Joshua walked onto the stage, trembling. He fell to his knees with a thump, and the moment his knees touched the floor, he felt utter despair.He could never show his face in the industry again. No one in Sartvale, at least, would think of him as an expert or treat him with respect any longer.Joshua's whole body shook as he groveled to the crowd, and sweat trickled down his forehead. Tears brimmed in his eyes. Once he had finished groveling, he fainted.Sebastian's gaze swept coldly over him. He knew that Joshua was fine and that he had only fainted from anger."Mr. Sadler might be a little tired. He needs to rest for a while. Let's invite our kind staff members to carry Mr. Sadler outside where it's a little cooler so that we can continue," Celeste said very politely, However, the reality was that she had called up a few security guards who dragged Joshua outside the hall as if he were a dead dog. They tossed him onto the cold cement floor and waited for him to wake up on his o
Jayden slumped down in his chair like a wilted flower. He shook his head, looking mournful. He could not have the geode opened. Even if Zane had tricked him, he couldn't humiliate himself in public."Mr. Stallone is very generous. This is such a defective product, but you were willing to spend over 500 million to buy it! Are you planning to use it as a paperweight?" Zane asked, laughing heartily."Oh my, a paperweight worth over 500 million! The Stallones are truly wealthy.""Mr. Stallone, why don't you open it up to see? Perhaps there'll be a grain of emerald in it, and you can make a ring.""If that's too hard, you might still be able to make a pair of studs."Jayden's temper flared at once at the mocking voices around him. He shot to his feet and yelled at Celeste, "Open it up for me right now!"As a white cloud of dust began spreading through the hall, the crowd could already guess what the result would be. There was no emerald in it at all!Jayden forcefully demanded them t
There was the sound of two crisp slaps, and the entire hall fell silent at once.Slapping the employees of the Holmes family was tantamount to slapping the Holmeses themselves!People like Colin always placed more importance on their pride than anything else. He wouldn't let it go easily.The manager, who had been behaving so obsequiously to Jayden, immediately ran up to the VIP area on the second floor. He told Colin about what had happened.There was a crash as the sound of a teacup smashing came from the second floor."I'm sorry, Ms. Lucox. This is an embarrassment. I'll go and settle a few things, and I'll be right back," Colin said, standing up."Please go ahead, Mr. Holmes," Cecilia said, smiling.With Cecilia's permission, Colin pushed the door open and went out, his expression extremely icy.Troops of security guards in black uniforms rushed into the hall, holding rubber truncheons. They surrounded the entire hall.Jayden finally realized that he had made a grave mista
After Jayden left, Zane felt much better. He was also delighted to hear Colin remind Jayden about the bet.Zane hadn't expected to have gained so many things that day. Not only had he won the bet, but he had also cracked open an AAA quality emerald and gotten two antiques. His luck really seemed to have improved, and it was all thanks to Sebastian.For the remainder of the auction, Zane listened to Sebastian's advice and did not raise his sign again. He had already gotten the biggest AAA quality emerald that day, and he was content with what he had gained.Sebastian knew very well that being greedy could result in a rebound of their luck.When he and Zane got into their car, a pair of frosty eyes stared intently at them, but they didn't notice."Mr. Ballard, let me take you home," Zane offered respectfully.Sebastian shook his head slightly and pointed to the painting of "The King's Son". "No, you can't keep that painting overnight. Do you think you'd be able to keep it safe?"Z
"So what if you saw through me? Do you have any other choice?" The driver finally removed his broad-brimmed hat, revealing a ferocious, terrifying face.There was a long knife scar on his face that cut across from his left eyebrow to his right ear, and there was no light in his ice-cold eyes, making him look sinister and frightening."Who are you? Where's Bill?" Zane panicked at once. He wanted to escape, but he could not. Seven or eight burly men had come up to surround the car. Even if Zane jumped out of it, he would be caught by the men."My name is Dustin Moore!" Dustin said calmly."Let's negotiate, shall we, Mr. Moore?" Sebastian said impassively."Negotiate?" Dustin scoffed and shook his head slightly. He said, "You aren't worthy of negotiating with me!""How can you be so sure?" Sebastian's smile disappeared gradually."What do you think?" Dustin smirked and pulled out a gun. He twisted the silencer very calmly.Sebastian sighed wryly and said, "There are always peopl
Alistair clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. Perhaps he had sensed that the extent of Sebastian's powers was hard to gauge, which was why he was not in any hurry to attack."I hope that we can resolve this peacefully. If we have to fight, both of us will end up hurt," Alistair said coolly."I'm talking about evidence. If you can prove that it belongs to you, I can return it to you! Otherwise, I don't mind making a move," Sebastian said, smirking.Alistair closed his eyes. It was as if he was thinking about something. After a long time, he wrote a word out on his palm and raised it slowly. When Sebastian saw what was written, he couldn't help being startled.Alistair had written an extremely strange-looking word. The way in which he had written it was very unique. It wasn't a modern script. It was the word "bane" from the early Quorn era. That type of script had disappeared from Crestborne for more than a thousand years. Even archaeologists no longer knew how to write it
Alistair managed to dodge over ten moves, but in the end, a bolt of intense energy hit him straight in the chest. It sent him flying backward.He spat out a mouthful of blood from the impact of the intense energy. After rolling on the ground, he got up as quickly as he could.However, he was still half a step too slow. Another bolt of intense energy hit him in his stomach. Alistair was flung into the air once again like a broken kite.At the same time, Sebastian attacked. He shot toward Alistair and released three silver needles. The silver needles plunged into several meridian points on Alistair's body. He fell to the ground and couldn't move any longer.Sebastian waved quickly at the dark shadow while he took out his Ovalia Token; a strong suction force pulled the shadow back into the Ovalia Token once more."What position do you have in the Fate Sect? How do you know about the Mirror of Rain?" Sebastian bent down and looked at Alistair, smiling. Alistair's gaze seemed rathe
"He has amnesia! Every two weeks, he'll lose his memories for three days! As for who he is, I have no idea! I'm nobody in the Dragon Sect. Please, have mercy!" Alistair breathed a sigh of relief when Sebastian pulled out the silver needles. Sebastian held the needles, frowning deeply.The Dragon Sect was outside the jurisdiction of the Nine Orders, Eighteen Principles and Thirty-Six Sects. It had existed for over 100 years.The organization was very mysterious, and about 20 years ago, the Nine Orders, Eighteen Principles and Thirty-Six Sects had joined forces against it. After that, the Dragon Sect had been driven abroad. As for the esteemed guest that Alistair had mentioned, it was very likely to be a powerful foreign organization. Perhaps the Dragon Sect wanted to use them to return to Dramon.Sebastian asked Alistair, "Apart from this, what else has the Dragon Sect been doing lately?"Alistair shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know either. All I know is that there h
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
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