Trevor huffed coldly and said, "What's the matter, Sebastian? You were a traditional medicine doctor a few days ago. Are you a geomancer now?"Did you fail to deceive everyone with your anti-cancer prescription? Is that why you're trying to deceive Zane by saying that you can check the geomantic properties of our house?" Before Sebastian could say anything, Zane hastily explained, "Trevor, sometimes it's just safer to assume that it's true. I think of it as spending some money to buy my peace of mind." Trevor scoffed. He turned and walked toward the car. As he went, he said to Zane, "I'll go and see Uncle Theodore with Mr. Reynolds first. Aunt Marianne and Aunt Meredith will be coming later too."Trevor got into the car and sped off."Have you ever met the man he was with just now?" Sebastian asked Zane as he watched the Benz drive off. "Met him? He was the one who made us plant the two old mulberry trees at our front door!" Zane looked darkly in the direction that the Benz ha
"Oh dear. I wonder when Theodore will get better.""That's right. Seraphina, the family needs to have a leader. We have such a huge family, and we're running a big company as well. There are so many things that need to be taken care of, and someone needs to take the lead.""Why don't you and Zane recommend Trevor as the temporary chairman?""Trevor and Theodore have been taking care of Northstar Pharma for so many years. This way, we'll avoid having no one at the helm of the company while Theodore is sick. Once Theodore gets better, he can resume the position of chairman."As soon as Zane walked in, he overheard his aunts and uncle trying to persuade his mother, Seraphina. Zane clenched his teeth and strode into the living room.He said icily to his aunts, "I've already asked Mr. Ballard to come. He can even bring a late-stage cancer patient back to life. It'll be easy for him to cure Dad."Theodore had once mentioned to the Northmans that the prince of Ytalia had sent someone to
Sebastian ignored Marianne and Meredith and looked at his watch.Ten minutes had already passed. Hadn't the Northmans' bodyguards buried the Crystal Dragons yet?At that moment, one of the bodyguards came to the living room and whispered a few words in Zane's ear before handing him something black."Mr. Ballard, look at this. They dug this out from under the foundation on the west side," Zane said quietly. He handed the black object to Sebastian.Sebastian took the object, which looked like a piece of coal. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Elton before saying to the room at large, "Who says that those who practice medicine can't know about geomancy?"He continued, "Traditional medicine originated from the philosophers of the Way of Wisdom. If I don't know about the mystic arts, then how can I treat patients, especially when it comes to patients with strange illnesses like Theodore?""Ballard, you're just a charlatan! Get out of here right now! You're not welcome
Sebastian was using the technique known as the Seven Star Seal, which was a mystic formation. As long as he could seal off the gate, it would frighten off any evil spirits. The three remaining Ovalia Tokens that he had would be his trump card against them."What should we do, Mr. Reynolds?" Trevor looked worriedly at Elton as he watched Sebastian walk quickly up the stairs."Hmph! He's still wet behind the ears. How good can he be? Don't worry," Elton said, staring intensely in the direction of the staircase."Trevor, what are you talking about?" Seraphina had been in a daze for many days now. Although Trevor and Elton were speaking so plainly, she couldn't understand what they were saying at all."Oh, we were just talking about Uncle Theodore's condition, Aunt Seraphina. Mr. Reynolds means that Ballard probably won't be able to do anything. "When he comes out later, we've got to get rid of him quickly so that Mr. Reynolds doesn't get angry," Trevor said condescendingly to Se
There was a large bed placed in the middle of the room, which was several feet wide. Theodore's eyes were sunk into their sockets as he lay on the bed. Although it had only been a few days since Sebastian had last seen him, he seemed like a completely different person.Not only were his eyes sunken in, but even the skin on his face had turned completely black.He was now as frail as an old man. Although his hair was still black, he gave the impression of being very old. Sebastian came to the bed and looked down at Theodore. He clapped the last Ovalia Token he held over the top of his head. "You're such a busybody!" an elderly voice echoed in the air.As the token covered the top of Theodore's head, another rush of dark energy shot up. Theodore looked as if he was in a deep sleep, and his body convulsed violently."Aargh!" A desperate scream pierced the air, sounding as if it came from the depths of hell. Sweat beaded on Sebastian's forehead. It was the first time he was u
Sebastian pointed at Theodore, who was lying on the bed."It was them! They invaded my home and brought me here by force!" the dark shadow yelled angrily at Sebastian."What? They dug up your grave?" Sebastian inhaled sharply."That's right! Why else would I have come here?" the dark shadow roared furiously. Sebastian's lips curved slightly, and he chuckled, "Do you think that I'm a child who will believe your lies? The geomancy of this place was changed recently, but you say you just happened to come here? Besides, you don't act like you were brought here by force.""I'll kill you!" The dark shadow lunged at Sebastian, but when Sebastian swung the sword at him, he suddenly prostrated himself on the floor. "Please have mercy, my lord! I-I-I was forced to do this!" Sebastian frowned when he saw the dark shadow kneeling before him. He said, "Weren't you about to fight to the death with me? Are you trying to stall for time?""N-No! Please listen, my lord. I was captured by someon
Zane nodded without thinking and pressed a drop of blood in the center of Theodore's forehead."Mr. Ballard, is my father cured now?" he asked, frowning.Sebastian nodded and said, "He should be alright now. All we have to do is to wait for him to wake up."Zane nodded, looking reassured. He turned and looked at the bedroom door.Sebastian knew that Zane wanted to tell everyone that Theodore had recovered so that those who were eyeing the position of chairman would give up completely."You mustn't rush this. Mr. Reynolds comes from a formidable background. Before your father wakes up completely, don't give the game away," Sebastian said, patting Zane's shoulder."Mr. Ballard, did someone use the mystic art of geomancy against my father?" Zane finally asked something he had been wondering about. "That's right. He was a victim of Mr. Reynolds' spell, but he should be alright now." Sebastian reached into his pocket and held the rusty token. He had received an unexpected gain on th
After Theodore woke up, Sebastian told him about why he had suddenly fallen ill. Zane also brought him up to speed on everything that Trevor had done over the past few days.Theodore's heart sank as he listened. He had been grateful to Tobias for many years for giving up his life to save him, which was why he had valued Trevor so much. He had even handed over the company's finances to him.However, how had Trevor repaid him?He had colluded with outsiders to try and take the assets of Northstar Pharma!It was true that one could never be content. Theodore had taken such good care of his nephew, but Trevor had become greedy and even tried to kill him so that he could take his fortune!"U-Uncle Theodore… you've recovered! That's great! The family has a leader again." Trevor stood up, looking dazed. He could see from Theodore's eyes that his uncle already knew about everything."Theodore, we were so worried about you! You have no idea—""Shut up!" Theodore's ice-cold gaze swept
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
As they stepped out of the courtyard gate, Samson suddenly turned and lowered his voice as he said to Sebastian, "I didn't treat you and your mother well. Please don't hold it against me."Sebastian felt even more conflicted. After everything he had been through, he knew very well that there were times when one really had no choice. When Samson saw that Sebastian was looking at him with a conflicted expression, he patted him on the shoulder and gave him a warm smile. Then he took a token from Preston and walked out of the yard.They followed Preston as he walked toward the east, where there was a majestic-looking building."Why are you helping me?" Sebastian suddenly turned and asked Andreas in a low voice. Andreas glanced at him and gave him a long, cryptic smile. "Do you think I'm helping you? I'm helping myself while doing so!""Oh?" Sebastian looked at Andreas in confusion, his brow knitted. Even Rexton had mentioned that Andreas was in Arnaud's favor. Why would he need t
When Rexton and the others had gone, Preston turned to look at Samson and said irritatedly, "You little rascal. Would I ever hurt you?"Besides, you've been here in isolation for ten years. Why hasn't your temper changed at all? Couldn't you show me some respect in front of all those people?"Samson glanced at Preston but didn't answer.Preston huffed and ignored him. He turned and looked Sebastian up and down instead."Hey, kiddo. Over ten years have passed in just the blink of an eye. You've probably forgotten me. I even gave you candy back then! Come over here and call me Great Uncle Preston!"Sebastian looked at him in surprise. It was true that he didn't have much of an impression of what had happened over ten years ago. However, he could tell from what Preston had said and done that his attitude toward Sebastian's family was completely different from Rexton and the others.Beside Sebastian, Andreas kept shooting him meaningful looks. Sebastian finally smiled and said, "Hell
Although the old man looked as if he was over 60 years old, his expression was sharp and lively, and his skin was smooth as a baby's. It gave him a youthful air.Even the severely injured apprentices all scrambled up from the ground when they saw him. They hastily bowed and said, "Greetings, Great Uncle Preston!"Even Rexton had no choice but to suppress his anger. He bowed sullenly to the old man and said, "Greetings, Uncle Preston."Preston Ballard glanced at Rexton and turned to shout angrily at the apprentices, "If I hadn't come, were you planning to tear the Ballard Estate apart? Look at all of you! Get out of here right now!"Despite the scolding they had been subjected to, none of them dared to protest. They all lowered their heads and slunk out of the yard. Preston glared angrily at them as they went and snorted. "What an embarrassment to the family!"Then he smiled slightly and looked at Samson and Sebastian as he asked, "Samson, do you have anything to say?"Samson lo
Rexton's pupils constricted, and the muscles in his face twitched. He stared at Samson with a wary look in his eyes. He and Samson were two minor stages apart. It was no laughing matter. If the two of them began to fight, Rexton would be sure to die if he didn't have any external assistance."What's the matter? Are you scared?" Samson sneered as he asked in a cold, accusatory tone. That flipped a switch in Rexton's head. His expression changed instantly, and he turned a fierce look on Samson. "Afraid?" he asked through gritted teeth.As he spoke, Rexton seemed to make up his mind. He slowly reached into his pocket and took out a pale blue paper charm, which looked thicker than usual.The paper charm was oppressive to look at. Sebastian instinctively sensed a threatening energy approaching!Even Samson looked wary when he saw the paper charm."Uncle Rexton, this is a Soulcrush Charm. Great Uncle Arnaud has clearly said that no one in the Ballard Estate is allowed to use spiri
Sebastian immediately felt the pressure around him drop. The feeling of being pinned down disappeared as well."How dare you—"Before Rexton could finish, a shadow flashed past him, and Samson popped up right in front of him.Samson stuck out his finger as if it were a sword and tapped him on the chest. Although Samson hadn't used any strength, Rexton could see the murderous look in his eyes. There was a dot of scarlet light that swirled around Samson's finger. A crimson rune was gradually appearing, and there was a chilling, murderous sensation in the air. Sebastian gasped. He had finally realized how the mystic spells should be used, and he was in awe. It wasn't that Sebastian was unable to do it. It was just that up until then, he had only seen the mystic sect apprentices of the secular world. Perhaps their understanding of how to use mystic spells was too superficial, which was why Sebastian's perception had also been affected.Realization only dawned on him when he saw
At Rexton's roar of fury, everyone turned to look at Samson, who was still standing there quietly without moving."A traitor? Murder?"There was finally a flicker of emotion on Samson's face. A sudden glimmer of light flared in his eyes, which had been devoid of life for a long time."Rexton, you know very well how your father died!"As Samson spoke, he walked toward Rexton with a steady step as he said, "I admit that I've wronged Sebastian and his mother. I was just too soft-hearted back then. That's why I believed your lies and tried to keep the big picture in mind for the Ballards, but look at how you've treated me!"There was suddenly a cold glint in Samson's eyes, and he said in a thunderous tone, "You set up a series of traps and tried to kill and torture my wife and son!"You pursued them until the ends of the earth! If my mentor hadn't rescued Sebastian, do you think he'd still be alive today?"Did you just accuse me of murder? Did you ever think of the fact that we're f