Anton knew how the world worked. He wasn't just a brainless wealthy heir. Although he had already offended Sebastian, the latter hadn't killed Anton the way he had the others. That meant that he still had a chance!If he played his cards right, he might even be able to win Sebastian's favor. And if that happened, the Wentworths wouldn't just prosper in Boren, but they'd rise to new heights.As for the properties under his name, how much were they worth? Anton knew that he would have to spend money to earn money."We'll talk about it when Mr. Ballard returns from Mount Quiln," Joaquin said. "However, I've got to warn you. You were able to get out alive because he was lenient. There won't be a next time!"He sighed deeply and waved a hand at Anton impatiently. Then, he returned alone to his study.Anton slumped onto the floor as he gazed at Joaquin's retreating figure."What on earth happened, Anton?" Peggy asked as she helped Anton up from the floor. She pulled him to sit on the c
As Duo was formed from dragon energy, the cursed energy didn't affect him at all. In fact, he couldn't even detect its presence.However, Sebastian was made of flesh and blood. If the cursed energy entered his body, the consequences would be catastrophic. Without hesitation, Sebastian took out the Sky Devouring Bottle and held it in the palm of his hand.Muttering a chant under his breath, the Sky Devouring Bottle began sucking up the cursed energy that was surrounding them. Cursed energy was the bane of Warriors and mystic arts practitioners. However, it would be refined into energy replenishing pills once it was absorbed into the Sky Devouring Bottle, which would be very beneficial to Sebastian.Soon enough, energy replenishing pills began spilling out of the mouth of the bottle. The pills that had been refined this time were all mystic pills that were a purplish scarlet color the size of jelly beans.Even though Sebastian was at the advanced stage of the fourth level of the
"Du—"Sebastian had just taken a step toward Duo when he was suddenly hit by a terrifying wave of energy. It crashed heavily against his chest.He staggered backward and spat out a mouthful of blood. If a single wave of energy was already that powerful, one could imagine the sheer force of the lightning strike that Duo had endured.Duo's eyes remained tightly shut. He was adjusting his breathing continuously, and scales grew all over his body once more. They glowed with a dark light and enveloped his entire body. "My lord, please leave this place quickly. The next eight thunder tribulations will be more powerful than the last. At your current realm, you won't even be able to withstand the aftershocks!" he said seriously with his eyes still closed.Sebastian looked up at the sky. The lightning bolt had burned a hole in the rock above their heads, and it was as big as a water tank.The clouds in the sky above them were dark and oppressive. Lightning flashed in the storm clouds
"My lord, you—"Although Duo was formed from spiritual energy, he knew that divine tribulations couldn't be avoided. If the divine law found out that he had avoided the thunder tribulation on purpose, he would have to face the destructive and terrifying divine thunder the next time."The thunder tribulation can become your secret weapon. If you're in a dangerous situation, you just have to crush this Tribulation Avoidance Charm, and the thunder tribulation will be upon you at once. No matter how strong your opponent is, they are unlikely to be able to withstand it!"Sebastian took the Tribulation Avoidance Charm and folded it into a triangle before handing it to Duo. He said, "Keep it carefully and follow my lead!"Duo took the Tribulation Avoidance Charm and nodded heavily as he said, "Yes!"Although he hadn't experienced the full divine tribulation, Duo's energy was now equivalent to an expert at the first level of the Soul Awakening stage. As they continued forward, Sebasti
Sebastian glanced impassively at Andreas before turning to Duo. "Let's go!"Duo nodded and followed behind Sebastian as they strode into the estate.From the outside, the estate looked extremely grand and luxurious. Once they had walked in, they saw that it stretched out into the distance on either side. Right in the center of the estate was a man-made lake that was several dozen acres wide. There were towers and pavilions built on the lake itself, and winding walkways that led straight to another tall watchtower that was several miles away. Under the moonlight, the surface of the lake gleamed silver. The water lilies around them emitted a refreshing fragrance. The entire estate made them feel relaxed and at ease, especially when they had passed through the walkways built on the lake. A concentrated spiritual energy blasted them in the face.They had just reached the second watchtower when two guards in brocade armor walked out of the shadows all of a sudden. They reached out
Sebastian was from Braxton's side of the family. However, Braxton was only one of the side branches of the eight main branches of the Ballard family. For the past few decades, Braxton had pretty much cut off all contact with the Ballards. That was why his branch had been marginalized by the family almost completely.Despite this, the branch had produced two outstanding apprentices, who were Samson and Sebastian, respectively. This was what had attracted the attention of the Ballard family toward Braxton's branch once more."Sebastian, I'm sure that you still don't understand why Uncle Samson kicked you and your mother out of the family back then. Am I right?"Sebastian glanced at Andreas, but he didn't answer. No matter what Andreas said to him, it wouldn't be easy for Sebastian to forgive the jerk who had abandoned his wife and son."It was because of the emerald token!" Andreas answered his own question when he saw that Sebastian hadn't responded."The emerald token?" Sebastia
Sebastian drew in a sharp breath and looked up at Andreas involuntarily.No wonder he had received news in the past about how Isabella had been seen at an unknown, great mountain.No matter how many people he had sent to do their best to search for her, there had been no trace of her at all.Sebastian now realized that Isabella hadn't been an ordinary person, either. After all, if she had been able to escape unscathed after causing a huge ruckus in the Ballard Estate, she had to be a top expert in terms of both her skills and the realm that she was in!"However, I was still young at the time. There are many things that I've only heard about. When you see Uncle Samson later, everything will become clear!"As he spoke, Andreas led Sebastian around a mountain ridge. At the foot of the mountain, there was a wooden house with a courtyard."Do you mean to say that my mother was also from an elite family of the mystic martial arts?" Sebastian asked, frowning. At that moment, all he want
Sebastian gathered himself and waved at Duo as he said, "You don't need to come with me. Just wait there!"He took a deep breath and walked quickly toward the detached house on the slope.When he found himself standing in front of the tall gate, Sebastian suddenly felt conflicted. He hesitated for a long time before pushing the gate open and walking inside.The courtyard was fairly neat and tidy, but the furniture was very crude. There was only a rickety wooden table and a few wooden chairs that had been mended many times.In the spot close to the wooden fence, there was a little flowerbed built with bricks, and flowers and plants in a variety of colors were planted there.Beside the flowerbed, there was a middle-aged man who was over 40 years old, with salt and pepper hair. He was staring fixedly at Sebastian. There was a worn look on his face, which didn't match his age at all. When Sebastian met his eyes, he was immediately surprised.It was Samson, the man who had kicked Se
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