When Ricky heard this, the thrill he had felt earlier turned into helplessness. He didn't know how to explain. If he dared to open his mouth, the situation would go downhill.
Meanwhile, the two girls were elated, and they couldn't help the shy smile that pulled at the corners of their slightly upturned lips.
But the peace didn't last long. Two days later, everyone in the Misty South Palace had heard that Wayne volunteered to become Ricky's disciple. And because of this, the people erupted into heated discussion once again.
"No way! That's impossible! No matter how talented Ricky is in casting, I don't think he can surpass the Sage Level casting masters from the Short Human tribe. This must be a trick..." One person voiced his doubts out loud.
"I've never heard of the Short Human tribe's members taking casting masters from other forces as their teachers. Isn't the opposite true? We all know that it's the creatures from other races that desperately want to become disciples of the Short Human tribe's casting masters."
"It's scandalous! I wonder what the senior members of the Short Human tribe think about this. They must be blowing off a gasket right now."
While the ordinary disciples gossiped with each other, the numerous creatures of the Short Human tribe currently residing in the Misty South Palace had gathered in the palace. Two middle-aged men stood in their midst, and they were in charge.
These two middle-aged men were Sage Level casting masters.
Everyone in the room had a morose expression on their faces, which made it evident that they had also heard about Wayne's decision.
"Hasn't Wayne come back yet?" one of the two middle-aged men asked with a frown.
"No, sir. We tried looking for him, but Ricky's friend told us that Ricky and Wayne had already begun their cultivation in seclusion. Thus, we can't do anything more. Even though we are distinguished guests of the Misty South Palace, we can't disturb their disciples who are in the middle of their cultivation," one disciple reluctantly reported, knowing that he wasn't carrying good tidings.
"He is cultivating, huh? That's a bald-faced lie! Wayne doesn't want to come back because he is scared. He disgraced our tribe, and because of him, we have become the laughingstock of the town. We have so many casting masters in our tribe, but he took some other casting master as his teacher. Such a thing has never happened since our tribe existed.
From now on, he will no longer be the young master, and you are prohibited from addressing him like that," the other middle-aged leader declared defiantly.
"Dude, I don't think that's a good idea. Wayne's grandfather is one of the ten elders in our Helian Clan. We should report this to our chief first so that they could decide on what to do," protested the other middle-aged man.
Just as the ordinary disciples suspected, the news that Wayne took Ricky as his master made huge waves within the Short Human tribe. Most of its members considered Wayne a disgrace to their tribe. After all, he was famous in their tribe.
Meanwhile, Ricky and Wayne were already cultivating in the Chaotic Fire Zone.
They didn't seem to care that their relationship had caused such a stir, or maybe they didn't expect such a reaction from the majority.
Ricky didn't hesitate when he revealed the Chaotic Fire Zone to Wayne since the other man had already made a Martial Arts Oath that ensured absolute loyalty towards him.
In the Chaotic Fire Zone, Ricky tirelessly made weapons as he shared to Wayne his insights on casting. He even included all the things he had learned from the Chaos Manual.
Of course, the exchange of wisdom wasn't a one-way street. Wayne also relayed to Ricky everything he had picked up from the Short Human tribe's casting masters.
The pair worked tirelessly without rest, not even a wink of sleep. Despite that, it still took them almost a month to finish casting one hundred Demi-sage Level weapons.
During that time, the pair made weapons with their hands, while their mouths and brains shared and absorbed as much knowledge as they could. Ricky learned many of the Short Human tribe's methods of weapon casting while Wayne watched Ricky closely in an effort to duplicate his work. Both men made great progress in weapon casting.
But to his disappointment, Ricky realized that he still had a long way to go before he became a Sage Level casting master.
'It's not easy to become a Sage Level casting master, but I guess that makes sense. Otherwise, there would be more of them running around...' Ricky silently reflected.
After that, he traded the casting materials he had earned for cultivation resources. Then he intended to head for those special places in the Misty South Palace where he and his companions could cultivate.
Of course, by this time, his companions had also heard that Wayne had become Ricky's disciple.
"Maybe you shouldn't have taken me as your teacher," Ricky murmured softly.
"No, Master. That is one decision that I'll never regret," Wayne reassured him. "Don't worry, Master. I'll take care of this. I won't get you in trouble."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Ricky inquired.
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