I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

“......”

Xue Jing's eyes held a silver-white moonlight as he gazed at the cloaked woman before him and asked in an utterly calm voice, "The Flower God Society... Is it the Church of the Heretical God? Are you one of the recipients of its blessing?"

The cloaked woman exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? You know about the recipients?"

"It seems you are more familiar with this world than I initially imagined..."

"That makes things easier."

She smiled gently and said, "Since you have some understanding, you should realize how rare it is to receive divine grace."

"The blessing ritual is ready, the tree and flower spirits are waiting for a new host."

"Come with me, into the nurturing embrace of our Mother, and inhale Her immortal fragrance."

Her words were heavily religious in tone, yet her voice remained soft and peaceful, as if just making casual conversation.

Xue Jing gazed at her for a moment, then nonchalantly remarked, "The success rate of your blessing ritual isn't high, is it?"

The cloaked woman nodded, "To walk the true path, a price must be paid."

She paused before continuing, "However, you need not worry."

"The Master of Myriad Blossoms is the source of all the world's flowers and plants, the symbol of beauty. The more beautiful the existence, the more likely it receives Her favor."

She looked at Xue Jing's face. "With you, there is almost no chance of failure in the blessing ritual."

Xue Jing chuckled, "Sounds pretty good."

"Gods... No matter what kind of deity, being connected to such a concept must be extraordinary. To receive divine favor from such beings must bring many unimaginable benefits."

"Practicing martial arts is a tough endeavor. Ten or twenty years of training might not compare to a single surgical enhancement. With the pace of technological advancement, martial arts might become obsolete in a few decades. Compared to that, becoming a recipient seems like an easy and sensible choice."

The cloaked woman nodded along as he spoke, signaling her agreement with a couple of nods.

"So—"

She began, only to be interrupted by Xue Jing, "But, I refuse."

The cloaked woman paused in surprise.

She asked curiously, "Did you not understand everything? Why refuse?"

Xue Jing pinched his chin thoughtfully and replied, "I'm naturally rebellious. I just don't like to go along with others. My favorite thing is to do the opposite of what people expect..."

"Woman: '...'"

Xue Jing waved his hand: "No other business? Then it's settled, I'm leaving."

After saying that, he sidestepped the woman in front of him and moved to her back, ready to leave.

But he had barely walked a few steps before he stopped.

"Crack—crack—"

The cement ground began to fracture slowly, a thick, vibrant green root emerged with tenacity from the crack, blocking his path and writhing unpredictably in the air.

Without turning around, Xue Jing said calmly, "Oh? What do you mean by this?"

"Well..." The woman turned to look at him, "I've been instructed to bring you back, so... even though it seems unlikely, could you kindly come with me obediently?"

Xue Jing's mind raced.

'So this wasn't a spontaneous attempt to recruit me into the faith... it was premeditated?'

But why? Aside from the Dragon Society and Lion Saint Church connected to Ning Fengwan, he shouldn't have had any contact with other foreign deities.

Without further words, Xue Jing decisively turned around, as a spiral imprint surfaced on his right arm, and he unleashed a whirlwind punch towards the cloaked woman.

"Boom!"

A thunderous crash resounded, as spiraling white air encircled his fist, striking heavily against... the thick tree root.

Before he realized it, the surrounding ground had burst open with countless openings, countless tentacle-like roots emerging, swaying wildly.

His punch was stopped by several intertwined spiral roots, forming a hard barrier that took the blow, leaving a drill-like hole but not breaching through, thus the cloaked woman remained unharmed on the other side.

Seizing the opportunity, a thick root vine large enough for two people to embrace wriggled beneath the cloaked woman's feet, lifting her high up tens of meters above the ground.

Simultaneously, numerous thick roots began to stretch and emerge, Xue Jing glanced around and within seconds, a dense undergrowth spanning dozens of meters materialized like a forest.

Each root vine stretched tens of meters long, waving in the air like countless colossal snakes, obscuring the afternoon sun, allowing only dappled light to filter through the gaps in their movements.

"Isn't this chaos a bit excessive... is this the coming of the Forest Realm?" Xue Jing clicked his tongue.

Raised by the roots, the cloaked woman stood in mid-air, looking down at Xue Jing, and gently laughed:

"How about it? Now willing to come back with me?"

With her arms outstretched, numerous thick roots surrounded her, blocking out the sky, akin to a deity commanding the forest.

"Such inhuman power is a blessing from the Merciful Mother, beyond mortal resistance, it's futile to defy."

"Come along obediently."

The cloaked woman regarded Xue Jing, like a deity gazing down at a mortal.

Xue Jing did not respond but rather asked back:

“Since a while ago, there hasn't been a single person around. Why is that?”

A woman, confident of her victory, patiently explained:

“It's the pollen... It's produced by an otherworldly plant, and when it spreads, anyone who smells it feels a compulsion to stay away.”

Xue Jing nodded, “I see.”

After speaking, he gathered his energy, stomped on the ground, and shot towards the cloaked woman in the air like an arrow released from a bow.

With a burst of energy, Xue Jing's speed was astonishing, and he closed the distance of several dozen meters in a flash.

The cloaked woman merely shook her head at his actions, “Futile.”

Countless roots entwined and rapidly extended, blocking Xue Jing's path forward.

“Bang!” He delivered a punch infused with twin forces, blasting a spiraling passage through the roots, and passed through it, but the cloaked woman had already been carried away from her spot.

Fixing his gaze on the cloaked woman moving not far away, he twisted in mid-air, stepping on a root to gain momentum.

At this moment, countless roots surged towards him, their massive size and speed clearly indicating their formidable kinetic energy, slicing through the air with shrill whistles.

Xue Jing had to halt; his skin erupted with dense dragon-scale prints, and then he started spinning at high speed on the spot, transforming into a tornado top.

Golden Scale Spin!

“Sizzle——”

The roots that touched him shattered as if caught in a woodchipper, making a sound akin to a chainsaw cutting wood, with sawdust and wood chips flying everywhere.

However, the roots kept coming, endless without any sign of stopping, persistently striking at the spinning Xue Jing.

Xue Jing realized at this rate it would never end, so he stopped spinning, activated his twin-speed skill, randomly stepped on a root, and swiftly maneuvered back and forth in the air, with countless roots relentlessly pursuing him.

“Give up, it's meaningless,” the cloaked woman continued to advise.

‘Such a young age, yet he has honed his martial arts to such a level, truly remarkable.’

‘However, bad luck for you, my secret art happens to counter martial artists...’

The cloaked woman cautiously maneuvered through the air on roots beneath her feet, maintaining at least several dozen meters of distance from Xue Jing.

Even with victory assured, she had to be cautious, avoiding letting any martial artist get too close.

After a while, Xue Jing, who had been continuously maneuvering and dodging in the air, suddenly experienced a hitch in his breath.

His breathing faltered, disrupting the rhythm of his energy flow, significantly slowing him down.

“Noticed it, have you?” The cloaked woman smiled faintly as she saw his actions slowing, controlling the countless roots to stop.

Xue Jing landed on the ground, instinctively taking a couple of deep breaths, but the oxygen he inhaled was minimal.

“The air has thinned,” the cloaked woman said gently.

“What have you done?” Xue Jing frowned as he spoke, seeing that she had ceased her attack.

The woman hovered in the air, smiled, and extended her hand to the right. A thick, green stem, like a puppy, approached her palm to be stroked.

“Do you know what this plant is?”

Xue Jing remained silent, and the woman continued with no expectation of an answer:

“‘Nagusuum Charatorous’ is this child’s name.”

“It is a plant from another world, and this name is a phonetic translation of its otherworldly language, meaning ‘the temptress who breathes air as a man’.”

“Quite a vulgar name, yet very fitting.”

“Unlike the plants of our reality, this child cannot perform photosynthesis, nor can it absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Instead, it breathes like humans, feeding on oxygen.”

“And its oxygen consumption efficiency far exceeds that of humans, to the extent that it can be described as voracious—truly an environmentally unfriendly child.”

The woman gazed down at Xue Jing.

“Martial artists rely on breath control to harness their power. Without a substantial supply of oxygen, you can’t channel your strength. Now, this child has drained the air around us, thinning it to a point where we’re barely avoiding suffocation.”

“Without the ability to harness your energy, your combat power is reduced to a tenth… why don’t you just obediently come with me?”

“After all, we're going to be colleagues in the future. I would hate to have to tie you up forcibly. That would be quite unseemly…”

Xue Jing took a deep breath, facing the seemingly dire situation without a change in expression.

“I see, no wonder you’re so confident,” he murmured.

The woman tilted her head slightly: “Don’t even think about escaping this ‘forest’… it’s impossible. You witnessed the speed of these children earlier, and without your strength, escape is beyond you.”

“Escape?” Xue Jing shook his head.

He glanced around at the countless dense stems—and at the ground beneath, cast into vast shadows by the overshadowing stems.

Countless streams of black energy flowed from the shadows towards Xue Jing.

Witnessing this, the cloaked woman’s expression finally changed.

She was dumbfounded: “What is…”

What on earth?

“Though I’m reluctant to reveal this.” Xue Jing met her gaze steadily as he spoke slowly.

The torrents of black energy swirled and wound around him.

“Boom—”

Black flames ignited, engulfing him and forming a coat of dark fire that draped him like a god of death.

“Did you really think… you’re the only one here who can use magic?”

Xue Jing clenched his fist, and a cluster of black flames exploded, scattering countless miniature black fireballs the size of a thumb.

The fireballs dispersed, raining down towards the woman in the air.

Endless streams of black energy were drawn from the vast shadows, absorbed by the black fireballs, causing them to expand. By the time they reached the woman, they had grown from thumb-sized to the size of basketballs.

The numerous black fireballs, like a meteor shower, violently hurled towards the woman.

“This... how is this possible!”

The woman hastily controlled countless tendrils, sending them to intercept the fireballs.

“You... received the same blessing?”

The black flames struck the tendrils, erasing segments as though an eraser had been taken to them, resembling an annihilation effect.

Countless fireballs wiped away numerous tendrils, leaving wounds that appeared as if they had been gnawed by a beast, rather than burned by flames.

“Come now, magic is it? Oxygen absorption is it? A harlot, are you?”

Xue Jing cursed under his breath, surrounded by raging black flames.

“I intended to interact with you as a mere martial artist, but I was met with disdain.”

“No more pretense, I can do magic too. I'm laying my cards on the table.”

His fist tightened, and the black flames in the air came to life, transforming into dozens of crows with hollow white eyes.

The crows flapped their wings, opening their beaks in a silent caw, flying towards the woman in the air.

“What kind of ability is this? Which otherworldly deity do you follow?”

The woman asked sternly, waving her hand to direct the countless tendrils towards the crows.

Simultaneously, another slew of tendrils lunged at Xue Jing directly. The situation had changed, and she could not hold back any longer.

Xue Jing chuckled softly, intertwining his hands.

Endless streams of black energy were drawn from the vast shadows, converging upon his body.

Black flames ignited from him, coming to life and gradually covering his entire form, taking the shape of a black human figure.

The black figure expanded continually, gaining definition, scales forming across its body, crafting a set of fully enclosed armor reminiscent of Song dynasty infantry armor.

The figure stood with only its upper body, about six meters tall, enveloping Xue Jing within its belly, appearing as a black translucent form adorned with black fire, under a helm revealing only two hollow white eyes.

“The arrival of the Tree World, is it? Well then, Susano'o it is!”

Black currents coiled around the giant's hand, forming a pitch-black longsword.

“Come, let the Great Ninja War begin!”

......