Above the mage

Chapter 777 Intermediate Elemental Species: [A Blade of Grass Connected to the Heart]

Before the group could move, a soft female voice quietly rang out.

"My uncle and brother wish to see me, so I'll head over now." Liu Ying turned slightly to the side and gently tugged at Gao De's sleeve, her voice so low that only the two of them could hear her.

Gao De was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized.

The king's uncle and brother mentioned by Liu Ying should be the rulers and legitimate crown princes of this ancient dynasty.

The fact that Liu Ying addressed them so affectionately suggests that, according to rumors, Liu Ying held a position in the Golden Flower Dynasty equivalent to that of a princess.

It is no exaggeration to say that he was treated as a son by the royal family.

"Okay." Gao De nodded slightly, his tone calm.

Upon receiving a response, Liu Ying nodded slightly and turned to walk towards a uniquely styled carriage on the other side.

The carriage was made entirely of dark purple-gold wood, with ancient runes engraved on its eaves, and its specifications far exceeded those of the ceremonial carriages that the group was about to ride in.

It seems that Liu Ying will not participate in the entire public commendation ceremony and award ceremony today.

This is actually quite reasonable.

Given Liu Ying's background and royal favor, this commendation ceremony held little significance for her.

Moreover, given her special circumstances, it is not appropriate for her to frequently appear in public under the spotlight.

As for the prize money for the champion of the competition, it's not even worth mentioning.

Given her background and how much she was pampered, what could she possibly want but not have?

This trip to the City of Glory was just a side trip.

The real reason was that the royal family knew that Liu Ying's condition had recently improved, and with the consent of Wang Mian's family, they specially extended an exclusive invitation to her to enter the palace for an audience.

After watching Liu Ying's private carriage depart, the remaining six people boarded the ceremonial carriages prepared for them one by one.

With a flick of his fingertips, the coachman conjured magic, and the carriage instantly started moving, slowly advancing along the main street of the capital.

The streets along the way had already been cleaned.

The ceremonial carriages first completed a brief public procession along the central axis of the glorious city.

Without any grand or noisy promotion, it was enough for the royal citizens and monks who stopped along the street to witness the champion team's demeanor firsthand.

It was a low-key yet solemn expression of gratitude from the entire city.

After the brief procession, the ceremonial carriages came to a smooth stop in front of the mage tower belonging to the Royal Mage Order.

The six people disembarked from the carriage one by one, and an apprentice mage who had been waiting there led the way, and the group stepped into this magical core area.

The inner walls of the mage tower are inlaid with constant magic-gathering runes, and dense, pure magic power floats in the air, with layers of barriers isolating it from external disturbances.

The staircase spirals upwards, connecting the entire mage tower.

The group ascended floor by floor until they reached the quiet and solemn fourth floor, where they were led into a spacious reception room.

In the center, an old man stood quietly.

The old man had white hair that reached his shoulders, and his robes were clean and simple, without any complicated patterns, yet they exuded the calm and imposing aura unique to high-level mages.

His deep eyes were like an ancient well, without a ripple.

The guiding monk stepped forward quickly, bowed respectfully, and reported: "Chief, all six members of the monk team have been brought here. Princess Liuying has already been received by a royal representative and granted an audience at the inner palace."

Gao De was startled.

chief.

In other words, the old man in front of them was actually the chief mage of the Royal Mage Order, Van der Lei.

Relying on the top-tier mage system of the Golden Flower Dynasty, being able to secure the position of chief of the Royal Mage Corps must mean being a top spellcaster who has stepped into the seventh ring realm.

The Seventh Ring Mage is already at the pinnacle of existence on this continent, and is the strongest mage that Gao De has personally witnessed since his time travel.

Even though they had just won the championship of the top magic fighting competition in the mainland and made a nationally renowned achievement, the award presented by a seventh-ring mage was still considered an exceptionally prestigious honor.

However, Gaode quickly remembered something else:

If I remember correctly, he is Cedric's grandfather.

Thinking this, Gao De glanced subtly at Cedric beside him.

The other party indeed appeared nonchalant, clearly having known about this all along.

"You all defied the odds and broke through the Holy Empire in the French Tournament, bringing glory to the Golden Flower. You have truly lived up to the dynasty's expectations. Today, on behalf of the royal family, I present you with these awards," Van der Ley said slowly, looking at the crowd.

Before anyone could react, he raised his hand in a gesture.

Several mages from the tower, dressed in gray-toned robes, steadily stepped forward, carrying seven specially made crystal boxes.

Van der Ley's gaze swept over the six people, and he said in a deep voice, "This is your first championship reward: a mid-tier elemental seed. Each of you will receive one, provided by the Holy Empire. You can choose for yourselves. Who wants to choose first?"

Everyone's eyes instinctively turned to the seven crystal boxes.

The crystal box is no ordinary object; it is a demon-sealing container crafted from rare materials.

It is specifically designed to imprison the restless and violent primal energy of mid-level elemental species, preventing it from leaking magic power and disturbing the surroundings.

It can also suppress its violent spirituality, preventing untamed elemental power from harming low-level spellcasters.

Each box contains a unique elemental seed, which is a mid-tier elemental seed prepared by the Holy Empire for this competition.

Unlike the thin and fragmented low-level elemental species, mid-level elemental species have already condensed into a stable physical form, full of spirituality, abundant energy, and a volatile temperament.

Each one is a self-contained system with unique special effects.

Everyone present knew the truth about Van der Ley's problem without saying a word.

Although all elemental types are classified as mid-tier, their elemental attributes differ, and even among mid-tier types, there are differences in quality.

Even with similar strengths and the same elements, the amplification bias can be vastly different.

Some focus on instantaneous bursts of power, some on sustained empowerment, and some come with special elemental effects.

The first to choose can precisely match their own main spell system, maximizing their combat power.

The final selector often ends up with categories whose practical value is greatly reduced.

In an instant, the other five people all turned their gazes to Gao De.

Even if Gao De wasn't the primary contributor to their victory, he was certainly a secondary one, ranking below Liu Ying.

Now that Liuying is no longer available, Gaode Maps naturally has the indisputable right of first choice.

Gaode didn't stand on ceremony. Seeing that everyone had the same idea, he took the initiative to step forward and start making his selection.

"To ensure compatibility as much as possible, we require that the elemental species provided by the Holy Empire be of different attributes, with no duplication," Van der Ley added.

Earth, wind, water, fire, wood, thunder, poison.

These are the attributes of the seven elemental types provided by the Empire this time; they are all the most common and widely used attributes.

Gaode quickly scanned all the element types and understood.

His cultivation methods are the "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" and the "True Ice Secret Transmission," with ice and wood elemental spells as the core spells.

The most suitable elemental pairings are wood and ice.

Since there is no ice element among the seven attributes, the optimal choice is obvious.

He raised his hand and pointed directly to one of the crystal boxes, his tone resolute: "I choose this wood element one."

Van der Ley nodded, took the crystal box containing the wood-type elemental seed, and handed it to Gao De: "Mid-level elemental seeds are completely different from low-level elemental seeds."

"Its energy reserves, spiritual activity, and inherent ferocity far exceed those of lower-level varieties. It is irritable and unruly, with an extremely strong sense of self. Ordinary third-ring mages are simply unable to tame it, making it extremely difficult to refine."

"However, you are different from ordinary third-ring mages, and we have already dealt with it in advance, suppressing and taming the elemental species, diminishing most of its violent nature, and making it temporarily docile."

"Go to the meditation room next door immediately and complete the refining and solidification before the suppression effect dissipates."

Gao De nodded solemnly and accepted the crystal box.

The box feels cool to the touch, isolating it from all restless magic, and has a stable and substantial feel.

Guided by the novice monk, he quickly entered the separate meditation room next door.

The meditation room is equipped with a complete magic gathering rune array and an isolation rune array, which can isolate all external interference and stabilize the indoor magical environment.

Gao De sat cross-legged in the center of the magic circle in the meditation room and raised his hand to break the seal on the crystal box.

A delicate and unique wood-elemental plant slowly emerges.

The whole piece is a neat, dark green square sheet, like several tender leaves cut from overlapping layers, with a surface covered with fine and soft plant fiber texture.

Gaode could sense the slow, regular pulses emanating from it.

Like plants breathing quietly underground, sprouting roots and shoots, carrying a rich and ever-growing vitality.

Gao De slowly extended his thoughts toward the elemental seed.

【A Blade of Grass Connects Us】(Wood Element)

Rank: Mid-tier Basic Effect: Increases the power of wood-type spells of the fourth rank and below by 1-3 times, and the power of wood-type spells of the fifth rank by 3-5 times.

The enhancement focuses on growth-related spells (such as plant growth, thorn bushes, etc.).

Special effect: You can establish a very weak resonance connection with all plants within range and mark them.

When someone touches, breaks, or steps into a "marked" plant area, you will immediately sense it, as if someone has plucked an invisible string in your consciousness.

The connection range is centered on the casting location and lasts from several hours to a day, depending on the vegetation density.

The more plants are marked, the lower the perception accuracy.

Compared to the previously refined low-level fire elemental [Heart of Ember], the energy level of this mid-level wood elemental is on a completely different level.

As a mid-tier elemental species, the [Inch of Grass], even though it has been suppressed and tamed beforehand, still harbors an unruly and fierce spirit deep within its origin, resisting the fusion and invasion of outsiders.

Gao De dared not be careless. He concentrated his mind, cleared his mind of all distractions, and activated the magic power around his body to slowly begin refining the [Inch of Grass Connected].

The initial fusion went smoothly because his own pure wood-type magic power initially resonated with the essence of the elemental species.

The continuous flow of Qingmu's magical power circulated throughout his body along the magic meridians, driving the refinement of the [Inch of Grass Connected] technique.

Just as the greenwood's magic power was deeply penetrating and preparing to complete the complete refining, [Inch of Grass Connected] suddenly became restless.

The entire meditation room was instantly filled with wood elemental energy.

The dark green texture on the surface of the element suddenly lit up, and the violent life force surged back against Gaode.

A savage repulsive force surged back along the magical energy channels, attempting to break free from control and escape its restraints.

This is the unruly nature of mid-tier elemental species.

Even though it was suppressed in advance, the wildness in his bones still refused to submit to the "lowly" third-ring mage.

If it were an ordinary third-ring mage, their aura would already be disordered, and they might even suffer backlash and be forced to stop refining.

However, Gao De's foundation far surpasses that of other mages of the same level. His Green Wood Magic Crystal has a profound foundation, his magic power is strong and stable, and his mental power has reached the level of a fourth-ring mage.

More importantly, he also possesses the [Wood Element Symbiotic Body], which allows him to remain unaffected by the overflowing and volatile wood element energy, refining and absorbing it instantly.

Therefore, despite the backlash from the "Inch by Inch" incident, he remained calm and highly focused.

The "Azure Wood Longevity Scripture" was running at full power, and the pure and rich Azure Wood magic power surged like rivers and seas, flowing into the elemental seed along the magic meridians.

Instead of forcibly suppressing the violence, he used his own pure and powerful Green Wood magic to wrap it layer by layer, assimilating the wild nature of the other party.

【A Blade of Grass Connects Us】In Gao De’s body, it violently collides, intertwines, and pulls with his magic power.

The green light in the meditation room surged.

The fine wood grain spreads and climbs along Gaode's palm, wandering between his arms, shoulders and torso.

A dark green shimmer flowed slowly beneath his skin, alternating between light and shadow.

The violent wood element energy repeatedly impacted Gao De's body.

Time and again, it has been steadily absorbed and assimilated by Gaode Maps.

Time passed slowly, and the stagnant assimilation process continued for a long time.

Gradually, the restlessness of "biting the bullet" weakened, and the violent origin of the aggression was completely extinguished.

The initial resistance to the pulse began to align with Gaode's magical rhythm.

The savage elemental species slowly submitted to his mana pool.

In the end, the last trace of its rebellious power was completely assimilated.

The dark green elemental seed settled completely in his mana pool, and its gentle life force flowed through his limbs and bones along the magical pathways.

The wood grain patterns that had been running across his body all receded and returned to his body.

Gao De slowly opened his eyes, a clear glint flashing in them.

The refining process is now complete.

【Inch of Grass Connects】 It dwells peacefully in his pool of magic power, coexisting harmoniously with the Green Wood Magic Crystal and the True Ice Magic Crystal, forming a self-contained whole.

Leaving aside the additional effects that come with being a mid-tier elemental, let's set that aside for now.

The basic effect of increasing the power of wood-type spells at the fourth ring and below by 1 to 3 times alone has caused Gao De's already exaggerated combat power to surge even further.

Even though wood elemental spells aren't good at destruction and damage output, with a triple stat boost, even the weakest spell shouldn't be underestimated!

Pure numerical bonuses are the most practical.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a mid-tier elemental species, valued at nearly a million Golden Bird Coins and extremely rare.

"This is the North?!" The members of the Corwin Mercenary Group rubbed their eyes in disbelief at the sight before them.

Before them stretched an endless expanse of golden yellow.

They undulate in the cold wind, like a sea ruffled by the wind.

That's a wheat field.

An endless wheat field.

It stretches all the way to where the horizon disappears, filling the entire field of vision.

The barley in the wheat field, its slender stalks topped with heavy ears of barley.

Each grain was so plump it looked as if it was about to burst, and it gleamed with a warm light in the overcast sky.

Not to mention in the North, this wheat field was more vast than any farmland they had ever seen in their lives.

Nowhere else in the empire's central granary, the river valleys and plains of the south, or the fertile fields of the east can you find such a scale and such vitality.

The wheat field was divided into neat and orderly squares.

Just a glance at it gives one an indescribable sense of comfort and beauty.

The plump ears of wheat huddled together, and the rustling sound of the passing cold wind easily drowned out everyone's heavy breathing.