Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

“We host this summit on the Space Monster World’s request, to let them openly and clearly determine their allegiance,” the Heaven Immortal intoned. “I believe, Overlords, that the truth is clear as day. The Black Hole Church doesn’t even dare to appear in our presence. All they can do is hide—a conduct unbefitting of their space monster leader. It would be foolish to ally with them.”

“Different armies have different advantages,” the Arch Priestess replied. “The Old Gods will soon arrive to fight by our side. Eleven extreme Archons. During the First Crusade, ninety-nine Immortals led the entire cultivation world against them and still lost. Now, only thirty-three Immortals remain, and the cultivator world is divided. Their power is inferior to what it used to be. They are bound to fail.”

“Senseless drivel,” the Heaven Immortal declared. “We would not launch the Second Crusade without extreme confidence. After all, we had no reason to hurry. We are prepared, we are strong, and we possess more A-Grade cultivators than ever before. Before us, the Church is nothing but fleeting mice. Even the Old Gods will be powerless to reverse the situation—we naturally have ways to deal with them.”

“There is no way to deal with them,” the Arch Priestess said. “They’re bluffing to secure your alliance, Overlords. They cannot do it alone.”

“They do not seek our alliance,” the humanoid space monster Overlord corrected, his words cutting her sharply. He took on a slightly more formal tone. “The Immortals have requested only that we abstain from this war. Given everything I’ve seen, I want to agree. The Old Gods are mighty, but their intentions are unknown. The Immortals are clearly the stronger party. Besides, Arch Priestess, I do not appreciate how you retreated your armies to this galaxy in particular, endangering the Space Monster World to force our hand in assisting you.”

“Force your hand?” The Arch Priestess chuckled. “It was the Immortals who forced your hand when they created the System. Even if you don’t fight them, do you think they will leave the Space Monster World alone? As soon as the System reaches you, they will use it to cut you off from the Dao of the Universe, either starving you until all powerful monsters die, or outright breaking the entry seal and invading you.”

“We are aware of the Immortals’ desire to conquer. However, they have promised to stay away from this galaxy for one billion years,” the humanoid Overlord said. “That is a lot of time. Our children can live and grow. When the future comes, the space monsters of that time ought to be ready, or they deserve to be annihilated.”

“The First Crusade was a billion years ago, and you knew there would be a second. You had a billion years to prepare. Tell me, Overlord, are you ready, or do you deserve to be annihilated?”

Jack saw fury spark in the eyes of the humanoid Overlord. He did not reply immediately. “I will not rob my world of a billion years of freedom for a lost cause,” he finally said. “You are forced to fight, Arch Priestess. I am not.”

She laughed. “I expected Overlord Great Silver to preach neutrality. After all, he is a wise, calm monster. But you, Fiend King… I’ve heard so much about your courage growing up. I didn’t think you were a coward.”

His tail smashed into the stone disk without warning. The entire thing shook. Jack saw the projection tilt as part of the disk was smashed to smithereens. The second Immortal present—not the Heaven Immortal—reacted immediately. It raised its hands and stabilized the disk.

“Calm yourself, Fiend King,” the Heaven Immortal said. “You are our guest. Do not destroy our property.”

The humanoid overlord did not reply. He seethed with anger, doing his best to contain it. The Arch Priestess’s words had gotten to him. Based on what Jack had seen so far, this was indeed an aggressive individual, even for space monsters. Surrendering to the Immortals without a fight was already difficult for him.

It was not cowardice, of course, but the word struck deep inside the overlord.

“There is no cowardice in wisdom,” the Heaven Immortal spoke up. “The Overlords act correctly. We possess the past, the present, and the future. Moreover, we are not enemies with them. If we can coexist peacefully for a long period of time, why not do so? In the far future, our descendants can choose their own paths.”

“Here is where you make a mistake, Heaven Immortal,” the Arch Priestess declared proudly. “You might possess the present, but the future is already out of your hands. It doesn’t matter whether you win this Crusade or not. Our next generation is far superior to yours. Just this year, we had two disciples break into the B-Grades with 8,800 and 10,000 miles respectively. The Second Crusade is not the end of this war. Even if you win, Jack Rust will soar in the future and take revenge. No matter what you do, you will lose.”

She glanced at Jack.

Jack thought he was just a projector. Suddenly, he was dragged into this whole mess. The eyes of the two space monster Overlords fell on him, only just realizing who he was, and he gulped. A moment later, he straightened his back. If he could help gain an ally for the Church, he would.

The Heaven Immortal, however, only laughed. A cold, mechanical sound. “Who doesn’t know that war fosters geniuses, Arch Priestess?” it asked. “Your Church is not the only side to experience that effect. Our next generation is also skilled beyond compare.”

It raised a hand to indicate the only human physically present—the early A-Grade who hadn’t spoken since the start of the summit. Now, said A-Grade raised his gaze, eyes shining with ambition.

“Our former Head Envoy, Elder Hero, achieved a perfect breakthrough of nine thousand miles in his time. The first in history. Since then, he has enjoyed countless resources and experienced countless adventures, excelling in every single challenge he ever faced. Recently, his breakthrough to the A-Grade approached perfection as well. Your own star cultivator may have used unknown means to achieve a breakthrough beyond nine thousand miles, but that is no guarantee of his future success. Most importantly, he is only a middle B-Grade embroiled in the chaos of war. You know the fragility of geniuses, Arch Priestess. How can you claim your next generation to be superior to ours, when chances are they will perish on the way?”

The Arch Priestess’s face spasmed. She was clearly pressured, but her voice remained even. “I could say the same about your genius,” she replied. “An early A-Grade is nothing in a war of this scale, especially when targeted. He will never have the chance to mature.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Arch Priestess. He already has.” The Heaven Immortal’s voice turned mocking. “Elder Hero, please.”

The early A-Grade, who still hadn’t spoken once, suddenly let his aura erupt. Jack couldn’t sense it, but he could perceive the man’s casually dominating air. The aura of an emperor. Of a man who shouldered the world. An unprecedented, unsurpassable hero.

Below that aura, Elder Hero was a blond man in loose white robes. He seemed picture perfect. His looks were unblemished, his blue eyes were piercing, and his body was perfectly well-shaped. Jack had no doubt that pristine muscles hid beneath those robes. He carried a greatsword, an antithesis to his lack of armor, and gave a smile which could illuminate an entire world.

Yet, beneath that perfect exterior, Jack could sense arrogance. In his eyes, this man was less a hero and more a high school bully, except impossibly better in every facet of human existence.

“I ask the Arch Priestess to let me prove myself,” he said with fake humility. The mockery was evident in his voice. “It would be improper to duel this child you praise so high, since my cultivation is far superior to his. However, you are surrounded by three late A-Grades. You may pick any of them. I will challenge them to a fifty-year death duel to prove my undeniable potential. If not, I can challenge any middle A-Grade of your choice right now. Allow me to prove that I already possess the power to stand at the highest level.”

Jack looked around. The two Overlords seemed intrigued. As for the Arch Priestess and her Elders, they all had ugly expressions. Since this Elder Hero and the Heaven Immortal dared to make such a statement, they had supreme confidence. There was a good chance that whichever Elder accepted this challenge would end up dead and humiliated.

Jack didn’t know about the other two, but his own master, Elder Boatman, was far more hot-headed than he looked. He would one hundred percent step forth to accept the challenge. Which would only enhance Elder Hero’s momentum and leave Jack overshadowed.

Even if Elder Hero couldn’t really defeat the other Elder in fifty years, that was fine. The most important part was the duel declaration. It would severely weaken the momentum of the Church and practically seal the matter of the space monster neutrality. They’d been check-mated.

The Arch Priestess knew this. So did the Elders. That’s why no one spoke immediately—they were desperately looking for a way to turn the tide, finding none.

But Jack could.

“What a loser!” he claimed, laughing rowdily. Everyone turned to look at him. The pressure was crushing. Yet, he pretended not to notice it. “We are the parties at stake here, Hero. We represent the next generation of our factions. Do you not dare to face me directly?”

Elder Hero frowned at him. “You are a mere middle B-Grade. I’m almost an entire Grade above you. If we were to fight, people would laugh at me.”

“I didn’t say to fight right now. You challenged our Elders to a duel in fifty years, but that’s the timeline of a coward. I don’t need that much. Thirty years. You and me. To the death. Do you dare?”

Elder Hero just stared for a second. Then, he laughed—a bold, masculine sound. “Leash your dog, Arch Priestess,” he said. “I think it went rabid.”

The Arch Priestess did not reply right away. Her eyes were glued on Jack. She scanned his face, his resolve. She didn’t ask him anything. Finally, she turned to Elder Hero. “Our champion issued a challenge,” she said. “Do you dare to accept, or not?”

At this, everyone fell quiet. In their eyes, this was suicide. It was just an attempt by the Arch Priestess to sacrifice her most talented cultivator in exchange for marginally impressing the space monster Overlords. However, they wouldn’t really be impressed. Sacrificing a talent was always a detestable action.

Sure, they’d win the dick-measuring contest right now, but they’d lose a great asset in thirty years.

Elder Hero must have come to the same conclusion. “Very well,” he said. “Since you insist, I will accept. A duel thirty years from now… I will treat it as a warm-up. Afterward, in fifty years from now, I will also fight Elder Boatman to the death. That is your master, isn’t he, boy?”

“He is,” Jack replied calmly. He grinned, showing all teeth. “I look forward to breaking you.”

“Then our decision is easy as well,” the Fiend King said, his voice laden with distaste. “Our stance will be decided thirty years from now. If Jack Rust wins, we will ally with the Church. If Elder Hero wins, we will remain neutral. Let no one say that we are cowards.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Essentially, the result of this negotiation had been placed completely on the outcome of the thirty-year duel. Everyone thought they were the winners here—but that was only because the Immortals, Elder Hero, and Overlords all believed that Jack’s challenge was pointless. They never thought he could win.

Yet, even now, Elder Hero wasn’t done. Once he got an advantage, he’d push it to the end.

“If you believe so much in your disciple, Arch Priestess,” he said, “how about we add some additional stakes to the duel?”

“Like what?” she replied.

“If Jack Rust wins, we can promise to give the Church an Archon-level space monster core.”

The Arch Priestess’s eyes widened. That was an exceedingly precious treasure. Elder Hero didn't have the authority to bet it. Yet, since the Heaven Immortal didn’t speak up, they’d obviously come to an agreement.

The two Overlords didn’t seem to care.

“And if you win?” the Arch Priestess asked.

“Then,” he proudly raised his head, “I will take your hand in marriage.”

Silence befell the summit. Everyone was stunned. The Elders of the Church were the first to recover, and they instantly started yelling all at once. “How dare you?” Elder Heavencrash roared. “Heaven Immortal! Control that rabid dog of yours!”

The other Elders had similar things to say. This was clearly an attack on their pride. The Arch Priestess would obviously never accept. She, however, raised a hand to stop them all.

“Sure,” she said simply. The Elders swiveled to look at her with wide eyes.

“Arch Priestess!” they said.

“It’s fine.” She waved them down. “It is my decision, and I know what I’m doing. Jack will win.”

The Overlords were speechless. Which was natural, in Jack’s opinion, since he, too, had been rendered speechless by this bet. The Arch Priestess bet herself? On his duel? Never mind anything else, she was currently sleeping with Brock. What the hell was up with that?

And what kind of weirdo was Elder Hero to request such a thing?

“Perfect,” Elder Hero said, only now recovering from his surprise himself. “With my talent and your lineage, I’m sure our children will be exceptional.”

If the Arch Priestess was nervous, she didn’t show it. She looked at him as if he was an idiot—something which, judging by his frown, annoyed him greatly. “I believe this summit is over,” she said. “We’ve said all there is to be said. Overlords, while our current relationship is not the best, it really was a pleasure meeting you. Heaven Immortal, you can go fuck yourself. Goodbye.”