Sebastian's expression darkened. He said a few words to Rosalie, left the convenience store at once and headed straight for Westville's Frost Lake.He could not make Whitney suffer on his account. That would cross the line for Sebastian. Westville's Frost Lake was located in a forest, and it was famous for how deep it was. The lake was several hundred feet deep, and its waters were as cold as ice. That was why it was called Frost Lake.A few years ago, a tour group had come to dive and bathe in the lake. Over ten people had died as a result, so the lake had been sealed off.There was still yellow police tape around its perimeter. It had once been a renowned tourist attraction, but it had now fallen into disrepair.Beside Frost Lake, there was a church. People had once come to worship there, but it had been abandoned because of the lake.Whitney was in the dilapidated church, and both her hands and feet had been bound. She huddled in a corner, her face streaked with tears. She
Muriel sat at the door to the dilapidated church, waiting quietly.Inside the church, Whitney looked up through the broken roof at the pale moon outside. Her eyes were full of tears.Would Sebastian come for her?She wasn't sure. He was probably still in Janover, fighting for Rosalie.At that thought, the tears in Whitney's eyes trickled down her cheeks. She was full of regret, and she hated herself. She had been the one who had pushed Sebastian away step by step. She was the one who had disappointed him time and time again.However, Whitney knew very well that she loved Sebastian.Now, the misunderstanding between her and Sebastian had grown deeper and deeper.The man who had treasured her so much and who had had eyes for no one else except her was now fighting for another woman.Whitney couldn't help bursting into tears. She felt very wronged."Sebastian, didn't you once say that you would only love me for the rest of your life? Why did you leave me and fall in love with a
Muriel laughed ferociously and said, "You can talk when you've survived, young man!" The soil bubbled and heaved.Corpse puppets popped up from the ground. They were completely decayed and smelled putrid.Sebastian frowned and looked grim as he looked around at the corpse puppets around him.At Muriel's command, the corpse puppets lunged fiercely at Sebastian. He shook his head, his expression turning cold. There was a terrifying energy around him.Gold bolts of spiritual energy flew toward Sebastian from all directions. As he moved his hands, the gold spiritual energy seemed to be guided by him, and they coalesced into gold charms in mid-air. "Shield against evil!" Sebastian yelled. He raised a hand and pressed down in the air!At once, the yellow charms made of gold spiritual energy shone brightly with a golden glow. They shot toward the corpse puppets.With a series of thumps, every yellow charm attached itself to a corpse puppet, sounding like metal crashing against metal
Immediately, the trees around them snapped in half!The corpse puppets did not have time to react. Their bodies were cut in half, too, and they fell to the ground as a cloud of dust.When the sword's energy had dissipated, Sebastian remained standing there, holding the golden sword of air. He walked toward Muriel step by step.Muriel was dazed with fear. She was trembling all over as she fell to her knees, staring at Sebastian as if he were some kind of god. She begged for mercy. "Dear sir, please spare my life, I'll…"There was a hissing sound. Sebastian had raised his hand and wielded the sword, and Muriel's head rolled onto the ground! Her eyes remained wide open in death.Sebastian tamped down his energy and exhaled. He stepped over Muriel's corpse and ran into the rundown church, where he saw Whitney with her hands and feet tied up."Whitney," Sebastian called out. He ran over and began to loosen the ties around her hands and feet.After he had undone the knots, Whitney hug
Robert laughed weakly and said, "I'm alright. Don't worry."Sebastian frowned as he walked toward him. He looked at Robert's injuries, and his expression turned grim."How could you say that you're alright? All your vital points are damaged. You'll die within three days," he said coldly. Robert just laughed.Janet's eyes widened, and she looked very anxious. Sebastian sat down and gestured for Robert to stick his hand out. "Let me examine you."He took Robert's pulse and discovered that there were several streams of energy ricocheting around his body.If it weren't for the fact that he had a strong foundation of inner strength, he would probably already be dead.Sebastian looked very serious and asked, "How many people did you fight against?""Not that many. Maybe seven or eight?" Robert answered casually.Sebastian's expression changed, and his brow furrowed. He said coldly, "Seven or eight?"Had Robert gone mad? Why would he fight against seven or eight people at the sam
Janet said, "I'm sure."She repeated Sebastian's explanation to Mike. "The Dreamfyre is a type of flower. It has an unusually large number of petals that have seven different colors, like a rainbow."The Energy Dew is the dew collected from 49 different types of medicinal herbs at the break of dawn, when the sun rises. It must be the drop of dew at the highest point, and it must not be contaminated with any dust." Janet glanced at Sebastian when she finished.On the other end of the phone, Mike's brow was tightly knitted. "The Energy Dew is easily attained. I'll buy ten herb gardens and send people to keep watch tomorrow morning. We should be able to get it by then."He added, "However, I really haven't heard of Dreamfyres before. Why don't you give the phone to Dr. Ballard? I'll talk to him."Janet assented and handed the phone to Sebastian, saying, "My lord, my father would like to speak to you."Sebastian took the phone. Mike sounded very apologetic as he said, "Dr. Ballard,
The next day, Sebastian and Janet had just stepped out the door to go to the airport when Sebastian received a call from Rosalie."Sebastian, tonight is the second round of the Good Crestborne Doctors selective trials. How are your preparations going?" she asked, laughing.Sebastian frowned and asked, "Is tonight the second round of the competition?""Yes, it is. You haven't forgotten, have you?" Rosalie asked.Sebastian's expression changed, and he said, "Alright. I'll be busy later, and I'm going on a trip to Drakestone. I'll try my best to get back in time. If I can't, then consider it as me forfeiting.""Forfeiting? Sebastian, you worked so hard to get into the second round. How can you just forfeit so lightly? What are you going to Drakestone for? Should I find someone else to go in your stead?" Rosalie asked, sounding anxious on Sebastian's behalf."I've got some things to settle there. No one can go in my place," Sebastian answered.He continued, "Alright, that's enough.
After Whitney left the airport and went to the parking lot, she saw Theresa. She was wearing a spaghetti-strap top, tiny black shorts, and sunglasses while leaning against the car door.When she saw Whitney walking over to her with reddened eyes, she frowned and asked, "Are you crying? Did that asshole Sebastian upset you?""No." Whitney shook her head and got into the car. In the car, Theresa asked in confusion, "Whit, I don't understand. Wouldn't it be a good thing if Sebastian forfeited? It would be beneficial for both you and Frostwave Corporation. Why are you against it?" Whitney exhaled and said, "Theresa, you don't understand. In the past, I thought of him as a useless burden. However, after we got divorced, I realized that Sebastian wasn't as useless as we thought." "And… I recently realized that I love him and that I've always loved him," she finished and suddenly burst into tears. Theresa frowned. She looked resigned as she pulled out a tissue and handed it to Whitn
Even though Declan had already said that the old man was only in shock and didn't have a cerebral infarction, the middle-aged man still wanted to hear the opinion of a young traditional medicine doctor like Sebastian! He must be either crazy or an idiot!"If he applies that needle, your father's complexion will go from pale to dark at once. When that happens, it'll only be even more dangerous," Sebastian said impassively."Stop talking crap, Sebastian! My grandfather is the elder of the Healer Sect! Are you implying that he's not as good as you are?" Bryce yelled angrily, pointing at Sebastian.He was furious. "Sebastian, are you doubting my skills in medicine? You're a rookie in the medical field. I only complimented you at the dinner table out of politeness. Did it go to your head?" Declan demanded curtly, his expression changing."You're trying to prick the acupuncture points on the base of the patient's neck as well as in the center of his chest so that you can unblock his br
"Wow, it really is Mr. Byrne Senior! Hello, hello!" A slightly pudgy middle-aged man exclaimed. He hurried forward and shook Declan's hand heartily.Declan frowned and looked at him for a long time, but he couldn't remember where he had seen the pudgy man before.There were too many people who tried to flatter Declan every day, and he couldn't possibly remember every single one of them."Who are you?" Declan asked, his brow furrowed as he shook the man's hand. "Mr. Byrne Senior, you're so busy, so of course you won't remember me! I'm Fritz Thomson! I had the pleasure of meeting you two years ago while I was shooting a documentary about traditional medicine," Fritz said courteously.Declan finally nodded. Fritz was either a reporter or a director. It wasn't surprising that Declan had forgotten who he was.Although the Healer Sect was also among the mystic martial arts sects, it was very different from the Nine Sects. The Healer Sect had always had close connections with the sec
Sebastian waved a hand slightly at the middle-aged man and said, "I'm not a genius doctor. I'm just an ordinary traditional medicine doctor. However, that old man is in a very dangerous situation. You must not touch him!"He spoke urgently when he saw that the middle-aged woman was propping the old man up so that he was lying on her lap.The middle-aged woman looked up at the middle-aged man. She was clearly hesitant.They were on the top floor, and the tiled floor was so cold. She didn't think that it would be safe for her to let the old man just lie on the floor. "Listen to Dr. Ballard! You won't go wrong!" the middle-aged man said quickly to her."Dr. Ballard? He's nothing compared to my grandfather!" Bryce exclaimed. He was annoyed to hear the middle-aged man addressing Sebastian so respectfully.After all, Declan was the elder of the Healer Sect. There were even numerous sage doctors who had to treat Declan with respect as their senior in the industry!Who did Sebastian th
Since Declan had coincidentally met Sebastian at the dinner table that day, he had thought of bringing the latter over to his side. That way, Sebastian could work for him. "Sebastian, I'm planning to make an exception and take you as my apprentice. What do you think?" Declan asked again when he saw that Sebastian was ignoring him.Sebastian continued to ignore him. Did he really thought he could be Sebastian's mentor? The old man must be crazy!"Sebastian, you should hurry and kneel to my grandfather! You're lucky to get him as a mentor! My grandfather hasn't accepted any apprentices for 20 years!"Bryce glared at Sebastian, whom he felt was being far too tactless. There were countless people fighting to have Declan as a mentor."Mr. Byrne Senior, I don't wish to have a mentor. Besides, no one is qualified to be one," Sebastian said impassively. "You little—"Declan was furious. Sebastian was far too arrogant! He was already humbling himself by deigning to take Sebastian as an
Bryce saw the anger in Declan's face, so he said reluctantly to Larys, "I'm sorry, Mr. Compton. I've acted impulsively."Acted impulsively? It would have been better if Bryce hadn't apologized at all. His apology had made Larys even angrier. He clearly had no respect for Larys at all if he could slap him just out of a moment's impulse. Larys was the mayor of Steinberg. How could he just let things go just because Bryce had said that he had been impulsive? "Mr. Compton, my grandson is young and ignorant. Please don't hold it against him." Declan had no choice but to speak up and apologize to Larys on Bryce's behalf. Larys could only nod. He smiled slightly and said, "Forget about it. Make sure that it doesn't happen again."Once everyone was seated once more, Bryce continued staring viciously at Sebastian. It was all Sebastian's fault that he had been slapped twice by Declan!He couldn't just let him go, but he didn't dare to cause any more trouble at the dinner table. Howeve
"People always say that you can see what a person is like from looking at their family. I can see that it's true," Sebastian said impassively.That was a harsh insult to Declan. It implied that Bryce's rude behavior was a reflection of Declan's lack of good character, and that their family didn't have good manners.Declan turned purple with rage. Ever since he had become one of the esteemed members of the Healer Sect, everyone in the martial arts community always spoke respectfully to him, especially those of the traditional medicine community. All of them were polite whenever they met him.However, Sebastian had insulted him thrice in a row, and each insult was worse than the last. Rosalie couldn't help but laugh. She leaned on Sebastian's shoulder and turned her head away, her slender figure trembling with the effort of not laughing out loud."You're terrible! You've insulted them so slyly!" Rosalie whispered in Sebastian's ear.Sebastian reached out to put an arm around her t
Sebastian's expression turned cold at once. What was so important about an elder of the Healer Sect? Was there any reason for him to make so many people wait?Besides, the banquet had been set at 9:00 pm, and both he and Rosalie had arrived on time. Why should Declan be treated differently?Sebastian had never had any patience with people who used their age as an excuse to do whatever they wanted to."Forget it. Calm down, both of you, and let's both refrain from saying anything else."Larys stood up quickly to smooth things over. Both Sebastian and Julian remained silent out of respect for him. However, they both exchanged icy looks.Now that the conflict had subsided, Larys leaned closer to Sebastian and whispered, "Mr. Ballard, I'll be honest with you. I can't afford to offend either you or Mr. Byrne. Please help me out and refrain from pursuing this matter further."Larys was being sincere. He was in awe of Sebastian's allies, but Declan had equally powerful allies supporting
Upon hearing Rosalie's words, Sebastian laughed wryly and shook his head.The Nine Sects wouldn't dare to say a thing to the Ballard Estate, who in turn thought nothing of the Healer Sect.Andreas snorted in laughter and said, "If you had said so 100 years ago, even I would have had to concede. However, times have changed now.""What do you mean?" Rosalie looked curiously at Andreas. It seemed that Sebastian's cousin was very familiar with the Healer Sect. "About 12 years ago, they went on the wrong path. If you check thoroughly, you'll probably find that the development of many new medicines was related to the Healer Sect. However, they are not the refiners!"Rosalie seemed to be deep in thoughts. Her brow darkened as she said thoughtfully, "Do you mean to say that the Healer Sect has abandoned the art of medicine and has decided to go in the direction of the art of pill refining instead?"This made Andreas see Rosalie in a different light.Medicine and pill refining were very
"Are you talking about your cousin? He doesn't look like a businessman at all, though. He looks more like…"Rosalie put her chin in her hands, her brow tightly furrowed. However, she couldn't find an appropriate way to describe Andreas.He felt very strange to Rosalie. There was a kind of energy he had that was difficult to express in words. "It doesn't matter whether he's a businessman or not. He just has to have money. Why don't we discuss it with him tomorrow? I think he'll probably support you unconditionally," Sebastian said confidently."Really? But if we develop a similar medicine, won't we be going against the Croydons? That doesn't seem right."Lorcan was a friend of Oliver's, after all. That meant that he was a friend of the Griffins. Rosalie didn't want to make such an important family their enemy in business. "With that contract, we have to show the Croydons that they shouldn't become ungrateful, nor should they use their force against us!" Sebastian exclaimed in a