[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-125":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Above the Mage!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2257129,4404,"Chapter 125: Cultivation and Mining","above-the-mage-chapter-125",125,"\u003Cp>“Good, everyone’s here—no latecomers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let me introduce myself—I’m your enrollment instructor, Sha Hu.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Assuming nothing goes wrong, I’ll be spending quite some time with you,” Sha Hu said, grinning. “Let’s take attendance—I need to put names to faces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lu Ke. Kapulan. Luo Yasi. Candice. Gao De.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instructor Sha Hu called out each name in turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, Lu Ke and Kapulan were formally Candice’s “older brothers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Gao De boarded the airship, he’d glanced at them from afar and memorized their faces, though he didn’t know their names.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he finally knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no idea about the origins of Luo Yasi and Candice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Sha Hu reached the name “Gao De,” Candice turned her head and gave Gao De a long, deep look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De felt a flicker of guilt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone wears a disguise when they’re out, he told himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After taking attendance and identifying everyone, Instructor Sha Hu continued without pause:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You all know already—every new student at Seris Magic Academy must complete the enrollment task before becoming official members.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s mandatory. You cannot refuse. There is no choice.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And every new student’s enrollment task is identical.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Using the tools provided by the academy, descend into the mine tunnels at Hardship Cliff, mine exactly 3,000 kilograms of water-gold ore, and deliver it to the Alchemy Department to complete the task.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Water-gold ore is the raw material used by the Alchemy Department to forge test-dummies.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Test-dummies serve as targets for the academy’s mages to test spells, and their consumption is always enormous—each year, hundreds of tons of water-gold ore are required.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mining water-gold ore is grueling work, yet test-dummies are an essential consumable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So the academy has made mining water-gold ore the enrollment task—it trains new students while meeting the academy’s demand for the ore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know all of you who joined at this time didn’t enter through the standard entrance exams—you came through backdoors. Your backgrounds are exceptionally privileged.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Hu’s blunt words made several present students shift uncomfortably. Too direct, instructor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But at Seris Magic Academy—at least during this enrollment task—your backgrounds mean nothing,” Sha Hu said, grinning with bared teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching these “spoiled” young lords and ladies complain was one of his pleasures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seris Magic Academy is the sacred ground where every young mage in the Westen Duchy strives to cultivate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The words ‘sacred ground’ carry both ‘sacred’ and ‘cultivation.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How can you call it cultivation if you won’t endure hardship?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The enrollment task is both a task and your first lesson—it teaches you this truth!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Many of you are used to being pampered at home—whatever you want, you get. You assume everything is owed to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only after you’ve sweated and bled for something will you realize nothing in this world is owed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sha Hu’s voice grew louder, spittle flying: “Even everything you possess now was won by your ancestors’ sweat and blood. Your duty is to preserve it, expand it—not lie on it and suck their blood!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De listened, intrigued. He also realized Seris Magic Academy’s reputation wasn’t without reason. In his view, none of these words applied to him—he could judge them as an outsider.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because everything he had now was earned by his own efforts! Instructor Sha Hu continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The mine lies at the base of Hardship Cliff. Your task is to enter the tunnels, mine water-gold ore, and haul it to the cliff top.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Every evening at six, personnel from the Alchemy Department will come to weigh and collect the ore you’ve mined that day.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The task is simple, but you must follow the rules.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First: no relying on others. Whether mining or transporting ore, you must do it yourself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’re caught hiring help, all ore mined that day will be voided.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Second: no using external tools. Spell scrolls and alchemical devices are forbidden. You may use only your own hands—and your own cultivated spells.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Third: no stealing others’ labor. If caught, not only will your daily haul be voided, but you’ll be penalized by deducting 500 kilograms of water-gold ore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lastly,” Sha Hu’s gaze swept over the two female students among the six—their slender, almost frail figures—and he smirked with malicious delight, “Gender equality applies: everyone must mine 3,000 kilograms of water-gold ore.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why no accommodations?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instructor Sha Hu grinned, his scarred, bearded face twisting. “Because enemies won’t show you mercy just because you’re a woman!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, there’s no deadline for the enrollment task. When you’ve gathered 3,000 kilograms of water-gold ore, you complete it—and gain formal admission.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One extra reminder: although you’ll receive mage-rank points at the end of your first year, you won’t accumulate ten credits.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So if you delay too long on the enrollment task, it will affect your ability to take subsequent courses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Academy course credits cannot be earned without time and effort.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing these harsh conditions, and seeing the jagged cliff path before them, plus the mere name of the “mining” ordeal that already made their heads ache—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All five new students besides Gao De, including Candice, frowned, unable to accept it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De accepted it fairly well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was just like his past life’s “entrance military training.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though undoubtedly far more grueling than “military training.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the essence was the same: to temper character, forge perseverance, and instill endurance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world was different, but the Taolu  was the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Instructor Sha Hu!” At that moment, the other female student among the six, Candice, raised her hand—excluding Candice, the only other girl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Must we really mine 3,000 kilograms of water-gold ore? Is there no alternative?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Candice frowned tightly—she was the one among the six least able to accept this enrollment task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There is one,” Instructor Sha Hu said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?!” Candice’s eyes lit up with sudden joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She likely hadn’t realized the alternative would be no easier—she was simply used to being coddled since childhood, and anything was better than mining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you notice the other tool in your baskets besides the pickaxe?” Instructor Sha Hu asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1000,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8e49fc326d75ab33c9e89af64f47d23f2e4b8452163ae2952b5037294d76dfbe","above-the-mage-chapter-126","above-the-mage-chapter-124",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]