Born Almighty Warrior
Chapter 134 The Flame Zone

Casting skills honed by consistent and arduous trainings pulled Ricky to bring about an overwhelming victory against his famed enemies, Andrew and Ivan. They were by no means of weak stature; far from it, in fact, as they were hailed gifted in the field of magic. It was only unfortunate that they had faced an individual gushing with an unforeseeable amount of potential and talent, thus securing them a crushing defeat before Ricky's mercy.

The great achievement earned Ricky the promised reward of the Magic Spirit Stone and the start of his legend spreading all over the Casting City.

People of young and old marveled with eyes full of wonder upon hearing the tales of his accomplishments. Clearly driven with awe upon the news of his unrivaled strength, storytellers had begun singing odes of his adventures while taverns overflowed with numerous citizens who spoke of nothing but his venerated being.

His mysterious Pounding Skill became the main topic of the public's conversation. Furthermore, his acquisition of the Magic Spirit Stone spurred his reputation to quickly gain the title of a genius casting master.

The rising popularity magnetized curiosity and loathing to trail after Ricky's form wherever he went. As long as he continued to walk out of the Casting Guild, he was bound to a fate of gazes observing his every move. It would not be a surprise if he were to attract the attention of big organizations at some point, especially the ones who fostered malicious intents for him. He had an item that was deeply coveted, after all. Some men hired by elite families and groups were sure to come for him. Privacy was a necessity that he no longer had; before long, Ricky's identity had been laid out in the open.

It became known that he was a disciple from the Snow Sect that possessed an incomplete spiritual meridian. A miracle to most, perhaps, given his formidable prowess that would have been deemed as a talk of mere fiction before.

Masses believed that Ricky must have gained an outwardly experience. Theories of him being instructed by an innate spirit or him receiving a rare magical treasure became their explanation for his burst of progress within such a short period of time. However, they had no basis to prove their musings, so they had only regressed into harboring an unquenchable thirst for more information regarding the fascinating life of Ricky.

It was an outcome that garnered varying forces to camp outside the house of the Casting Guild. Countless had grown greedy for additional knowledge on the man, and had opted to use their influence to even bribe some disciples of the guild for reliable data on him.

Soon, the inside network of the Casting Guild consisted of differing groups doing an undercover study of the celebrated figure. It was no exaggeration to say that Ricky was now living under everyone's prying eyes.

A huddled group consisting of Ricky, Kayla and Elder Alexander, resided in the elder's room as they engaged in a discussion on Ricky's current predicament.

"Ricky, a lot of people are watching you closely outside. As you've probably noticed, some of them have strong backgrounds to be proud of, but you're clearly not afraid of them at all!" Elder Alexander said with a slight smile while he looked at Ricky meaningfully. No one would doubt a notable person if they were to grow afraid of their safety, but Ricky still wore an expression of calmness in response to his dilemma.

"Yes, Elder Alex. I know what they're doing, but I also can't burst into tears because of the fear they're imposing on me," he replied humbly.

"Why not? It's not shameful to cry,”

Kayla interrupted, her soft tone providing Ricky some sense of comfort. He nodded in acknowledgement and offered a grin of his own to her. She had already stopped from talking to him with malice laced in her voice; a sign that she had grown to lessen her dislike for him as opposed to the past.

"So, what do you plan to do next? You can't be as relaxed as before, with those malevolent guys hanging around,”

Elder Alexander asked.

"I'd like to cultivate in seclusion at your place for a while. You won't send me away, will you?"

Ricky stared at him, hoping fervently that he would allow it. It was his best choice for now. Although it was a little awkward to beg, he happily threw away his pride to gather enough courage in making the request.

He was aware that the moment he chose to step out of the Casting Guild, it would be the time he would die immediately. A coalition of skilled assassins was certainly waiting for him outside, and if they were his prime killers, his doom would surely be plausible.

Elder Alexander laughed, jolting him with his sudden, carefree behavior. "You want to cultivate here? Of course, you'd always be welcome! I'm more than pleased to let you stay. We can even discuss casting at any time!" He patted a hand at Ricky's back, expressing his outright joy and excitement for the lad.

He even wished that Ricky would choose to stay there forever!

"It's not for free, you know. You need to pay for it,"

Kayla said teasingly as she nudged an elbow to Ricky's side.

"Sure, no problem. I'll definitely pay," Ricky chuckled as he promised, taking the joke with a light heart. A brief pause permeated the atmosphere when Ricky fell silent. Knowing that he had something in mind, the duo waited until Ricky exclaimed, "Elder Alex, I'm afraid I have to ask you for another favor!”

He bowed his head in deference, his tightening fists curled in determination.

"Of course, please. I like you a lot so I'll be willing to help you in any way that I can. What can I do for you?"

Ricky's embarrassed look made him furrow his eyebrows in understanding, coaxing the boy to feel at ease in saying what he desired.

"Thank you so much, Elder Alex. I won't forget your help.”

He thanked him gratefully in lieu of Elder Alexander's promise

and continued on, "Here's the thing... I was wondering if you can escort the master and the lady who came with me back to their place.”

Kayla gaped at the presumptuous demand. "How dare you, Ricky! My master is the first elder of the Casting Guild, an honorable casting master of Spirit Level, and a powerful spiritual king! He is not a guard who's supposed to work for you!" She stood up in anger, pointing an accusing finger at Ricky as she denounced him. He flinched, cowering back at her screaming.

"Sit down, Kayla!"

Elder Alexander commanded, effectively cutting off her wrath.

"I'm sorry, Elder Alex. She's right, I was being too rude for having even thought of asking that of you. Let's just ignore what I said,”

apologizing regretfully, he stood up alongside Kayla and formally bowed once again upon realizing the gravity of his foolishness.

"Don't worry! Did you forget it that fast? I stated that I'll help you no matter what you may ask of me," the senior said reassuringly. "I'll do this for you. It's nothing serious anyway. I can also take this chance to go sightseeing." Ricky beamed at his declaration, his grin matching his uplifted spirits while Elder Alexander pressed on, "Isn't it a nice idea? It's been a long time since I went out of the Casting City too."

Kayla's eyes widened in bewilderment, not having presumed that he would have sworn to such an absurd appeal.

She backed away from them both before leaving altogether. The door slammed behind her, showing how she was clearly unpleased by the circumstances.

"Please don't take it seriously, Ricky. Kayla has a temper, and she's always straightforward with her emotions!"

Elder Alexander laughed in amusement at her dramatics.

"Of course, I won't, Elder Alex. I'm still really grateful for you both,”

he huffed out a short breath of relief, a slight fondness smearing his tone as he agreed.

"So then, as per your request, I'm going to escort them to the Snow Sect now!"

He bade Ricky goodbye swiftly, having been accustomed to the practice of finishing his tasks as soon as they came for him to act upon.

"Yes, take care!" Ricky called out to the receding figure. Finally alone in the room, he observed as the elder eventually disappeared into the distance.

"Elder Alex is a really nice guy and a man of his words. I owe him a lot, though I'm kind of lost on how I should repay him..." Ricky muttered, his mind going a mile a minute.

Elder Samuel and Bertha were people whose security Ricky prioritized a lot over anyone in the Casting City. He did not want anything bad to befall on them during their trip back to the Snow Sect, and so, he decided to stay here for the meantime to accompany the pair. Unfortunately, his present situation enabled it to be a suicide mission if he had stubbornly chosen to embark on the journey.

It was for that precise reason that Ricky had tried asking Elder Alexander to substitute in his stead. He had gotten along with the man exceedingly well over the past few days, and had full belief on his strength that would absolutely assure the both of their safety. It was unreasonable, yes, so he had been prepared to wallow in his quandary when the elder had gladly accepted it.

It was truly an honorable deed that Ricky could not simply ignore. He had to pay back the kindness Elder Alexander showed him by tenfold.

“Regardless of the reasons he may have for wanting to be close to me, I can't deny that he willingly partook in a request that would normally be taken as an offense, * thought Ricky. He stopped his anxious pacing and sat down on the floor again.

“Elder Samuel is strong, but there are too many people who can overpower him here. What's more, that stinky Andrew is keeping an eye on Bertha. They might come after them because of me, but now that Elder Alexander will escort them back, I don't need to worry about them.’

He tapped a finger on his forehead, eyes narrowed in focus while he scrounged for a way to return the favor. After an instant, he sprang up and walked to the desk in haste. He filtered through the cluster until he found a pen, ink, and some blank papers.

A smile slipped on his lips at his small conquest before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Holding the pen in hand, he activated his internal strength and picked out a Pounding Skill from the Devouring Skill. After the initial procedure was done, he came to his senses and wrote down the methods of the Pounding Skill on the papers.

Elder Alexander deserved this much, and it was one of Ricky's principles to always return the generosity one had shown him.

He completed his duty as planned and left the note by the desk. After this, he left the room and went back to his own in preparation for practice.

He stayed at the center of the space as he focused and adjusted his breath accordingly. The exercise warmed up his body for his intention on refining the Magic Spirit Stone. He had to start on it as soon as possible, given that it was an item that attracted the teeming envy of all. Prolonging the attainment of its power would be detrimental for him; he had to deplete it of its energy until it became an ordinary, useless stone, or else he would have to deal with the increasing trouble.

"All of you want the Magic Spirit Stone. Fine, you can all just keep waiting! It will all end up in vain in the end anyway,"

Ricky reproached as he simultaneously initiated the Devouring Skill.

To his surprise, his spiritual meridian responded strongly the second he commenced the Devouring Skill. Powerful energy emerged from it and engulfed the Magic Spirit Stone in its embrace until it sucked it completely.

In a staggering epiphany, he felt that the Magic Spirit Stone had successfully been devoured inside him.

"God, this is incredible! It seems like my new spiritual meridian likes the stone a lot," he praised in awe. He had plotted to refine the stone to transfer its purified power to his spiritual meridian. As per the usual, he had already envisaged the miserable process he would undoubtedly be put through, but his spiritual meridian had remarkably consumed it by itself. The startling operation had saved him from spending his time and energy in enduring the unbearable pain.

The phenomenon caused his spiritual meridian to change afresh. A huge area appeared at the second segment of it, mimicking the spaciousness of the Devourer Zone.

His mind integrated into the chasm and was greeted with a scenery of pure, scalding fire.

It frolicked around the zone. The strong heat emanating from the element danced cruelly as it projected its scorching attacks to anything standing on its path. Luckily for Ricky, as the owner of the zone, these flames would not affect him. In other words, he was immunized to the flames in his body.

Crimson runes emerged one by one amongst the sea of blaze and floated in the air.

"Seems like I'm going to gain another Supreme Skill!" Ricky shouted, rejoicing and thrilled at the sight of the runes. He had gained one of the nine Supreme Skills, which was the Devouring Skill, when the Devourer Zone had manifested before. Ever since then, he had believed that the nine Supreme Skills followed the same pattern of presentation.

"Hum, this fire space... I'll just call you the Flame Zone for now!" he hummed, flaunting a broad smile while he wandered around the zone in examination of the welcomed landscape

At the same time, he practiced with the aim of reaching the sixth grade of Blood Purification.

Until two days later, Elder Alexander came back.

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