[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-128":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},2257132,4404,"Chapter 128: The Maid Pearl","above-the-mage-chapter-128",128,"\u003Cp>After hearing Instructor Sha Hu introduce the Maid Pearl, Gao De realized he could use [Detect Magic+] to take a shortcut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this wouldn’t count as cheating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The admission task explicitly permits the use of spells one has mastered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But among 0-level spells, those useful for mining or harvesting clams are far too few—almost nonexistent—so everyone must grit their teeth and endure hardship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao De is different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All he needs to do is master diving, and with the unique properties of [Detect Magic+], he can complete the admission task at an extremely fast pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can’t say for sure about other things, but at least it’ll be much faster than mining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De’s gaze swept back and forth across the riverbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Until he began to feel his chest growing increasingly tight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the sign that the breath he’d held was nearly gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t dare waste more time and prepared to surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in that instant as he kicked his legs, a faint yet noticeable flash of magical light flickered at the corner of his vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A Maid Pearl?” Gao De wasn’t certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was already on the verge of collapse and couldn’t afford to verify it directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De wasn’t in a hurry; he continued rising, broke the surface, and took two deep breaths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After catching his breath, he finally had a moment to glance at the shore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly noticed that the other five who had entered the mine had all emerged and were resting on the riverbank, watching him with strange expressions as he surfaced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mockery, confusion, disdain—each person’s gaze carried a different emotion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did you harvest any Maid Pearls?” Lu Ka, resting nearby, couldn’t help calling out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet.” Gao De answered honestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s been the whole morning—we’ve each filled a basket with water gold ore, and you’ve got nothing, even still learning how to dive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How long will you keep going like this? Why don’t you just give up?” Kaplan couldn’t help chiming in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just moments ago, Lu Ka had already spread the word about Gao De’s “great achievements.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone knew that Gao De, foolishly attempting the “Maid Pearl route,” had only just learned to dive today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was absurd!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No problem—maybe I’ll get lucky on the next dive,” Gao De smiled, speaking seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Gao De caught his breath and dived back underwater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching Gao De vanish beneath the river again, Kaplan, who had just urged him to “turn from his wicked ways,” stared blankly for several seconds before delivering his verdict: “Stupid!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jie Li Ka’s gaze also rested on the river’s surface, her brow tightening unconsciously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Gao De surfaced earlier, while others radiated negativity, she felt mostly confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that confusion was growing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The doubt she’d felt since first seeing Gao De in the new student line had now reached its peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Work, work—he’s wasting time, but I won’t follow his example!” Lu Ka, the first to leave the mine, stood up, slapped his hands, and slung his basket back onto his shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harvesting water gold ore wasn’t enough—you had to carry it all the way up to the cliff top to complete the task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carrying nearly thirty kilograms of ore on such a steep path made the climb even more treacherous and winding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After climbing only a dozen steps, beads of sweat already reappeared on Lu Ka’s forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This mandatory admission task, besides teaching aspiring sorcerers of the Ceres Magic Academy to endure hardship and forge resilience, also served to strengthen the new students’ physiques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time the 3,000-kilogram water gold ore quota was met, even the weakest would grow strong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Ka gritted his teeth and pressed on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he despised the task and found it meaningless, hearing that the previous headmaster, “Gavin Hogg,” had held the admission record made him realize this task was unavoidable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—If even the academy’s headmaster once sweated beneath Painful Cliff, what right did he have to refuse? Lu Ka trudged forward, basket heavy on his back, pausing every few steps, his expression gradually twisting into agony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt the rope of his basket had already worn through a layer of skin on his shoulder, burning fiercely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t “training and polishing”—this was torture!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the basket was woven from special vines; not only could it handle thirty kilograms, even double that weight wouldn’t be an issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I should’ve never come—no, if I’m this exhausted, Jie Li Ka’s gonna be worse off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally regretful, Lu Ka suddenly felt no remorse when he remembered that Jie Li Ka, a girl younger than him, had to carry the same 3,000 kilograms up the mountain with no special treatment—and now the weight on his back felt lighter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Lu Ka slung his basket of harvested water gold ore and began climbing, the remaining four followed suit one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone had their own tasks; no one had time to care about Gao De “wasting” time underwater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four, baskets on their backs, set out one by one up the mountain path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weakest among them, Candice, chose to walk last.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew she was the slimmest, weakest, and slowest, and feared slowing the others down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of the five, she carried the least water gold ore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others carried twenty to thirty kilograms each; she had only about fifteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even so, halfway up the cliff steps, her legs suddenly gave out and she lurched backward, about to fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On such a steep, jagged path, falling backward meant certain disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Candice’s face turned deathly pale with terror.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, a force suddenly pushed her from behind, preventing her fall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rest if you’re tired—don’t push yourself. Finish the task slowly, but don’t fall—that’d be terrible,” came a gentle voice from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Candice turned around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was already the last person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only one who could have supported her from behind was Gao De, who had just emerged from the water and was climbing slower than the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he’d spent the whole morning diving, Gao De’s stamina was heavily drained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn’t have to carry any weight uphill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he quickly caught up to the main group and trailed behind Candice, arriving just in time to help her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you,” Candice whispered, tears nearly falling but held back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re almost there—keep going,” Gao De added gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know,” Candice murmured, but before she finished speaking, she froze, eyes widening, staring fixedly at Gao De’s basket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The cliff steps were steep, so Jie Li Ka, walking ahead of Gao De, turned back and looked down—she could clearly see what was inside his basket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While everyone else’s baskets were filled with chunks of water gold ore, Gao De’s was mostly empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But not completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only one thing inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a clam with an unusually wide, elegantly streamlined shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>About a foot long, nearly as wide as it was long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its shell surface shimmered with a fine, silk-like luster, as if woven from moonlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two halves curled slightly upward, like a maid lifting her skirt—graceful yet dignified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most peculiar of all were the intricate natural patterns etched across its surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under shifting light, these patterns seemed to reveal faint silhouettes of maidens dancing across the shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is—is that a Maid Pearl?!” Candice gasped in disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably,” Gao De replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—you actually harvested a Maid Pearl?!” Candice exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t I say I might get lucky on the next dive?” Gao De smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re so lucky,” Candice said, recovering and envious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the single clam in his basket weighed less than five kilograms, it was worth fifty kilograms of water gold ore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, she’d labored all morning, nearly fallen off the steps, and still gathered less than fifteen kilograms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Comparing herself to him was unbearable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too bad she couldn’t even swim, let alone dive—she was a complete landlubber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, she might’ve tried following Gao De’s example and dived in to “try her luck.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1323,"2026-06-19T14:28:48.629Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3c7f8bbacd1be8ab52a21e74a3785c78ab5d42f1ea2192ee41330e10a3161769","above-the-mage-chapter-129","above-the-mage-chapter-127",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]