Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 423: I Am Speed

Jack did not pause. He shot forward, but it did little to inhibit his latest pursuer. The void shimmered behind him; it parted, revealing a white-haired, young-looking woman.

The moment she appeared, the universe seemed to have found a new master. Starlight danced around her, and the void curved as if wanting to bow. Her aura naturally billowed out, commanding the respect of reality.

Jack felt his movements slow even as his mind fell into disarray. This…was a late B-Grade!

Though they’d never met, both knew of the other’s name. Eva Solvig had once chased Jack through the Milky Way galaxy, and he’d used all kinds of tricks to slip out of her grasp. Back then, Eva had been at the middle B-Grade—it was only in the last few years that she made another breakthrough, stepping into the late B-Grade.

In other words, she was not one of the strongest at her level…but so what? She and Jack were separated by a Grade and a half. No matter how talented or heaven-defying he was, there was no way he could fight her. Even middle B-Grades were too much for the current him.

“Jack Rust,” she said. Her voice was colorless, tasteless, almost sterilized. “I have chased after you for years. Who knew you’d be dumb enough to fall for such a trap?”

Jack gritted his teeth, pausing his escape. It was clear they would chase after him—but, if they wanted to chat and let him catch his breath first, he wouldn’t say no. He’d run the moment they did. It wasn’t like anyone stronger could arrive.

This also saved time for the bromobile to escape farther and farther away. Nobody seemed to care about it—everyone’s gaze was glued on Jack.

“Eva Solvig,” he replied coldly. “We’ve been acquainted for a number of years, but it’s actually the first time we meet. Can’t say I’m pleased.”

“Are you related to Purity of the Hand of God?” Jack asked. Elder Purity was the late A-Grade Elder he’d met at the banquet just before entering the hidden realm. That Elder’s hair was also white, like Eva’s, and the two women cultivated very similar Daos. Maybe it was even the exact same.

Eva Solvig frowned. “Elder Purity is my mother and master,” she said. “You may not address her by name. You must use the honorific of Elder.”

“Mother?” Jack asked, raising a brow. “I guess, no matter how pure one tries to be, we are all still human.”

A chilling wind spread from Eva’s body. Her white robes fluttered, while the surrounding void lost its luster, all tiny particles purified and extinguished. “Why do you taunt me?” she asked. “You are worsening your position.”

“Can it get any worse?”

She thought for a moment—then, smiled. “No.”

It was then that space parted behind her. Another person showed up. Jack’s first reaction was to gauge their strength, then sigh in relief when it was only a late C-Grade. The only peculiarity was a large sack hanging from their waist.

Right afterward, however, he recognized that cultivator. It was Artus Emberheart—the man who hated Jack the most in the entire universe. As Artus appeared, his dark robes fluttering and his leonine eyes warped with obsession, he opened his mouth and laughed out loud. “Jack Rust!” he shouted. “You took everything from me! Today is the day you die!”

“Why did you bring the clown?” Jack asked Purity. She did not reply—Artus did.

“Your tongue is as sharp as ever, but you no longer have a place to hide. There is no one to protect you. I will ruin you, Jack Rust, and before I do, I will make sure you suffer the same pain I did!”

Artus laughed again, the sound shaking the surrounding void. Jack, however, only shook his head. “Just the whining of a defeated dog,” he replied. “The reason you lost everything, Artus, was your own weakness. You are incompetent and talentless. You may hate me, but from the very start, I never cared about you. You were always doomed to be my stepping stone, just another character I would surpass on my way to the peak. Even if I die today, it won’t be your achievement—you’re just a clown jumping on the sidelines while greater people than you try to hunt me down.”

Artus’s gloating gaze froze on his face. His visage warped into deep, blue hatred. He seemed as if he would attack. Then, surprisingly, he calmed down. There was even a hint of dark longing in his voice. “I hope you remember these words, Jack Rust. Soon, you will regret them.”

“I look forward to it,” Jack replied, unwilling to bother with Artus any longer. He turned to Eva. “Is there any way I can convince you to let me go?” he asked. “Since you haven’t attacked me yet, I suppose you have something to say.”

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She smiled weakly. “The Hand of God appreciates your talent. We are welcome to let you live on the condition that you open up your soul and let us turn you into a slave.”

Jack laughed. “I would rather die!”

“I know.”

She attacked. The purified space around her expanded at tremendous speed, quickly overtaking Jack. His eyes narrowed as all particles in his vicinity evaporated. This was a Dao Domain, one so refined it had turned into a battle skill. He instantly released his own. A purple meteor appeared in the middle of purity, billowing like a caged god of flame. Fist particles flooded the empty space, constantly eroded by purity and constantly regenerating.

Dao Domains were mostly the weapons of D-Grades. After that, many lost their usefulness, which was why Jack rarely used his Dao Domain in battle lately. Eva Solvig, however, was different. Her domain was one of her greatest weapons. Since she was stronger than Jack to begin with, his domain of the Fist was immediately suppressed, barely able to make any waves at all.

The most he could do was maintain control of the area a few dozen feet around him, and that was only because of the great distance between them.

Eva charged, but Jack did not wait for her to arrive. In a head-on clash, he would be annihilated. He had to run.

With a shout, energy erupted out of him. The Fist took control of the surrounding space and he shot out, forcefully piercing through the domain of purity. His skin was burning—a strange energy was prevalent in the void, one which sought to wipe him clean, but he resisted. An explosion resounded behind him. Jack coughed out blood as he was shot out of the purity field, only for it to come crashing down again an instant later.

“You cannot escape,” Eva Solvig calmly stated as she flew forward. Her hands were covered in a white glow—and, staring at them, Jack could feel an instinctive fear deep in his soul, as if this white light was the nemesis of all life.

“Hahaha!” The Animal Kingdom Ancestor laughed out loud. “The Hand of God is well worth its reputation!” The Elders present followed behind Eva, ready to participate in Jack’s execution, while Artus himself was just a step behind her, his eyes filled with dark satisfaction and a hand patting the sack he carried.

Jack gritted his teeth. He could not win this battle. Even if he somehow ran away, what then?

Elder Boatman, if you’re going to appear at the last moment, this is it!

Yet, nothing happened. Nobody arrived to save him. Jack had sent away his friends and was now alone, trapped in the vastness of space with enemies far stronger than he was. The only one who could save him was himself…but he had no idea how.

It was only now that the severity of this danger sank in. If nothing changed, it was very probable that today he would die.

He gritted his teeth. If I’m going to die…I won’t go quietly!

Purple light flared on his fists. Seeing that, Eva Solvig dropped her slow walking and teleported before him. She wasn’t going to give him a chance.

“Goodbye,” she said, pushing out her palms.

“SUPERNOVA!” Jack shouted. His fists shot forth—space exploded, the void erupted, purity was washed away. Jack’s two hands bore the brunt of the collision, broken into bloody bone stumps. He was sent flying away. As for Eva, she’d barely slowed down—even his strongest attack was not enough to harm her.

But he’d used the momentum to escape her domain.

Her brows creased slightly. She did not expect him to survive a direct attack, but in the end, surprise was just surprise—he could not escape. Her domain expanded again, seeking to encircle him, but Jack smashed his stump of a wrist into the void, shattering it in the instant before she reached him and teleporting away. He reappeared a dozen miles into the distance, pale and shivering—escaping like that had taken a toll on him.

Eva Solvig scoffed in annoyance. “You’re just wasting your time,” she said, teleporting after him. “You cannot escape!”

Jack agreed, actually. Even if he survived for a few moments more and used his expertise in space to run away, so what? He would grow exhausted eventually and die all the same. It wasn’t like he could outrun a late B-Grade.

But he couldn’t just give up.

Space warped below him. Time stretched behind him and shrunk in front, letting him shoot through space like a fish in water. Distance became meaningless as he rushed forward at hundreds of miles per second.

“After him!” Eva commanded. Her Dao could directly disintegrate space—even without relevant insights, she used brute force to surpass Jack’s speed, leaving a line of emptiness wherever she passed.

Jack ran. He glanced backward, and his brows fell further. Eva Solvig was steadily behind him, calmly riding a wave of purity. As expected: even at full speed, even using all his insights into space, Jack couldn’t outrun her—the gap shrunk slowly but steadily, and he suspected she wasn’t even going all-out. He would grow exhausted long before she did.

Battle was hopeless. Escape was impossible. Was he really doomed to die here? Was his only option to keep running away in the hopes that someone else would save him?

Since when was he, Jack Rust, so helplessly weak?

He roared into the void as he shot forward. His weakness pained him, drove a stake through his heart. Even after working so hard and achieving so much, he had to depend on others.

“Damn it all!” he shouted, piercing deep into the void in his attempts to escape. It was useless—Eva Solvig remained close behind him, even if everyone else had faded far away.

Jack was fast. After mastering spacetime to such a degree, he was possibly the fastest C-Grade of the universe, but all tricks were meaningless before the suppression of absolute power.

Two lines cut through the void—one purple, one white. Eva kept closing the gap. Every time she drew near, she would unleash an attack which would severely injure Jack. He coughed out blood and kept going, using the shockwave to open up the distance a little, but she just closed it again.

Eva couldn’t catch up directly, but she could use this method to slowly whittle Jack’s energy. His rate of consumption was far higher than hers, and he also had to suffer heavy injuries. Moreover, his Dao usage was much more delicate than hers, demanding more mental resources.

Thankfully, he could use the endless energy of the Life Drop to regenerate his wounds, greatly easing his load, but he still couldn’t keep doing it forever.

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