Cries of surprise and disbelief erupted at once. Cedric, who had been confident of winning, was now completely dumbstruck."This is impossible! You're cheating!" he shouted. He couldn't suppress the shock he felt. However, he realized at once that he had blurted it out without thinking.There wasn't a single person within 80 feet of Sebastian. How could Sebastian have cheated?Octavius glared grimly at Cedric. There were over a thousand pairs of eyes watching. Saying that Sebastian had cheated was ridiculous.He was thinking quickly about how to extricate themselves from the mess when a gold pill fell into Sebastian's palm."Although Spirimist pills aren't top-grade mystic pills, I'm sure it's several grades higher than a Spiritual Energy Pill. Would any of the senior members from the Healer Sect be interested in testing out its authenticity?" Sebastian held the Spirimist pill in his hand and turned to look in the northwest direction, where the Medcrofters' grandstand was. A
There was an uproar from the crowd as soon as Sebastian spoke."Isn't Ballard being too harsh? The head elder of the Healer Sect has already humbled himself to beg him. Why isn't he showing him even the slightest respect?""That's right. Cedric is a rare talent in the Healer Sect. If he just dies in this manner, it will be a loss to the mystic sects.""Even if it's just for the sake of those in the mystic sects, Ballard shouldn't be so cold and unfeeling."The crowd muttered darkly. They were all against Sebastian.Octavius felt more confident when he heard the crowd. The crowd's emotions were very important. If everyone felt sorry for Cedric, they could exert pressure on Sebastian and force him to let Cedric go. Even the Warrior League wouldn't risk angering the crowd for Sebastian's sake. Besides, Sebastian's biggest ally was the Warrior League. Would he really offend the Healer Sect so thoroughly?Octavius smiled thinly and said to Sebastian, "Mr. Ballard, I'm sure you'v
After all, Octavius was an expert at the fourth level of the Celestial realm. How could he be unable to withstand even one blow from Sebastian?There was a thump as Octavius fell heavily on the ground about 40 feet away. He spat out a huge mouthful of blood.After a long time, he raised his head in disbelief and stared at Sebastian in shock. "You… How could you—"Sebastian huffed coldly and toyed with the Spirimist pill in his hand. He scoffed and asked, "Is everyone in the Healer Sect an idiot like you? If I can refine Spirimist pills, how could I be less powerful than you?"The heavens have their own laws, so we'll end things here for today. I hope the Healer Sect will learn its lesson. If you cause trouble again, I wouldn't mind wiping out your entire sect."Remember, I never joke with my enemies." Sebastian turned and walked toward the entrance of the venue. As Sebastian passed the crowd, they all stood up to clear a path for him. They watched him walk off into the distance.
That night, Ethan received a call from Bartholomew. "Have you received the Skypatch pill?" Ethan asked excitedly when he answered the call."Mr. Whitehall, I'm very sorry. Ballard brought two Skypatch pills, but he was determined to feed that idiot one of them. I had no choice but to—"Ethan had no patience to listen to the rest of Bartholomew's explanation. He cut him off harshly. "Don't waste my time. I've reached Steinberg, and I'll be waiting for you at 10:00 am tomorrow in Destiny Hotel. Remember to bring the Skypatch pill." Ethan hung up.At that moment, Tessa pushed the bathroom door open and walked out only in a towel. She rubbed her wet hair and frowned as she asked, "Mr. Whitehall, you promised to give me a Skypatch pill. That's not going to fall through, right?"When Ethan heard Tessa's voice, he turned sharply. He was naked already and consumed with desire, but he looked rather awkward as he said, "Baby, what are you talking about? How could I go back on a promise I m
Training like that required a woman like Whitney to be his furnace. If he could train together with her, then Ethan's skill would be sure to rise drastically. In fact, if he could get Whitney, even a Skypatch pill would be nothing but trash to him."I'm sorry, mister. It's my fault—" Before Whitney could finish, Ethan said in a gentlemanly manner, "I'm alright. You weren't scared, were you, miss?"When Tessa saw Ethan staring at Whitney with his eyes shining, she couldn't help getting extremely jealous.Just the night before, Ethan had been making grand oaths of love to her. However, in just the blink of an eye, he was flirting with someone else! How could she accept such a thing?Tessa suddenly raised her hand and slapped Whitney in the face.The force of the slap made Whitney lose her balance, and she fell down and rolled down the stairs.She rolled down over ten steps and landed on the floor. It made Whitney cry out in pain, and it took her a long time to get up from the flo
Tessa couldn't help laughing when she saw that Madeline was making a call while threatening them. "Well, well. I see that you've learned to call for help. I'd like to see who there is in Steinberg who would be bold enough to meddle in my affairs."Tessa wasn't exaggerating. She was the granddaughter of the deputy sect leader of the Pinnacle Sect. Even the mayor of Steinberg would have to show them respect.Besides, she had only slapped Whitney and Madeline. What could they do to her?Her grandfather, Edmund Lowestoft, was now a guest at the Caelbane Sect, which was about 15 miles away from Steinberg. Who in Steinberg would have the guts to do anything to her?"Sebastian, Ms. Sutton and I got slapped in the face by some shrew at the Destiny Hotel. She even said—""Who're you calling a shrew?" Before Madeline could finish, Tessa stepped forward and slapped Madeline so hard that the latter fainted."Ms. Eddings!" When Whitney saw that Tessa had knocked Madeline out with one slap, s
"You don't know your own strength!" Sebastian boomed coldly, and punched her.Sebastian had only used 10% of his power, but Tessa couldn't withstand it at all. There was a loud blast as Sebastian's punch landed on Tessa's left shoulder. She felt as if she had crashed into a speeding train, and she flew backward through the air, unable to control herself.There was a loud bang as she crashed against the cement wall behind her. Despite the thickness of the walls, cracks appeared at once.Tessa spat out a mouthful of blood and stared at Sebastian in disbelief.How could anyone in a small place like Steinberg be bold enough to injure her?"Ms. Lowestoft!" Tessa's driver had run over upon hearing the noise. He was just in time to see Tessa getting punched by Sebastian and flying through the air, trailing blood behind her. He rushed over to help her up."I'm going to kill you!" Tessa had completely lost all rationality.No one had ever laid a finger on her. Even Edmund, her grandfat
The news of Tessa's death soon reached Edmund.He had been sitting down to dinner with the sect leader of the Caelbane Sect, Anthony Laing. When Edmund heard that his granddaughter had been killed by a mere traditional medicine doctor from Steinberg, he slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet."Who would be so bold? I will chop him up into a million pieces myself!" When Anthony saw how furious Edmund was, his eyes flickered.The Caelbane Sect was a very small sect in Sartvale, and there was a vast difference between them and the Pinnacle Sect. Besides, Ethan was there as well. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity for him to show off?How skilled could a young man in his 20s be anyway, even if he had started training in the womb? Anthony had always kept a low profile, but now he could use the incident with Sebastian to show off his skills. "Mr. Lowestoft Senior, you don't need to do anything. I'll send two apprentices to Steinberg right now and capture the culprit. T
Samson glanced at Sebastian. He took a deep breath and said to Arnaud, "Thank you for sparing me, Uncle Arnaud."He gave Sebastian a few final reminders before leaving the hall with Preston.Once they were gone, Arnaud pointed at Duo and said to Sebastian, "Tell him to leave too."Sebastian waved a hand at Duo."I'll wait for you at the entrance, my lord," Duo said. "If anything happens, I'll be here as soon as you call!"He gave Arnaud a cold look before striding out of the hall.Arnaud watched him leave and smiled approvingly. He beckoned to Sebastian. "Come, sit!"Sebastian didn't hesitate. He crossed the hall and sat in the chair opposite Arnaud."Do you know why I asked Andreas to bring you back here?" Arnaud asked impassively. Sebastian shook his head expressionlessly. He said in a cold voice, "It's probably because of the emerald token in my father's possession."Apart from using him and Whitney as leverage against Samson, he couldn't think of any other reason.Arnau
"The Blessed Child! The Blessed Child has finally come to our family!"The black-robed old man who had been sitting beside Arnaud stood up, looking pleased. He couldn't hide his excitement as he turned to Arnaud and said, "Arnaud, our family is going to prosper!"Only Rexton and Milton looked extremely displeased. Braxton and Roland looked pained, as if they had lost something of great value. They were practically thumping their chests in regret!The Blessed Child had been foretold by one of the heads of the family centuries ago. No matter how far the Ballards declined, the prophecy said that after a few hundred years, a Blessed Child would appear—someone who could lead the family's revival!The only proof of the Blessed Child was for him to enter a master-servant oath with a Devora."Prosper? What a joke!" Hugo scoffed, holding Virtus firmly. "Weren't you all just clamoring about killing the two of them?"At Hugo's words, Arnaud's expression changed slightly. "When did I say tha
"Hugo!"Arnaud, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide. He eyed Hugo with a conflicted expression as he asked, "Have you forgotten the agreement the Thornes made with us ten years ago?"Hugo smiled coldly and put one hand behind his back. "That was the agreement you made with the Thornes. I'm only following Ms. Thorne's orders to protect Samson and find the emerald token. If Samson dies in this battle, how am I supposed to explain that to her?"He pointed at Sebastian and added, "He's Ms. Thorne's flesh and blood. Your family has no right to punish him! If the Ballards insist on killing them today, don't blame me for going on a killing spree!"When Hugo had finished, Sebastian finally realized that Hugo was from Isabella's family and that he had stayed at the Ballard Estate to protect Samson.It was clear that Isabella hadn't held a grudge toward Samson. In fact, she had sent an expert to stay behind to protect him in case anything happened.Arnaud's
Sebastian threw his head back in laughter. He strode forward, standing in the center of the hall, and said coldly. "Ungrateful? How could you have the audacity to say such a thing?"Even if I'm surrounded by enemies, you Ballards can forget about making me submit! It's just death, after all. If I even blink, then I won't call myself a man!"Everyone there stared at Sebastian."How dare that brat be so cocky? If he's not punished, it'll be a disgrace to our family rules!""He should be given the death penalty!""It'll be a disaster if we just let him be, and it'll only bring trouble for our family. Please give the order, and we'll kill him at once!"The entire hall was in an uproar. Even Preston, who had been speaking up for Sebastian and Samson, sighed in resignation.Since Sebastian had already made his stance clear, Preston couldn't help even if he wanted to.Sebastian had roused the anger of everyone there, and Arnaud had closed his eyes and wasn't saying anything. He was cl
Sebastian was just about to step forward when Samson hastily waved a hand at him and said, "Sebastian, the grudges of the Ballard family from over ten years ago have nothing to do with you. Don't get involved!""But—"Sebastian's gaze sharpened as he turned to look at Milton. There was an icy glint in his eyes. Samson shook his head slightly at Sebastian. The Ballard Estate had at least ten experts at the eighth level of the Eldoria realm. At Sebastian's current level, trying to fight them would only bring him big trouble."Sebastian, one must learn how to adapt to the situation," Samson whispered into his ear using voice projection. "Today, I will exchange my legs for your and Whitney's freedom. Think of it as a payment for what I owe you and your mother."Sebastian clenched his fists tightly. He hated himself for being too weak. He couldn't even protect his own family in a place like the Ballard Estate, where many experts were gathered.However, he would never allow anyone to
"Do you accept it, Samson?" Arnaud asked harshly when he saw that Preston hadn't said anything else. He turned to look directly at Samson.Samson smiled bitterly and turned to look at Sebastian before raising his head to look at Arnaud, who was sitting high above them. He said, "Uncle Arnaud, I was the reason for everything that happened. I wish to ask you not to trouble Sebastian.""What are you talking about?" Preston was agitated. He stood up again and yelled, "There must still be an investigation about who was right and who was wrong. Why should they break your legs?"As he spoke, his eyes blazed with fury. He looked at the thin old man and said furiously, "Milton, you old bastard! How can you be so shameless at your age? Tell me! Did you embellish the story to Arnaud?""Uncle Preston!" Samson stopped him quickly and sighed slightly. "Forget it. It's my fault for bringing such huge trouble upon our family back then."I admit that I have let our family down. Since imprisoning m
As the man in the black robe yelled, the entire hall fell silent at once. The thin old man threw the black-robed old man a disgruntled look, but he returned obediently to his seat.Once the noise had died down, Preston stepped forward and swept an icy gaze over the crowd who were present. "You call yourself the elders of the family?"The monument of our ancestral dragon is right in front of you. How could you bully two young members of the family in front of it? Don't you feel any shame?"Besides, how dare you speak before Arnaud does?"After the harsh scolding they received from Preston, no one in the crowd dared to protest. Sebastian nodded involuntarily. It appeared that Preston did have influence in the Ballard family. At least no one had interrupted his scolding, including Arnaud and the man in the black robe.Preston huffed angrily and bowed to Arnaud, who sat in the middle. "Arnaud, I've brought Samson and Sebastian!"Preston went over to the chair next to the black-robe
"Sebastian, I won't be going in. Remember, don't say anything without being spoken to, and don't be impulsive!" Andreas said softly in Sebastian's ear when they reached the door to the hall. He then walked over to the crowd, which was packed on both sides of the hall.Samson and Preston walked into the hall without any change in expression. Sebastian hesitated for a moment before hurrying to catch up.When they reached the entrance, the two old men reached out to stop them and said to Preston, who was in the lead, "Preston, I'm afraid that it wouldn't be a good idea for you to go in. Everyone knows that you're biased toward Samson's family. If you get into an argument with Arnaud, then—""Nonsense!" Preston yelled furiously. He spoke in a menacing tone to the two old men. "Don't try those tricks with me. Today, I'm going to be the voice of reason. Who among you can do anything to me?"With that, he pushed them aside and strode into the hall.The two old men gazed after his ret
The Ballard Estate's resources were unfathomable as it was. Could Isabella's family be even more powerful than theirs?Sebastian clearly remembered that both he and Samson were under the Sacred Medicine Society. They even had the same mentor.The Sacred Medicine Society was above all the other mystic martial arts sects. Even the sect leaders of the Nine Sects were very respectful toward his mentor.If Samson really was from the same sect as Sebastian, then his mentor had clearly been unable to save him. Wouldn't that mean that the Sacred Medicine Society was no match for the Ballards?Wouldn't that mean that Isabella's family was an even greater entity?"If my mother's family is really that powerful, why couldn't they rescue my father? There would also be no reason to let me join the Sacred Medicine Society either, right?" Sebastian asked probingly. It seemed as if Andreas had never even thought about such questions. He smiled and shook his head. "You probably don't know about a