Crown of Three Blossoms
The wind gradually stilled.
A glow hovered just above Leon’s head, drawing tighter bit by bit - like dusk pulling in light. Where wild energy once tore through the lake’s edge, a quiet weight now pooled, thickening the air.
Frozen mid-step, Selena only deepened Rias’s confusion. Then again.
Out of nowhere, the teacher was speaking about growing things beneath the pale glow. A soft warning slipped out when she asked too many questions. Nothing hinted at what ca next.
And yet now -
Out of nowhere, he pushed past the barrier. A sudden shift cracked open what was sealed tight before.
By himself.
Without warning.
A flicker of surprise crossed her face, those red eyes growing just a touch wider. The light clinging to his form was slipping away, dimming like embers losing their heat. She held still, watching it fade into nothing.
How does soone just... step into the sage Realm like that?
Even with her limited experience, she understood what that ant.
This was no minor advancent.
This was crossing into the Venerable seats.
Although stunned, Rias quickly recovered. The initial shock lted into bright excitent.
She turned to Selena with barely restrained delight.
"Senior Sister," she said, her voice light and thrilled, "looks like we will have a sage Realm as our backer in the future. Let’s see who dares to bully us."
Selena blinked — then laughed softly.
There was pride in her eyes.
She knew Leon’s temperant better than anyone here.
Protective.
Terrifyingly so.
If anyone dared to humiliate his students, he would not care about status or reputation. He would suppress them personally.
She had experienced that protection before.
A faint tension she had been carrying for days finally eased.
Before, she had worried that the Lavahound household from Ashford City would seek revenge. Leon had humiliated them publicly. A powerful household would never swallow such sha easily.
But now?
Selena’s lips curved.
Let them try.
A sage Realm was no small figure. Even within Celestis Academy, only two sat in that position — Headmaster Mike and Guardian Elder Shera.
In the royal palace, even the Son of Heaven would treat such a person with respect.
A re Lavahound household?
Insignificant.
Rias, however, was thinking even further.
Her fingers tightened unconsciously around the hem of her red robe.
If her father learned that she had acknowledged a sage Realm as her Teacher...
Would he dare to send n to bring her back?
No.
Not even the Drake Empire would provoke Celestis Academy lightly.
Not when a sage Realm stood behind her.
For the first ti since she had stepped onto this path, she felt true relief.
She could remain here.
She could cultivate.
She could choose.
Her gaze returned to Leon, glowing faintly in the golden afterlight.
I chose correctly...
—
After an unknown period of ti, the radiance fully condensed.
Leon’s breathing steadied.
Inside him, violent dragon essence finally quieted.
He felt it clearly now.
His five life springs — heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys — had been tempered by the Pri Dragon fragnt. Mana circulated through them in perfect rhythm, forming a complete internal cycle.
Above his spiritual core, the Principal Flower that had once blood alone now resonated with two additional embryonic forms.
They were faint.
Unopened.
Yet unmistakable.
Three spiritual blossoms aligned within his being.
"Three Crowned Blossoms..."
Leon murmured inwardly.
That was the na he chose for this path.
Most cultivators ford a single Principal Flower to represent their system.
But he—
Because of his primordial Principal Physics and the Pri Dragon’s refinent—
Had awakened a triple resonance.
The first blossom represented the sage Realm.
The second embryonic blossom corresponded to pinnacle Realm.
The third would align with Martial sovereign Realm.
When all three fully blood and reached their summit, he would stand at the threshold of the Martial Emperor Realm.
His pulse quickened.
Does that an...
I truly possess the potential to step into the Martial Emperor Realm?
Ten thousand years.
No Martial Emperor had appeared in the human race for ten thousand years.
And yet—
He could see the path.
Faint.
Distant.
But real.
His lips tightened as he cald himself.
Slow down.
The Grand Return System gave him opportunities, yes. But cultivation was not built on excitent.
It was built on foundation.
He had just entered the early stage of sage Realm — first star.
His breakthrough had been too rapid. The Pri Dragon bone was not fully refined.
If he grew greedy now, he might damage his foundation.
Leon exhaled slowly.
Stabilize first.
Power without control was poison.
The remaining dragon essence settled deeper into his flesh, reinforcing the Golden Physic of Pri Dragon. His skin faintly shimred before returning to normal, golden runes fading beneath the surface.
Only then did he slowly open his eyes.
The world felt different.
Sharper.
He could sense Mana fluctuations across the entire lakeside. The ripples in the water. The trembling leaves. Even the subtle warmth radiating from Rias’ divine bone.
Three figures stood before him.
Selena, silver hair dancing in the night wind, blue eyes wide with admiration she tried — and failed — to hide.
Rias, crimson gaze shining openly, excitent and sothing softer mixing together.
And behind them, Akeno, purple hair cascading down her back, smiling faintly as though she had expected nothing less.
Selena swallowed.
Teacher... already sage Realm...
Her chest tightened with pride.
But also pressure.
She had thought her progress fast.
Now she understood just how far ahead he stood.
If I don’t work harder... I’ll never even glimpse his back.
Rias felt sothing else entirely.
When Leon’s eyes opened, they seed deeper.
Colder.
Stronger.
But when they landed on her, the severity softened slightly.
Her heart skipped.
He did this... after giving that precious bone.
Was it coincidence?
Or was her presence tied to this turning point?
Her fingers curled slightly at her side.
The man before her was no longer rely a powerful Teacher.
He was soone who stood at the threshold of legend.
Leon looked at the three girls, their eyes blinking in stunned silence.
The wind rustled between them.
The night felt still.
And heavy with possibility.
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