I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

It was in the afternoon when Xue Jing noticed that the "Twin Speed" icon on the panel had regained its faint golden glow. After conducting a series of tests, he reached a conclusion.

“The usable period is around twenty seconds. Once it’s entirely used up, the cooldown to restore the full twenty seconds takes about six hours...”

“The cooldown continues to recover in real time. If I use just one second of "Twin Speed," leaving nineteen seconds, then one-twentieth of six hours is eighteen minutes. Basically, the full twenty-second usage returns in eighteen minutes.”

Xue Jing managed to determine the precise usage data.

Given that Level 1 Twin Speed really didn’t offer much time, he had to be frugal with it.

“Speaking of which, when I practice the Dormant Dragon Technique, it still counts as ‘action’ which can be accelerated using the Twin Speed.”

“This could directly double my efficiency... but for now, with such a short duration, I’ll focus on it later.”

...

At three in the afternoon, Xue Jing still hadn’t gone to school; he was on leave for the whole day.

Catching a bus to Hidden Dragon Dojo, he noticed the shift change; the receptionist now wasn’t the cheongsam girl from before, but another equally attractive one in a cheongsam.

Though she hadn’t met Xue Jing before, it seemed she had been briefed with a photo. Upon seeing him, she rose and sweetly greeted him as ‘Master Jing,’ which left him feeling a bit awkward.

‘That title doesn’t feel much better than being called Young Master.’

Once inside the dojo, Xue Jing made his way to the training hall first to take a look.

“No, no, your method of exerting force is too rigid. There’s an old saying in martial arts: ‘Train a thousand pounds of force, use four ounces in practice.’ The way you’re doing it is pure muscle force, known as ‘dead force,’ which is laborious and ineffective...”

In the center of the training hall, Zhu Shanying was instructing an ordinary disciple, drawing a crowd of onlookers.

Just as Xue Jing stepped into the training hall, Zhu Shanying, for some reason, immediately turned towards the door, her eyes twinkling like those of a newborn animal. She waved cheerfully, calling out, “Hey, hey! Little Junior Brother, over here, come on over!”

Xue Jing paused momentarily, unable to refuse, and then made his way towards the center of the hall.

"Is he the newly accepted disciple of the old master, the junior brother?"

"He's really handsome, even more so than Brother Chen..."

"I heard he defeated Sister Zhu, and the old master was so amazed by his talent that he knelt down on the spot?"

"Who told you that nonsense? Sister Zhu simply got careless and didn't dodge..."

Many disciples who hadn't come to train that day and hadn't seen Xue Jing found themselves casting curious glances at the new junior brother.

"Junior Brother, you've come at the right time. Let's spar and demonstrate the proper usage of strength to everyone."

With a beaming smile, Zhu Shanying took Xue Jing by the hand and led him towards the nearby arena.

The young girl's hands were soft and smooth, nothing like those of a martial artist. A man with slightly weaker resolve might find his very soul whisked away by such a touch. However, Xue Jing stood unmoved.

Zhu Shanying, unable to budge him, looked at Xue Jing in some confusion.

"Uh... maybe we should skip it. I'm not very skilled yet, and it might not be instructive," Xue Jing considered and said.

Zhu Shanying shot him a slight glare, "Haven't you beaten me before? How can you claim to be unskilled? Come on, I'll go easy on you, it won't hurt one bit..."

Xue Jing, inscrutable as always, could tell Sign Ying had a bit of a score to settle.

After thinking it over, he nodded in agreement.

Zhu Shanying was immediately overjoyed, pulling Xue Jing onto the stage. This overly familiar act left a trail of broken hearts among the male disciples.

"Hey, who do you think will win?"

"That's obvious. Last time, Senior Sister Zhu was just careless. Junior Brother has only just started training in martial arts—there's no way he could win."

"I really hope Senior Sister Zhu goes easy on him. We don't want her to accidentally hurt our little Junior Brother."

"Damn it, this time I better not be wrong. I'm betting fifty cents on Senior Sister Zhu to win!"

The disciples watching the scene were a bit excited.

On the platform, the two stood facing each other.

"Junior Brother, be careful,"

Zhu Shanying slightly crouched into a stance, her hands poised as she warned Xue Jing.

Xue Jing nodded, mimicking Zhu Shanying's stance, though it was clear to even the ordinary disciples watching that he was completely inexperienced in this style.

Yet Zhu Shanying herself had already tasted the strength of this little Junior Brother and did not underestimate him. Her beautiful eyes revealed a hint of focus.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Xue Jing moved with an unbelievable speed, crouching down as his right foot swept forcefully, lifting her legs off the ground, tipping her to the side.

Caught off guard and relying on past experience, Zhu Shanying had only focused her attention on the upper body at the start, since no opponent would usually deploy a low sweep with such a long wind-up right at the opening—

—unless their speed was fast enough to make their moves unrestricted.

Yet again suffering due to her lack of intel, Zhu Shanying was surprised but not panicked, ready to steady herself by using her hands to regain balance.

However, in that brief moment in mid-air with no leverage, Xue Jing had already reached out with an astonishing speed and grasped her wrist...

“Bang!”

Zhu Shanying lay on the arena floor, wearing a bewildered expression as if unsure of what had just happened.

Yet another shoulder throw, and yet another identical outcome.

This time, she had braced herself using energy to guard against the attack, avoiding unconsciousness.

But it made no difference to her; this was merely a match, not a life-or-death battle, and she had already lost.

Around her, the murmurs of the disciples ceased abruptly, plunging the hall into silence.

“Thank you, Senior Sister Zhu.”

Xue Jing looked down at the stunned girl on the ground and spoke softly.

With that, he turned and walked down from the platform, moving at an unhurried pace towards the training hall exit.

As he passed by, every disciple involuntarily stepped aside, as if an invisible wall of air surrounded him, pushing everything aside.

Not until Xue Jing had left the training hall did the disciples gradually regain their composure, turning to look at Zhu Shanying, still sprawled on the platform.

“This... Senior Sister Zhu...” One hesitant disciple spoke out.

The girl didn't respond, staring blankly at the ceiling.

...

Xue Jing made his way to his own cultivation room, sitting cross-legged in the center of the room with its hardwood floors, and glanced at the panel before him.

The faint golden radiance of [Twin Forces] dimmed slightly.

Just moments ago during the sparring match with Zhu Shanying, I utilized the twin speed for a little over three seconds.

It was the first time putting this skill to the test in an actual fight, and the outcome met Xue Jing's expectations—if not exceeding them.

It was insanely fast!

The raw speed of the skill aside, it was the abruptness, defying any semblance of normalcy, that truly astonished.

Having faced him once, Zhu Shanying was familiar with his attack speed and had mentally prepared. Yet, the sudden surge in speed left him with no room to react.

Mastering this stark contrast in speed brings an overwhelming advantage.

Those who've played games know exactly how tormenting this kind of 'fast-slow technique' can be.

[You experienced a battle, gaining +97 Combat Experience Points]

[You experienced a battle, gaining +81 Fitness Experience Points]

[You experienced a battle, feeling joyful, gaining +49 Wellness Experience Points]

[You experienced a battle, gaining +26 Precision Experience Points]

[You experienced a battle, gaining +69 Power Application Experience Points]

[Power Application has increased to Lv2]

"Hmm? Does this not count as overcoming a stronger opponent anymore?"

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow.

The previous victory over Zhu Shanying still registered as surpassing a stronger foe on the panel, but now it doesn't count anymore.

It seems that after activating his twin speed, the panel no longer considers him inferior to Zhuying Zhu?