As the power of the seven runes reached their limits, the casting power at the Sage Level finally
emerged from within Ricky. The runes shone brightly with a golden light, proclaiming that they had
evolved into holy runes.
When the drum sounded for the eighth time, the audience gaped at Ricky with open mouths just as
they had when they witnessed Kamari's real strength a moment ago.
The air was filled with an eerie silence.
As realization sunk in, a shaky voice broke the oppressive silence. "Are my eyes deceiving me? Ricky...
Is Ricky a casting master of Sage Level?"
"It is as plain as day! He released the holy runes, same as Kamari."
It took Kolton a while to recover from his shock as well. He couldn't help but clap his hands like a kid,
exclaiming with a laugh, "Nice work, boy!"
The other saints and casting masters of Sage Level stood up unconsciously and stared at Ricky, their
eyes almost popping out in disbelief.
"Incredible!" they remarked in unison. There was no other word to describe Ricky at that moment.
Simultaneously, all of them came to the same conclusion—they would go to any lengths to invite Ricky
to join their forces.
Even though they equally admired Kamari's talent, he was from the Helian Clan, and they knew that he
would never betray his clan for any price. However, Ricky was different. Although he was already a
core disciple of the Misty South Palace, Ricky didn't belong to any casting force yet.
Meanwhile, the casting masters of the Helian Clan, including the three elders, were in no mood for
celebration. Their eyes were narrowed at Ricky. The proud expression on their faces was now replaced
by gloomy stares. This was no good news for them. This man was now a threat to the Helian Clan.
'No way! He has become a casting master of Sage Level?!'
Kamari's heart roared, his face twisting as he looked at the holy runes on Ricky's body.
"Impossible," he muttered to himself. He couldn't believe his own eyes.
He did not want to believe that there was another person who was also less than a hundred years old
in the Misty South besides him having become a casting master of Sage Level. To make things worse,
this fledgling was not even from the Short Human tribe.
There was no doubt that Kamari was an incredible casting genius, but on top of being naturally
talented, he reaped the benefits of being in Helian Clan. For many years, Kamari had cultivated on the
Casting Ladder and acquired the original energy of casting from the nine hundred and ninety ninth stair.
With all those resources and experience in his pocket, he didn't think that anyone could surpass him in
the casting field.
And Kamari, like most other geniuses who had never failed in life, had a terrible weakness. He was
used to looking down upon others and was convinced that there was no one who could outmatch him.
Failure was never a part of his lessons.
At that very moment, he was tasting it for the first time in his life. Even though he was strong-minded,
he still took it badly.
What Kamari didn't know was the truth that Ricky too had cultivated on the nine hundred and ninety
ninth stair of the Casting Ladder and had gotten a hold of the original energy of casting.
Watching from the cloud, Elder Calhoun sensed Kamari's instability. In a serious, but gentle voice, he
said to the young man through telepathy, "Kamari, you have not lost yet.
You are the best casting genius of our clan. But even if you fail today, be strong willed and move
forward."
Elder Calhoun's words brought much relief to Kamari. "Yes, you are right. I haven't failed yet. The drum
sounded eight times for me and fifty one circles appeared," Kamari murmured to himself.
He then turned to look at the yellow drum.
The others' eyes followed suit.
As they got over their shock, the crowd slowly came to a collective conclusion that there was no way
Ricky could defeat Kamari even though he got the drum sounding eight times.
After all, Kamari got fifty-one circles to light up.
All eyes were on the drum. Thirty three circles glowed.
The light dimmed as it reached the thirty-third.
Discussions erupted among the crowd. "It's about to stop!"
"It seems so. What a pity!"
"It looks like Ricky is still going to lose. I have a feeling that his holy runes are inferior to Kamari's. I
guess he only recently became a casting master of Sage Level."
"Yes. But even if he loses now, he will still lose with such honor."
"I agree. Even if he comes only second to Kamari, Ricky is still a winner. After all, he has defeated
most casting geniuses and almost beat Kamari as well."
"I believe it won't be long before he really surpasses Kamari."
"Humph! Even though he got the drum sounding eight times, it doesn't change anything. Thirty-three is
the best he could get," Kamari scoffed, with a trace of disdain in his voice.
Despite being the winner, he didn't feel any excitement and neither did the other members of the Short
Human tribe.
Hearing Kamari's words, Ricky turned to look at him. "You got fifty one circles. You think I can't do that
as well?" Rickey asked with a defiant smile on the corner of his lips.
He released his chaotic power, and integrated it with the power of his seven zones.
The Light Apperception was useless to him in this test, but the chaotic power was definitely going to
prove helpful.
His runes came from the zones.
Therefore, driven by the chaotic power and the zones, more circles began to light up.
At the forty-fifth circle, the light stopped once again.
Without any hesitation, Ricky unleashed the power of the bright ancestral spirit.
Everyone in the audience watched in utter disbelief as the fifty-eighth circle glowed. Then, the light
dissipated for the last time.
Time seemed to have come to a halt and everyone bated their breaths.
The Helian Clan was petrified beyond reason.
There was pin-drop silence as all eyes took in Ricky's form next to the yellow drum.
An oppressive atmosphere enveloped the members of the Helian Clan, while the other warriors
cheered in excitement for Ricky who had proved to be an irreplaceable casting genius.
It was the first time that someone outside the Short Human tribe had managed to surpass them in the
casting field.
"You did it!" the Dragon Intent Grass said to Ricky through telepathy.
Although its tone was calm, Ricky could clearly sense the excitement in its voice.
It was happy for Ricky's victory.
The Evil Mandragora in the Divine Manor, who had been watching what was happening in the
competition, also felt happy for Ricky.
Ricky's voice was calm as he said, "Yes, I came to the Helian Clan with a purpose. Now, I've achieved
my goal."
Even though he seemed calm, Ricky was thrilled.
"But to be honest, without the bright ancestral spirit, the chaotic power and the seven zones, I couldn't
have beat Kamari. And if he had used his full strength in the first place, I would have been defeated,"
he added.
"Luck plays a huge role in victories. You were destined to be the new number one casting genius," the
Dragon Intent Grass said.
'Now, I can talk to the Helian Clan about Wayne in peace, ' Ricky thought to himself.
He didn't think that the senior members of the Helian Clan would give him a hard time now.
After all, he had shown his talent in casting in front of everyone.
A voice broke the silence in the air. "We have the new number one casting genius."
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