Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 277: Squeezing Water out of a Rock Bottom

What was the Dao?

Jack reiterated his understanding of the world, getting himself in the mood with the already cemented knowledge.

The Dao is the world itself. It is the essence of reality and the totality of existence. It is everything.

The Fist is one of the infinite manifestations of the Dao. It is about shooting ever forward, laughing as you advance, never stopping or slowing until the end, never bending. Staying loyal to yourself and being free.

Aligning his perspective with that of the Fist, Jack went over the previous battle. When the eleven inner disciples appeared, he stood tall and faced them. He took them down methodically, dismantling their team, and emerged victorious from unfavorable circumstances.

What really resonated with the Fist, however, was Jacks mental state during that battle. The resolve hed felt, along with the cold intent to battle and kill. Deep inside, he felt proudhed represented the Fist well. In the vacuum of battle, everything else fled his mind, leaving only the essence of the Fist, bare and clear. Battle was the time he was closest to his Dao, as well as the best opportunity to accrue insights.

Facing the eleven disciples, Jack had been an incarnation of the Dao system hed established as his Dao Tree. He embodied both the Dao of the Fist and his various Dao Roots. That had been a step in the right direction. It strengthened his grasp of the Fisthis Fistpaving the way for more insights later on.

Facing the three deacons, however, the sensation was different. He was the weaker party. So weaker that fighting was hopeless, and the best course of action was fleeing.

On a superficial level, retreat was not a part of the Fist. However, Jack was past the superficial level. It wasnt about actions anymore. It was about intent. The Fist was a state he could put himself in, and when he did, the decisions he made were naturally aligned with the essence of his Dao.

In this case, retreating had been the right choice, because the intent behind it was a fighting one. He was fleeing from suicide, but would return when the time was right.

He turned his mind to the pursuit of the three deacons.

While escaping from the turtler, he felt helpless. He was too weak to face the other man in battle, and he was too slow to run away, either. Everything he tried was in vain.

When he used the talisman to escape but a twisted coincidence prevented him, hed felt despair and bitterness. It was unfair. However, he could do nothing about it, because he was weak.

But the greatest insights came laterwhen he was forced to endure the canines sadism. He was captured and surrounded by enemies, unable to escape, unable to retaliate. He was in their mercy. When they hit and crippled him, all he could do was grit his teeth and endure. When they mocked him, he had nothing to say, because he was weak.

It had been terrible.

Weakness.

That was the main feeling, and it had come even more intensely than ever before. In all the previous instances of weakness hed experienced, none had been as direct. The planetary overseer had suppressed him, but it was an indirect thing. Rufus Emberheart and Lord Longsword had pressured him, but never physically, at least not to that extent.

When he was tortured by the canine deacon, it was the weakest hed ever felt. It was a feeling so deep that it threatened to upturn his psyche and shake his unwavering resolve. Even now, Jack could sense the influence of that weakness, a little imp gnawing away at the roots of his character. It was a feeling so intense it wouldnt go away for some time.

Of course, Jack had resisted it and still was, but in hindsight, even he had given in to the weakness for a moment. When the canine first started abusing him, he had really considered detonating the bead still inside his robes, destroying both himself and the enemy.

That had been a weak thought, borne of despair and bitterness. It was the opposite of his previous escape, actuallyit resembled the way of the Fist, but only superficially. Hed let his emotions get the better of him. A real warriora real fistwould never entertain that thought. They would endure everything stoically until it was the best time to act. Only when death was certain would they unhesitatingly detonate the bead, taking the enemy along in the other world.

Jack was shaken by the realization of his momentary weakness. At the same time, he was relieved. It proved he was not yet a perfect cultivator of the Fist, but it also showed him a flaw he could fix. A crack in his heart.

Part of his meditation session would be devoted to patching it up, reliving that moment again and again until he was fully in control of himself. However, every crack he experienced in his soul was a human weakness he understood intimately. He could weaponize it. What greater path to power than turning ones weakness into strength?

Before patching up that crack, Jack dove into it. He let himself experience it fully. In the safety of his own mind, he relived his moment of torture and gave in to the weakness, letting it encompass him.

He saw himself screaming; saw his mind go blank, unable to endure the pain. He detonated the bead and felt the sweet release, along with the bitter hatred he inflicted on his tormentors.

When the moment was over, he experienced it again. And again. And again. He wanted to understand that feeling of weakness as intimately as he possibly could, uncaring about the pain it caused to his real mind. His soul was undermined, but he was confident that it would not harm him long-term. Understanding was important. He might not get this opportunity again.

Little by little, he grew more familiar with the feeling. He let it worm inside him, let it imprint its brand upon him. When it was finally complete, he took it all in, understanding it fullyand then burned it off the surface of his heart forever.

Jacks eyes snapped open, filled with new light. His Dao of Weakness had taken a step forward.

Congratulations! Brutalizing Aura II Brutalizing Aura III

Brutalizing Aura III: The fear of death is a primal instinct of all living creatures. By deeply understanding helplessness, you can use your aura to imprint your opponents with intense fear and a deep understanding of their own weakness, an effect which will persist in time.

Significantly weaker enemies will be paralyzed or have their wills broken. Enemies of comparable strength to you will be severely weakened, and their Dao may be temporarily suppressed. Significantly stronger enemies will be unaffected. Additionally, the fear of your enemies feeds into your own power, enhancing you as you affect more and stronger enemies with Brutalizing Aura.

This skill should be exercised with caution, as it has a wide range and can traumatize cultivators for life.

That was a long-ass description. There were no italics either, as it had been completely rewritten from the skills previous version. Jack reread it a few times, making sure he understood.

It felt strong. Very strong. Especially the warning at the end and the mention of persisting effects.

Am I a weapon of mass destruction? Jack asked himself. I should be careful with that thing. The warning has merit.

He also focused on the skills practical aspects.

Paralyzing weaker opponents and severely weakening those of similar strength to me That sounds awfully convenient. If I face someone on my level but they dont have a similar aura skill, I could beat them easily. And the section about absorbing the fear of others to strengthen myself Thats badass.

Wait. Ive had this thought before. Was that a part of the skill already?

Checking the previous versions description, he found that enhancing himself with the fear of others had already been there. Hed just forgotten about it.

That explains how I beat those eleven inner disciples. I thought Id stand no chance, but I won. And with this new upgrade Brutalizing Aura is now a force to be reckoned with.

I wonder, is it my most powerful skill after Meteor Punch?

The more he considered the question, the more he realized that all his skills were powerful. He only had a few of them, but each helped him greatly.

The effectiveness of Meteor Punch went without sayingit was his bread and butter. Neutron Star Body gave him tremendous endurance and durability, as well as extreme regeneration. Without it, he would have died five times over in the previous battle. Iron Fist Style let him utilize his powers effectively, essentially multiplying the power he could exhibit, and Space Walk gave him the much-needed utility to turn the tables in almost every scenario. As for Brutalizing Aura, it had proven its worth in this battle. It basically guaranteed he couldnt be bullied by numbers.

Oh wow, Im actually pretty strong!

The realization of how overpowered he was helped burn away the last of the weakness hed let into himself, raising him back to his old self. The emotional residue of his recently torturous experience had been completely turned into power. Stepping off of that, Jack spent another hour reviewing his previous moment of weakness with new eyes, making sure to train himself off that reflexive despair.

If he wanted to be a true warrior, he needed full control over himself no matter what happened.

When he finally opened his eyes, he felt like a new, stronger, more mature man. Even his limbs were somewhat repaired, if still in pain, and his Dao Tree had managed to refill itself a bit. Torchlight flickered on the walls as Jack stood, inspecting the place he was in.

It was a cave little more than a hole in the rock. Ten feet away, a passage was angled upward into the rock, heading who knows where. Jack could feel no breeze coming from it.

Spreading his spiritual perception, all he saw was rock for a hundred feet in every direction. Penetrating it was hard. Eventually, however, he reached the air, finding to his amazement that he was deep inside

A mountain, Shol said, opening his eyes from where he sat cross-legged in another corner of the cave. I dug a hole to the mountain core and blocked the tunnel with boulders. Its not the worlds best hiding place, but it should do.

Smart, Jack commented, filing away this idea for later.

Are you healed already? Shol asked.

Not fully, but Im serviceable. I also have a bunch of attribute points to distribute; should I keep going with the 8-1-1 scheme you suggested when I was F-Grade, or should I try something new?

8-1-1 is fine. Youre a well-rounded Physical fighter, so any more specialization is unnecessary. Unless you feel the opposite, in which case, have at it.

Jack didnt need to think too much. Balance is fine. Its worked out well for me so far.

Quickly opening his status screen again, he allocated the hundred and fifty free points in such a way that the values of his Physical, Mental, and Will attributes followed a roughly 8-1-1 distribution.

All in all, he allocated thirty points in Mental, bringing it up to 150, then put the rest into the Physical substats, trying to balance them out.

Strength: 1120

Dexterity: 1120

Constitution: 1115

Mental: 150

Will: 190

He was missing five subpoints from complete balance, but hed be damned if he let that ruin his moodor if, god forbid, he allocated his stats to non-round numbers, like 1118.

Ew.

The familiar surge of strength lightened his mood. He felt his mind gain clarity, his muscles compacting, his skin growing tougher, his control over his body refined.

So, Jack said when he was done touting his own horn, have you come up with any way to save Dordok?

Shol gave him an intense gaze, fully understanding Jacks meaninghe was insisting on the rescue mission.

I contacted Vegna, he finally replied. Shes our getaway route. We will use your starshipthe bromobile, yes?to teleport a few planets away, where her starship is lying in wait. She will then utilize a large Dao Battery to teleport several times in a row, hopefully losing all pursuers.

Very nice of her. But wouldnt that reveal her true colors to the Animal Kingdom?

Shes been planning to cut ties with them for a while. Its okay; the Exploding Sun will protect her and her crew afterwardbut yes. It is very nice of her.

Hmm. Are all starship captains that kind?

Absolutely not. I only know of two; Vegna and your friend Dordok, allegedly.

Not allegedly. I know it.

Ill believe it when I see it. Shol cracked a strained smile. She will be in position in roughly two days, and she can remain there for at least a week, provided shes not discovered by any patrols. When shes ready, since youre so stubbornly insistent on it, we can give rescuing your friend a shot and teleport immediately afterward.

Jack beamed a large smile. Thanks, Shol!

You are very, very welcome. He sighed. But know it will be difficult. I have a way to free him from the Wardens influence, but it takes time. The entire planet will know our location the moment we approach Dordok. We may need to defend for a little bit.

No problem. I can take on one entire late D-Grade immortal.

Shol deadpanned at Jack. Okay.

A moment passed.

So, uh, what do we do now? Jack asked.

Go cultivate in your corner, Jack. Get yourself in fighting shape. In two days, were going after your friend.

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