Above the mage

Chapter 429 One Ring Completed: Northwest Barley No. 2 Seed

Before taking Longqin Blood Bacteria, Gaode had one more very important thing to do:

The spores at the tail of the *Dracaena cochinchinensis* are removed and used as seeds for later planting.

For Gaode Maps, this was just a piece of cake.

As a Tier 1 Rune Constructor, his hands are "Master Hands." While the task of extracting spores may seem delicate, it pales in comparison to the art of drawing runes.

After quickly removing the spores, Gaode used the classic double cast of canceling and recasting the spell to "pull" Flora from Valar Bay and then handed the spores over to her for safekeeping.

Other matters are hard to say, but when it comes to planting, there's absolutely no need to worry about Flora.

In this field, she is even more stable than her senior brother.

Everything is settled.

With the help of the Dharma-Ninja Body, Gao De quickly eliminated all distracting thoughts.

No matter how many other things there are, let's wait until things are better before we talk about them.

He picked up the dragon-blood mushroom covered in silver patterns and stuffed it directly into his mouth.

As a precious magical plant, Dragon Bird Blood Fungus has a great advantage in addition to its extraordinary efficacy: it is extremely pure and almost free of impurities, so it can be taken directly without pain or any special processing.

Of course, Gaode is not afraid of drug toxicity; even if there are impurities, it makes no difference to him.

The moment it enters your mouth, the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus melts quickly on your tongue like ice and snow, with a texture somewhat like ice cream from a past life.

A sweet taste spread through my mouth, slowly sliding down my throat and into my stomach without any discomfort.

As the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus entered the stomach, a surge of heat instantly rushed through the body, flowing throughout the entire body.

This is when the effects of the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus in improving personal health and lifespan begin to take effect.

Gao De could clearly feel that every inch of his skin and every bone in his body was cheering and jumping for joy under this heat, like a seed that had been parched for a long time and was now receiving rain, frantically absorbing the energy within.

As he absorbed the energy, his blood and qi slowly surged, giving him a feeling of fullness and satisfaction.

A mysterious message welled up in my mind.

Gaode sensed that his lifespan had increased from 335 to 340.

According to Deacon York, in terms of lifespan, a 30-year-old Dragon Bird Blood Bacteria can extend one's lifespan by approximately 3-5 years, depending on the individual's absorption rate.

In other words, his absorption rate has reached its limit.

His self-praise for his supposedly divine body from taking drugs was not in vain.

Of course, whether it's a magical plant or a magical potion, the first time you take it, the effect is the best.

Therefore, even if we obtain more mature Dragon Bird Blood Fungus in the future, it certainly won't have the same medicinal effects.

The heat gradually dissipated, replaced by an extremely dense magical power erupting within Gao De's body.

This is the most important function of Dragon Bird Blood Bacteria for Gaode: helping to condense mana and improve the mage's level!

Dragon Bird Blood Fungus directly provides a large amount of magic power to the user.

Gao De sat cross-legged in the meditation room, focusing intently on circulating the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture," refining and absorbing the magic power released by the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus to enhance his own magical power.

At this moment, the inexhaustible magical power from the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus within his body had formed a huge funnel, converging and being extracted towards his lower abdomen, where liquid mana was stored.

Every hundred or so rotations of the funnel will result in a drop of crystal-clear and exceptionally pure liquid mana dripping from the bottom, merging into the already abundant "mana pool".

54 drops.......55 drops....

With the help of the medicinal power of the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus, Gao De's total mana was steadily approaching the level of 60 drops of liquid mana required for the later stages of the first ring.

As his magical power accumulated, he could feel his spiritual energy stirring within him. 58 drops... 59 drops...

The 60th drop of liquid mana also quietly fell into the mana pool.

At this point, the medicinal power of the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus still had more than half remaining.

However, Gaode's mana pool is already saturated and can no longer be refined to obtain new liquid mana.

The dense funnel of magic spun dozens more times due to inertia before finally dissipating slowly and settling into various corners inside Gao De's body.

Then, a powerful force exploded in Gao De's mind.

This is a sign that one's mental strength has been enhanced.

The 60th drop of liquid mana condensed signifies that the High Virtue Mage's level has advanced from the mid-stage of the first ring to the late-stage of the first ring.

Each advancement to a minor rank brings an increase in mental strength.

With the support of Yugathira, Gao De's spiritual power had already broken through its limits and was no longer blocked as before, so it naturally grew accordingly.

However, because his mental strength broke through its limits early on and became too powerful, the improvement he could gain was relatively limited.

For a normal first-level mage, the maximum increase in mental power from mid-first-level to late-first-level mage level is 33.

Ordered.

However, in Gao De's perception, his mental strength only increased from 200 to 211, which was only one-third of the upper limit.

However, he was quite satisfied.

One step at a time, one step at a time.

For most mages, their mental strength can only break through the threshold of 199 and reach 200 when they advance to the second ring.

In other words, his current mental strength has actually surpassed that of a newly promoted second-ring mage.

In the hierarchical and clearly defined system of mage supernatural powers, breaking through limits is an extremely difficult task.

Gao De was initially considered a promising newcomer by the Sea Sentinel Mage because of his potential to break through limitations.

As expected of a magical plant bestowed by a big shot like Marquis Drake, the Dragon Bird Blood Fungus pushed Gao De to the first level of perfection without any side effects, and even left some of its medicinal power.

However, Gao De did not seize the opportunity to try to upgrade his ring. Instead, he immediately stopped the operation of the Green Wood Longevity Scripture and got up.

Ascension to the next level is not like regular practice; it requires thorough preparation, including adjusting external factors and one's own condition to the best possible level within one's capabilities.

He's only just broken through to the late stage of the first ring, and he's already trying to advance to the next ring without stopping. That's recklessness, not courage.

Gaode will not let his guard down just because he has top-tier upgrade potions.

In his plan, he would need to spend at least a week adapting to the surge in magical power and becoming familiar with his current strength before taking a proper rest and attempting to advance his ring in the best possible condition.

Only by having reverence in our hearts can we go further.

Opening the door to the meditation room, Gao De glanced at the sky. The meditation session hadn't taken up too much time; it wasn't even noon yet.

Flora is no longer in the room; she must have gone out to work again.

As the Minister of Agriculture, and with her "outstanding abilities," Flora is definitely among the busiest people in Phoenix.

On the contrary, Gaode, as the "master" of Flora and the "king" of Phoenix, is basically in a hands-off state, very relaxed and leisurely.

Upon thinking about it, he felt ashamed.

He quickly shook his head, trying to stop himself from thinking about it anymore.

Sunefa must have received news of my return.

However, Gao De knew that given Sunefa's sense of boundaries, she definitely wouldn't bother him before he left the house.

After a day and a half of travel, plus the recent meditation, Gao De was feeling a bit tired. After thinking for a moment, he decided to cast a "Comfortable Sleep+" spell on himself and go to bed to rest.

When he woke up refreshed, it was already evening.

Gaode stopped being lazy and went out to find Sunaifa.

He has a lot to do when he comes back this time. Even if he's a hands-off boss, he still has principles!

Enter the city hall.

Even as dusk settled over the windows of the city hall, Sunaifa was still "on duty" and was already "waiting" for Gaode's arrival.

Gao De had just entered his office when there was a knock on the door.

After the door opened, Sunefa entered with Elsa, who was carrying a large, neatly arranged parchment. "My King," she said, "this contains the first phase of Phoenix's construction report, the establishment of the Ministry of Construction, the construction report for the Valar Tunnel, the construction report for the Valar Port, the shipping route transaction report, the second phase of the Golden Radiance Farm's reclamation report, and the educational report for Phoenix First High School following the commencement of the photography class..."

,

Sunafa spoke in a calm, emotionless voice, as if she had no breath left.

Elsa neatly arranged the large parchment scroll on Gaode's desk, then immediately added, "And these too: the Phoenix expansion plan for the next quarter, the adult education program, the city hall recruitment proposal, the sheriff's office expansion plan, the tribal integration plan..."

1

"Please take a look, Your Highness." Elsa looked at God with a cool and aloof expression, much like Sunefa.

Compared to Sunefa's "hard work and dedication", Elsa, as the head of the city hall, clearly harbored some "resentment" towards Gaode's hands-off approach.

Gao De glanced somewhat guiltily at the obvious dark circles under Elsa's eyes—Elsa was not like Sunefa; she was a fourth-ring mage whose brain was highly developed and needed rest. With such intense work, sleep deprivation was inevitable.

He glanced again at the thick stack of documents on his desk.

Keep in mind that this is only a month and a half's worth of supplies.

It's easy to imagine the workload Elsa and Sunefa have had during this period.

But at the same time, it also shows how rapidly Phoenix is ​​developing.

"These are your decisions... As for the reports, let me take a look first," Gao De said, pointing to the plans.

In fact, he was the one who came up with the concept of a "project plan".

Before this, whether in Phoenix or in other kingdoms, deciding on a project was usually just a matter of the ruler coming up with an idea on a whim, then convening a meeting of nobles, and that's how the next major project concerning people's livelihoods was decided so hastily.

As for the project schedule, potential problems during the project, and anticipated solutions, there was absolutely nothing.

Basically, it relies on the ruler's experience and judgment, and then when it comes to implementation, the main idea is "things will work themselves out." The "project plan" concept proposed by Gaode is to avoid such hasty decisions as much as possible, to avoid the arbitrariness of project decisions, and to require that the project be precisely divided into various stages, with clear time nodes and acceptance standards set for each stage.

But now, for Gaode, it's somewhat like shooting themselves in the foot.

Phoenix is ​​currently experiencing a multi-pronged approach, with new engineering projects being proposed every day and countless proposals being submitted.

As Gao De pondered this, he looked down at the report to understand the current situation in Phoenix.

Being a hands-off manager is one thing, but it doesn't mean that Gaode does nothing.

In fact, he was the one who made the major decisions and overall construction plans.

However, to make the right decision, it is not enough to simply have past life experiences and knowledge.

As the saying goes, "adapt to local conditions," he must have a thorough understanding of the situation in Phoenix in order to be realistic; otherwise, all his ideas will just be empty talk.

So even though there was a lot of content, Gaode still dutifully flipped through each volume.

Although Elsa harbored some resentment, she still tried to summarize the developments in Phoenix over the past month and a half as concisely as possible, so that Gao De could grasp the current situation with minimal effort.

Even so, it took almost an hour for Gaode to finish reading all the reports.

The two waited quietly to the side.

Gao De put down the last report, rubbed his slightly throbbing temples, thought for a moment, and said to Elsa, "Please invite Minister Flora over as well."

"Yes, Your Highness, I'll go and call Minister Flora right away." Aisha stood up briskly and walked quickly out of God's office.

"Your work pressure is indeed quite high, you could take a break..." After Elsa left, God turned to Sunefa and said, "Development isn't something that can be accomplished in a few days, and besides, Phoenix doesn't currently have any urgent external threats."

Slowing down the pace isn't a big problem.

Sunafa blinked. "My King, this is a crucial period for the construction of Phoenix..."

.

"There are no critical periods; every day is critical. Even if you are a fourth-circle mage and can go without sleep, you can't keep your mind constantly on edge. Besides, even if you don't need to sleep, others do." Gao De decisively corrected Sunafa's "wrong" idea.

"In the end," looking at Sunafa who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, Gao De knew that she had "heard" but "didn't want to listen," and couldn't help but sigh, "There are still too few people who are truly capable."

Gaode envisions an administrative structure that is both complete and efficient.

For a "senior leader" like Sunefa, the core responsibilities should focus on strategic decision-making, macro-management, and resource coordination.

Its main responsibility is to formulate long-term development strategies and make overall decisions on major issues affecting the overall situation, focusing on the big picture and delegating minor details.

However, the lack of talent in the North meant that most of the work in each department was handled by the head officer, and then all the burden fell on Sunefair alone.

To be honest, Phoenix's current administrative system is already quite scientific and efficient compared to the management systems of many noble territories, but it is still far from what Gaode wants.

Fortunately, Sunefa is the strongest fighter in the North, possessing terrifying superhuman strength, enough to withstand this intensity of work.

"Hang in there a little longer. Once adult education is rolled out on a large scale, we can select a group of outstanding students to intern in various departments, learn through practice, and cultivate Phoenix's first batch of capable civil servants. You should be able to relax a lot then," Gao De said, shaking his head.

As they were talking, Elsa led Flora, who was also still "on duty," into the office.

Faced with the latter's questioning eyes, Gao De decisively took out the cloth bag containing the Blood Crystal Wheat from his pocket, opened it, and poured it onto the table.

The bright red wheat grains, like blood, were scattered, and a strange, refreshing fragrance instantly filled the air.

"This is a special type of wheat from the Holy Empire, called Blood Crystal Wheat. It has the effect of replenishing qi and blood, and long-term consumption can enhance physical fitness."

Under the questioning gazes of Sunefa and Elsa, God first introduced Blood Crystal Wheat, then looked at Flora and explained his intention: "My idea is to crossbreed Blood Crystal Wheat with Cold-resistant Wheat, combining the advantages of both, and then cultivate Northwest Barley No. 2."