Grand Return System

The Price of Playing Dumb

"Harry only spoke a few words in our defense."

"And for that..."

"He was struck down."

Silence followed.

The breeze that had been gently blowing across the battlefield suddenly felt strangely cold.

Leon lowered his head slightly.

His expression revealed almost nothing.

But both Selena and Rias knew him well enough to understand.

Their Teacher...

Was angry.

Truly angry.

Not because someone had challenged him.

Not because another Powerful Sect had offended Celestis Academy.

But because someone had dared harm people under his protection.

Harry had defended his students.

For Leon...

That alone was enough.

A Teacher never forgot kindness shown toward his students.

Nor did he forgive those who abused their strength against the weak.

Leon slowly lifted his head.

"I understand."

Only two words.

Yet an invisible pressure quietly spread from him.

Even the nearby cultivators instinctively stepped aside.

His gaze slowly moved across the battlefield before stopping on a group preparing to depart.

The Prison Holy Sect.

Their disciples had already begun organizing themselves for the journey home.

At the front stood the elder leading them.

Sirius.

The moment Leon’s eyes locked onto him...

Sirius felt his heart violently tremble.

An indescribable chill crawled up his spine.

He instinctively looked toward Leon.

The memories of today’s battle flashed through his mind one after another.

The destruction of Sky Breaker Academy.

The overwhelming strength Leon had displayed.

The terrifying sword that had rewritten the battlefield itself.

Everything resurfaced at once.

Cold sweat formed across Sirius’s forehead.

He knew exactly what kind of monster stood before him.

Sky Breaker Academy...

A force feared throughout the Fallen Leaf Domain...

Had been erased within a single day.

If Leon wished...

The Prison Holy Sect would not fare any better.

Sirius had deliberately stayed out of the battle.

Once Sky Breaker Academy fell, his only intention had been to leave immediately with his students.

The sooner they departed...

The better.

Yet now...

Leon was looking directly at him.

That gaze alone made breathing difficult.

"...This is bad."

His heartbeat quickened.

Without turning around, Sirius quietly spoke to the students behind him.

"Move."

"We’re leaving."

"Immediately."

His voice remained steady.

Only he knew how hard he was forcing himself to remain calm.

Unfortunately...

Fate had no intention of letting him leave so easily.

Before he could take another step...

A cold voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Leaving?"

Leon stood with his hands behind his back, his midnight robes fluttering gently in the wind.

"You may leave today."

His purple eyes never left Sirius.

"But sooner or later..."

"I’ll personally visit the Prison Holy Sect."

"When that day comes..."

"You can bear the consequences yourselves."

The words were calm.

Yet every cultivator who heard them felt a chill run through their body.

Sirius’s face immediately turned pale.

It felt as though he had fallen into an endless abyss.

He knew exactly what those words meant.

He could escape today.

But he couldn’t escape forever.

When Leon climbed the Prison Holy Sect’s mountain...

The consequences would be beyond imagination.

For a brief moment...

He even wanted to strangle the elder responsible for provoking Selena and Harry.

If not for that reckless decision...

None of this would have happened.

Suppressing the panic in his heart, Sirius forced himself to maintain a composed expression.

He slowly turned around and cupped his hands politely.

"Fellow cultivator..."

"What do you mean by this?"

"As far as I know..."

"The Prison Holy Sect has never offended Celestis Academy..."

His voice remained respectful, but the stiffness in his posture betrayed the turmoil raging inside him. Cold sweat dampened his back beneath his robes. He had witnessed Leon’s terrifying strength with his own eyes. Every word he spoke now had to be chosen with the utmost care.

The battlefield grew eerily quiet.

Cultivators from every Powerful Sect slowed their movements, their attention instinctively drawn toward the confrontation. Even the wind seemed to lose its voice as an invisible pressure settled over the ruined land.

Leon said nothing at first.

His midnight robes embroidered with fine amethyst threads fluttered gently in the breeze as he walked forward one measured step at a time.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Each footfall echoed through the silent battlefield like the tolling of a bell.

A faint smile rested upon his handsome face.

It was calm.

Almost gentle.

Yet everyone present felt a chill run down their spine.

Those who had witnessed him destroy Sky Breaker Academy knew better than anyone else.

When Leon smiled like this...

Someone was about to suffer.

He stopped only a few meters away from Sirius.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly.

"So..."

"It seems you enjoy pretending not to know."

His smile never faded.

Leon slowly raised his right hand.

His fingers moved ever so slightly.

In an instant—

A terrifying sword intent erupted from his fingertips.

Buzz!

The surrounding air trembled violently.

The invisible sword intent was so sharp that cracks spread across the ground beneath his feet. Tiny pebbles floated into the air before silently crumbling into dust.

Every cultivator’s expression changed dramatically.

Some instinctively retreated several steps.

Others unconsciously held their breath.

Even the elders from the surrounding Powerful Sects felt their hearts tighten.

No one doubted it.

If Leon wished...

That single strand of sword intent would be enough to kill countless people before they even realized what had happened.

His purple eyes remained fixed on Sirius.

"There is a limit to my patience."

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

"You won’t repent until you’ve hit a wall..."

"...isn’t that right?"

The words landed like invisible blades.

Sirius’s face instantly turned pale.

His heart sank as though it had fallen into the depths of a frozen lake.

He understood.

There was no escaping this anymore.

Leon had already made his intentions perfectly clear.

He wasn’t here to negotiate.

He was here...

To seek justice for his students.

If today’s explanation failed to satisfy him...

The fate awaiting the Prison Holy Sect would likely be no different from that of Sky Breaker Academy.