[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-above-the-mage":3,"chapter-above-the-mage-above-the-mage-chapter-479":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},2257483,4404,"Chapter 479: The Awakening of a Transmigrator","above-the-mage-chapter-479",479,"\u003Cp>After watching Gao De and Su Naifa leave, Aisha closed the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister, you’re going to work for Brother Gao De!” Anna waved her tiny fist excitedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now you’ll be busy, and won’t have time to give me lessons anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yay!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t talk nonsense—I haven’t agreed yet. I need to think it over,” Aisha said, rubbing her temples slightly, feeling a headache coming on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You already agreed—in your heart, didn’t you, Sister?” Anna tilted her head, looking at Aisha seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aisha froze for a moment, then her cheeks flushed slightly—a sign of embarrassment at being caught in her secret thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She raised an eyebrow, her face stern. “We haven’t finished today’s lesson yet. Continue!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think she’ll accept the position of Office Director for Phoenix?” After walking a while down the street, Su Naifa asked softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably,” Gao De replied uncertainly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really need her to join, don’t you?” Su Naifa’s lips curled with the faintest hint of mockery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course,” Gao De snorted. “To be blunt, we’re currently marching straight from a Stone Age tribal village to building a nation—almost everything starts from zero.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Aisha has governing experience. Across the entire continent, how many such people are there? And even more so, she’s someone I’ve lured all the way to the Northern Frontier to work for us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rulers with governing experience usually have rigid mindsets and can’t easily accept new systems—but she’s different. She genuinely wants to embrace new ideas. That’s exactly what I value most in her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With her knowledge and abilities, once she adapts to Phoenix’s new institutional framework for a year or so, she’ll be fully capable of handling things on her own.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Northern Frontier desperately needs talent like her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“At the current pace of development, Phoenix’s status as the Northern Frontier’s only city will soon become history. If she performs well, Office Director will merely be the starting point of her governance here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really have high hopes for her,” Su Naifa murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De had used so many words, all centered on his confidence in Aisha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry—she’ll accept,” Su Naifa added.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?” Gao De was surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If she hadn’t been deliberately observing Phoenix’s situation, she couldn’t have answered your questions so fluently. The fact that she did means she’s not a ‘passive’ person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She thrives on challenges, proving her abilities through them, gaining a sense of accomplishment. That’s who she is,” Su Naifa affirmed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Gao De couldn’t help but glance sideways at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone has their own talent, and Su Naifa was widely recognized as exceptionally gifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But beyond her magical talent, she was also astonishingly gifted in management and judging people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was born to be a leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still, Su Naifa,” Gao De thought for a moment, then said seriously, “I first appointed Kaitlin, a non-Zhenbing tribeswoman, as Deputy Director of the Public Security Bureau. Now I want to make Aisha, who isn’t even from the Northern Frontier, Office Director. These are key positions. Don’t you have any thoughts about this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Change brings progress, doesn’t it?” Su Naifa’s lips held a faint smile. “Besides, since you arrived, everything has only gotten better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The tribe members deeply revere you. They place absolute trust in your decisions and wisdom,” Su Naifa paused, then spoke slowly, “Including me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Some people truly possess the talent to forge history and create miracles. You are such a person.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Personal worship is dangerous, Gao De said helplessly, spreading his hands. “You don’t need to be so formal with me all the time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Your Majesty,” Su Naifa replied politely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Anna and Su Naifa had said, Aisha had already accepted Gao De’s recruitment in her heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wasn’t a “passive” person. The thought of spending the rest of her life in Phoenix, so “ordinary,” made her feel resistant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was rational. She knew her life mattered more, so she forced herself to accept everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Gao De placed this challenge before her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Phoenix was currently nothing but a makeshift operation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of that, an outsider with no connections like her could be appointed directly as department head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Gao De’s envisioned system had already been fully established, this would have been impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To become a department head, one would have to enter the city hall as a low-level clerk, steadily climbing up through competition based on outstanding performance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was, in fact, the best opportunity for Aisha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another point: she was deeply interested in Gao De’s ideas and proposals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to managing a mature city or nation, personally participating in building an entirely new system was far more exciting for Aisha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Gao De’s theories, though seemingly heretical, aligned with many of her own thoughts—even some she’d vaguely sensed but couldn’t yet systematize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, his emphasis on education. “Universal education”—what a bold idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then accept it.” After finishing the remainder of today’s lesson for Anna, Aisha made her decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She immediately rose to find Gao De.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he trusted her and entrusted her with such responsibility, and she hesitated, dragged her feet, or acted as if bargaining for a better offer, it would show a lack of sincerity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the Nongye Force and the Public Security Bureau and the Education Department, Phoenix finally established a new department:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its head was Princess Aisha from the Western Dian Kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the newly appointed Office Director Aisha didn’t yet understand why Gao De had chosen such a strange name as “Office.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she had no time to ponder it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because as soon as she took office, a pile of tasks arrived without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Office currently consisted of only her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her first task was to organize Phoenix’s first civil service recruitment, hiring a large number of managers for the city hall, while also expanding her own office staff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, this is my draft recruitment plan.” After working overtime to complete the preliminary civil service recruitment plan, Aisha hurried to find Gao De.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like Kaitlin, as a native of the non-Zhenbing tribes, Aisha also called Gao De “Your Highness,” not “Your Majesty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao De took the plan Aisha had written and read it carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing, he set down the parchment and looked up at Aisha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t comment on the specific procedures or details of the recruitment plan—you’re the expert in this area.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, without Aisha, Gao De truly couldn’t have handled this smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had exceptional talent in certain areas and had access to more advanced experiences from another world, but he wasn’t an omniscient god.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t, as an ungraduated “mathematics major,” magically transplant another world’s superior institutional systems perfectly into this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Groundbreaking ideas were important, but those who could turn those ideas into reality were even more crucial.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just because you know “surrounding the cities from the countryside,” can you replicate the great man’s achievements?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obviously not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And on this point, Gao De was truly aware.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he was different from everyone in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because his mind held knowledge from another world—verified, yet nonexistent here—he had the ambition to use this knowledge, combined with the Northern Frontier’s reality, to transform it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Gao De also knew such a task could never be accomplished by one person alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like the Northwest Barley No. 1, hailed as his miracle—without Furoula, how could it have been completed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Never overestimate your own abilities, and never underestimate the wisdom of the people in this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What’s so special about a transmigrator? In the end, you’re just an ordinary person with a bit more knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His job was to point the way forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll give you two points.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First, reading, writing, and arithmetic must become basic skills for every civil servant. Anyone who doesn’t meet this threshold won’t even qualify to take the recruitment exam.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But exceptions must be made for special circumstances. Phoenix is currently desperate for managers, and universal education hasn’t started yet. Considering this reality, we can be flexible in recruiting talent during this phase.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For this recruitment, even if someone can’t read or write and has little management experience, as long as they have rich practical experience, they can still be hired into the city hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Aisha’s draft plan, literacy was listed as a requirement—but under the Northern Frontier’s current conditions, who besides the Bingyi magicians could even read or write?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As I said before—even commoners can become civil servants.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aisha fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. “I understand. I was still bound by my old thinking.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Another point: Phoenix’s current population is about one million. Besides the over five hundred thousand Zhenbing tribespeople, the remaining five hundred thousand come from various tribes, each with different cultural traditions and lifestyles.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Next, I’ll establish a new department, tentatively called the Jianshe Force, responsible for overseeing Phoenix’s expansion, the preliminary construction of the Wala’er Bay port, and the road connecting the two locations. Try to ensure at least one person from each tribe joins the Jianshe Force.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?” Compared to the first point, Aisha couldn’t immediately grasp the reasoning behind this one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I want these new arrivals to Phoenix, and those who will join later, to build their own future homes first.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Before they develop a sense of belonging or identification with Phoenix, they won’t put their heart into other tasks. But when building their own homes, they’ll give their all without needing supervision.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And as they fully immerse themselves in Phoenix’s construction, they’ll gradually develop a sense of belonging—after all, they helped build this city themselves.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Selecting at least one person from each tribe is also for smoother command during construction.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood,” Aisha said after a moment of thought, nodding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, there’s one more thing I need you to handle,” Gao De said with a smile, pushing a scroll of parchment toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s this?” Aisha asked curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides Office Director, you’re also acting Deputy Director of the Education Department. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?” Gao De’s smile grew even “friendlier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This details the current number of school-age children in Phoenix and the available educational resources. Clearly, the biggest problem is the severe shortage of teachers,” he said as Aisha picked up the parchment and began flipping through it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See if you can think of any way to fill this gap.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aisha silently finished reading the parchment, then took a deep breath without replying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s wrong? Any problems?” Gao De asked, feigning concern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So many children—ensuring each one receives education…” Aisha widened her eyes, staring at Gao De. “Even in the Western Dian Kingdom, we couldn’t gather enough teachers. Are you asking me to conjure up this many teachers in the Northern Frontier?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“...” Gao De, caught off guard and knowing he was in the wrong, could only awkwardly add, “Don’t worry—I’m just asking you to think of possible solutions. I’m not demanding you solve it right away. Your most important task now is completing Phoenix’s first civil service recruitment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness.” Aisha bowed with a graceful noble gesture, then withdrew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after Aisha left, Su Nai appeared again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My King, I have ordered your requested items prepared.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The “items” Su Nai referred to were what Gao De intended to bring back to the Jin Quehua Dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The largest portion would certainly be various magical materials; Gao De counted on the North’s exclusive magical materials to establish the reputation of Walma Magical Materials Shop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then there were the high-grade blood offerings prepared for Tuanzi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blood offerings he brought back last time had long since been completely consumed by Tuanzi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The results were also very significant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tuanzi, which under normal circumstances would have taken at least another ten years to reach its next stage, was now just one step away from breakthrough, thanks to the high-grade terrain creatures’ blood and flesh rich in blood qi and magical power; its body had grown a full size larger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nothing to say—keep feeding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the last item.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here is the second-grade ice sha you need,\" Su Nai said, producing an ice-crystal vial in her hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ice sha is an essential material for enhancing and upgrading the quality of the Ice-Sealing Blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After absorbing the Snowfield Protectors, the Zhenbing Tribe naturally inherited all the ice caves they controlled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four first-grade ice caves producing first-grade ice sha, two second-grade ice caves, and one third-grade ice cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A second-grade ice cave requires five years to produce one second-grade ice sha, and the Snowfield Protectors last harvested ice sha two years ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That means, under normal circumstances, Gao De would have to wait three more years to obtain the final second-grade ice sha needed to upgrade his Ice-Sealing Blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But fortunately, there was still one third-grade ice cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A third-grade ice cave requires twenty years to produce one third-grade ice sha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, if low-grade ice sha is urgently needed, immature high-grade ice sha can be collected early.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, a third-grade ice cave can yield one first-grade ice sha in half a year, or one second-grade ice sha in two and a half years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second-grade ice sha Su Nai handed over was extracted from an immature third-grade ice sha within the third-grade ice cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this second-grade ice sha, Gao De’s Ice-Sealing Blade could immediately be upgraded to second-grade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, how are the frost-pattern stones coming along? If they’re nearly ready, send them to Walar Bay for loading—the Columbus is already waiting at port for too long; it’s time to send them back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hunters of the Zhenbing Tribe had once discovered a frost-pattern stone vein at the junction of a glacial fissure and frozen earth near Phoenix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Zhenbing Tribe had never officially mined the vein; they had merely marked its location and collected some high-quality samples to bring back to the tribe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These samples were later taken by Gao De from the North and sold in Duoen City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since planning the North-Lagos shipping route, Gao De had been considering what cargo to send back on the Columbus—something that could bring substantial income, not seem too out of place, and be sustainably supplied in large quantities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, he remembered this frost-pattern stone vein.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I already had the frost-pattern stones shipped to Walar Bay yesterday,” Su Nai replied. “I sent Elder Fen on the journey—he will sail with them back to Lagos.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was to supervise, preventing the crew from absconding with a full shipload of frost-pattern stones when unmonitored, and also to provide escort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Nai had already considered every detail—no reminder from Gao De was needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As always, when Su Nai handled things, one felt utterly at ease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2435,"2026-06-19T14:28:50.414Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2e9d93b5049231c96bdc867746e6638c0afff4b2f108f677fa51cc9cf4bc4d0f","above-the-mage-chapter-480","above-the-mage-chapter-478",529,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fabove-the-mage-cover.jpg"]