[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-grand-return-system":3,"chapter-grand-return-system-grand-return-system-chapter-43":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Grand Return System",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1080213,1397,"Chapter 43: Sword Intent Beneath the Crimson Sky","grand-return-system-chapter-43",43,"\u003Cp>Sword Intent Beneath the Crimson Sky\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Freddy Lavahound’s smile turned sharp the moment he noticed Harry Taylor ignoring him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a split second, something ugly flickered across his face — a crack in the polished arrogance he wore like a crown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instant displeasure flickered across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What’s this?\" Freddy drawled, voice dripping with mockery. \"Who dares make our Young Master Taylor look so pale? Tell me who it is. I’ll help you vent your anger...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped closer as he spoke, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve. The tone was playful, lazy even — but his eyes were sharp, measuring. Hunting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tone was playful — but his eyes were probing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry shot him a sideways glance filled with contempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tsk.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound was quiet, but it carried enough disdain to slice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t act concerned,\" Harry muttered. \"You’re enjoying this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Freddy chuckled under his breath. \"Enjoying what? Watching you look like you’ve seen a ghost?\" He leaned slightly closer. \"Or is it something worse?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry’s jaw tightened. His fingers twitched at his side — a reflex he quickly suppressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I said drop it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh?\" Freddy’s brow lifted. \"Now I’m curious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was about to retort when—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two figures in white descended slowly from the side, robes stirring lightly in the heated wind. They landed at the same level as them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not violently. Not loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But everyone felt it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fabric of their robes fluttered with an eerie grace, untouched by the chaos of the surroundings. Their presence pressed down subtly, like a weight settling over the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry glanced back casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then his pupils shrank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What the... him again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice dropped, almost swallowed by the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chill crept up his spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The memory surfaced uninvited — that oppressive aura, that suffocating pressure, the feeling of standing before something vast and merciless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Freddy noticed the shift instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who?\" he asked quietly, the teasing edge gone now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry didn’t answer right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze was locked forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside Elder White, Elder Black leaned in slightly and explained in a hushed voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s him,\" Elder Black murmured, eyes steady. \"The one from before. The swordsman.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder White’s expression subtly changed. He turned and examined Leon carefully, attempting to gauge his depth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar, Leon looked unremarkable — calm posture, steady breathing, no visible surge of energy. Just a man standing quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder White narrowed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Strange,\" he muttered. \"I can’t see through him.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Be cautious,\" Elder Black warned softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment his perception brushed Leon’s aura—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not a clash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A silent blade flashed across his consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Invisible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intangible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet razor sharp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no light. No sound. Only the pure sensation of something cold and absolute passing through the edges of his awareness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder White’s soul trembled violently, nearly sliced by an unseen sword intent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t an attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A boundary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A single breath more, and he would have stepped across it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hiss...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His breath hitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The color drained faintly from his face, and he took half a step back before catching himself. Elder Black’s eyes sharpened instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What did you see?\" Elder Black asked quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder White swallowed once, steadying his racing heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What astonishing sword intent... This man’s mastery of the Sword has reached such a realm...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At his level, one who stepped into the King Realm had already touched the threshold of Sword Soul. The body itself could become a blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Leon—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood there calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No aura fluctuations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No visible pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet the air around him was filled with dormant killing intent — like a sheathed divine sword that would strike back the moment one dared offend it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most terrifying part?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sword energy activated on its own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without movement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder White felt a bead of cold sweat slide down his temple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man... was far more dangerous than he had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon paid them no attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze fell upon the towering beast below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flames spiraled around its massive body. Every breath it exhaled ignited the air itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ancient Descendant... Inferno Kong,\" Leon murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the True Prime Mantra, detailed records described such bloodline beasts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ancient bloodlines were not merely about strength. They carried inherited fragments of ancient will — instinctual Sacred Arts etched into bone and blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inferno Kong’s muscles rippled like molten stone. Crimson fire patterns burned across its fur. Its roar shook the sky, and the ground fractured beneath its fists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its eyes were wild.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corrupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon narrowed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It has lost rationality... Something has eroded its mind. It has fallen into demonic madness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was no natural hunt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was slaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young Master Taylor... where are you going?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A familiar voice cut through the tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon turned slightly, amused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ten meters to the side, two elders and a handsome young man were attempting to slip away discreetly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry Taylor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment their eyes met—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry’s face turned the color of ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it...\" he cursed inwardly. Am I tied to this guy by fate?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Freddy’s mocking presence behind him only made matters worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Escape was impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry forced a smile so stiff it looked painful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hehe... Senior. What a coincidence. We meet again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s lips curved faintly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh? Isn’t this the filial Young Master Taylor?\" he said lazily. \"What a coincidence indeed. Why are you leaving the moment you see me? Do I look frightening?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry’s scalp prickled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course not! Senior is handsome, elegant, extraordinary in bearing. Even at my peak I wouldn’t dare offend you. Countless beauties must already admire you. How could you be frightening?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flattery flowed shamelessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dignity?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was dignity compared to survival?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s eyes held amusement, but his posture remained composed — calm and dignified, which only made Harry more uneasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can Elder White defeat him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why do I meet this monster everywhere?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His luck truly was cursed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tsk tsk...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange, mocking sound rose again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry’s jaw tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need to look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Freddy Lavahound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Freddy stepped forward, folding his arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I say, Young Master Taylor,\" he said with a crooked smile, \"since when did you become so obedient?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harry’s fingers curled tightly inside his sleeves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The humiliation burned hotter than the flames below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he endured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A little impatience spoils great plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Endure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He refused to glance back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Above them—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inferno Kong let out another earth-shattering roar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky cracked with flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The real battle was about to begin.\u003C\u002Fp>",1081,"2026-06-03T10:40:08.506Z","2026-06-03T10:40:16.814Z",1,"novelbin.me","8f6c94b31d41482bd2980211d264ff2508349467c28caa52fa1a23b7140333e4","grand-return-system-chapter-44","grand-return-system-chapter-42",234,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fgrand-return-system-cover.jpg"]