Chapter 525: Spell Enhancement

“Surely this won’t stump Lady Flora?” Gao De smiled warmly at the little figure.

Flora immediately felt challenged, her competitive spirit ignited; she shot forward and touched one of the blood-crystal wheat grains.

“Dormancy awakening, rusted iron, barren growth, fertile cessation.” The next moment, Flora released her grip and spoke three terms from her mouth.

This was the long-concealed secret of blood-crystal wheat cultivation, tightly held by the Holy Empire.

After detailed questioning, Gao De finally learned every detail.

To be honest, whether the name “blood-crystal wheat” or its appearance and function, all were highly misleading, instantly leading one to think of blood—such as irrigating with blood.

Even Gao De had thought so at first.

The Holy Empire had also, to some extent, spread rumors that blood-crystal wheat must be planted in crimson soil flowing with blood.

This drove countless would-be thieves to desperately try irrigating blood-crystal wheat with all kinds of blood.

Or to search for red soils resembling volcanic rock for planting blood-crystal wheat.

Naturally, all attempts failed.

But the truth was, the cultivation method of blood-crystal wheat had nothing to do with blood, nor with any so-called crimson soil.

Its entire crimson hue came from its ability, upon maturity, to synthesize a substance similar to “hemoglobin,” causing its color to change.

Its actual growth requirement was high concentrations of “iron” elements.

Blood-crystal wheat could only grow and mature normally in soil rich in iron.

Achieving iron-rich soil was not difficult.

Simply bury rusted iron tools, iron filings, or even iron ore into the soil.

The iron released during the rusting process would naturally be absorbed by the wheat seeds.

The cultivation cost of blood-crystal wheat was far lower than imagined.

Before Flora spoke, Gao De hadn’t considered this angle—but after she explained, he couldn’t help slapping his forehead.

“Supplementing blood—aren’t most of those cases just about supplementing iron?”

It made perfect sense.

Gao De even suspected that both the name “blood-crystal wheat” and the cultivation secrets leaked by the Holy Empire were likely deliberate disinformation, meant to mislead thieves.

As for “dormancy awakening,” it referred to the inherent dormancy trait of blood-crystal wheat.

This trait allowed it to be stored longer.

But it also meant that before planting, the seeds must be soaked in acidic liquid for at least three hours to break dormancy.

Without this step, planting the seeds directly would make germination impossible.

The final term, “barren growth, fertile cessation,” was even more “abstract.”

In rough terms, blood-crystal wheat could only grow in barren land—fertile land could not produce it.

Of course, this was merely surface appearance; the real reason was that fertile land had previously grown all kinds of plants.

During their growth, these plants left traces in the soil—even if you removed all the plants, those traces took a long time to vanish completely.

Blood-crystal wheat was like a finicky young master, refusing to accept soil marked by other plants.

Barren land, by contrast, was often devoid of vegetation, meaning no traces of prior plant growth remained; as long as the iron requirement was met and basic nutrients were present, it thrived.

This peculiar nature gave rise to the phenomenon of “barren growth, fertile cessation.”

Without Flora’s utterly dominant innate talent, who could have guessed blood-crystal wheat needed barren land?

Every thief would have desperately tried to provide the best conditions possible—yet this was the exact opposite of the correct cultivation method.

With these three layers of protection, three layers of unexpectedness, no wonder the Holy Empire never banned the trade or circulation of blood-crystal wheat—yet after all these years, no other faction had ever successfully grown it.

“None of this is hard to achieve,” Gao De said, his eyes brightening as he listened to Flora.

“Dormancy awakening requires only acidic liquid—this is simple. Whether animal gastric fluid or whey separated from fermented dairy, both are strongly acidic and act quickly.”

The people of the North were nomadic, with deeply rooted hunting and herding cultures.

“Besides, Phoenix is right next to a volcano—worst case, there’s acidic water rich in sulfides underground in volcanic zones.”

The first point was easily solved.

The second point was the same.

Iron ore existed near Phoenix, and in their primitive lifestyle, every tribe had countless rusted iron tools.

The third point…

The North’s tundra permafrost was famously barren—except for a few mosses and lichens, virtually no green could be seen.

Finding barren land in the North was like finding water in the ocean.

“Immediately begin hybrid breeding of blood-crystal wheat and cold-resistant wheat, striving to develop the Northwest Wheat No. 2 variety as soon as possible,” Gao De mentally reviewed everything, confirmed no issues, then bowed deeply to Flora: “It all depends on Lady Flora.”

“Lady Flora, you’ve worked hard. If you succeed in developing the Northwest Wheat No. 2 variety, the entire population of Phoenix will hold you in even greater reverence,” Su Nai, who had remained coldly silent throughout, suddenly chimed in.

Same solemn expression. Same hands clasped in a bow.

“!” Flora, who had been somewhat indifferent, instantly grew serious.

The feeling of everyone leaning forward, hanging on every word she spoke, the weight on her shoulders—

“It all depends on Lady Flora!” Her tone rose involuntarily, her joy impossible to hide.

Gao De had absolute faith in her abilities.

Though she seemed innocent and clueless, in her own field, her reliability was unmatched.

“Lady Flora will oversee the breeding of Northwest Wheat No. 2. You, meanwhile, must begin establishing a new farm, dedicated solely to planting Northwest Wheat No. 2,” Gao De turned to Su Nai.

Highly developed agriculture required zoning—a basic but essential element.

Especially with blood-crystal wheat’s “barren growth, fertile cessation” buff.

“Call the new farm Flora’s Bountiful Farm,” Gao De said, smiling at the excited little figure.

“Flora’s Bountiful Farm?” Hearing her name, Flora immediately perked up her long, pointed ears.

“To recognize Lady Flora’s monumental contribution to the North’s agriculture.”

“Monumental contribution~~”

Aisha, who had remained silent beside her, spoke up: “Lady Flora’s contribution to the North is unmatched—I truly admire you.”

Half sincere, half playful.

“Unmatched~~” Flora seized the key phrase again.

The Jin Hui Farm, used for planting Northwest Wheat No. 1, had already reclaimed sixty thousand mu of land half a month ago.

During Gao De’s absence, Su Nai halted further expansion of Jin Hui Farm and focused entirely on planting all reclaimed land with Northwest Wheat No. 1.

Northwest Wheat No. 1 was originally a single harvest per April; thanks to Flora’s efforts, its yield had stabilized at 180 kilograms per mu and was now advancing toward 200 kilograms per mu.

If all sixty thousand mu were planted with Northwest Wheat No. 1, daily output would reach 900,000 kilograms.

This output was sufficient to feed 1.5 million people.

For Flora’s Bountiful Farm, Gao De’s initial phase target was only ten thousand mu.

For Phoenix, which already had experience building Jin Hui Farm, this was no daunting task; once decided, the topic was swiftly passed over.

“Your Majesty, I’ve sold large quantities of Northwest Wheat No. 1 to the Frostwolf Clan, as you originally instructed,” Su Nai reported another matter.

“Did they notice anything suspicious?” Gao De asked.

Though the North was backward, that didn’t mean its people were stupid—he dared not underestimate them.

“No. Their only reaction was that the price was too high; they’ve been negotiating constantly, demanding discounts for bulk purchases.” Su Nai’s lips curled slightly.

Although their goal was to use Northwest Wheat No. 1 to control the Frostwolf Clan—hoping it would constitute as high a percentage of their food supply as possible—

To avoid arousing suspicion or vigilance, Su Nai set extremely high conditions for selling Northwest Wheat No. 1.

First, quantity was limited—they couldn’t buy as much as they wanted. Second, the price was high, and payment was accepted only in “ice marrow.”

Naturally, this was painful for the Frostwolf Clan—but it also ensured they never suspected Phoenix’s true intent, focusing all attention on haggling.

People are like that: too good a deal makes them suspicious; with expensive items, they only care about the price.

Gao De smiled at this. “Keep haggling with them for a while longer, then give them a slight price reduction.”

Under current conditions, within just a few years, they could seize control of the Frostwolf Clan without a single drop of blood.

“The Frosthammer Clan is also buying Northwest Wheat No. 1 from us, but their dependence on it won’t match the Frostwolf Clan’s. Relying solely on this to control Frosthammer is unlikely.”

“No rush,” Gao De waved his hand casually. “First, take the Frostwolf Clan, then break the current tripartite balance.”

In truth, with Phoenix’s current development pace, within ten years, the tripartite balance would collapse naturally, becoming a single superpower with many weaker rivals.

Of course, if they could subdue both the Frostwolf Clan and Frosthammer beforehand, Phoenix’s development would accelerate further—but if impossible, no need to force it.

As always:

Development is the hard truth.

He’d been gone only half a month, but for Phoenix—changing daily—there were already many issues and directions requiring Gao De’s advice and decisions.

Especially in administration, education, and Phoenix’s infrastructure.

Since all were new systems Gao De had introduced based on his past-life knowledge, even Su Nai, let alone Aisha—who had some “governing” experience—were baffled in many areas and needed Gao De to clarify.

Thus, their meeting lasted from evening until moonlight soaked the window lattice.

Exiting the city hall, Gao De turned aside toward the clan’s hunters’ breeding grounds for earth-pulse creatures.

The last time he left the North, he ordered the resumption of earth-pulse creature capture missions.

Now, half a month later, it was harvest time.

Of course, the same problem remained: common first-rank earth-pulse creatures around Phoenix had already been harvested once; few remained uncaught.

Moreover, to obtain a complete origin point, Gao De needed seven individuals of the same species.

So after a “Bloodclaw Beast massacre,” his first-rank origin point only rose from 3 to 6.

This time, he didn’t hold back.

With the ascension imminent and awakening a specialty at hand, what use is keeping the origin source?

Although uncertain whether adding points to spells will affect the strength of the awakened specialty.

But better to overdo it than miss out—before ascension, you must do everything within your power.

Six points of first-circle origin, three newly mastered rare spells—these are the highest priority; assign them all first.

【Long-Range Shot [Rare]+】 (Transmutation, First Circle):

This spell increases your ranged attack range by twenty feet.

Bonus: Your ranged attacks ignore energy loss within twenty feet.

【Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy [Rare]+】 (Divination, First Circle):

You recall a creature you encountered within the past day and gain knowledge about it.

Bonus: You gain additional knowledge about the creature, including its species information.

【Universal Elixir [Rare]+】 (Transmutation, First Circle):

You may select a beneficial effect concerning health, happiness, or joy for a bottle of water, transforming it into an elixir with no side effects.

Bonus: The following two additional beneficial effects may now be selected for your Universal Elixir:

【Hypermemory】: For one hour, you gain hypermemory, drastically enhancing your recall ability—you can instantly memorize text, maps, or biological features you see.

Note: Hypermemory consumes immense physical energy; after consuming the hypermemory elixir, you enter a state of mental exhaustion. Consuming multiple hypermemory elixirs in succession may cause bodily harm.

【Sensory Tuning】: For thirty minutes after drinking, you may actively adjust the acuity of your five senses—for example, enhancing your vision at the cost of dulling hearing and smell; alternatively, you may dull your senses without any cost.

Additionally, when creating a Universal Elixir, you may optionally select the traits “Multifunctional Blend” or “Residual Aftereffect.”

Multifunctional Blend: Consume multiple times the spell energy to imbue the elixir with multiple effects.

Residual Aftereffect: Consume additional spell energy to extend the duration of the elixir’s primary effect.

(End of Chapter)