I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

Once the panel is opened, a long list of prompts pops up in front of you.

[...Health Preservation Experience Points +2127 (Maximum reached)]

[...Running experience points +2460]

[...Aiming experience points +3288]

[…True Martial Experience Points +1670 (Max)]

[…Visualization - True Experience Points +2366]

[...Military combat experience points +2680]

[...Riding experience points +1688]

[…Acting experience points +1927]

[...Hiding experience points +2310]

[Visualization - True Upgrade to Lv8 (277/11000)]

[Soldier Attack upgraded to Lv10 (1211/?)]

[Riding skill upgraded to Lv7 (789/4500)]

[Acting skills improved to Lv8 (377/6000)]

[Concealment upgraded to Lv8 (169/6000)]

In this great battle, he gained a considerable amount of experience points from his regular skills, and the levels of several skills were raised. Among them, Soldier Strike finally reached the Lv10 cap, becoming his sixth max-level skill.

Without immediately experiencing the changes after upgrading each skill, Xue Jing closed the panel and looked at the Rubik's Cube in his hand that was glowing green.

【GOD-1779·Green Cube】.

He basically memorized all the information he could find about divine relics, including the Green Cube.

Simply put, this thing is similar to a 'storage magic item' in fantasy novels.

However... unlike the storage artifacts in the usual settings, this thing can only hold living things, not inanimate objects.

When Xue Jing obtained the Green Cube from the Green Light Vortex Channel, he casually turned it a couple of times before closing the channel.

The passage will reopen once the green cube is turned to the position it was in when it was last closed.

If you twist it incorrectly, even by a small margin, the Green Cube will immediately trigger the 'transfer' property of the artifact and teleport to a random location.

"If only it were one of those storage containers that can hold inanimate objects... This thing isn't very useful to me. It still contains a Celestial Insect Queen and who knows how many cockroach monsters..."

"Speaking of which, what do these cockroaches eat? Hmm, they probably eat their own kind."

Xue Jing tossed the green Rubik's Cube in his hand, stretched in the air, and looked at the sky in the east, which was already beginning to brighten.

"Ugh, I'm tired. I'm going home to take a shower, pet the cat, and go to sleep."

……

The next day, when Xue Jing woke up, Ning Fengwan, who had transformed into human form, was lying next to him, playing with his phone, her two fair legs kicking incessantly, and her fluffy cat tail swaying in the air.

She was wearing a large white t-shirt that reached her thighs, and nothing else. Because the shirt was sagging, a hint of her chest was showing.

“You caused quite a scene last night.” Ning Fengwan raised an eyebrow as she looked at Xue Jing, who had just woken up.

Xue Jing sat up, touched the soft cat ears on her head with his right hand, and smiled:

"How to say?"

Ning Fengwan reached out and turned the phone screen towards him.

"The news reports are everywhere, Lord Dark Dragon Knight," she said with a smile in her eyes.

"Single-handedly reversed the tide of battle, eliminating the crisis that threatened the entire Sunny City. Hero of the people, guardian of the city, Lord Black Dragon Knight!"

Xue Jing's lips twitched.

"...Don't call me by that name."

Ning Fengwan twirled a lock of long hair between her fingers, teasing Xue Jing's face, and said jokingly, "Didn't you choose this name yourself? Have you forgotten what you called yourself back in Maple City? Lord Dark Dragon Knight?"

"You were having a blast before, how come you look like your chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) has been cured overnight?"

Xue Jing reached out and brushed Ning Fengwan's hair aside, taking the phone from her hand.

I glanced at the Qingcheng News page and found that eight of the top ten trending topics were related to what happened last night, five of which contained the words "Dark Dragon Rider".

Xue Jing looked thoughtful.

It's not surprising that this kind of attention is related to the safety of the entire city, but it's a bit strange that most of the attention is focused on him.

It felt somewhat deliberate.

Just as I was thinking about something, my phone rang.

Looking up, I saw it was a call from Pei Xiaoen.

……

Chapter 205 True Martial Lv2, Qi Clone, One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones, Substitute User Xue Jing! (4K)

"Hello? Uncle Pei."

Xue Jing stroked Ning Fengwan's cat ears with one hand and held his phone in the other, then spoke.

Perhaps because he had just woken up, his voice was lower and deeper than usual.

The girl lay on her side on his stomach, reached out to cover herself with a thin blanket, yawned with her mouth slightly open, and closed her eyes.

"Xiao Jing, I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I didn't call you... You should be awake by now, right?"

Pei Xiaoen's voice came through the receiver, and her attitude and tone seemed more respectful than before.

Xue Jing didn't pay attention to that, and just smiled and said, "I just woke up. Go ahead and tell me what it is."

Pei Xiaoen cautiously began, "Although I've already confirmed with several of the top disciples of the Hidden Dragon Dojo, just to be on the safe side, I'd like to ask again... You're the 'Dark Dragon Rider,' right?"

Xue Jing's lips twitched: "...I didn't, I didn't, don't talk nonsense. What Black Dragon Rider? I've never acknowledged that title."

Pei Xiaoen chuckled twice, and understood that Xue Jing meant "Black Dragon Rider," but he didn't like the title.

"Speaking of which, your government can influence media propaganda, right? Could you please change this title?"

Xue Jing said casually.

Bae Hyo-eun said somewhat awkwardly, "Well... while it is indeed possible, a forced change of address could backfire, so I don't really recommend doing it that way."

Xue Jing gritted his teeth: "If you people want to promote and create a heroic image, can't you come up with a more palatable title? Are all the people in the public relations department suffering from chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)?"

Bae Hyo-eun said innocently, "...It really has nothing to do with us. This is the people's choice. Everyone at the scene last night was shouting this, and it gradually spread..."

Xue Jing paused for a moment, then said, "Let's not talk about that anymore. Tell me, what else is there?"

Pei Xiaoen paused, as if considering his words carefully, before speaking:

"Xiao Jing, it's like this, the payment we agreed on before..."

Xue Jing narrowed his eyes, a hint of danger in his voice: "Oh? So, you don't want to pay me now that the commission is complete?"

"Don't say anything I don't want to hear... Secretary Pei, the harm I can cause is far greater than that of a mere Heavenly Constellation Mother."

Hearing Xue Jing's words, which now carried a clear threat, and even his address of Pei Xiao'en changed from "Uncle Pei" to "Secretary Pei," Pei Xiao'en quickly spoke up:

"No way, you've misunderstood. We've already signed the agreement, and the agreed-upon compensation is absolutely no problem!"

"The councilors just want to discuss with you whether we can use your 'Dark Dragon Knight' identity to carry out some publicity activities. We can pay you some extra on top of your original fee..."

Before he could speak, Xue Jing interrupted, "No need. Don't bother me with any publicity or other activities that require me to show my face. I won't agree to them. Just keep the payment as originally agreed."

“…Okay, I understand.” Pei Xiaoen could only helplessly agree when he saw Xue Jing’s uncompromising refusal.

After chatting for a few more minutes, discussing the events and details of the previous night, the handling of the Celestial Mother within the Green Cube, and confirming when the ten billion in cash and ten divine relics would likely arrive, Xue Jing hung up the phone.

"I've gained another identity as a masked hero..."

Xue Jing scratched his head.

To be honest, it was definitely a bit of a secret thrill...

Every man, to some extent, has dreamed of becoming a hero at some point, and Xue Jing was no exception.

I wonder what else this identity will bring besides providing the emotional value of a hero's dream.

Shaking his head, Xue Jing decided to put those thoughts aside for the time being and opened the control panel.

[Possessing Divinity: 3672]

His gaze fell on the Extraordinary Skills section.

【True Martial Arts Lv1 (Transcendent)】

[Upgrade Requirements: 10000/10000 Experience Points, 3672/1000 Divinity]

Xue Jing stroked his chin: "Hmm... let's upgrade True Martial Arts by one level and see the specific effects."

Currently, he has a surplus of divine essence. The Qingcheng government will also provide him with ten more divine relics, bringing the total to approximately five thousand divine essence.

Be generous with your spending, but save a thousand points for [fitness] which may take off sometime in the future.

Xue Jing clicked to upgrade.

【True Martial Arts Lv2 (Transcendent)】

[Upgrade Requirements: 0/20000 Experience Points, 2672/1000 Divinity]

Compared to the exhilarating, tingling sensation of my entire body being drastically transformed when I first obtained [True Martial Arts], there were no noticeable changes after reaching Lv2.

Xue Jing clenched his fist and took a moment to feel it. He felt that the strength of his power had increased, and his control over his body had also improved significantly.

Although their strength should have increased significantly, there was no tremendous progress in leaping from 'human' to 'non-human'.

"The upgrade requirement for Lv2 True Martial Arts is still 1000 points of Divinity, and it has not increased."

Xue Jing seemed to be deep in thought.

"It seems I misunderstood before. Extraordinary skills are not higher than divine skills in terms of 'rank'. It's just that the divine power required to activate them and the divine power required for the initial upgrade are higher."

"I thought it would go up to two thousand starting at Lv2, but it turns out it's just this."