"You have shown us what you are capable of. You are indeed qualified to be Wayne's master," Olaf
replied calmly to Ricky's inquiry.
His answer caused a stir among the crowd.
It became obvious that he had no intention of punishing Wayne.
The warriors started discussing with each other telepathically, unable to believe their own ears. "I can't
believe that the Helian Clan is making a concession for an outsider."
"Ricky is, without doubt, the first casting master who has been recognized by the Short Human tribe."
"It was an impossible feat for anyone till date, but he has done it now. I don't think there will be another
one who would be able to accomplish this."
"But I understand why they have come to this decision. Ricky is incredibly talented in both martial arts
and casting. Besides, he has the support of the Misty South Palace. At this point, there is no way that
the Short Human tribe can cause him harm. Since they can't lay a hand on him, they have no choice
but to befriend him."
"You have created a stir. The Helian Clan has made a concession for you," the Dragon Intent Grass
said.
"I'm just glad that they have taken this decision instead of going on a rampage," Ricky said with a sigh.
If he was being true to himself, Olaf would say that he didn't want members of his clan to learn casting
from an outsider. After all, it concerned the reputation of his clan.
However, there was no way around this. He had to admit that Ricky had tremendous potential in
casting.
Elder Deacon, Wayne's grandfather, who had wanted him dead at first, didn't feel the same anymore.
He was grateful to Ricky for what he had done for his grandson.
"I appreciate your kind words, sir. Thank you very much," Ricky said with a slight bow.
Olaf gave him a curt nod, and then swiftly turned to the crowd. "The casting competition has come to a
conclusion. The winners will be rewarded as promised tomorrow."
Inside the palace, Wayne was waiting for Ricky. When he saw his master, he exclaimed, "Master! You
are just so awesome! I can't believe that you've already become a casting master at the Sage Level!
You even defeated Kamari to become the number one casting genus in the Misty South!"
Wayne had been stressed out since he had taken Ricky as his master. After all, he had to face the
pressure from the Helian Clan and the other forces following this decision.
But since it was his own decision, he had no regrets.
All he had to do was wait for Ricky to rise above everyone and prove himself to the Misty South.
But he had initially thought that it would take many years before his master could be recognized by the
stubborn Helian Clan and the public.
Much to his surprise, Ricky proved himself worthy in such a short time. He was less than fifty years old,
yet he had already become a casting master at the Sage Level. On top of that, he even beat the
number one casting genius in the Misty South and took his place.
Wayne was no longer under any kind of pressure. By now, the other warriors were probably envious of
him for being Ricky's disciple.
A smile appeared on Wayne's face. Ricky was destined to rise to much higher places.
"I'm glad that you're fine. I would have had to live with the guilt for the rest of my life if something had
happened to you," Ricky said, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
Hearing his words, Wayne smiled brightly. "Thank you for your concern, master," he said. "I couldn't
feel any better than this."
After his talk with Wayne, Ricky began to adjust his breath. Since he had just become a casting master
at the Sage Level, he would have to spend much time on adjusting and comprehending for days to
come.
The next day, Olaf led Ricky to the ancestral land of the Helian Clan alone.
"Sir, to be honest with you, I didn't think that you would really allow me to enter your ancestral land,"
Ricky said, his voice filled with curiosity.
'Even if the Helian Clan wanted to befriend me, I didn't think they would willfully allow me to set foot in
their ancestral land to cultivate for three months. They must have something on their minds, ' he
pondered.
"You won the first place in the competition, and this is your reward. If we don't give the winner what he
deserves, we will lose the trust of the entire Misty South. That would be a bigger loss to us compared to
letting you cultivate in our ancestral land," Olaf replied.
Soon, they reached their destination.
It was a grey space.
The conditions inside the space were similar to that of the nine hundred and ninety ninth stair of the
Casting Ladder.
If anything, this place was much superior to that of the top stair.
It was safe to say that a single day's cultivation here would be worth five days' on the top of the Casting
Ladder. Ricky could see that it was indeed true that the Casting Ladder was born in the ancestral land
of the Helian Clan.
He could also sense the strong original energy of casting coming from the space.
"Wow. This is most definitely the best place to cultivate casting skills and runic power! No wonder the
Short Human tribe is the strongest casting race on the continent," Ricky remarked sincerely in his
astonishment.
"I don't know if I should be happy to hear that. Coming from you, it sounds like you are mocking us,"
Olaf scoffed.
"Oh no, sir! I would never look down on your casting skills," Ricky replied immediately.
"If you say so. Well, you can stay here and cultivate for three months. But how much you progress
depends on how good you are," Olaf said.
With that, he took his leave.
He couldn't stand seeing outsiders cultivating in their most important ancestral land.
"I hope I can reinforce my current level in casting in the next three months. If I make good use of this
opportunity, I can gather more holy runes, and also greatly improve my fighting power. At the end of it,
perhaps I will be capable enough to fight against the upper spiritual emperor," Ricky said excitedly as
he felt the power of the ancestral land of the Helian Clan.
"During your cultivation, you can use your zones to absorb the original energy of casting and store it for
later. That way, you can use it whenever you want," the Dragon Intent Grass advised.
"Ha-ha! That sounds like a good plan!" Ricky said with a wide smile.
Soon, he started cultivating. He began to comprehend the holy runes with the help of his Chaos
Manual and Ancestor Divine Manual.
In addition to that, he activated his seven zones, controlling them to carefully absorb the original energy
of casting from the ancestral land.
Ricky was getting better at the holy runes with every passing minute.
'At this rate, with the help of my zones and bright ancestral spirit, I have a feeling that I can surpass
Kamari in three months, ' he thought to himself with a firm resolution.
However, after only half a month, he was awakened by a familiar voice.
He recognized the voice immediately as the Casting Ladder', the one that had helped him become a
casting master at the Sage Level during the competition.
"Sir! How did you get here?" Ricky asked, surprised to hear the voice all of a sudden.
"I was born here, so my consciousness can naturally appear here at any given time," the Casting
Ladder explained.
"Since the Casting Ladder was born in the ancestral land of Helian Clan, it is the core of this place," the
Dragon Intent Grass added.
"Are you here to guide me further in casting, sir?" Ricky asked with a smile.
"You wish!" the Casting Ladder said with a scoff. "I had no intention of coming here, but you left me
with no choice. If you keep absorbing the original energy of casting here at this rate, it will negatively
affect the fortune of the Helian Clan within a single month."
'So, it discovered that I was absorbing the original energy of casting, ' Ricky thought to himself.
"You can't be serious, sir. Besides, I was allowed to cultivate here for three months. I still have much
time left," Ricky said.
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