Above the mage

"The chosen ones, working class..." Gao De sighed inwardly.

You should know that not needing to rest is an ability possessed only by fourth-ring mages.

Even though he is now a mage at the mid-stage of the third ring, he still needs at least three hours of rest every day to recover his energy and mental state. Otherwise, he will feel listless.

Tree beings, even the weakest ordinary tree beings that have just awakened, are born with this ability.

But that's not all. What surprised and even excited Gaode the most was the "natural nourishment" ability mentioned by the oak staff.

This is one of the most valuable abilities of the Tree People, and it is also their innate talent, something they are born with.

Oak Stick said that all tree people are born with a mastery of plant cultivation and can release their own natural primal power to nourish the surrounding vegetation: this natural primal power can accelerate the growth of seedlings, allowing ordinary saplings to grow into tall mature trees in just a few months.

It can repair damaged vegetation, revitalize withered trees, and allow damaged branches and leaves to regrow.

It can improve the soil, increase soil nutrients, and allow rare plants and magical plants to grow better, reducing the difficulty of cultivation;

It can even purify toxins in the soil, restore damaged forest ecosystems, and make polluted land fertile again.

These abilities are crucial for the growth of Flora Forest.

Gao De could even imagine that once the Tree People race continued to grow stronger, and more and more Tree People joined in the cultivation and protection of the forest, the expansion speed of Flora Forest would surely skyrocket.

The more people who cultivate trees, the more 500-year-old trees they can nurture.

The more ancient trees there are, the more people will be enlightened and awakened into tree people by Yugathhira.

This cycle repeats itself, forming a perfect virtuous cycle, which is like "stepping on your own feet," allowing Flora Forest to grow at a visible speed.

In the future, it may even become the largest, most prosperous, and most vibrant forest in the entire plane.

Thinking about this filled Gaode with anticipation.

By then, what will be the Central Plains?

Not familiar with it.

He could easily say: The true lineage of the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" lies in the Northern Territory!

Gao De carefully examined the oak staff in front of him, growing increasingly fond of the Treant race.

Because in addition to being powerful and perfectly suited to the Flora Forest, the Treants are also an extremely harmonious and pure race.

They did not have a strict class system, no clear division between superiors and subordinates, and no desire to fight for power or profit.

Because from the moment they are born, their lives have only one meaning:

Protect and strengthen the Flora Forest, and protect its creator, Yogg-Sarah.

They will only form a natural hierarchy based on the characteristics of the tree species and the energy intensity at the time of awakening.

This differentiation has nothing to do with social status, but only with differences in ability and responsibility.

They are roughly divided into three levels: ordinary tree people, magical tree people, and tree people elders. Each has their own duties and they work together to protect the forest.

The Tree Elders are the rarest and most powerful.

It is usually awakened from ancient trees that are over 10,000 years old.

Or they may have evolved from ordinary tree people or magical tree people, who, over a long period of time, guarded the forest day after day, absorbing enough essence of plants and natural magic, and slowly advanced through countless trials and tribulations.

The Demon Tree People, as the name suggests, are awakened from demon trees containing magical power, and their numbers are very small.

Their bodies are harder than those of ordinary tree people, and they contain the original magic power of the magic tree. Their abilities are biased towards combat and high-level nurturing, and they are generally the core combat force and high-level nurturing masters of the tree person race.

The oak staff, on the other hand, belongs to the most basic, ordinary tree spirit.

Because its true form is an ordinary grey oak tree, not a magical tree imbued with magic, its energy level upon awakening is at a very basic level. Its abilities lean towards basic defense, patrolling, and forest cultivation.

They are more inclined to become the basic guardians and forestry assistants of Flora Forest, mainly responsible for patrolling the forest perimeter, cultivating seedlings, and repairing damaged vegetation.

Their combat strength is relatively weak, only able to deal with ordinary beasts and low-level invaders, and cannot be compared with the Demon Plant Treants or Treant Elders. However, the staff also mentioned that ordinary treants are not always ordinary treants; their growth has no upper limit.

By taking root in the forest for a long time, absorbing enough essence of plants and natural magic day after day, and continuously participating in the protection and cultivation of the forest, one can gradually advance and break through one's own limitations.

Become a powerful magical tree spirit, and you may even have the chance to break through the shackles and grow into a respected tree spirit elder.

These abilities and characteristics of the Tree People are actually not complicated.

If it were Gaode Maps, they could explain it clearly in just a few minutes, and with a clear and organized structure.

But it was not easy for the oak staff to say it.

It took it a full hour to explain all of these brief abilities.

Moreover, the points were presented one after another without any logical connection or progression, forcing Gao De to mentally review them again. Meanwhile, Lady Flora, already somewhat bored, stopped paying attention and began flying around the sturdy body of the oak staff. She touched its rough bark, poked its bushy, frizzy branches, and then peered curiously at its eyes, staring at the two clusters of green light, touching and looking at them repeatedly.

The staff showed no impatience with Flora's "interference," but rather displayed the same respect and obedience as it did with Yugathira. It stood obediently in place, motionless, allowing Flora to roam freely over its body.

Gaode listened attentively throughout the entire process, showing patience.

Occasionally, they would "grit their teeth" and ask a couple of detailed questions, such as the scope of natural nourishment or the conditions required for a tree's advancement, thus escalating the conversation. Advancement is what Gaode is most concerned about.

The advancement from an ordinary tree person to a magical tree person is not difficult, in a way.

The first step is to continuously absorb the essence of plants and the magic of nature until the natural power within one's own wooden body reaches saturation.

The saturation effect manifests as the light on the tree-man's forehead changing from light green to dark green, and faint magical patterns appearing on its wooden body.

During this period, the treant must avoid leaving the forest frequently and must not absorb external magic, otherwise it will pollute its own origin.

This is the primary prerequisite for advancement.

Another condition is to fulfill forest protection responsibilities.

Whether it's nurturing seedlings, repairing damaged plants, or defending against invaders and protecting vegetation.

By performing actions related to protecting the forest, one will receive corresponding rewards from the vegetation and collect energy fragments known as Wood Spirits. These Wood Spirits accumulate within their wooden bodies, becoming crucial for their advancement.

The process of evolving from a Demon Treeman to a Treeman Elder is the same, requiring the accumulation of sufficient energy and Wood Spirit.

However, the energy and wood spirit required for a demonic tree spirit to advance to the level of a tree spirit elder increase exponentially, making it far more difficult than the advancement of an ordinary tree spirit. Often, even with a demonic tree spirit's lifespan of five or six thousand years, accumulating energy, fulfilling its duties, and collecting wood spirits day after day, it may not be able to meet the advancement requirements.

In addition, there is one more crucial requirement to advance to the treant elder level:

You must gain the approval of Yogathhira and resonate with her.

Otherwise, even if the energy and wood spirit quantity meet the requirements, it will be impossible to break through the shackles and advance to the level of a tree elder.

Having learned everything, Gaode breathed a sigh of relief.

The Zhenbing bloodline can only be used up to the fourth ring. If you want to advance to the next ring, you can only rely on your own cultivation.

The core of practicing the "Qingmu Changsheng Jing" is relying on the nourishment and blessing of the essence of herbs and trees.

This is also his greatest reliance on his future spiritual path.

However, the growth rate of Flora Forest was already astonishing, even with his vigorous promotion of the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture" and the dispatch of the Forestry Office to cultivate vegetation.

Large numbers of seedlings have sprouted from the soil, and the number of mature trees is increasing day by day.

However, it is still somewhat lagging behind his own cultivation speed.

The supply of plant essence could never fully keep up with his cultivation needs.

This inevitably worried the meticulous Gao De, who feared that after reaching the fourth ring of cultivation, his mage level would hit a bottleneck due to the insufficient plant essence, resulting in slow progress.

The emergence of the Treant race undoubtedly provides the Flora Forest with a potential for rapid expansion.

How could he not be delighted?

After standing still for a moment and thinking it over, Gaode immediately made a decision.

His gentle yet solemn gaze fell upon the little figure already perched on the branch atop the oak staff, and he said, "There is something I need to trouble Lady Flora with." "Please speak, Master," the little figure replied, mimicking God's mannerisms.

"Lady Flora, please inform Sunefa after you return to Phoenix that today will be designated as the Green Forest Festival, with the same level of celebration as the Harvest Festival, and will be entitled to corresponding celebrations and a one-day public holiday."

The Green Forest Festival, as the name suggests, is established to commemorate the birth of the Tree Man and to pray for the prosperity of the forest.

The combination of forestry and agriculture, coinciding with the harvest festival, perfectly reflects the development trajectory of agriculture and forestry in the northern region.

In fact, the only festival in the North so far is the Harvest Festival.

If this were said in a previous life, it would surely have incurred the wrath of both heaven and man.

But in the North, it's not a problem.

Firstly, the people of the North don't really have a concept of festivals.

Another reason is that the North is in a phase of rapid development, and everyone is full of energy. Temporarily reducing the number of holidays is something no one really cares about. But Gao De knows in his heart that this is only a temporary measure.

To build a harmonious, prosperous society with high public approval, holidays are absolutely essential.

"Lady Flora will remember!" the little boy patted his chest and assured her.

The astral energy flashed by, and Gao De's figure appeared in the room he had booked at the Silverfeather Inn.