Grand Return System-Chapter 8: Seclusion and Awakening

Seclusion and Awakening

"I will remember this."

A flicker of agreement passed through Leon’s eyes as he raised his fingers slightly, turning away. A quiet motion, barely there, yet clear enough to signal it was time to go.

"I’ll be in seclusion for a few days. If you run into something you don’t understand during cultivation, don’t advance blindly. Wait. When I come out, I’ll answer everything."

Selena dipped low, fingers locked together. She stood quiet after that move, still as a breath held too long. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Teacher, please rest assured. I will not neglect my training. I will cultivate diligently."

"Mm. Go."

Back she walked, fast feet tapping stone, gaze sharp with light, making her way to the little timber shelter perched where the Amethyst Summit Division fades into forest.

Right then, after shutting the door, her excitement almost burst out. She held it back just enough.

Fingers moved slow, lifting the Purple Mist Mana Sutra like something fragile. Cross-legged on the floor, she cracked the cover open - careful, quiet. Reverence showed in how her hands held it, not just touched.

Her breath slowed.

Her heart steadied.

Soon enough, shapes and symbols started making sense inside her thoughts. Puzzling notes slipped into place without warning. Runes glowed faintly behind her eyes like old memories waking up.

Mana responded inside her body.

Her eyes snapped open, frozen in surprise.

"...This divine bone really is miraculous."

Water-soft mana slipped along a path born just now, shaped without warning. Guided by ice-deep bones, her body adjusted on its own - errors fading before thought caught up.

A quiet breath slipped out as she touched her chest, fingers light. Her gaze settled into something warmer.

This thing started making sense when the teacher showed up.

Facing every storm - still, her loyalty held fast.

"I must cultivate. I must obtain a ranking in the Seven Divisions Martial Meeting. I won’t disappoint Teacher."

She didn’t wait for dawn.

Her ankles met once more, one foot swinging slightly above the floor.

Breath. Stillness. Immersion.

Faster than a dropped stone, she slipped into practice.

Should she reach the Onyx Realm ahead of Leon, he’d walk into something unexpected.

-

Meanwhile -

Footsteps faded behind him as Leon stepped past the hall’s edge, moving toward the mountain’s hollow core. Inside, silence wrapped around stone walls, marking the hidden room where fighters learned their craft.

Here is where Zeon lived, through nearly all the years he could recall.

Quiet. Sealed. Undisturbed.

Perfect.

A heavy slab slid shut behind them. Silence followed.

Fog crept across the land. Night folded itself into every corner. Shadows stretched without warning.

He exhaled.

"System. Activate Return."

[Ding...]

A flash of insight passes between you and the student. The Purple Mist Mana Sutra takes root unexpectedly fast. A ripple forms in the flow - something reacts sharply. Response required: begin now?

"Activate."

A flicker of brightness danced at the edge of his mind.

Ah, there it is, host. Ten thousand times what you gave now sits yours. The prize? A sacred chant - forged at creation’s core, called True Prime Mantra

A gasp hit Leon’s lungs hard.

"God-grade... I’m really rich."

Waves of ancient sketches on bone flooded his thoughts. Star maps followed close behind. Deep writings arrived just after, one by one.

Curious about picking up something new? Maybe it is time to start

"Yes."

A weight settled within, bright as stone. Heavy knowing filled the space.

One thing clicked right away, though understanding everything would come later.

His eyes flicked to the greenish flask tucked inside his coat.

Inside:

Immortal Body Refine Elixir.

He smirked.

"If I take this... breaking through the Onyx Realm - maybe even to the Astral Realm - shouldn’t be impossible."

A piece flew up, then dropped between his lips.

"Hehe. I’m going to eat you. Don’t worry. I’m gentle."

It vanished just then -

Power detonated.

A hum surged deep inside each channel, pressing hard into flesh, cracking along joints, surging within veins. Then silence.

Leon’s face twisted.

"Holy - this elixir is insane. I was careless!"

Shaking took hold of him, fierce and sudden. The tremors ran deep, impossible to stop.

Fine drops of red slipped through his skin, staining the cloth he wore.

A single bound toward the sky comes at a cost. What it takes might surprise you.

Teeth clenched, he pulled air in slow, shaping the wild force through steps of the True Prime Mantra. Each motion followed an older rhythm, unasked but known. The power surged, yet moved where directed, like river meeting stone. Breath by breath, it bent without breaking. Not calm - controlled. A pulse within staying just ahead of collapse. Patterns repeated, deeper than thought. Energy answered only because he did not stop.

A wave rushed forward - suddenly swept everything clear.

Fires ate through flaws. Strength packed tighter. Outward it grew, his inner essence.

Then -

Beneath the quiet reach of his coastal waters.

A lotus slowly formed.

Purple. Radiant. Majestic.

A hush fell across his thoughts. Stunned silence filled Leon’s mind.

Right then, recognition hit. He understood without needing proof.

"Purple Lotus of the Great Principal..."

And then -

A shake ran through him, head to toe.

His physique transformed.

Through his bones, a deep hum crawled - old beyond memory, wide as stone, carrying weight without sound.

Primordial Principal Physics.

If a person found divine bones once in every million tries...

This moment came once, never to repeat.

One strange base holds us all up.

A single family, no matter how wealthy, might still fail. So could institutions built over centuries, despite endless effort. Generations passing down knowledge wouldn’t guarantee it.

Still, there it stood.

From above came strength, returned again to flesh, lighting each holy skill within sight. While some fought to understand, clear insight met him - thresholds falling open.

His breath deepened.

Up climbed mana, one level after another.

"I’m rich. I’m really rich this time..."

A shiver of thrill ran down his spine - yet he stayed steady.

Not now.

Still, the Immortal Body Refine Elixir pulsed with force. Though quiet, its energy moved like a current beneath skin.

Down he settled, hands flat on his thighs, body folding deep into practice. Up surged his awareness, rising - pausing - rising once more.

Earlier, he figured it would be something like this

Maybe the Astral Realm was within grasp, he figured.

Yet inside his body lingered traces of endless power

Was still rising.

His gaze tightened, sharp edges forming at the corners of his vision.

"...No."

His heart steadied.

Let’s go higher.

A breath came in deep, steady, without hesitation.

"Yes. Let’s break through to the GrandMaster Realm."

A low shake ran through the stone.

The stillness of the peak grew deeper, as if pausing mid-thought.