Above the mage

Chapter 695 Middle Stage of the Third Ring

"Weak Silver Star Dew..." Leni turned and walked towards the shelf, her fingertips lightly sliding across the neatly arranged ice boxes as she carefully searched for the product.

A moment later, she stopped and took out a bottle of ice crystals from one of the ice boxes.

She turned and walked up to Green, gently handing him the ice crystal bottle.

Green quickly took the ice crystal bottle with both hands, and in the process, his fingertips inadvertently touched Leni's palm.

He felt a sudden pang of panic, as if he had been lightly stung by an electric current. He instinctively withdrew his hand, his cheeks instantly turning bright red.

Even his eyes started to dart away.

Leni, however, did not notice anything unusual about him, assuming he was still reserved. She habitually encouraged him in a slightly sisterly tone, "Don't be nervous. Although this weak Silver Star Dew is not as powerful as the original Ring-Up potion, with your talent, I believe that upgrading your ring will definitely not be difficult for you."

In her eyes, Green was just a child several years younger than herself, so she couldn't help but give him a few more words of advice and encouragement.

Green took a deep breath, barely suppressing the panic in his heart, raised his head, and said in a firm voice, "Thank you, Director Leni. I will definitely work hard and live up to your expectations, and successfully upgrade my ring."

Looking at the seriousness in his eyes, Leni smiled slightly: "I believe in you. Your talent is outstanding. As long as you successfully advance your ring, you will definitely get an A rating. Then you can apply to contract a third-tier Fuyuan Tree as a sacred object for forming a bond."

Upon hearing this, a bright expectation unconsciously appeared in Ge Lin's eyes.

The Grade A rating is part of the compulsory education system for monks, which was only recently officially announced and fully implemented.

It is a complete system that takes into account both fairness and efficiency, as well as universality and stratification.

Its emergence can be said to have completely broken the previous monopoly of the Iceborn bloodline on the cultivation of Northern mages, giving everyone the opportunity to become a mage.

The core logic of this system is: basic popularization and tiered training.

The basic accessibility means that all people in the North can obtain the breathing techniques and meditation methods for free without paying any fees, thus gaining an entry ticket to the practice of magic.

This is the core of "law for all".

This is especially true for students in their general education college, which also offers a special compulsory education course for monks.

This includes providing unified meditation guidance, practice venues, and more, as well as two major courses offered simultaneously: "General Education for Dharma Masters" and "Basic Magic (Tricks) Education".

"General Education for Dharma Masters" is a theoretical foundation course that covers a very comprehensive range of content.

It includes the basic system of magic, the basic principles of elements, the safety regulations of magic, basic knowledge of extraordinary secondary professions (potion master, plant magic master, rune master, etc.)... as well as the professional ethics and responsibilities of a mage.

The aim is to give students a comprehensive understanding of the magic profession, establish a correct understanding of magic, and clarify their own development direction.

At the same time, they should be taught to protect the northern border and serve their people, so as to avoid danger caused by ignorance of magic.

As its name suggests, "Basic Magic (Tricks) Education" mainly teaches various tricks.

Adhering fully to the principle of individualized instruction, an "innovative" elective system has been established: all students can freely choose spells according to their own interests and development directions.

Those aspiring to become battle mages will focus on combat spells.

Even if a mage has average talent and little room for future development, they can still choose to learn a few special magic tricks to put them to practical use in daily life.

This allows every student to feel the value of magic, and even if they cannot become a powerful mage, they can still make a living based on what they have learned.

The compulsory education system for monks also clearly stipulates:

Once a mage reaches the third-level mage apprentice level and passes the assessments of "General Mage Education" and "Basic Spells (Tricks) Education", they can receive a free bottle of weak ring-up potion to increase the success rate of ring upgrades.

This ensures that every apprentice qualified for the Ring upgrade receives tangible support.

This approach not only prevents talent from being buried due to a lack of resources, but also deeply instills the idea that hard work pays off, greatly motivating students to pursue their studies.

Green obtained his application based on this rule.

If one successfully advances to the first level of mage, they will officially enter the tiered training phase.

The college evaluates students based on their overall performance.

The assessment is mainly based on the results of the "General Education for Dharma Masters" and "Basic Magic (Tricks) Education" and the speed of practice during the Dharma Master apprenticeship stage, and is given three levels of evaluation: A, B and C. The evaluation standards are fair and impartial.

If a student discovers a strong skill during the promotion process, actively reports it, and passes the verification, they will receive bonus points based on the strength of that skill.

Different rating levels correspond to different qualifications for forming a bond with a sacred object, precisely matching the apprentice's talent and effort.

Those who receive an A rating, based on their outstanding performance, can directly apply for a Tier 3 Fuyuan Tree sapling as part of the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture".

The sacred relic of the bond;

Those who receive a Grade B rating can apply for a second-level permafrost oak seedling as a sacred object for marriage.

Those who receive a C rating can only receive a Tier 1 Gem Sweet Berry Sapling as a bond artifact.

And all of these are free.

Once your application is approved, you can receive it.

Of course, this system of Dharma education does not mandate that the "Qingmu Changsheng Jing" be chosen as the method of practice.

It seems that His Highness believes that forcibly enforcing the law would only backfire and violate the original intention of "everyone being a law".

However, it is undeniable that the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" is a rare cultivation method that can be obtained for free without requiring any resources from the clan members. Furthermore, it can be paired with a corresponding level of binding artifact to significantly reduce the difficulty of cultivation and improve its efficiency.

Such favorable conditions left the vast majority of the tribesmen with no reason to refuse.

For most people, this is almost the optimal path to break through their own limitations, become a qualified mage, or even become a high-level mage.

At the very least, Ge Lin would definitely choose the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture".

On the vast, open snowfield, the view is wide and unobstructed.

Gao De and Sunafa hovered in the air, facing each other in a battle stance.

The next instant, Sunefa raised her hand first, and an icy blue magical aura gathered at her fingertips.

The halo flashed by in an instant, and in the blink of an eye, several sharp ice spikes suddenly formed at Sunefa's fingertips.

Even though she used the Star Core Magic Crystal from the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" to cast the spell, which suppressed her own mage level, the casting speed was still beyond imagination.

Just as the ice spikes, gleaming with a chilling light, were about to shoot out, Gao De's eyes narrowed.

A condensed, icy blue light appeared on the ice cone.

It's like an invisible ice net, firmly enveloping all the icicles.

The icicles trembled wildly within the ice net, yet they could not break free of their confinement.

The already biting cold air was further compressed by Gao De's True Ice Power, and the ice cone solidified and shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It was eventually frozen and shaped completely, transforming into an ice crystal spell seed that was entirely ice-blue and contained ice-like patterns inside.

It hovered above Sunefa's figure, exuding a chilling aura.

Before Sunafa could react, Godard's thoughts caused the ice crystal spell seed to shatter instantly.

Dozens of even finer and sharper ice needles appeared out of thin air and rained down on Sunefa.

Wherever it passed, the air instantly froze into ice.

These ice needles not only retain the penetrating properties of the [Ice Cone] spell, but also become more powerful and have a wider coverage area under the enhancement of the power of pure ice.

"What kind of technique is this?" Sunafa's eyes widened in surprise as she raised her hand to conjure a [Shield] spell in front of her. "It looks like [Spell Counter], but it doesn't seem like it either."

The shield rippled slightly under the impact of the ice spikes, but remained completely undamaged.

For her, such magical power was nothing, and it posed no threat whatsoever.

But what Sunefa found truly strange was the unpredictability of Gaode's methods, and the unique mechanism of this countermeasure as a counterattack.

This completely shattered her preconceived notions about [Spell Counter].

"It's a fusion spell of [Spell Counter] and [Empower], called [Frozen Counter]..." Gao De smiled and withdrew his hand.

Sunefa was arguably the person he trusted most in the world.

Therefore, he did not hide his expertise in the three rings from Sunafa and told her honestly.

Sunefa even provided him with many ideas on spell fusion.

Moreover, he also needed Sunefa to be his "guinea pig" to test the details and power of the resonance spell, which was impossible to hide.

"【Frozen Counter】?" Sunefa raised an eyebrow, her surprise growing even more intense.

She is equally proficient in both the spells 【Spell Counter】 and 【Empower (Frost)】, and can even unleash the full potential of each on its own.

But she never expected that these two seemingly unrelated spells could be combined in this way to produce such an unconventional effect. "Yes, the essence of [Spell Counter] is to use magic pulses to interfere with and disintegrate a spell that is taking shape, scattering the spell's energy so that it cannot take effect."

The essence of [Evocation] is to convert the damage attribute of any spell into frost, that is, to retain its original effect but change its damage type.

"The effect of combining the two is no longer to scatter and waste the counter-spell energy, but to freeze and capture this scattered spell energy with the power of pure ice, condensing it into an ice crystal spell seed, which is equivalent to storing the enemy's spell."

He paused, lightly tapping the still-smoldering ice crystal fragment with his fingertip. "Afterwards, I can detonate this spell seed to unleash the spell's original effect in its entirety, in an ice elemental version."

"Of course, the premise is that the spell can be transformed into an ice element version, such as [Fireball], which can be transformed into [Iceball]."

However, for purely mental spells like [Fear], one can only freeze its energy; it cannot be released in the opposite direction.

Although there are still some limitations, [Frozen Counter] is undoubtedly an extremely powerful fusion spell.

Its main significance is its immense strategic importance.

In regular combat, [Spell Counter] is merely a defensive measure, which can only passively neutralize enemy attacks but cannot form an effective counterattack.

The introduction of [Frozen Counter] completely changed this situation.

Every successful counterattack is no longer a simple defense, but a way to turn the enemy's spells into your own counterattack ammunition, which is like a youthful version of the [Spell Bottle].

It can save one's own mana consumption and strike the enemy unexpectedly, especially when facing multiple mages attacking at once, this advantage will be more obvious.

"My King, your [Resonance of All Laws] feat cannot be judged by ordinary standards," Sunefa said sincerely, her eyes full of approval.

"Whether it was the [Cage of Despair] you used the day before yesterday or the [Frozen Counter] you used today, they were both beyond imagination, completely breaking the conventional framework of the spell system and bringing the power of spell fusion to its extreme."

Gao De smiled and nodded, not denying Sunafa's praise.

Because the [Resonance of All Laws] is indeed too powerful.

Especially in his hands, where his magical repertoire is already deeper and broader than others, the effect is amplified even further.

With the addition of [Frozen Counter], he has already used four of his six Resonance Marks, leaving only two empty spell slots.

Gao De wanted to strike while the iron was hot and try to explore further to see if there were any other viable and powerful spell combinations.

But at that moment, an indescribable realization suddenly welled up in my mind.

The flow of magical power from the "Secret Transmission of Zhenbing" within his body suddenly became rapid.

Gao De clearly sensed that his "True Ice Secret Manual" had already touched a new barrier, and he was just one step away from breaking through.

However, this was to be expected.

Although the Zhenbing bloodline's autonomous cultivation ability was forcibly restricted in the Desolate Soul Domain, the previous challenges at the academy had been ongoing, allowing the cultivation progress of "The Secret Transmission of Zhenbing" to proceed steadily.

After returning to the North, in an environment rich in ice elements, the power of the Zhenbing bloodline was brought to its fullest potential, allowing his progress in cultivating the "Zhenbing Secret Manual" to advance at an astounding pace.

He had a feeling that a breakthrough was just around the corner.

He immediately composed himself and nodded slightly to Sunafa, "Let's call it a day. I feel like my 'True Ice Secret Manual' is about to break through."

"Okay," Sunefa nodded in response.

Gao De immediately leaped into the air and headed towards Phoenix, whose silhouette was becoming increasingly majestic in the distance.

Back in his meditation room, he closed the heavy wooden door behind him, shutting out all the outside noise, and sat cross-legged.

Before long, the ice elemental energy, so dense it was almost condensed into mist, overflowed from every pore of his body, swirling and circling around him, turning into a thin layer of ice mist.

Within the pool of magic power within his body, a dramatic transformation is quietly taking place.

The deep blue star core crystal floated in the center of the pool, its surface bearing the original three silver-blue star trails that slowly rotated, radiating a stable and vast energy.

Inside the magic crystal, new changes have already occurred.

The deep blue light suddenly surged, becoming even more intense than when the three rings of the Pu Sheng triad had condensed into three star orbits.

Countless tiny silver-blue light particles were separated from the magic power and slowly gathered inside the magic crystal.

Like stars converging into orbits, they begin to outline new light trails.

This is the sign of the middle stage of the Third Ring Road:

Based on the original three star trails, three new star trails were formed.

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