I will eventually become a god through sheer hard work.

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In terms of physical strength alone, this person has an overwhelming advantage over him.

But there was something subtly off about it.

After thinking for a moment, Xue Jing reached out and shook hands with him.

"I am Xue Jing," he said softly.

[Divine matter detected; absorbing divinity...]

Xue Jing's eyes flickered.

This person is... a recipient?

Upon seeing the pop-up notification, Xue Jing subconsciously opened the panel and glanced at it, then his heart skipped a beat.

On the panel, at the very bottom of the Divine Skills bar, wisps of red light converged into a new empty slot...

This is a sign of the activation of a new divine skill!

But why are the lights red instead of gold?

The fact that this phenomenon was different from the divine skills he had activated in the past puzzled Xue Jing.

The man named Wei Yuzhao nodded and tried to withdraw his right hand... but Xue Jing grabbed it tightly, preventing him from doing so.

Wei Yuzhao was stunned.

Xue Jing, without changing his expression, grasped Wei Yuzhao's right hand and said with a smile, "Brother Wei seems quite capable... May I ask where you work?"

Wei Yuzhao shook his head: "Xue Jing, I am not your enemy."

Xue Jing still wouldn't let go, and simply said, "Please explain in detail."

Although Wei Yuzhao didn't understand the meaning behind Xue Jing grabbing his hand, he didn't resist to show that he had no hostility, and simply continued:

“I am a member of the Secret Martial Arts Society… but unlike those conservatives who want to cause you trouble, I am a member of the reformists.”

Xue Jing asked in confusion, "The reformists?"

Wei Yuzhao said in a low voice: "I do not agree with the old ideas of the Secret Martial Arts Society, and I do not believe that only old martial arts are the power that humans should use. Instead, I believe that as long as it can improve martial arts, everything that can be used should be used."

"After all, even the one who founded the Secret Martial Arts Society... didn't he use it?"

Xue Jing's eyes lit up with realization: "So that's how it is."

The Secret Martial Society was originally a pure martial arts organization founded by the Supreme Martial King. When he was still the leader of the Secret Martial Society, there was naturally no room for other heretical ideas to exist.

But ever since he accepted the 'amnesty' and joined the official Cangting, naturally, the organization that originally existed because of him will also change because of his changes in thought and action.

The emergence of this reformist faction should be attributed to the faction that arose after the Supreme Martial King broke away from the Secret Martial Society.

"...I suppose you can see that I am a recipient of a gift," Wei Yuzhao continued.

"The other god I have been given is called 'Lord of Crimson' and 'Source of Flesh and Blood'."

"This is an alien god whose rituals were perfected in recent decades. He is the source of all 'flesh and blood' in the world and one of the righteous gods who symbolize the material foundation."

"It possesses an extremely wonderful blessing for martial artists... and all the rituals for receiving this blessing are in the hands of us, the reformers."

Wei Yuzhao actually went straight to the point and revealed his true colors.

He looked directly at Xue Jing: "You should be able to feel how powerful I am... even more powerful than you, a genius rarely seen in this world."

"This is all because of the power of the reformers."

"Xue Jing, you are also a recipient of this gift. You are probably completely different from those whose minds have become rigid. You are capable of accepting our new martial arts philosophy."

"Join us and become a member of the Secret Martial Arts Society's reformist faction. You will receive support you could never have imagined before, rise to power at an astonishing speed, and with your talent, given time, it is not impossible for you to become the leader of our reformist faction, or even eventually a great man who elevates the martial arts system of the entire world."

Wei Yuzhao glanced around and said:

"And once you join, I will crush any actions these conservatives take against you and ensure your safety."

Xue Jing held Wei Yuzhao's hand, remained silent for a moment, and then smiled:

"The terms sound very tempting."

[Divinity absorption complete]

A notification popped up, and he opened the panel to check his current divinity.

[Possessing Divinity: 6620]

Previously, he had obtained a large amount of divinity through divinity factors on the Dragon Core aircraft, and then cleared the dragon horde on the map with a single punch, gaining some more. He originally had about 4400 divinity in reserve.

Now it has become 6,600... He has obtained nearly 2,200 divinity from Wei Yuzhao.

The gains were substantial, but the divine insights were not the main focus.

His gaze fell on the Divine Skills panel.

At its very bottom, a new skill, completely different from the other divine skills, appeared.

Its name did not shimmer with a pale golden light, but rather with a blood-red glow, as if it were written in blood.

【Crimson (Not Activated): Special Divine Skill, requires 6620/5000 Divinity to activate】

A special divine skill!?

Xue Jing's heart raced slightly... This unprecedented description, along with the terrifying amount of divinity required to activate it, silently spoke of the extraordinary nature of this new skill.

It's a full ten times the amount required to activate other divine skills!

He already possesses quite a few divine skills. Although the strength and usability of these skills vary, without exception, they all require the same 500 points to activate.

And now, this skill called 'Crimson' requires a whopping five thousand points... What kind of monster skill is this?!

Suppressing the urge to immediately activate it, Xue Jing naturally released Wei Yuzhao's hand and calmly said:

"Although the offer sounds very good... I refuse."

Wei Yuzhao tilted her head: "Why?"

Xue Jing gave him a strange look: "Does refusal need a reason? Joining does, doesn't it?"

The path he was going to take was different from everyone else's... Although the Reformists sounded like a special system that focused on martial arts with other systems as supplementary, their path was quite similar to his.

But it's only superficially similar; at its core, it's still just a panel.

People with different principles cannot work together... Moreover, for some reason, Xue Jing always felt that this reformist faction was somewhat dangerous.

Wei Yuzhao paused for a moment: "It's alright, take your time to think it over, there's no rush."

With that, he turned and left without hesitation.

He thought to himself, "When you are on your deathbed, you will naturally need my help, and then..."

Hmm? Why does the mutation rate seem to have suddenly decreased a lot... Is it just my imagination?

"Holy crap, Teacher Xue, who was that person just now? Such powerful spiritual pressure!"

He Han patted her still-pounding chest and asked Xue Jing with lingering fear.

Their martial arts instincts allowed them to vaguely sense the absolute crushing power on a purely physical level, like cotton standing in front of steel—a gap that was truly terrifying.

"It's like he's unleashed the Kaioken technique, his whole body is exploding with energy, it's too exaggerated."

Are the examiners all monsters?

Xue Jing ignored the students' commotion, slowly closed his eyes, and opened the panel.

【Crimson (Not Activated): Special Divine Skill, requires 6620/5000 Divinity to activate】

[Conditions met, activate now?]

【whether】

Without hesitation, he clicked "Yes".

[Activation successful]

【Crimson LvMax (Special Divine Skill, Cannot be Upgraded)】

[Effect: Temporarily sacrifice all special abilities other than flesh and blood to the Crimson Lord in exchange for increased flesh and blood strength, entering the 'Crimson' state]

Ok?

Xue Jing's eyes flickered slightly.

This skill... can't be upgraded.

No wonder it requires a whopping 5,000 points of divinity to activate... This is a buy-out skill, so you don't need to spend any more money afterward.

Fortunately... he thought he would have to feed a super giant beast baby with a huge appetite, and that leveling it up would require at least 10,000 points of divinity.

And the effects of the skill...

Xue Jing had a strange sense of déjà vu.

This seems to be... a forbidden technique.

By sealing off all of his special skills, he can only use basic attacks to enhance his physical combat power.

I don't know exactly how much it will enhance.

Xue Jing was itching to try it out, but it wasn't a good time to do so now...

Just then, students in the surrounding examination rooms suddenly made a commotion, as if they had seen something.

Xue Jing also opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.

A large aircraft was slowly flying in from the horizon, with a big '1' written on its side.

“That’s… the aircraft from Extremis City Exam Site No. 1.”

Chen Xingyan spoke, his eyes showing seriousness.

“In the No. 1 examination room of each inner ring city, there are students with extremely high potential... but that’s not the key point.”