Grand Return System-Chapter 19: Ten Years of Storm
Ten Years of Storm
Deep in meditation, Selena’s breath grew slow. Her mana moved through meridians calm and even, much like light across a frozen field at night.
Darkness came when Leon shut his eyelids.
Quiet settled inside him, his words softening.
"System - how much cultivation can I bestow in one session?"
That moment marked the start of something new for him. Though calm on the outside, a quiet wariness still slipped through.
Floating through his thoughts came a voice - smooth, unfeeling, precise.
A signal flashes - host anchored in the GrandMaster Realm, marked by four stars. Ten years of growth stands ready to pass across each offering round. Higher realms widen what can be given. Each time power flows out, silence follows; that pause locks away bonus returns until it lifts
Leon exhaled softly.
"Ten years... That’s enough."
He started out aiming for a hundred. Yet Selena’s frame - despite the Divine Ice Bones - couldn’t withstand such impact. Under that strain, breaking was inevitable.
Few moments stretch that far without breaking. Ten years sat just shy of what felt possible.
His voice gentled.
"Relax, student. Don’t tense up. Bestowing cultivation is serious. If there’s even the slightest mistake, both our foundations crack. Today, I’ll give you ten years. Just draw it in - refine it - don’t resist."
Selena nodded faintly.
"Teacher, I understand."
A hush settled through the room.
His fingers rose, then settled just below her shoulders, pressing gently through the space where breath begins.
Out from the center, heat began to spread. Warmth moved slowly through the space.
Then everything roared.
A shiver ran up Selena’s spine as power flooded in, sudden and sharp. She froze. Just for a moment, her gut told her to block it - clamp down - hold back. The air caught in her throat.
Yet those words of his stuck in her mind.
She let go.
Frost curled through her veins at the same time warmth surged - sharp clarity from her own body meeting a golden tide pulled straight from Leon’s energy. A shiver ran down her hands. Air slipped between her teeth, quiet and measured. The two forces tangled deep within, neither giving way.
Something hit hard, not sharp but deep. Beneath a rush that crackled instead of roared. Not hurting - filling.
Leon’s voice guided through the torrent.
"Good. Lead it downward. Into your prefecture sea. Don’t let it scatter."
"Mn... I— I’m trying..."
Mana crashed against her core — then poured inside.
It was like a new sun lit itself inside her chest.
Her cultivation surged.
Second star.
Third.
Fourth.
The hall hummed — air trembling, lights flickering, spiritual core pulsing like a beating heart. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Selena swallowed a sharp breath.
So strong... Is this... Teacher’s ten years?
Her bones rang faintly, crystalline echoes through her frame. Her muscles tightened, then loosened. Her skin flushed warm, then cooled to porcelain calm.
Leon, meanwhile, stayed still, steady as bedrock — his amethyst eyes half-lidded, aura quiet, guiding every wave precisely.
Inside his mind, the System spoke again.
[Bestowal ongoing.][Spiritual loss: minimal. Return pending after cooldown.]
Leon smirked inwardly.
"You make it sound like I’m taking a loss."
[Clarification: Host does not lose. Host never loses.]
A faint chuckle flickered across his thoughts.
"Good. Then keep calculating."
Selena’s cultivation kept rising.
Fifth star of Mana Requirement.Sixth.Seventh.
Her heartbeat quickened — but her aura stabilized, refined by the cold clarity of Divine Ice Bones. Sweat glimmered along her neck. Her breathing grew deeper, controlled.
Then —
Boom.
Her prefecture sea erupted like a thunderclap.
Mana shot upward, surging into every limb, every vein.
"Teacher—!"
Leon’s voice came firm, low.
"Hold it. Don’t panic. Let it flow through — then anchor it."
Her consciousness steadied.
She rode the current.
Eight star.Nine star.
Her body shimmered faintly — mist of frost curling around her shoulders. Space around her seemed to chill; even the stone beneath her feet cracked with thin white lines.
Her eyes, still closed, widened beneath her lids.
In one moment... all the way here?
She never could have imagined it.
The growth wasn’t gradual — it was like someone had carved open a path and pulled her forward by force.
And still, the power kept settling deeper — refining, strengthening, becoming truly hers.
Leon watched calmly.
So fast. Good resilience. No collapse. Divine Ice Bones really are monstrous...
Another surge rose.
Then—
Bang.
The bottleneck shattered.
A dark, profound brilliance flared in her core.
She stepped cleanly into the Onyx Realm.
Silence fell — deep, potent, charged.
Selena trembled.
Her fingers slowly curled into fists, testing the strength flowing through her. Her senses sharpened; the world became clearer — every breath, every sound, every pulse of Mana.
This wasn’t just cultivation.
It felt like rebirth.
And somewhere in the quiet, awe filled her chest.
Teacher... gave me this.
She didn’t dare open her eyes yet — afraid she might break the fragile, sacred stillness.
Leon withdrew his hands slowly.
His aura dimmed back into calm.
And deep inside, the System whispered:
[Bestowal complete.][Cooldown engaged.][Grand Return reward... calculating.]
Leon smiled faintly.
The storm had only just begun.
