49 Apocalypse Rules

A few days passed, and a sense of calm returned to the academy.

Although the student protests had been quite vocal, they scattered like birds and beasts after the academy took a hard line and expelled one or two of the ringleaders.

Ultimately, whether or not one remained at the academy could even be a matter of life and death under certain Apocalypse Rules.

During the time of the Blood Plague, for example, anyone who wasn't an academy student and failed to get their hands on high-spec protective gear right away would have truly died if they got infected.

It was precisely because of that experience that when faced with the prospect of expulsion, most students knew what the right choice was.

However, after this incident, the academy tightened its administration and began enforcing the school rules much more strictly.

Afterward, while students still discussed the matter and whether Shen Yun's appeal might overturn the verdict, it was limited to just talk. There were no more extreme actions.

The online public outcry also died down rapidly two days after the initial verdict, perhaps because the authorities had activated the One-Way Mirror System.

In any case, starting from the third day, the trending topics were all replaced by things like the Mind Network, the power rankings for the variety show *Decisive Ascender*, and so on.

"The North Star officials certainly have guts."

Sikokun spoke as she placed protective gear into a backpack for Yelena in a small courtyard with red tiles and white walls.

"That young man, 'Shen Yun'… I hear his Psychic Power level is very high, among the best at the academy. To think they'd just cast aside a talent like that."

Yelena, however, agreed with the verdict. "Not taking action would be the shortsighted move. Without the people's support, it will be impossible for the authorities to implement any policies in the future."

Sikokun watched Yelena thoughtfully, wondering if she would govern Sisiya the same way if she ultimately won the competition.

After packing the protective gear, Sikokun handed the backpack to Yelena.

"Princess, it's already September. To be safe, we must return to Sisiya before the next Apocalypse Rule is announced. Please complete your training objectives as quickly as possible."

"Yes, I know."

Yelena left her residence and headed to the academy.

When she arrived at the classroom, she heard people discussing something about the faculty.

"Someone saw Counselor Fang Qian officially resign yesterday afternoon. She packed her things and left the academy."

"...Actually, thinking about it now, she was probably just following orders from her superiors."

"I don't think it was necessary either. Causing a scene at the dorms that day was going too far. I heard they all ran off as soon as Mr. Guan showed up."

"Sigh, Senior Sister Fang was actually a really nice person. She was the one who welcomed me when I enrolled. I asked her a ton of questions back then, and she wasn't the least bit impatient, answering every single one."

"If you ask me, the dean and the director are also to blame. It's just that everyone's afraid of being expelled, so no student dares to question them."

TAP, TAP, TAP...

Guan Tong walked into the classroom, and the students immediately fell silent.

In just over a month, Guan Tong had established his authority in the classroom. He had dealt with all the troublemakers, who now behaved themselves and didn't dare to act up.

"Class is starting."

...

After her morning and afternoon classes were over, Yelena went to the training room, took out the protective gear Sikokun had prepared for her, and put it on.

When Guan Tong arrived, he saw her dressed in a suit of dark red light armor and found it a bit strange. "What are you wearing that for?"

"Aren't we doing impact training?"

"So you wore a full suit of armor?"

"...This is specially made protective gear, not armor."

Guan Tong walked over for a closer look and reached out to pinch a piece on her shoulder. The material was indeed rather special. It looked like armor, but it was actually very light.

"Fine, you can wear it then. For the next half-hour, I'll be attacking you continuously with Psychic Power. What you need to do is mobilize your Psychic Power to focus on defense."

Guan Tong took a few steps back and said, "I'll be gradually increasing my speed, so your reactions need to keep up. But I have one extra requirement: you cannot move during this time."

"I can't move?" Yelena looked confused.

"That's right. I know you've had systematic combat training, and you can probably tell I don't know how to fight. So my attacks aren't refined—they're crude and easy for you to parry and block."

"..."

Yelena didn't say anything, but her expression made it clear she agreed.

"If that happens, you'll just keep parrying using the methods you're good at, and the defensive training for your Psychic Power will only be concentrated in the arms and legs you use to block. The rest of your body won't get any training. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand."

'If I always use my arms to block attacks, my Psychic Power will only gather there, naturally reducing my proficiency in concentrating it elsewhere. Therefore, to develop a defense with no blind spots covering my entire body, I have to abandon my habitual defensive stances.'

"Considering the difference between men and women, it would actually be better for Shi Jingyi to conduct this training," Guan Tong said. "But she isn't back yet, and you're in a hurry to leave, so it has to be me. However, I will try my best to attack without physical contact, using externally projected Psychic Power. Is that a problem?"

"No problem."

"Then get ready."

Yelena took a few deep breaths to compose herself, then nodded at Guan Tong.

Guan Tong began his attack.

His method of attack was to continuously release his Psychic Power, striking Yelena's entire body from all directions.

At first, it was just one spot, like her shoulder. Then, over time, he gradually increased the intensity, going from one spot to attacking two, three, and then four spots simultaneously.

Initially, Yelena could handle it with ease, promptly mobilizing her Psychic Power Flow to block the targeted areas. But as the number of simultaneous impact points increased, she began to get flustered, and her breathing rhythm fell into disarray.

Guan Tong reminded her, "Control your breathing. Don't panic. If you can't defend against everything at once, protect the vital areas!"

"Just now, I attacked your calf and your heart at the same time, but you actually prioritized mobilizing Psychic Power to defend your calf. What were you thinking? Are your legs more important than your life?"

"Too slow! You're performing worse now than when you started. Are you getting worse with practice?"

"If I were your enemy, you'd have died seven or eight times by now. Didn't I just say it? If you can't react in time, prioritize defending your vitals! You need to approach this with a combat mindset, not a training mindset!"

Half an hour of continuous Psychic Power attacks, combined with a ceaseless barrage of verbal criticism, showed that Guan Tong was truly ramping up the intensity this time.

Yelena only managed to remain composed for less than three minutes. The following twenty-seven minutes were almost complete chaos. Even when she managed to stabilize herself, she would fall back into disarray a minute or two later.

On top of constantly manipulating his Psychic Power to strike from all sides, Guan Tong also kept up his verbal assault. Though his words contained no profanity, his knack for hitting her weak spots was more mentally taxing than any curse. Even with her normally decent composure, she was starting to find it unbearable.

When her Psychic Power was completely depleted and she was leaning on her legs, panting powerlessly, she finally couldn't stop herself from snapping at Guan Tong, "Can't you... just talk a little less!"

This was the first time she had ever lost her temper with Guan Tong, a clear sign that her defenses had truly been broken.

What infuriated her most was that Guan Tong was now standing there with his arms crossed, his calm expression more infuriating than any mockery.

"You can't take this much?" he said. "If I were your enemy, and I could provoke you and break your rhythm with just a few words, no profanity needed, that would be a huge bargain for me."

Yelena retorted, "An enemy wouldn't be able to attack so many places at once!"

During the training just now, the most she had sensed at one time was Guan Tong's Psychic Power simultaneously attacking fourteen different spots on her body. To her, this was simply incredible, and she subconsciously felt that absolutely no one else could do such a thing.

"Are you sure?" Guan Tong said seriously. "Are you sure you'll only ever face a single enemy in a one-on-one fight? What if ten people attacked you at the same time?"

"..."

"Stasia, if you start making excuses, the rest of your training won't be effective. I know you have to leave this month, and I just want to fulfill my responsibility as a teacher and have you leave with as much as you possibly can."

Yelena's heart trembled. Her silver-white eyelashes lowered as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Mr. Guan. I'm too weak."

"It's not that bad."

Yelena looked up at Guan Tong and saw him smiling. "It's just that you're so much stronger than the other students that you've grown a little unconsciously arrogant. As long as you can level your mindset and focus on training, you'll definitely succeed before the end of the month."

It was rare for Yelena to see Guan Tong smile. She felt that he almost always wore a placid or somewhat cold expression, which was why many students at the academy had given him the nickname "Guan Buxiao"—Guan Who Doesn't Smile.

If Guan Tong himself knew the students were calling him that behind his back, he would surely cry foul. He had actually tried to teach with a smile during his very first class, but the students didn't buy it at all, so he couldn't be bothered to pretend anymore.

Once the students accepted his teaching style, he got used to it, only to end up being saddled with such a nickname.

After a brief moment of surprise, Yelena nodded. "Mm... I understand."

Perhaps it was because she had seen him smile, but Yelena suddenly felt that the distance between them had shortened considerably. She couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Guan, I'd like to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"How did you get so good at practicing Psychic Power Flow?"

Yelena had been too focused on her defense to think about it carefully. Now that she was resting, she realized just how astonishing it was that Guan Tong could simultaneously control more than ten streams of Psychic Power.

This was especially true given that he was projecting the Psychic Power externally, which made it even more difficult. Not to mention, he was attacking and still had the spare capacity to verbally assault her at the same time. The thought of it was utterly terrifying.

Guan Tong thought for a moment and said, "It's probably related to the fact that I started practicing manipulating objects a long time ago."

Ever since he gained his Shadow at the beginning of the new rules, he had practiced this aspect day in and day out without fail. So, when he later mastered Psychic Power Flow, the experience transferred over, allowing him to, one might say, painlessly acquire the ability to control multiple streams of energy at once.

Furthermore, this was far from his limit. Based on his experience of controlling hundreds or even thousands of Shadow Lines at once, doubling the amount of Psychic Power he controlled simultaneously would not be a problem if he wanted to.

Yelena was very smart. Hearing Guan Tong's explanation, she blurted out, "So, Mr. Guan, your Psychic Power item, or perhaps your ability, is related to manipulating objects?"

Only after asking did she realize her question was a bit inappropriate, as it touched upon the private matters of an Ascender.

Guan Tong didn't seem to mind, however. He knew it was a natural question stemming from what he had just said, so he just nodded. "You could say that."

"I see."

Seeing that Guan Tong wasn't angry, Yelena breathed a secret sigh of relief. At the same time, she also understood his secret... though it wasn't much of a secret, really. It all came down to two words: "practice more."

If her ability was also manipulation-based, perhaps she too could have applied that experience to controlling Psychic Power and progressed by leaps and bounds. But unfortunately, her ability lay elsewhere.

"That's all for today's training," Guan Tong said, seeing that Yelena was more or less rested. "If you have time later, I can give you a special training session every day."

"I have time, thank you, Mr. Guan." With her departure imminent, Yelena couldn't have asked for a better offer.

"You're welcome. See you tomorrow."

After he spoke, Guan Tong left the training room. Yelena walked to the window, watching his figure recede into the distance.

A vague idea swirled in her mind.

'If only Mr. Guan could come with me to Sisiya...'

The next second, she came to her senses, shaking her head to extinguish that improper thought.

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