Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Jack took to the air. He remained in his Double Devil transformation. His middle B-Grade aura roiled, just a fraction of his opponent’s. Crownbeast Saturnstar cracked a grin.

“You really can’t wait to die,” he said.

“The opposite,” Jack replied. “I look forward to teaching you a lesson.”

The godzilla-like beast no longer seemed as angry. He had absolute certainty in destroying Jack. In his mind, he had already won.

“And what gives you such confidence, Double Devil?” he asked playfully. “You know you are about to die, yet you still fly towards me. Why?”

“Well, I can’t spank your ass without coming closer.”

The crowd laughed again—the confused yet entertained kind—while Saturnstar lowered his head. Red light shone over his body. Savagery crackled, dying the sky a bloody red. Facing this light, Jack simply raised his Dao-made flip-flop.

“Prepare your scaly butt,” he said.

Saturnstar smiled. “I’ll make this quick.”

He lashed forward. Air cracked where he passed, the extreme Dao density doing little to stop him. A set of powerful jaws closed around Jack—except he was no longer there. Jack had delicately stepped through space to appear behind Saturnstar. “Too slow!” he said. “Great Spanking Arts: Latin Mother Cracking Down!”

The flip-flop loudly slapped against godzilla’s ass, carrying with it a miniature version of Meteor Punch. Saturnstar growled. As he was still in his charging motion, the strike easily sent him flying forward, tumbling head-over-heels. The scales on his lower back had reddened by the heat of the impact—but, to the onlookers, they looked red from spanking.

The audience froze. Their jestering cheers echoed through the air a little before dissipating. Everyone’s eyes were glued on Jack, this unknown Double Devil who’d just jumped two small realms to fight one of the Fiend King faction’s greatest disciples.

“What exquisite space manipulation…” Elder Puerto said, her eyes shining. She beckoned to one of her assistants. “Record this battle!”

Similar exclamations rang all over the square. The floating mouth was licking its lips. Elder Crownbeast’s features had hardened. Brock was scratching his ear. As for Crownbeast Saturnstar, Jack’s opponent, he wore an expression of utter disbelief.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

Jack smiled. “Simple. You’re an unruly beast, so I used the power of discipline to get an advantage.”

“...Are you hiding your cultivation?”

Jack’s smile widened. “Does it look like I am?”

Hiding one’s cultivation was possible. However, the amount of energy one expended in combat could not be hidden. Everyone had clearly seen that Jack only used a middle B-Grade’s energy just now, it was just that the quality of his energy and his level of Dao understanding were far superior to his opponent’s. There were only two possibilities: either Jack was a once-in-a-lifetime talent, or he was an extremely powerful person at the late A-Grade or above hiding his cultivation. Would someone at that level fool around with juniors?

“Saturnstar!” Elder Crownbeast roared. “Kill him!”

Saturnstar’s gaze sharpened. He’d reached the same conclusion as his elder. This person was extremely talented and had a bone to pick with them, but he wasn’t allied with the Great Silver faction or they would know about him. At least, he wasn’t allied yet. They had to kill him right now.

Saturnstar pounced. He was no longer holding back. Savage light swam around him, spreading with extreme luminosity like he was a crimson sun shooting through the sky. The lower-level space monsters had to avert their eyes. The higher-level ones watched with rapt attention.

Jack felt space constrict around him. His opponent’s Dao of Savagery commanded the world, forcing Jack to fight him head-on through sheer untainted battle lust.

Of course, to Jack, such a rudimentary space lock might as well not exist. He possessed the inheritance of two space-related Archons, had studied black holes, and had mastered space to a higher degree than even most A-Grades. In comparison, Saturnstar didn’t even focus on Space—and the Space Monster World’s inheritances were generally inferior to the outside universe’s to begin with.

Jack ignored the space lock and teleported to the side. Saturnstar passed by like an angry freight train, receiving another firm smack on his buttocks. He roared. Red light erupted, sending the air particles into a frenzy and having them fight each other. A billion tiny cyclones filled the sky. A weaker space monster would have been torn to shreds, but Jack didn’t even defend. The rampaging particles bounced off his highly-tempered body.

Because Saturnstar was going all-out, he couldn’t efficiently control his powers. Some of the tiny cyclones escaped outward. The ones that fell towards the city were stopped by a flickering blue shield, but the rest were not. The environment around the city exploded. Dozens of wandering space monsters lost their lives, the massive river was sent into a frenzy, and many large rock islands disappeared, torn to pieces. The surrounding forest, whose every tree was equal to a D-Grade existence, was eviscerated for several miles.

In the outside universe, peak B-Grades possessed the power to destroy planets. The Space Monster World sported a far higher Dao density, making everything much sturdier and reducing every cultivator’s powers. Still, peak B-Grades could cause widespread destruction. They were walking apocalypses.

Jack overlooked the massive area of devastation around Empty Star City. He tsked. “That wasn’t very responsible of you,” he said. “Little children should be environmentally friendly!”

The godzilla roared and turned to attack Jack again. His fighting style was simple: all he did was charge. It usually worked because of his great speed and space lock. Unfortunately, Jack outclassed him in both aspects.

It was like a bull trying to catch a fly. Jack easily dodged every attack, making Saturnstar seem comically slow. He also interjected his own flip-flop strikes, shouting clearly made-up bullshit like, “Third Spanking Art: Divine Fatherly Love!” and “Belt Buckle Instills Discipline!”

Despite Jack’s small size, his strikes were intense. Eruptions occurred with each of them. Dull thuds echoed alongside Saturnstar’s frustrated screams, while every flip-flop strike unleashed a conic shockwave which painted the sky purple.

“All you can do is run!” Saturnstar shouted in frustration, already panting and bleeding. “Face me like a true monster!”

Jack ignored him.

Saturnstar finally lowered his head, releasing a deep, guttural growl. “This is my strongest attack!” he bellowed. “If you survive it, I will admit defeat! World Domination!”

He charged forward, far faster than before. It was clear this move consumed tremendous amounts of energy. His massive body turned into a straight line, a red missile flying head-first. The sky shattered where he passed like a bullet tearing through fabric. If he struck a mountain, the mountain would instantly and violently disintegrate.

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Jack watched the approaching monster. It was like a bullet train from hell. The space lock returned around him, slightly strengthened, but still nothing concerning. He could easily dodge. However…

“All I can do is run, huh?” Jack asked, his lips curving into a grin. He stretched an arm forward, his open palm facing the incoming attack. He turned his body sideways and bent his legs, planting himself firmly into the sky. As Saturnstar approached, Jack held.

The massive red missile, powered by the full force of a peak B-Grade, hill-sized space monster crashed right into Jack’s palm.

The sound was like ten thousand thunderclaps, or like a mountain-sized gong.

GONG!

The shockwave swept the sky for a hundred miles behind Jack, ripping it off the background and leaving a dark gaping hole. A sphere of devastation spread outward.

Yet, Jack had held. He had not budged in the slightest. His hand remained outstretched, having firmly grabbed onto the top of Saturnstar’s head and stopped him. The monster’s body was already beginning to fall—he’d lost consciousness by the impact.

The crowd had gone deathly silent. They could not believe what they’d witnessed. Even Elders Puerto and Crownbeast were frozen for a moment, which gave Jack time to act. Because he wasn’t done. The whole reason he stepped up for this charade was to earn some coin—in the Space Monster World, the killer could take all the belongings of his victim.

Actually, that was not entirely true. It wasn’t the only reason Jack did this. He’d seen such a godzilla-like monster before. Back during the Integration, in his first Dao Vision, he’d seen a C-Grade man vanquish one such beast with a single punch. That moment had been branded into Jack’s memory. It had been the inspiration on which he’d built his entire cultivation path.

It was time to pay tribute.

Jack flickered, appearing below the falling beast. He pulled back his fist, the flip-flop nowhere to be seen.

“JUNIOR, STOP!” a voice boomed from below.

Jack’s fist blurred forth. It exploded on Saturnstar. The energy drilled its way through, creating a smooth hole through the center of the monster’s chest, obliterating his organs. He died instantly.

Jack smirked. “Still not enough…” he muttered, the same words that one-punch man had said, a meaning only he would understand.

A deep roar came from below. Jack sensed an angry A-Grade barreling towards him, but he did not panic. With a swift movement, he took off Saturnstar’s space ring—it had been worn on one of his smaller scales—and took it into his robes. He also pocketed the dead monster’s core. Only then did he turn around to find Elder Crownbeast, a larger and stronger version of Saturnstar, charging over with murder in his eyes.

Jack prepared to run. He didn’t know if he could beat this monster, but he knew he could escape. He’d just never fought an A-Grade before, so he lacked a frame of reference.

Even if he could win, he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to showcase his full strength here. The part he’d already shown was nothing compared to a true A-Grade. That kind of talent might be too shocking.

However, he hoped all those thoughts would be unnecessary, and his expectations were correct. Another red figure flashed between them, raising a hand to stop Elder Crownbeast. He stopped instantly in mid-air, his momentum mysteriously extinguished.

“Puerto!” he shouted. “This devil killed my disciple! Will you really try to stop me from exacting revenge!?”

“Your disciple started this battle. The double devil behind me only answered the challenge. Killing him was reasonable,” Elder Puerto replied calmly. She looked like a red-haired grandmother with a body of iron.

Elder Crownbeast foamed from the mouth. “This is absurd! My disciple showed mercy against that fish, so he could be shown mercy in return!” The other Elder did not respond, which only infuriated Crownbeast more. “Puerto!” he shouted. “Will you really defend this person from me? He is not even your disciple!”

“I am not defending him,” Puerto replied. “I am simply standing up for what is right. If I let Elders of another faction waltz into our territory and slaughter our talented youth, I would really be worthy of ridicule.”

Elder Crownbeast was only getting angrier. Still, he did not attack. “You!” he said, turning towards Jack. “Explain yourself!”

The full brunt of his aura weighed down on Jack, who did not seem to notice. Both Elders were taken aback. “What is there to explain?” he replied calmly. “Your disciple challenged and disrespected me. I defeated him in a fair duel. Isn’t that the rule of the world?”

“You didn’t have to kill him!”

“I didn’t have to show mercy either. Honestly, your disciple should have seen it coming. Don’t tell me he thought he could mock an entire city and get away with it just because he has a moderately strong master.”

“MODERATELY STRONG!?” Elder Crownbeast looked ready to explode. At this rate, Jack wouldn’t even have to fight him—he’d just die of a heart attack. “Puerto! Step aside and let me kill this little asshole!”

“I cannot do that,” Puerto replied.

“Do you really think you can stop me!?”

“I believe I’m qualified to try. And, if push really comes to shove, I’m sure the Empty Star Autarch will stand on my side.”

Elder Crownbeast had never been angrier in his life. He was a space monster Autarch. When had he ever been publicly disrespected like this?

But, the truth was, he really couldn’t do anything. As much as he wanted to lash out, his only option right now was to cut his losses and keep a grudge.

“Whatever! Just because you can hide behind others now, kid, doesn’t mean you’ll be able to do it forever!” he declared to save some face. “Give me my disciple’s space ring. I’m leaving.”

Jack raised a brow. “Why would I do that?”

“Brat!”

“What? I defeated and killed your disciple in fair combat. By the rules of our world, all his items are mine now.”

Crownbeast opened his mouth, but no words came out. He was shivering in rage. “Oh yeah!?” he replied. “Then do you dare meet me in fair combat, brat!?”

Jack laughed. “I would rather not.”

By now, murmurs were spreading through the crowd below. Jack’s actions were just too flashy, and his talent was undeniable. As if those weren’t enough, he’d just publicly torn apart the face of a Fiend King Elder. This was a legend in the making!

Crownbeast was on the verge of launching himself against Puerto and damned be the consequences. However, even space monsters didn’t reach the A-Grade by being impulsive. No matter how angry he got, he’d never lose control.

“Remember this day, kid,” he growled. “Because this is the day you fucked up. I’ll be back for the auction.”

Without another word, Elder Crownbeast tore through space and disappeared. The square fell into silence for a moment. Then, as one, everyone erupted in cheers. Jack had done so many incredible things, and most importantly, he’d defended their honor! They didn’t know his name, but they still worshiped him!

“MASTER IS AMAZING! HE’S NOT STUPID AT ALL!” Dolly said, drooling at the mouth.

“That’s my big bro!” Brock exclaimed, laughing. He then looked around. So many people adoring his big bro… This sure looked the perfect place to spread some brohood!

As for Starhair… He was drenched in cold sweat. Jack’s actions complicated things, and he did not like complications.

Jack bowed slightly at Elder Puerto. “Thank you for protecting me,” he said.

The Elder looked him up and down. “Are you really not hiding your cultivation?” she asked.

“I am not.”

“Good. You’re already enemies with the Fiend King. Once this auction is over, I will take you with me to the Great Silver faction. The Canal Delve is approaching—we could use a talent like yours.”

Jack considered it for a moment. Joining an overlord faction and securing their protection sounded like a great deal…but it wasn’t necessarily so. His disguise wasn’t perfect. If he ever actually met the overlord, it was possible he’d be discovered. Plus, entering a faction was not necessarily the fastest way for him to increase his strength.

That Canal Delve though… Could it be about the Dark Canal? The sacred center of the Space Monster World?

He’d planned to this point before he even spoke up against Saturnstar. He intended to refuse—however, this gave him pause. The Dark Canal was a place he definitely wanted to visit. If his previous experience told him anything, that was where the greatest treasures and inheritances would be—along with the greatest dangers.

“Is it okay if I think about it a little?” he asked.

Elder Puerto raised a brow. She seemed surprised. If Jack was reading her face right, she was even a little offended. “Fine,” she said, then immediately teleported away.

Jack sighed. The cheers from below were still deafening. He’d opposed one overlord faction and been invited to join the other, complicating his situation massively…but, at least, he’d earned what he came for.

He looked at his robes, where a gray space ring floated. A smile spread across his lips. The auction was tomorrow…and he had money!