"Now this is the end of the appraisal! The disciples of the Casting Guild will distribute the identity cards
later to those of you who have passed the test." It was a frenzy all around, so Elder Alexander had to
deal with this. He took a good look around the chaos. He needed to get their attention and so he made
a loud noise that startled everyone and successfully got everyone's attention for his announcement.
"Attention, disciples of the Casting Guild! This is your first and last warning. This is not the kind of
behavior I expect to see from you from this day forward," he said in a warning voice to the disciples of
the Casting Guild.
"Yes, Elder Alexander!" they answer in chorus. What Allen just did was more than vile. It would not only
bring injustice to the appraisals, but would also harm the reputation of the Casting Guild. And as the
first elder of the Guild, Elder Alexander was doomed to urge every member of the Guild to behave well.
Those disciples from the Casting Guild took a look at Ricky, trying to keep his face in mind. They knew
that it would be better for them to remember this face because there was no way they could afford to
against him. Elder Alexander called him "friend." This was obvious enough to indicate that Ricky not
only was gifted to cast weapons, but also had earned Elder Alexander's favor.
As soon as the appraisal came to an end, all the candidates, along with their masters, went back to
their rooms. They might have different moods as some failed, while some succeeded. Despite their
different feelings, all of them remembered Ricky, a talented casting master!
"Thank you, Elder Alexander. I would not have been able to make it without your help," Ricky made a
bow to Elder Alexander and thanked him with a sincere tone. Then he walked to Elder Samuel before
he bade goodbye and intended to go back to take a good rest.
However, Elder Alexander stopped him by inviting him to his place. "Ricky, will you stop by at my
place?"
The gesture surprised Ricky very much.
He was more than glad to receive the invitation of Elder Alexander. How could he refuse him after all?
He wanted Elder Alexander to favor him, and taking any opportunity to be able to establish a good
relationship with him would be of great help in the future. Especially now that he had just made Andrew
his enemy in the last few days. What was more, Andrew had a father who was a casting master of
Spirit Level, and a mother who was an innate spirit. If Ricky wanted to keep himself and Bertha safe
from Andrew, he'd better have good and powerful connections, such as with someone as esteemed as
Elder Alexander.
"Of course, Elder Alexander. It's my honor," replied Ricky. Then he walked to Elder Samuel and told
him everything before he followed Elder Alexander to his place.
Elder Samuel was glad to hear it, of course. One of his main reasons as to why he brought Ricky here
to take the appraisal was to make him catch the attention of the elders of the Casting Guild. And seeing
Elder Alexander like him was more than pleasant for him. He knew he made the right decision.
On the way to Elder Alexander's place, people looked at Ricky with admiration in their eyes. How they
wished they could become as lucky as Ricky and get a chance to spend some time with the wise Elder
Alexander!
Andrew had his connections as well. He made sure that someone was keeping an eye on Ricky, and
was sure enough he got word about Elder Alexander inviting Ricky to his place as reported by one of
the disciples who saw what happened. It bothered him that Elder Alexander had made an effort to
reach out to Ricky.
Before long, Ricky and Elder Alexander arrived at the courtyard.
Elder Alexander had a high reputation and position in the guild. However, it seemed that he only lived a
simple life for as soon as Ricky got to his place he saw how modest it was. The courtyard was not big,
with only a few simple wooden houses and some casting tables.
'It seems that powerful people tend to live a simple life. That's probably because they focus all their
attention on cultivation!' Ricky thought in his mind.
"Master, welcome back!" A sweet-sounding voice came out from the room but he was too lost in his
thoughts to even notice. As soon as the young woman walked out to greet Elder Alexander with a
sweet smile, he was surprised by who he saw.
She had a small round face, beautiful long hair, and an aura about her that exuded confidence yet you
would know that she had gentle soul but fierce as well, definitely a heroine.
As soon as their eyes met, she suddenly became serious and her eyes turned cold.
"It's you!"
"It's you!"
They both exclaimed in surprise upon seeing each other.
This young beautiful woman was exactly Kayla who rescued him and Bertha from Andrew outside the
building of the Casting Guild a few days ago. Despite helping them out, she despised Ricky. And
although she wore a veil to conceal her face at that time, Ricky still recognized her at first sight.
"What a small world we do have! I didn't realize that you two know each other," said Elder Alexander.
He too was surprised by what he found out.
He knew that Ricky did not come to the Casting Guild for a long time. And knowing how Kayla was an
extremely arrogant girl, he wondered how could they possibly know each other? This was indeed
unexpected.
"Master, how could you bring such a hypocritical man back here? You must have been cheated by
him!" Kayla snorted through her nose as she gave Ricky the eye, disgusted by him.
Elder Alexander, on the other hand, had no words for what was happening. Instead, he just stood there
looking back and forth at Ricky and Kayla, waiting to find out how they knew each other and why she
despised Ricky that much. He was sure that he could get the answer soon enough through their
conversation.
"A hypocritical man? Why do you accuse me of being hypocritical?" Ricky would not agree with her
groundless accusation and asked back. He was not bothered by how she disliked him. But accusing
him of being a hypocritical man? That was unbearable and absurd even for him.
Being accused of the hypocritical type was what he hated the most. There was no way he would stand
to be thought as a deceptive man for that was an insult for him already.
"You used the reputation of the Casting Guild to protect yourself. Isn't that hypocritical? Hey, just take a
look at yourself for God's sake! Everyone will think of you to be a bad guy, okay?" Kayla scolded coldly.
She valued the Casting Guild's reputation the most. For her, the guild was as important as her own life
and when she heard Ricky claim that Andrew bullied him by using the power of the Casting Guild at
that time, she was really upset and thought that Ricky was insulting the guild. That was why she
disliked him from the very beginning.
That was when Ricky finally figured out why she was like that towards him.
'How unreasonable can she get?! She looks like a smart woman, but now I don't think so, ' Ricky
muttered silently to himself. Of course, he would not speak out his mind, especially not in front of Elder
Alexander.
"I don't agree with you, Kayla. I said those words at that time in order to protect myself. I'm not like you
who's a genius, and who has such a good master. If I didn't say those words to threaten Andrew, he
would take my companion away! Do you think she would have survived if that happened?" Ricky
refuted back.
"You..." stammered Kayla angrily. Ricky's words caught her off-guard and speechless.
"All right. I'm sure there must be some misunderstanding between you!" At this time, Elder Alexander
interrupted upon figuring out what happened between them. Kayla must have misinterpreted Ricky in a
hurry for he knew well the character of his disciple, impulsive and emotional.
"Hum!" Kayla gave a snort of contempt and anger and then she left.
"Ha-ha. Ricky my friend, don't take it seriously, please. She grew up in the Casting Guild. That is why
she cares about its reputation very much. Sometimes, she just acts blindly when she hears a single
bad word about the guild. Don't blame her, please," Elder Alexander explained.
"It's totally all right, Elder Alexander! I understand it," Ricky said as he bowed to Elder Alexander.
"Please just call me Ricky. 'Ricky my friend' is too much for me as a junior."
"Ha-ha, no problem! And you can just call me Elder Alex. Elder Alexander, hmmm. It sounds too
formal," Elder Alexander also replied with a smile.
"Okay, Elder Alex, if you insist." Ricky did not refuse his suggestion. In fact it made him happy that they
were starting to be more comfortable towards each other.
Then, Elder Alexander took him to his room.
"Ricky, may I know who is your master? You are a genius in casting. If I'm guessing correctly, your
master must be a casting master of Demi-sage Level, or even a casting master of Sage Level!" Elder
Alexander inquired with expectant eyes. In his mind, Ricky had such an achievement and it must
because he was guided by some real impressive casting master.
Ricky realized why Elder Alexander was interested in him and took him here at his place all of a
sudden. It turned out that Elder Alexander thought him to have a powerful master and wanted to know
who he was.
But, it was understandable if he thought so. If he told him that he had achieved this all by self-
cultivation, probably no one would believe it.
'Oh, I got it. He thought I have a powerful master, though this is not the case. But it's an excellent
excuse, isn't it?' thought Ricky to himself.
"Well, Elder Alex... I rarely see my master. He is always traveling outside. For the last several years,
I've only seen him twice. So I'm not quite clear about his casting level," Ricky answered with a
seemingly embarrassed look.
"Oh, I understand, it does makes sense. He has such a powerful casting master, and that must mean
that he is a hermit!" Elder Alexander did not notice anything wrong and nodded in agreement.
They finally stopped talking about Ricky's fictitious casting master.
"Here, I noticed that you can do more than a casting master of inferior Mortal Level!" Elder Alexander
said. "There will be an appraisal to identify the casting master of intermediate Mortal Level. How would
you like it?" invited him.
Hearing his words, Ricky was stunned and sighed secretly, 'He is indeed a powerful casting master of
Spirit Level and an innate spirit! He has seen through me in this respect and knows that I can do
better!'
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