I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

“Someone must have been running around and accidentally crashed into the main door, shattering the glass. Honestly, it’s so dark, can’t they be more careful?”

“Whose phone still has battery? Mine’s completely dead.”

“Mine too.”

“Same here… Did anyone bring a charger?”

“The power’s out, what use is a charger? Does anyone have a power bank?”

The scene buzzed with noise, but everyone merely assumed the hotel had suddenly lost power, and it didn’t cause much chaos.

“Something's not right,” Pei Tiancheng pressed the power button on his phone for a long time, but it remained unresponsive.

Brow furrowing, he muttered, “How could so many people's phones simultaneously die when the hotel's power went out?”

In the darkness, Ye Chenglin spoke up, “Let's not worry about that now—who knows how long this power outage will last. We should leave the hotel first; the elevators probably aren’t working, so let's take the stairs down... Does anyone have a lighter to light the way?”

Pei Youguang swiftly responded, “I have one.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a branded kerosene lighter.

“Click—”

Flicking his fingers, a flame ignited the lighter.

In the pitch-black hall, a sphere of light emerged.

Those present inexplicably felt a sense of relief. There is an inherent human fear of the dark, and seeing light again feels almost blissful.

“Everyone, gather over here,”

Ye Chenglin clapped his hands loudly.

“Follow the light, come over here; let’s move out slowly and avoid crowding. Be mindful of your steps.”

Most of the young people in the hall were either Ye Chenglin's friends or friends’ guests. Coupled with the safety the lighter’s glow brought, everyone obediently gathered close.

“A perfectly good party, and now this blackout—what's Ruizhu Hotel playing at?”

“It might not be the hotel's fault; maybe the power station is down? Could be a whole area outage.”

“I think it’s kind of fun, like a thrill. If this were a suspense or horror movie, we’d probably be in danger by now, haha.”

Though they were in darkness, their numbers and the light eased most fears, creating an odd mix of excitement and reassurance.

As a result, most didn’t feel greatly discontented by the party’s sudden halt.

“How about we check out that suite where someone died—wouldn’t that be more thrilling?”

Someone from Ye Chenglin's group suggested suddenly.

“Let’s not… It’s already scary without lights. I’m a bit terrified…”

A girl whispered her refusal.

“What are you afraid of? There are so many of us here, even if a ghost showed up, it wouldn't know who to catch. Besides, we've got Pei here with us, right? With his exceptional martial arts skills, he can definitely protect us if anything happens.”

The speaker's tone was casual and relaxed.

Pei Tiancheng chuckled softly, about to speak, when he suddenly heard a strange rustling sound. He turned his head immediately and thought he saw a shadow dart past in the dim light.

“What was that?” he bellowed sharply.

Everyone was startled by his sudden outburst.

“What's wrong, Pei? What happened?”

“Don't scare me like that! My heart isn't good—it's not really a ghost, is it?”

Pei Tiancheng maintained his gaze in one direction, the flickering firelight barely illuminating the hall's corners, making it difficult to see clearly.

“I might have been mistaken,” he said uncertainly.

But just as his words left his mouth—

“Whoosh—”

In the blink of an eye, the person from Ye Chenglin's group who suggested exploring the haunted suite disappeared on the spot!

“Ying Yang!?”

“Where did he go? What's happening!?”

“Hey, don't scare me!!”

Suddenly, a heartrending scream pierced through the banquet hall.

“No, what is that, aaaaaaaah!!”

The scream was so chilling and intense, it seemed to convey unimaginable suffering.

“That's Ying Yang's voice!!”

“What on earth is happening!?”

Panic spread like wildfire among the group.

A few disciples from the dojo, including Li Zhaochuan and Zhang Daqing, immediately moved to the forefront. With a stern look, Zhang Daqing instructed:

“Everyone, stick together and don't run off!”

As they organized the group and kept order, they spoke quickly among themselves:

“Did you see clearly?”

“No, with just one lighter, it's too dark. I only caught a glimpse of a shadow; I don’t know what it was.”

“Does anyone else have a lighter? Light them all up!”

"Everyone, light up the room!" shouted one of the disciples of the dojo.

Despite the chaos, the young people managed to listen; soon, seven or eight fire lights flickered in the crowd, minimally brightening the hall.

“What the… What the hell is that?!”

Suddenly, someone pointed a trembling finger at a corner of the hall.

Following the direction, everyone looked, and immediately, screams rang out continuously.

“Aaaahhh!!”

There, in the corner, lay a corpse riddled with bite marks and holes—beyond recognition, though the clothing suggested it was the person who had disappeared after screaming moments ago.

A monster was crouched on top of the body.

This creature stood nearly two meters tall, jet-black in appearance. It had human-like feet, but its arm areas sported six sharp, spiked legs that resembled scythes. Its head was reminiscent of a human's, except for the two enormous compound eyes and the two antennae on top. Its mouth resembled that of an insect, constantly extending and retracting as it chewed a bloody mass.

Its huge, thin wings overlapped like a cockroach’s on its back, with its hind part ending in cockroach-like tails constantly quivering like steel needles. Fully resembling a hybrid monstrosity of a cockroach and a human.

Everyone, including a few martial arts trained dojo disciples, felt their skin crawl and hair stand on end.

Insects are inherently chilling to most people, and cockroaches especially evoke strong discomfort.

But a cockroach-human hybrid larger than an average person…

“Ahhhh!”

The crowd immediately backed away from the monster, retreating to the hall's walls, their screams incessant.

“What is that thing? An escaped experiment from a biotech company or a creature from the borderlands?” exclaimed Zhang Daqing, dumbfounded.

"Fight it? Winning aside, I'm terrified of insects. I wouldn't even touch it," another dojo disciple shook his head hurriedly.

At this time, unable to bear it any longer, someone broke away from the group, running towards the banquet hall's door in an attempt to escape.

“Hey! Don't move!”

Zhang Daqing shouted urgently, but the person ignored the warning.

The ‘cockroach-man’ seemed to sense its prey attempting to flee, tilting its head slightly to look at that person, its antennae twitching once.

In an instant.

"Bang——"

The floor exploded as the cockroach-man dashed at the person, moving like a black lightning bolt with terrifying speed.

The fleeing one had no time to make a sound before being cut in half at the waist, falling to the ground as white, yellow, and red splattered everywhere.

The cockroach-man’s form appeared next to the two halves of the body, its sharp appendages dripping with bloody fragments.

“Hiss——”

Everyone drew in a sharp breath, frozen from fear.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight that!?" one of the dojo disciples swore.

In the flickering firelight, the cockroach man's antennae twitched slightly as it gazed at the crowd.

Suddenly, four thin wings unfurled from its back, spanning almost three meters, creating an utterly terrifying visual.

"Whoosh—"

It took to the air, diving toward the crowd like a sudden attack from a southern cockroach!

"Holy crap!!"

No one dared to meet it head-on; several dojo disciples quickly leaped aside to dodge, letting the cockroach man crash into the middle of the group.

"Master Pei, help!!"

Ye Chenglin's group cried out frantically for help. Pei Tiancheng, gritting his teeth, stepped forward to shield the crowd, assuming a fighting stance.

"Ha!!" he shouted, trying to summon courage, estimating the cockroach man's flying speed, and struck with a straight punch. With a bang, the cockroach man was sent flying backward, crashing through a long table.

The sight invigorated the crowd.

But before they could even start cheering, the next moment, the cockroach man propped itself up off the ground, standing back up.

It bent its legs slightly, adopting a crouching position.

Pei Tiancheng's instincts instantly transmitted a danger alert. Realizing something was wrong, he roared, "Run!!"

The crowd had no time to react as they saw Pei Tiancheng leap to the side, diving to the ground.

Just as he did so, a shadow darted through his original position, spearing through three or four people like skewer, slicing them in half.

"Aaaaaah!!" The crowd screamed again.

The cockroach man seemed to understand that its speed was something this prey could not contend with.

Once again, it assumed a charging position, lunging toward the group.

A dojo disciple, caught off guard, was pounced on mid-air, unable to resist as its head was bitten off by the mandibles.

Even those like Pei Tiancheng, skilled in martial arts, couldn't withstand its assault. The group immediately despaired, screaming as they scattered to flee, any semblance of order completely gone.

Amidst the chaos, Xue Jing watched the shadow of the cockroach man, a dark flame flickering in his eyes.

"So that's it... It appears humanoid, but its internal structure is unlike that of a human. It's more akin to the hydraulic systems of insects, capable of producing momentary acceleration far beyond human physical abilities," Xue Jing contemplated.

"And—it took a punch with almost no harm, does it share the life force of a cockroach too?"

"Impressive."

"But—not unbeatable."

Xue Jing made up his mind and stepped forward.

In the middle of the hall, the antennae on the humanoid cockroach's head were twitching, seemingly selecting its next prey to slaughter.

At that moment, it noticed a rather appealing target, striding towards it of its own accord.

Amidst the fleeing crowd, Pei Youguang saw someone approaching the monster on purpose. He squinted, and though the firelight was dim, he instantly recognized the person — it was Xue Jing!

“Brother Jing!?” he called out urgently.

What is Jing planning to do? That's suicidal!

The others also noticed this scene.

“What's he doing? Does he have a death wish?”

Despite their fear, everyone couldn't help but wonder.

Zhang Daqing, Li Zhaochuan, and Pei Tiancheng fixed their gaze on the advancing figure, thinking: Is he crazy?

This is a creature of speed, vitality, and destructiveness, practically a monster tailor-made to counter humans. It's not a foe these young people can face!

Not fleeing immediately, is he courting death?

Such professionalism? He’s risking his life even for a bodyguard job?

Ignoring the thoughts of others, Xue Jing stepped up, standing in front of the humanoid cockroach.

“Bang!”

The floor shattered as a black shell shot towards Xue Jing like lightning.

His eyes sharp and focused, he was already at Lv5 aiming, granting him dynamic vision far beyond normal human limits.

The speed that was a blur to others appeared clearly to him, down to the smallest detail.

Twin Speed, Twin Power, activate, damn it!

Xue Jing's entire being seemed to press the acceleration button, his speed an explosive force as he spun and charged a powerful kick!

“Bang!!”

As if perfectly calculated, the humanoid cockroach, lunging forward, was precisely struck in the chest by his kick!

Fierce and forceful, with the absolute double strength of Twin Power, the piercing creature was launched twenty-plus meters back, embedding into the stone wall of the banquet hall, leaving a massive dent.

“Gwa—”

The cockroach's jaws opened within the wall, vomiting a few mouthfuls of dark green blood.

In the dim light, the panicked and screaming crowd abruptly fell silent, stunned at the young man slowly retracting his kicking stance.

Xue Jing looked towards the humanoid cockroach within the wall, his voice emotionless, “You seemed to be having quite a bit of fun earlier.”

"Then next, why don't you play with me for a bit."