49 Apocalypse Rules

Yelena followed Guan Tong into a room that resembled a billiards hall. Inside, she saw that several tables had been stood on end and propped against the corners—something Guan Tong must have done.

"Since you’re lacking proficiency in manipulating the Energy Transformation of your Psychic Power, our practical combat training will naturally focus on that."

Guan Tong walked to the center of the room as he spoke, then turned to Yelena and asked, "You’ve had combat training before, haven’t you?"

He figured that if Yelena was truly from the Sisiya aristocracy, then she must have received the appropriate combat training.

One reason the Sisiya aristocracy is so famous worldwide is its model of "holistic education." The idea is to cultivate individuals into "all-around talents." In ancient times, this would have meant mastering everything from the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting to archery, horsemanship, spearmanship, and sword fighting.

Yelena nodded. "I’ve studied traditional Sisiya unarmed combat."

"That’ll do," Guan Tong said. "You attack me; I’ll only defend. Don’t use any items or skills other than your Psychic Power."

Guan Tong remembered his first encounter with Shi Jingyi. In that warehouse in the industrial park, she had coated her body with Psychic Power. The Martial Arts she unleashed on the Living Dead had been devastating, mowing them down with ease.

This was the kind of enhancement Psychic Power provided the body. Since Yelena had studied fighting, having her train this way was the fastest method to improve her proficiency.

"I’m starting."

With those words, Yelena launched her attack, dashing forward and throwing a heavy hook at Guan Tong.

’She’s fast.’

One would never have guessed she could move so quickly from her tranquil appearance. To Guan Tong, it felt like she was in front of him in the blink of an eye.

He raised his arm to block, and her fist landed with a dull THUD.

Yelena’s eyes narrowed. She felt her fist had been stopped by something like a hard membrane; it hadn’t even touched Guan Tong’s arm.

"This is a ’shield’ formed by Psychic Power," Guan Tong said. "I told you to use Psychic Power when you attack. Have you forgotten?"

He could feel that Yelena’s punch was pure brute force, with no Psychic Power coating her fist.

"...It feels uncoordinated," Yelena said.

"It’s supposed to feel uncoordinated. Normally, you only circulate your power while static. You haven’t truly mastered it until you can maintain that flow while your body is in motion. Isn’t that what you’re here to practice?"

Guan Tong’s tone was somewhat harsh. Yelena said nothing, simply continuing her attempts to attack while circulating her Psychic Power.

This lack of coordination immediately made her attacks hesitant and jerky. She would even stop mid-kick, waiting for the circulating Psychic Power to cover her leg before she could complete the motion.

As he had promised, Guan Tong only defended, never attacking.

In truth, he didn’t have many Fighting Techniques. He had never formally learned any, and besides, he rarely engaged in close-quarters combat. Most of the time, he controlled his Shadow from a medium or long distance while he remained in a safe location.

Yelena could see this as well.

In her eyes, even though Guan Tong was only defending, his defensive movements were full of holes—practically clumsy.

Yet, despite his clumsy defense, the shield formed by his Psychic Power completely neutralized her attacks.

Moreover, she keenly noted that Guan Tong’s physical constitution was far superior to hers; many of his defensive maneuvers were accomplished through sheer speed.

After more than twenty straight minutes of this, she was panting with exhaustion. Her forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, and her chest heaved violently.

But Guan Tong, in her eyes, looked as if he’d just finished a light warm-up. Besides a slight flush on his face, he hadn’t broken a single drop of sweat.

Seeing that Yelena’s stamina was nearly depleted, Guan Tong said, "Let’s stop here for today. Circulating Psychic Power while in motion is mentally and physically draining. It’s impressive you lasted this long without being used to it. Go back, think about what you can improve, and we’ll train again next time."

"..."

After he finished speaking, Guan Tong left. Yelena remained for a while longer, replaying the details of their sparring session in her mind, thinking about where she could have done better.

She then thought about Guan Tong’s condition after their fight. Even though he had only been defending, he was also constantly circulating Psychic Power to maintain his shield. The amount of Psychic Power he consumed in the process had to be more than hers, not less, yet he showed no signs of fatigue at the end.

Yelena knew what this meant: Guan Tong’s Psychic Power capacity was likely far beyond ordinary. She took a deep breath. She knew such a valuable opportunity for advanced training was rare, and she had to seize it to hone her skills to the level she needed as quickly as possible.

...

’How in the world do I construct a Mind Network?’

After helping Yelena with her combat training, Guan Tong returned to his shelter and began researching the contents of the hidden rule.

At first, he thought the Mind Network required one person to act as a "host," with others then connecting to this host via Psychic Power to form the network.

But no matter how he tried to create this "host," he always failed.

This made him suspect he might be on the wrong track.

’If there’s no host, or if everyone is a host, then how would they connect? Through Psychic Power contact? But...’

During his sparring session with Yelena, their Psychic Powers had already made contact, yet it hadn’t produced a Psychic Power Connection.

’Does it only work if both parties consciously intend for it to happen?’

Guan Tong wanted to run an experiment, but he frustratingly realized he didn’t know who to ask.

He didn’t know anyone in the city of Pinglu. To be precise, if he really needed to find someone for an experiment, the only person he could ask was Shi Jingyi.

Because only Shi Jingyi knew his true identity.

If he approached someone else, he would first have to tell them about the hidden rule. That would naturally lead them to wonder, ’Why do you know this? Isn’t the one who knows the hidden rules supposed to be the administrator of Ascender’s Home?’

Unless it was made public by the officials, then everyone would know, and there would be no problem with people trying it out amongst themselves.

The problem was, Guan Tong couldn’t use a computer, so he couldn’t log in to the Ascender’s Home website to sell or publish the information. What were the chances that an official would just happen to have a flash of insight and discover the Mind Network on their own?

’Should I go find Shi Jingyi? But her current situation isn’t convenient.’ Guan Tong thought. ’Maybe I should just use my Shadow to leak the hidden rule to the officials and let them announce it.’

He figured that if he didn’t leak it, it was highly unlikely anyone would stumble upon this hidden rule by accident.

After all, the most common way for two people’s Psychic Power to make contact is during combat, when their Psychic Power Weapons collide. But at that very moment, both combatants would need to simultaneously think about forming a Psychic Power Connection to have any chance of establishing a Mind Network.

The problem was, when two people were fighting, they would be focused on defeating their opponent and protecting themselves. Why would they inexplicably think about a Psychic Power Connection?

One could imagine how low the chances of that were.

However, Guan Tong didn’t expect that on top of this conundrum, a new problem would soon find its way to him.

The next morning at the academy, he found Dean Zhou Qinfeng waiting for him outside his classroom. The dean told him to come to his office after class for a chat, without specifying the reason.

At first, Guan Tong didn’t know what was happening. But during class, the students were acting strangely. The looks they were giving him and Yelena were odd, which gave him a vague idea of the situation.

Sure enough, when he went to the dean’s office after class, Zhou Qinfeng asked him directly if he had been tutoring Yelena privately.

"I’d like to know which rule I’ve violated by doing so," Guan Tong replied after confirming it.

Dean Zhou gave a wry smile. "I’m not saying you broke any rules, Mr. Guan. It’s just that the other students will inevitably have complaints when they find out. They’ll feel that as a teacher, you should treat everyone equally and not give private tutoring to an individual student."

"This isn’t tutoring. Yelena Stasia’s progress has surpassed everyone else’s. The material in the regular curriculum is no longer of much use to her."

"Ah, the issue isn’t whether it’s tutoring, but that it’s *private*," Dean Zhou sighed. "Mr. Guan, you’re still young and may not be mindful of these things, but sometimes you have to consider the feelings of the majority."

"Besides, students love to spread and create rumors, which could be damaging to you and to her. Even if you don’t care, Mr. Guan, you must think of your student."

Guan Tong grew irritated. He had always hated rules and restrictions. Even as an instructor, he felt it was enough to simply not break the official regulations. He had no intention of abiding by all the unwritten rules of social decorum.

"The student was the one who asked for my help. Dean Zhou, you can go take it up with her. I have other things to do, so I’ll be leaving." With that, he walked straight out the door, leaving Dean Zhou completely dumbfounded. It took him a long moment to recover.

"This kid is unbelievable..."

Dean Zhou hadn’t expected him to be so difficult to persuade.

But he’d noticed it from their very first interview: this Guan Tong was not someone who would take a slight lying down. The man also seemed to have no filter; if he was unhappy about something, he would show it on his face and in his words immediately, regardless of the other person’s status. It was easy for him to put others in an impossibly awkward position on the spot.

It was just like during his interview. When facing the academy’s senior instructor, Zhang Linliang, he had bluntly stated he would only use one-fifth of his opponent’s Psychic Power to spar. After winning, he didn’t even offer a single pleasantry, causing Zhang Linliang to completely lose face.

Dean Zhou shook his head. ’Forget it,’ he thought. ’This isn’t a traditional university; I can’t control him even if I wanted to. If he really causes a scene, he can deal with the consequences himself.’