All of Steinberg's citizens had been intrigued by the advertisements. As such, a lot of them had bought tickets to watch the competition live.The ones who hadn't been able to buy tickets resorted to watching the live broadcast instead. After all, the competition tonight was a program specifically created by the Good Crestborne production team!Besides, there were also a lot of people who were curious about traditional medicine.After a few days of teaser trailers, as well as advertisements, practically every platform started discussing the competition.At around 6:00 pm, Rosalie drove Sebastian to the competition venue. By some stroke of luck, they bumped into Whitney, Theresa, Mabel, and Crystal the second they got out of the car. Dante was not with them, probably because he was still in the hospital.When Whitney saw Rosalie and Sebastian together her expression darkened.Rosalie had chosen to dress quite provocatively for the competition. She wore a short, crimson dress wit
Besides, she would only end up hurting herself."Don't forget, Whit, Sebastian is here as a competitor tonight. So technically, the both of you are enemies," Theresa reminded her.Whitney frowned at that, and she had a complicated expression.After a while, she sighed and declared, "I know, but I still want to explain myself to him properly."Crystal panicked and tried to talk Whitney out of her decision, "Winnie! Don't do…""That's enough, Mom," Whitney interrupted. "I also want to ask him why he beat up Dante."After that, Whitney marched resolutely to Sebastian as she called out for him.Sebastian frowned when he heard her and turned to face her. "Yes, Ms. Sutton?" he asked coolly."I have something to talk to you about. Can we talk over there for a second," Whitney asked as she side-eyed Rosalie."Rosalie really was radiant tonight," she thought begrudgingly."There's no need. You can say what you need to say here. After all, we're all acquaintances here," Sebastian repli
Inside the venue, Fergus was already seated in the VIP seating area. When he saw Whitney's sour expression, he immediately got to his feet."Winnie, what's wrong? Why do you look so upset? Who bullied you?" he asked with a smile."Nothing happened," Whitney answered coldly.Crystal, who had been walking after Whitney, broke into a wide grin when she saw Fergus."Fergus! You're here!" she exclaimed."Mrs. Mendez," Fergus greeted courteously with a smile. After that, he turned to Whitney to say, "Winnie, I've already made arrangements for you.""Arrangements? What arrangements?" Whitney asked in confusion.Fergus straightened his suit as he explained proudly, "I've talked to the assistant director. They will give more screen time to Henry, so she'll get more recognition!"Besides, I've also told him to pan the camera to you. So, all you need to do is flash a smile and wave," he said with a smug grin, waiting for Whitney to compliment him.Whitney raised an eyebrow. She wasn't
"That's right Ms. Sutton, we should stay away from people like him!" Mabel added as she glared distastefully at Sebastian.Whitney frowned as she watched Sebastian walk over to them. She thought that he would apologize for what happened outside, but to her surprise, Sebastian didn't even look her way and walked right past her to the backstage."Bastard!" Whitney grumbled as she glared at him."You see, he doesn't care about you," Theresa said.Whitney knew what Theresa was trying to say, and her expression darkened further. Eventually, she got up and declared, "I'm going to the bathroom."…Inside the rest area, Rosalie asked worriedly, "How confident are you? After all, you're the first competitor! Why don't I talk to the production team, and you use the formula the professional medicine formulators have given you?""There's no need. I've got it under control," Sebastian assured her mildly. As he spoke, he glanced at the red plastic bag next to him. The medicinal furnace he
Whitney also turned and left after that. A while later, she went to Henrietta's resting area with Mabel."How are the preparations going?" Whitney asked.Henrietta smiled and said confidently, "I'm sure there won't be any problems."Whitney nodded and turned to the screen in the resting area. The screen showed the live stream, and the host was currently introducing the mentors and guest judges.The four mentors and the four guest judges were already seated backstage.The production team had done a great job keeping the identities of the four mentors and guest judges secret, and the crowd went wild when their identities were revealed.The four mentors were professors within the Steinberg traditional medicinal organizations. Namely, they were Roberto Lancel, Theon Smith, Robb Gomez, and the chairman of the traditional medicine organization, Eddard Cosgrove.The rules of the competition were simple.Like a talent show, each judge had a button they could press, and the competit
Justin's humor and personality further boosted his popularity, and he now had millions of fans.He was so popular and beloved that the price for a single ticket to his concert went for a thousand dollars!The four guests were clearly invited to get more people to talk about the competition, and as expected, the Good Crestborne Doctors program had gone viral!The livestream also went from tens of thousands of viewers to millions of viewers!"Oh My God! It's Justin Beaver!""My God! I thought this was a boring show, but I can't believe they managed to invite such cool mentors and celebrities! The production cost for this program must be insane!""I heard that it costs a few hundred thousand dollars for Angelica to appear as a guest on a show!""No fucking way! The mentors and guests invited are too amazing! The program tonight is going to be epic!""These competitors are so lucky to have our idols critique them…"The competition venue was filled with a cacophony of excited whisp
Zayn took a seat behind the cameras as he has done countless times. Meanwhile, Zeke and a few other leaders of Steinberg sat in the specialized VIP section.The competition tonight was an incredibly important event for Steinberg. After all, the competition was a perfect opportunity to showcase both Steinberg and traditional medicine. As Steinberg Pharma's chief director, Zeke had a heavy burden to bear if the competition did not do well."Mr. Winslow, the first contestant is a man named Sebastian Ballard. He's incredibly skilled in medicine, and it only took him one session to cure me of my chronic illness!" Zeke said to a man dressed in a black suit next to him with a grin. He continued, "Sebastian even cured Mr. Griffin Senior and Mr. Whitaker Senior's illness as well. So, his medicinal skills are truly impressive! If you have any chronic aches and pains, I can arrange for him to do a check-up!"The man Zeke spoke to was Timothy Winslow, Steinberg's Chief Administrative Office
Sebastian didn't respond to their disparaging comments and simply shook his head, showing how he really felt about their comments.That small motion didn't go unnoticed by the livestream audience, and the comments started to roll in again."Jaime has such a vicious tongue! Keep those comments coming!""Sebastian does look very plain. I even thought he was some farmer who had mistakenly walked onto stage!""Could he be part of an elaborate prank by the organizers to create some buzz for the competition?""So this is the Good Crestborne Doctor competition? What a joke! I can't believe they would let someone like him on stage. Since he can be on stage, does that mean my vet neighbor can also be a contestant?"In the arena, the host explained the flow of the first round of the competition and what was to be expected from the contestants.The competition and its rules were simple. It was a medicine formulation competition. The contestants had to formulate medicine based on the pres
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