I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

Countless roots and stems around were withering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Xue Jing stepped forward, walking towards the cloaked woman tied like a zongzi by the shadowflame steel bars. The black translucent giant surrounding him dissipated into shadowflames as he advanced.

The plant named Nagu... something-si-something was gradually withering, no longer absorbing oxygen, and the thin oxygen density around was immediately replenished by the outside, becoming abundant again.

Xue Jing took a deep breath, then exhaled long, feeling his body revitalize again, he whispered, "Fortunately, we won."

This situation was pretty dire.

He indeed hadn't really thought he would one day face a scenario where oxygen was restricted and he couldn't use his strength.

"No matter how versatile a martial art school might be, it can't break out of its system framework, nor escape the inherent limitations of martial arts itself," Xue Jing pondered.

"Unless reaching the boundary-breaking realm of 'Leaping the Dragon Gate, Turning to Heaven and Man,' where consciousness and spirit themselves can control any subtle part of the body, then one can naturally overcome the oxygen limitation, using strength without the need of oxygen to drive it..."

"Before reaching that stage, it's indeed important to be wary if the enemy possesses abilities to interfere with oxygen."

He glanced at the cloaked woman lying on the ground, sleeping like a baby, and chuckled: "Should I say, outsmarted by oneself?"

Using foreign plant roots capable of absorbing oxygen to deal with him, if he were truly just a martial artist, it would indeed be a decisive move.

However, there's no way the opponent could have anticipated that he also possessed the divine skill 'Shadowflame.'

Although countless roots absorbed oxygen, they also blocked the sunlight, creating a massive area of shadow, which in turn provided him a perfect environment to use Shadowflame.

The larger the shadow area around, the more shadowflame can be converted, with less consumption.

If not for such a large area of shadow, he wouldn't have been able to use it so recklessly, even managing to pull off a stunt like 'Susanoo,' forming a giant with the highest intensity of shadowflame available currently.

"Honestly, this move is indeed handy," Xue Jing stroked his chin.

As long as the Shadowflame budget is sufficient, this is currently the strongest way to use Shadowflame.

"Bigger is better, more is beautiful!"

It's incredibly enjoyable to operate a Gundam.

Although I can't operate too large ones yet, as Shadowflame upgrades, one day I will operate a real Gundam.

Xue Jing silently adjusted the divine usage priority of Shadowflame up by one level.

He opened the panel and took a glance.

【...Fitness Experience +611】

【...Health Care Experience +1539】

【...Running Experience +315】

【...Aiming Experience +458】

【...Combat Experience +512】

【...Hidden Dragon Force Experience +433】

【...Contemplation·True Experience +422】

【...Performance Experience +498】

【Performance Level Up to Lv2】

Xue Jing nodded slightly.

Although it wasn't a life-and-death struggle, the experience gained was quite rewarding.

After all, he was facing a formidable opponent, the strongest he had ever fought against so far.

Since the victory wasn't achieved through martial arts, the related experience was slightly less, but still considerable.

On the contrary, the health cultivation experience gained was rather excessive...

【Health Cultivation Lv7】

Just a smidge more, and it would level up.

“The secret to men maintaining health and longevity—piloting a Gundam.”

Xue Jing chuckled as he crouched in front of the fallen cloaked woman, deep in thought:

“How should I deal with her?”

Kill her outright?

That wasn't necessary; she had no malice towards him, merely wanting him to join the cult. Although her forceful approach was annoying.

Yet, simply letting her go wasn't an option either.

“She's been sent by the upper echelons of the Flower God Society to find me, so at the very least, I need to find out why they're targeting me.”

Several possibilities floated in Xue Jing's mind.

“Speaking of which, this person is a bestowed one……”

A bestowed one is someone granted divine favor, receiving powers from a foreign deity.

Having such a direct connection with a god, surely there's some divinity involved, right?

Xue Jing's eyes brightened as he assessed the cloaked woman.

He then extended his hand, reaching for her mature and beautiful face.

His fingers touched her left eyelid and forcibly opened it, revealing a colorful, patterned eye.

Towards the end of the battle, Xue Jing had noticed the cloaked woman reaching for this eye, seemingly planning something.

If any part of her could hold divine properties, this eye was his immediate guess.

With the eyelid lifted, the vibrant eye lacked focus in her unconscious state, appearing hollow.

Without hesitation or mental barriers, Xue Jing pressed his finger directly against the colorful pupil.

“Squish—”

A slippery sensation followed, and simultaneously, a panel automatically appeared.

【Divine substance detected, absorbing divinity…】

So there is some!? Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.

He opened the panel.

The divine value began rising rapidly by several points per second.

“It seems the harvest will be substantial—wait, this!?”

Xue Jing's eyes suddenly widened slightly.

He saw, under his divine skills tab, located beneath 【Twin Souls】【Shadowflame】, strands of faint golden light began to emerge, converge, and gather together.

He had only encountered this phenomenon twice before.

“A new divine skill!?”

Xue Jing was shocked.

After many years... over a month since the last time, another new divine skill was finally going to activate?

Recalling the impressive performances of Twin Birth and Shadow Flame, since activating 【Contemplation】, Xue Jing rarely found himself in a state of restless excitement, unable to contain his emotions.

He took a deep breath, using his strong mental and emotional control to suppress his excitement and regain his composure.

Yet his eyes still couldn't hide his delight.

“I didn't expect this unexpected harvest... you arrived just in time!” he said, gazing at the cloaked woman before him with a much softer expression.

Truly a bringer of fortune!

At this moment, it seemed the discomfort of her eye being touched directly roused the cloaked woman, who twitched her other eyelid slightly and awoke from her stupor.

She opened her eyes, sensing Xue Jing was somehow manipulating her 'holy mark,' and immediately panicked, exclaiming, “What are you doing to me!?”

She instantly began to struggle, and though her body was bound by the steel rods formed by Shadow Flame, she could still turn her head, breaking away from Xue Jing's touch.

【Contact separated, divine absorption failed】

Xue Jing frowned at the sight and, without mercy, slapped her hard across the face.

“Smack—”

“Behave yourself.”

The pretty, mature, fair face of the cloaked woman instantly bore a stark red imprint of five fingers, the force invading and vibrating her jawbone, causing her brain to rattle within her skull, and she passed out once more.

“Why do I feel something's off...”

Xue Jing had a perplexed expression, feeling a bit uneasy.

It was as if he was doing something untoward...

Shaking his head, Xue Jing continued to peel back the cloaked woman's eyelid, touching the colorful, kaleidoscopic eyeball with his fingers.

As time slowly passed, countless roots and stems around them withered into blackened stalks, then shattered and disintegrated into invisible black dust.

All that remained was a desolate concrete ground, pockmarked with gaping holes.

【Divine absorption complete】

“Finally...”

Xue Jing let out a breath and opened the interface panel.

Below the divine skill list of Twin Birth and Shadow Flame, a brand new skill appeared.

【Plant Bond: Divine Skill, Activation Requirements Divine Essence 518/500】

【Conditions met, activate?】

【Yes/No】

“Plant Bond? A wood-type skill?”

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.

It seemed he might have grasped a pattern in the activation of divine skills.

The Master of Myriad Blooms is an abnormal deity clearly tied to flowers and trees; hence, activating a plant-related divine skill from the person blessed by them?

The skill Twinborn was activated from the [Cat Tail Ring], while Shadow Flame was activated from the [Crown of the Wicked Lady]... Is there an unknown connection between these two skills and the divine relics?

With some doubts swirling in his mind, Xue Jing shook his head.

He clicked [Yes] to activate [Plant Covenant].

【Activation Successful】

【Plant Covenant Lv1】

【Effect: Ability to control a plant after forming a covenant with it】

【Divine Avatar: Not Unlocked】

...A simple introduction akin to Shadow Flame.

But any divine skill, without exception, could not be weak.

Like Shadow Flame, as the level increases and further development occurs, a skill initially unremarkable now becomes immensely powerful.

Xue Jing wanted to test the effect, but looking around, he found no plants in the vicinity.

“I'll deal with this once I finish with my current matter,” he decided.

Xue Jing stood up, gazing thoughtfully at the unconscious cloaked woman.

Although the cloaked woman had mentioned dispersing pollen from an otherworldly plant nearby, causing people to avoid the area, this influence clearly wasn't permanent.

After all, this was the entrance to Maple City University, a place with high traffic, and such an anomaly would soon likely capture the official department's attention.

Now uncertain about his next step, Xue Jing considered his options.

He had just absorbed someone else's divine essence and activated a divine skill. It wouldn't do to kill and erase the evidence.

Thinking it over, Xue Jing pulled out his phone.

When in doubt, seek out Youqing!

Flipping through his contact list, he found the entry marked as ‘Wealthy CEO Lady’ and dialed the number.

After a few rings, the call connected.

“What's up?” Wu Youqing's serene and lovely voice came through the receiver.

“Youqing A Dream, you're the only one who can help me now...”

“Heh.” Wu Youqing seemed to chuckle on the other end.

“What's the trouble, Nobita?”

Playing along with the joke, Xue Jing couldn't help but smile and explained, “Here's the situation...”

He recounted the events, mentioning being approached by a divine emissary from the Flower God Society, rejecting their evangelism, and subsequently defeating them, omitting mention of Shadow Flame, though.

Given the circumstances, Xue Jing realized that retaining the secret of his mystical Shadow Flame ability was likely futile.

It probably had already been caught on nearby surveillance cameras.

However, he still hadn't figured out an excuse to explain to Wu Youqing, so he decided to withhold that part for now.

“I see...” Wu Youqing's voice was soft, pondering the situation.

After a while, she continued, “I originally thought you just had a peculiar affinity for attracting divine relics, but now it seems like it's not limited to relics.”

“Any thoughts on why these things always find their way to you?”

Xue Jing was somewhat speechless.

Why was there yet another person complaining about him? Was he destined to be hounded by issues like some sort of saintly magnet?

He refused to believe it—just a coincidence, that was all.

"This person must have received orders from above, coming with a specific purpose. It's not like they suddenly showed up, caught sight of my good looks, and got the urge to drag me into their religion," Xue Jing said.

Wu Youqing's voice carried a hint of amusement, "Just tell me, did you run into trouble or not?"

Xue Jing: "..."

Opting not to tease further, Wu Youqing pondered a moment before saying, "The Flower God Society... Alright, why don't you bring her back to the hotel and lock her up there."

Xue Jing asked, "Will that hold her?"

This was, after all, a recipient of divine magic.

Even though he had drained a bit of her divinity earlier, looking at the artifacts and the cat that did not change after being siphoned, it seemed unlikely this cloaked woman would be any different.

"There must be a part of her body that's distinctively different from ordinary people, see if you can find it," Wu Youqing suggested.

Xue Jing nodded, "There is something—her left eye is peculiar. It's colored."

Wu Youqing acknowledged, "That's a 'stigmata,' the source of power for those blessed."

"Once they're successfully blessed by the divine favor, a part of their body undergoes transformation, manifesting traits similar to their deity of faith—hence, 'stigmata'."

"Her 'stigmata' is in the left eye, right? Then dig out her left eye," Wu Youqing stated calmly.

How ruthless... Xue Jing's mouth moved slightly.

Yet he didn't hesitate, crouched down, and placed his hand over the cloaked woman's left eye, pulling open the eyelid.

Then, with his thumb and index finger pressing on her upper and lower eye socket, he pushed his force to sever the nerves and tissues connecting the eyeball.

With a scoop of his fingers, there came a popping sound, and he easily removed the colorful eyeball.

Perhaps he had struck her too hard earlier, for despite having her eye gouged out, the cloaked woman did not wake up.

"Got it out."

"Hmm, now she can't use the power of the foreign god," Wu Youqing noted.

"The recipients of the Flower God Society rarely have abilities related to physical enhancement. Once their stigmata is removed, they're virtually ordinary, just tying them up with any rope will do."

"Bring her back to the hotel and lock her up. I'll talk to Feng City's officials and the hotel," she continued.

"Then I'll contact the Flower God Society to ask why they want to recruit you," Wu Youqing offered a clear solution.

"Once we understand that, we can decide what to do with her."

Unable to resist, Xue Jing remarked, "You never cease to amaze me, BOSS. Is there anything out of your reach or knowledge, even connections with the foreign god cult?"

"I just happen to know a few things that can help you," Wu Youqing replied casually.

After a brief chat, Xue Jing hung up the call.

He wiped the eyeball, which still had some viscous fluid, and tucked it into his pocket.

According to Wu Youqing, 'stigmata' possesses an immortality trait to some extent, not decaying or easily damaged, so there's no particular way it needs to be stored.

He hoisted the cloaked woman onto his shoulder as if carrying a sack.

Leaping gracefully, he maneuvered across the interwoven buildings, heading towards the hotel.