I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

“Senior Brother!”

Xue Jing looked at the broad and imposing figure in front of him, speaking with a voice still trembling from shock.

Just a moment earlier, he had perhaps been the closest to death he had ever been.

The speed that crushed his ability to react, and the bone-chilling threat he felt at his neck...

He had no doubt that if that hand had reached him, it would have cut through his neck with the ease of slicing tofu.

‘So this is... the gap between me and a true martial arts master?’

Xue Jing's eyes flickered.

The difference in strength was overwhelming.

With almost no ability to resist, the opponent could have ended him at will.

Luckily, he was not alone...

Meng Boxiang turned around, glanced at Xue Jing, and nodded. His lips twitched as if smiling, suggesting a greeting.

His massive hands, resembling iron clamps, held the opponent's wrist immovably, silently displaying tremendous strength.

Xue Jing followed the arm in front of him and looked across.

The elderly face, framed by neat, grizzled hair, showed signs of shock and anger. A formless energy surged through him, carving thin, elongated grooves into the surrounding floor.

“You shameless old dog, Jiao Hongyuan.”

Li Qi, seated in a wheelchair at a distance, said icily.

“Your puppy came here to spar with my disciple, but he couldn’t measure up and lost. Yet you, old dog, dared to attack my disciple?”

“Dozens of years have passed, and did those dog teeth I broke off your mouth grow back? Do you think I'm a soft persimmon to be squeezed at will?”

Jiao Hongyuan didn’t respond immediately. He glanced at the deep human-shaped dent in the wall, where Li Chengxuan was embedded.

“Master...”

A muffled voice came from within the wall.

Jiao Hongyuan's expression changed. He turned his wrist, directing his energy to break free from Meng Boxiang's grip.

He moved with a flash, arriving at the wall.

As he acted, Meng Boxiang extended a muscular arm to shield Xue Jing.

“Chengxuan.”

Jiao Hongyuan called out, seeing Li Chengxuan embedded too deeply to extract. He sliced the wall open with horizontal and vertical motions of his hand.

Reinforced concrete posed no resistance, cut smoothly like clay under the slice of a divine weapon.

“Crash!”

Debris scattered, dust filled the air, and Li Chengxuan broke free, battered and bruised, his clothing torn, his exposed skin bruised and purple.

“Hiss—”

Yet he surprisingly seemed in decent condition, inhaling sharply, clutching his own dislocated, misshapen fingers.

“Master, I underestimated them.”

He looked at Jiao Hongyuan, lowering his head.

Not far away, Zhushan Ying heard this and pouted in discontent.

“What's all this about being careless? You lost, so just admit it and stop making excuses!”

“So many eyes are watching here, everyone can see clearly!”

The surrounding disciples, intimidated by the non-human strength Jiao Hongyuan had just displayed, didn't dare to speak up too much, but they still nodded in agreement.

There was no carelessness involved here—it was purely a strength disparity.

Jiao Hongyuan whispered to Li Chengxuan, "We'll talk more about this later when we get back."

He then turned to look at Li Qi.

Surprisingly, he bowed and clasped his hands in salute to Li Qi, saying loudly, "Seventh Lord! It was my fault earlier. I got too protective of my disciple and acted in haste. I apologize for taking action against your disciple!"

“In a few days, I plan to host a banquet and invite everyone in the field. There, in front of everyone, I'll formally apologize to you and compensate you for all losses. You can determine the amount!”

“Does this sound acceptable to you?”

Jiao Hongyuan’s humble gesture was starkly different from his earlier aggressive entrance and attack on Xue Jing, causing everyone to be taken aback.

Li Qi squinted his eyes, sensing something was amiss.

In his impression, this old dog wasn't known for having such a good temper.

When things go against the norm, there must be something unusual.

As a martial arts master, Li Qi understood the essence of martial conflict deeply.

The more an enemy doesn't want you to do something, the more you should do it.

Even though Li Qi didn't know why Jiao Hongyuan was trying to make peace, he knew not to go along with it.

“If apologies were useful, why would we bother practicing martial arts?”

Li Qi chuckled sarcastically.

“If you truly want to apologize, fine; chop off the hand you extended toward my disciple, and I'll accept your apology.”

“You're going too far!” Li Chengxuan shouted angrily.

“You're the one going too far! A brat who can't even clean up after himself when he makes a mess still dares to shout around here!”

Li Qi cursed, spittle flying.

He pointed a finger at Li Chengxuan's nose, looking ready to stand up, and roared, “If a fool like you dared to come challenging like this, only to lose and still have the face to shout, under my tutelage, I would've flushed you down the drain long ago!”

Li Chengxuan was speechless in face of these truths he couldn't refute, trembling with anger.

Jiao Hongyuan frowned, gesturing for Li Chengxuan to stay quiet, then addressed Li Qi, “Seventh Lord, that's a bit too much.”

Li Qi laughed snidely.

“Too much?”

He said no more, turning to Meng Boxiang.

“Boxiang, close the door and beat the dog.”

Meng Boxiang's elegant face remained calm. Without any visible movement, his long hair, reaching down to his waist, began to coil up on its own, ready for a fight.

Beside him, Xue Jing's eyes widened in astonishment.

This is the state of 'Force Reaching the Four Extremities', where one's energy permeates every subtle part of the body, even controlling each strand of hair freely.

It can even whip the hair to pierce through a human body, using it to kill.

Jiao Hongyuan's expression shifted slightly.

"Wait!"

Yet Meng Boxiang paid him no heed.

In the blink of an eye, his immense and robust figure vanished from the spot.

Reappearing before Jiao Hongyuan as his massive fist, the size of a sandbag, swung towards Jiao Hongyuan's wizened face.

The nearby air quivered, rings of air waves exploded from the fist's edge, blowing people around, making it impossible for them to keep their eyes open.

As the direct target of this punch, Jiao Hongyuan felt an immense sense of oppression.

"The Fist of the Ultimate Limit! This kid is on the verge of breaking through limits, just one step away from crossing the Dragon's Gate!"

Jiao Hongyuan, seasoned and experienced, immediately recognized the level of this punch, his eyes showing shock.

If he were twenty years younger, he might not fear this, but, as the saying goes, "Fists fear the brave youth," he hadn't broken limits and wasn't an 'Immortal of the Common World'.

His physical state couldn't persist in its peak indefinitely, having aged over time, and now facing this Limit Ultimate Punch from a formidable junior, how could he possibly block it?

He only had time to raise his elbow, using his sharp and seasoned strength to try to dismantle the force of the punch, colliding fist and elbow.

"Boom!"

An earth-shattering explosion resounded as all the glass on the 17th floor office building, home to the Hidden Dragon Dojo, shattered.

The violent airflow blew everyone back continuously, shielding their faces with their hands.

Even the entire office building shook subtly, making countless people suspect an earthquake was happening.

Xue Jing, standing quite close, involuntarily squinted as the punch burst forth, the airflow blowing him back several meters off the ground, leaving him unable to see a thing.

After a few dozen seconds when the air calmed, he finally opened his eyes fully to look at the scene.

All the machinery inside the training hall was scattered and in ruins, the ground cracked in all directions, the walls lined with numerous cracks, and several large holes appeared.

Yet, Jiao Hongyuan and Li Chengxuan's figures were nowhere to be seen.

Xue Jing only found a pool of thick, mercury-like, almost solidified blood where they originally stood.

Even Senior Brother Meng Boxiang had vanished.

"Is this…the true power of martial arts masters?"

Xue Jing looked at the chaotic scene, a bit dumbfounded.

He would believe it if you'd called them superhuman.

Even the aftershocks of a single punch resembled a map-wide attack.

"So I've been nothing more than a novice till now?"

Xue Jing sighed deeply.

With his soaring strength from this past month of practice, he thought he had become something quite formidable.

Now witnessing the true skills of martial arts masters in person, he realized he was still far from being qualified.

"Clatter, clatter—"

Sounds of wheelchair wheels approaching came from the side.

Xue Jing turned his head and asked, "Master, what's the situation now?"

Li Qi rubbed his eyes, disturbed by the blowing dust, and spoke, "That old dog Jiao Hongyuan took a punch from Boxiang, leveraging the force to grab his disciple and run away. Boxiang chased after him; they're probably still fighting."

Xue Jing walked to the edge of the shattered floor-to-ceiling window, looking outside.

High above the buildings, the fierce wind whipped his clothes around, as he focused his gaze into the distance. With the Lv5 aiming skill granting him extraordinary vision, he vaguely spotted a series of circular airflows erupting repeatedly, growing ever more distant.

It must be the tumult caused by Senior Brother Meng Boxiang's clash with Jiao Hongyuan.

"Master, what should we do now? Should we find a way to help?"

Xue Jing asked while turning around.

Li Qi brushed his sparse hair on each side of his balding head.

"No need. Jiao Hongyuan, old and feeble, is no match for Boxiang. We'll just wait for the news."

He glanced at the wreckage of the Zanglong Dojo and snorted.

"This won't just end like that. That old dog, I must strip him of a layer of skin."

Finishing, he turned his gaze towards a sneaky figure.

"Boy, where are you trying to sneak off to?"

Su Bijing, who was attempting to slip away in the chaos, froze at the words.

He could only slowly turn around with an awkward smile and said, "I was just trying not to be an eyesore…"

Xue Jing glanced at Su Bijing, pondered for a moment, then leaned down to whisper a few words into Li Qi's ear.

Li Qi's expression shifted, and he mused, "I see…

No wonder that old dog Jiao Hongyuan was so afraid just now, trying to smooth things over."

His eyes landed on Su Bijing, who was crouched obediently on the ground, and he said with malice, "Boy, you're in big trouble."

Hearing this, Su Bijing sensed a foreboding feeling.

"Dadadadada—"

The helicopter hovered above, while Xue Jing and Void Blade stood not far from the Zanglong Dojo's office building, engaged in conversation. "There were only small suspicions before, but now it's almost certain that there are indeed major issues over at the Jinfeng Dojo."

Xue Jing said.

"That person is a direct disciple of the Jinfeng Dojo, holding high status. He probably knows something. We'll leave him to you."

Void Blade, dressed in a black tactical uniform that accentuated her slender figure, directed her team to escort Su Bijing onto the helicopter, then turned to look at Xue Jing.

"If there are truly valuable findings this time, you'll be credited, and I'll apply for a reward for you from the headquarters."

Xue Jing blinked, feeling somewhat conflicted.

If there are valuable findings, rather than him being credited... it should be Li Chengxuan who gets the credit.

That troublesome kid, suddenly coming over to deliver a head, and now even his master's head is about to be handed over.

Regardless of whether the Jinfeng Dojo is involved with the Cockroach Monster, it definitely has secrets it wants to hide.

After this, even if the Jinfeng Dojo doesn't fall, it would at least be severely stripped down.

“You're really not planning to formally join the White Crow? I think you'd be perfect for this job.”

Void Blade persuaded.

“I've looked into the details of your experiences. On October 9th, a schoolmate confessed her feelings to you...”

Void Blade recounted the recent events Xue Jing had gone through.

From being confessed to by a junior, sparking Pei Youguang's jealousy and picking fights, to having the guts to visit Pei Youguang's home, then getting into trouble with the Razor Gang on his way home, to later encountering a cockroach monster at Ruizhu Hotel, and soon after, facing another cockroach monster at school, Xue Jing was always at the scene of trouble.

“And now, here you are, with this suspicious Jin Feng Dojo actively seeking you out...”

“You have a strange constitution that attracts trouble without looking for it... That's truly rare, and you’re really suited for this line of work.”

Xue Jing was at a loss.

What do you mean trouble automatically finds him...

Wu Youqing also mentioned he had a unique constitution that attracted divine artifacts, and now it seemed it wasn’t just divine artifacts, but trouble as well?

Although thinking about it carefully, that did seem to be the case.

Is this some kind of protagonist sacred body from old internet novels?

Xue Jing waved his hands vigorously: “It's just a coincidence... There's no such weird constitution, we must believe in science.”

Void Blade touched her chin: “Don't ignore the supernatural; ever since God died, there's been no shortage of strange occurrences in this world, like those divine artifacts you love, none of which can be explained by science...”

She added meaningfully, “Perhaps your continuous trouble is itself influenced by some divine artifact, you just haven't discovered it yet.”

Xue Jing: “...”

He shook his head as he walked towards the office building of the Canglong Dojo.

“Enough, stop with the scare tactics. Leave things to you guys, I'm heading back.”

Void Blade smiled, saying no more.

...

Entering the elevator of the office building, Xue Jing opened a panel to take a look.

[You engaged in real combat...]

Skipping through a series of experience point notifications, he went straight to the bottom.

[Fitness Level increased to Lv8]

[Wellness Level increased to Lv6]

With both fitness and wellness frameworks reaching the upgrade threshold, they leveled up simultaneously.

Xue Jing clenched his fist, feeling the significantly enhanced physical capabilities. While he was delighted, there was also a sense of dissatisfaction.

Whether it was Jiao Hongyuan, who could easily claim his life, or the senior disciple whose single punch kept him at bay, Xue Jing was acutely aware of his own severe lack of strength.

Suppressing his inner turmoil, Xue Jing murmured to himself: “No worries, take it slow, one day...”

...