Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

The gathered people each reacted differently to his and Brock’s calmness. The Arch Priestess raised a brow. A bald man in a tight yellow uniform gave an intrigued half-smile—he seemed oddly familiar—while a completely naked, stunningly beautiful woman nodded in appreciation. Little clouds covered her private areas. In a corner, Great Silver gave them a deep nod—the monster Overlord had teleported in instead of parading to avoid spooking the crowds.

“Welcome,” the Arch Priestess said. “I thought I instructed for Elder Boatman to represent you in this council.”

Jack smiled. “You did, but given it was a stupid instruction, I chose to ignore it.”

“Oho. You’re confident. Think you have the right to participate in a council of Archons?”

She and Jack were only lightly jesting. Great Silver, however, growled with displeasure. “We follow Jack Rust, not the church,” he said. “If he doesn’t participate, neither do I.”

Every other Archon present raised a brow. The meaning of Great Silver’s words was clear—he placed Jack above himself. For an Archon to do that was unheard of.

The bald man sitting in the corner laughed. “I don’t mind this,” he said. “However, if you want a seat at the table of Archons, you must prove yourself worthy.”

Before Jack could respond, a heavy aura fell on him. The tiles cracked underfoot. It was clear this Archon was going all-out to suppress Jack with his aura—any weaker A-Grade would have already collapsed. Elder Boatman gasped before realizing Jack was unbothered.

Jack, under the pressure of this aura cascade, remained perfectly calm, his hands crossed in front of his chest and his face sporting a slight smile. “Are you done?” he asked.

The bald man was aghast, leaning forward to inspect Jack more closely. “I guess I am,” he said, ready to retrieve his aura. Jack wouldn’t let him.

“Good,” he said. “My turn.”

The world went still. Every Archon in the room froze, as if stared at by a giant, ancient beast. Jack’s aura came as a subtle but steady breeze, blowing everyone into a new world of possibilities. For a moment, they saw through his body—planets for organs, a sun for a heart, rivers of stars for blood. Divine majesty filled the room, and everyone felt an instinctive urge to bow and worship. Yet, his aura was gentle, pushing everyone up instead of suppressing them.

Except for the man who’d tested Jack. He didn’t experience it as a gentle breeze, but as a cascading waterfall. Jack’s aura completely blew back his own, flipping it as easily as one would a cup, then descended on the man and smashed him into the floor. As he’d been leaning forward, he was pressed face-down, his nose shattering the tiles.

“One Fist!” the Arch Priestess shouted.

Jack smiled. “I apologize for the disrespect, senior, but I believe you started it.”

As everyone was stunned, muffled sounds escaped the face buried in the floor. Jack withdrew his aura—pressing him down like that was a matter of surprise, not force—and the Archon stood. Only now did everyone realize he was laughing. “Good, very good!” he said jovially. “Don’t worry about it, Jack! It was my fault for testing you. I really shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t help wanting to experience the power of the Church’s hero!”

Jack’s smile turned genuine. He bowed slightly, withdrawing his aura completely. “It was no problem at all, senior. I went too far myself. Please accept my apology.”

“Don’t mention it. If you want to apologize, why don’t you tell us about that thing you got going on?” the man replied, gesturing all over Jack’s body. “I must admit I’m shocked!”

So was everyone else. Jack’s aura matched theirs in quantity but far overwhelmed them in quality. Suddenly, the auras they subtly exuded before were nothing but jokes. They were saints flexing before a God. Jack’s cultivation was one unified realm, and in comparison, theirs was just unremarkable.

Boatman was the most shocked of all. Jack had completely restrained his aura on the way, so this was the first time he sensed it. “How?” he croaked out. The energy which came from his disciple eclipsed his own so hard it wasn’t even funny.

“I was lucky enough to achieve a complete breakthrough,” Jack explained calmly. “I call this state the Universe of the Body. I believe it will let me break past the A-Grade in the future.”

He didn’t need to say it. Every Archon in the room knew instinctively that Jack had conquered the boundary they’d struggled their whole lives to reach. It was the same reaction Great Silver had shown—an instinctive sense of inferiority. The dragon himself hid a smug smile as he saw the other Archons’ reactions. Ɽ

“You don’t see this every day,” he whispered.

“Can I ask,” said the naked woman, her voice hesitant, “how did you achieve such a thing?”

It was the question burning everyone’s mind. If Jack held the secret to advancing beyond the Archon realm, who cared about the war? This was the greatest revelation of the universe!

However, he only shook his head. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” he said. “The Universe of the Body is meant for Physical cultivators. There could be other paths besides it, but for this one, the cultivator must start preparing from the C-Grade to achieve it. B-Grade at the very minimum. Anyone at the A-Grade has already lost their chance unless they reverse their cultivation, but even then, it’s a long shot. For Archons already advanced in age, I’m afraid it is impossible…”

The Archons exchanged disappointed glances. Some of them may have had the talent to pursue a higher realm in their youth, but since they didn’t know how, they’d lost their only chance. Jack saw the dream crushed in their eyes, but there was nothing he could do to help.

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At least, they recovered admirably.

“It’s a shame,” the bald man said. “We were born just a little too early… At least, this lets us sacrifice our lives in this war without regrets. Congratulations, Jack Rust. You have opened a whole new avenue for the cultivation world.”

Jack nodded in thanks.

“The two of us share a common origin, by the way,” the man continued, a smile forming to cover his sadness. “My title is Archon One Fist. I also come from the Milky Way galaxy. I was one of the founders of the Exploding Sun—I’ve been told you studied in my faction?”

Jack’s eyes flashed with understanding. That was why this man seemed familiar! How could he not realize it earlier?

He laughed out loud. “Not just that!” he said. “You were in my very first Dao Vision! I’ve followed your footsteps for a good part of my cultivation journey!”

“Really?” One Fist raised a brow. “It’s my great honor—one you repaid in full by protecting my little faction. I wanted to rush over as soon as I heard what the Hand of God had done to them, but Church matters kept me occupied. It’s a good thing you were there.”

“It was nothing. I owed them a debt of gratitude. They’re nice people, even long after you left the galaxy.”

“I think we’re all in agreement that Jack and Brock are fully qualified to join this council,” the Arch Priestess said. “In fact, they’re probably more qualified than all of us. Boatman, you may sit in as well.”

“Thank you, Arch Priestess,” Boatman said, still sneaking glances at Jack as he moved for an empty seat. Jack and Brock did the same. The seven of them sat in a circle.

“Shall we begin?” the Arch Priestess asked, her mood growing somber. “The Gods are almost fully recovered. We need to prepare for the final battle.”

Everyone sobered up alongside her. “How close to recovery are we talking about?” the naked woman asked before turning to Jack and Brock. “I’m Archon Truth, by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise.”

“A week at most,” the Arch Priestess replied. “I’ve been contacted. They want us to be ready to march when they are.”

One Fist snorted. “Do they think we’re their pawns?” he asked.

“Well, they’re my ancestors,” Great Silver said.

“They certainly look down on us,” the Arch Priestess said. “To them, we’re just weak mortals. It’s a pity they’re right. They’re ten extreme Archons, while we only possess four in total, and not all at that level. We also have the A and B-Grades with their formations, but overall, our war force is less than that of the Gods.”

“That doesn't make us expendable,” Jack said. “Or pawns.”

“No, it doesn’t. In fact, I suspect the Gods know about our plans to eventually revive Enas, and they plan on turning against us the moment we defeat the Immortals.”

The revelation fell on the room like an anvil dropped from a mountaintop. “Why do you think that?” Great Silver asked.

“They’re Gods. They’re so arrogant they don’t bother hiding their intentions. I can sense their disdain every time I speak to them—their plans leak out between their arrogant words.”

“Are you certain?” Truth asked.

“Absolutely.”

“Okay. Then, what can we do?”

“Only one thing,” she replied, “which is also why I convened this council. We must blindside them and secretly revive Enas. He will protect us after the war is done.”

“Revive Enas!?” One Fist shouted. “You say that like it’s easy!”

“It’s possible now,” the Arch Priestess said. “As you know, the Sage possesses the power to wake him up, and he just reached the A-Grade. He can use the entropy runic columns left by the Archons of previous generations. Provided no one messes with us, I estimate we have an over ninety percent chance of rescuing Enas from the black hole he’s trapped in.”

“But they’ll certainly stop us,” Jack said. “Both the Gods and the Immortals.”

“Right. Unless they’re busy fighting each other.”

Boatman laughed. “There we go,” he said.

The Arch Priestess smiled back. “Here’s my plan. We orchestrate what seems like the final battle. All the Gods and Immortals, as well as every eye in the universe, will swarm there. Then, secretly, we send a small elite force to revive Enas while they’re busy.”

“Say we can revive him,” Truth said. “How do we make sure everyone gathers where we want them?”

“Jack can help us,” the Arch Priestess said. All eyes turned to Jack.

“Me?” he asked.

“Yes, you. Your duel against Hero was scheduled to be in another fifteen years, but with the power you currently possess, I don’t imagine fighting him now will be a problem. If you put out your challenge and we arrange the duel, the Immortals will certainly send over their armies to guard him—after all, Hero is their greatest rising star, a moral support of the army. If we and the Gods also arrive, they’ll summon everyone. Then, it’s just a matter of someone making the first move. The final battle will erupt by itself.”

Jack considered it. “I could do that,” he said. “What if the Gods suspect something is up? Or the Immortals? They’re not stupid.”

“They have no idea we can revive Enas. The Sage’s existence and identity is one of our most tightly kept secrets. Without him, it would have been impossible. They won’t suspect a thing.”

The people present glanced at each other. “There is something I should say,” Jack broke the silence. He told them about his encounter with Axelor’s clone in the Hall of Trials, outlining what the God of Entropy had said about Enas.

“I hear that,” the Arch Priestess said. “I don’t think Axelor would speak the complete truth, but I never believed Enas was completely innocent either. He is the God of Life, not Love. However, I do believe that our teachings hold more truth than falsehoods. If we revive Enas, maybe he won’t be utterly benevolent, but he’ll still protect us.”

Jack nodded. “You know better. I just said what I had to.”

“Are you certain this plan will work?” One Fist asked.

“Reasonably so,” the Arch Priestess replied. “We have a decent chance of succeeding. Enough to give it a go. Even if it doesn’t work, it’s not like we lose anything—the battle would happen anyway.”

The people present looked at each other again. “I’m in,” Great Silver said. “I have read the scriptures of my people. The Gods who created us saw us as nothing more than toys—I wouldn’t find it strange if they decided to wipe us out.”

“I agree as well,” said One Fist.

“And so do I,” said Truth.

“This will definitely not go as planned,” Brock said, “but it’s a good start. I’m in, my bros.”

“I’m in as well,” Jack said. “I look forward to beating up Hero.”

“I don’t think my opinion matters, but I agree as well,” Boatman said.

“Then everyone is in agreement,” the Arch Priestess said. She smiled. “Good. I have already recalled our important personnel and sent a secret elite team towards Enas’s prison. They’ll be ready, and so should you. Once the Gods are almost done with their recovery, we set the plan in motion. It all ends in a few days. Until then… I wish you all a good rest.”