"I don't think we'll be able to," Theodore said, sighing."Seb, let's forget about this. Gunther isn't anything to be afraid of, but we can't afford to offend the people behind him," Zane said, lowering his head. He looked despondent."Can't afford to offend them?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow."The owner of the place is part of the Janover Sloane family. They already told me that they'll forget about the 30 million this time and to think of it as a lesson learned," Zane said, smiling bitterly. He didn't want Sebastian to offend someone dangerous for his sake.The Sloanes were among the top ten families in Janover. Even Silas couldn't afford to offend them, let alone Sebastian."The Sloanes?" Gavin frowned and asked, "What was the name of the one who beat you up?""Hunter Sloane." Zane would never forget this name."Seb, he's notorious in Janover as well. It will be difficult to go against him," Gavin said, frowning."Are you familiar with him?" Sebastian asked, turning back.
Sebastian laughed."He's not going to listen to us so easily," Gavin said wryly. "That's why we have to go gemstone betting. How can we get to know about him if we don't interact with him?" Sebastian asked, his eyes flashing."Damn!" Zane said through gritted teeth as he slammed his fist down on the bed. "Let's not rush to deal with him. We should lure Gunther out first," Sebastian said, grinning."Tell us, Seb. How should we do it?" Zane asked, looking determined. He didn't want to get revenge because he didn't want to bring trouble upon Theodore. However, Sebastian was clearly implying that they had targeted the Northmans in the first place. That would be a different story.Zane wasn't a pushover. Since Hunter wanted to fight, then he would comply. They would see who ended up the final victor."What do you think, Mr. Northman?" Sebastian still wanted to get Theodore's permission."I won't comment on the affairs of you young people. However, I advise you not to go too far,
"What are you looking at?" Zane slapped Gunther in the face."Huh?" Gunther wiped his drool away, looking as if he had just been shaken awake from a dream. He was startled for a second before he said, "Do you want to go gemstone betting again, Mr. Northman?""Yes. I've got to stand up where I fell down," Zane said, patting himself on the chest."Please, go ahead!" Gunther bowed as he led the way for Zane.He laughed inwardly. Once Zane had lost all his money, Rose would belong to Gunther. Gunther guided Sebastian and the others to a room in the basement. The walls were clearly bulletproof, and every entry and exit was guarded. They walked along a long corridor before coming to a spacious, underground hall. Although it was buried several meters underground, it was as bright as day. In the hall, which was about a thousand feet in radius, there were several long tables laid out. The tables were covered in all kinds of snacks and pastries, and there was also liquor, whiskey, dr
"Oh no, he's collapsed again.""Slice it open again! If you cut it into smaller pieces, there might be some emerald among them?""What would you slice up more of it for? There's no way to do it!""How much did this guy lose? He's probably already lost tens of millions, hasn't he?""He hasn't had a heart attack, has he?"As the crowd gossiped, several security guards brought two medical staff onto the cement podium. They carried the middle-aged man off on a stretcher.It was clear that people often got heart attacks because they had made humongous losses. That was why there was even a medical team on hand."Mr. Northman, are you planning to start right away? Or will you wait for a while before you play?" Gunther asked, grinning. "We'll start right now!" Zane puffed up his chest and strode onto the cement podium. Sebastian followed him. Meanwhile, Rose and Gavin stayed near the long tables and began eating and drinking.They had no clue about gemstone betting at all, and they w
Sebastian had asked because on the way there, Zane had told him about the rules in the club regarding the gemstone betting arena. Most of the players in underground gemstone betting were in the jewelry industry, so even if they got a full emerald or an AAA quality emerald, no one wanted to take it home with them. They would just take cash instead, and it would be at twice the market price. That meant that if players got a geode that turned out to be a full emerald, it was the same as if they made the geodes into pretty trinkets and sold them to the club at market price. The club seemed to be taking a huge risk, but since the club had opened, there were very few people who managed to get any emeralds at all, let alone a full emerald. Additionally, they sold the geodes for twice the price outside, so naturally, they would have to bear the risk for the corresponding profit. Therefore, the entire thing was more unfair to the players. If Sebastian's geode turned out to be a fu
"Seb, the money is in!" Zane shouted excitedly. "Oh, you're very lucky, Mr. Ballard. You earned 30 million as soon as you tried." Gunther was still smiling, but he looked very pained.As soon as the money was transferred, Hunter had also received a text. 30 million! It wasn't a small amount at all. Hunter had come to Sunway, Sartvale without his family's knowledge so that he could get things started with his business.Although he had some money, he only had around 200 million or so. The club was making money, but the investment required to start it up had also been huge. He only had less than 200 million left in his account!In the blink of an eye, 30 million had been taken by someone else. He felt as if his heart was bleeding. "Call Gunther back!" Hunter yelled angrily. He pushed the young model aside and grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist. "I've always been lucky," Sebastian said as he walked off the cement podium. He picked up a glass of water and took a sip. "M
Gareth was renowned in all six of the southeast states as a gemstone gambler, and he rarely met anyone who was a match for him. Many jewelry companies in the country hired him as a consultant. However, he had made too many enemies in the gemstone betting industry, so he no longer dared to show his face. After that, Gunther had introduced him to Hunter. Gareth was delighted to meet an ally as powerful as Hunter was, and the two of them had hit it off at once. Gemstone betting was about luck and experience. Both the players and the house itself were gambling. That was because no one could see what it was like inside a geode. Even suppliers didn't know which batch of stock would produce a full emerald and which batch were mere stones. That was why the Glam Club had come up with an even more thrilling way to bet on gemstones. They had to earn back the huge amounts of money that players sometimes won. The way they did it was to have one person representing the club bet on gemsto
Compared to Rose, the women that Gareth had toyed with in the past were all ugly country bumpkins who didn't even deserve a mention. That was why he was willing to lose tens of millions just to have a taste of her. "Alright!" Hunter gritted his teeth and said, "However, I get to have her for the first week." Hunter rubbed his palms together, his eyes alight with desire as he stared at the screen. "No! One day each!" Gareth negotiated shamelessly. They were acting as if Rose was already theirs. Beside them, Gunther felt his temper flaring. He should have been the one sharing with Hunter, but now that old man Gareth had popped up out of nowhere. He was almost 60! How could he be dominating women all day? Wasn't he afraid of dropping dead?Hunter clenched his teeth and said, "Deal! However, I get to have her on the first day."Gareth was dissatisfied, but when he saw the menacing look in Hunter's eyes, he backed down. "Make the arrangements, Gunther." Hunter waved a hand a
"Isabella, our son is all grown up now," Samson whispered. "I wonder when our family can reunite…"His eyes misted over."Is Mom really in the Holy Grandia?" Sebastian's voice suddenly came from behind him. Samson hastily wiped away the tears in the corners of his eyes. He turned to look at Sebastian and exhaled as he smiled bitterly. "I don't know either," he replied. "After I kicked you and your mother out of the family back then, I was brought here. From that day on, this little area became my whole world."Hugo had been the one who had brought him the news of Isabella attacking the Ballard Estate with experts from the Thorne family. In the end, the condition of the truce between the Ballards and the Thornes was that Hugo would be allowed to stay at the Ballard Estate and ensure Samson's safety.Apart from that, Samson had no other news of Isabella. Sebastian walked over and sat down in the chair opposite Samson. He picked up the teapot and poured a cup of fragrant tea f
Sebastian exhaled softly and pointed at the technique he had just handed to Whitney. He said, "If you can memorize this technique within three days, I can teach you."The technique Sebastian had given her was a basic introduction to the martial arts. It was also a basic technique for mystic arts practitioners, but it would let someone of Whitney's disposition become a sage even more quickly.That meant that Whitney had the advantage over ordinary Warriors. It was Sebastian's final favor to her."Alright! I'll recite it to you tomorrow morning!" Whitney said firmly, clenching her fists tightly. Sebastian smiled and nodded. He stood up and said, "It's getting late. You should get to bed soon. I'll get going now."Upon seeing that Sebastian was leaving, Whitney got up quickly and grabbed hold of him. "Can't you stay?" she asked.After their divorce, Whitney had never spent any time alone with Sebastian. Even at the convenience store, Rosalie had always been with them.It was a r
Whitney smiled bitterly, but tears spilled down her cheeks. She said to Sebastian, her voice choking up with emotion, "I see that I was in the wrong all along. But… but it wasn't that I didn't trust you, it's just that—"Sebastian took out a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to her. He said calmly, "Actually, you were just blinded by the false fame and power of the world."In your heart, you feel that only money can prove a person's worth. In terms of wealth, I'm just a lazy and complacent dolt when compared with those so-called successful people."Sebastian's words seemed to cut Whitney like a knife. It wasn't all her fault. After all, historically, most people used money to measure the success of a person. Otherwise, why would there be the saying of how no one remembered the poor, but everyone showed up for the rich?"The truth is that all those wealthy heirs are worth even less than a dog to the Warriors and the mystic sects. "I don't fight with the people of the worl
Whitney perked up at Sebastian's question. "It's all because you ran into the two monsters that day," she said. "I saw it on the surveillance footage. That was when I realized that the two women living in the store don't have that kind of relationship with you…"Whitney had never asked, and Sebastian hadn't bothered to explain who Nina and Lyanna were. That was why she had mistakenly thought that both of them were Sebastian's lovers as well.Realization had only dawned on her when she heard Nina address Sebastian as her master, even in her dying breath. Whitney had seen how powerful Nina was that day and how she had been willing to die in order to protect Sebastian.Nina and Lyanna weren't Sebastian's lovers. They were his servants. Not only that, Nina was a thousand-year-old giant snake!That had completely changed Whitney's view of the world. Although there had always been legends of mystical beings and ghosts, Whitney was an accomplished businesswoman who believed firmly in sc
Sebastian laughed wryly and shook his head. "I'm not from the Ballard Estate," he said. "My name is Sebastian, and it's better if my cousin weren't seen around me too much.""Oh, you're Sebastian."The two young women breathed a long sigh of relief. They looked him up and down for a long time before exchanging a glance. Then, they covered their faces and giggled.One of them stepped forward and said, "Come with me. Honestly… you seem pretty normal. I don't get why Ms. Sutton is yearning for you so much."Sebastian cleared his throat awkwardly and said nothing.The young woman led Sebastian into the house, where Whitney was sitting and reading a book intently. She said, "Ms. Sutton, look who's here."Whitney put down her book and looked up. When she saw Sebastian behind the young woman, she was both surprised and delighted. She got up and threw herself into Sebastian's arms."Sebastian, is it really you?"The young woman covered her face and chuckled before leaving the room sile
Sebastian watched Andreas leave and exhaled deeply. Preston wasn't the only one he didn't trust. No one in the Ballard Estate was worthy of his trust, including Andreas.Once Andreas had completely disappeared, Sebastian beckoned to the woods in the distance and said, "Come out!"In a flash, Duo appeared at his side. "My lord, why didn't you wipe out those people in the hall today?" he asked.Duo clenched his fists tightly, and there was a murderous look simmering in his eyes. Although he hadn't been in the hall, he had clearly heard everything the Ballards had said.Anyone who disrespected his master deserved death!Besides, neither Sebastian nor Duo would have had to lift a finger to kill them. All they had to do was to crush the Tribulation Avoidance Charm and trigger the divine tribulation. Once it descended, no one in the hall would have lived to tell the tale, including Arnaud."If we become hostile with the Ballards, it'll be almost impossible for us to leave in peace. Now
"It all comes back to Uncle Samson," Andreas said. "Great Uncle Arnaud already told you he'd let Uncle Samson have his freedom if you find the other emerald token, but then he brought up the marriage alliance. "It directly affects whether or not Uncle Samson can regain his freedom. So, why don't you think about it?"With a quiet chuckle, Andreas walked toward a grove of peach trees to the west.Realization finally dawned on Sebastian. Arnaud was a shrewd man. He wouldn't slip up like that. Besides, although the Ballards and the Yeomans had established a marriage agreement, they hadn't named specific individuals, only that the Blessed Child of the Ballards would fulfill it.The Blessed Child bore the duty of guiding the Ballards to revival. In other words, the emerald token would be better off falling into the Blessed Child's hands rather than anyone else's.Could it be that the final emerald token was with the Yeomans? If that were true, why hadn't the Ballards used their pow
"I'm sorry, but I have no interest in becoming the head of the Ballard family," Sebastian said impassively. "I only want my father to be freed."Arnaud's expression changed slightly, but his tone remained neutral as he said, "It's Braxton who owes you and your mother, not the entire family. Why must you do this?"Sebastian let out a cold snort. It was true that Braxton had been the one who had kicked them out, but weren't the true culprits the elders of the Ballard Estate?"If there's nothing else, I'd like to see Whitney," Sebastian said, rising slowly to his feet. As soon as he mentioned her name, Arnaud waved a hand at him and said, "Don't be in such a rush, Sebastian. Whitney is safe. The Ballards would never harm a frail woman."He added, "However, there's something I want to ask you. Is Whitney still your wife?"Sebastian frowned. "Whether she is or isn't, what business is that of the Ballards?""Of course it is," Arnaud replied firmly. "The Ballards and the Yeomans of
Arnaud led Sebastian into a secret room deep within the Hall of the Ancestral Dragon. Once inside, Sebastian saw a Cosmic Orbit Diagram. It was exactly the same as the records in the Sacred Medicine Secret Annals.However, the Ballards' Cosmic Orbit Diagram was divided into different sections. It looked even more three-dimensional."This is the Cosmic Orbit Diagram passed down through our family for generations," Arnaud said proudly. "The one that the Sacred Medicine Society has is just a copy."The legacy of the mystic arts in Dramon almost all came from the Ballards.The Ballards had withheld some things back then as well. As a result, all the legacies of the various secular sects only had incomplete Cosmic Orbit Diagrams. It was why there were very few experts at the fifth level of the Eldoria realm and above.Afterward, Arnaud led Sebastian into a library. Thousands of technical legacies lined the shelves. Sebastian flipped through them. The techniques recorded there were