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
Although Sebastian could feel Samson's resignation so clearly, he was determined to find out where Isabella was now that he had met him.When he stepped forward to find out, a noise broke out behind him.There was the sound of footsteps hurrying toward them, and Andreas rushed into the yard, panting heavily. He said urgently to Sebastian, "Bad news! Someone's here to cause trouble! Sebastian, come to the family chapel with me and hide—"Before he could finish, the gates to the yard opened, and over a dozen figures rushed in. The man in the lead was also a middle-aged man in his 40s. Those behind him were almost all among the younger generation of the Ballards.However, all of them had murder in their eyes.It was obvious that the family members of these people had died in the battle that took place when Isabella had turned up to fight with the Ballards. They had come specially to pick a fight with Sebastian upon hearing that he had returned to the Ballard Estate."Well, if it i
"Stop talking!" Rexton said angrily, cutting off their discussions. He then turned to look at Sebastian and said, "Sebastian, as a junior member of the family, you should be polite. Since you're back, come with me and greet your elders!"Although Rexton appeared to be giving Sebastian a suggestion, the murderous look in his eyes and his commanding tone wasn't pleasant at all. Sebastian looked coldly at him and the people behind him. He huffed and asked icily, "What if I refuse?""What did you say?" Rexton's eyes turned cold, and he eyed Sebastian with an unpleasant look on his face.Among the people behind him, four men walked out. They stared fixedly at Sebastian, as if he were their sworn enemy. They had also taken up positions in the best spots to attack."Are you going to try to do things by force now? Fine. I'd like to stretch too!" Sebastian crooked a finger at them in a challenge."Where do you think this is? How dare you behave so recklessly here?" one of them yelled a
"Sebastian, I was only planning to ask you to go and greet the elders," Rexton said. "Since you insist on doing things the hard way, don't blame me for being ruthless!"He put one hand behind his back as he fixed a sinister look on Sebastian. There was a murderous tone in his voice as he spoke once again. "Even if you do have some skills, those basic moves aren't even worth looking at here!"As Rexton finished speaking, several youths from the Ballard family stood in the four main directions, respectively. They were all holding a blue paper charm that even Sebastian had never seen before. They began to form a seal. "Seal off the sky and lock the earth!" the four men boomed simultaneously before tossing the paper charm into the air!In a flash, the four blue paper charms disappeared into thin air. Countless silver bolts of light rushed up to the clouds with the four of them at the center of it!Right after that, the silver bolts of light weaved together to form a huge net. Countle
Sebastian felt his blood boiling.Although he had once hated Samson because of how he had kicked Sebastian and Isabella out of the family, Samson was still his flesh and blood!When he saw how Rexton was mocking and humiliating Samson, Sebastian felt extreme fury.However, the restrictive force around him was just too strong. Even though he used every skill he had ever learnt, he still couldn't get out of the Skylock Spell's restriction. He could only watch them be smug and arrogant.At that moment, a young man in the crowd suddenly gave Sebastian a resounding slap and said coldly, "It's been ten years! This day has finally come for you and Samson!"If your mother hadn't caused a huge fuss here, my grandfather would never have died! Today, I am going to let Samson get a taste of what it's like to have a family member die in front of him!"The man suddenly pulled out a three-foot-long sword from behind his back. He thrust it at Sebastian's chest.Sebastian couldn't even move a
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