Several second-level psychics had no chance against Jiang Lei. With a few crackles of thunder, they were reduced to charred corpses on the spot.
"Dad, that was awesome!" Smith gave a thumbs up, his face lighting up with admiration.
"Of course! I'm your father, after all!" Jiang Lei grinned, revealing a row of big yellow teeth.
Smith chuckled weakly, but before he could say more, a thought occurred to him. "Wait—what about the others? Are they still in danger?"
"Don't worry," Jiang Lei replied calmly. "We've already dispatched people to rescue them. They'll be fine."
"Good…" A wave of relief washed over Smith, and with the tension finally easing, the exhaustion he'd been holding back hit him like a tidal wave.
He collapsed.
Jiang Lei stepped forward just in time, catching his son before he hit the ground. He carried Smith on his back with both heartache and pride in his eyes.
"You must be... Yan Yue, right?" Jiang Lei turned toward her. Only now did he get a good look at the young woman who had stood beside his son through the chaos. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just exhausted from overusing my spiritual energy. Thank you for your concern, Master Jiang," Yan Yue said weakly, her face pale but composed.
At that moment, more than a dozen masked figures arrived from various directions, each one a member of the Huaihai Executive Department.
"Master Jiang," one of them said, "all remaining students have been successfully rescued."
"Good." Jiang Lei nodded, then his face darkened with anger. "I need to have a word with Wang Daochuan… What kind of principal sends students into danger like this? If I hadn't arrived in time, my son might've been gone forever!"
---
Smith felt like his entire body had been trampled by a herd of rampaging bulls. Every bone ached. Every muscle screamed.
"Ow…"
The pain woke him up.
He opened his eyes slowly, squinting against the brightness of the familiar ceiling. It took a moment to realize—he was in his own room.
"Home…?"
Memories of the previous night came flooding back.
The wave of monsters. The Storm Eagles. The ambush by human enemies with flaming crests. And his father, Jiang Lei, descending from the sky like a god of thunder.
If his father hadn't arrived in time, Smith might have already been sent to the afterlife.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission: Break out of the siege and escape danger successfully!]
[Reward: 100 energy points, one chance to draw a prize!]
The mechanical voice of the system echoed in his mind, and just like that, his pain felt a bit more bearable.
Smith sat up slightly, his body protesting.
"Open the lottery system!" he commanded mentally.
In an instant, a large digital turntable appeared in front of him. Each section displayed a potential prize:
Flying Thunder God Technique, Sage Mode, Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, Eight Trigrams Seal, Shiki Fujin, Four Symbols Seal, Mangekyō Sharingan (Basic), Illusion: Shackling Technique, Wood Release: Wood Clone, Wood Release: Cutting Technique…
Smith's heart pounded. The spinning wheel usually required 5,000 energy points for a single spin—but this time, it was free.
His throat was dry. His hands trembled with excitement.
He tapped the button to start the spin.
"Da-da-da-da-da…"
The pointer spun rapidly, a blur of light and color. Smith held his breath.
"Please, please," he prayed. "Just don't let it be the Shiki Fujin... Anything but that!"
The pointer began to slow down.
Smith still couldn't see what it was landing on. That wasn't how the system worked. The reward would only be revealed after the pointer stopped.
Finally, it came to a halt.
A golden glow erupted from the grid where the pointer had landed.
"Wait… Golden Light?! Is this a legendary draw?!"
Smith's eyes widened as the light slowly faded.
The words revealed beneath it made his heart leap:
SAGE MODE
"Yes!"
He jumped out of bed in excitement—only to grimace in pain and fall back down, holding his side.
Still, he couldn't stop grinning.
Sage Mode!
A priceless treasure. A true turning point in his power.
He remembered how Naruto had turned the tide of the Pain invasion with Sage Mode. He remembered the Thousand-Armed Buddha technique—an awe-inspiring display of divine strength—also made possible through Sage Mode.
This was a game-changer.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Sage Mode!]
[Note: This version of Sage Mode is a fusion of the three great Sage Territories—Mount Myōboku, Ryūchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest. It is the most perfect Sage Mode. The host can enter Sage Mode instantly and absorb natural energy even during battle.]
[Note: The maximum natural energy absorbed per session cannot exceed twice the host's current spiritual energy limit.]
Smith's jaw dropped.
"This… This is completely overpowered!"
Being able to enter Sage Mode instantly—and maintain it during battle by continuously absorbing natural energy? That was essentially infinite stamina!
However, the system's second note caught his attention.
There was a limit.
For example, if his spiritual energy was 100, Sage Mode could only add 200 points of natural energy at a time, giving him a total of 300. It wasn't unlimited, but it was still a massive upgrade.
The catch?
High-level jutsu like Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence or True Several Thousand Hands would consume so much energy that, even with Sage Mode, they might still be out of reach.
His maximum energy capacity—that was the next bottleneck.
"System," he called out, "open my personal information panel."
A screen appeared before his eyes:
---
[Host: Smith]
Age: 18
Spiritual Energy: 200
Supernatural Powers: Wood Release, Sharingan
Talent Level: S
Possessed Techniques (Ninjutsu):
Sage Mode
Sharingan (Illusion)
Sharingan (Insight)
Sharingan (Copy)
Illusion: Shackling Technique
Wood Release: Cutting Technique
Wood Clone Technique
(Expandable)
Realm: First-Level Intermediate
---
"Hold on… when did I reach first-level intermediate?" Smith blinked in surprise.
The last time he checked, he had just entered the beginner level. Now not only had his rank increased, but his spiritual energy had doubled—from 100 to 200!
In this world, one's realm typically improved through combat. The more intense and life-threatening the battle, the faster one's strength would grow.
There were three main ways to level up:
1. Battle experience. The most reliable—but also the most dangerous.
2. Demonic cores. Absorbing the cores of defeated monsters—but the violent energy inside them often injured or even killed humans.
3. Spirit stones. Rare, naturally formed objects that condensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. They were the safest and fastest route to growth—but also incredibly hard to find.
Clearly, Smith's recent growth came from his harrowing battle in the beast tide.
It had been a gamble with his life—and he'd barely made it out alive.
But the payoff?
Worth it.
He had reached a new realm. Doubled his energy. And unlocked one of the most powerful abilities in existence.
Sage Mode.
Not to mention the trust and loyalty he'd earned from teammates like Yan Yue.
All in all, this crisis had nearly cost him everything—but it also gave him more than he could have imagined.
He clenched his fists.
"This is just the beginning."
pàtreøn (Gk31)