Chapter 8: The Balam Family's Pressure

In the Balam family, within Cyrus Balam's courtyard. Seth Santee had barely stepped out of Cyrus's bedroom when he saw Bianca Balam walking straight toward him. "Taken care of?" Seth asked with a grin. "Yes. I sent him packing." The words had hardly left Bianca's lips before surprise flickered across her face. "You knew all along?" Judging by Seth's expression, he had seemed utterly confident she could deal with Kane Showyer. "You'd just gone through a Realm Breakthrough. You probably hadn't fully burned through the medicine's effects yet," Seth said with a faint smile. "With what was left, handling Kane Showyer wasn't difficult." Something unreadable flashed through Bianca's beautiful eyes. "Seth, you really do see everything coming. I'm impressed." "No need to flatter me." Seth didn't accept the praise. All he could do was try his best to heal Cyrus Balam. Only then would their cooperation become truly solid, impossible to shake. "Dad's awake?" Bianca spun and rushed into the room, desperate to see how much Cyrus had recovered. Seth smiled to himself and left. "Joy, are you getting used to it here?" Back in the courtyard, he went to check on Ember first. "Bianca really didn't lie to me," Ember said earnestly. "There's so much good food here. I can't even finish it all." "As long as you're happy." Seth ruffled her hair. He truly wished he could keep her carefree for the rest of her life, untouched by worry. "Bianca seems way gentler than Evelyn," Ember said. "Can she stay with us all the time?" "You're still calling her 'sister'?" Seth meant Evelyn Showyer, of course. Everything that vile woman had done stayed carved into his memory. "I'm just not used to changing what I call her," Ember mumbled, lowering her head like a child who had done something wrong. It made Seth's chest tighten. "It's not your fault," Seth said softly. "It's hers. She was ruthless. She wanted me dead, and she wanted to ruin your entire life." When he thought of Ember being sent to Old Demon Cutmore, the hatred in him didn't fade. It only grew sharper. He had to raise his Cultivation Level, fast. Only then could he stand against Evelyn Showyer, against the entire Showyer family. At the coming Farwind City Grand Competition, he would give that father and daughter a surprise. As for what Ember had asked about Bianca, Seth didn't know how to answer. He chose to let it pass. After dinner, Ember ate until she was stuffed, then wiped her mouth, smiling brightly. Seth was just about to smile back when- Bang! The courtyard gate flew open, shoved so hard it rattled. A figure stormed in, bristling with fury. "Peter Balam, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Seth's face darkened when he saw Ember flinch in fright. "Come with me. You're meeting the elders," Peter snapped, his expression twisted as if Seth had committed some unforgivable sin. "For what?" Seth asked. "My sister got blamed by the elders because of you!" Peter roared. "Someone even proposed kicking her out of the Balam family!" "That serious?" Seth's thoughts jumped to what had happened earlier. "Because of Kane Showyer?" When Bianca had mentioned it, she had sounded calm, but there had been worry buried in her eyes. "She beat him, and you think he'd accept that?" Peter's voice shook with rage. "He went back and, on behalf of the Showyer family, declared war on us! And my sister made that decision without the elders' approval. My father's still bedridden, and those elders want to throw my sister and you out to buy the Showyer family's forgiveness!" Peter seized Seth by the collar, fingers digging in like he wanted to crush him. Seth didn't resist. He had a sister too. He understood. "I didn't expect it to put her in such a brutal position," Seth said with a quiet sigh. "Fine. I'll go." "Brother!" Ember had heard every word. Fear filled her eyes, terrified Seth would be harmed if he faced the elders. "I'll be fine." Seth gave her a calm, easy smile. Beside him, Peter curled his lip. Walk away unscathed after standing before the elders? In his dreams. Those elders at the Eighth Level of the Bitter Sea Realm probably wanted nothing more than to tear Seth apart and use his life to smother the Showyer family's fury. Before long, Seth followed Peter to the Balam Ancestral Hall. Bianca was kneeling before the ancestral tablets. Around her stood several stern-faced old men, all elders of the Balam family. "Who gave you the authority to represent the Balam family and start a war with the Showyer family?" one elder barked. "Even if your father crawled out of his sickbed, he wouldn't have that right!" "Grand Elder, you can't say that," Peter shot back as he hurried forward, hauling Bianca to her feet and shielding her. "My father is the family head. How could he not have the right? He had Bianca manage the family in his stead. If the Showyer family wants war, are we supposed to beg for mercy?" "You don't get to speak here." The Grand Elder flicked his sleeve. A surge of Primal Force slammed into Peter and sent him flying. Seth stood outside the hall, watching. Despite himself, something stirred in him. Peter was reckless and stupid, but the way he cared for his sister felt painfully familiar. "Was I supposed to let Kane Showyer take someone from our Balam family?" Bianca's voice rang out, sharp with defiance. "After all he did, after that kind of betrayal, I couldn't!" "Enough!" The Grand Elder's face turned ashen. He glared at the siblings. "Do you have any idea what disaster you're dragging onto the Balam family? The Warth family of the Imperial City has experts beyond the Bitter Sea Realm. You dared to cooperate with Seth Santee and oppose the Showyer family. All you've done is invite annihilation!" Even at Cyrus Balam's peak, they were nothing compared to the Warth family. And with Cyrus bedridden, making an enemy of the Showyer family was madness. "If I weren't here," a voice cut in, calm and cold, "would the Showyer family never touch the Balam family?" The elders finally noticed Seth standing in the courtyard. "Seth Santee?" Several elders stiffened. "You still dare to show your face?" The Grand Elder's gaze swept over Seth like ice. Aura Pressure crashed down, suffocating, locking onto him. It was this cripple who had brought catastrophe upon the Balam family. Bianca turned and hissed at Peter under her breath, "Why did you bring him here?" Peter's face twisted with grievance, but he didn't answer. Seth stepped forward under the Grand Elder's Aura Pressure, unhurried, his expression steady. "I thought everyone in the Balam family was smart. Turns out the only truly smart one is Bianca Balam. The rest of you are idiots." "How dare you! Do you even know where you are?" "This is the Balam Ancestral Hall. You don't get to run wild here!" "You insult the elders on the Balam Ancestral Grounds? You've got a death wish!" Several men behind the Grand Elder shouted, all clearly his confidants. "If you weren't idiots," Seth said evenly, "you'd answer my question. With the Warth family of the Imperial City backing the Showyer family, and with Evelyn Showyer's Innate Dao Body, do you really think the Balam family will still have a place in Farwind City in the future?" He stopped in front of the Grand Elder and met his eyes head-on. "At least not in the short term," the Grand Elder forced out. Under Seth's gaze, he felt a flicker of unease. This cripple didn't seem to fear him at all. "The Balam family still has a slim chance." "You're wrong, Grand Elder," Seth said. "The Showyer family won't wait. We can't sit here and let them swallow the Balam family whole." Bianca lifted her chin. "Handing Seth over will only make the Showyer family think we're easy prey. It'll confirm the rumors that my father is gravely ill." The elders fell silent. They knew she was right. But who among them dared to face the pressure of the Showyer family, and the Warth family of the Imperial City behind them? "Handing Seth over will at least leave the Showyer family without an excuse to strike us," the Grand Elder insisted, unmoved. "Is that what all of you think?" Seth asked, his voice carrying through the hall. No one answered. The Balam family was weak, trapped in a losing position. No matter what choice they made, it would be wrong. "I'll kill you, and it all ends," the Grand Elder snarled. True Essence gathered in his palm, violent and terrifying. Just as he was about to strike, Seth's indifferent voice slipped out, light as dust. "What if I can help all of you step into the Ninth Level of the Bitter Sea Realm?" "What?" The Grand Elder's hand froze in midair. The other elders reacted even more strongly. Their pupils trembled, and a fierce, uncontrollable light flared in their eyes.