Grand Return System

A Knot Untied Beneath the Falling Dust

The charming figure had already arrived on the arena with a single step.

The ruined stage still trembled from the aftermath of battle. Dust drifted through fractured sunlight. Cracked stone groaned beneath lingering sword intent. The air smelled faintly of blood, scorched Mana, and broken pride.

Leon stood amidst it all, midnight robes touched by amethyst threads stirring softly in the wind, long black hair moving over his shoulders. His purple eyes rested on Shera and Shan.

Calm.

Unreadable.

Yet those who knew him well sensed something beneath that composure.

He was thinking.

Leon looked at him and thought for a moment. Suddenly, he had an idea that was more fun than mocking him.

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

Not ridicule.

Something sharper.

Something far more devastating to old grudges than insults.

Shera had already braced himself for humiliation.

For mockery.

For the bitter repayment of years.

Instead—

Leon casually lifted a hand.

After being stunned for a moment, he casually took out a medicinal pill and flicked it into Shera’s hand. He said calmly, "Senior Brother, this is a Miracle healing exilir unique to my Amethyst Summit Division. Let him eat it."

The pill landed in Shera’s palm with almost no weight—

Yet it felt heavier than a mountain.

Shera froze.

His fingers tightened unconsciously around it.

"You..."

His voice stopped halfway.

Shera’s expression was complicated. He originally thought that Leon would take the opportunity to mock him, but he didn’t expect that not only did Leon not mock him, he even gave him a Miracle healing exilir.

For a moment, the noise of the arena seemed far away.

Only silence remained between two men who had spent years seeing each other as enemies.

Leon’s gaze did not waver.

His voice remained calm, but each word struck like a bell.

"It’s better if we settle our grudges between us. It has nothing to do with the younger generation. Senior Brother, if you still can’t let go, you can look for me. I’ll be waiting for you."

No arrogance.

No provocation.

Only openness.

And strangely—

Mercy.

Shera’s breath caught.

He had prepared himself for shame.

Not this.

Never this.

Before he could answer—

After saying that, Leon turned around to check on Selena.

As if what he had done was utterly ordinary.

That made it sting even more.

Shera felt a sense of loss as he looked at that white figure. Just based on Leon’s generosity, he had already lost. He had lost completely.

Not in battle.

In spirit.

And he knew it.

Ten years!

He had endured for ten years and ignored ten years of humiliation. He should have been able to hold his head high, but he chose to retreat.

Ten years of resentment.

Ten years of a knot tied tighter with every breath.

And today—

One pill.

One sentence.

One gesture.

And the knot began to unravel.

"Haha..."

Shera laughed out loud.

But there was no joy in it.

Only bitter self-mockery.

It was only today that he truly realized how stupid he had been in the past.

His laughter echoed strangely over the arena.

Some students looked confused.

Some elders understood.

He treated the grudge between the two factions as a knot in his heart, causing him to have a mental demon. But now, he realized that the other protagonist of this scene had never taken it seriously. This seemed to make him feel even worse than humiliating him...

He closed his eyes.

And finally admitted the truth.

He had chained himself all these years.

Leon had not.

He mocked himself in his heart and finally let go.

Something in him softened.

A burden lifted.

His voice, when he looked toward Shan, no longer carried the weight of obsession.

Only warmth.

"Shan, come, eat this pill. Quickly stabilize your cultivation to prevent your foundation from being damaged."

Putting down the knot in his heart, Shera picked up the Miracle healing exilir that Leon gave him and gave it to Shan.

Shan looked stunned.

His eyes flicked from the pill—

To his father—

To Leon in the distance.

Complex emotions swirled inside him.

Then silently, he accepted it.

After Shan ate the Miracle healing exilir, he sat cross-legged on the spot and entered a meditative state to stabilize his foundation.

Waves of Mana quietly circled around him.

His pale complexion slowly eased.

Shera watched over him in silence, a father guarding his child.

On the other side, Selena descended from the sky with a pale face.

Her silver hair fluttered as she landed, but her steps were unstable.

The cost of invoking Hell Maw Strike had been immense.

Her vision blurred.

The world tilted.

Then—

She fell.

Straight into Leon’s arms.

Selena descended from the sky with a pale face. Her steps were unstable as she fell into Leon’s arms. She had cultivated the Hell Maw Strike for too short a period of time, so she was not familiar with this Heaven-rank secret technique. Forcefully using it almost drained all her spiritual energy.

Her breath came in soft uneven tremors.

A trace of blood lingered at her lips.

Leon’s expression changed instantly.

The aloof calm vanished.

Concern flashed through those purple eyes.

Leon’s heart ached as he felt the soft body in his arms.

Her body felt frighteningly light.

Too fragile.

He gently helped her up and picked up a Miracle healing exilir.

His fingers brushed hers.

"Eat it and immediately meditate. Don’t think too much about anything else."

His voice was softer than before.

Almost protective.

Selena lifted her blue eyes toward him.

There was exhaustion there.

And trust.

Complete trust.

Selena looked at Leon and nodded.

Without hesitation, she took the Miracle healing exilir and gently swallowed it before entering a meditative state.

Leon stayed beside her until her breathing steadied.

Only then did he exhale.

A nearby elder murmured quietly,

"She truly inherited the bearing of Amethyst Summit Division..."

Another replied,

"No... she may surpass it."

This battle could be said to be dangerous, and someone almost died.

The memory of that final clash still made many hearts pound.

One wrong move—

And blood would have stained the arena.

However, overall, the outcome was still considered perfect. Both sides suffered a little damage, but it was not to the point of killing.

No lives lost.

No hatred deepened.

Only something old had ended.

After a while, Mike arrived at the arena.

His grey robes moved lightly as he surveyed the two injured students.

His aged eyes missed nothing.

He took a look at the situation of the students of the two factions and nodded at Referee Elder.

Referee Elder stepped forward.

The entire arena slowly quieted.

Every gaze gathered.

Every breath held.

His voice rang through the martial grounds.

"Now, I announce that Amethyst Summit Division has won this Martial Meeting."