However, Zane's slaps did not have the same effect."He's about to die! However, your 20 slaps actually ended up saving his life, my lord. It is very strange." Lyanna was equally confused.Usually, the appearance of dark energy meant that a person's soul was about to leave the body. It was a sign of impending great misfortune. However, Sebastian's slaps had actually knocked the danger out of Jayden.When Sebastian looked at Jayden once more, he saw the dark energy slowly gathering again. "Jayden seems to have offended someone…" Sebastian said thoughtfully."No. He has offended an expert in the mystic sects, or perhaps the Stallones have done so," Lyanna said impassively."Offended someone from a mystic sect?" Sebastian's brow furrowed. Although Jayden could be rather reckless and did behave like a spoiled heir, would he dare to do anything to someone from a mystic sect?"If I'm not mistaken, someone has probably switched his fortune by force," Lyanna said earnestly.Realiz
"Why don't you let me keep it for you? If so, you'll be able to avoid the danger," the old man said, grinning.He still looked kindly and genial.However, Sebastian felt more and more repulsed by the old man as he looked at him. "Oh, I could never do that. If it's going to bring danger upon me, it might cause your death." Sebastian's smile disappeared gradually."Young man, you should always listen to those older than you." There was a cold glint in the old man's eyes. "Do you want to educate me on a few things?" Sebastian's expression suddenly darkened. The old man scoffed and said, "Young man, I will come and kill you tonight." He threw his head back in laughter and left the convenience store.Sebastian watched him leave, then looked at Jayden, who was already far off in the distance. "Is Jayden a victim of his mystic arts?" Sebastian asked Lyanna as he pointed at the old man. "My lord, there was something very odd about that man. I couldn't detect the energy of a livin
Lyanna stuck several paper charms in different directions while summoning the six revenants. Now, all they had to do was wait for the fortune-telling old man's arrival. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, Lyanna saw a paper man standing at the door. "My lord, it's here," she said calmly.She had been facing off against dead people since she became an adult, so the paper man did not scare her at all. Sebastian and Rose both got up, and both their swords gleamed sharply. The paper man knocked on the door for a while before entering the convenience store through the crack in the door.As the paper man entered, seven lights flickered on at once. It was the formation that Lyanna had set up earlier. A sheet of golden light blocked the paper man's path, and it began burning as soon as it stepped into the sheet of light.The paper man scoffed. Its voice was that of the old man."Soul control?" Lyanna frowned slightly.It wasn't mystic arts. Soul control didn't even belong to t
Only those in medicine or in the art of pill refining were particularly interested in medicine cauldrons. They were useless to shamans and sorcerers. Even if the old man got the medicine cauldron, it wouldn't be of much use. "I'm just helping a friend to get back what was originally his." The old man looked impassively at Sebastian.He felt that Sebastian was already at the end of his tether since he had already broken through Lyanna's formation and trapped the demon slave. Would they come to blows next?The old man couldn't help smiling inwardly. He hadn't even played his trump card yet. Did Sebastian really want to challenge him in martial arts? The old man wouldn't be stupid enough to battle in martial arts against two experts in sword fighting. Only an idiot would do that."Oh? Are you really that confident?" Sebastian smiled.He could see that the old man was holding back on something, and it would be a very tough card. However, Sebastian had his own tricks to play.
Although they were at a very low level and hadn't even managed to get rid of their animal-like appearance, they were very powerful. Even if Lyanna's six demon slaves joined forces, they would still be no match for the snake deity. The formation she had laid out earlier did have the power to subdue all evil things, but it had been broken by the paper men and was no longer of any use. "Well, young man? Hand it over. I don't want to cause too much trouble," the old man said smugly as he stroked his beard. "Old man, you're taking things by force," Sebastian said calmly."Hmph! I'm showing you kindness by taking your things. Otherwise, I could just as easily get what I want by killing you," the old man said, fixing an icy gaze on him. There was a slight hint of murder in his eyes. "Why do you keep talking about murder at your age? It seems inappropriate. Besides, don't you think it goes against the law of nature to kill and take the possessions of others? If we subdue this litt
Lyanna couldn't help feeling rather embarrased. Sebastian was extraordinarily powerful. He could adapt easily to any situation."Did you say that you've never killed anyone?" Sebastian's gaze turned icy instantly as he stared at the middle-aged woman.A bolt of vital energy immediately enveloped the woman. Very soon, the pretty woman's fingers turned bright red and even began to drip blood.When everyone saw what was happening, they all stepped backward in slight surprise. It did look rather terrifying.Blood dripped off the woman's fingers, and the vital energy enveloping her slowly became a white fog. Countless illusions soon appeared in the thick fog. There was only one person who starred in all the illusions. It was the pretty, middle-aged woman.Countless people had died at her hands. There were the elderly, the young, as well as both men and women. Some had been flayed and skinned, while others had had their bones cracked open and their marrow sucked out."Did you say t
The old man had gone pale with anger. He clenched his teeth as he said, "I'll remember this!"He turned to leave, but he had no chance of doing so. The old man's soul control had relied completely on Nina's help. He had no training of his own at that level.Nina's betrayal had rendered the paper men heaps of useless paper. Lyanna's demon slaves immediately surrounded the old man."Old man, what kind of place do you think my convenience store is? Do you think you can cause trouble because you want to and then leave as if nothing happened?" Sebastian grinned at the old man as he spoke. "You… What else do you want?" The old man was frustrated. If he had known that Sebastian had such a formidable trump card, nothing could have convinced him to get involved."I don't want anything. Didn't you say that you came here to help a friend get something? Who ordered you to come?" Sebastian asked coldly, his smile dropping off his face."Well…" The old man's eyes flickered, and he hesitat
"Where is the sect leader of the Pinnacle Sect right now?" Sebastian asked. "Um… I-I am too scared to say anything. The Pinnacle Sect is too big and consists of 16 mountains. How would we know where he is?" the old man asked mournfully. It would be very hard to find even a single person in the Pinnacle Sect. It would be hard to find even one among a hundred men."Let him go," Sebastian said, waving a hand at Nina.Rose looked at Sebastian in confusion. Why was he letting the enemy go?"Mr. Ballard, we can't let him go," she said rather anxiously.Sebastian knew what Rose's intention was, but he waved his hand and said, "Without Nina's help, he can't even defeat an ordinary Warrior. It's alright."The old man looked awkwardly at Sebastian and turned red. He clenched his teeth and slunk off.Although Sebastian had spared his life, the old man felt extremely humiliated. Sebastian had felt that it was beneath him to kill the old man. He was completely disrespecting him.After th
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