Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse
Chapter 302: Giving Zero Face

The meteor and slash met mid-air. The image was surreal. The audience held their breath. They could make out the purple outline of a tremendous fist, shimmering with stars and followed by a purple, gaseous tail. On the other side was a bright crescent moon three hundred feet wide and so sharp it was barely visible. Where the two attacks clashed, purple lightning spread out, and sparks filled the air. Space threatened to rupture under their sheer strength. They pushed against each other, each fighter pouring more and more energy into their strikes until the point of impact became a dark sphere that swallowed all light.

Jack roared. Maximus shouted.

A sound like the cracking of glass echoed in the arena. Maximus’s heavenly slash, the invincible attack made of light, revealed a hairline crack. Then another. The meteor pushed down, unbreakable in its stability, and the slash slowly retreated, crumbling little by little. Before long, it was a web of cracks in light, revealing a purple radiance beneath, and then, suddenly, it shattered.

Maximus screamed. Jack roared even harder.

The meteor pushed down with inexhaustible strength, and there was nothing to stop it. Maximus couldn’t throw another strike, he couldn’t run away, and he couldn’t teleport as the sheer quantity of Dao infused in Jack’s meteor had locked down space around him.

He was spent.

All he could do was watch in disbelief as the meteor struck him head-on, sweeping him along and crashing hard into the bottom of the arena. The entire barrier shook. The arena rumbled. The prison building underneath, though protected by the barrier, creaked and moaned.

The entire arena was filled with blinding purple light and searing heat, blocking the audience’s perception.

Everyone was wondering the same thing: had Maximus survived?

But this was the strongest attack Jack had ever unleashed. It possessed enough power to level a country. When sandwiched between this falling meteor and the unbreakable barrier below, how could anyone survive?

The Elders sported ugly looks. The Warden was feeling sick. The Grand Elder couldn’t believe his eyes—at that Grade, even he hadn’t possessed such strength! Monsoon was shocked, while Huali wasn’t even sure how to feel. On the other side of the stadium, Shol and Dordok held their breaths, as they couldn’t see through the rubble. Tears of pride were shimmering in both their eyes. They had watched Jack grow. They had helped him. And now, their once-little brother had become a man worthy of shaking the entire galaxy.

The smoke cleared. The shockwave dissipated. And, when all was said and done, the lifeless body of Maximus Lonihor lied in the center of the arena floor, right next to that of Sapasun, which hadn’t been moved as nobody could enter the arena. Both corpses, both of Jack’s making, had been crushed and pulverized to the point where they were barely recognizable.

Level up! You have reached Level 233.

The audience fell into stunned silence. Then, all at once, they erupted into cheers of such intensity that the entire stadium—no, the entire planet—shook to its core. The madman had done it! Jack Rust had done it! He had challenged an entire B-Grade faction in front of everyone and won!

And he’d given them a hell of a fight, too!

The crowd went crazy. People stood and hollered, others pumped their fists. Many cried as they saw the tyrannical Kingdom getting torn down before their very eyes. “Jack Rust!” someone shouted, cheering for the man brave and strong enough to do what none of them could. He was a hero.

“Jack Rust!” More people cheered. “Jack Rust!”

One by one, most of the audience joined in, shouting for the man who had done the impossible. They completely forgot about the present Elders of the Animal Kingdom and cheered with all their soul. What was the Kingdom going to do? Kill them all? Hell no! Fuck them!

“Jack Rust!” the earth and sky shook with his name, uttered by millions. “Jack Rust!”

Such scenes were occurring at the same time all around the galaxy. From the tiny Fair Way Continent to the distant headquarters of this galaxy’s Hand of God, everyone lost themselves in cheering. It didn’t matter if they had a stake in this conflict or not. It didn’t matter if they even cared.

What had they just watched? It was the event of an era! The battle of a millennium! The birth of a hero!

How could anyone not cheer!?

Back on Earth, people were shouting and crying at the same time. “Jack Rust!” Edgar shouted. So did Vivi, and Sparman, and the professor, even Harambe.

On the outer planet of Field Nebula, three hundred brothers and sisters roared with laughter and cheers, creating a chaos that overwhelmed even the other nearby spectators. “Big Bro!” they shouted at the top of their lungs, all together with one voice. “Big Bro!”

Gan Salin was tearful. He couldn’t give a single shit about Sapasun or the Animal Kingdom. “He did it!” he shouted. “I knew he could do it! That’s our Jack!”

“Hmph! Of course he could!” Nauja responded, feigning an indifference that convinced nobody. Salin had caught her worried gaze before, her clasped palms as she watched her friend fight for his life.

He grinned. “There is nothing wrong with worrying, you know.”

“Bullshit! A barbarian would never worry over something as natural as death!”

Meanwhile, at the epicenter of this hollering crowd, Brock was the only one not feeling relief—for the simple reason that he’d never doubted Jack’s success at all. All he felt was a deep sense of pride, as well as joy for his big brother’s accomplishment.

“Big Bro,” he said, bringing a fist to his heart and thumping his chest. “Big Bro awesome!”

In the arena, it took a few moments for the audience to calm down. Gradually, they caught the glares of the Animal Kingdom cultivators and shut up. From the weakest Enforcer to the Grand Elder himself, every Kingdom C-Grade sported such ugly faces that, after the initial rush was over, nobody dared speak anymore.

The silence was heavy like the sky itself. It covered the entire city, the entire planet.

Every cultivator of the Animal Kingdom, be they a tiny F-Grade or an Elder, knew that they were screwed. Jack Rust had publicly humiliated them and showcased their weakness. At this point, there was nothing they could do to change it. Even if they managed to prove that Jack Rust was extraordinarily strong, even if they killed him right now or later, it wouldn’t matter. In the cultivator world, only two things mattered: strength and face.

And the Animal Kingdom had just lost both.

Nobody was sure who had to speak first. At the Grand Elder’s direction, the Warden stood from his seat and floated to the edge of the barrier, which was quickly brought down.

“Jack Rust,” he said, not bothering to conceal the hatred in his voice. What did he care? This entire farce was his fault. He was dead already.

“Warden,” Jack replied indifferently. Though he was panting, most of his injuries from the fight had healed already. It was like Maximus hadn’t even come close—though that wasn’t entirely the case.

“You have killed my top disciple and my faction’s Head Disciple,” the Warden said. “In the past, you have even killed my own son, as well as dozens of our Kingdom’s D-Grades. Is there anything you have to say for yourself?”

Jack considered it. “Yes. I won, so per our agreement, you have to set me and my friends free. Can I go now?”

The Warden’s gaze could cut through iron, but Jack was nonplussed. “How dare you speak to me like that?” the Warden asked. “Do you not realize where you are? Who I am?”

“Oh, I know full well that you could squash me like a bug. But you won’t do that. Because, if you do, your Kingdom will lose even the last shred of dignity you have left.” Jack smiled coldly. “I know you hate me, Warden. Yet, here I am, standing right in your face, and you are completely unable to touch me. Tell me: how does it feel?”

The projection stones were still running. This exchange was broadcasted across the entire galaxy. The Warden had never been more insulted, more enraged, or more hurt in his entire life. He wanted to smack Jack dead more than anything in the world.

However, Jack was completely right. He could not do it. Even if his life was already probably forfeit, he couldn’t even try—the Grand Elder would act out and stop him to protect the Kingdom’s honor.

In fact, as the Warden just realized, that was probably why the Grand Elder had sent him out to speak. He wanted him to lose his temper so he could kill him on the spot and reinforce the Kingdom’s image.

The Warden looked back, meeting the Grand Elder’s cold eyes. Once, these two were like brothers—but when things went south, the Grand Elder was completely willing to kill the Warden to save some face.

The Warden turned back to the front. He was so frustrated that blood rose up his throat, and even as his face reddened, he had to swallow it to save the last of his pride. When he was certain his mouth was clear of blood, only then did he speak.

“A deal is a deal,” he said weakly. It was the hardest task of his life. “Jack Rust, though an enemy of our faction, you are free to go. Your strength is great—almost suspiciously great, but no matter. The Kingdom can find joy in chasing down a little rat like you again. It keeps us sharp. Scram.”

Jack grinned. “Thank you, Warden. However, I have one last thing to say.”

The Warden gave him a dead man’s stare. Jack, however, wasn’t planning to push his luck any further. He just wanted to make a point—which, since the cat was out of the bag already, he had no reason not to.

The truth was, he had already humiliated the Kingdom enough. His current goal was to build himself up so the Black Hole Church would protect him better, and what better way to do that than to flaunt his strength?

“You mentioned my strength being suspiciously great,” he said. “However, I can assure you that there is no trick at play. I am simply that strong.”

“Hmph!” The Warden snorted. “As if I will believe that!”

“Then take a good look, Warden, and tell me if you believe me now,” Jack said, spreading his arms wide. At the same time, he mentally commanded, System, display my Ninth Ring Conqueror title.

The Warden seemed confused. Soon, however, exclamations and whispers spread through the audience. The Warden finally caught on and inspected Jack.

Human (Earth-387), Level 233 (D-Grade)

Faction: Bare Fist Brotherhood (D-Grade)

Title: Ninth Ring Conqueror

“Ninth Ring Conqueror!?” he exclaimed in shock, even forgetting his anger for a moment. “Impossible!”

Jack laughed. “Do you see now, Warden? I am just better than any D-Grade in your faction. And this is all because of your Kingdom acting like a tyrant and forcing me to get stronger to fight you.”

The Warden reined in his shock. Thanks to his burning fury, he took this as a personal challenge, since the Warden himself had not managed to defeat the Final Guardian. “So what, Jack Rust?” he asked with a snort. His fury was building up to unprecedented levels. His voice was shaking with deadliness. “Make yourself scarce already. Run for your life. Because I, Artus Emberheart, swear on my name and honor that I refuse to live under the same sky as you. I will find you, kill you, and eradicate your whole family. I will pluck out every muscle and tendon in your body and make you beg for death. I will destroy everything you hold dear.”

Jack’s smile disappeared. His eyes hardened, his gaze sharpened. “I look forward to you trying, Warden,” he said. “I have already killed plenty of leonines. Adding your head to the pile will change little. But make no mistake—even if you don’t come for me, I will come for you. Because I, Jack Rust, also swear on my name and honor that I refuse to live under the same sky as you. I will destroy you and your faction. I will slay you and everyone you throw at me, and I will drag mud across your name until it becomes the laughingstock of even the lowliest F-Grade in this constellation. When I am done with you, the Animal Kingdom faction will be a relic of the past, a lesson to everyone that tyrants always fall, always have fallen, and always will fall. So I’m leaving now, Warden, but I suggest you run. Leave this constellation, leave this galaxy, and hope that I won’t find you when I’m strong enough to squash you like an ant. But I will, Warden. I will always find you. And I will, no matter what happens, kill you.”

The two of them stood in the sky, facing each other, and sparks were flying. Their mutual hatred was almost visible. These were two mortal enemies, and inevitably, one would kill the other.

If it was anyone else, a D-Grade feuding against a C-Grade would be a laughable matter. But after the strength that Jack had just exhibitied…who knew?

And had he just declared war on the entire Animal Kingdom faction?

Finally, the Warden could no longer take it. His frustration was so strong that the blood rose unstoppably in his throat, and he coughed it out in public. Everyone in the audience raised their brows, but the Warden felt so exhausted and helpless that he couldn’t even care.

“This is over,” he declared, mustering the very last bits of his self-control. “Leave. Now.”

He waved a hand to destroy every projection stone around the arena, uncaring about the cost, and turned into a beam of light to fly away. Jack smiled. “Thank you, Warden. Please enjoy yourself.”

The black manacles fell around the wrists of Shol, Dordok, and the Sage. They quickly arrived beside Jack, who summoned the bromobile and flew inside, charging it up as much as possible before the Animal Kingdom changed its mind.

“They will come after us the moment we teleport,” the Sage said. “But fear not; I have a plan. The Church will get us out. Take us to the exact location I will indicate.”

He transmitted a sense of general direction and distance to Jack’s mind. Jack nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

He spared a final look for the people in the honor seats. He saw Li Qian staring over with bitterness. He saw Elder Monsoon’s calculating gaze and Elder Huali’s complicated one. He saw the two white-robed C-Grades averting their eyes, clearly declaring that what happened next was none of their business, while the Grand Elder and all other Elders of the Animal Kingdom stared at Jack as if they wanted to eat him alive.

“Fuck you,” he mouthed at them, and then he teleported.