"Are… are there really… ghosts in this world?" Whitney asked, trembling.Sebastian laughed wryly and shook his head. He pulled Whitney over to him and said, "Actually, people are sometimes more frightening than ghosts. You're tired. Go and rest. I'll think of a solution and see if we can find Shannon."Whitney hesitated for a moment before getting up. She said, "Alright. I know I can't help, but if there's any news, please tell me as soon as possible."Sebastian nodded, and Whitney turned to return to her room.After she had gone, Sebastian turned to Lyanna and asked, "What were you talking about? Corpse-devouring ghosts?"Lyanna nodded heavily and said, "Corpse-devouring ghosts are a kind of revenant. They aren't hard to subdue for experts in yellow paper charms."Sebastian thought for a long time. He suddenly remembered a passage recorded in the Sacred Medicine Secret Annals.There was a kind of spiritual being that only ate human hearts. These spiritual beings weren't corpse-
Drew would never dare to offend someone whom even Harold, the mayor of Sunway, had to flatter."Mr. Tennyson, Vince mentioned that Mr. Ballard might have valuable insights into this case," Drew said in a carefully calibrated tone. He was only delivering Vince's will without adding any personal input, aiming to gauge the state's stance. "Oh?" Rufus Zenton, the state minister, was rather surprised.Earlier, he had called Belinda, hoping to enlist the Warrior League's assistance, but she had also recommended Sebastian to him.Rufus said firmly, "Very well. Tomorrow morning, your task force team will head to Steinberg and you will meet Mr. Ballard personally. Remember, Mr. Ballard will be leading this case, and you will personally assist him."Drew was startled. Sebastian would be in charge? What could a traditional medicine doctor possibly know about criminal investigation? Still, he dared not disobey Rufus. After all, Rufus had very strong connections. Even Tripp had only been ab
"Alright, alright. Let's just follow the orders from our superiors," Gerard said, turning to look at Sebastian and Whitney as they entered the office. There was a smug look on his face.Drew quickly introduced them to Sebastian. "Mr. Ballard, this is Officer Bellamy, the previous lead investigator. He's a criminal investigation instructor at the police academy and an experienced criminal investigator. He's been working with the state department in this field for more than 20 years."Gerard glanced arrogantly at Sebastian and inclined his head slightly. He didn't even stand up to greet him. As for Whitney, he barely even looked at her.Why would Sebastian have brought a woman here while working on such a big case? He didn't seem to be the right man for the job at all.Gerard was a famed criminal investigation expert throughout the whole of Sartvale, and he had been responsible for solving numerous high-profile cases.Even the crushed corpses case that had shocked the nation over te
Shouldn't Sebastian have tried to assure them and establish a good working relationship with them?None of the officers had expected him to be so aggressive as soon as he appeared. He had even told them all to leave!"Sebastian, we should probably tone it down," Whitney whispered. "After all, we'll need their help to find Shannon."Sebastian chuckled and said, "You want to rely on them? They won't find her even if they have ten years to do so!"The officers looked even more grim, especially Brody. He had never imagined that Sebastian would be so hostile to them when they were the experts in criminal investigation! He found himself at a loss for words."Hmph! Fine, I'll go! I'd like to see how you're going to solve this case!" Brody snapped, turning bright red with anger. He spun on his heel, ready to leave."Sit down!" Drew roared, slamming his hand on the table. "Which one among you is going to be bold enough to leave?"Brody jumped in fright, startled by Drew's outburst. The o
Sebastian didn't spare Gerard another glance. Turning to Whitney, he said gently, "Let's sit."Whitney's mind had gone blank. She could never have imagined that Sebastian would interact with the men from the state department in this manner.As Brody watched Sebastian lead Whitney by the hand to sit at the head of the table, he clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palm. He said through gritted teeth, "Mr. Ballard, you've never even attended a criminal investigation class. What makes you think you can solve this case?""What makes me think so? It's because I'm Sebastian Ballard! I don't care how amazing you are or how many cases you've solved in the past. Right now, I'm in charge!" Sebastian said impassively.He turned to look at Gerard and asked, "Do you disagree? If so, tell me what leads you've found. Any lead at all would suffice."The room fell silent; the officers were dumbstruck. Any leads? They didn't even have the faintest inkling. They had no idea what
The photo was of a long-abandoned construction site that had two unfinished buildings on it. It was surrounded by barren mountains, which were covered in dense woods. Ordinarily, very few people went there.Gerard glanced at the photo and sneered. It was a photo of the site where a young woman had died tragically just four days ago.From a criminal investigation perspective, crime scenes like that were not worth investigating at all. It wasn't the place where the first crime had been committed, nor was it the place where the last crime had been committed.They would be able to glean the murderer's modus operandi at the first crime scene and compare it to subsequent cases. However, that was clearly not required for this particular case, as there would be no other way in which someone could turn people into dried corpses.As for the last crime scene, Gerard and the others had already scrutinized it at least 80 times. There were no leads at all, which was why they were all at a loss.
"Mr. Ballard, have you discovered anything?" Gerard asked, striding into the abandoned building with a large group of officers from the state department. His hands were clasped behind his back.They had scoured the building countless times, searching every nook and cranny, yet they had found nothing.Sebastian ignored them and walked slowly to a door on the first floor. He tossed a paper charm onto the floor. After throwing six paper charms in a row, he looked up in the direction of the second floor."The crime didn't take place upstairs. This building only has two stories, and it's empty up there," Gerard said contemptuously.Sebastian didn't respond and threw the final paper charm up into the air.When the paper charm landed on the floor, Sebastian chanted in a low voice, "Heaven and earth subdue the curse, the land hides a true spirit, and the Northstar formation joins with the skies!"When his chant ended, the seven paper charms immediately began to glow with a silver-white l
"Mr. Ballard, did you just say the murderer isn't human?" Drew asked, frowning deeply."Mr. Houghton, don't listen to his nonsense! No matter how powerful that thing inside is, can it stand against our bullets? If he resists, we'll shoot him dead on the spot!" Gerard said urgently."Exactly," Brody chimed in. "How can you try and trick us with ghost stories in this modern era? You traditional medicine doctors can only fool ignorant women from the countryside!"Everyone there was part of the elite among the police, and they all believed firmly in science. They had all solved some unusual cases at some point, but in the end, they had all proved to be the work of a human.Ghosts didn't exist at all!Besides, some of those present felt that Sebastian was just lucky and had chanced upon the murderer. They didn't think that it was due to any ability or skill on his part."Mr. Ballard, shall we try to call for backup?" Drew was beginning to waver. Although he didn't want to offend Seb
The men Yutaria was sending this time were probably all going to their deaths."Even so, we should help the Warrior League. If we can wipe out the Yutarian experts in the outer borders, it will also make them fear and respect Dramon."Sebastian's goal was simple. He wanted to do his best to prevent the Yutarian experts from setting foot in the three divine mountains.While it was true that no one knew what secrets the three divine mountains held, it would be a calamity for Dramon if a Yutarian Warrior got lucky and uncovered them."You're right to be concerned, my lord," Lyanna said calmly. "We can discuss it with the Warrior League once the martial arts battle is over."In her current state, she couldn't help the Warrior League. Unless her level of skill increased and she became a true king of spirits, it would be disastrous for her if she entered the divine mountains and stumbled into the formations set up by the ancient refiners.Sebastian understood Lyanna's concerns and nodd
The moment Sebastian and Lyanna arrived at the clearing, she shot toward Sebastian like a bolt of lightning.Sebastian used his Wind Phantom move to face her.A series of blasts erupted between them, and waves of energy burst forth. Even Nina felt the energy roiling inside her.In the blink of an eye, Sebastian and Lyanna had already exchanged hundreds of blows.Suddenly, Lyanna retreated to a spot more than 20 feet away and stared at Sebastian in surprise. "How could you have such a strong force of energy?" she asked in disbelief.Back then, even Otto hadn't dared to face her attacks head-on. But Sebastian had managed to withstand hundreds of them. What was more, the energy inside his body hadn't weakened in the slightest. In fact, it actually seemed to have gotten stronger.The more they fought, the stronger he became. Lyanna knew exactly what level Sebastian had been at before. He was a Cultivator in the Eldoria realm, so how could he have produced such a terrifyingly ex
"Sebastian will be okay, won't he?" Whitney asked, glancing worriedly in the direction of the backyard. Rose shook her head slightly. "Those two often have friendly sparring with Mr. Ballard. You don't need to worry."Whitney felt a little more at ease after hearing that. Rosalie, on the other hand, wasn't worried at all. Sebastian was Nina and Lyanna's master, so they would never actually hurt him.Turning to Whitney, she said, "Ms. Sutton, let's go back inside and continue our discussion about the expansion of the pharmaceutical factory."Whitney hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Okay."…When Sebastian and the others reached the grove, Nina suddenly leaped into the air, aiming a kick at Sebastian's chest.At the speed that Nina was going, Sebastian wouldn't have had time to react to her sudden attack in the past. But now, he seemed to sense Nina making her move in advance. Taking one step back, he raised his arm and lightly blocked her.Although Sebastian felt he
Blake commanded a few Warrior League apprentices to load the Medcroft Cauldron into the car before gesturing politely to Sebastian. "After you, Mr. Ballard."Sebastian said goodbye to Belinda before getting in. Afterward, he handed Blake a bottle of Gold Remedy. "How are your injuries?"Blake shook his head. "I'm fine. However, you need to be careful after getting back, Mr. Ballard. I'm afraid that the Yutarian Warriors aren't going to let things go so easily."Sebastian hadn't been well-known before, but after what happened in the arena, his name had spread fast. "Don't worry. Let them come if they want to," Sebastian said, smiling slightly.…When Sebastian carried the Medcroft Cauldron into the convenience store, Nina and Lyanna both turned to look at him."There's something strange about this cauldron," Lyanna said, frowning. She could sense a frightening tendril of energy from it. It was an ancient, powerful object that was very mysterious, and it clashed with her ghostl
The Yutarians would be very likely to try and penetrate the three divine mountains to find the Reincarnation Pill if they were unable to find anything in other places.The Warriors that had been sent to Steinberg were probably only a distraction.Steinberg was just a small city, after all, and Sartvale was just a small state in Dramon that didn't have many legends in its history.The three divine mountains were different. Every single mountainous region contained countless legends and stories.The Medcroft had been named as the place where the Way of Wisdom had originated.Norlyn was named the home of deities.Meanwhile, Caela was called the gate to paradise. Even in the present day, there had been no one who had managed to explore the three divine mountains thoroughly. No one could reveal the secrets of those three divine mountains either."Madam Dragon, do you mean that we should delay them or destroy them here in Steinberg while we also send someone to keep an eye on the th
The losses they had suffered that night were too severe. More importantly, they had offended Jorvahn.Giovanni felt that there had been nothing wrong with his plan. The only mistake they had made was in allowing Saul to escape, which resulted in the entire thing getting exposed."Mr. Conti!" Luigi's voice came from the doorway as Giovanni was wiping down the blade."Please come in, Mr. Coppola," Giovanni said as he continued to wipe down the Yutarian saber.The door was pushed open, and Luigi walked into the room. When he saw that Giovanni was actually wiping down his Yutarian saber, his eyes widened."Mr. Conti, are you…"Giovanni smiled bitterly and said, "It's what our superiors want. I'm sure that someone will come and take over for me tomorrow morning."He sighed deeply.Luigi hastily pressed Giovanni's hand and said, "Mr. Conti, this has nothing to do with you. This is all due to my negligence."Giovanni shook his head slightly and said, "That is no longer important. How
Belinda nodded slightly and said, "Hold grand funerals for those who are dead and take care of their families.""Yes, Madam," Blake replied. He looked stern as he waved at the Warrior League apprentices. They all quickly picked up the corpses of the Warrior League apprentices on the ground and carried them into the cars.Someone took out gasoline and poured it over the assassins.Sebastian lit a cigarette and took a few drags. He then flung it at the pile of corpses.As flames roared into the air, Blake said coldly, "Get into the cars and let's go!"The procession of cars began driving toward Ventus Estate. …After Luigi had managed to escape, he stopped a few miles away. The assassins who had followed him slowly gathered together.After counting the people present, Luigi couldn't help sighing heavily. Out of over 300 assassins, almost half of them were dead. How was he going to explain this to Giovanni?"Warrior League!" Luigi clenched his fists viciously."Mr. Coppola, m
Blake was shocked to see that the apprentice had been killed right in front of his eyes. He waved quickly to his right and left.There was the sound of doors opening and closing as over 200 Warrior League apprentices jumped out of the cars.The rustling sound in the woods could be heard from either side of them."The assassins have caught up!" Saul said nervously.Although he was very confident in Sebastian's skills, he was still only one person. The Warrior League had more people, but the assassins were in the shadows. It was a disadvantageous situation for the Warrior League.There was a sharp whistling noise as countless throwing spikes shot out of the woods. Several Warrior League apprentices fell to the ground."Turn off the car headlights!" Sebastian shouted at the Warrior League members.All the car headlights were turned off at once, and it became pitch-black. Sebastian opened the car door softly and leaped into the woods. There was the crunch of bones breaking, and
"They're afraid that the Juwanian King Jorvahn will lead a force to Dramon and affect their plans. That's why they wanted to kill everyone. Their goal is to find the Reincarnation Pill in Dramon," Belinda said as she analyzed the situation.Sebastian frowned, deep in thought. Soon, he nodded in agreement.That was the only explanation that made sense.Otherwise, there was really no reason for the Yutarian Warriors to slaughter all the Yvantonian Warriors when there was no grudge between them."They killed all of my people. As long as you keep me safe, I'll tell King Jorvahn about everything that happened here. I can guarantee that King Jorvahn will destroy all of them, and he won't hold you responsible," Saul said urgently to Sebastian and Belinda. Sebastian and the Warrior League were Saul's last hope. They were still more than ten miles away from the city, and it would be impossible for him to flee there if he had to run. Besides, the enemy would be sure to chase after him if