Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

“It’s starting!” the audience cheered. Spatial fluctuations suddenly wrapped around Brock, covering his surroundings with a pale golden haze. Hymns and chants resounded. The golden space expanded rapidly, assimilating everything as it stretched for hundreds of miles outward. Soon, it reached a thousand miles across—a golden void filled with chanting brorilla phantoms, with a large golden temple dominating its center.

Brock’s inner world had appeared.

The brorilla himself remained visible, sitting cross-legged on top of the temple. His eyes snapped open, and he shouted, “Expand!”

The golden space roared outward. Hundreds of miles were swallowed in the blink of an eye. His inner realm easily reached two thousand miles across, then three, then four. Thankfully, everyone had already flown away, or they might be at danger of clashing with the realm.

“What the hell?” a cultivator shouted. “Four thousand miles already!?”

“It’s still going!” another replied. “Run!”

They flew away at top speed. It wasn’t that the expanding realm would hurt them if they touched it, but that they might affect his breakthrough—and Elder Boatman wouldn’t let that happen.

The realm kept expanding. Golden hymns overtook the universe, ringing everywhere like divine bells. The brorilla phantoms multiplied—while they kept chanting, they began performing as well. Some fist-bumped each other, others hugged and cried, a few fought. Most laughed. They were exhibiting the ten thousand facets of brohood—the process of Brock’s laws coming alive and perceiving themselves.

Reaching five thousand miles across was the dream of every C-Grade cultivator. It was a tremendously difficult feat which would cement them as extreme geniuses of their generation. Brock just sailed past that threshold, not slowing down in the slightest.

Before everyone’s wondrous gazes, his inner world expanded to six thousand miles before beginning to slow down.

“Six thousand…” Many people gasped, unable to believe this. “I thought this brorilla was just a sidekick! Was he the protagonist all along?”

Sovereign Heavenly Spoon clicked his tongue. A touch of interest was entering his eyes. “I don’t think I was this fast at my breakthrough…” he whispered.

Next to him, Starhair only snorted. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “This brorilla and Jack Rust must have only reached this level by enjoying countless resources from Elder Boatman. However, the effect of treasures is limited during this breakthrough. True talent is all that matters. Just watch—the brorilla will abruptly run out of steam, then stop expanding.”

The sovereign gave Starhair an amused gaze but said nothing.

Brock’s inner world kept expanding. 6200, 6500, 6800 miles… The speed was significantly reduced from before, but his power rose exponentially with every mile. The golden space now occupied a large sphere around him, the size of a small planet. Every single mile significantly increased its volume. The asteroid simply turned into dust particles as the inner world expanded without any clash or shockwave whatsoever. Thankfully, its diameter was around ten thousand miles, so Brock and Jack’s inner worlds colliding was impossible. They’d need a combined world size of twenty thousand.

Brock smoothly reached seven thousand miles and kept going.

“Heavens!” a cultivator shouted. “Just how far will he expand!?”

At this point, even Elders Boatman and Heavenstar were paying close attention. A seven-thousand mile inner world was no joke. It indicated Brock had the potential to reach the A-Grade in the future.

“I think you underestimated your disciple, Boatman,” Heavenstar said, chuckling. “This is a pie that fell into your lap. Let me congratulate you first.”

“He kept too low a profile…” Boatman muttered. In his eyes, Brock was only Jack’s follower. He never expected him to be this good.

Heavenstar smiled with pride. This wasn’t his disciple, but his mood remained excellent. “How far do you think he’s going to go? Will he surpass Spoon?”

“At this rate…” Boatman’s red eyes flickered. “He just might.”

“What a great time for our Church! Haha!”

Brock’s inner world had slowed down by now. He reached 7200 miles, 7300, 7400… At this point, every hundred miles was a whole new world of potential and strength, but they were also much harder to achieve. Brock’s laws began to show slight imperfections—when stretched this far, they presented gaps, harming the stability of his inner world and slowing its expansion. The energy required to push it out kept increasing.

Brock was growing tired. Every breath was laborious, every mile a hurdle. Yet, he wouldn’t stop easily. He reached 7800 miles before his expansion finally slowed to a crawl.

“Almost eight thousand!” Heavenstar exclaimed. “That’s almost the same as Spoon! Who would have thought that two such geniuses would appear as our Church faced extinction? The heavens truly are favoring us!”

“I don’t know about that,” Boatman replied calmly.

“What? You don’t think the heavens are showing us mercy?”

“Not that part. I don’t think he’s done expanding.”

“Hmm?”

Heavenstar looked over. Brock was pale and exhausted—yet, his gaze was resolute, and his aura steadied by supreme belief in himself. “Brohood is not a lonesome path,” he chanted, his voice easily spreading into the audience and beyond. The entire Death Boat vibrated to his sound. Brock continued. “It is one meant to be walked together. I am not perfect, bros. Can you help me?”

The audience was stunned for a moment. Was he talking to them? They obviously couldn’t help even if they wanted to. A moment later, however, his true goal was revealed. The golden brorillas, who had been chanting and performing feats of brohood all this while, suddenly stopped. They brought a fist to their chest. Ten thousand of them roared at once.

“YES, BIG BRO!”

The universe shook. The audience clasped their ears to protect them. Before their eyes, the ten thousand brorillas flew to the many gaps and tears revealed in Brock’s inner world, using teamwork and their bodies to patch them up. Brock’s laws weren’t perfect, but these brorillas were doing their best to alleviate the tension.

Golden energy poured into the gaps, stabilizing them. Brorillas grabbed the edges and pulled them together. Their muscles bulged. The tears in the fabric of Brock’s inner world contracted, no longer inhibiting the expansion as much. The golden space accelerated again. Its expansion, which had stopped at 7800 miles, suddenly erupted outward.

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8000, 8100, 8200… Before anyone could react, his inner world had reached 8300 miles and slowed down again. Even the golden brorillas had reached their limit—but this was 8300 miles!

The record of Sovereign Heavenly Spoon had been broken! Brock was the new champion!

Cries and cheers of disbelief erupted from the audience. They were only beginning to realize they were witnessing the birth of a legend—the birth of a future A-Grade! The Sage nodded in acknowledgement, while Sovereign Heavenly Spoon shook his head in self-deprecation.

“I was too full of myself,” he said. “I thought my rival would be Jack Rust, but it turns out…this brorilla is him. Brock, was it?” He smiled. “I’m looking forward to the future.”

As for Starfire, he chose not to speak. His face was twisted like he’d eaten something way too sour.

This was just too grand an event. Even the two Elders had risen from their seats, too excited to sit down. Seven thousand miles indicated a chance to reach the A-Grade, but at this time, that meant little. The Church already had dozens of Elders—one more wouldn’t make a great difference, let alone a B-Grade with the faint chance of reaching the A-Grade in the future. Even after passing the 7500 mark, that only meant he had decent chances.

However, eight thousand miles were different. It was a qualitative change. If nothing unfortunate happened, Brock would most probably reach the A-Grade in the future, and he might not even stop at the early tier. A middle A-Grade combatant was vital to the Church as a whole. He could have an effect on the entire war!

“Brock must be protected,” Elder Boatman said seriously. “Starting tomorrow, I will devote my full attention to him and train him properly. If he can rise quickly enough, he might be able to fight alongside us.”

“What tremendous luck,” Heavenstar said, shaking his head. “For two such talents to appear in the same era… The world really is helping us.”

Brock had surpassed every expectation. In fact, he’d even surpassed the expectations people had of Jack. He made this fiasco seem worth it. Even if Jack Rust failed his breakthrough, that disappointment would be overshadowed by the joy caused by Brock!

People were already celebrating, and secretive channels of communication were already transmitting the news across the entire Church. Even the Arch Priestess was notified.

Nobody imagined…that Brock was not done yet.

Sitting in the middle of that golden space, he suddenly raised his arms. The few observant members of the audience who caught that movement cared little for it. His next action, however, drew everyone’s attention.

“Bros of the world, I need you now,” Brock said, sending his voice far and wide, spreading it across the universe to reach the ears of those it should. “Lend me your power!”

The audience members looked at each other, not daring to hope. They were stunned. Boatman and Heavenstar, who had just taken their seats again, jumped back up. “Could it be…” Heavenstar muttered.

Ripples appeared at the center of Brock’s soul world. The gates of his large golden temple slammed open. Phantoms were vaguely seen inside—there were dogs, crabs, and other beasts, but most of them were human. They were featureless and ephemeral, yet clearly contained power. The ghosts all raised their hands, mirroring Brock’s motion, and power erupted out of the temple, seemingly coming from nowhere.

The inner world shone with splendor. Power filled its every nook and cranny. The golden brorillas, who were still struggling to contain the gaps, let out cries of relief. “Welcome, bros!” they shouted. “Thank you!”

Brock’s entire body shone golden. A massive brorilla phantom formed around him, overlapping with his presence, and his power experienced another leap forward. He pushed out his hands, and the world was forced to obey. “Once again…” he growled, “EXPAND FOR ME!”

The new golden power smashed into the walls of his inner world. The universe shook from the impact, and the walls were pushed forward. The audience hurried to retreat further. Even the Elders were stunned by now.

“How is this possible?” Hevaenstar exclaimed, half-surprised and half-excited. “This is… It’s a miracle!”

The inner world rumbled outward. From 8300, it pushed out with tremendous force, seeming as if it would expand forever. Yet, the more it pushed, a powerful resistance appeared, forcefully slowing it down. Brock kept pushing. The universe kept suppressing him.

8500, 8600, 8700…

Nine thousand miles was the limit. Nobody in history had ever achieved it, and the reason was that the universe itself suppressed cultivators as they approached that limit. Brock roared and pushed on, veins bulging on his temples, striving to reach as far as he could. Finally, even the golden power of all his bros ran out. His inner world barely managed to reach the 8800 mark before halting, its expansion over.

Everyone was stunned. 8800 miles. This was…sensational!

Cheers and roars erupted. People cried and hugged each other. They saw hope in the future. Most of them didn’t even know what such an inner world signified, but they knew it was important!

Boatman and Heavenstar did know. They’d each lived for several hundred thousand years; they’d read through all sorts of ancient documents and were aware of things most people didn’t qualify to know.

“He passed 8500…” Heavenstar said. Boatman was too stunned to reply. Since the beginning of the cultivation world, reaching 8500 miles wasn’t unprecedented, but it did have a special name: the Sign of Archon!

Those who reached this level had a chance of climbing to the very peak of cultivation, the Archon realm! The step beyond the peak of the A-Grade!

Archons were the cornerstones of the cultivation world. Their lifespans exceeded a million years, but they appeared far too rarely. Even now, the number of living Archons could be counted on one or two hands. If the Church could get another, that would be a major addition to their war forces! Brock would single-handedly change the course of the Second Crusade!

Elder Boatman, who was famously stoic and silent, suddenly laughed out loud. “Congratulations, Brock!” he shouted in his raspy voice. “You have become a legend!”

In fact, 8500 miles was exactly what Elder Boatman had achieved during his own breakthrough to the B-Grade. Being surpassed by one’s student, and so unexpectedly, too… What a feeling that was.

Brock’s inner world had finished expanding, setting a record that might not be surpassed for a million years. The brorillas relaxed—the golden space faded away, receding into Brock’s body and settling itself. From now on, that would be his soul and core of power. He had, in the span of a few minutes, undergone a complete transformation.

After the expansion was over, the absorption of one’s inner world into their body would take a few moments to complete. While Brock remained in meditation, digesting his gains, the audience couldn’t stop speaking in excitement. “That was awesome!” someone said. “I can’t believe we witnessed that! 8800 miles. What a concept!”

“I would be happy if I just succeeded in my breakthrough,” a C-Grade muttered, scratching his head.

“By the way,” a third person said, “I think Jack Rust managed to recover and is beginning his expansion as well. Wanna go see?”

“Not really. How could it compare?” the first person replied. “They began at the same time, but Brock finished his entire breakthrough before Jack Rust even formed his inner world… That’s a sign he’s mediocre at best. He should be happy to just succeed.”

“Don’t be like that. He had all that hype built up—I’m sure he’s going to reach at least four thousand miles!”

“Well, whatever. We might as well go watch.”

In the eyes of everyone present, watching Jack fumble his way into the B-Grade would only ruin the aftertaste of Brock’s terrific success. Some were so uninterested they retreated into the Death Boat to celebrate. Only half the audience remained.

Inside Death Boat, the betting stands had grown desolate. Almost everyone regretted betting on Jack Rust reaching five or six thousand miles. They’d already resigned their money. As for the few mean ones who’d bet on him reaching three or four thousand, they couldn’t stop smiling—for once, their bitterness would end up working out.

Even Elders Boatman and Heavenstar had complex looks on their faces as they stared at Jack, whose inner world was just beginning to manifest.

“Let’s not be downcast,” Heavenstar said. “It is regrettable that something went wrong with his breakthrough… But, the birth of a B-Grade is always a matter to celebrate.”

“Hmph!” Boatman snorted, still full of excitement. “Don’t underestimate my disciple. Even if he messed up, this breakthrough is not everything. Many people have defied expectations across the ages—with enough lucky chances afterward, alongside my guidance, he can still reach the late or peak B-Grade.”

“With you as the teacher, I’m sure he will,” Heavenstar replied, but he didn’t really believe it. He was just trying to be nice.

“Look, it’s starting!” a cultivator shouted, drawing everyone’s attention. “Go, Jack Rust! You can succeed!”

Most people shook their head, not expecting much. What they didn’t know, however, was that Jack’s apparent failure was due to him forming an unprecedented tenth fruit before creating his inner world. As for the effects of that… There was only one way to find out.

Jack’s breakthrough was beginning.

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