Return to Monharvest

Chapter 01: The Return of Leon Vint

Beneath a moonlit night sky, Leon Vint stood tall on the edge of Mount Elberis, the gentle wind whipping through his hair. The handsome man with slightly wavy hair gazed out at the faint, twinkling cityscape partially obscured by wisps of clouds.

In his eyes, lay ten years of suffering. Revenge, disappointment, pain, determination, and a singular purpose swirled within them. Unbidden, tears welled up and spilled down his cheeks as he blinked.

His chest tightened as he recalled the tragedy that unfolded at that dinner party. Gordon, a powerful cultivator, silenced the invited guests with his spiritual aura.

Gordon murdered his father, Billi Vint, right before his eyes and the eyes of all the guests. His stepmother, Grasella, dragged him to his room, where she imprisoned and tortured him for three days and three nights, until he no longer had any hope of living.

On the fourth day, Grasella ordered the family guards to dump him off a cliff in a forest far from civilization. Fortunately, as his body plummeted into the deep ravine, a mysterious man soared over the cliff and caught him in mid-air.

Ten years had passed. He endured grueling, bloody training under the guidance of the mysterious man he now called Master Lu. Even when his skin was torn and his bones were fractured, with unwavering resolve, he never gave up. With a rare talent born only once every hundred years, Leon had now become a formidable cultivator.

KRACK!

Just as he was lost in those suffocating memories, a cluster of black clouds suddenly formed above the mountain, bringing flashes of lightning that clashed against each other.

Leon looked up, sensing a piercing aura in the lightning. At the same time, he felt a surge of spiritual energy behind him.

Sure enough, when he turned around, a palm formed from golden spiritual energy, the size of two adult elephants, appeared in the air and hurtled towards him.

Leon remained calm. He swung his hands in a rhythmic pattern, accompanied by the emission of spiritual energy from every pore of his body.

As the surging spiritual energy radiated, his body slowly levitated into the air. He briefly performed a hand incantation, and a golden luminous dragon instantly appeared, circling his body.

"Destroy!" Leon exclaimed, slamming his palm forward.

At the same time, the dragon immediately shot towards the palm of energy, creating a tremendous explosion as the two spiritual energy existences collided. Gusts of wind spread in all directions, shaking the trees within a one-kilometer radius.

"Hahaha!"

After the explosion, the mass of black clouds filling the sky above Mount Erbelis dissipated, accompanied by a deep, echoing laugh.

Leon remained almost expressionless upon hearing the laughter. He knew that the attack was the work of his master. He immediately lowered his guard as his levitating body slowly descended to the ground.

"Good!" Master Lu said. Suddenly, he appeared atop a cave about 150 feet high.

Leon then slightly bowed and gave a respectful hand salute. "Greetings, Master Lu!"

Master Lu smiled faintly. The man with long white hair and beard vanished from atop the cave. In a breath, he reappeared right in front of Leon.

"Now I can rest easy and enter secluded cultivation. I grant you permission to descend the mountain and fulfill your purpose."

"But you must remember, true strength lies only in a calm heart and righteous intentions. You must be wise in using your power."

"I understand," Leon replied.

Leon then turned and took a few steps until he reached the edge of the cliff.

He looked back at the faint, twinkling cityscape in the distance, his eyes full of determination, and said, "Monharvest, I'm back. Ten years of vengeance... I will repay it tenfold."

…

The next day, Leon sat in the back of a car, staring out the window. He was amazed by the urban development that was so different from ten years ago. The noisy traffic, the smell of dust entering the car, and the bustling pedestrians on the sidewalk, all made him long for the past he shared with his father.

"Thank you," Leon said, handing over the taxi fare.

Leon got out of the car, took a few steps, then tilted his head back to look at the tall building in front of him. He unfolded a piece of paper that Master Lu had given him earlier to confirm the name of the place he was going to.

"Right, this is Pirette Group," he muttered.

Without wasting any more time, he went inside. However, as soon as he entered the lobby area, he was stopped by a security guard, who was about 175 centimeters tall with bulging muscles in every corner of his uniform.

"Stop! What do you think you're doing here? This isn't a homeless shelter," the security guard said, with a slightly arrogant tone.

Leon paused for a moment, looking at the name tag that read Johan on the security guard's left chest.

"Sorry, I'm not homele—"

"Sssst. Please leave, or... don't blame me if I get rough with you."

"But I'm not homeless. I want to meet Miss Pirette," Leon clarified, looking directly into Johan's eyes without hesitation.

"Ppfffft!"

Johan paused, then suppressed his laughter with a mocking expression. From the lobby desk, a fellow security guard noticed them and took steps to approach.

"What's going on here?" the fellow security guard asked. His name tag read Fendrik.

Johan, still suppressing his laughter with a mocking expression, turned to Fendrik and said, "Look, this poor guy says he wants to meet Miss Pirette. Pffftt!"

Fendrik snorted arrogantly and looked at Leon from head to toe. Leon's clothes and theirs were quite contrasting. Although there was nothing strange about Leon's clothes, their simplicity showed the difference in their social status.

"Do you have an appointment?" Fendrik asked.

"Not yet."

"If you don't have an appointment, then get lost!"

"But—"

"Hey? Are you deaf?" Johan interrupted, pushing Leon's right chest until Leon was pushed back a few steps. "Get the fuck out of here!"

As Leon was pushed back, his back accidentally bumped into a man wearing a brown suit, causing the man to immediately deliver a hard slap, sweeping across his smooth cheek.

"Damn it!" the man snapped.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to," Leon said sincerely, even though a burning sensation began to spread across his cheek.

"Sorry? You think if my suit gets dirty, you can afford to replace it, huh?!" he said with a cynical look.

The man then looked at Johan and Fendrik. "You?! Why are you letting this homeless guy be here? Disgusting!"

"Sorry, Sir. I'll take care of it," Johan said reluctantly and immediately pushed Leon out of the lobby.

"But—" Leon looked confused. Did he really look like a homeless person?

As Johan pushed him roughly towards the exit, his eyes were still focused on Fendrik and the man in the suit.

Fendrik looked at the man in the suit with a friendly demeanor. Being treated differently like that made Leon feel like his dignity was being trampled on.

"Wait! I told you I'm not homeless! I just want to meet CEO Chloe."

"Nonsense! Who do you think you are, wanting to meet our CEO?! Get lost!"

Johan threw Leon's body forward, causing Leon to quickly balance his footing to avoid falling to the floor.

Because of his growing disgust, Leon paused for a moment and then raised his face with a blank expression.

Receiving that challenging gaze made Johan's jaw slowly harden.

"Damn it! What? You're not happy?"

"I just want to meet CEO Chloe, and I don't have time for you guys," Leon said coldly.

"Tch! You damn loser! You really want to get beat up, huh?!"

Johan clenched his fist and took a quick step forward, approaching Leon. In his mind, he imagined grabbing Leon's collar tightly, dragging him mercilessly out the door, and throwing him roughly onto the paving floor.

Unfortunately, that image had to vanish when Leon showed his dominance. Leon stomped his right foot once, and a burst of golden spiritual energy occurred, causing Johan to be thrown backward.

Fendrik, who was about to invite the man in the brown suit to wait on the sofa, witnessed how his colleague's body passed him and collapsed on the floor while spitting out fresh blood. His eyes widened, his forehead furrowed deeply.

Johan tried to get back up. However, his body couldn't bear the pain that seemed to be tearing apart his muscles.

At the same time, the lobby atmosphere that was initially calm instantly tensed up. The eyes of the employees and guests there immediately turned to Leon.

"Damn it! What happened?" Fendrik muttered, with a tense expression.

It happened so fast. He cast a glance at Leon after the man in the brown suit turned around to assess the situation.

"What happened?" the man in the brown suit muttered, swallowing slightly. His body froze for a moment, sensing an intensely intimidating aura from Leon's cold gaze. "Wait. Is he a cultivator?"