Grand Return System-Chapter 104: The Purple Lotus Descends

The Purple Lotus Descends

Shera’s pupils shrank.

"That’s impossible..."

The words tore out of him before he could stop them.

Maya’s hand instinctively clutched her sleeve, long azure hair whipping wildly around her shoulders as the wind spiraled upward. Her sky-blue robes snapped in the violent current, the slit at her thigh fluttering against smooth skin, yet she stood firm, eyes locked on the man seated at the center of the storm.

Yaman’s voice came out hoarse.

"Mana Blessings...?"

Someone whispered in disbelief—

"Epiphany on the spot...?"

Mike was stunned. His gray brows trembled as he looked at the sky in disbelief, then slowly lowered his gaze to Leon—who was already sitting cross-legged on the cold stone ground of the Amethyst Summit Division courtyard.

Everyone was shocked...

Shera’s expression turned even uglier. His jaw clenched so tightly that veins stood out faintly along his temples.

"No. This is impossible..."

His voice dropped, thick and livid.

"Mana Blessings. Enlightenment on the spot is a heaven-sent opportunity. Only a true child of heaven can receive such treatment. The triggering conditions are extremely harsh. How can he enter epiphany just like that?"

No one believed it.

Least of all Shera.

But belief no longer mattered.

The vortex above them was growing larger by the breath.

Suddenly—

A bolt of lightning tore across the sky like a blade ripping open the heavens.

Dark clouds rolled in violently, swallowing the light. Thunder roared. Electric veins crawled through the swirling mass, illuminating faces below in flashes of stark white.

The wind screamed.

Strange phenomena appeared one after another—phantom lotuses blooming in the air, ripples distorting space itself, faint silhouettes of ancient constellations flickering in the clouds.

This was the manifestation of Mana Blessings.

This was real.

Maya swallowed softly.

"How did he do it...?" she muttered under her breath.

Her heart pounded—not from fear, but from something dangerously close to awe.

The youngest division master of Celestis Academy.

The man she had once thought mysterious.

Now he seemed unreachable.

She hated that feeling.

And yet she couldn’t look away.

Amaya’s face turned pale as she stared upward, long black hair pressed to her cheeks by the storm wind.

"Guardian Elder Leon truly has the bearing of a celestial..." she whispered. "Such a heavenly opportunity... it comes as if summoned."

"Unbelievable... simply unbelievable..." another elder murmured.

Mike’s body trembled faintly. He had believed Leon’s words were playful provocation toward Shera.

He hadn’t expected—

He hadn’t imagined—

That Leon meant it.

At this moment, Shera felt as if the ground beneath his feet had cracked open.

He shook his head sharply.

"No... I refuse to believe it."

His eyes sharpened.

"This brat must be pretending. His goal is to humiliate me in front of everyone. Hmph. Let me see how long he can keep up this farce."

He stepped forward, preparing to examine the Mana fluctuations closely—

Another lightning strike crashed down.

The air detonated.

A terrifying wave of pressure exploded outward.

It was the might of a sage Realm expert.

Shera’s pupils constricted as his body involuntarily staggered back three steps.

"What a terrifying aura...!"

Even his voice wavered.

"Is this the pressure of a sage Realm...?"

Shock rippled through the gathered masters.

Kevin’s breakthrough earlier had been astonishing.

But this—

This was on another scale entirely.

Leon was not breaking through from Astral Realm to GrandMaster Realm.

He was already a sage Realm expert.

The Mana Blessings he triggered would naturally be more ferocious, more domineering, more overwhelming.

"Oh my god... are the people of Amethyst Summit Division all monsters?" a disciple whispered.

"They enter epiphany as if drinking tea..."

"Our Guardian Elder Leon is too terrifying."

"I thought he was bragging..."

"He didn’t just brag—he bragged straight into the heavens."

"F*ck... I can’t accept this..."

The crowd dissolved into chaos.

Under the raging winds and lightning, Mana within a hundred-mile radius surged toward the summit like rivers flowing into a sea.

A colossal cyclone formed above.

At its center—

Leon sat motionless.

His midnight robes, embroidered with thin amethyst threads, fluttered violently—yet his posture was steady as a mountain.

His long black hair whipped around him in wild arcs, but his face was serene.

He slowly closed his eyes.

And entered epiphany.

The moment his consciousness sank inward—

Something bloomed.

Above his head, faint at first, then radiant—

A lotus emerged.

Petal by petal.

It shimmered in ethereal purple light.

Each petal carried ancient runes that pulsed like breathing stars.

When Mike saw it clearly, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"The Purple Lotus of Great Principal...!"

His voice cracked.

"Innate... primordial Principal Physics..."

The other division masters froze.

They looked at each other.

And saw the same horror in one another’s eyes.

No one understood better than they did what that lotus symbolized.

Even Shera felt his throat tighten.

"It’s actually... the strongest physique recorded in ancient history."

"The primordial Principal Physics... said to be the closest body to the Great Principal itself."

"How is that possible? He possesses such a constitution...?"

"Why didn’t Guardian Elder Zeon ever reveal this?"

Whispers spread like wildfire.

For years—

Many had believed Leon was merely the last inheritance of Zeon, taken in out of pity when his lifespan waned.

They had thought—

That Zeon, unable to let Amethyst Summit Division’s lineage fade, reluctantly accepted a mediocre disciple.

How laughable.

Someone murmured in realization,

"I understand now... No wonder Guardian Elder Zeon never took in another student in his entire life."

"Before he passed, he personally descended the mountain to bring Leon back."

"At that time, we all thought... he was just trash."

"Perhaps... Guardian Elder Zeon knew from the very beginning."

"He knew Leon possessed the strongest physique in history."

Silence fell again.

But this time, it was heavy.

Reverent.

Fearful.

"No wonder he can enter epiphany so easily," Yaman muttered hoarsely. "Such a physique is born close to the Great Principal. Comprehending laws on the spot... becomes natural."

Above—

The vortex roared.

Then—

It collapsed inward.

Like a galaxy imploding.

The entire cyclone rushed toward Leon.

A tidal wave of Mana descended.

It poured into his body in a single terrifying surge.

Leon’s brows furrowed faintly.

Pain.

It felt like molten metal flooding through his meridians.

His spiritual core vibrated violently.

The force was overwhelming.

He drew in a slow breath and suppressed it with the authority of a sage Realm expert.

His Mana circulated rapidly, stabilizing the impact.

For years, he had deliberately tempered his Principal heart.

He had not rushed cultivation.

He had anchored his foundation.

Thus—

His cultivation had remained at the early-stage of sage Realm.

Stable.

Unmoving.

But now—

Under the impact of this terrifying Mana Blessings—

Something shifted.

A crack appeared in the invisible wall restraining him.

His aura began to loosen.

Subtle.

But unmistakable.

His cultivation—

Was showing signs of breaking through.