I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

It was nighttime at Maple City University, within the horticulture department.

Aqin, dressed in a black cloak with a hood, walked into the planting area of the botanical garden.

“Wow, what a disaster.”

She clicked her tongue as she surveyed the scene before her.

Once a neatly arranged and lushly blooming garden, it now lay in ruins.

The ground was battered, riddled with cracks and debris, countless flowers and trees were either withered or broken, leaving the area in chaos, as if it had been ravaged by war.

At the heart of the garden stood a solitary figure, silent and still.

Her hair was dark green and vine-like, akin to dreadlocks framing the ordinary face of a middle-aged woman.

It was Professor Lyu.

She did not appear to be in good shape, with her clothes in tatters, and a segment of her vine-like hair broken off, as if forcibly torn, leaving a jagged edge.

“Your carefully nurtured 'children' almost didn't survive, Professor.”

Aqin approached her and greeted.

Professor Lyu's expression remained as tranquil as ever, as if nothing had happened.

“This was a price I was prepared to pay... it’s insignificant.”

Her tone was flat.

Aqin chuckled, glancing at the professor's broken vine hair, "Seems someone aimed right at your 'Stigma'. That girl really means business. If she were stronger, she might even attempt to 'kill the master'."

“You miscalculated... underestimated her concern for her brother,” Professor Lyu calmly shook her head, “On the contrary, her concern only proves I'm right. The greater her attachment, the more it hinders the path she must walk.”

“I am not mistaken in my actions, it just didn’t succeed.”

Aqin shrugged, “As long as you're happy.”

Professor Lyu looked at her, “Why couldn’t you, with your capabilities, capture a martial artist who’s only begun training not long ago?”

“It’s not just a martial artist we're dealing with.” Aqin retorted.

She briefly recounted her encounter and battle with Xue Jing, then continued, “The young boy knows little about the matters concerning the gifted ones. I initially thought his peculiar black flame ability was from some divine relic... but upon reflection, it seems unlikely.”

“He wields it too freely, not at all like one relying on an external power.”

“Oh?” Professor Lyu's eyes narrowed slightly.

Aqin pondered and said, “Professor, that boy gives me a very uneasy feeling.”

“Perhaps it’s just the shadow of my defeat,” she scratched her face.

“I don’t know what you plan to do in the future, but I advise against pursuing him.”

“If you do, don’t count on me, I want nothing to do with him anymore, that person... is dangerous.”

Professor Lyu remained silent, only nodding thoughtfully.

Aqin said no more and soon left the place.

Only Professor Lyu remained, standing amidst the devastated garden.

At the break of dawn, with a faint light in the sky, Xue Jing opened his eyes.

【Early to bed and early to rise, wellness experience +51】

【Wellness upgraded to Lv8】

“Finally, Lv8...”

After the panel notification, Xue Jing felt a shiver down his spine.

His tenacious and sharp mental awareness detected an indescribable, flame-like invisible force coursing through every inch of his body.

Xue Jing wore an expression of surprise.

“Is this... life force?”

The sensation it brought him was one of vibrant vitality and upward momentum, unmistakably what is termed 'life force'.

It seemed that the elements of his lifespan, health, and vitality were manifesting as a blazing fire of life.

“With wellness at Lv8... is my life force strong enough to be perceptible through mental introspection?”

Xue Jing pondered this and sat up from his lying position, reaching out his right hand with fingers spread.

With a thought, using 【Visualization · True】, a form of telekinesis potent enough to turn the pages of a book, he attempted to harness his life force.

The life fire, quietly burning throughout his body, seemed to sway like flames caressed by a gentle breeze.

“It's difficult... but not impossible.”

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes slightly.

Under the influence of his mental power, his life force moved sluggishly, akin to a snail crawling.

Gradually, he concentrated his life force onto his fingertips.

The burning of life fire at the tips of his fingers intensified.

Soon, the nails on his slender fingers began to grow visibly, extending in length.

In no time, they grew from bare to two or three centimeters long.

The texture of the new nails was like jade: bright, white, and smooth with no ridges, impeccably clean, exuding a powerful sense of sturdiness.

The tips were sharp and pointed, like the claws of a fierce beast.

“What Inuyasha.”

Xue Jing shook his head, clenching his hand in mid-air.

He opened the bedside drawer, found a nail clipper, and started trimming the nails.

However...

“Snap—”

He exerted force with the nail clipper to its limits, the steel lever bending under stress, yet the jade-like nail on his index finger... remained almost unscathed.

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow: “This...”

The nails nurtured by life fire turned out to be so hard?

Returning the clipper to the drawer, Xue Jing walked to the corner of the room, picked up the rabbit knife placed there, and unsheathed it.

Infusing the blade with force, a flash of light cut through.

The five sharp nails were cleanly severed at the base, the cuts smooth as if meticulously polished.

“Not bad.” Xue Jing nodded in satisfaction.

"Right, let's test the recovery again..."

He took the Futu Blade and made a cut on his arm. The sharp edge left a deep gash, with rich, ruby-red blood slowly oozing out.

Then, with a thought, he concentrated life energy, igniting it at the wound site.

Suddenly, the wound started to wriggle, healing at a visible speed. In mere seconds, it was completely healed, the skin smooth and flawless, not a single scar left behind.

Were it not for the fresh blood still staining his arm, it would seem as if nothing had happened.

"Amazing, super-speed regeneration." Xue Jing's eyes sparkled.

"As long as I concentrate life energy, I can recover from injuries in an incredibly short time."

"At this rate, even if my throat were slit, I might not die... Even if my head were cut off, as long as I put it back quickly, I might still recover."

He observed the vigorous fire of life within himself.

"As long as my life force holds, as long as I'm not killed instantly, I think I can recover everything."

"This is practically immortality!"

Xue Jing looked at the [Wellness Lv8] on his panel with satisfaction.

One of his most valued regular skills, it was indeed useful.

Given that [Fitness] and [Charm] had already triggered their ascension conditions, Wellness should be able to ascend too.

He wondered how powerful this skill would be after an ascension. He was really looking forward to it...

...

Around noon, Xue Jing finished his meal and was sitting on the sofa, petting his cat and looking at his skill panel.

[Divine Power Owned: 702]

He first glanced at the divine power's value, then shifted his gaze to [Plant Contract].

Should he level up the Plant Contract by one or two levels to see the effect?

It would only cost four hundred points...

Having found another way to acquire divine power, Xue Jing felt a bit more generous.

Just as he was about to upgrade, he heard a gentle knock on the door.

He closed the panel, spread his consciousness, and envisioned the scene outside the door.

It was Xue Wan, carrying a black bag in her hand, reaching out to knock.

Xue Jing interrupted his vision, using Shadow Flame to manifest a black arm to open the door.

Xue Wan had already called to say she was coming, so he was just confirming.

As the door opened, Xue Wan walked in, immediately focusing on the curled-up cat beside Xue Jing, her eyes lighting up.

"Feng Wan, my little Feng Wan, mommy's here!"

Xue Wan rushed over, scooping the cat into her arms, nuzzling her face against it repeatedly.

"Meow~"

The cat looked resignedly human-like, casting a pleading gaze at Xue Jing.

"Meow meow meow meow meow~" Xue Wan playfully squeaked at the cat.

"That's enough, can't you see it doesn't like that?" Xue Jing teased with a smirk.

"Which eye of yours says it doesn't like it? Little Feng Wan is so happy to be pampered by mommy, isn't that right?"

Xue Wan chatted as she vigorously rubbed the cat and then buried her face into its belly, beginning to inhale deeply.

"Sniff sniff... You smell so nice."

"Meow..."

Faced with the cat's pleading look for help, Xue Jing could only helplessly shrug.

"The little kitty must want a kiss from momma, mua~mua~"

By the time Xue Wan was satisfied, the cat lay on the couch, utterly drained, with all four paws upwards and its pupils unfocused.

"This is for you."

With a serene, satisfied expression, Xue Wan handed a black bag to Xue Jing.

"What is it?" Xue Jing asked curiously.

He reached out to take the bag and peeked inside.

Inside were a few dark green... vines?

"This is my mentor's hair, also her 'stigmata,'" explained Xue Wan.

"Didn't you say absorbing the things causing mutation and corruption in the stigmata is beneficial to you? This should be helpful, right?"

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.

He had casually mentioned this to his sister during a long talk yesterday.

Unexpectedly, Xue Wan had brought it to him today.

He reached into the bag, pulling out a few dark green vines.

【Divine substance detected, absorbing divinity...】

"How did you get these?" Xue Jing inquired.

"Um... The tutor felt guilty about trying to forcibly induct you into the faith, so she cut her hair as an apology?" Xue Wan replied innocently.

Xue Jing glanced at the messy, torn edges of the vines.

It was clear they had been forcefully pulled out.

"Who are you kidding?"

Xue Wan grumbled, "Just take it, why ask so much!"

Xue Jing chuckled, choosing not to probe further, and merely said, "Thanks, sis."

With those words, he turned his attention to the vines in his hand.

Stigmata were the parts that manifested on the blessed, resembling the deity they worship.

So that’s what the hair of the Lord of A Thousand Splendors looks like—if they had hair.

He didn’t have to wait long; after a few dozen seconds, a notification lit up.

【Divinity absorption complete】

And his divinity score had risen from 702 to 1028.

"Just these few vines provided over three hundred points of divinity?"

Xue Jing was surprised, not expecting to absorb so much.

"What if we pulled out all of the professor's hair—how much divinity would that yield?"

“Alright then, I have plans to go shopping with my classmates first.”

Xue Wan said with a smile.

“I'll be there to watch your match in the afternoon.”

“I’m off now.”

She bid farewell.

“I'll walk you out,” Xue Jing stood up.

He escorted his sister to the door, closed it behind her, and returned to his room, where he gazed thoughtfully at the over one thousand divinity points displayed on the screen.

“Pretty abundant, but how should I spend it?”

Level up Twinborn or Shadowflame?

Or could I just upgrade Plant Covenant to Lv4...

“As for Twinborn, there's no immediate need for any double effects right now.”

“However, just the increase in active effect duration from leveling up, along with reduced cooldown for passive revival, is quite appealing.”

Xue Jing thought to himself.

“Shadowflame... another upgrade could enhance the strength of animated materials, and amplify both the 'Blue Bar' and its annihilation potency.”

“I could create a bigger Gundam!”

With that thought, currently, Shadowflame has a higher priority than Twinborn.

“However, it's best to upgrade Plant Covenant by one level first.”

From Lv1 to Lv2 only needs one hundred divinity points, offering excellent value.

Even after upgrading, there would still be over nine hundred points left, enough to upgrade either Twinborn or Shadowflame.

Xue Jing clicked to upgrade.

【Plant Covenant Lv2】

With the upgrade to Lv2, the once dimmed skill name due to the contract with the oxygen-siphoning tree seed, brightened considerably.

It returned to the somewhat darkened appearance it had when only the spider plant was under contract.

Xue Jing reached out to touch the spider plant seed on the nearby table, renewing the contract.

The name of the Plant Covenant dulled slightly once more, but it wasn’t obvious.

“Very good, the 'Blue Bar' has increased significantly.”

“Let's test the change in strength.”

Xue Jing pulled a dark red seed from his pocket and tossed it to the ground alongside the spider plant seed.

Immediately, green tendrils and sword-like leaves sprouted from the seeds, swirling wildly in the air, commencing a fierce battle under Xue Jing's command.

The clash went on with countless thick tendrils and leaves engaging in complex offense and defense, much like two armies clashing, until wood splinters and broken leaves were strewn about.

But all things considered, the spider plant was undoubtedly displaying fatigue, being driven back steadily by the oxygen-siphoning tree.

“After all, it’s a noble special plant from another world, being outmatched is expected, as even the contract’s consumption isn't in the same league.”

Xue Jing nodded affirmatively.

“The durability of the spider plant's leaves has increased somewhat, and the maximum expansion length has grown from around ten meters to nearly thirty meters, impressive.”

He was thoroughly enjoying the process, while beside him, the cat sat primly on the sofa, staring intently at the magical botanical spectacle unfolding before it, deep in thought.

“Is this what it means to be a Martial Artist?”

I wonder what Uncle Li Qi would think if he saw this scene.

Magic and Martial Arts: From Beginner to Mastery?

…