Chapter 53 A Rival Cannot Be Avoided

Hardly taking any time to rest, Ricky spent the night casting weapons. He was so eager to grasp the
Light Apperception quickly, even if he could only learn just a little bit. It would greatly improve his
chances of winning the Outer Competition.

As she promised, the next day Grace took Ricky to an extremely large and broad courtyard.

Upon arriving, a resounding beating sound was heard. It had a rhythmic beat, undoubtedly that of the
law of the treasure book.

"There are two casting masters at Demi-spirit Level in the Snow Sect, who are the top talents in the
whole area. One of them is the second Elder, and the other is the fifth, Elder Samuel, who owns this
courtyard," Grace explained.

"The second Elder, who founded the Casting Faction of Snow Sect, has chosen a number of his
disciples from the Faction."

"So, Master, have I offended the second Elder?" He asked cautiously.

He was startled to discover that the Casting Faction had been founded by a casting master at Demi-
spirit Level, whose status was on par with the innate spirit.

"Relax, Ricky. The second Elder is so powerful that a warrior like you will not be taken seriously," Grace
replied.

"Oh... I'm glad to hear that!" Ricky said, feeling relieved.

"The disciples of Elder Samuel are those he considers qualified for his standards. Otherwise, a warrior
would never be accepted as his disciple, no matter how gifted he was at casting. Because of this, Elder
Samuel has never had more than fifteen disciples," Grace added.



"Sounds like the fifth Elder has wonderful personality indeed," Ricky murmured.

"I really do hope that Elder Samuel finds you qualified. Otherwise, you would have to leave here even if
I vouched for you. That would be a great loss for you."

"Haw-haw, Master, a charming disciple like me will surely make the cut!" Ricky was confident.

Ignoring his little joke, Grace sternly reminded him, "Make sure, after walking into the courtyard, that
you won't be found to be able to cast."

"Yes, Master!"

…

With that, Grace and Ricky walked into the courtyard.

In this huge courtyard, there were a dozen huge grindstones, and beside each of which stood a large
casting tripod. Eight or nine young men were busy with beating and casting. No one noticed Grace and
Ricky.

Several other young men who were resting, however, all greeted Grace respectfully. It was obvious
from their familiarity that Grace had been here a lot.

After becoming a core disciple, disciples of the Snow Sect would be promoted to a higher rank and
therefore earned more respect from other disciples, especially when it came to how they addressed
these core disciples.

"Master Grace, you didn't take Ricky here today to learn the methods of casting, did you?" A disciple
asked with a smile, sounding more curious than sarcastic.

All the disciples of the Snow Sect had heard that Ricky was intending to learn how to cast.



Casting was actually not such a big deal. But Ricky's lack of a spiritual meridian was what had made
the news really surprising.

"It's true that bad news rides fast, while good news comes later!" Hearing this, Ricky immediately
understood what was at stake and sighed to himself.

"Oh, that's just a rumor! I actually came here today to observe your casting methods so that I can
comprehend the Light Apperception through my observations," Ricky explained.

"Haw-haw, I see." All these young disciples were amused by Ricky's excuse.

"But you know, we don't have jurisdiction to decide if you can observe here or not. You should go ask
Bertha. She's in charge of everything here during the master's seclusion."

"So Elder Samuel is in seclusion?" Grace verified.

"Yes."

"Then where is Bertha?" Grace asked.

"I guess she's in her practice room," A disciple said, shrugging.

"Ricky, you must be respectful to Bertha when you meet her later." Suddenly, one of the young
disciples came up to Ricky and whispered, "Maybe Bertha will allow you stay for Master Grace's sake.
But if she's in a bad mood, you will suffer afterwards."

"Thanks for the warning," Ricky said, wondering what he was going to get into.

Then, Ricky followed Grace to a small room, which was Bertha's practice room.

"Grace, why are you here today?" A clear voice at the entrance said, and out of the room emerged a
woman in a green dress.



The green dress, elegant appearance and noble air had made her the only focus of the snow
mountains. She caught everyone's gaze, like a green flower about to bloom in the snow and ice.

There was no doubt that the woman was Bertha.

But the moment Ricky saw her, he froze and felt a tad frightened.

Because he recognized her at once. She was the woman he had seen cultivating when he first came to
the Snow Sect and strayed onto the snow-capped mountain. Until then, the image of her beautiful
shoulders and legs still flashed into his mind.

'Is this what they mean when they say rivals cannot avoid each other? If it is fated to happen, it will.'
With a sigh, Ricky unconsciously hid behind Grace.

Nevertheless, it was too late, for Bertha recognized Ricky. She would never forget him.

She would never forgive a man who had seen her half-naked body and his intrusion almost made her
lost control during the cultivation.

After she had returned and caught her breath, she had been secretly looking for him with revenge in
mind.

At the sight of him, her usually charming eyes suddenly grew cold.

But it soon dissipated upon seeing that Ricky was hiding behind Grace. She regained her composure.

She had heard that Grace recruited a new disciple, and as things turned out, it was Ricky.

"Bertha, you know I've come here for a reason." Grace smiled, "I come here today to ask you for a
favor."



"This is my disciple Ricky whom I have mentioned to you. I would like him to have a chance to watch
the casting here before the Outer Competition, so he could comprehend the Light Apperception."

"Of course. This is your disciple. I'll instruct him myself hereafter." Bertha readily agreed.

"Forget it, I changed my mind," Ricky hurriedly whispered to Grace. Bertha's agreement worried him.

However, Grace ignored Ricky's words and continued to talk to Bertha.

Now and then, as she talked, Bertha looked at Ricky with her beautiful eyes. The meaning in them was
obvious, "You will suffer later."

'I'm dead meat!' Ricky thought.

…

Then Grace departed, leaving Ricky alone in the room with Bertha.

"Bertha!" Ricky courteously said, forcing a stiff smile.


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