The day had come for casting talents from all over the world to try their hand at joining the Casting
Guild. Early in the morning, the square was already flooded with massive throngs, moving around the
area in anticipation. This day was a big day for all of them. Everyone was hoping that they would
achieve an impressive outcome in the Casting Appraisal.
In the center of the square stood some newly built casting tables. They were the pieces of outstanding
work made by the innate spirits, whose powers and capabilities exceeded far beyond ordinary people's
imagination. They were strong enough to destroy the world, and also strong enough to build everything
from scratch. Building those stages to them was nothing, and they just finished them in the blink of an
eye. Time was meaningless for them.
Today was set for the assessment of those who wanted to be recognized as a qualified casting master
of inferior Mortal Level. According to the rule, as long as they completed the task set before them, they
would be granted with the identity card of a casting master of inferior Mortal Level.
'Andrew seems to be a powerful man in the Casting Guild. I'm sure he will find fault with me. What
tricks will he play on me? Oh, what a pain in the ass he is!' Ricky thought to himself as he approached
the square with Elder Samuel. Andrew clearly had a fragile ego. What had happened a few days ago
must have been a blow to his esteem. Ricky was now quite certain that this casting test was not going
to go smoothly.
While Ricky was still lost in thought, the young man in white who had been part of Andrew's entourage
walked towards him.
"Hey, you. How dare you show up here!?" the young man said, his dark eyes hostile. Obviously,
Andrew's men were already well prepared to cause Ricky every bit of trouble they could, as apparent
from the young man's expression.
"Why not? I have the abilities, and I'm qualified to participate in this appraisal. I'm sure the Casting
Guild will not disqualify me for no reason," Ricky sneered back.
"Humph! Let's wait and see. Who laughs the last laughs loudest. I just hope for your sake that you will
still get a chance to at least laugh a little bit!" Andrew's man said, before turning his back and stomping
away. He had specifically approach Ricky just to give him a warning about the consequences of pissing
Andrew off.
He had accomplished his task, and was not willing to waste his time and breath in trading jabs back
and forth with Ricky. All he needed to do next was wait for the time when Ricky failed to complete the
task during the appraisal.
"What's the matter, Ricky? Who is that man? Do you have any conflict with him?" Elder Samuel
demanded.
"Elder Samuel, we met a few days ago. But don't worry. It was nothing serious," Ricky replied
respectfully as he lowered his head.
"Good. Leave those people alone. Your priority is to pass the appraisal," Elder Samuel advised.
"Yes, I will. Thank you for your concern, Elder Samuel," replied Ricky.
After a while, someone landed on the dais in the square. It was an old man with grey hair and black
clothes. On one of his shoulders there was a golden identity card.
The gold color indicated that he was a casting master of Spirit Level.
The moment he arrived, everyone started to gaze at him. Oh, God. He was one of the casting masters
of Spirit Level! People often talked about them and knew their ranks were very, very high. But they
rarely saw one with their own eyes. Yet one of them was here today! How could they contain their
excitement about seeing a casting master of Spirit Level in real life?
"It's Elder Alexander! The first elder of the Casting Guild! I never excepted that Elder Alexander would
be the chief examiner this time. What a surprise!" the crowd began to whisper among themselves.
"Master, it's just an examination to select the casting master of inferior Mortal Level. Why is Elder
Alexander here? He has such a high position that I think it would be unnecessary for him to oversee
this appraisal, right?" some disciples asked their masters, clearly puzzled.
"That's not the case. Although Elder Alexander has a high status, he is fair in character. So as long as
he is available, he oversees the appraisals— whether they are low-level or high-level casting master
identifications," a master explained.
"That's why Elder Alexander is the most popular elder in the Casting Guild. People like him. He was
elected as the president of the Guild, aside from holding the position of the first elder among the Guild's
five elders.
So, you must be careful and behave well in the appraisal. You must go above and beyond— perform
excellently. Don't just complete the task. Perhaps, Elder Alexander will take notice of you if you do a
splendid job."
...
"Ricky, the chief examiner is Elder Alexander. You have to try your best to fulfill the task, remember this
well. Perhaps, there will be some surprises if you can catch his attention!" Elder Samuel spoke in
Ricky's head, using his internal power to communicate.
"Yes, Elder Samuel. I will try my best to complete the task in the appraisal!" Ricky nodded,
acknowledging his advice.
Meanwhile, he thought to himself, 'Elder Alexander is said to be a fair person? That's good news. But
will he be able to notice what Andrew might do to tip the scales against me? If he can't, I'm afraid the
so-called Casting Guild is an untrustworthy place of cheating."
...
"Goddamn! Why did this old man show up here? Didn't Mr. Wu tell us that he would be in seclusion?"
cursed the young man in white, his dark eyes squinting hatefully. Elder Alexander meant good news for
disciples like Ricky who were going to take the appraisal.
However, this young man in white was extremely vexed at Elder Alexander's presence. He feared this
elder, and was worried that their plan would fail because of him.
'What should I do? Mr. Wu must have already arranged everything. He's nowhere nearby and it's too
late to send him a message to cancel those things he prepared for Ricky now. Oh, God. Hopefully, this
old man will not notice it, ' he muttered silently to himself, praying that their plan would be able to
continue without being detected by Elder Alexander.
"Those who are qualified to participate in the appraisal, please walk to the casting table in whichever
order you want. The appraisal begins now!" Elder Alexander said, not beating around the bush. His
time was precious, and he wanted to get down to the goal of this event.
He reminded them of the rules, "If you are caught cheating during the appraisal, you and the warriors
from your clan or organization will be permanently forbidden from returning to Casting City. So, keep in
mind that honesty and integrity matter above all. I wish all of you good luck!"
Now it was time for the candidates to walk to the nearest casting table, respectively. Bearing
expressions of confidence or excitement, all of them were having high hopes that they would perform
quite well.
After Ricky settled down in his spot, the man in white walked towards him and hovered beside him.
He was here to supervise him, but Ricky knew there was more to it.
"Keeping an eye on me so closely? Thanks for the hard work," Ricky said sarcastically.
The man did not respond. Instead, he looked straight ahead as if he had never seen Ricky before.
As a matter of fact, he was feeling scared deep inside. He had just come here in the hopes that Ricky
would not shout to Elder Alexander when he found out what Andrew had in store for him. He feared
that Elder Alexander would discover their trick.
As all the candidates settled down on their spots, several disciples of the Casting Guild walked up to
them to distribute their casting materials.
"The task today is very simple. The casting materials distributed to each of you are all the same. You
are required to cast a weapon of inferior Mortal Level using those materials. Anyone who completes the
task will be granted with the identity card of the Casting Guild, and will of course earn their
membership. With this card, you are entitled to all the rights at an equivalent level of the Casting Guild!
For those who fail this time, you are still welcome to participate in the appraisal the next time it comes
around!" Elder Alexander said as the materials were being distributed.
Finally, everyone had their materials. Now Ricky saw what kind of trick Andrew had played on him.
He took a glance at the other candidates nearby and found that although their materials were not of
particularly high quality, they were at least ordinarily-used casting materials. But his materials were
nothing but some scrap metals, covered in rust and obviously brittle.
It would be difficult even for a casting master of Spirit Level to cast a weapon with such terrible metals!
'Pufft! Good job! What a wretched, pathetic man that Andrew is!' Ricky shook his head and sighed to
himself, feeling rather helpless.
Some other candidates nearby also noticed Ricky's situation. They exchanged discreet looks with each
other, some curious, some suppressing their laughter. But all of them strove to stay silent. They easily
deduced that Ricky must have displeased some powerful figure from the Casting Guild.
They would not dare speak up for him at the risk of becoming the target of whoever it was that Ricky
had gotten on the bad side of. Otherwise, their appraisals were going to end up in failure. What was
more, they might even cause trouble or bring disaster to their clans or organizations. No one wanted to
risk bringing this miserable consequence on themselves.
The young man in white, on the other hand, glanced at Ricky coldly, slight fear reflected in his eyes.
'It seems that this bastard is afraid that Elder Alexander will discover that something fishy is up with my
materials, ' thought Ricky when he noticed the man's nervousness. 'Well, that's a good opportunity! It's
time for me to repay your dastardly deed with something impressive!' Ricky thought again determinedly.
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