Grand Return System-Chapter 84: Sword Over Ashford

Sword Over Ashford

"Fellow cultivator Leon, this is all a misunderstanding. My senior brother didn’t mean that. He was just speaking casually. Please, don’t take it to heart."

Max stepped forward quickly, forcing a strained smile. His palms were already damp inside his sleeves. Inwardly, he cursed Magnus a thousand times. If not for that reckless pride, this matter would have ended cleanly.

He knew very well what kind of man Headmaster Mike of Celestis Academy was.

When Mike had been young, he had been a storm in human form—picking fights across kingdoms, challenging whoever displeased him. Though he had mellowed after taking the position of Headmaster, that fire had never truly extinguished. If word reached him that Sky Breaker Academy had openly disrespected him... Max didn’t dare imagine the outcome.

"Misunderstanding?"

Leon’s lips curved slightly—not in warmth, but in cold disdain. He descended slowly from the sky, midnight robes fluttering in the turbulent wind, thin amethyst embroidery glinting faintly beneath the sun.

His long black hair swayed behind him, framing those deep purple eyes that now carried unmistakable chill.

"I don’t think so," he said calmly.

His boots touched the fractured stone below without making a sound.

"If I hadn’t returned today... would my two students have been killed by you?"

Each word landed like a hammer.

"You three old fellows are truly shameless. Bullying the young and acting recklessly."

The accusation was not loud.

But it echoed.

Max felt heat rush to his face. He truly had not intended to bully anyone. This entire mess had spiraled out of control because Magnus insisted on posturing.

He opened his mouth again—

But Magnus suddenly stepped forward, his face dark and rigid.

"So what if I bullied them today?"

The air snapped.

Even the surrounding onlookers inhaled sharply.

As a sage Realm cultivator with several stars of attainment, Magnus possessed pride carved by decades of cultivation. He refused to believe he would lose to someone who had only just stepped into the same realm.

Max nearly fainted.

You fool!

"Good. Very good..." Leon murmured softly.

His tone was light.

Too light.

"So there’s no room for negotiation, is that it?"

He spread his hands slightly.

If there was no negotiation—then only action remained.

A Teacher who could not defend his students had no right to call himself one.

The moment his words faded—

The world shifted.

Within dozens of kilometers, every blade of grass trembled.

Leaves quivered violently.

Branches bent inward.

It was as if the entire land had suddenly awakened.

An overwhelming sword intent surged outward.

The air froze.

The temperature plummeted.

Under that invisible pressure, sweat poured down foreheads despite the chill.

Rex Vine rose from the rooftop immediately, eyes blazing.

"This... this level of Sword Principal..."

His voice trembled—not in fear, but excitement.

"This man’s attainments have reached such a height. He is not inferior to Respected Zeon in his prime."

Behind him, Jadis of the Soft Water Divine Sect narrowed his eyes, a faint smile curving his lips.

"Do you feel it?" Jadis said quietly. "The vegetation itself carries his blade. His sword is everywhere within this domain."

Indeed—

Grass shimmered with killing intent.

Leaves sliced the air without moving.

The ground hummed faintly.

Leon stood unmoving in the violent wind. He had not drawn a weapon. Not even the First Mist Immortal Sword.

He simply stood there.

Controlling everything. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

That casual dominance unsettled everyone present.

Max and Mason’s expressions turned pale.

They had already cursed Magnus countless times in their hearts.

But retreat was impossible now.

"Get into formation!" Magnus roared.

The three exchanged a single glance—years of tacit understanding locking into place.

In an instant, a Heaven-Earth-Human formation erupted around them. Spiritual cores surged, mana interlocking, forming a massive defensive barrier.

Power exploded outward to meet the incoming sword tide.

Leon’s right hand rose slowly to his chest.

His eyes dimmed slightly.

Then—

He attacked.

Without blade.

Without step.

Thousands of invisible sword arcs descended from the sky.

Above them, a colossal phantom blade condensed, tearing through clouds as it fell.

"Hold on!" Magnus roared, veins bulging.

He unleashed his full power, stars within his sage Realm burning brightly. Max and Mason poured everything into the formation.

The massive sword crashed down.

Boom—

The earth ruptured.

Stone shattered.

Buildings collapsed like paper.

The shockwave flattened the surrounding streets.

Observers staggered backward, eyes wide with awe.

"Heavens... this is true supreme sword technique."

Dust swallowed the battlefield.

For a heartbeat, nothing could be seen.

Then—

Leon descended lightly from the sky, robes barely disturbed.

The dust parted.

Three figures lay collapsed amid cracked stone.

Magnus coughed violently.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood splattered onto the ground.

The arrogance in his eyes had vanished.

What remained was raw disbelief.

He couldn’t even withstand one strike.

His confidence shattered. His Principal heart trembled. For a terrifying moment, he felt his realm falter, unstable.

Max lay to the side, chest heaving.

Mason struggled to rise, but failed.

Silence consumed Ashford City.

From behind the rubble—

"Master!"

Vita Zain rushed forward, panic burning in his eyes. Seeing Max fallen, anger overtook reason.

He turned toward Leon with hatred.

"I’ll fight it out with you!"

He drew his sword and charged recklessly.

The blade aimed straight for Leon’s chest.

But—

It stopped.

Exactly one inch away.

No barrier was visible.

No movement from Leon.

Yet the sword refused to advance.

Vita’s face twisted in disbelief.

Leon glanced at him.

Just one glance.

Calm.

Cold.

He lifted a hand casually.

A flick of invisible force sent Vita flying like a broken kite, crashing violently against shattered stone.

Rex Vine laughed softly from above.

"This boy truly does not know the immensity of heaven and earth."

"That is a sage Realm cultivator. He hasn’t even reached Astral Realm stars, yet he dares to attack."

He shook his head with faint amusement.

"It may appear an inch apart, but that inch is like the ends of the earth."

His gaze sharpened slightly.

"This is the enormous gulf beyond the GrandMaster Realm."

On the rooftops, Fiona and Yasmin stood quietly.

Fiona’s azure hair fluttered gently in the lingering sword wind. Her teal eyes, once proud and aloof, now held something unfamiliar.

Respect.

No.

Something deeper.

She had met countless geniuses.

Saints.

Heirs.

Peak figures of this era.

Men who carried dazzling reputations like blazing suns.

Yet before Leon—

All of them seemed like muddy water compared to a clear celestial spring.

Yasmin’s golden eyes gleamed faintly.

"He didn’t even draw his sword..."

Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"And he controls the domain itself..."

For the first time, their hearts stirred—not because of status, not because of rumor.

But because of presence.

Leon did not posture.

Did not boast.

He simply stood there.

And the world obeyed.

Below, Selena’s blue eyes shimmered faintly. Relief softened her icy expression. The fitted snow-white robe fluttered gently around her slender waist as she exhaled quietly.

Rias stood beside her, red silk robes dancing in the wind, her red eyes bright with pride.

Their Teacher had arrived.

And the sky itself had bowed.

The gap between Astral Realm and GrandMaster Realm...

Was a vast watershed no ordinary cultivator could cross.