Su Ming assessed his consumption of natural energy. Based on the strength of the basic Wood Dragon he had just summoned, maintaining Sage Mode for five minutes should be no problem.
The basic Wood Dragon had the strength of a Soul Elder (Spirit Ancestor). With the amplification from Sage Mode, its power was roughly at the level of a Soul King (Spirit King), which was pretty decent.
However, if Su Ming summoned a Wood Dragon that consumed a lot of soul power and had additional soul skill enhancements, he estimated that he wouldn't be able to maintain Sage Mode for five minutes—he'd probably only manage to use about two soul skills.
The good news was that the Wood Dragons summoned with Sage Mode wouldn't disappear when Sage Mode ended.
With a wave of his hand, the two Wood Dragons disappeared, and Xiao Wu hopped over with excitement. "Brother, your Sage Mode is really powerful! It increased your strength by five times!"
Su Ming nodded slightly. At present, the boost from Sage Mode was more than enough. However, without a Sage Body, he couldn't use large-scale techniques like the Great Buddha—such abilities consumed far too much energy.
Now that his training was essentially complete, Su Ming just needed to wait for Ning Rongrong to return with an answer from Ning Fengzhi. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Distraction Control technique, his Sage Mode's duration would no longer be a problem!
"Brother, what should we do now? It's our break after all—we shouldn't be training all day. We need to relax!" Xiao Wu suggested.
Su Ming thought about it and agreed. After all, there was no rush to continue training at the moment, so some relaxation would be fine. He then looked at Xiao Wu with a playful grin.
Xiao Wu, seeing his expression, felt her heart skip a beat. "Brother, why are you looking at me like that?"
Su Ming, wearing a mischievous smile, replied, "Xiao Wu, look. I've set up a sensory barrier around us—no one outside can see or hear what's happening in here. This is a rare opportunity, and we should do something meaningful with our time. Otherwise, we'll just end up back in our dorms by tonight..."
Before Xiao Wu could react, Su Ming waved his hand, and a small wooden house appeared, enclosing them inside.
"See? Now it's nighttime already."
Xiao Wu pouted and said, "You cheat! That doesn't count!"
Su Ming leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Xiao Wu, don't you think this is a bit more exciting? After all, we're inside a house now, and there's no one around..."
Ah Yin: "I'm sorry, maybe I'm not a person, but you're truly heartless!"
Every time Su Ming and Xiao Wu got intimate, Ah Yin could sense it. Su Ming had never bothered to block her perception. Despite her reluctance to eavesdrop, she couldn't help overhearing every time, blushing furiously.
This time, Su Ming even planned to get intimate with Xiao Wu outdoors. How daring!
Without waiting for Xiao Wu to react, Su Ming made his move, and the two began their "training" together!
(Omitted 10,000 words)
Meanwhile, after teaching Oscar for a few days, Tang San finally had to admit that Oscar couldn't master the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Thus, Oscar gave up.
That morning, Tang San also had time to go into the city. He needed to find a blacksmith shop that he could collaborate with to craft some mid-level hidden weapons. Other than the Dragonbeard Needle, most of his current hidden weapons were falling behind his needs.
If the blacksmith shop had some high-quality materials, he could purchase some to prepare for creating more advanced hidden weapons.
What Tang San didn't know was that while he was busy at the blacksmith shop, the Xiao Wu he liked was happily living her "dream life" with Su Ming!
Tang San's plan was to create a set of hidden weapons, including the Zhuge Crossbow, and present one set to Xiao Wu and another to Ning Rongrong. The others would receive theirs as a courtesy since they were his classmates.
By giving Xiao Wu the hidden weapons, he hoped she'd appreciate their effectiveness and power, which would help increase her affection for him.
As for Ning Rongrong, though she might learn Su Ming's Lingbo Weibu, she would still lack offensive techniques. The hidden weapons could serve as a bridge to foster their connection, and through Ning Rongrong, he aimed to establish ties with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was known as the wealthiest sect on the continent. If Tang San could secure a partnership with them, he could significantly bolster his personal wealth. That wealth would allow him to collect rare materials for crafting hidden weapons and serve as a foundation for his future plans to establish the Tang Sect.
Around noon, back at the small wooden house, Su Ming and Xiao Wu's "training" had already lasted for two hours.
If it weren't for the fact that it was time for lunch, Su Ming would have wanted to continue. After all, no matter how busy one is, it's important not to neglect meals.
However, Xiao Wu's face was flushed, and Su Ming had to use his fourth spirit skill to help her recover her energy.
Xiao Wu took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and then glared at Su Ming. What had just happened was a bit too much for her. Thankfully, due to Ning Rongrong's departure, Yu Xiaogang and the others didn't come snooping around.
In fact, Xiao Wu found the "outdoor training" rather thrilling.
When they arrived at the dining hall, Su Ming noticed Tang San wasn't there. After asking around, he learned that Tang San had gone into the city early in the morning.
Su Ming quickly deduced that Tang San was likely seeking a blacksmith to collaborate with. Soon, Tang San would probably try to work with Ning Fengzhi through Ning Rongrong.
Oh right, Ning Rongrong still had that sleeve arrow Tang San had given her when they first joined the academy. He wondered if she would show it to Ning Fengzhi when she got home.
Even if she did, it would only raise a bit of curiosity. After all, Ning Rongrong only had a single sleeve arrow, not a full set of hidden weapons like the original story, where the Zhuge Crossbow played a pivotal role. Just a sleeve arrow wasn't enough to attract significant attention.
With this in mind, Su Ming decided he should also start preparing. After lunch, he whispered to Xiao Wu, "Xiao Wu, I need to go into seclusion for a few days."
Xiao Wu, startled, asked, "Brother, why do you suddenly need to go into seclusion? Your strength is already quite high, and you just mastered Sage Mode…"
Su Ming thought for a moment before leaning in to whisper in her ear, "True, but Xiao Wu, have you forgotten? I still have my trump card: talismans. I need to seclude myself and improve them."