"Are you saying that you know where my mother is?"At the mention of Isabella, Sebastian's expression changed at once, and he looked nervously at Andreas. "Don't be in such a rush, Sebastian. Great Uncle Arnaud will tell you everything that you need to know once we return to the Ballard Estate. If there's anything you shouldn't know, I wouldn't dare to say anything either."However, I can tell you very clearly that the Ballards aren't what you think they are. Once you return to the Ballard Estate, you'll understand everything. Besides, your girlfriend is now on the way there."Great Uncle Arnaud wants you to return to the Ballard Estate within ten days so that your family can be reunited."Andreas' smile was gentle, but Sebastian could see a deep chill in his eyes. It was the kind of cold that could penetrate deep into the depths of one's soul."You didn't come here just to say this to me, did you?"Sebastian stared icily at Andreas while he pressed his hand against the hilt of
Sebastian had no time to think. He began flourishing his sword, blocking the man's butterfly knife so that it remained several paces away.There was a gleam in the man's eyes, and murder flashed through his mind. Andreas, who was standing by the door, suddenly said coldly, "That's enough, Julius!""Mr. Andreas, he—"Andreas' smile turned cold, and he said icily, "I said, that's enough.""Yes, sir!"Julius turned and looked defiantly at Sebastian before meekly retreating behind Andreas. Andreas stepped forward and smiled at Sebastian. "You saw that for yourself, didn't you? Julius has an invincible body. Although he may not be able to defeat you at the same level, it'll be almost impossible for you to hurt him."Therefore, there's no need for us to fight, is there? Remember what I said. You must return to the Ballard Estate within ten days if you want your family to be reunited."Andreas tossed a flight ticket at Sebastian. There was a loud thump as it buried itself in the ceme
Nina heeded Sebastian's order and faded slowly before disappearing from Sebastian's sight.Sebastian sighed softly and called Fitz. He told him that Whitney was feeling unwell and that he would be in charge of the factory's affairs for the next few days.After that, he gave Rosalie and the others a few instructions before returning to the convenience store alone.Although they had only exchanged blows briefly, Andreas and Julius had left a deep impression on Sebastian.He hadn't met such strong opponents since entering the secular world. In comparison, both Alaric and the people from the Sapientia were as fragile as eggs.What kind of entity were the Ballards?At that thought, Sebastian called Chester once more."Chester, I want you to tell me the truth. What kind of place is the Ballard Estate, and what kind of family are they?" Sebastian asked directly as soon as the call was connected."The Ballard Estate?"On the other end of the phone, Chester paused for several seconds b
"You'll need to wait for the fifth day of every month if you want to enter Mount Quiln," Hendrix said. "It's only the first day of the month today. You'll have to stay here temporarily for the next few days, Mr. Ballard."Sebastian frowned and said, "Oh? One can only enter the mountain on the fifth day of every month?"Hendrix nodded quickly and said, "Mount Quiln has very heavy miasmas and they don't disperse. The mists are only slightly thinner on the fifth day of every month. Normally, even experienced medicine farmers can get lost in those crags."Sebastian nodded slightly and said to Hendrix, "Alright then. I'll go along with your arrangements, Mr. Seaworth."Anton's eyes hadn't left Nina's body for the entire conversation. Once Sebastian and Nina had gotten in Hendrix's sedan, Anton finally sighed."Mr. Wentworth, you're not interested in that chick, are you?" Cade asked, gesturing at Hendrix's car.Anton spat at him and said, "Of course I am! A woman with her beauty is as
The young woman was quite pretty, but there was an arrogance in her expression.She had fair skin and delicate features—she would have been deemed as pretty in any crowd. She had a good figure, and there was a mature beauty to her.However, she clearly didn't have a stable foundation. She had only just thrown a few punches, but beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead.Sebastian glanced at the huge rocks tied to her arm, and he smiled slightly. The young woman was clearly still practicing her basic skills, which was fist strength."Calm down."An elderly voice rang out from a pavilion in the yard."Grandpa, I still can't get fist strength," the young woman said rather anxiously. "The force should come from within, not from brute strength. It should flow smoothly, like a river," the old man explained calmly.The young woman seemed enlightened. She swung a few more punches, which carried slightly more force with them. Sebastian nodded imperceptibly. The young woman'
Cade swallowed. He hadn't had time to discuss the issue of arranging for Sebastian to stay with Rory. It had been a private decision that he had made on the spur of the moment. If he did offend the Durhams and it got back to the head of the Hardy family, Cade would be in trouble."Ms. Durham, it's like this. Mr. Ballard is a hero. I thought that since you're all martial arts practitioners, you might have something in common if you stay together."Cade sounded reasonable, but he was actually trying to ignite a conflict between Sebastian and the Durhams. He had emphasized the word "hero" on purpose.Cade was also from an elite martial arts family, and he knew what the tempers of martial arts practitioners were like. Shirley was arrogant, to begin with. Now that he had praised Sebastian so lavishly, it would be surprising if she didn't try to cause trouble for the latter. As Cade had expected, Shirley immediately gave Sebastian a contemptuous look and scoffed. "Something in commo
Sebastian and Nina were both sitting cross-legged in their respective rooms. Once they had sat down, they didn't move for over ten hours. However, it only seemed like the blink of an eye to them. When Sebastian and Nina's wing remained completely silent even at 10:00 am the next day, Rory couldn't help shaking his head and sighing.He had initially thought that Sebastian was very talented and had potential, but he was much too immersed in his relationships with women. If he used up all his strength, he wouldn't amount to anything great no matter how talented he was."Grandpa, why are you sighing?" Shirley asked when she saw Rory looking disappointed. She was still practicing her stance. Rory glanced at her and said, "It's nothing to do with you. I was just thinking about how young people nowadays don't take care of themselves despite their young age."Rory glanced at the wing where Sebastian and Nina were staying.Nina was an exquisite beauty, and she looked as beautiful as any
"Let's go."Sebastian glanced at Hendrix and left the mansion with Nina.When the car started, Sebastian asked in a low voice, "Since when has the Martial Arts Association had such a close relationship with the Martial Arts Court?"Hendrix sighed in resignation and said, "Mr. Ballard, there are some things you don't know about. There's a Yutarian expert who's coming to Klane City soon, and there are many martial arts sects who are on the Yutarian Warriors' side."My mission from my superiors is to monitor them at all times because they're worried that these Warriors will betray the country. However, I still need to stabilize my position in Klane City to monitor them, and to do so I need to rely on the influence of the Martial Arts Court and the Hardys."Sebastian frowned. Was Dramon's martial arts community actually going to side with Yutarian Warriors?"Have the Walshes and the Hardys all joined the Yutarian Warriors?"Others might side with Yutaria as they wished, but the Wals
Even though Declan had already said that the old man was only in shock and didn't have a cerebral infarction, the middle-aged man still wanted to hear the opinion of a young traditional medicine doctor like Sebastian! He must be either crazy or an idiot!"If he applies that needle, your father's complexion will go from pale to dark at once. When that happens, it'll only be even more dangerous," Sebastian said impassively."Stop talking crap, Sebastian! My grandfather is the elder of the Healer Sect! Are you implying that he's not as good as you are?" Bryce yelled angrily, pointing at Sebastian.He was furious. "Sebastian, are you doubting my skills in medicine? You're a rookie in the medical field. I only complimented you at the dinner table out of politeness. Did it go to your head?" Declan demanded curtly, his expression changing."You're trying to prick the acupuncture points on the base of the patient's neck as well as in the center of his chest so that you can unblock his br
"Wow, it really is Mr. Byrne Senior! Hello, hello!" A slightly pudgy middle-aged man exclaimed. He hurried forward and shook Declan's hand heartily.Declan frowned and looked at him for a long time, but he couldn't remember where he had seen the pudgy man before.There were too many people who tried to flatter Declan every day, and he couldn't possibly remember every single one of them."Who are you?" Declan asked, his brow furrowed as he shook the man's hand. "Mr. Byrne Senior, you're so busy, so of course you won't remember me! I'm Fritz Thomson! I had the pleasure of meeting you two years ago while I was shooting a documentary about traditional medicine," Fritz said courteously.Declan finally nodded. Fritz was either a reporter or a director. It wasn't surprising that Declan had forgotten who he was.Although the Healer Sect was also among the mystic martial arts sects, it was very different from the Nine Sects. The Healer Sect had always had close connections with the sec
Sebastian waved a hand slightly at the middle-aged man and said, "I'm not a genius doctor. I'm just an ordinary traditional medicine doctor. However, that old man is in a very dangerous situation. You must not touch him!"He spoke urgently when he saw that the middle-aged woman was propping the old man up so that he was lying on her lap.The middle-aged woman looked up at the middle-aged man. She was clearly hesitant.They were on the top floor, and the tiled floor was so cold. She didn't think that it would be safe for her to let the old man just lie on the floor. "Listen to Dr. Ballard! You won't go wrong!" the middle-aged man said quickly to her."Dr. Ballard? He's nothing compared to my grandfather!" Bryce exclaimed. He was annoyed to hear the middle-aged man addressing Sebastian so respectfully.After all, Declan was the elder of the Healer Sect. There were even numerous sage doctors who had to treat Declan with respect as their senior in the industry!Who did Sebastian th
Since Declan had coincidentally met Sebastian at the dinner table that day, he had thought of bringing the latter over to his side. That way, Sebastian could work for him. "Sebastian, I'm planning to make an exception and take you as my apprentice. What do you think?" Declan asked again when he saw that Sebastian was ignoring him.Sebastian continued to ignore him. Did he really thought he could be Sebastian's mentor? The old man must be crazy!"Sebastian, you should hurry and kneel to my grandfather! You're lucky to get him as a mentor! My grandfather hasn't accepted any apprentices for 20 years!"Bryce glared at Sebastian, whom he felt was being far too tactless. There were countless people fighting to have Declan as a mentor."Mr. Byrne Senior, I don't wish to have a mentor. Besides, no one is qualified to be one," Sebastian said impassively. "You little—"Declan was furious. Sebastian was far too arrogant! He was already humbling himself by deigning to take Sebastian as an
Bryce saw the anger in Declan's face, so he said reluctantly to Larys, "I'm sorry, Mr. Compton. I've acted impulsively."Acted impulsively? It would have been better if Bryce hadn't apologized at all. His apology had made Larys even angrier. He clearly had no respect for Larys at all if he could slap him just out of a moment's impulse. Larys was the mayor of Steinberg. How could he just let things go just because Bryce had said that he had been impulsive? "Mr. Compton, my grandson is young and ignorant. Please don't hold it against him." Declan had no choice but to speak up and apologize to Larys on Bryce's behalf. Larys could only nod. He smiled slightly and said, "Forget about it. Make sure that it doesn't happen again."Once everyone was seated once more, Bryce continued staring viciously at Sebastian. It was all Sebastian's fault that he had been slapped twice by Declan!He couldn't just let him go, but he didn't dare to cause any more trouble at the dinner table. Howeve
"People always say that you can see what a person is like from looking at their family. I can see that it's true," Sebastian said impassively.That was a harsh insult to Declan. It implied that Bryce's rude behavior was a reflection of Declan's lack of good character, and that their family didn't have good manners.Declan turned purple with rage. Ever since he had become one of the esteemed members of the Healer Sect, everyone in the martial arts community always spoke respectfully to him, especially those of the traditional medicine community. All of them were polite whenever they met him.However, Sebastian had insulted him thrice in a row, and each insult was worse than the last. Rosalie couldn't help but laugh. She leaned on Sebastian's shoulder and turned her head away, her slender figure trembling with the effort of not laughing out loud."You're terrible! You've insulted them so slyly!" Rosalie whispered in Sebastian's ear.Sebastian reached out to put an arm around her t
Sebastian's expression turned cold at once. What was so important about an elder of the Healer Sect? Was there any reason for him to make so many people wait?Besides, the banquet had been set at 9:00 pm, and both he and Rosalie had arrived on time. Why should Declan be treated differently?Sebastian had never had any patience with people who used their age as an excuse to do whatever they wanted to."Forget it. Calm down, both of you, and let's both refrain from saying anything else."Larys stood up quickly to smooth things over. Both Sebastian and Julian remained silent out of respect for him. However, they both exchanged icy looks.Now that the conflict had subsided, Larys leaned closer to Sebastian and whispered, "Mr. Ballard, I'll be honest with you. I can't afford to offend either you or Mr. Byrne. Please help me out and refrain from pursuing this matter further."Larys was being sincere. He was in awe of Sebastian's allies, but Declan had equally powerful allies supporting
Upon hearing Rosalie's words, Sebastian laughed wryly and shook his head.The Nine Sects wouldn't dare to say a thing to the Ballard Estate, who in turn thought nothing of the Healer Sect.Andreas snorted in laughter and said, "If you had said so 100 years ago, even I would have had to concede. However, times have changed now.""What do you mean?" Rosalie looked curiously at Andreas. It seemed that Sebastian's cousin was very familiar with the Healer Sect. "About 12 years ago, they went on the wrong path. If you check thoroughly, you'll probably find that the development of many new medicines was related to the Healer Sect. However, they are not the refiners!"Rosalie seemed to be deep in thoughts. Her brow darkened as she said thoughtfully, "Do you mean to say that the Healer Sect has abandoned the art of medicine and has decided to go in the direction of the art of pill refining instead?"This made Andreas see Rosalie in a different light.Medicine and pill refining were very
"Are you talking about your cousin? He doesn't look like a businessman at all, though. He looks more like…"Rosalie put her chin in her hands, her brow tightly furrowed. However, she couldn't find an appropriate way to describe Andreas.He felt very strange to Rosalie. There was a kind of energy he had that was difficult to express in words. "It doesn't matter whether he's a businessman or not. He just has to have money. Why don't we discuss it with him tomorrow? I think he'll probably support you unconditionally," Sebastian said confidently."Really? But if we develop a similar medicine, won't we be going against the Croydons? That doesn't seem right."Lorcan was a friend of Oliver's, after all. That meant that he was a friend of the Griffins. Rosalie didn't want to make such an important family their enemy in business. "With that contract, we have to show the Croydons that they shouldn't become ungrateful, nor should they use their force against us!" Sebastian exclaimed in a