Born Almighty Warrior
Chapter 134 The Flame Zone

Casting skills honed by consistent and arduous trainings pulled Ricky to bring about anoverwhelming victory against his famed enemies, Andrew and Ivan. They were by no means of weakstature; far from it, in fact, as they were hailed gifted in the field of magic. It was only unfortunatethat 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 ofhis legend spreading all over the Casting City.

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

His mysterious Pounding Skill became the main topic of the public's conversation. Furthermore, hisacquisition of the Magic Spirit Stone spurred his reputation to quickly gain the title of a geniuscasting 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 observinghis every move. It would not be a surprise if he were to attract the attention of big organizations atsome point, especially the ones who fostered malicious intents for him. He had an item that wasdeeply 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 theopen.

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

Masses believed that Ricky must have gained an outwardly experience. Theories of him beinginstructed by an innate spirit or him receiving a rare magical treasure became their explanation forhis burst of progress within such a short period of time. However, they had no basis to prove theirmusings, so they had only regressed into harboring an unquenchable thirst for more informationregarding 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 theirinfluence 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 undercoverstudy of the celebrated figure. It was no exaggeration to say that Ricky was now living undereveryone's prying eyes.

A huddled group consisting of Ricky, Kayla and Elder Alexander, resided in the elder's room as theyengaged 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 themhave strong backgrounds to be proud of, but you're clearly not afraid of them at all!" ElderAlexander said with a slight smile while he looked at Ricky meaningfully. No one would doubt anotable person if they were to grow afraid of their safety, but Ricky still wore an expression ofcalmness 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 fearthey'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 inacknowledgement and offered a grin of his own to her. She had already stopped from talking tohim with malice laced in her voice; a sign that she had grown to lessen her dislike for him asopposed to the past.

"So, what do you plan to do next? You can't be as relaxed as before, with those malevolent guyshanging 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. Althoughit was a little awkward to beg, he happily threw away his pride to gather enough courage in makingthe request.

He was aware that the moment he chose to step out of the Casting Guild, it would be the time hewould die immediately. A coalition of skilled assassins was certainly waiting for him outside, and ifthey 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 discusscasting at any time!" He patted a hand at Ricky's back, expressing his outright joy and excitementfor 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 lightheart. A brief pause permeated the atmosphere when Ricky fell silent. Knowing that he hadsomething in mind, the duo waited until Ricky exclaimed, "Elder Alex, I'm afraid I have to ask you foranother 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 dofor you?"

Ricky's embarrassed look made him furrow his eyebrows in understanding, coaxing the boy to feelat 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 ladywho came with me back to their place.”

Kayla gaped at the presumptuous demand. "How dare you, Ricky! My master is the first elder of theCasting Guild, an honorable casting master of Spirit Level, and a powerful spiritual king! He is not aguard who's supposed to work for you!" She stood up in anger, pointing an accusing finger at Rickyas 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 ofyou. Let's just ignore what I said,”

apologizing regretfully, he stood up alongside Kayla and formally bowed once again upon realizingthe 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 ofme," the senior said reassuringly. "I'll do this for you. It's nothing serious anyway. I can also take thischance to go sightseeing." Ricky beamed at his declaration, his grin matching his uplifted spiritswhile Elder Alexander pressed on, "Isn't it a nice idea? It's been a long time since I went out of theCasting City too."

Kayla's eyes widened in bewilderment, not having presumed that he would have sworn to such anabsurd 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 heremotions!"

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 assoon 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 asthe 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 onhow 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 theCasting City. He did not want anything bad to befall on them during their trip back to the SnowSect, and so, he decided to stay here for the meantime to accompany the pair. Unfortunately, hispresent situation enabled it to be a suicide mission if he had stubbornly chosen to embark on thejourney.

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 onhis strength that would absolutely assure the both of their safety. It was unreasonable, yes, so hehad 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 kindnessElder 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 willinglypartook in a request that would normally be taken as an offense, * thought Ricky. He stopped hisanxious 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, butnow 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 returnthe favor. After an instant, he sprang up and walked to the desk in haste. He filtered through thecluster 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 theDevouring Skill. After the initial procedure was done, he came to his senses and wrote down themethods of the Pounding Skill on the papers.

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

He completed his duty as planned and left the note by the desk. After this, he left the room andwent 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 exercisewarmed up his body for his intention on refining the Magic Spirit Stone. He had to start on it assoon as possible, given that it was an item that attracted the teeming envy of all. Prolonging theattainment of its power would be detrimental for him; he had to deplete it of its energy until itbecame 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 inthe end anyway,"

Ricky reproached as he simultaneously initiated the Devouring Skill.

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

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

"God, this is incredible! It seems like my new spiritual meridian likes the stone a lot," he praised inawe. He had plotted to refine the stone to transfer its purified power to his spiritual meridian. As perthe 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 savedhim 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 thesecond 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 itprojected its scorching attacks to anything standing on its path. Luckily for Ricky, as the owner ofthe zone, these flames would not affect him. In other words, he was immunized to the flames in hisbody.

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 thesight 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 nineSupreme 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 broadsmile 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.