49 Apocalypse Rules

The three Sisiya assassins believed they were trapped by a Barrier Item and just had to wait for its effect to expire.

But they hadn’t expected their own Psychic Power to be continuously draining away.

A wave of fear washed over them. Psychic Power was the foundation of all skills and items; if it kept decreasing, they wouldn’t be able to use any of their abilities aside from some basic Fighting Techniques.

"Quick! We have to break out of this thing!"

The three of them threw caution to the wind, using one powerful item after another in an attempt to blast open what they perceived as a barrier. But all their attacks vanished like stones tossed into the ocean, having no effect whatsoever.

They had no idea what was going on, but Guan Tong knew exactly what it was.

The creation of this Shadow Realm had consumed tens of thousands of points of Psychic Power. Any attack lacking sufficient strength had no hope of breaking through.

Moreover, through practical application, Guan Tong had also discovered a "Micro Operation" method.

Whenever the people trapped in the Shadow Realm attacked a certain spot, he would temporarily reinforce that area with his Psychic Power. Unless his captives possessed more Psychic Power than he did, breaking out of the Shadow Realm was utterly impossible.

Guan Tong watched the three men flailing about like headless chickens. ’The experiment to absorb the Psychic Power of those inside the Shadow Realm seems only half successful.’

He could feel the Shadow Realm absorbing the trio’s Psychic Power, but the rate was extremely slow—barely one point per second. It was a far cry from the rapid drain he had envisioned.

This could mean there was still room for improvement. Or, it could mean that the act of the Shadow Realm absorbing another’s Psychic Power was inherently difficult, and draining one point per person per second was already its limit.

In any case, his experiment had yielded results. As for these three Sisiya assassins, there was no way he was leaving any of them alive.

But before he acted, he had one more question.

"Who is your contact inside the academy?"

The trio had mentioned someone inside the academy feeding them information. This meant that besides these assassins, they also had a spy planted within the institution.

Hearing Guan Tong’s question, the three knew this was their chance.

"If we tell you, will you let us go?!"

"I don’t know."

"...Then get rid of this darkness first, and we’ll tell you face-to-face! Otherwise, we’re not talking."

"That’s not happening," Guan Tong said. "Fine, don’t talk."

"Wait!" one of the three blurted out. "I’ll talk! We spent Sublimation Coins to bribe a student before the semester started. We had him monitor that teacher!"

The three had no idea that the one who had trapped them *was* "that teacher," nor could they have ever imagined he possessed such power.

"And the student’s name?"

"Let one of us go first, then we’ll tell you!"

"Actually, just knowing it’s a student is enough."

Guan Tong asked no more questions and began to constrict the Shadow Realm.

To the three men, it seemed as if the darkness was rapidly closing in, devouring the faint light they had produced with their illumination items.

Only when they felt a strange, cold pressure on their skin did they realize with horror that this darkness was tangible.

In that moment, they finally understood. This wasn’t a Barrier Item at all, but an ability being controlled by someone else.

"CRACK... UGH..."

The rapidly constricting Shadow Realm crushed the three of them into an impossibly small space. It continued to shrink in a "tailor-made" fashion, robbing them of even enough room to move a finger.

The three were powerless to resist. In the end, they were completely immobilized, left to suffocate and die in the Shadow Realm, trapped in unimaginable terror and agony.

The Shadow Realm dissipated, and Guan Tong looked down at the three corpses on the ground.

These three Sisiya assassins had come to kill him, so there was nothing wrong with him disposing of them.

Besides, their origins were obvious—they had been sent by Yelena’s brother, so there was no need for further interrogation. As for the student they bribed, it shouldn’t be difficult to identify him as long as he kept up his surveillance.

As for the one who gave the order—Yelena’s brother—he wouldn’t be getting away with it, either.

Guan Tong might be Yelena’s teacher, but business was business. He certainly wouldn’t spare her brother. Just as he still had no intention of sparing the leader of the Qingmei Association, or the one from the Sakura Prayer nation who had ordered the bombing that targeted him.

’Once Shi Jingyi comes back to take over my classes, I’ll go settle these scores...’

With that thought, Guan Tong touched the Storage Ring on his finger and stored the three corpses inside. He then used Body Shifting to teleport to the shelter at the bottom of the canyon, where he summoned a few Living Dead. He ordered them to toss the bodies into the distant woods as a gift for the wildlife.

「...」

The next morning, Guan Tong taught his class as usual, as if nothing had happened.

As the course progressed, his teaching methods had changed.

Having learned from his experience with Yelena, Guan Tong now believed that practical combat training was suitable for everyone. His classes now focused entirely on real-world application, with theory taking a backseat.

This was a stark contrast to Shi Jingyi’s original methods, which prioritized seated meditation and energy circulation. They were two opposite extremes: one of stillness, one of motion.

Guan Tong knew Shi Jingyi’s method was the safer approach, like learning to walk before you run. His own method was more aggressive—a combination of walking and running that prioritized efficiency.

But this was the teaching style he excelled at, using his extensive combat experience to accelerate his students’ growth. Feedback from most students was positive. Only a small minority, who disliked conflict and hated sparring, were dissatisfied with him.

’(By the way, what’s the deal with the substitute instructor for the Psychic Power Flow class? Why is he so obsessed with making students fight?)’

’(Isn’t it just sparring practice...?)’

’(I hate this teaching style! I don’t like fighting!)’

’(Yeah, seriously. I’m not planning to rough it in the wilds or become a mercenary. There’s no need for all this. When I graduate and get a government job, where am I ever going to need combat skills?)’

’(Exactly! We have soldiers for fighting. Besides, the government prohibits private duels between Ascenders anyway!)’

During lunch break, the student Mind Network was buzzing with complaints about Guan Tong’s teaching methods.

Fang Qian listened from her dorm room. ’No wonder they don’t let instructors into this Mind Network,’ she thought. ’If a teacher heard this many students complaining about them, they’d probably die of anger.’

That was right. As a counselor, she had already managed to get into this year’s student Mind Network.

The one who had invited her in was a first-year student she had helped on the first day of school. The girl was grateful that Fang Qian had shown her to her dorm and meticulously explained all the dos and don’ts of the academy. So, when Fang Qian asked, she had immediately agreed to add her to the network.

Fang Qian’s mission within the Mind Network was to listen, not to speak. Her job was to report anything detrimental to the academy or any illegal activity to the dean.

But there was no need to report simple complaints about instructors.

If the instructors found out, not only would they get angry, but they might even bring it up in class. Then the students would know there was a snitch in the Mind Network.

If that happened, the students would never discuss anything important in there again. They might even leave en masse and create a new, more strictly vetted network, which would be much harder for Fang Qian to infiltrate.

So, as she listened to the students complain about Guan Tong, she felt a little indignant on his behalf, but also incredibly curious. Why had he changed so much in just over a year?

Based on her impression of him from high school, Guan Tong had been a quiet person who loved to read. The image of a battle maniac just didn’t fit him at all.

’(You don’t think our Mr. Guan was a mercenary before, do you? How else could he have so much combat experience?)’

’(Maybe he was in the military?)’

Speculation ran wild in the Mind Network.

Fang Qian heard their guesses. ’Guan Tong was definitely never a soldier,’ she thought. ’So did he really spend the last year as a mercenary in the wilds? Then how did he meet Shi Jingyi? She’s been an instructor here since the academy first opened.’

Fang Qian’s mind was filled with questions, but a new topic of discussion among the students quickly made her tense up.

The discussion began with a male student’s proposal:

’(Anyone want to go exploring outside the city this Sunday? Security is pretty lax right now, we could sneak out.)’

’(There’s nothing outside the city. What’s there to explore?)’

’(I heard a lot of wilderness folk have set up camp near Pinglu, though.)’

’(I saw that online too! All those people from the wilds came here to survive after the earthquake.)’

’(Then we might run into them if we go! Count me in.)’

’(Me too! Let’s pick a time and place to meet up!)’

As more and more voices chimed in on the Mind Network, Fang Qian listened for a moment before getting to her feet.

She definitely had to report this. The academy had a strict rule forbidding students from going outside the city!

It was fine to wander around the city on the weekend; there was no risk of physical danger. But the area outside the city was crawling with wilderness survivalists and mercenaries on commission.

Even though the government had once dispatched troops to crack down on the wilderness Sponsor Organizations, gangs, and the like, it was predictable that the wilds would become chaotic again after the earthquake.

In the current environment, anyone who could survive in the wilds was a hardened individual. If the students left the city and ran into these people, the academy would undoubtedly be held responsible if anything happened.

At this thought, Fang Qian immediately left her dorm and headed to the administration building to find Dean Zhou Qinfeng.

When she reached the dean’s office, she relayed the student discussion she had overheard on the Mind Network.

Zhou Qinfeng was stunned. "What?! Those little rascals want to run off outside the city? Don’t they know how many dangerous people are out there?!"

Fang Qian nodded. "They know. That’s probably why they’re calling it an ’adventure’..."

"An adventure? I’ve been too careless..." Zhou Qinfeng paced back and forth. "The government has been busy transferring personnel to Pinglu lately, and with all the foreigners coming and going, security at the city exits has definitely been relaxed. If these students are determined, they really might be able to sneak out... This is serious."

Fang Qian asked, "Dean, how do you plan to handle this?"

Zhou Qinfeng mulled it over for a moment. "Alright, they’re planning to go out on Sunday, right? You keep listening and find out the exact meeting time and location. I’ll go there myself and stop them!"

"But... Dean, if you do that, it’ll tell them someone leaked their plans, won’t it?" Fang Qian hesitated.

"That’s true." Zhou Qinfeng paused. "In that case, I’ll speak with the department that manages the city’s gates. I’ll tell them when the students plan to leave and have their staff tighten inspections at that time to stop them."