Chapter 461: Zeon’s Sole Disciple

Zeon’s Sole Disciple

Then he answered calmly.

"Celestis Acedmy, Amethyst Summit Division, Division Head and Respected Zeon’s sole student, Leon..."

"What!"

The moment those words fell, Gareth’s expression changed.

The name struck him harder than any blade.

Those familiar titles.

That familiar lineage.

And above all—

Zeon.

The man whose existence had once been like a mountain pressing down on his heart.

For a brief moment, Gareth simply stared at Leon.

The surrounding battlefield seemed to grow quieter.

Even the thunder rolling through the distant clouds appeared faint compared to the silence between them.

"Respected Zeon’s student?"

Gareth repeated the words slowly.

His eyes narrowed.

A strange mixture of disbelief and anger began to rise within them.

He had never imagined that the young man standing before him would be connected to Zeon.

Not merely connected.

His sole student.

Gareth’s gaze moved over Leon from head to toe.

Long, shoulder-length black hair drifted behind him in the wind.

His purple eyes were calm.

Too calm.

There was no fear.

No hesitation.

His midnight robes moved gently, thin amethyst embroideries glimmering beneath the cold light of the sky.

He simply stood there.

One foot resting upon the Supreme Demon Sword.

Yet that seemingly casual posture made Gareth feel an enormous pressure.

It was not the pressure of ordinary cultivation.

It was something deeper.

Something that touched the soul.

Gareth’s fingers slowly curled into fists.

"So it’s really you..."

His voice was low.

He had once believed that after Zeon died, the greatest obstacle standing before him had finally disappeared.

For so many years, that shadow had remained buried in his heart.

He had endured humiliation.

He had endured fear.

He had waited.

And when Zeon finally disappeared from this world, Gareth had believed his time had come.

He had believed there would no longer be anyone capable of standing above him.

Yet now—

Zeon’s student had appeared.

And judging from the aura radiating from Leon, he was not much weaker than his Teacher had been.

Gareth’s breathing gradually became heavier.

"How..."

For so many years, that shadow had remained buried in his heart.

His lips moved, but the word barely escaped.

How could this be?

He had already overcome the greatest obstacle of his life.

Why was fate refusing to let him go?

His suppressed emotions began to surge.

The fear.

The humiliation.

The unwillingness.

All of it came rushing back.

Gareth gritted his teeth.

"No."

His voice became firmer.

"I refuse to believe this."

He slowly straightened his body.

The injuries he had suffered moments ago seemed insignificant compared to the rage burning inside him.

His body trembled.

Then—

He rose.

Slowly at first.

His feet left the ground.

Mana surged beneath his robes, lifting him higher into the sky.

The surrounding space began to distort.

Invisible ripples spread outward.

It was as if some unseen force had awakened within the heavens themselves.

In that mysterious world beyond ordinary perception, it seemed as though the will of heaven had already been written long ago.

Zeon had been his destined nemesis.

Even after Zeon’s death, that fate had not ended.

His student had appeared to continue it.

Gareth refused to accept it.

He absolutely refused.

"If Zeon could suppress me..."

His eyes turned cold.

"Then I’ll suppress his student!"

With that thought, he pushed his power to its absolute limit.

Boom!

The sky exploded with thunder.

A terrifying bolt of lightning tore through the clouds.

The darkness above suddenly brightened.

Purple-white lightning crawled across the heavens like enormous serpents.

Everyone below instinctively looked upward.

"This is a heaven-grade secret technique?"

Someone cried out in disbelief.

The question immediately spread through the crowd.

Everyone could feel it.

The pressure had changed.

Gareth was no longer holding anything back.

The thunder grew louder.

One bolt became ten.

Ten became hundreds.

Then thousands of strands of lightning intertwined across the sky.

Gareth stood within the center of the storm.

His robes whipped violently around him.

His long hair danced wildly.

His eyes were filled with terrifying determination.

The aura around him continued to climb.

"What a shocking aura..."

An elder swallowed hard.

"Is this the true strength of a peerless pinnacle?"

Nobody answered.

They could not.

Everyone was staring at the same figure.

The power radiating from Gareth had already exceeded their understanding.

Even those standing far away felt their legs become heavy.

Some weaker cultivators instinctively retreated.

One step.

Then another.

They did not even realize they were moving.

The pressure was simply too overwhelming.

Gareth slowly raised both hands.

Lightning gathered between his palms.

The thunder became deafening.

Then he pushed his hands outward.

Boom!

Ten thousand bolts of lightning descended.

They did not fall randomly.

Each strand moved with precise control.

They intertwined.

They connected.

They formed an enormous formation in the sky.

The formation stretched across the Heavenly Abyss.

Lightning filled every corner of it.

The entire battlefield seemed to have become a world of thunder.

Gareth stood at the center.

His eyes locked onto Leon.

"I don’t care whose student you are today."

His voice rolled through the sky.

"If you dare to take a step into my Sky Breaker Acedmy, I will kill you without mercy..."

The final word fell.

Boom!

The lightning formation erupted.

The entire sky shook.

Gareth’s suppressed emotions finally found an outlet.

He had been frightened.

He had been shaken.

But he was not willing to surrender.

He had already reached this point.

He had already fused with the power of the Gluttony wolf guardian beast.

He had already crossed countless obstacles.

He would not allow a young man to destroy everything he had fought for.

Especially not Zeon’s student.

The name alone had awakened the deepest pride buried within him.

If he retreated now, then everything he had endured would become meaningless.

Gareth clenched his fists.

His eyes were bloodshot.

"Come."

The word was almost a growl.

"Let me see whether Zeon’s student truly deserves to inherit his name."

Across from him, Leon remained completely silent.