I Will Grind My Way To Godhood

"A sparring request?"

Xue Jing looked puzzled.

Zhushan Ying nodded, her bright eyes sparkling as if constantly twinkling with little stars.

"The requester is also a martial artist. They said they got curious about you after reading the news and want to spar with you."

"The fee is five hundred thousand, you know," the young girl chuckled.

Xue Jing thought for a bit and nodded, "Alright."

Since it was such an easy job, he naturally wouldn’t decline.

Even though just sparring for five hundred thousand seemed a bit strange, like it was too much.

But wealthy people often had unconventional spending habits; maybe this expense seemed normal to them.

Zhushan Ying nodded in agreement and said with a smile, "The requester has set the time for tomorrow noon. As for the location, they'll call you."

Xue Jing nodded, indicating he understood.

With business concluded, Xue Jing noticed Zhushan Ying showing no intention of leaving. After some thought, he asked, "Senior Sister Zhu, why does it seem like you always have so much free time every day?"

Zhushan Ying raised her delicate eyebrows, stepped close to Xue Jing, stood on tiptoe, and pinched his cheeks with both hands.

"Junior Brother, are you mocking that your senior sister is too idle? Being annoyed by your senior sister?"

Xue Jing replied helplessly, "I didn't mean it that way."

He moved her hands away from his cheeks. "All other senior brothers and sisters are so busy with assignments that they hardly touch the ground... I was just curious."

Zhushan Ying retracted her hands and clasped them behind her back, looked up, and lightly hummed, "I, your senior sister, actually have a superpower."

Huh?

Xue Jing glanced at her, intrigued, "What superpower?"

"Super rich!"

Zhushan Ying giggled.

Xue Jing: "…"

"So, how about it? Tempted yet? I'm a super-rich woman, you know, richer than you could ever imagine. If you manage to win me over, you'll never have to worry about money again in this lifetime."

With a mischievous smile, the girl teased as if she were joking.

She thought her little junior brother might be a bit moved, giving her a chance to tease him as a small revenge for the two times he had thrown her over his shoulder.

To her surprise, Xue Jing just shook his head calmly.

He extended his right hand, clenched it into a fist.

"Money, power, fame... these are fragile external possessions that can be lost at any time. They are ultimately inferior substitutes for true strength."

"To a person who possesses true power, such things are as common and easily obtainable as stones by the roadside, discardable without a care."

"If I were to be with you for money, the day I become someone who sees money as mere stones, you too would become nothing more than a stone to be tossed away without hesitation."

Xue Jing spoke with his usual calm tone.

Right now, he genuinely did not care much about money.

Of course, this was mainly because he'd just earned twenty million, and he was now in a state of serenity, no longer in urgent need of money, which allowed him to speak with such arrogance.

"…" Zhushan Ying looked at Xue Jing in a slight daze.

After a long pause, she let out a soft sigh, her pretty face showing a complex expression as she muttered under her breath, "…I was just kidding."

【Someone has developed a great liking for you. Charm Magic experience +231】

【Charm Magic has increased to Lv6】

Xue Jing glanced at the information that popped up on his status screen without any change in expression.

Unaware that her complex emotions had been exposed by the status screen, Zhushan Ying looked at Xue Jing's face with some doubt.

There was an inexplicable feeling that her junior brother... seemed to have become more attractive.

Keeping her thoughts hidden, the girl maintained her usual demeanor as she walked to the center of the training room and waved at Xue Jing.

"Little brother, we haven't sparred in a while. How about a few rounds?"

Xue Jing loosened up his body, moved forward, and chuckled as he walked, "Five hundred thousand, please."

Zhushan Ying's eyes widened slightly, "Didn't you say money was like stones you could toss away?"

“That's something for later... Now I'm quite valuable. The client hired me for five hundred thousand, claiming to be a super-rich senior. She can't skimp on payment, can she?”

Xue Jing's eyes were filled with teasing amusement.

Zhushan Ying glared at him, "I don't care; I am your senior, so I get it for free!"

With that, she lunged forward and threw a punch at Xue Jing.

Two minutes later...

“Bang—”

Zhushan Ying was once again thrown to the ground in an over-the-shoulder throw, her hands covering her face as she curled up, overwhelmed.

She had shut down.

.....

At Qingcheng University, Library, seventh floor.

In an antiquated old loft, imbued with a deep sense of history, a young girl sat under the dim lights, calmly flipping through a book she was reading.

Her posture was upright, her attire simple, yet her makeup-free face remained strikingly lovely, creating an elegant picture amidst the aged surroundings.

Just then, a sudden breeze swept through the supposedly sealed loft, causing the girl’s high ponytail to sway gently.

A short-haired woman dressed in a black, tightly-fitted tactical suit suddenly appeared in the loft.

She looked around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with ordinary features marked by a scar shaped like a blade at the corner of her eye.

The tactical suit was equipped with sharp tools of various shapes at all convenient points like elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, and waist.

Wu Youqing seemed unsurprised by her arrival.

She calmly closed her book, and from a hidden compartment beside her, retrieved a set of tea utensils and a [GOD-1567 Sweet Water Flask].

Without speaking, she brewed two cups of tea using the GOD-1567, and pushed one cup toward the chair opposite her.

The short-haired woman walked forward, took a seat on the wooden chair, lifted the cup to take a sip, and frowned slightly, "An unusual taste."

Wu Youqing stirred her teacup with a spoon as she noted, "Go ahead, what's this about?"

The short-haired woman brought out an obsidian-like card from who knows where, showed it to Wu Youqing, and spoke, "Miss Wu, I am from the [Special Agency for Emergency Management of Anomalous Disasters], under the Special Operations Department, leader of the White Crow Task Force, Squad 838, codename 'Void Blade'."

Wu Youqing sighed, "You don't have to list all those titles. I can't remember them. Just get to the point."

Void Blade's expression remained unchanged as she said, “This is the standard procedure.”

“Miss Wu, C-class containment officer Xue Jing under your Reliquary Containment Company is involved in a case we are currently investigating. We are here to inform you that we will be contacting him.”

Wu Youqing frowned, recalling the news she saw this morning, and asked, “Is this about what was on the news?”

Void Blade stood up and shook her head, “I cannot answer that. The notification has been delivered, so I'll—”

“Hold on.” Wu Youqing's tone was cold.

The girl's light purple eyes seemed to glow slightly, their hue deepening subtly.

“You may contact him, and conduct your investigation; these are within the protocol. Should you need his assistance and he consents, I will have nothing more to say.”

“But remember, do not apply your disruptive practices on him.”

“If I find out something has happened to him due to your actions—”

“Trust me, even if a committee member from the Mechanism Management Commission backs you, it won't shield you from the Wu family's wrath.”

“……” Void Blade's expression remained unchanged, seemingly unresponsive to Wu Youqing's threat.

Yet, the cold sweat beading on her forehead betrayed her inner turmoil.

“Understood?” Wu Youqing asked softly.

“...Understood.” Void Blade nodded.

A gentle breeze swept through, and the short-haired woman in black tactical gear disappeared from the attic.

Wu Youqing mused for a moment, holding her chin, then took out her phone, opened the contacts, and searched for the name marked as 'Xue Jing'.

She hovered over the 'dial' button but eventually refrained from making the call.

She exited the contact list, scrolled through her screen, and opened a video.

It was a low-resolution surveillance video showing two figures battling on a desolate, worn street.

In the final scene, one figure, shrouded in black flames, grips another's head, channeling the flames into the mouth.

“A peculiar ability.”

The young girl muttered to herself.

“There are still many mysterious aspects about him... Having the White Crow interact with him might not be a bad idea."

...

The following day at noon, Xue Jing was quietly practicing the Dormant Dragon Technique in his training room.

The Shaking Armor Skill and Dormant Dragon Technique complement each other, one dynamic for honing dragon power, the other static for nurturing dragon energy. Both need to be practiced simultaneously, progressing together.

Now, his physical condition is vastly different from before, and the burden of practicing the Dormant Dragon Technique is easy for him to bear. He could potentially maintain its stance for twenty-four hours without difficulty.

However, in martial arts practice, moderation is key; it is still important to balance effort and rest. Practicing the Dormant Dragon Technique for one or two hours a day should suffice, as extending beyond that might cause emotional fluctuations and significantly lower training efficiency.

[You completed a Dormant Dragon Technique drill, gaining +228 fitness experience points.]

[... Gained +217 Hidden Dragon Force experience points.]

[... Gained +116 visualization experience points.]

Shortly after he finished practicing the Dormant Dragon Technique, his phone, placed on the wooden floor, vibrated and sounded its ring tone.

Xue Jing picked up the phone and answered the call.

“Yes, it's me.”

“...”

“No problem, I'm free now."

“...”

“Alright, I'll be there soon.”

It was the phone call from the client who wanted him as a sparring partner.

After hanging up, Xue Jing first went to the bathroom, took a shower, and changed clothes before leaving the Hidden Dragon Dojo and hailing a taxi.

“Driver, please go to Mucheng Street in the North District...”

Xue Jing said, giving the address provided by the client.

“Sure thing, sit tight.”

The driver, an upbeat middle-aged man, replied cheerfully while making a wide turn with the steering wheel.

The car sped swiftly towards the western district.

...