Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 337: Creating Awe

As soon as the Envoy finished his words, the other four cultivators gasped.

959? There has to be a mistake!

In the Endless Murder Globe, the people who couldnt even defeat the first shadow ranked between 997 and 990. They were a sad minority. After that, the people who defeated the first shadow but lost to the next pair were ranked between 989 and 975.

Of course, this was the absolute bottom of the barrel on the Cathedral. Only the weakest or most utility-oriented disciples would place in those rankings. For everyone else, the first three battles of the Globe were considered a warm-up.

If placed amongst the entire Cathedral, Jacks result could be considered abysmal. However, what was his cultivation? He was only a peak D-Grade! He shouldnt even have the qualifications to enter the Globe, let alone defeat anything inside.

Even the first shadow was an early C-Grade. It wasnt something a D-Grade should be able to handle. Defeating it was a stellar result on Jacks partbut then, hed actually defeated the next two shadows as well!

This was almost unheard of!

The four cultivators gaped at Jack, forgetting how to speak, and even the Envoy responsible for the Globe hesitated. If he didnt know that the Globes formation was perfect, he would have suspected it made a mistake.

Jacks cultivation may have been low, but he was at the top of the Cathedral talent-wise! Such a person had great chances of becoming an Envoy in the future.

I must befriend him, was the common thought of everyone involved.

What an amazing result! the handsome human from before, Osmu Sosmu, exclaimed. He approached Jack with a friendly smile. Reaching such rank while at the D-Grade is a tremendous achievement! Perhaps only the top talents, like Lady Min Ling, could match it. Congratulations! Can I call you Jack?

Hearing those words, Jack simply smiled awkwardly. He knew better than anyone that the only reason he defeated the two shadows was the Life Drop, an item that even the Hand of God would covet. Simply based on his own ability, he could only defeat the first shadow.

Which remained a universally stunning achievement for a peak D-Grade, but nothing as grand as being one of the Cathedrals top talents.

If anything, he was more surprised that his result wasnt too good. He had the Life Drophow were others able to match him without it?

I really underestimated the size of the universe he thought, shaking his head.

There was always a higher mountain, always a greater talent. Back in the neophyte Milky Way galaxy, Jack was the strongest D-Grade without even using the Life Drop. Here, even if he did use it, there were others who could compare.

It really made his blood boil. The road ahead was long, and he really looked forward to walking it.

Of course, a cultivators lucky chances were also part of their strength. Everyone had those, and everyone walked their own path in life. Moreover, Jack was currently forgetting that hed only been Integrated for a year and a half.

If the other people present knew that, they would probably froth at the mouth.

Sure, call me Jack, he replied. Thank you for the kind words.

Dont mention it! Us disciples of the Black Hole Church arent many; we should stick together!

The djinn girl also approached. She said, I didnt mention my name before. Im Mer KarPortul, nice to officially meet you.

Bezz Massp, said the mosquitoid.

John Anthem, added the other human, the last of the four cultivators.

Jack smiled again. These people were not too bad. A pleasure to meet you, he said. Unfortunately, I am pressed for time, so I have to go. Perhaps well meet again.

Mhm. Perhaps, yes

Jack walked away, followed by their piercing stares. The handsome man, especially, was shocked. Had he, a middle C-Grade, just been brushed off by a peak D-Grade like he was nothing!?

The Envoy had not said anything besides announcing Jacks score, but his eyes followed him as he walked away.

Jack was feeling much better. Not only had he discovered that he remained ahead of the power curve, even when placed in the wider universe, but hed also found out about other monstrous talents.

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That was great! He had something to aim for. His eyes roved over the ranking obelisk, rising higher and higher until they rested on a single name.

1, Min Ling Im coming for you!

However, testing his strength wasnt his only source of joy. His result in the Ceaseless Murder Globe had stunned everyone. If he managed to impress a high-ranker, or at least someone near the seven-hundred mark, perhaps he could convince them to protect Dorman from Don Cranxiao. Owing favors wasnt the best approach, but it was far better than letting his friend be bulliedespecially now that hed acknowledged Dorman and taken him under his roof.

A high-ranker at his back would give Jack ample time to prepare. In three months, he would break through to the C-Grade, and then Cranxiao would be nothing but a fly on his shoulder.

He also needed to contact the Sage about that, actually, but he didnt know where he lived. He could ask Dorman later. Plus, Jack had a feeling the Sage already knew.

Jack walked with renewed vigor. He was getting used to the thousandfold gravity, too, so it didnt bother him that much. His body had adjusted.

Next stopthe library!

Dorman had mentioned this before. The Cathedral had a small library offering a collection of basic books. They mostly pertained to side professions, like formations and basic Dao theoryor healing.

Since Jack had decided to try his hand at healing, the faster he started, the better.

The twelve villages of the Cathedral were arranged in a ring shape. In their center was a small area containing the many formations, like the Heavy Pagoda, the ranking obelisk, and the Ceaseless Murder Globe. Some administrative buildings were also there, including the tiny cabin that housed the library.

Jack didnt feel like spending more time than necessary. He walked there, greeted the pale, B-Grade vampire that served as the librarian, then picked up a book on healing and took his leave. For disciples of his ranking, one book at a time was the limit, and he could only keep it for a month or unless requested by a higher-ranking disciple.

With the heavy tome under his arm, Jack crossed the plain terrain of the Cathedral to arrive back at his cabin. Guys, Im home, he said, opening the door. Brock remained exactly where hed left him, on the cabins meditation mat. Dorman was leaning his large body against a side wall and cultivating. The cabin was deathly silent.

On hindsight, perhaps I shouldnt have shouted.

Brocks eyes snapped open. From their hidden excitement, Jack could tell the brorillas cultivation was going great.

Hey bro. This place great.

Glad to hear that, Brock.

What that? Brock asked, pointing at the book.

Basic healing. I decided to become a part-time doctor.

The brorilla nodded like this was the most natural thing in the world. Have fun, he said, then closed his eyes and returned to cultivation.

Jack sighed his head. With such zeal, Brock would go far. He then climbed on the hard bed, sat cross-legged, and opened the book.

It was titled An Introduction to Healing using the Dao of Life, by a person named Madam Zi.

As Jack started reading, he found that this book really was about the fundamentals. The first chapter detailed the basic principles behind healing and some commonalities between all species of the universe.

To Jacks surprise, he quickly discovered that a healer really was like a doctor. It wasnt just about pouring life energy inside a person until they became better. You had to control it carefully, scanning their body to discover the problem and then guiding your energy to resolve it. Mistakes could be disastrouseven killing the patient wasnt difficult, especially if they possessed lower cultivation. One wrong move from the life energy and their lungs or heart could seize.

Jack nodded in agreement. The Dao was like a massive sledgehammer that could shake the universe. If someone allowed it into their bodies, one tiny mistake could wreak havoc.

Of course, some things were easier to treat than others. Superficial injuries were the simplest. Deeper ones were more difficult, followed by regenerating limbs, repairing organs, and all the way to things that modern medicine hadnt yet achieved, like repairing brain damage and curing some otherwise terminal diseases.

Jack was awed by what he discovered, but he decided to take things slow. First, he would learn to treat the easiest, lightest, most superficial wounds. It was a good start for a novice, and these were also the most common injuries people suffered.

He dove deeper into the text. While studying was initially awkward, he quickly fell into the rhythm, his brain remembering the thousands of hours hed spent like this on Earth. Surprisingly, it was much easier than he remembered. Boredom and exhaustion were old conceptshe felt that he could easily spend days just reading texts. Moreover, he now possessed photographic memory and a comprehension speed that would put Earthen scholars to shame.

His 200 Mental was not a joke.

However, Jack also discovered that this book was far more complex than the ones he was used to. The wealth of knowledge it contained was staggering, and the degree to which it was distilled was mind-numbing. The author jumped from one subject to the other like a prancing gazelle, assuming that the reader was a mega-genius who could understand everything at a glance.

To be fair, Jack was a mega-genius at this point, but he still struggled. This book was written for cultivators, not pre-System humansthe reader was assumed to have several hundred points in Mental, and this was just for an introductory book, the kind that low-level novices would read.

The more Jack read, the more he struggled, but his knowledge increased at tremendous speed. He felt like the god of biologists. The theories he found inside, the treaties on the bodies of alien species, the observations, the connections It simultaneously expanded his understanding of the world and created even more questions.

On Earth, a doctor needed to treat humans. Veterinarians treated animals, usually specializing in one species or family.

In the cultivation world, a good healer needed to understand not just the human body, but the body of every species and what made them tick. Jack needed to be able to treat species hed never heard about before, getting their inner workings right at the first try. It was orders of magnitude more difficult than he expected.

But he was also far more capable than any Earth scholar could dream to be.

The hours flowed like water. Brock and Dorman were deep in meditation, while Jack restlessly read from his book, absorbing knowledge like a sponge. His previous study experience came in handy; when problems cropped up or he realized he had a misunderstanding, he tackled the issue scientifically and found a solution.

Like this, the thick, mystical, heavily compact tome was slowly absorbed by Jack. The pages turned one after the other.