roadtomastery
patreon
Chapter 336: Fighting Shadows
🕑 Added 2023-12-27 17:36:00 +0000 UTCJack stepped into the Ceaseless Murder Globe and looked around; besides a giant lamp stuck to the roof, there was nothing. Only black stone as far as the eye could see.
The lamplight fell down like a curtain, illuminating nothing but the center of the globe. Of course, any C or D-Grade cultivator could use their perception to see perfectly well in the darkness—this lamp was probably meant to accommodate the users of light or darkness-oriented Daos.
The globe had air inside it, but it was silent. Completely silent. Jack walked to the center, his steps echoing like gongs. The feeling was almost reverent, as if he’d stumbled into the basement of a church where he absolutely shouldn’t be. The heavy air was pregnant with danger.
The moment his feet touched the light, a ripple of energy spread over the globe, and the magic formation activated. Jack only sensed the Dao gathering like a storm opposite him. It coalesced into a humanoid shape, a warrior wielding a longsword. The shape had no features—it was a ghost formed of the Dao. Its body was just a shadow.
Its cultivation was at the early C-Grade, and a weak one, too. This ghost was close to the bottom of all C-Grades, but it remained a C-Grade.
Without saying anything, it charged. Its feet produced dull thuds on the stone—its sword left no shadow. It reached Jack in an instant and cleaved down.
Jack’s face blossomed with a grin. This was it. This feeling of urgent threat, the surging blood, the heat in his chest, the ice in his brain. This was the battle he was made for.
He clenched his fist and smashed it forward. His middle knuckle met the sword blade, and a sharp pain traveled up his arm as if his bones were jittery. His knuckle bled, but it was fine. A moment later, the wound had disappeared.
The sword was pushed back. Jack’s grin widened.
The gap between the D and C Grades was wide. Bridging it to fight was almost impossible. The cultivators outside had been reasonable to assume that Jack, a peak D-Grade, couldn’t defeat even the first and weakest opponent in the Ceaseless Murder Globe.
But they didn’t know Jack. They didn’t know about his perfect foundation and alignment with his Dao. They didn’t know about his collection of high-level System titles. They didn’t know about the disasters he’d survived and the skills he’d gained in the process.
Even without the Life Drop, Jack was close to the limit of what D-Grades could achieve. It was time to test that.
His figure flashed through the globe. His steps blurred, his punches shot out like meteors. Explosions rumbled. Fist met blade over and over, sparks rising when neither gave way. Jack and the figure seemed equally matched. After twenty exchanges, Jack focused inward.
His Dao Domain burst out, a purple sea of stars. Fist-shaped meteors sailed through the void, circling Jack, while the stars fell close to his body and formed a constellation. His fists clenched harder—ready to pounce.
In his Domain, Jack was king.
However, to his surprise, the ghost released a domain of its own. A sharp, metallic gray covered the globe, contesting against his purple. Every gust of wind and every air vibration turned into a blade as even the air was sliced apart. The ghost’s sword flared with sharp light.
Jack exclaimed in wonder. This ghost had a Dao of its own!
This is even more interesting!
Jack had planned to end this quickly so he could see what opponents lay ahead…but now, he just wanted to fight. If this shadow could use skills as well, it would be a worthy challenge.
His feet tread on stone, bringing him before the ghost. Their domains clashed and ground against each other, each pressing harder now that their sources were nearby. The gray domain released a shrill scream, like a sword grinding on stone. The purple one produced a series of booms like a hundred fists striking out at once.
As Jack approached the ghost, he held nothing back besides the Life Drop. Brutalizing Aura erupted from his body, instantly piercing into the shadow’s psyche. Just like a real cultivator, it responded—a hint of dread appeared in its heart, reducing its power and increasing Jack’s.
At the same time, the domain’s purple light focused around Jack’s fist, pulsing with increased intensity. He reared it back. The purple light was drawn deeper inside the fist, spiking in intensity and explosiveness. It combusted into purple flames that were barely held at bay. Faint purple stars trailed behind the punch.
He shot it forward. The ghost, sensing the power of this attack, slashed out as well. Its blade blurred as if there were three swords coming at once. It had to be a skill.
Mid-swing, Jack used a small part of his Dao to punch through space itself. He wanted to teleport behind the shadow, but he failed. Space here was hard! If it was normally a curtain he could part, it was now a wall he had to drill through.
Seeing the triple sword approach, he roared out and poured even more power into teleporting. He almost failed. Space finally cracked open. Jack was sucked inside just as the three swords slashed through his previous location. He reappeared behind the ghost, only now completing his swing.
To its credit, the ghost reacted in time, ducking to avoid his punch. However, that was easier said than done. Meteor Punch impacted the air right above its head, all that compressed power erupting at once. This strike contained momentum and terrible striking power, but it also included an explosion powered by the great compression of Jack’s Dao.
As this explosion rang out, the air was blown away, and the ground rumbled. Even space shivered lightly. The shadow’s head was caved in, and lacking any form of regeneration, it instantly dissipated.
Jack had won.
Before he could breathe a sigh of relief, however, the ambient Dao gathered again. Two shadows appeared, one holding a warhammer and the other a long staff. They were still early C-Grades, but each of these shadows was noticeably stronger than the previous one.
Jack, still panting, felt excitement rise up inside him. This Ceaseless Murder Globe…was much to his liking!
He summoned the Life Drop. Life energy rampaged inside his body. He grew a foot taller, and two extra arms sprouted from under his armpits. He became stronger, faster, more durable, and far more regenerative.
“Bring it on!” he shouted, charging forward.
***
From outside the globe, there was no way to tell how the person inside was doing. The four cultivators still waited, but they were beginning to wonder.
“It’s been half a minute already,” the female djinn said. “How has he lasted against the first opponent this long?”
The strongest of the four, the human who had reached the middle C-Grade, cupped his chin. “Since he was accepted as an outer disciple at the D-Grade, he must possess great talent. If his Dao is one related to speed, he can probably last a minute or so by just running around…which is pointless, obviously, but exiting too soon would be embarrassing.”
“Hmm, yes. That must be why.” The other three nodded in agreement.
“I just wish he doesn’t overtax himself due to stubborness,” the djinn girl added, sighing. “It’s better to leave early than to suffer great injuries.”
The handsome man gave a sad smile. He had once been in Jack’s position as well. “That’s the way of the world. Geniuses have to be humbled. Instead of being stubborn and dying in a real battlefield…experiencing defeat against the first shadow is much better.”
***
Meanwhile, Jack crashed into the two shadows. He roared. Purple light flared in his surroundings, then was drawn into his fist and unleashed as a terrifying explosion that shook the air. The two shadows pulled back, then attacked him from one side each. The hammer-wielder smashed down in a heavy overhead strike, while the wizard compressed space around Jack to prevent him from escaping.
Jack laughed. He never planned on dodging. His forte wasn’t speed, but strength!
Brutalizing Aura billowed out. A hint of fear dug into the shadows’ hearts, pulling out some power and giving it to Jack, but it was miniscule. This skill was most effective against weaker opponents.
Still, Jack smashed a Meteor Punch upward. It clashed directly against the falling hammerhead. Cracking sounds echoed as half the bones in his arm were compressed, but his shoulder held. The hammer was pushed back, and so was Jack, gritting his teeth through the pain.
In the next moment, his regeneration fixed him up. His arm was good as new, but his opponent was unharmed as well.
Jack could try to fight them in a battle of attrition. However, he had no desire to do so. He hadn’t come here all the way here to act like a turtle against two shadows!
He roared. Power rolled out of his body in waves, amplifying his domain. The purple stars increased in brightness, resisting the hammer-wielder’s oppressive air and the wizard’s etherealness. Jack launched himself at the hammer shadow. His fist pulled back, readying another Meteor Punch. Before he arrived, he broke through space and appeared next to the wizard, striking down on him.
These shadows were smarter than the last. They were not caught by surprise. The wizard held his ground, conjuring a space-warping spike that could create a fist-sized hole through Jack’s chest. At the same time, the hammer-wielder teleported beside him, smashing his hammer into Jack’s ribs.
Jack had to pull back his strike and defend. But he didn’t. He was not afraid of pain!
Amidst crazed laugher, Jack’s fist sailed on, crashing into the wizard’s head and exploding it in shards of shadow.
At the same time, the space spike warped the right side of his ribs so hard they shattered. His flesh and muscles were warped as well, following the sudden curvature in space, and Jack felt like a chunk of his body was ripped clean off. The hammer struck his chest from the front, catapulting him backward and into a wall of the globe. Jack felt like he’d struck by a mountain. He fell to the ground and stayed there a moment, his vision fuzzy as the hammer-wielding shadow came to finish him off.
If the four cultivators outside could see him right now, their eyes would pop out from the shock. A peak D-Grade had endured the attacks of two early C-Grades at the same time—and lived!
Jack chuckled, spitting out some blood. The hellish pain was dying down, and his wounds were regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye. Bones knit back together, muscle and sinew were mended, skin regrew. Before the shadow could approach, Jack was completely healthy again.
He rose to his feet, smiling with blood-stained teeth. “Nice try,” he said. “But I’m still here.”
Jack’s greatest advantage was not strength, but durability! Neutron Star Body gave his body extreme density and resilience, enabling him to survive the two deadly attacks. Then, as long as he didn’t die instantly, the Life Drop’s overwhelming energy would quickly heal his wounds. He could recover from even life-threatening injuries in the blink of an eye.
Actually, Jack realized this regeneration was too abnormal. Perhaps exploring it further and becoming a healer was indeed a great idea.
Seeing him stand up, the hammer-wielding shadow paused as if in disbelief. Jack gave it the finger. “Come get me, asshole.”
The shadow charged. So did Jack. Fueled by his previous pain, the entire purple domain was sucked into his fist, where it was tightly compressed. The hammer struck down. Jack teleported behind the shadow, which teleported behind him in turn. Jack then spent a large amount of energy to punch through space yet again, re-teleporting over the shadow’s head and smashing down his fist.
The hammer had no time to return. Fist impacted hard flesh and caved it in. A colossal shockwave erupted, flooding the globe with purple flames, and the hammer-wielding shadow dissipated.
Jack landed on his feet, panting heavily. The Life Drop contained vast amounts of energy, but it could only be used for regeneration. Everything else, be it attacking, defending, teleporting, or using his various skills, was solely supported by his Dao Tree. Right now, after fighting in thousandfold gravity for so long, he was basically running on fumes. He couldn’t even teleport anymore.
The Dao gathered again. This time, three shadows appeared—and, though they remained early C-Grades, their power was vastly superior to the wizard and hammer-wielder he’d just fought.
Jack shook his head. “This is enough,” he said. The globe rumbled, while the shadows bowed and disappeared.
***
“It’s been two minutes…” the djinn girl said, looking at the globe with confusion. “What’s going on? Do you think he managed to defeat the first shadow?”
“Impossible,” the mosquitoid cut her off. “The first shadow has the power of a one-fruit C-Grade. To defeat it while in the D-Grade is just too difficult.”
“Hmm,” the handsome human muttered. “It is difficult…but not impossible. The difference between the D and C-Grades is roughly equivalent to three fruits inside the C-Grade.”
“Are you saying he can jump three tiers to fight?” the djinn girl asked, her brows rising. “Isn’t that too much?”
“Heh… You guys have only been here for a short time, but I’ve seen some of the high-rankers duel. For some of them, let alone jumping three tiers, even four isn’t a problem!”
“Are you serious!?”
“Absolutely. We’ll see when he comes out. If his ranking is any better than 990, it means he defeated the first shadow. In that case, he’s a rare talent even in the Black Hole Church! We should hurry and befriend him before he soars through the ranks!”
In the Ceaseless Murder Globe, the rankings up to 990 were for those with auxiliary powers who had little to no battle strength. They couldn’t even defeat the first shadow. As for those who could defeat the first shadow but not the pair that came after, they were also very few, and they took up the positions between 990 and 975.
“What if he defeats the hammer-wizard pair as well?” asked the djinn girl.
The handsome human only laughed. “Then he would rank better than 975…but that’s impossible. Only extreme geniuses, like Lady Min Ling, could achieve such a feat at his cultivation. If that happens, I’ll eat my robes!”
At that moment, the globe’s door slid open. Jack walked out, still panting and disheveled but uninjured.
“See?” said the insectoid. “He is tired but has no wounds. I told you he was just running away.”
“Hmm. Yeah, that must be the case. I guess I was thinking too deep into it.”
Jack did not pay them any attention. He turned to the Envoy who operated the globe and said, “Thank you for the experience. Could you tell me how I did?”
The four cultivators gave him a strange look. “Just look at the obelisk,” the djinn girl reminded him. “If you achieved anything, your name there will move.”
“My name is already at a higher ranking than my result would indicate. Therefore, I believe it will not move.”
“What?”
They looked at the obelisk again. They hadn’t checked before, but since Jack had already given them his name, they easily spotted him: 950, Jack Rust!
“What!?”
Before they could ask anything more, however, the Envoy spoke up. “I can tell you where your current result would place you,” he said. “Let me check. It’s at…”
The Envoy—a well-dressed human man—hesitated for a moment. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“Well?” Jack asked innocently. “How did I do?”
“Uh… Excuse me. If your ranking wasn’t already higher than that, you would have placed at…” He gulped. “959…”
Comments
Sean Dunning
Nice! Liking where this is going!
Valerios
Glad to hear that!
Namorat
I like this. It did not feel too much for him, but it still managed to put him on the map. Kind of sad that nobody but those around right now will probably hear about and believe this. It also makes the Spoon more rough. Getting there on his own so early as D grade would have led to enough strife and jealousy without his interference. I enjoy this arc a lot so far :)
