I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

……

The next day, around noon.

"...No need, I'll go see my family first, and I'll contact you after I've finished meeting with them."

"...Okay, thank you for your help."

In the suite, Xue Jing lay on the bed, one hand on the phone, the other gently stroking the back of the cat lying on his chest.

As he practiced martial arts for a long time, his ability to control his body improved, and his skill in petting and stroking cats also improved. At this moment, his slender fingers swept across the cat's back, and the gentle force made her fur stand on end, causing her to meow in pleasure.

"...That's settled then, we'll get back to you later."

After a string of social pleasantries, Xue Jing hung up the phone.

"Is he the agent from that Galaxy Club?" the cat asked lazily, enjoying being stroked.

Xue Jing nodded and hummed in agreement.

On the other end of the phone was Wu Youqing's personal agent, who was in charge of everything for his upcoming competition in Fengcheng.

"Director Chen said we'll arrive in Fengcheng before dark today. We'll go find my sister for a meal first, and then explore Fengcheng to see what's fun there."

Xue Jing explained the upcoming arrangements.

The cat yawned, its emerald vertical pupils becoming hazy, as if it were about to fall asleep.

For some reason, she has been getting increasingly sleepy lately.

Xue Jing smiled, his hand stroking her hair more gently, while he picked up his phone with his other hand and started browsing the news.

[...The U19 Unrestricted Elite Fighting Tournament's Fengcheng elimination rounds are about to begin. The elimination round roster will be announced tomorrow, along with a draw ceremony...Dark horse player Li Chengxuan says there's no one he can fight...]

[...The night before last, around 9 PM, the cruise ship 'Infinite Nova' was attacked by a swarm of sea bees, creatures from the border region. Miraculously, no one died. The reason was a mysterious young man...]

[...The 'Sky Pirate Gang' is becoming increasingly rampant. Shang Mingyang, Director of the Qingcheng Security Bureau; Xin Qingyun, Director of the Fengcheng Security Bureau; Guan Yingzhi, Head of Kangde Security Company; Ye Si'an, Head of Heichao Security Company... jointly declare that they will definitely eradicate the 'Sky Pirate Gang' and restore a clear blue sky to the Fifth Metropolitan Area.]

……

After casually browsing the news and watching some funny videos, Xue Jing put his phone aside.

He then opened the panel and looked at the Divine Skills section.

[Possessing Divinity: 506]

When he last encountered [A Hundred Feet Higher], he gained over 600 points of divinity, used 300 points on Shadow Flame, and had 368 points remaining.

In the following days, he spent time every night diligently extracting divine essence from Ning Fengwan, sometimes until 10 PM each day. Combined with the 82 points of divine essence he unexpectedly gained from killing the Sea Bee King, he finally...

The divine balance has reached 500 points again.

Xue Jing hesitated.

Should I save these 500 points to upgrade my twins, or...?

His gaze fell on Yingyan.

【Shadowflame Lv3 (Divinity required for upgrade: 506/500)】

Currently, when it comes to the use of divinity, twins are definitely the top priority.

The reduced cooldown of passive resurrection and the addition of a twin active effect are significant improvements at each level.

But Shadowflame... isn't bad either.

As he used this skill more and more, he found that it was truly more and more useful.

It grants dark vision by focusing the eyes, amplifies attack range and damage by wrapping around the blade energy, and can also defend against strange "magical damage" such as "sound waves" and "intense light".

He had a feeling that if this skill continued to be upgraded, there would be many more surprises.

"Hmm... Twins need 800 points of divinity to reach Lv5, and we're still short by nearly 300 points. I wonder when we'll be able to get them."

Xue Jing was a little itchy to try it.

It's uncomfortable to have money but not spend it.

"Forget it, let's upgrade Shadowflame first. Twin Flames doesn't have any urgently needed active effects right now..."

Xue Jing upgraded [Shadow Flame].

【Shadowflame Lv4 (Divinity required for upgrade: 6/800)】

"tumultuous--"

A ball of black flame ignited in his hand.

As soon as he used it, Xue Jing felt a clear difference.

It was similar to the feeling he had when he first obtained the Hidden Dragon Force and transformed his power into a real dragon.

The black flame in his hand, compared to its previous lifeless state, now had a more lively feel.

It's as if it's come back to life.

Xue Jing seemed to understand something, and threw the black flame onto the floor in front of him.

Then a thought came to my mind.

The black flames that fell to the ground did not explode and annihilate the matter. Instead, after a transformation, they turned into a 'cat' that was exactly the same as Ning Feng's cat form, made entirely of shadow flames.

The 'Shadow Cat' had its four paws treading on swaying black flames, and its eyes were white, empty holes. It opened its mouth and licked its right paw, rubbing its face with its paw. Its posture and movements were extremely agile, no different from a living cat.

Xue Jing... did not control it to do this; it did it automatically.

Xue Jing looked at it curiously, "Interesting... Shadow Flame has come to life and turned into a Shadow Beast?"

……

Chapter 120 Creation-Level Shadow Flame Activation, the First Big Shot After Reaching the Shore, Haven't You Had Enough of Making a Scene? (4K)

The 'Shadow Cat,' composed of black shadows and with its four paws resting on black flames, opened its mouth, revealing jet-black fangs, and seemed to meow, but no sound came out.

With its white, empty eyes wide open, it leaped lightly onto the bed, came to Xue Jing's side, and rubbed its head against Xue Jing's chin, just like a very ordinary kitten that was attached to its owner.

Xue Jing scratched the shadow cat's chin with his finger and was surprised to find that his finger actually touched a solid object.

This is a bit interesting.

The skill Shadow Flame, although different from ordinary flames in essence, manifests itself as 'plasma' just like flames.

It is neither energy nor matter, but a state in between, belonging to the 'semi-solid' that is difficult to touch, and feels like air.

However, now that it has been upgraded to Lv4, the 'Shadow Beast' formed by the Shadow Flame activation structure has become a real, tangible entity.

"In this case……"

With a thought, Xue Jing caused the shadow cat to disintegrate and transform back into a ball of black flame.

He kept the black flames suspended in the air, pulsating silently.

Then I gently picked up the cat from my chest and put it on the bed, and then got up from the bed and stood on the floor.

The black flames dancing in the air began to change shape, transforming into a large black cloak according to Xue Jing's idea.

"Wow--"

Xue Jing reached out and grabbed the solid black cloak, then draped it over his shoulders.

"……interesting."

Xue Jing said with great interest.

"When it transforms into a cat, it feels the softness of a cat's fur; when it transforms into a cloak, its physical properties are the same as real clothing..."

With another thought, black energy surged into his palm from the shadows cast by countless lights in the room.

Ultimately, it transformed into a magnificent, jet-black Western-style two-handed greatsword.

Xue Jing grasped the Black Shadow Greatsword in his hand and immediately felt a slight weight in his palm.

"...Can even weight be materialized?"

He was very surprised.

"This has already...entered the realm of creation!"

Xue Jing picked up a small white porcelain teacup from the wooden table and tossed it into the air.

Then, wielding the Black Shadow Greatsword, he swung it horizontally and vertically at the teacup, unleashing a cross-shaped slash.

The teacup split into four balanced petals in mid-air, which Xue Jing caught with lightning speed with one hand and placed back on the wooden table.

The four teacup fragments all had extremely smooth cuts, clearly indicating that the Black Shadow Greatsword was quite sharp.

"Outrageous! This is practically an invasion of the realm of gods... It can be created simply by having shadows around it; it's practically creating something out of thin air."

Xue Jing walked to the corner, picked up the Futu Knife, and with a clang, drew it from its sheath.

"Let's test the intensity..."

He placed the shadowy greatsword diagonally against the wall.

He then raised the Rabbit-Shattering Blade, gathered his strength, and slashed at the blade of the greatsword.

"Chong-"

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and the black shadow greatsword was cleaved in two with a single strike, then disintegrated into two balls of black flame.

After feeling the resistance when he struck the greatsword, Xue Jing nodded.

"The strength isn't very high... It's probably about the same as steel of the same volume, which is a bit of a shame... But as the Shadow Flame level continues to increase, the strength of the 'Shadow Creation' should also increase accordingly."

Xue Jing's heart suddenly stirred.

"Wait, if this greatsword can have physical properties close to those of steel, could it be applied to the field of chemistry? Like making a bomb or something?"

Xue Jing's heart was pounding.

If that were possible, that would be incredibly awesome!

Hand-crafted nuclear bombs are not a dream.

He pondered for a moment, then condensed all the black flames into his hand.

As he imagined, the black flames began to change shape, transforming into strands of pitch-black liquid that condensed in the air into a large black water sphere.