Sebastian hesitated and flung Anthony aside. He strode over to the table and answered the phone. "What is it?""Sebastian! Where are you? Hurry and come to the hospital! Something's happened to Madeline!" Whitney said loudly in an urgent voice."What's wrong with Madeline?" Sebastian frowned. Although Tessa had slapped Madeline hard twice, she hadn't been trying to kill Madeline. If it was just a superficial wound, she shouldn't have been in any danger."I… I can't explain it, but there… there seems to be something on her face. Even Dr. Queen can't figure out what's causing her symptoms," Whitney said. She began sobbing quietly as she spoke.Oh? Sebastian raised an eyebrow, and a feeling of unease rose up in him at once. "Alright, I'll be right there." Sebastian turned and pointed at Anthony. He said to Lyanna and Nina, "Watch him. I'll be back soon.""Yes, my lord!" the two replied simultaneously. "Sebastian, why don't you take my car?" Blake ran after Sebastian when he saw
Whitney stared at herself in the mirror in shock. It was only then that she realized that what had happened to Madeline was now happening to her own face.At that moment, the door opened. Sebastian and Blake walked inside one after the other."Mr. Ballard.""Sebastian." Whitney hastily put down the mirror and pulled Sebastian's hand as she hurried over to the bed. She pointed to the thread of blood on Madeline's face. It was still wriggling, and she said, "Ms. Eddings—""What happened to your face?" Before Whitney could finish, Sebastian noticed the unusual thing on her face."N-Nothing. I'm fine. You should think of a way to wake Ms. Eddings first." Whitney turned away quickly and covered the scarlet mark on her face with her hand."Move your hand." Sebastian took her hand, looking somber. He moved it slowly away from the crimson mark on her face, and he saw that the red mark had expanded from the size of a seed to the size of a bean.Sebastian drew in a sharp intake of breath.
After about ten minutes, when Sebastian returned to the convenience store once more, he saw that Nina had taken Anthony back to her room.It had only been half an hour, but Anthony felt as if it had been more than ten years.He couldn't understand how Nina's slender hands could move faster than knives. Whenever she slashed at his body casually, a huge wound that was about a foot long would appear.When Nina heard Anthony wailing and screaming tragically, she smiled in satisfaction. "Let's try out how tough your bones are, shall we?" Anthony felt his scalp prickle when he saw Nina crouch, grinning.He had naively thought that he would suffer less torture after Sebastian had handed him over to two pretty women. He had never imagined that as soon as Sebastian left, he would feel as if he had fallen into a demon's den!"Please, ma'am! Just let me go! Stop torturing me!" Anthony was weeping for real this time. Snot and tears streamed down his face as he pleaded in despair, "Do a good
"The red fog in Rubercloud Valley is very poisonous. That is why the mountain was named Mt. Myria. All the criminals of the Pinnacle Sect are locked up there," Anthony said carefully.Rubercloud Valley?Blake couldn't help frowning. "Sebastian, it is a very dangerous place. You must not go there lightly!"Sebastian turned to look at Blake and asked, "Oh? You know about Rubercloud Valley too?"Blake nodded slightly and said, "There are hardly any people among the mystic sects who don't know about it. However, no one knows that Rubercloud Valley is the fourth peak of the Pinnacle Sect.""That's right. Rubercloud Valley is very dangerous. You must be careful, Mr. Ballard," Anthony agreed."You have no right to speak here!" Sebastian glared coldly at him."Sebastian, he's right. Rubercloud Valley has always been very mysterious, and many experts from the mystic sects have lost their lives there. It was already a very mysterious area about 100 years ago. You know about the Yutarian i
Just as Sebastian had expected, the so-called Rubercloud Valley was just a trap that Anthony had set up for him. Sebastian had seen from Blake's expression that Rubercloud Valley really was one of the most dangerous places known to them. "The Pinnacle Sect keeps its prisoners in two locations. One is in the deepest part of the Black Ursa ridge, which is the third peak of the Pinnacle Sect. "There is a cave there, and they usually keep more unimportant prisoners there. However, important people are only imprisoned in Rubercloud Valley," Anthony said mournfully. He hadn't been lying completely to Sebastian. Rubercloud Valley was just more dangerous. If Sebastian died there, Anthony would have had his revenge."The deepest part of the Black Ursa ridge?" Sebastian frowned slightly. Mt. Ursa stretched from east to west for close to 1000 miles. It was one of the most dangerous mountain ranges in the north. It was also the only mountain range near Steinberg."Rubercloud Valley! Th
Terence smiled coldly and said, "Mr. Whitehall, according to what I know about the Warrior League, Madam Dragon will be sure to dispatch many experts to rescue them. At that time, all we have to do is—""Oh? Do you mean to use Whitney as bait and get rid of all the Warrior League high-level executives in one blow, Mr. Manderly?" Ethan asked. He swallowed and looked a little nervous.There were several experts in the Celestial realm and above among the high-level executives of the Warrior League too.It would be risky to try and destroy the Warrior League high executives with just the experts at the third level of the Celestial realm that he and Terence had brought along.Terence saw that Ethan looked afraid, and he said confidently, "Don't worry, Mr. Whitehall. My Soulbell isn't famous for nothing. As long as Madam Dragon and the Warrior League high executives fall for it, they will not be able to escape my grasp."Ethan laughed awkwardly and swallowed. He said, "Uh, Mr. Manderly,
Sebastian knew very well that he would have to know what the red smoke was before he could find a way to neutralize it. He had to know what kind of reaction he would have if he were poisoned.Although Nina and Rose both tried to stop him, Sebastian walked into the red mist alone. The moment he walked into the red fog, Sebastian felt his body begin to itch, and his head began to feel fuzzy. It was clear that the poisonous fog was able to numb a person's nerves.Sebastian immediately used silver needles to control the venom in his body, and he recovered slightly.Nina and Rose were waiting outside the valley. They were beside themselves with worry when they saw that Sebastian had still not come back after an entire day and night.Neither of them knew anything about medicine, so if they barged rashly into the red fog, they would only be rushing toward certain death.Sebastian finally walked out of the red fog after a day. He was holding a few sprigs of medicinal herbs.Even Sebast
There were many more bones like that at the side of the old woman's yard.As the smoke and dust rose up, Sebastian could detect a faint odor of corpses. "Of course it's lonely." The old woman smiled and nodded.She began picking up firewood again, as if nothing had happened. She put it into the stove."There are too many people like you. You shouldn't have come in here," the old woman muttered as she continued to throw in more firewood.The old woman seemed to be hinting at something. The bones she was holding were clearly fresh. "What do you mean by that?" Sebastian smiled sardonically."Live people aren't allowed to enter the valley. Didn't you know that?" The old woman turned her head and looked at Sebastian and the others as if they were dead.Sebastian met her eyes, which were deep and very intense. A chill rose in his heart."What are you cooking in your pot, ma'am?" Rose asked very politely."Rocks," the old woman answered, smiling widely.Cooking rocks?Sebastian
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