Grand Return System

Gareth’s Dark Body

"Ever since I discovered this magical power, I began to think about how to absorb it."

His voice carried a faint trace of pride.

"For safety’s sake, I didn’t absorb it directly. Instead, I set up a trap for my student to accidentally discover this power."

Leon’s eyes became colder.

Gareth continued.

"Knowing him, I’m sure he can’t resist the temptation of such great power. As expected, after he discovered this power, he couldn’t wait to absorb it."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Even the people watching from below seemed to forget how to breathe.

Leon stared at Gareth.

Then he finally understood.

The student Gareth was talking about was Dario.

Dario.

That old man had been used as a test subject.

Gareth had deliberately placed the strange aura before him, knowing exactly what would happen.

He had wanted someone else to walk into the darkness first.

A cold feeling settled in Leon’s heart.

This old man was ruthless.

Far too ruthless.

He hadn’t merely been willing to gamble with his own life.

He had been willing to gamble with the life of his own student.

He had deliberately created a trap and waited for Dario to discover it.

He wanted Dario to experience the strange aura.

He wanted to observe its effects.

And he wanted to find a way to control it without paying the price himself.

Leon slowly exhaled.

A strange thought suddenly crossed his mind.

His expression became slightly complicated.

He thought of his two precious students.

Selena.

Rias.

Those two were his little darlings.

Whenever they were in danger, his first instinct was to protect them.

Whenever they suffered even the slightest injury, his heart would ache.

How could he ever deliberately use them as experiments?

How could he push them toward danger simply to learn whether something was safe?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

"Eh..."

Leon blinked.

He suddenly felt a lingering fear in his heart.

Whoever encountered such a Teacher would probably die without even knowing how.

Compared to Gareth, Leon suddenly felt that he was too great.

Where can they find a Teacher as good as him?

Gareth did not care about Dario’s death at all.

In his eyes, there was only the orthodoxy in front of him and the supreme power he had pursued for countless years. The death of one student meant nothing compared with the possibility of transcending his own limits.

As long as he could completely master the strange aura, creating another Dario would not be difficult.

The dark mist around him continued to churn.

It moved like living smoke, winding around his body and seeping into his pores. Every breath he took caused the surrounding Mana to tremble. Beneath that terrifying pressure, even the air seemed to grow heavier.

Gareth slowly raised his head.

There was a strange brightness in his blood-red eyes.

"After he finished absorbing the strange aura, I discovered the flaw of this power. After consulting many ancient books, I finally found a perfect method. That is to sacrifice my body to the darkness, to sacrifice the blood of a million living beings, and to refine my Dark Body."

His voice was calm.

Too calm.

There was no remorse in it.

No hesitation.

Only the cold satisfaction of someone who believed that everything he had done was justified by the power he had gained.

Blood energy began to surge from Gareth’s body.

It rolled beneath his skin like crimson rivers.

His muscles tightened.

His aura climbed again.

And as he spoke, the expression in his eyes gradually became more distorted, more feverish, until the calmness he had once possessed disappeared completely.

"The stronger a person is, the more shocking the effects of the blood sacrifice."

Gareth stretched out his hand.

A strand of black energy wrapped around his fingers.

It twisted slowly, like a poisonous serpent.

"Originally, I wanted to wait until the blood was completely absorbed and the strange aura was completely stabilized before choosing to expose myself."

He paused.

For a moment, the battlefield became strangely quiet.

Even the violent winds seemed to hesitate.

Then Gareth’s gaze shifted toward Leon.

The hatred buried within his eyes erupted.

"I didn’t expect..."

His voice dropped.

The muscles around his jaw tightened.

At this point, Gareth’s eyes turned ruthless. Leon had disrupted his plan, shattered the careful preparations he had spent so long making, and forced him to reveal his greatest secret before he was ready.

His killing intent instantly soared.

"Kid, you’re the one who ruined my plans. It just so happens that I can borrow your blood to refine my perfect body."

The final word had barely left his mouth.

Boom!

Gareth vanished.

A strange dark palm suddenly appeared before Leon.

It carried an oppressive aura that seemed capable of swallowing the heavens themselves.

The moment that palm descended, the surrounding light dimmed.

The sky lost its brilliance.

The earth lost its color.

Even the distant mountains seemed to become shadows beneath that terrifying darkness.

In an instant, the world lost its color.

The power of a peak-level pinnacle cultivator actually caused the void to tremble.

Cracks appeared in the air.

They spread like shattered glass before slowly healing.

Leon’s purple eyes narrowed.

He did not take the attack head-on this time.

His long, shoulder-length black hair whipped violently behind him as he moved.

His midnight robes, decorated with thin amethyst embroideries, fluttered in the violent wind.

Leon’s figure blurred.

Using the Sky Sovereign Golden Eagle Sacred Agile Scripture, he instantly left the position where Gareth’s palm had fallen.

Boom!

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Authors Notes: Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Grand Return System* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!

With love,

Scoturn777

Creator of Grand Return System

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