But the truth was, Ricky chose not to reveal the fact that he had purposely caused his own failures. He
believed that Elder Alexander would not teach him more casting techniques and methods if he had
done the tasks perfectly.
Ricky activated the Devouring Skill to its fullest. Using the Devouring Fire as a medium, he began
eliminating the impurities in the casting material.
Before beginning the intricate pounding process, Ricky first mentally practiced the Pounding Skill to
perfection.
Ricky was not too meticulous during the pounding process. After all, the true pre-requisite to succesful
casting was not meticulousness but the intricacy of mastering the Pounding Skill and a high degree of
the casting master's assimilation into the ideal realm.
This assimilation was the perfect gauge of a casting master's grasp on the Pounding Skill and his
attitude during the casting process.
Ricky would have to do his utmost best in both of these aspects in order to breakthrough and become a
real casting master in the intermediate Mortal Level.
'That is no doubt an inheritance from a casting master in the Sage Level! His Pounding Skill is
extremely intricate! Even I could only comprehend a little bit out of that!' Elder Alexander thought,
marveling at Ricky's Pounding Skill. His sharp eyes zoomed in, focusing on his movements.
'If I could be enlightened by Ricky's Pounding Skill, I might gain an opportunity to breakthrough, '
Elder Alexander thought, paying even closer attention to Ricky's progress.
As time flew by, the more Elder Alexander focused on Ricky, the more shocked he felt. He realized that
Ricky was completely engrossed in his work, to the point of being able to concentrate hundred percent
on his pounding. Even casting masters in the Spirit Level like him could not manage to do such a thing!
He also noticed that Ricky had applied all the pounding experiences he had learned in the three days
of training, including some of the more minute details. To his growing surprise, Ricky had perfectly
applied whatever he had taught him with nearly complete comprehension. He had seen nothing like it!
If Ricky continued like this, he would probably succeed in casting weapons in the intermediate Mortal
Level.
"How... How can it be!?" Elder Alexander gasped in astonishment as he tried to process the idea of
Ricky's miraculously fast improvement.
In those three days, Elder Alexander had understood perfectly where Ricky was in terms of skill. And
from what he could see then, Ricky certainly still had a long way to go before becoming a casting
master in the intermediate Mortal Level. Even if Ricky had amazing skills in casting, without months or
even years of training, he could not possibly fully grasp those experiences, pay sufficient attention to
the details and become a trained casting master.
Even if Ricky had concealed his true capability in those three days (as Elder Alexander suspected), he
could not possibly have become this skilled!
'Or perhaps... it's really true that such a talented casting master actually exists in this world...' Elder
Alexander thought, still reeling in disbelief.
But the truth was that Ricky was really an outstanding genius in casting. However, he had regained his
spiritual meridian, something specifically suited for quests in martial arts and casting.
Ricky also possessed the Chaos Manual, and nobody had any inkling yet of the greatness of the most
superior manual in the world.
Other than that, the spiritual meridian Ricky regained was a form of inheritance. As he grew stronger,
he naturally understood and assimilated the inherited techniques. This eliminated the need for him to
practice and grasp their essence all over again.
'What an astonishing talent! This is probably the reason why that casting master in the Sage Level
recognized Ricky as his student but did not care too much about how Ricky cultivated the art of casting!
He most probably thought that he could not teach Ricky much in the first place!' Elder Alexander
speculated, his mind racing with thoughts.
He could not be blamed for being overly imaginative. It was only natural to think that way when met
with Ricky's shocking capabilities.
'If this child does not die young, he will become a great man. For such a talentd warrior like him, it's
better to give him what he needs to improve! He will naturally bloom and flourish, ' Elder Alexander
thought.
With this, Elder Alexander grew determined to treat Ricky with genuine sincerity. Ricky would only take
his offer into consideration if he put his best foot forward.
...
Ricky, immersed completely in his pounding, had no idea that just a single technique from among the
many methods in his Devouring Skill could make Elder Alexander think that much. It was only his
Pounding Skill, and yet the Elder was already flabberghasted!
Ricky could only feel a connection growing deeper and deeper between him and his ideal realm. He
was racing closer to becoming a casting master in the Mortal Level— or maybe, he had already
succeeded!
Seven hours later, Ivan became the first disciple to finish his casting process. Right after him was
Andrew.
Like before, the moment Andrew opened his eyes, he looked Ricky's way.
He had opened his eyes just in time to see Ricky had complete his last pound. A gleaming saber now
appeared before his casting table.
'I'm done! I created a weapon of the intermediate Mortal Level!' Ricky exclaimed to himself as he
looked at the saber he had just cast. Ricky felt confident. He knew that there would be no need for
careful inspections. His intuition told him strongly that the saber was in the intermediate Mortal Level.
He looked proudly at the weapon he had cast, feeling its power.
"How can it be? You actually succeeded!" Andrew exclaimed with a gasp, his eyes widening.
As a casting master in the intermediate Mortal Level, Andrew could distinguish good quality from the
bad. Even though he did not want to verbally acknowledge the quality of Ricky's saber, he had to admit
to himself that Ricky had indeed cast a weapon in the intermediate Mortal Level.
"Why? Didn't think I could?" Ricky smirked.
"Or do you feel bad about yourself because you didn't outperform me as we finished the casting
process at the same time?" Ricky mocked Andrew.
"Humph! So what if you really succeeded! It's just a mediocre weapon!" Andrew snorted defiantly, but
deep inside, his astonishment had not decreased one bit.
"Look, Ricky really finished his saber! And he took about the same time as Mr. Wu!"
"How can it be!?" many disciples gasped in disbelief.
"Let me tell you something! The saber that Ricky cast is certainly not a weapon in the Mortal Level at
all! That's why he took about the same time as Mr. Wu."
Hearing their bitter discussion, Ricky shook his head helplessly. How jealous these pathetic disciples
were! A weapon that wasn't even in the Mortal Level? Nonsense!
In no time, with completion of Kayla, Theo and many other talented disciples in the Casting Guild, the
competition had come to an end. Elder Alexander and other masters from the Casting Guild had
already started to inspect of the weapons that the disciples had cast.
Even though Bertha was already considered a talented casting master in the Snow Sect, here she was
ranked much lower. The time she took to complete her casting process could only be considered as
intermediate!
Similar to the others, Bertha finally looked over at Ricky.
Her mouth fell open in shock.
Although she was proud of her friend, deep inside her heart Bertha also did not believe that Ricky's
saber could be a weapon at intermediate Mortal Level.
Soon, a casting master in the Demi-spirit Level from the Casting Guild approached Ricky.
Now everyone had turned their eyes to see what the verdict was with this shocking outcome.
'This rascal definitely couldn't have possibly cast a weapon of intermediate Mortal Level!' Kayla
thought, shaking her head. But Kayla was in deniable of an inexplicable yearning for Ricky to succeed,
a desire that she pushed down deep inside her heart.
"This time, Ricky is going to be a complete laughingstock. Imagine! He just finished his test of the
inferior Mortal Level! And he still has the guts to go for the intermediate level! What an overestimation
of his own capability! Arrogant fool!" many disciples said, sneering at him again.
However, a strong voice interrupted their jeers. "Ricky, saber, intermediate Mortal Level," the voice
said, causing a stunned silence to immediately fall over the square.
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