I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

The news article detailed the events that took place yesterday at the Ruizhu Hotel, emphasizing that the protagonist is a 17-year-old student from Qing High School, and throughout the piece, he was praised as a martial arts prodigy.

What made Xue Jing frown slightly was that the report unreservedly printed his name.

“I wonder which busybody revealed your age, name, school, and even mentioned that you’re a disciple of our Hidden Dragon Dojo.”

Chen Fuguang retrieved his phone, scrolling through the screen.

“—Luckily, they didn’t have your photo, or if they did, they were concerned enough about portrait rights not to publish it.”

“Junior Brother, you’ve become famous now.”

Chen Fuguang laughed.

“It's a bit troublesome though,” Xue Jing sighed.

Trouble came quickly.

His phone vibrated, ringing with the default ringtone. Xue Jing glanced at the caller ID displayed on the screen.

It was his sister, Xue Wan.

Seeing this, Chen Fuguang mentioned he had a task to attend to and left.

Xue Jing returned to the training room and pressed the answer button.

“Hello, hello, hello~ woof woof woof?”

The familiar sound of healthy dog barks came through the receiver.

Xue Jing chuckled, “What’s up, sis.”

“Hmm? Do you have something you’d like to confess? Hurry and come clean,” Xue Wan said.

Xue Jing was surprised, “Huh? How did you find out I finished off the box of spicy strips under your bed?”

On the other end of the line, Xue Wan was taken aback.

"How dare you! If you touch my spicy sticks, I'll take a cab home tonight and chop off your dog head!"

Xue Jing retorted, "Snap out of it, you're the real dog."

Xue Wan replied, "Are you barking up the wrong tree?"

"Alright, enough nonsense. You almost left me dizzy. Quickly tell me, what's the deal with that news, huh?"

Xue Jing explained, "What else could it be? Just someone with the same name and surname. You know me, I've never been one for martial arts. I probably couldn't even beat a T-Rex. Clearly, I have no affinity for martial arts..."

"Ohhh—" Xue Wan stretched out the word with a tone laced with amusement.

"I didn't even mention which news story it was, so why are you explaining so much?"

Xue Jing chuckled, "You caught me, alright. I'll lay it all out. I am indeed a martial arts prodigy."

Xue Wan exclaimed, "So you've really been practicing martial arts? Did you actually kill a monster?"

Xue Jing countered, "What else could it be?"

There wasn't much to hide about practicing martial arts from the family. The only issue was that such news about battling monsters to the death would worry them.

Xue Jing could only try to brush it off casually.

"I see..."

On the other end of the call, Xue Wan seemed to be contemplating something. After a while, she continued, "Alright, it's good to know that person in the news is you, little brother. You're famous now, just don't let it get to your head."

"Don't go looking for too many girlfriends. Five or six should be enough; you can't handle more..."

Xue Jing, speechless, said, "What are you talking about."

Xue Wan giggled and hung up the phone.

Xue Jing shook his head, put on the nebulizer, and started inhaling the medication.

But it wasn't long before his phone rang again.

This time, it was an unfamiliar number. After answering, he heard a voice he was quite familiar with.

"Hey, Xue Jing."

"Teacher Du?" Xue Jing asked puzzledly.

It was Du Shiwei, the head teacher of the Senior Elite Class and the Chinese teacher at Qingfu High School.

"Xue Jing, I just wanted to ask, the person in today’s news..."

Xue Jing sighed and said, "It’s me."

Du Shiwei chuckled, clearly satisfied, "I knew it. There's no other Xue Jing at Qingfu High. It had to be my student!"

He seemed to be speaking to those around him, with murmurs of agreement faintly heard in the background.

"Anyway, it's nothing major, just checking in. I don’t oppose your martial arts training. It’s good to gain some skills besides your studies, but do make sure not to neglect your grades..."

At the end, as if remembering something, Du Shiwei added, "By the way, the school sports day is coming up in a few days. You haven’t forgotten, have you?"

Hearing him mention it, Xue Jing finally remembered the event. He had promised Du Shiwei to participate in the running event at the school sports meet. He had indeed forgotten about it.

"I remember, don't worry, Teacher. I’ll be there," Xue Jing chuckled.

"Good, that's settled then." Du Shiwei sounded pleased.

Xue Jing hung up the phone, but it wasn’t long before it rang again.

This time, it was Li Ge calling.

Xue Jing found it strange that although he often attended classes at school every few days, he felt like he hadn't seen Li Ge in ages.

“Hey, hey, Brother Jing, have you seen the news?”

Xue Jing replied, “Indeed, it was just about me.”

Throughout the morning, Xue Jing received four or five phone calls. It wasn't until he finished speaking with his mother, Nan Jiayu, that he finally found some peace.

Pressing his temples, he felt a bit irritated.

“I better not find out who leaked my name to the media.”

While using an inhaler, Xue Jing picked up his phone to check it.

The news about his fight with the monster last night had become a minor trending topic, recommended to anyone whose IP was traced to Qingcheng.

He casually clicked on the trending topic and discovered, aside from the news report, there was an interview video.

The video featured a shirtless man, displaying his well-built muscles. His eyes, as well as those of the figure next to him, were censored, and his voice was altered.

“That guy named Xue Jing, he's the new personal disciple of the Hidden Dragon Dojo. Is the Hidden Dragon Dojo awesome? Not much different from our Tiger Dojo.”

“Both of us were hired for security work this time. I had a little spar with him. You ask who won? It was roughly fifty-fifty, I barely counted it as a narrow loss.”

“The monster and I have poor compatibility; it's my nemesis, so we split the tasks. He was responsible for crushing that beast, while I was in charge of protecting the people... Wasn't the protection adequate? No way. With a monster that fierce, losing just a few was a gain...”

After watching the video, Xue Jing was speechless.

It was clearly Li Zhaochuan from the Tiger魄Dojo, that scoundrel...

“Junior Brother, Junior Brother!”

Suddenly, an energetic young girl's voice came from outside the training room.

Before long, the sound of footsteps approached, and Zhu Shanying pushed open the door and walked in.

“There's a special request specifically for you, and it comes with a hefty reward.”

The girl spoke with a smile on her delightful face.

Xue Jing raised an eyebrow and asked, “What kind of request?”

“Sparring partner!”

Meanwhile, in a hidden underground basement in the southern part of the city.

Next to a massive sky-blue insect nest, Jiao Hongyuan was reading the news on his phone, frowning as he remarked, “'Number One' was actually killed by a seventeen-year-old high school student?”

“Could there really be such a talent in Qing City that rivals Cheng Xuan? Even at seventeen, Cheng Xuan would've had a hard time winning against 'Number One.'”

Standing beside him, Duan Kaiping flattered, “It's different. When Junior Brother Cheng was seventeen, he hadn't been practicing martial arts for long. The person in the news was probably secretly nurtured by the Hidden Dragon Dojo for a long time before being revealed to make a stunning impact.”

Jiao Hongyuan nodded.

“Never mind, it doesn't matter. Although the expected results weren't achieved, a few people still died, so it at least sent a warning to the ruling council.”

Jiao Hongyuan put away his phone and casually asked, “How is 'Number Nine' doing?”

Duan Kaiping swallowed hard, eyes filled with fear: “It devoured 'Number Seven' last night... it's only ten days old, yet its growth rate is astonishingly fast.”

Satisfied, Jiao Hongyuan nodded, “Number Nine seems to be the most cost-effective perfect specimen we have at the moment. From now on, base all the feeding and production on Number Nine.”

“Find a chance to show Number Nine off... The high school student in the news is from Qing Affiliated High School, right?”

“That's the best high school in Qing City. If something happens there... it could really boost support for that 'bill.'”

Troublesome news surrounded the events from the previous day. The morning headlines were filled with stirring reports, causing quite the stir among those involved.

"Have you seen today's newspaper?" Brother Jing asked, a mix of irritation and concern etched on his face as he glanced at the front page.

"It's worse than we thought," added Chen, placing the paper on the table with a sigh. The article outlined sensational details, which although not entirely accurate, were enough to attract unwanted attention.

In a corner of the room sat Bo Shang, intently listening to the conversations around him. His mind wandered as he pondered the implications this news might have on their future activities. With such a glaring spotlight, keeping low was no longer an option.

The urgency to address these 'requests' was felt by everyone. Delegating responsibilities became trickier, especially when eyes were overly watchful.

Despite the chaos, plans had to move forward. The group steeled themselves for what lay ahead. (This marks the end of the chapter.)