I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

Wei Junwu gripped the railing tightly, his eyes shining as he stared at the arena.

He asked Song Nanxing, who was standing next to him:

"Old Song, what do you think?"

Song Nanxing glanced at Wei Junwu and said calmly, "What do you mean, 'how'?"

He had just fought Otogisuka and was covered in wounds from the Shojin-zan, now wrapped in bandages like a mummy.

"Hey Lao Xue, what do you think of him now?"

Wei Junwu tapped his fingers on the railing, looking somewhat excited.

Song Nanxing shook his head: "...He's not someone I can evaluate."

Earlier, he had also been skeptical of Xue Jing and had gone to see him alone, offering some advice that now seems quite ridiculous, only to be proven wrong.

However, he practiced ancient martial arts that emphasized mental cultivation, and he had a calm and detached mind that allowed the world to move even when he himself was still, so he didn't care too much.

At this moment, after watching Xue Jing's match, he realized something.

Xue Jing... is from a completely different world than these so-called genius teenagers.

He was an even more terrifying monster... The only thing he had in common with them was that they were about the same age.

"To me, Zhou Yinglin is not someone who needs to be studied in detail. In my eyes, he is just like you."

"—It's just a weed blocking the way that I need to pull out while I'm at it."

Song Nanxing recalled what Xue Jing had said to him... Now that he thought about it, Xue Jing's words were not arrogant at all; they were simply stating the facts.

"To be honest, it's hard to believe that he was actually born in the outer ring of the Fifth Metropolitan Area... He gives the impression of being a monster raised in that monster room of the Seventh Metropolitan Area."

The Seventh Metropolitan Area is the most developed metropolitan area for martial arts in the world, the hometown of the Supreme Martial King, and a place where people are fierce and martial arts are highly valued.

The seven major titles of the old martial arts world, as well as the highly prestigious special title of 'Champion,' were mostly held by martial artists in the Seventh Metropolitan Area. Even two of the three major titles in the Far East were won by martial artists from the Seventh Metropolitan Area who crossed the sea to obtain them.

The strength of the martial artists there is more than ten times that of those in other urban areas...

If it weren't for their inherent arrogance, which leads them to generally disdain participating in competitions outside the Seventh Metropolitan Area except for title matches, the Seventh Metropolitan Area would probably dominate all the martial arts competitions across the country.

"Sigh, I finally understand why that young lady is so obsessed with him."

Wei Junwu sighed.

"Mr. Zhu, it's not that I don't want to help you, but a person like him is destined to soar to great heights, and no one can stop him..."

……

Back in the backstage players' lounge, Xue Jing handed the fishing rod back to Ning Yuantai, then caught the cat that pounced on him and placed it on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Yuan Tai. I didn't damage it, so it should still be usable," Xue Jing said with a smile.

Ning Yuantai reached out his hand, looking at the fishing rod with a reverent expression, as if he were receiving some fragile and precious item, and carefully took it in his hand.

"What are you saying..."

He replied with a comment, then began to rub the fishing rod in his hand with a satisfied smile, thinking to himself: It's impossible to use it again.

This is no longer a fishing rod... this is the fishing rod that Brother Xue used to beat people up.

It was used by Brother Xue in a public competition! There's video evidence!

Its commemorative value and historical significance far surpass those of the fishing rod itself by thousands of times.

If Brother Xue were to pass away someday, this thing would be his sacred relic!

"What makes your little fishing rod so special!"

Ning Yuantai seriously considered how to preserve the fishing rod, wondering if he should make a bank-grade safe for it...

"Yuan Tai, you should go back to Zhige Base first."

Xue Jing didn't know what Ning Yuantai was thinking, but suddenly spoke up.

"Ok?"

Ning Yuantai was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Don't you need me to drive you back?"

Xue Jing shook his head and said, "Just in case... there's some danger going on in the coming days, and I might not be able to take care of you."

Upon hearing this, Ning Yuantai's expression immediately turned serious.

He understood that Xue Jing was referring to Lu Shenliu.

The most ferocious sword in the world, the White Emperor Blade, is the sharpest in the human realm. It is the only step away from becoming the eternal overlord of this generation's pinnacle martial artist.

If Lu Shenliu's target is Xue Jing, then now that Zhou Yinglin's plan to kill Xue Jing on the arena has completely failed, this is the most likely opportunity.

"...Understood, I'll go back now." Ning Yuantai nodded solemnly.

He knew very well that staying would only cause trouble; in the eyes of someone like Lu Shenliu, he was no more useful than an ant.

Brother Xue is a born benefactor, a chosen one of God. He has no worries when acting alone, and he may have a chance to escape. He can't let himself be a burden.

Ning Yuantai, carrying his fishing rod, left the Super Arena with a heavy heart and looked worried, heading towards the parking lot.

"Ah Jing, do you think Lu Shenliu would dare to come up to you and attack you?"

After Ning Yuantai left, the cat licked her paws and washed her face while speaking in a clear, childlike voice.

She wasn't too worried. Although Lu Shenliu's strength was extremely terrifying, as one of the very few people who knew almost all of Xue Jing's trump cards, she knew how much Xue Jing could protect himself and how powerful he was.

No matter what, there's no need to worry about your life.

Xue Jing glanced at her and smiled, "No... I'm just doing this as a precaution."

The cat's tail began to wag involuntarily, and it snorted softly, "You still trust your Boss Wu so much..."

Xue Jing stroked her cat head and said softly, "What are you being jealous of now?"

While calming the jealous cat, Xue Jing opened the panel and took a look.

[…Soldier Master's experience points +2267]

[…True Martial Experience Points +2129]

……

[Divine matter detected; absorbing divinity...]

[Possessing divinity: 2639...2652...2678]

Divinity continues to rise.

From the moment I received this primordial wind of all things until now, the growth of my divinity has never stopped.

Before contact, he had 2037 points of divinity, and now the amount he has absorbed has exceeded the average of about 500 points from the divine relics he had previously encountered.

'The top 300 divine relics in the sequence are indeed extraordinary!'

Xue Jing looked at the divine power that had already broken through to over 2700 but still hadn't stopped, and thought to himself.

This was the first time he had come into contact with a divine relic with a serial number in the top 300, and even '098', which was ranked high in the top 300.

Although it is only a part of 098, one-ninth, its divine content still exceeds that of 'ordinary' divine relics after sequence 300.

In addition...

Xue Jing looked at the bottom of the Divine Skills panel, where the light spots were constantly forming and converging, his eyes filled with excitement.

New divine skill!

How long has it been...? The last time I obtained a divine skill was back then.

During this period, he has touched at least twenty divine relics, but still hasn't found one.

It's as if it was a lie that he obtained [Twin] and [Shadowflame] from just three or five divine relics at the beginning...

Xue Jing almost thought he had reached the limit for skill slots.

It seems that it's not that the skill bar is at its limit; it's just that the time hasn't come yet. When the time is right, it will come!

"Let's go up to a higher place and see something rare that we don't usually see."

Xue Jing thought for a moment, then temporarily closed the panel and spoke to the cat.

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from his spot, leaped and bounded, and arrived at the bowl-shaped edge of the highest platform in the Super Arena.

He used his aura concealment technique to reduce his presence to the extreme. Although the hundreds of thousands of spectators who were leaving the venue were densely packed together in the square, not one of them noticed him, who should have been extremely conspicuous.

I don’t know how much time has passed.

A notification popped up on the panel: "Divine Essence Absorption Completed".

Xue Jing only had time to see that his current divinity had reached 3266 points, one-ninth of a divine relic, and he had gained a total of more than 1,200 points of divinity!

Before his eyes could even see the name of the new divine skill already displayed on the panel, he suddenly felt a stirring in his heart, as if he had sensed something, and turned to look up at the sky.

"coming……"

Xue Jing muttered to himself.

Suddenly, the whole world seemed to fall silent.

The cacophony of the surging crowds, the incessant honking of horns on the main road due to traffic jams... all the sounds seemed to disappear in that instant.

next moment.

Endless white sword light cleaved out from a central point in the sky.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!!!"

Each one stretched from the sky to the earth, so enormous it was unbelievable. Wherever it passed, air currents surged, white clouds were shattered, and the azure sky seemed to be cut into pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle.

Faintly, accompanied by the glint of swords, the roar of a fierce tiger seemed to echo.

At that moment, Xue Jing felt a sudden tightness in his body and his scalp tingled.

His extreme sense of danger was telling him... that any one of these countless blades, denser than a storm, would kill him instantly, with absolutely no chance of resistance, if he were even slightly grazed by any one of them.

“Lu Shenliu…” he said softly.

Just how powerful is this top martial artist who is about to receive an eternal title, a hegemon who has leaped over the Dragon Gate at least three times?

An endless, enormous blade of light spread out, about to reach the ground, but Xue Jing remained seated motionless on the edge of the platform.