What Is Botis Up To?

On the outskirts of Backlund, by the Tussock River.

"Dorian Gray... that's your name, isn't it?"

"Saint of Secrets" Botis rubbed his temples with his fingers, as if trying hard to dredge up a memory from the depths of his mind.

Across from him, Dorian Gray was taut from head to toe, as wary as a rabbit watched by a venomous snake and as furious as if he had seen a bitter enemy. One of his hands had reached deep into his pocket, seemingly gripping something as he waited for the right moment to use it.

"Don't be so nervous."

Seeing this, Botis chuckled softly, mockery glinting in his eyes. "You are a member of the great Abraham Family. Do try to maintain your bearing, or you'll bring shame upon your ancestors."

His words were filled with undisguised malice.

The Abraham Family was a Beyonder family with deep foundations, but they had unfortunately been plagued by a peculiar curse that made it difficult for them to advance to higher Sequences. This caused the family's overall strength to steadily decline, gradually losing its former glory.

To change this situation, the family's upper ranks began making reforms. They imitated the Life School of Thought's master-disciple system and began nurturing people outside the family, hoping that once they advanced to High Sequence, they could in turn help the Abraham Family resolve the curse that had troubled them for fifteen or sixteen hundred years and find their ancestor Bethel Abraham, who had vanished during the War of the Four Emperors.

At first, the plan progressed smoothly. Non-family members did not need to worry about the curse. Under the tutelage of their teachers, they advanced rapidly and grew ever stronger. Within a few decades, several of them had even become Sequence 5 powerhouses, while among