I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

After Xue Jing and Yin Mǔhǔ finished registering at the hotel front desk, Xue Jing received his room key card.

Instead of going to his room immediately, he sat down in the lounge area of the lobby.

He began by opening his stats panel for a quick glance.

【...Fitness Experience Value +203】

【...Health Experience Value +102】

【...Combat Experience Value +216】

【...Dragon Concealing Strength Experience Value +268】

He had engaged in a brief skirmish with a man named Xiahou Shen, more of a one-sided beating, to be precise. Although it wasn't intense, it was a live combat scenario, and the panel rewarded him with substantial experience points.

Closing the panel, Xue Jing reminisced about the fight.

The opponent's counterattack, which cost the man a shoulder injury, happened suddenly. Yet, with Xue Jing's keen eyesight and reaction speed, combined with his Swift Twin approach, he could have easily dodged it.

He decided to take the punch head-on instead, wanting to test his current 'resilience.'

“There's still much to explore in this Shadow Flame creation art.”

Xue Jing muttered to himself, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

At the moment of impact, he not only used his Gold Scale Skin but also produced a 'shield' with Shadow Flames around his neck.

The shield had two layers: the outer layer was physically like steel, reflecting the highest strength Shadow Flames could currently achieve, while the inner layer was softer, like animal fur, intended to absorb shocks.

The results were indeed remarkable.

Xiahou's punch first struck the Shadow Flame shield, with a substantial amount of force blocked out.

The remaining force was entirely absorbed by Xue Jing's Gold Scale Skin.

In the end, he stood unmoving and took the heavy blow with ease.

“There’s room for further optimization in this shield's structure…”

As he pondered, Xue Jing noticed a sudden dimming in his field of vision.

Looking up, he found a tall and muscular figure towering in front of him, partially blocking the lobby lights, its shadow nearly enveloping his whole form.

Xue Jing smiled and said, “What’s up, Yin Sis?”

The person before him was none other than Yin Mǔhǔ.

Her body was covered in muscle that seemed sculpted from steel, even her face lined with prominent muscles, faintly retaining feminine features.

Among everyone Xue Jing had met, only his senior brother Meng Boxiang surpassed her size-wise.

“I just remembered something… Xue Jing, you mentioned earlier that you’re a disciple of the Dragon Concealing Dojo.”

Yin Mǔhǔ spoke, having suddenly remembered something while on her way to her room after registration and had turned back.

Despite having heard it before, Xue Jing still found it fascinating to hear Yin Mǔhǔ’s sweet, girlish voice, which starkly contrasted her appearance.

He nodded, his tone gentle, "Yes, I am indeed a disciple of the Hidden Dragon Dojo... Is there a problem?"

Yin Mǔhǔ nodded, "That’s right... You've probably heard of the 'Three Masters of Jade City' in the old martial arts circle, haven’t you?"

Xue Jing asked in confusion, "Three Masters of Jade City?"

Yin Mǔhǔ seemed incredulous, "Aren’t you a disciple of 'Lord Dragon' Li Qi? Hasn't he ever mentioned it to you?"

"Decades ago, there were three young masters of old martial arts in Jade City who were mutual friends, heralded as the three geniuses most likely to achieve the 'Seven Titles' in the future of the southern region."

"Kong Zong Zhou, Dragon King Li, and Shura Chen."

Hearing this, Xue Jing suddenly realized, so it was about these three.

He shook his head, "He did mention a few things, but never referred to the 'Three Masters of Jade City'."

Like Star City and Source City, Jade City is one of the three inner ring cities of the fifth metropolitan circle.

His master's main area of activity was in Jade City... he never heard him talk about it.

Yin Mǔhǔ nodded approvingly, "It seems that Lord Dragon is a person who is indifferent to fame and fortune, not fond of boasting about his past achievements. He must be a man of high character and great prestige."

Xue Jing: "..."

Feeling a bit awkward, he hesitated, "Uh... sort of."

His master’s greatest hobby was wheelchair drifting to blow up high school girls' skirts, and the person he liked the most was his sister-in-law...

From a universal value perspective, relating him to the adjectives high character and great prestige is not exactly appropriate but at least unrelated.

Yet, in front of outsiders, as a disciple, he could hardly refute others' praises of his master and could only awkwardly agree.

After receiving Xue Jing's confirmation, Yin Mǔhǔ looked revitalized, as if confirming some idea in her mind, nodding repeatedly, "I thought so... Our great ancestor must have been lying; how could Lord Dragon be someone who, during a duel with a little nun, was nearly defeated and ended up winning by kissing her and breaking her state of mind with such despicable tactics..."

Xue Jing: "..."

Listening to this, he couldn't help feeling that Master Li Qi could indeed do something like that.

Master Li Qi’s core teaching in combat has always been one word—win.

Winning is everything.

Only those standing have the right to be called despicable.

Xue Jing felt a bit odd.

Master, I didn't think you'd really done such a thing...

"It must be the great ancestor fabricating and blaming others for such acts."

Yin Mǔhǔ seemed to have a deep-seated prejudice against her great ancestor, continuously nodding as she spoke, her expression growing increasingly certain.

Xue Jing thought for a moment and asked, "Sister Yin, who is your great ancestor?"

Yin Mǔhǔ looked at him, her previously stern expression now showing slightly more warmth, and smiled:

"Let me formally introduce myself again."

She extended her palm-sized hand to Xue Jing – the muscular lines on her fingers were quite distinct.

"Yin Mǔhǔ… apprenticed under Ma Zeyan of the Banyan City Vajra Dojo, one of the direct disciples there, albeit the most junior."

"My master, Ma Zeyan, apprenticed under 'The Three Gems of Jade City,' precisely Vajra Zhou, Zhou Liexiong, who is my grandmaster."

"The style I practice is the 'Vajra Freehand.'"

When strength reaches its peak, it becomes gentle; utmost strength is utmost gentleness. The unique method of directing power is extraordinary, seamlessly transitioning between hardness and softness, leaving one in awe.

Recalling his master's appraisal of the Vajra Freehand, Xue Jing extended his hand to shake Yin Mǔhǔ’s and smiled, "So, it turns out Sister Yin is a generation younger than me?"

Yin Mǔhǔ pouted disapprovingly, "Different schools have different bonds, naturally we count our own generations, how could I be younger than you?"

Xue Jing chuckled heartily, just about to speak, but his expression shifted.

The handshake with Yin Mǔhǔ was supposed to be brief, but just as he intended to withdraw, her fan-sized hand gripped his forcefully.

"Brother Xue, be careful," Yin Mǔhǔ hinted with a gaze filled with predatory excitement.

As soon as she stopped speaking, Xue Jing instantly felt a deep and peculiar force emanating from that large hand.

It was like thousands of thin, sharp steel needles piercing in, yet with a sense of free and flexible ease, coming and going at will.

"Interesting," Xue Jing's eyes brightened.

It was his first time encountering such a force.

Hard force and soft force differ, being straightforward and hard to control; to differentiate hard force into thousands of needle-like strands was already an extraordinary feat.

And Yin Mǔhǔ’s force didn't stop there.

Those thousands of 'steel needles' resembled living soldiers under her control, each appearing to have its own consciousness, freely forming 'battle formations.'

Like a seasoned dragon-slaying army from a Western fantasy, they commenced an offensive against Xue Jing's power dragon.

As the two energies tangled, Xue Jing was astonished to find himself... at a disadvantage.

Every advance by his dragon was gently tangled and resolved by the opponent, its entire momentum joined by needle-like strategic force exploiting the weakest spots unnoticeable to ordinary people.

In terms of magnitude, the opponent's single unit of force dissolved two to three of his.

Shifted his mind, he employed the 'Gold Scale Orb' breathing technique, enveloping the dragon in an invisible 'golden scale skin,' locking it as a whole, switching to defense.

The needle-formed strategic force couldn't find gaps in the dragon, slowly orbiting outside...

Both were skilled martial artists, engaging in a 'clash of hands' through force, naturally causing some commotion outside.

Their clenched hands constantly emitted explosive sounds; wave upon wave of air rippled outward, while the marble floor beneath them cracked in a lightning-like fissure.

Sensitive individuals within the hotel lobby occasionally felt a slight tremor from the floor, akin to something heavy repeatedly being lifted and dropped nearby.

After a while, the two hands gripping each other suddenly snapped apart.

Xue Jing stood motionless while Yin Mǔhǔ staggered back several steps, each step leaving cracks up to ten centimeters wide in the marble floor.

Yin Mǔhǔ stared at her large, fan-like hand in a daze.

Deep red marks, five distinct impressions left by Xue Jing's powerful grip, marred her palm. In contrast, Xue Jing's hand remained flawless, as pristine as white jade, without a single mark.

Yet, despite the outcome, Xue Jing shook his head with a smile and said, "I lost, Sister Yin."

At the onset of their clash of strength, he matched Yin Mǔhǔ's energy in both quality and quantity, engaging her directly, and the result was—he lost.

This was the first time he encountered such a situation since he began practicing martial arts.

The Vajra-Ruyi Hand truly lives up to its reputation as described by his master, Li Qi, as an unparalleled force in the realm of energy manipulation.

Although, in the end, he utilized an even greater amount of energy to forcibly extinguish Yin Mǔhǔ's power, securing his victory in this "exchange."

But this was just brute strength, not superior energy manipulation.

Hence, Xue Jing candidly admitted his defeat.

Upon hearing this, Yin Mǔhǔ paused in silence before sighing, "No, it is I who lost."

Having anticipated Xue Jing's formidable skills, she was still startled by the extent of his prowess...

In an equal-footing energy exchange, even with the innate advantage of her Vajra-Ruyi Hand, she was unable to overwhelmingly defeat him.

In the end, she was crushed by the opponent's sheer force…

Yin Mǔhǔ looked at her burly arm with a sense of loss.

Her impressive physical strength, far surpassing that of men her age, was her greatest pride…

Unaware that he inadvertently shattered what Yin Mǔhǔ valued most, disturbing her inner peace, Xue Jing glanced at the floor and said, "We'll have to pay for the hotel's floor repairs."

Yin Mǔhǔ snapped back to reality and nodded, "Yes, since I started it, I'll take care of the compensation."

"Brother Xue, I have some things on my mind and would like some time alone. I'll head back to my room now…"

Though Xue Jing wanted to chat more and learn about the "Three Heroes of Jade City," he noticed Yin Mǔhǔ seemed unsettled, so he didn't insist, merely smiling and saying, "See you."

Yin Mǔhǔ went to the hotel front desk, spoke a few words with the receptionist, discussed compensation matters, then took the elevator to her room.

Xue Jing resumed his seat on the sofa in the lounge area, stroking his chin.

"So, this is how the Vajra-Ruyi Hand manipulates energy? Very impressive, I must learn it."

Later in his room, he planned to use Visualization to simulate and study this secretly!

"Using hard energy with such finesse, even more fluidly than soft energy… Combining Gale Thunder and Shaking Starfire, maybe there's a breakthrough to be found here."

Xue Jing contemplated.

In the Hidden Dragon Sect, these two kill moves, one hard, one soft, are difficult to merge, representing the crucial breakthrough point for mastering the "Ultimate Technique: Eye of the Dragon," a combination of five lethal forces.

"An unexpected reward, satisfying."

Xue Jing happily opened the panel.

【...Hidden Dragon Power Experience Points +232】

The clash of powers with Yin Mǔhǔ had significantly increased Hidden Dragon Power's experience.

...

Ten minutes later, Xue Jing's phone rang.

He glanced at it; it was his agent, Jiang Siwei, calling.

Not answering, he stood up and looked towards the door.

A woman dressed in classic office attire—white blouse, black pencil skirt, long legs graced by nude stockings and black pointed heels—hurried in.

Her shoulder-length, fluffy short hair and charming face adorned with exquisite makeup, enhanced by glasses, holding a briefcase in one hand and a phone to her ear, scanning the surroundings.

"Sister Wei, over here."

Xue Jing waved at her.

Jiang Siwei heard the voice, turned towards Xue Jing, and walked briskly over after spotting him.

"Mr. Xue, sorry to keep you waiting..."

Jiang Siwei bowed apologetically.

Xue Jing gestured invitingly and smiled, "No worries, have a seat."

"No need to call me Mr. Xue, Sister Wei. You're older than me, just call me Xue Jing, or A-Jing, Little Jing, whatever works."✾

Jiang Siwei sat on the sofa opposite Xue Jing, gazing at him thoughtfully.

Although she'd seen Xue Jing's photos beforehand and somewhat prepared herself, seeing him in person still triggered a flutter in her heart.

Three words immediately surfaced in her mind: "Money Tree!"

This was a treasure trove, promising unstoppable profit if managed well.

The world wasn't short of good-looking or strong individuals.

What it lacked were those who exemplified both attributes.

And before her was someone extraordinary in appearance, and likewise, extraordinarily capable if the information was to be believed...

Doubts surfaced within Jiang Siwei's mind.

How could a new talent of such caliber fall under her management?

What have I done to deserve this? Could there be some mistake at the agency?

...