Chapter 54 Bertha

"Aren't you that guy everyone's been talking about in the Snow Sect? The one doesn't have the spiritual meridian?" Bertha came to the front of Ricky, put a hand on his shoulder and looked at him and said with a sly grin.

Ricky's heart raced. Bertha's sweet fragrance engulfed the atmosphere. The trees and the flowers in the mountaintops, the sweet nothings, and hearts started to pop in Ricky's mind. He flushed a bit, turning his cheeks pink. This made him feel a little bit embarrassed.

"Yes, I am," Ricky responded respectfully while taking a step backwards. The embarrassing scene kept on repeating in his head. Was it romantic? He felt more and more embarrassed as he thought about it. This made him the little awkward boy you'd see who's clearly crushing on an idol. He averted Bertha's eyes during conversations as much as he could.

"It seems like that the legend is true. Maybe you really are a genius. And because of that, you might get to the eighth grade of Skin Refinement even without the spiritual meridian." Bertha continued, "Since Grace entrusted you to me... well, before anything else, let's test your power!"

Suddenly...

Ice started to surround Ricky. Icy cold crystals formed around him which made him shiver to the core, including his breath which he puffed out like a cloud.

In an instant, he felt the powerful cold palm generated by Bertha. This cold palm mixed with strong blood vitality and rushed to his system.

Time was of the essence. He did not overthink about what he was about to do, as he was running out of time. He crossed his arms and immediately tried to resist the strong attack made by Bertha, but it was not that effective. He was still being frozen literally.

Ricky's powers rendered useless to Bertha's attack. He was trembling, with his insides crunching and twisting in pain. There was a loud thud as he fell on the ground crying in pain.

The disciples stopped on their tracks upon seeing Ricky on the ground. They were confused as to what it was all about. They all stood there, waiting for an explanation for they had no idea what grudges Bertha could possibly hold against this Ricky.

All of the disciples knew that Grace and Bertha were very close. They were like sisters, as the disciples thought, but even if there was a chance that Bertha did not like Ricky, this did not give her any right to treat him like this, not for Grace's sake!

'Is there any feud between Ricky and Bertha?' Many disciples thought. All of the disciples took pity on Ricky who was on the floor in excruciating pain. His face was scrunched like a paper you'd throw out. His arms were holding his stomach where all the pain was concentrated. He was beaten into a pulp. Everyone just felt sorry for him.

In the area of the Snow Sect, Bertha had a strong reputation for being the ill-tempered that she was. Anyone who would dare cross her path and offend her would suffer the consequences. No one would be spared, and it never ended well.

Bertha took a step back as soon as she felt the pleasure in seeing Ricky suffer. She drew her hand back, and watched Ricky unfold as he felt the pain lessen.

oncepts of yesterday's task. Do you understand?" Bertha said solemnly.

Casting was a sacred process for any casting master. It developed the values of a true warrior and more importantly hones a warrior's skills and abilities. Bertha devoted all her time that day that she had to abandon any other task that she had. She was focused on this lesson.

"Yes, I understand!" Ricky said firmly, and nodded after seeing her serious eyes.

Meanwhile, all disciples in the yard gathered around. Obviously, like Ricky, they all came here to watch the process of casting.

Bertha was a special disciple of the Elder Samuel, which was why she was very proficient in casting. She was a casting master in the intermediate Mortal Level. Apparently, all disciples around here would be able to benefit a lot from watching this done especially by her.

Under the fire, the molten hot casting material in the tripod had melted and boiled as she began to make her own cast implement. All eyes were on her, on her hands and how she doing the procedure. She was very careful with handling the pots and avoiding spills.

Ding~

With the rhythm sound of the beat, all disciples beside began to watch her attentively, including Ricky. He was not able to talk the whole time he was watching the casting process. His jaws were a gape, he almost drooled at the beauty of the whole process!

What he did yesterday was not that far from what Bertha was doing now. It was a fact that all manuals in the world were born for casting--a stepping stone, if one must put into words. Just like different paths led to the same destination. The manual labor that he did yesterday would do him good for casting.

Over and over again, Bertha continued to use the method of manual, beating the cast implement, just like how Ricky chopped wood in the courtyard. The rhythm, the beat, it was there. The heat, the pounding of the material, everything was magically in sync.

The process was not manual labor to the eyes of Ricky and the disciples. From what they saw, it was not casting at all. It was art in its purest form.