coupled with the eighty-two points gained from defeating the Sea Bee Queen, he finally...

The divine balance has returned to five hundred points.

Xue Jing hesitated slightly.

"Should I save these five hundred points for upgrading Twin Life, or..."

His gaze turned toward the Shadow Flame.

【Shadow Flame Lv3】

Currently, the divine priority definitely puts Twin Life at the top of the list.

Reducing the passive revival cooldown and adding an active effect to Twin Life—every level stands as an impressive enhancement.

Yet the Shadow Flame... is not lacking either.

With each use, the skill proves increasingly handy to him.

Condensing vision to gain dark sight, entwining blade energy to amplify attack range and damage, even guarding against bizarre "magical damage" like 'sonic waves' and 'intense light'.

He had a feeling that continuing to upgrade the skill might bring more surprises.

"Hmm... To enhance Twin Life to Lv5 requires eight hundred divine points, nearly three hundred points short. Who knows when that will be achievable."

Xue Jing felt an itch of restlessness.

Having the means but not spending them was uncomfortable.

"Forget it, I'll upgrade Shadow Flame for now. There's no urgent need for Twin Life's active effect at the moment anyway..."

Xue Jing chose to level up 【Shadow Flame】.

【Shadow Flame Lv4】

“Whoosh—”

A sphere of black flame ignited in his hand.

Upon using it, Xue Jing immediately noticed a significant difference.

It was akin to when he first obtained the Hidden Dragon Force, transforming force into a true dragon.

The black flame in his hand, previously lifeless, now possessed an animated quality.

As if it had come alive.

With a newfound realization, Xue Jing tossed the black flame onto the floor ahead.

Then, with a thought, the black flame on the ground did not dissipate into nothingness, but instead transformed, becoming a shadowy cat mirroring Ning Fengwan’s feline form, purely made of Shadow Flame.

The 'shadow cat' padded on trembling black flames, its eyes were white hollows, and it licked its right paw, grooming its face with remarkable agility, indistinguishable from a living cat.

Yet Xue Jing... did not command it to make this movement; it acted on its own.

Xue Jing looked at it curiously, "Interesting... the Shadow Flame has been activated, transforming into a Shadow Beast?"