Chapter 9: Evelyn Showyer's Threat

"Grand Elder, wait!" Several elders stepped forward at once, blocking the Grand Elder's path. Seth Santee's words hit them like spring rain on dead wood. Excitement surged through their chests, impossible to hold back. Many of them had been trapped at the Eighth Level of the Bitter Sea Realm for years, even decades. In their dreams, they had begged for a chance to shatter that shackle. "It's true," Bianca Balam said, her voice steady. As she spoke, her aura flowed outward, her Cultivation Level laid bare. "With Seth's help, I broke through to the Seventh Level of the Bitter Sea Realm." "I remember Bianca only reached the Sixth Level of the Bitter Sea Realm two months ago," an elder said in a low, heavy tone. "In that short a time, stepping into the Seventh Level Realm should've been impossible." Every gaze turned to Seth Santee. So it really might be him. He really might have helped Bianca with a Realm Breakthrough. "Ridiculous!" the Grand Elder of the Balam family snapped. "In all of Farwind City, among hundreds of thousands of Martial Cultivators, you can count the Bitter Sea Ninth Level powerhouses on one hand. This boy is a cripple the Showyer family wants dead, and you actually believe he can help you ascend to the Ninth Level Realm?" The Grand Elder himself had been stuck at the Peak of the Eighth Level for years. He hungered for a breakthrough as much as anyone, but he also knew this was his only chance to seize full control of the Balam family. "You don't have to believe me," Seth said. "Suit yourself." He turned his back on the Grand Elder and looked over the rest of the Balam family instead. "Elders," Bianca said, her eyes bright, "we're already at this point. Even if Seth fails, we lose nothing. But if he succeeds, the Balam family's overall strength will leap forward!" More than a few elders wavered. Trust him once. Try it. What did they have to lose? Seth watched their expressions shift and finally spoke. "If you want my help, I have two conditions." "You have conditions?" the Grand Elder sneered. "First," Seth said evenly, "anyone who wants a Realm Breakthrough needs my approval." At that, several people immediately glanced at the Grand Elder. He had forced Bianca to kneel, and he had even tried to kill Seth. If there was anyone Seth least wanted to help, it would be him. "You haven't even proven you can do it, and you're already putting on airs?" the Grand Elder said with a cold snort, clearly displeased. "If we want a Realm Breakthrough, we're the ones asking Seth," a middle-aged man said as he walked forward, smiling faintly at Seth and the others. "That's reasonable." "Uncle Balam!" Bianca called warmly. Seth gave Uncle Balam a slight nod, then continued. "Second. Any elder who wants a Realm Breakthrough must agree that from this day on, Bianca Balam will hold absolute control over the Balam family. Her will must not be defied by anyone." "Impossible!" the Grand Elder blurted out instantly. Obey Bianca's orders? A fool's dream. Bianca's beautiful eyes went still. Seth's second condition… was he clearing a path for her? "I have no objections," Uncle Balam said with a smile. The elders exchanged looks. Uncle Balam's Cultivation Level was at the Seventh Level of the Bitter Sea Realm. If he broke through, he would stand on equal footing with them, qualified to serve as an elder in full. "Let him try," someone said at last. That was what they all thought. The first condition was nothing. The second, though… they still struggled to swallow it. "You can take your time thinking it over," Seth said with a faint smile as he walked away. "Maybe I'll change my mind." He left behind a group of elders caught between greed and hesitation. "We're just letting them go?" the Grand Elder demanded harshly. "What about the Showyer family's declaration of war?" No one answered him. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking anymore. Inside the courtyard, Seth looked at Uncle Balam in surprise. "Senior… you trust me that much?" "I trust Bianca," Uncle Balam said bluntly. Then his eyes narrowed with interest. "Still, you didn't even flinch with Mount Tai collapsing in front of you. I'm curious about you." The Grand Elder's palm strike had nearly smashed into Seth's skull, yet Seth had remained calm. That kind of steadiness did not belong to an ordinary youth. Seth only smiled and said nothing. Near midnight, a long, piercing howl shook the entire Balam estate. Every elder was startled awake and rushed to Seth's courtyard. "Colin… you stepped into the Eighth Level of the Bitter Sea Realm?" an elder asked Uncle Balam, his voice trembling. Colin Balam threw back his head and laughed. His aura burst forth, and the elders' faces turned to shock. They looked at one another, then, as if afraid of being left behind, they rushed straight forward. "We've come to apologize! Seth, please forgive us!" "Everything before was a misunderstanding. Seth, don't take it to heart." "That's right. We were fooled by vile people, that's why we made things difficult for Bianca. Seth, please don't hold it against us." The Grand Elder's face darkened to the color of ink. Those bastards had sold him out in the blink of an eye. "My two conditions-" Before Seth could finish, the elders cut him off in unison. "We agree to all of them!" "Spineless trash," the Grand Elder cursed silently as he watched their fawning faces. "Since none of you object," Seth said coolly, "then we'll form a Blood Contract." He did not trust anyone in the Balam family except Bianca. Peter Balam produced the Blood Contract he had prepared long ago and had the elders sign it. Then, one by one, they bit their fingers and pressed down their Blood Seal. Not a single elder hesitated. A chance to break through and enter the Ninth Level Realm was something anyone would covet. The Grand Elder's heart clenched. He stormed off in fury. He knew Seth would never help him, and he could not bring himself to beg with his pride on the line. "Brat… you deserve to die." A vicious glint flashed through the Grand Elder's eyes. He had waited so many years for a chance like this, only for Seth to ruin it. No one noticed his departure. That night, the Balam family nearly boiled over with excitement, unable to settle. Bianca stared at the signed Blood Contract, feeling as if she were dreaming. Seth had not only helped her with a Realm Breakthrough and saved her father, he had also truly established her position within the Balam family. What she owed him… felt like far too much. Peter stood there for a long time, countless thoughts rising and falling in his mind. He had never imagined that a clash at a restaurant would end up reshaping the entire Balam family. "My sister's eye for people really is better than mine," Peter thought. "Too bad this kid can't cultivate. Otherwise, he'd make a decent brother-in-law." The one changed by Seth was not only the Balam family. The entire balance of Farwind City shifted around him. Most obvious was the war between the Balam family and the Showyer family. Whenever disciples from the two sides crossed paths, conflict erupted without fail. At first they were evenly matched, but the Leemin family showed clear signs of leaning toward the Showyer family. With that, Balam disciples were suppressed at every turn until, in the end, they could only hide inside their own gates. News spread that the Leemin family and the Showyer family had already formed an alliance, intent on wiping out the Balam family together. If the Balam family wanted to survive, they had to hand over Seth Santee. What shocked all of Farwind City was that the Balam family would rather risk extermination than give him up. Worse, they were united. Their story never wavered. Seth was a guest of the Balam family, and no one was allowed to touch him. That only deepened everyone's curiosity. Seth was a cripple who had lost his Cultivation Level. What right did he have to make the Balam family protect him at all costs? "Then let the Balam family be buried with Seth Santee!" Jace Showyer appeared in Farwind City and issued the declaration with overwhelming force. The Lord of the Leemin family stood beside Jace Showyer, as if confirming their alliance. Yet from where they stood, it was clear to all that the Leemin family looked more like the Showyer family's subordinate. Evelyn Showyer, who had not shown her face in a long time, also appeared. After awakening her Innate Dao Body, she seemed shrouded in mystery, as though she had merged with the Heaven and Earth Dao itself. "Whoever dares to help Seth Santee becomes my enemy!" Evelyn's voice was cruel and cold, its threat pressing down on all of Farwind City. The Balam family looked as if it could collapse at any moment. "City Lord's Manor has come to propose marriage to the Balam family!" That day, powerful figures from the City Lord's Manor descended upon the Balam family.