Grand Return System

A Life Burned for Honor

"Haha...Shera, you are to actually try to prevent me?"

Dario’s laughing laugh like the wrath of the thunder boomed throughout the sky. It echoed all over the broken land, and every survivor within the remnant of Martial Emperor Tomb felt their hearts sink with fear.

Endless black miasma coiled around him like millions of venomous snakes, greedily swallowing the nearby light and turning him into a nightmare made of nothing but dark, living energy.

Even though the Strange Origin gnawed at his soul and shredded away the last vestiges of his consciousness, it seemed that even that process seemed inadequate of satiating its hunger and the dark lines covered him till death where his blood-red eyes gleamed like embers where the madness blazed like a raging fire.

He clutched his sword tight on his right hand. He then pressed his left hand on his forehead, struggling to contain the riot occurring within him with all of his might.

Then he laughed again.

Wild.

Cruel.

Like a demon god that had crawled out from the deepest abyss.

The oppressive pressure rolling off his body grew heavier with every passing breath, forcing countless students to stagger backward. Even the surrounding space seemed unable to endure his presence as violent waves of Mana distorted the sky.

Shera stood alone before him.

His robes fluttered violently beneath the surging shockwaves, yet his feet remained firmly planted upon the broken earth.

He understood better than anyone how impossible this battle truly was.

Mike was nowhere to be found.

Leon had vanished without a trace.

As the Disciplinary Guardian Elder of Celestis Academy, the Division Teacher, and one of the strongest Sage Realm experts within the Seven Division, there was no one else left to shoulder this burden.

If he stepped back...

Everyone behind him would die.

There was no retreat left for him.

Not anymore.

"Why wouldn’t I?" Shera replied loudly without retreating at all.

His voice rang through the battlefield with unwavering resolve.

Dario let out a cold, mocking laugh, his lips curling with undisguised contempt.

"An ant trying to shake a tree..." His eyes gleamed with ridicule as he looked down at Shera. "How laughable."

Shera met his gaze without flinching. The crushing pressure pressed against his body, yet his expression remained calm. After a brief silence, the corners of his mouth lifted into a faint, fearless smile.

"No." His voice was steady, carrying across the battlefield. "When an ant knows the tree cannot be moved, yet still chooses to stand its ground... that isn’t laughable."

He tightened his grip on his weapon.

"That is respectable."

The instant the final word fell, his aura erupted.

The moment those words left his mouth, his aura exploded.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shera pushed the Blood Drinking Skill to its absolute limit.

Boom!

His blood essence ignited.

Every drop of blood within his body burned like blazing crimson flames.

His heartbeat thundered louder than war drums.

His meridians groaned beneath the overwhelming surge of Mana as terrifying power erupted from every corner of his body.

The burning life force became fuel.

His remaining lifespan became the price.

The stronger his aura became...

The closer he moved toward death.

Violent crimson Mana spiraled around him, sweeping away the black mist surrounding the battlefield. The very heavens trembled beneath the collision of two terrifying powers.

His cultivation climbed relentlessly.

One star...

Another...

Again...

Until, at last—

It crossed the invisible boundary.

A legendary realm.

Silence swallowed the battlefield.

Everyone stared blankly at the figure standing before Dario.

No one could believe what they were witnessing.

"This is... a Pinnacle Realm?"

"How is that possible..."

Shock spread across every face.

Eyes widened.

Breathing stopped.

Shera had actually stepped into the Pinnacle Realm at this very moment.

The impossible had happened before their eyes.

Yet among everyone present, only Rex Vine truly understood the horrifying truth hidden behind that overwhelming aura.

His pupils narrowed.

He knew this technique.

He had witnessed its terrifying cost before.

Shera had not truly broken through.

He had burned every ounce of his blood essence.

He had sacrificed his own life.

Using his very existence as the price, he had forcefully elevated himself into the early stage of the Pinnacle Realm.

It was not a breakthrough.

It was a final blaze before extinction.

This...

Was the absolute limit of the Blood Drinking Skill.

The consequences were unimaginably severe.

Forcefully crossing an entire major realm tore apart the body’s foundation beyond repair. Even if Shera somehow survived today’s battle, the damage alone would likely claim his life soon afterward.

Victory...

Defeat...

Neither outcome promised survival.

He had already accepted death.

"Senior Brother!"

Sensing Shera’s terrifying Pinnacle Realm aura, Yaman’s eyes instantly turned crimson.

His grip on the spear tightened until his knuckles turned white.

His chest felt as though it had been pierced by countless blades.

Rage.

Pain.

Helplessness.

Every emotion crashed together inside him.

With a furious roar, he thrust his spear forward.

Boom!

Several elders from Sky Breaker Academy were blasted backward by the overwhelming force.

Without giving them a chance to recover, Yaman shouted at the retreating students.

"Leave. Leave as many as you can."

His voice cracked with grief.

No one among the Seven Division understood the Blood Drinking Skill better than they did.

They all knew what Shera had chosen.

He was buying their future...

With his own life.

Grief spread through the hearts of every elder and student of Celestis Academy.

Some lowered their heads.

Others clenched their fists until blood seeped from their palms.

Yet not a single one dared waste the sacrifice Shera had chosen to make.

Dario watched everything coldly.

Feeling Shera’s rapidly rising aura, he frowned slightly before the expression disappeared beneath another sinister smile.

"Haha, since you’re courting death, I’ll fulfill your wish."

His voice was filled with contempt.

To him, this desperate struggle changed nothing.

The outcome between a true Pinnacle Realm expert and someone who had forcefully stepped into that realm had already been decided.

Long ago...

His battle against Leon had proven that fact.

At that time, Leon possessed genuine Pinnacle Realm strength.