When the voice faded into the ether, the figure of an old man emerged.
Judging from his aura, the old man must be a saint, which perplexed Ricky because this guy was the
weakest saint he had ever seen.
But to his surprise, all the warriors in the square lowered their heads in respect as soon as they saw
the old man.
"Elder Graysen!"
greeted all the disciples of the Helian Clan as they bowed down respectfully.
Upon hearing them call the old man Elder Graysen, Ricky immediately realized who the man was.
In the Helian Clan, aside from the top casting masters at the Sage Level who were hiding in the dark,
there were also top casting masters at the Sage Level on the surface. Those were the head of the
Helian Clan and their ten elders.
The Helian Clan's leader had highly likely achieved a Demi-divine Level in casting, while the weakest of
the ten elders were casting masters that had reached the advanced stage of the Sage Level.
Any force considered casting masters at the advanced stage of the Sage Level with the utmost respect.
With just that information, it was clear how prestigious and powerful the Helian Clan's ten elders were
in the Misty South.
"You are Ricky Nan, the one who took Wayne, the casting genius of our Short Human tribe, as your
disciple!"
Elder Graysen glared at Ricky frostily.
Just like his men, he also hankered for Ricky's death because he felt like the brat had tarnished the
reputation not only of the Short Human tribe but also of the Helian Clan.
"Sir, Wayne isn't just my disciple. He's also a good friend of mine!"
Ricky defended immediately. He had come here to support his friend, but that didn't mean he wanted to
offend the Helian Clan.
"How dare you take him as your disciple? We, the Short Human tribe, have never had an outsider
serve as our member's master in casting. Are you trying to humiliate us?"
Elder Graysen confronted him.
Just as they were talking, several figures emerged from the skies.
Kolton, along with other saints from the forces that the Helian Clan invited, had finally arrived.
Many of these saints waited for what Kolton would do.
"What are you doing here?"
Kolton asked Ricky telepathically, feeling helpless upon seeing Ricky there.
"Sir, I can't leave my friend alone. Besides, he is my disciple and my responsibility,"
insisted Ricky with much concern.
"I understand, but deal with this carefully. The Helian Clan is not to be trifled with."
That was the only thing that Kolton could say after hearing the determination in Ricky's voice.
"Sir, I didn't do this to humiliate you.
Isn't it normal to accept when someone asks to be your disciple? I don't think that anything like that
could be shameful,"
explained Ricky to the elder of the Helian Clan.
"Besides, don't you also invite elders to teach many of your disciples? Is that shameful too?"
"Enough of your impudence!"
Elder Graysen cut him off harshly.
"Of course we need to invite others for martial arts since our Helian Clan is not that good at fighting.
However, we are the best in Misty South in terms of casting, so there's no need for our disciples to go
looking for masters elsewhere. Have you ever heard of the strongest needing to be apprenticed? If
someone in the Helian Clan took an outsider as their master in casting, that would be a great disgrace!"
"Please don't be offended. Ricky is still young and immature," Kolton immediately told Elder Graysen
when he felt the other man's mounting anger. "You can just ask Wayne to withdraw from being Ricky's
disciple, right?"
His suggestion seemed sound, for he figured that even the Misty South Palace wouldn't want to go
head to head against the Helian Clan.
"Can't you keep a low profile, young man?" Kolton reprimanded Ricky using his internal power.
"Sir, please allow me to take part in this competition," Ricky sincerely requested.
"Fine. It looks like you've made up your mind, anyway." The tone of Ricky's voice told him he couldn't
change the young man's mind. "In that case, you can participate in it, and I'll try to put in a good word
for you."
"We all know that the Misty South Palace is the most powerful force in the Misty South. However, that
doesn't give its disciples license to be so arrogant," Elder Graysen grumbled.
"Now, now, let's take a step back, okay? We shouldn't fight over such a small thing. Let's put this matter
aside first. Once I get back, I will pass the word to our lord. We will certainly give you a satisfactory
answer," Kolton persuaded him smilingly.
"For now, kindly allow Ricky to sign up for the casting competition. He will take part as the
representative of our Misty South Palace."
"How can you even suggest such a thing? Do you think our Helian Clan will allow someone who has
humiliated our clan to participate in this competition?" Elder Graysen replied angrily.
"Hell, if it weren't for the Misty South Palace, I would have killed him from the moment I laid eyes on
him!"
"Come on, man, no need to get so heated up. I think this is a matter between the youngsters, so we
shouldn't meddle in it. Why not let them settle it themselves?" This time, Kolton took offense with Elder
Graysen's stern tone, and his face grew serious as well.
Although the Misty South Palace didn't want to provoke the Helian Clan's wrath, he refused to let any
force threaten them. Otherwise, the entire Misty South Palace would look weak.
When Ricky noticed the thick tension building between the two, he immediately stepped in.
The last thing he wanted to happen was for a war to break out between the Misty South Palace and the
Helian Clan just because of him.
"Elder Graysen, why don't you want me to take part in the competition? I know that I'm not inferior to
any casting geniuses from the Helian Clan, so maybe you're afraid that I will take the first place..."
"Ha-ha! Don't be ridiculous, boy!" Hearing Ricky's words, Elder Graysen burst out into laughter.
A sarcastic smile flashed across his face, thinking that Ricky was too naive.
Meanwhile, the other warriors who heard his statement also shook their heads in dismay.
"He isn't afraid of the Helian Clan at all! Just because he can use the Light Apperception to condense
the furnace and even defeated Wayne once, he thinks he is the best!" a warrior mumbled with irritation.
"Well, judging from his tone, you may be right."
'It looks like Lanny didn't succeed in breaking Ricky's resolve. He is still as confident as ever!' Kolton
thought to himself. 'However, this can also be beneficial to us.'
"Why are you laughing, Elder Graysen? Did I say something funny?" Ricky asked.
"Young man, do you think I'm stupid? I won't fall for your stupid tricks," Elder Graysen responded with a
glare.
"Well, I think you're just scared, Elder Graysen. After all, you expect all the highest rewards to go to
your Helian Clan's disciples. Am I right?" Ricky challenged the other man with a cheeky smirk.
"Tch! You talk too much!" Elder Graysen spat.
Of course, he couldn't show that he was affected, or the others would think that Ricky hit the nail in the
head.
"Elder Graysen, since he wants to take part in the casting competition, just let him do it. Our Helian
Clan has never been afraid of anyone before." A cheery voice sounded in reply. "And besides, we can't
break our rules. He already has an invitation, so we can't say no to him."
The next moment, a petite young man clad in grey clothes appeared.
"It's Kamari Helian, the most talented casting genius among the younger generation in the Misty
South!"
The moment the surrounding warriors saw the grey-clad young man, they immediately recognized him.
Even the saints in the air showed respect to him.
This young man was Kamari Helian, a casting genius of the Helian Clan. Even though he hadn't even
reached fifty years old, he had already defeated all the other casting geniuses of the Helian Clan.
Currently, he had reached the Demi-sage Level at peak state in casting.
Because of all these achievements, he became known as the most talented casting genius among the
younger generation in the Misty South.
Some rumors even claimed that in the few years that passed, Kamari had become a casting master at
the Sage Level.
Perhaps, a few decades later, another casting master at the Demi-divine Level would appear in the
Helian Clan.
The presence of a casting genius at such exemplary caliber made all the saints present sigh with awe.
'So that's Kamari Helian...'
Ricky noted to himself seriously.
He gazed at the other man intently, burning the man's features to his memory. After all, this person was
probably the biggest threat to him in this casting competition. In fact, this man was probably his only
worthy opponent.
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