Just as the Dragon Intent Grass expected, over three-fourths of the participants were eliminated. Out of
the thousands that took part, only hundreds of participants got into the second round.
Those who expected much from Ricky were all disappointed because it took him nine hours just to
create a mediocre weapon.
'This guy looks innocent, but he is quite cunning. He's pretending to be weak so that his opponents
would let down their guard, and then he'll take them by surprise, ' Kolton mused quietly as he observed
what Ricky was doing.
Of course, he didn't fall for Ricky's trick since he knew the other man's real casting skills.
'But this proves that he already got over what Lanny had done to him. His spirit is strong, and his
determination and persistence are even stronger, '
he thought.
In three days, the second test would begin in the Helian Clan's Casting Ladder.
The Casting Ladder had 999 steps in total, and the whole of these stairs was a supreme weapon of the
Helian Clan that was designed for casting.
The Casting Ladder had two parts with inherently opposite environments.
Its left side was perfect for casting, as it had the ideal realm in weapon casting, spiritual power, and the
power that could help warriors enter the state of casting.
A warrior's casting realm could improve exponentially in this environment.
In fact, the higher the stair, the better it was for casting masters.
The Helian Clan's members honed their casting skills in this place.
On the other hand, the environment on the right part was entirely different. It lacked spiritual power and
didn't have the ideal realm in weapon casting. Worse, the energy that could help warriors enter the
casting state occasionally disappeared.
In that place, the higher the stair, the worse it became for casting masters.
Unlike the left side, this part couldn't help warriors improve their casting realm. They could cultivate
there, though, and it would help them enhance their current casting realm. The longer the time they
spent in this place, the deeper understanding of the casting arts they would obtain.
The combination of these positive and negative environments made the Casting Ladder the best place
for casting masters in the Misty South.
On the 999th stair, the two environments merged to form one ultimate environment that casting
masters could only dream about.
Supposedly, even a mediocre warrior could become a casting master of Sage Level if he was
persistent enough to stay and train on the 999th stair for a few hundred years.
The Casting Ladder could grant any warrior an abundance of casting insights and experience.
It was the Helian Clan's trump card and the reason they could train so many casting geniuses. No other
force had such an excellent training environment, after all.
The second test involved casting weapons on the Casting Ladder. The negative environment, in
particular, would be used.
The results all depended on two aspects. First, it hinged on how many steps the participants had
reached, and second, the quality of the weapon they made. Needless to say, it must be exceptional.
Three days had passed, and the participants gathered at the square inside the Helian Clan, where an
enormous and ancient-looking bronze stairwell sat in the center.
This staircase protruded high over the sky, so much so, that the clouds obscured the rest of the steps.
Each stair seemed as vast as an entire world, and each had a casting civilization.
As Ricky stood by the stairs, he felt conscious of how small his existence was in relation to it. With no
hesitation, he entered the perfect casting realm. To his astonishment, the Casting Ladder's invisible
aura immediately resonated with the casting runes inside him.
Ricky instinctively knew that if he stayed here for a year, the casting he did would be worth ten years'
hard cultivation elsewhere.
'The Casting Ladder is amazing! It's a shame I can't cultivate up there. Who knows how much I could
progress?' Ricky wondered in amazement.
"It is indeed a supreme weapon that was born from the ancestral land of the Helian Clan. With it, the
fortune of every member of the Helian Clan is decided. That's why they deem it very private and only
open it to the public whenever the casting contest is held. That is the one and only chance for outsiders
to cultivate up there,"
the Dragon Intent Grass revealed further.
'This is frustrating! The Helian Clan has so many advantages over us because they have all these
resources. It's like they're destined to rule in the casting field, ' Ricky thought to himself in frustration.
"By the way, are you still going to hide your real skills in the next test?" the Dragon Intent Grass
curiously asked.
"Of course not. I'm going to do my best because this is the time to test what I can really do. The
competition between me and the top geniuses of the Helian Clan has finally begun," declared Ricky
firmly, and an anticipative smile stretched across his face.
As soon as Elder Grayson and the other saints arrived, the man from the Short Human tribe in charge
of the competition began to talk. "Well, you already know the rules, so I won't beat around the bush.
We are starting now! You will have a day to go through this competition!" he announced
straightforwardly.
When he finished speaking, the participants immediately stepped onto the right side of the Casting
Ladder.
The moment Ricky moved onto the first step, he sensed three kinds of power.
The first that he sensed was the spiritual power. However, it was negative. It conflicted with his spiritual
power, and the two kinds of spiritual power ended up clashing against each other. It appeared that the
negative spiritual power was there to stop warriors from making weapons. The second was the power
of casting intent. Although different from the first type, it functioned in the same way, in that it also
destroyed the warriors' Intent Apperception.
What made matters worse was that the casting intent pervading the air was incomplete and chaotic.
Everyone knew how essential the power of casting intent was to weapon casting. If it were incomplete,
it would be impossible to craft any kind of weapon.
It could even negatively affect that warrior's casting career.
Last of the three powers but not least was the power that could cause distractions.
After all, a warrior couldn't achieve anything if he couldn't stay focused. Casting was no easy work.
All the participants in the competition had to resist the three kinds of power as they cast the weapons.
For ordinary casting masters, it was a nearly insurmountable task.
However, as Ricky resisted the three powers, he realized that he was also quickly gaining experience
in casting.
These experiences were an asset to him. And from it, he could get to know a lot of new information
about casting.
He found that the longer he resisted the powers, the more experience he gained.
'It's no wonder any warrior who goes through this would gain a deeper understanding of the casting
skills on it. Since the test will last a day, I have some time to digest the experiences.'
Ricky planned out in his mind.
After that, he turned his attention to how Kamari and other top casting geniuses were doing.
Kamari ran through the steps without stopping until he reached the 450th step. He came to a stop at
this level, adjusted his breath, and prepared to cast a weapon.
Upon seeing this, the participants who had been closely following Kamari's progress couldn't help but
discuss.
"That guy is incredible! Only Sage Level casting masters can cross the 450th level because it
separates casting masters of Demi-sage Level and those of Sage Level. But Kamari easily made it to
the 450th step without breaking a sweat."
"It's no wonder Kamari is considered the most talented casting genius in the Misty South. No one at the
Demi-sage Level could surpass him in terms of casting!"
'I guess the rumors are right. He is extraordinary!' Ricky thought to himself with awe.
"That's not good, brat! Kamari reached the 450th step without even breaking into sweat," the Dragon
Intent Grass urgently reminded him.
"Does that mean he is now a Sage Level casting master?" Ricky asked further.
"Yeah, that's highly likely at this point. Otherwise, he won't be able to do that," the Dragon Intent Grass
replied.
Hearing this, Ricky fell silent.
He didn't say anything more because he thought the Dragon Intent Grass might be right.
Ricky figured he could defeat any casting master at the Demi-sage Level, but someone at the Sage
Level was a different story. He knew well that a Sage Level casting master could defeat him, even
those that had recently reached that level.
Who could have known that he would meet such a formidable opponent in this casting
competition?
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda