Above the mage!

Chapter 574 Mid-stage of the Second Ring
With the constant erosion from wood element particles, [Adaptive] becomes stronger with each challenge, and its adaptation progresses at an astounding pace.

This meant that the time Gaode could spend practicing on the first day far exceeded the four hours that Master Aldrin had predicted.

Gao De only had thirty days to cultivate in the demiplane, and he was unwilling to waste a single moment.

Even though the damage from elemental erosion had already manifested, he did not stop his cultivation.

This slight injury can trigger the deep effects of [Adaptive], which not only increases tolerance but also enhances the body's recovery ability.

This is essentially like cooking the fish two ways.

Under his desperate efforts, the wood magic crystal condensed from the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture" continued to rotate, constantly absorbing wood element particles, and the light green crystal surface shimmered with light.

Before long, the blank space at the top of the magic crystal lit up again.

Dozens of tiny green light spots appeared like stars, quickly converging into a new trajectory.

This is the prototype of the seventy-third magic rune.

As elemental particles continued to be injected, the light spots gradually condensed into solid lines, and the color of the magic pattern changed from light green to dark green.

Finally, a warm luster appeared at the "seed".

When the last wisp of energy merged into the magic rune, the entire rune lit up instantly, resonating with the surrounding magic runes and making the overall radiance of the magic crystal even stronger.

On the very first day, he condensed two magic runes in one go!
Gao De suppressed his joy and silently calculated the progress.

According to the mage system, the number of magic runes on a Wood Magic Crystal reaching one hundred and twenty is the mark of the mid-stage of the second ring.

He now possesses seventy-three skills, which is equivalent to completing 60% of the threshold.

At this rate, it will take at most ten days to break through!
Moreover, this progress will definitely continue to increase as the progress of [Adaptive] increases.

Of course, in addition to the blessing of the demiplane, the temporary ice vein and the bone and blood thorn syrup also contributed to this.

Otherwise, a single demiplane wouldn't be able to achieve such an exaggerated effect.

It's like receiving triple blessings, so the progress of cultivation is naturally astonishingly fast.

However, after condensing the seventy-third magic rune, Gao De finally stopped his cultivation for the day.

First, his current physical discomfort can no longer be ignored.

The tingling and itchy sensation spread to my forearm, and pressing on the subcutaneous bumps caused a slight stinging pain.

Upon internal inspection, it was discovered that the pale green dust in the magic meridians had condensed into tiny particles, some of which had even begun to adhere to the inner surface of the magic meridians.

This is a mild symptom of elementalization.

Although there is adaptive capability, there is still a possibility of overdoing it, so it is indeed necessary to stop and take a break.

Another point is that his mental energy has been almost completely depleted and is on the verge of exhaustion.

Even if his body is fine, he still needs to rest and recover his mental energy before he can re-enter a state of cultivation.

Gao De opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

The aura even carried a faint fragrance of grass and trees, mixed with a faint glow of elemental particles.

He didn't care about any of that; a gentle surge of magical power emanated from his palm.

The next instant, a handful of crystal-clear divine berries appeared in his hand.

If you have to stay in the demiplane for a month, you probably won't be able to survive without a supply spell.

Of course, there are many solutions, but replenishment spells are definitely the most convenient.

After eating a Gemberry to replenish the body's energy, Gaode cast a "Comfortable Sleep+" buff on himself, stacking up the beneficial effects.

With the "Comfortable Sleep+" feature, entering a deep sleep state not only accelerates the recovery of mental energy but also speeds up the natural recovery of physical injuries, including elemental damage.

Gao De sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

When I woke up, I had no idea how much time had passed.

In the demiplane, there is no reference point to measure time.

However, the timing is not important. Make the most of this month and absorb as many elemental particles as possible while ensuring your health.

After waking up, Gao De assessed his own condition.

First of all, my mental and physical strength have been restored to their best state.

Secondly, the tingling and itching sensation on the skin surface almost disappeared, and the protrusions under the skin became soft. Only a very small amount of light green dust remained on the walls of the magic meridians.

Most importantly, even during rest periods, the erosion by elemental particles continues silently, allowing [Adaptive] to continue its effects as well.
[Your body is undergoing continuous damage from the wood element. You are beginning to adapt to the erosion of wood element particles. Your body's tolerance to wood element particles has increased by 13.4%, and your body's ability to clear element particles has increased by 4.5%.]

The Wood element penetrates deep into your body, subtly elementalizing your flesh and blood, increasing your body's ability to recover from elemental damage by 6.1%.

It simultaneously increases the body's tolerance and ability to eliminate wood element particles, while also enhancing the body's recovery capabilities.

With this two-pronged approach, Gao De moved his body and could even feel that the surrounding wood element particles seemed to have become much "docile".

He sat down cross-legged again and began circulating the "Green Wood Longevity Scripture".

The wooden magic crystal in the magic pool began to rotate again. This time, its gravity was stronger, and the surrounding elemental particles gathered into trickles, flowing into the magic crystal along the magic veins.

Within the inner vision, a new spot of light is quietly emerging next to the seventy-third magic rune on the surface of the magic crystal.

That was the starting point of the seventy-fourth magic rune.

Time slipped away quietly during the cultivation, and in the quiet demiplane, only the rustling sound of elemental particles flowing could be heard.

While Gao De focused on his cultivation, Leo and Elena were also busy absorbing the rich elemental particles in the demiplane.

Greenwood City, Eldrin Mansion.

A man with a sallow complexion and rough skin walked into the reception room, his heavy leather boots making a dull sound as they stepped on the stone slabs.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, his shoulders almost filling the entire door frame.

“Master Eldrin.” The man’s voice was hoarse from years of traversing the mountains when he spoke.

“General Karen,” the mage Aldrin responded, rising from his oak chair in a calm tone. “Please sit down. The tea is freshly brewed and still warm.”

The man's name was Karen Green, a high-ranking mage of the Rockwind Guard, the military mage organization of Solon County, with the military rank of general, and also Leo's father.

He walked to the round table in the center of the hall and unceremoniously pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Leo has already entered the demiplane, right?" Karen's first words after sitting down went straight to the point.

“He went in ten days ago. With his current foundation and the elemental particles from the demiplane, he will most likely be able to break through to the mid-stage of the third ring after he comes out.”

Aldrin replied with a smile, "With this kind of strength, defending the hall is absolutely a sure thing."

"No matter how well you defend your place, it's not as fast as making a name for yourself by challenging someone else." Karen didn't respond to Aldrin's "praise," her tone full of regret, "It's a pity that the age limit for that Nolan Fighting Tournament was too strict."

"I don't know what the Holy Empire was thinking, that such a grand magical competition would have an age limit of twenty."

A twenty-year-old monk is still a child, isn't he? What level of skill can you possibly assess? It's more reasonable to limit it to at least twenty-five!

Aldrin simply smiled and nodded in agreement, without offering his own opinion.

After sighing, Karen's gaze sharpened again as she stared intently at Aldrin. "I'm not here to talk about Leo this time."

He paused, his tone clearly displeased, "I heard you sent someone from another county into the demiplane? And that's why you extended El's spot?"

“Yes,” Aldrin nodded and explained, “My old classmate from the Royal Academy of Sorcerers, who is also the chief mage of Auckland, specifically asked me to do this, and I have to give him face.”

“I have no objection to that, but do you know that this outsider is a mage who plans to challenge the Green Forest City?” Karen added. “It’s not very appropriate for you to use the resources of this county to support a mage who plans to challenge the county’s magic school.”

Ten days have passed since the start of the year. In those ten days, martial arts academies set up in various places have been established one after another, and the World's Unparalleled Fighting Tournament has been officially announced.

Not to mention the status and position of the mage Eldrin, even the common people on the street knew about this.

Therefore, Aldrin naturally understood the meaning of the term "challenge".

But for a moment, he was stunned, unable to connect the "challenge mage" with Gao De. "Challenge mage? General Karen, you mean the mage from the outer county that I sent into the demiplane, Gao De?"

“Yes, who else could it be?!” General Karen nodded. “That’s the name.”

“How could that be?” Aldrin quickly shook his head, his tone a mix of amusement and exasperation: “His name is indeed Gaode, but he’s only a second-ring mage at the early stage. Even if he went to the demiplane to cultivate for a month, he’d only be a mid-second-ring mage at most when he came out.”
Even in the later stages of the Second Ring Road development, there's no question of challenging the established order.

"Let alone Leo, I'm afraid he won't even be able to get past the second one."

"Only the early stage of the second ring?" Karen was also a little uncertain after hearing what Eldrin said.

He only happened to hear about it on his way here, and didn't have time to investigate the details further.

He knew better than anyone the strength of the defenses at the Soren Academy.

The first stage is guarded by mages in the late second stage, and the final stage is planned to be overseen by Leo.

Leo is about to break through the mid-stage of the third ring.

A mage in the early second ring of the sect comes to challenge us?

That's indeed quite unlikely.

Even if that's the case, it's not a big deal; they're probably just here to broaden their horizons.

Karen's furrowed brows relaxed slightly, but she was still somewhat uneasy: "Are you sure? That kid really is a second-ring early-stage mage?"

“I’m sure,” Aldrin affirmed.

Karen's emotions calmed down completely.

Leo's decision to be stationed at the third level must have been partly driven by personal motives.

If Leo defends the stadium well and achieves a good ranking in the final rankings, he will become famous and gain many benefits.

But the premise is that the guards must guard the museum well.

So when he heard that the challenger mage from Byro County had been sent to the Wood Elemental Demiplane by Eldrin, he immediately came to "demand an explanation".

Karen then sat for a while longer, chatted with Aldrin for a few words, and then got up to take her leave.

He still had to rush to Shuofang County to deal with the matter of the earth vein biomes descending from the mountain there. This time, he stopped in Green Forest City for a while because he was worried about the challenge.

Watching Karen's departing figure, the mage Eldrin picked up the magic scroll on the table again, but lost interest in continuing to read it.

"It can't be that bad. Even if it really is a challenger, shouldn't they just be there for the fun of it?"

"That's how it should be."

Half-plane.

Gao De sat cross-legged, surrounded by wood element particles that were so dense they were almost tangible, enveloping his entire body.

[Your body is undergoing continuous damage from the wood element. You are beginning to adapt to the erosion of wood element particles. Your body's tolerance to wood element particles has increased by 99.7%, and your body's ability to clear element particles has increased by 50.1%.]

The Wood element penetrates deep into your body, subtly elementalizing your flesh and blood, increasing your body's ability to recover from elemental damage by 21.2%.

Yes, his body's tolerance to wood element particles has increased to almost 100%.

Once this threshold is broken, it is highly likely to evolve again.

However, there are both advantages and disadvantages.

Because of the significant increase in his body's tolerance to wood element particles, the damage from elemental erosion to his body has also decreased considerably.

When stimulation decreases, the rate of adaptation stalls, affecting both recovery and clearance abilities.

But regardless, this is still a cause for celebration.

Another pleasant surprise was that, at this moment, the wooden magic crystal in the pool of mana inside his body was radiating an unprecedentedly brilliant green light.

On the pale green crystal surface, the final stroke of the 120th magic rune is slowly taking shape as elemental particles are injected.

As the last elemental particle merged into the magic crystal, the 120th magic rune lit up instantly!

Mid-term of the Second Ring Road!

This means that Gao De's mage level has now reached the mid-second ring.

Just as the 120th magic rune took shape, a gentle yet pure, inexplicable power surged from the void into Gao De's mind.

This is the effect of increased mental power that comes with a mage's level advancement.

Gao De's mental strength had already reached the upper limit of a second-ring mage, namely 299.

Previously, when he broke through to the first level in "The Secret of Zhenbing", his mental strength of 299 was pushed forward a little.

However, the mental strength of 300 is like a thin sheet of paper, which cannot be penetrated.

This breakthrough to the mid-stage of the second ring brought a thrust that was more than ten times greater than the previous one.

Today!

A clear premonition arose in Gao De's heart.

The same is true.

His spiritual power, nourished by pure energy, began to grow stronger.

Grow stronger, grow stronger, and grow even stronger.

Until Gaode seemed to hear a crisp clicking sound echoing in his mind.

The "upper limit shackles" that bound mental power were completely shattered.

At this moment, Gao De's mental strength reached 300.

This is the threshold of spiritual power for the Three Rings Master!

With the mental strength of a mid-second-ring mage, he possesses the mental power of a third-ring mage!
Gao De felt that his mind had never been so clear.

The scene within a hundred meters was as clear as if it were being magnified.

Even the trajectory of every elemental particle floating in the air can be clearly perceived.

Even more amazing is the ability to control the magical power within the body.

Gao De raised his hand and made a loose handshake.

A flaming arrow instantly gathered in his palm.

However, the next moment, the fire arrow began to twist and deform, transforming into a lifelike flower of fire.

Transforming the [Flame Arrow], a magic trick, into a Flame Flower demonstrates the unparalleled control brought about by the Third Ring Spiritual Power.

The higher one's mental strength, the more refined one's control over magic, and the faster one can cast spells.

(End of this chapter)