[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-475":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},2257479,4404,"Chapter 475: New Ability: Enlightenment","above-the-mage-chapter-475",475,"\u003Cp>As they spoke, Gao De and Flora arrived in front of Walma Magical Materials Store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interior of the magical materials store appeared somewhat empty, with few items on the shelves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir,” said Joel, the young employee managing Walma Magical Materials Store, rushing forward to greet Gao De the moment he entered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Joel, bring out all the tree seeds and magical tree seeds the store has acquired during this period,” Gao De nodded slightly and instructed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Sir,” Joel replied, walking toward the small storage room at the back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De casually glanced around the shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was noon, yet not a single customer was present—utterly desolate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is my shop here, opened specifically to collect tree seeds for Lady Flora,” Gao De said softly, turning to the curious Flora.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Specifically~” Flora’s eyes sparkled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Lady Flora didn’t understand or was happy, she repeated words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was confusion or joy could be distinguished by tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, it was joy now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” Gao De affirmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s how it should be,” Flora said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s how it should be~” Gao De echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flora began to look around with even greater curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master, isn’t business very bad?” Having developed a sense of ownership upon learning the shop existed solely to collect tree seeds for her, Flora grew anxious at the lack of customers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?” Flora tilted her head, asking seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because the shop has nothing to attract customers,” Gao De thought for a moment and replied honestly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then, Master, invite the man who fried the fish to come here,” Lady Flora thought hard and finally came up with an idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fried fish and fries are delicious, but they won’t attract many customers,” Gao De smiled, understanding her intent—only children and Flora would be drawn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry, Lady Flora, I’ll find a way,” Gao De comforted her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh~” Hearing this, the little one quietly exhaled—Lady Flora had truly run out of ideas!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Joel had already retrieved from the storage room a basket containing seeds packed in various containers and cloth bags.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sir,” he handed the basket to Gao De, glanced at him cautiously, hesitated, then ventured: “The store hasn’t made a single magical materials transaction in a long time—only tree seed acquisitions, no sales, let alone income.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His voice carried a hint of anxiety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A normal magical materials store primarily operated in two areas: acquiring and selling magical materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Typically, acquisition was at half-price, and sales at full price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The store’s profit came entirely from this spread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Walma Magical Materials Store currently did not engage in acquiring magical materials at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, there was a reason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A magical materials store was not a general goods shop—it demanded far higher staff qualifications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Literacy and arithmetic were the bare minimum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, staff needed basic knowledge of magical materials to roughly assess their value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Accuracy wasn’t required, but the ability was essential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet such talent was hard to find even in Doen City—it was a scarce resource.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mainly because Gao De’s “Walma Magical Materials Store” was too small, looking ready to collapse at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any world, any era, workers preferred large companies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One, stability and good benefits; two, upward mobility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was common knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>True talent would never come to a tiny, unopened shop with such a bleak future as this one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Gao De’s initial recruitment notice drew no applicants for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this continued for four or five days, Gao De finally realized his mistake and rethought his strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He directly narrowed the store’s business scope to lower staff requirements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the store grows larger, Walma Magical Materials Store’s operations will include only magical materials sales and the acquisition of tree seeds and magical tree seeds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For tree seed acquisition, Gao De also established a clear standard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He listed all tree seeds he already possessed; any seed not on the list would be bought for a flat fifty copper coins, then added to the list.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for magical tree seeds, no variety was selected—fixed prices: 6 gold 5 silver for first-tier, 30 gold for second-tier, 140 gold for third-tier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take as much as they bring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By eliminating magical materials acquisition and standardizing tree seed purchases, staff requirements plummeted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with Gao De’s competitive salary, he easily hired an employee: Joel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A former apprentice at a large magical materials store in Doen City, a highly motivated “country boy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Joel’s parents were farmers from a small town near Doen City, surviving on their meager fields.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Joel refused to spend his life tilling soil like them; at sixteen, he boldly came to Doen City and became a magical materials apprentice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During his apprenticeship, he gradually learned product classification, weighing, inventory management, and interpersonal skills, absorbing faint but real knowledge of magical materials through osmosis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though only superficial, this greatly benefited him and sparked a certain “ambition” for his future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to deeply master this field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Joel’s rented room was in the East District, passing Old Harlin’s General Store every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day, as usual, he saw Gao De’s recruitment notice posted outside the shop now renamed Walma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Large magical materials stores were stable, but the drawbacks were obvious: roles were too rigid, he learned little, and promotion opportunities were scarce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, becoming a full clerk—as a country boy with no background or skills—he’d need at least five or six years as an apprentice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De’s Walma Magical Materials Store, though small and uncertain, was a door to new opportunity for him—a fine platform for growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he made another decision as pivotal as the one he made at sixteen: leaving Doen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Joel decided to quit his apprenticeship at the original store and join Gao De’s Walma Magical Materials Store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he was too young—even a small shop like Walma might not want him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Joel proactively offered to take a pay cut to work at Walma Magical Materials Store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This moved Gao De.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t short on money; he valued Joel’s initiative and willingness to sacrifice for opportunity—he saw potential and wanted to give him a chance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, ordinary people like Joel with strong ambition and self-driven initiative were exceedingly rare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve contacted acquaintances; they’ll bring a batch of magical materials in a few days,” Gao De said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he picked up the basket full of seeds and walked toward the living quarters upstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had taken Flora around Doen City for half a day—it was time to return to the North.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lady Flora, you’ll have to endure the dark room again for a while,” Gao De whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Okay~” Lady Flora was understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De canceled [Summon Pet] again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, as his thoughts shifted, multicolored light spilled from the silver rune on his palm like liquid mercury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The light gradually coalesced into a Star Gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De stepped into it, his figure vanishing swiftly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Star Gate dissolved immediately, leaving no trace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ting-ting-ting!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bell-like rustling of leaves sounded the instant Gao De reappeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yggdrasil welcomed Gao De’s return immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ignoring his still-dazed body, Gao De immediately cast [Summon Pet], pulling Flora out of the “dark room.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delay further, and Lady Flora would throw a tantrum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Gao De raised his head to gaze at Yggdrasil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Lags City, he had received feedback from Yggdrasil, breaking through his first-circle mage’s mental capacity limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that time, Gao De knew Yggdrasil must have ascended—changed significantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, it had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yggdrasil, once only sixteen feet tall, had grown another half its height.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its trunk thickened, bark now tightly interlocked like ancient dragon scales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its leaves had widened slightly, swirling with mysterious star energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the ground, parts of Yggdrasil’s roots could be seen—massive claws like a dragon-bird’s—deeply embedded in the soil, spreading outward, absorbing nutrients while transforming the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were merely visible external changes; deeper transformations, harder to perceive, were far greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De pressed his hand against Yggdrasil’s trunk—immediately, a profoundly deep connection formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He quickly grasped Yggdrasil’s exact changes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Yggdrasil】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rank: Second-tier demonic plant (19\u002F5568 months)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Growth bonus coefficient: 1.42 → 3.96\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Astral Teleport: 1 (29\u002F45 days)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lifespan: (1\u002F16704 years)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Domain Expansion (land transformation): 29 mu → 70 mu\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Height: 16 chi → 22 chi\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Land mana concentration: 24–35 (basic spiritual land) → 46–72 (first-tier spiritual land)\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most prominent, of course, was the upgrade from a first-tier demonic plant to a second-tier demonic plant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The increases in growth bonus coefficient and lifespan were expected, so no need to elaborate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What surprised Gao De was that the energy charging time for Astral Teleport had been reduced from sixty days to forty-five days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This must be because, as Yggdrasil’s rank increased, its rate of absorbing astral energy improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This means Gao De can now travel more frequently between Jin Quehua Dynasty and the Northern Frontier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, as Yggdrasil’s rank continues to rise, the charging time for Astral Teleport will keep shortening—perhaps one day he’ll be able to use it multiple times within a single day?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This bright prospect lifted Gao De’s spirits slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The expansion of the domain’s area and the land’s mana concentration reaching first-tier spiritual land levels were likewise welcome, but within Gao De’s expectations, so not truly surprising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had assumed that was all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Yggdrasil transmitted a message to him, causing Gao De to freeze for a moment, then his eyes brightened:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After ascending to second-tier demonic plant status, Yggdrasil awakened another special ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A special ability like Astral Teleport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this ability could not yet be used, which was why Gao De had not sensed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Enlightenment】.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the new ability Yggdrasil had awakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its function was simple and straightforward:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yggdrasil could enlighten trees within its domain that were five hundred years old or older, giving them a chance to awaken spiritual awareness, gain wisdom, and become treants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A power so strong it bordered on overpowered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was nearly equivalent to creating a new race.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, within Yggdrasil’s current domain, there wasn’t even a single tree fifty years old, let alone one five hundred years old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, this was a late-game ability, fitting the natural longevity of trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet waiting five hundred years for 【Enlightenment】 to activate was not necessary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because there was the Greenwood Longevity Scripture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Practicing the Greenwood Longevity Scripture grants the ability of Nature Art, consuming one’s own spiritual power to accelerate plant growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This perfectly synergized with Yggdrasil’s 【Enlightenment】 ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Use Nature Art to grow trees to five hundred years of age, then have Yggdrasil enlighten them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just thinking of this, Gao De could not help but marvel at the elegance of fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Greenwood Longevity Scripture and Yggdrasil complemented each other perfectly, as if made for one another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty!” Over here, Elder Gaien had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De tore his attention from Yggdrasil and looked around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only had Yggdrasil changed dramatically—this temporary camp had changed noticeably as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, many new saplings had sprouted around, several of which pulsed with mana.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were the seedlings Gao De had brought back from his last trip to the Northern Frontier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, the outermost ring of saplings had now grown into full-grown trees over thirty chi tall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without Gao De asking, Elder Gaien, perceptive as ever, spoke up immediately:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These trees were grown at the War Mother’s command. She said the Valar Bay would soon welcome outsiders, and the Sacred Tree must be protected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So while expanding the camp and building barriers, she also ordered the outermost saplings to be accelerated—they would grow tall enough to shield the Sacred Tree, hiding Yggdrasil from view.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Nai’s meticulousness earned Gao De’s quiet approval.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Has any ship arrived at Valar Bay recently?” Gao De asked the question he cared about most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Your Majesty. Half a month ago, a two-masted sailing vessel entered Valar Bay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had truly arrived safely!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De felt relief mixed with joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sea voyages carried too many risks, especially along a route without a proper map—he had never been certain the Columbus would reach Valar Bay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Where are the people on the ship now?” Gao De asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, the two women and the craftsmen you instructed have been taken to Phoenix. The rest of the crew remain aboard—the War Mother forbade them from landing, saying they must wait for your return before any arrangements are made.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand,” Gao De nodded again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Nai’s handling of affairs was utterly reassuring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2068,"2026-06-19T14:28:50.414Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4021b8969ac421fc5a4ae6df6fb32394876424260615466ab53826e0df5bf9fe","above-the-mage-chapter-476","above-the-mage-chapter-474",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]