49 Apocalypse Rules

Chapter 279: Chapter 262: Explanation of Insights Before Leaving

Guan Tong browsed the website for a moment. He sensed the public’s overwhelming demand was to perfect the currently deficient legal system, ensuring everyone, whether an ordinary person or an Ascender, felt a sufficient sense of security.

He thought these demands were perfectly reasonable. It was hard enough just dealing with one Apocalypse Rule after another; to also have to live in a dog-eat-dog environment, constantly on guard against others, would be utterly exhausting.

’If the authorities are willing, they should respond soon. If not, they’ll probably give it the cold shoulder as they did in the past... But now that the Human Federation has been established, that sort of thing shouldn’t happen anymore.’

Guan Tong didn’t dwell on it. He silently recited in his mind,

"Terminal Panel."

He checked his stats after the Rule Stage.

The reward for this Rule Stage was an increase to his Psychic Power cap. He just didn’t know by how many points.

[Name: Guan Tong]

[Nickname: Shadow]

[Title: Civilization Observer]

[Psychic Power: 930 (930) (174620)]

[Sublimation Coins: 4,957,280]

[Comprehensive Bio-Information Evaluation: Excellent]

’A 30-point reward? Not bad.’

Before the Rule Stage began, Guan Tong’s Psychic Power cap was 890. A month later, it had increased by forty points. Ten of those were from natural growth, and thirty were from the Rule Stage reward.

At this rate, as long as there were no other boosts, and assuming his natural growth sped up a little, he could break the one-thousand-point milestone in the first half of next year.

He wasn’t sure what changes breaking the one-thousand-point Psychic Power cap would bring. All he knew was that he should be able to write on the seventh page of the Wordless Book, which would be a critical upgrade for him.

Closing the panel, Guan Tong glanced at the date.

It was November. According to his previous phone agreement with Shi Jingyi, she would be returning to the academy after the Thirteenth Rule Stage ended.

Although she hadn’t specified the exact day, Guan Tong estimated it would be in early November.

In that case, it would only be a few more days at most. Once Shi Jingyi returned, his time as a substitute lecturer would be over.

He looked back on his time since entering the academy in mid-July. It was now November. A little over three months wasn’t a long time, but he had still been through a lot.

As for his teaching duties, he felt he had been reasonably diligent. He answered any questions the students had to the best of his ability, living up to the trust Shi Jingyi had placed in him... But upon reflection, he realized his lessons were overly focused on practical application, with very little theory.

’Maybe I should add some theory before I leave,’ Guan Tong thought.

He had rarely taught theory because the academy already had a core course called *Philosophical Reflections on Psychic Power*. The lecturer, Ouyang Shanyue, specialized in knowledge related to Psychic Power and the philosophical questions that arose from it.

However, after watching a few of the online lectures for that course, Guan Tong didn’t bother spending much more time on it. His reasoning was the same as why he didn’t watch the academy’s combat classes: he felt they were somewhat detached from reality, and besides, he didn’t have a deep interest in philosophy.

Thinking about it now, it might be a good idea to share his own insights and experiences with Psychic Power from the past year with the students before he left.

It might not be a massive help, but it would be beneficial, and certainly wouldn’t do any harm.

BZZZ BZZZ.

Just as Guan Tong was mulling over his lesson prep, the phone on his desk began to vibrate.

He picked it up and saw it was a call from Dean Zhou Qinfeng.

"Dean, what’s up?"

"Mr. Guan, you aren’t at the academy today."

"That’s right, I’m out. It’s a holiday today, isn’t it?"

It was an academy tradition to give everyone the day off after a Rule Stage ended, allowing the students to properly de-stress.

"It is a holiday, yes. I just wanted to let you know... um..." Zhou Qinfeng sounded a little awkward. "Lecturer Jingyi, she called to tell me she’ll be returning to the academy in the next day or two."

"I already knew," Guan Tong said. "Once she’s back, I’ll resign from my position as lecturer and leave the academy."

Zhou Qinfeng exclaimed, "Huh? Leave? Mr. Guan, you don’t have to go! Your abilities are plain to see, and you have a great reputation among the students. I can look into arranging another class for you so you can continue as a lecturer."

"I appreciate the kind offer, Dean. But I was only ever meant to be a temporary substitute for Shi Jingyi. I never planned on being a permanent lecturer."

"You don’t have to be a lecturer, you could do something else!" Zhou Qinfeng seemed unwilling to let Guan Tong leave and tried another tack to persuade him. "If you don’t want to teach, you could take on an administrative role!"

"There’s really no need. Thank you, Dean."

"Sigh... Alright, then. If that’s your decision, I won’t insist. But we must have a small farewell dinner for you. You can’t refuse that, Mr. Guan. It’s something of an academy tradition."

"...Alright."

’This academy has been around for less than two years, and it already has "traditions,"’ Guan Tong thought.

Still, since Zhou Qinfeng was so insistent, he agreed. It was just a matter of having a meal with the other faculty members, after all.

...

「The next day, November 2nd.」

The chatter inside the *Psychic Power Flow* classroom was livelier than a bar from before the era of the Apocalypse Rules.

Since everyone had spent the latter half of the Thirteenth Rule Stage in forced silence, they had been bottling things up for too long. For the first few days after it ended, everyone had a mountain of things they were dying to say.

"You guys know Zhu Jun from dorm 902? He failed the Rule Stage this time. I saw him yesterday, and he was speaking complete nonsense. It was hilarious."

"That’s because of the failure penalty, right? The one where you can’t speak the truth?"

"If you can’t speak the truth, can you even live a normal life?"

"Why not? You just can’t speak the truth. It doesn’t stop you from eating or sleeping, and it won’t kill you. Worst case, you just stay silent. Maybe it’s even a good thing. Haven’t you heard the saying ’a loose tongue spells trouble’?"

"If you think it’s such a good thing, why didn’t *you* break the rule? I remember you being completely tight-lipped last month, not saying a single word!"

"Well... everyone’s different."

While the students were discussing the penalties for failing the Rule Stage, someone suddenly dropped a bombshell.

"Hey, have you guys heard? Lecturer Jingyi is coming back to the academy!"

The moment this news broke, it grabbed the attention of everyone in the classroom.

"Lecturer Jingyi is coming back? That’s great! She’s the whole reason I enrolled in this academy!"

"I’ll finally get to see Lecturer Jingyi in person! I read online that the upperclassmen all say she’s even more beautiful in person than in photos and videos!"

"But wait, what’s going to happen to Mr. Guan?"

"Uh, did you guys forget? Mr. Guan said it himself in the very first class—he’s just a substitute... Now that the real deal is back, he’ll probably leave."

"Why should he leave? Mr. Guan might not be as approachable as Lecturer Jingyi, but his skills are top-notch. He could stay on as an assistant lecturer, or they could take turns teaching or something."

"I hope Mr. Guan can stay, too. He might not be old, but he feels way more dependable than most of the teachers here. I know I’ve actually learned a lot from him."

"Why don’t we ask Mr. Guan when he gets here?"

Amid the students’ chatter, Guan Tong arrived at the classroom.

Just then, the bell for class rang. The students settled into their seats, their eyes fixed on him in unison.

Before the students could ask, Guan Tong took the initiative and explained the situation himself.

"Everyone, I have some news. The primary lecturer for this course, *Psychic Power Flow*, Lecturer Shi Jingyi, will be returning to the academy in the next day or two. At that point, she will take over teaching this class."

"Then what about you, Mr. Guan?" someone asked.

"After I step down, I will be leaving the academy."

"What?!"

Many students looked crestfallen, finding the news hard to accept.

"Mr. Guan, you’re so skilled, they can’t be firing you, right? Even if there can only be one lecturer per course, you could do another job here!"

"Yeah! There are plenty of lousy teachers at this academy. If they’re firing you, we absolutely won’t stand for it!"

"I think the academy should give you your own class, Mr. Guan! Or even better, have you replace the teacher for the Psychic Power Combat class. I bet you’re a way better fighter than him!"

The students, assuming Guan Tong was being fired to make way for Shi Jingyi’s return, grew indignant, all of them speaking up to protest the injustice.

Guan Tong explained, "Don’t jump to conclusions. I’m not being fired. The Dean already tried to persuade me to stay. Leaving the academy is my own decision."

"But..."

"Besides, you don’t need to worry. You’ve all seen Lecturer Jingyi’s online courses. Her skill level is far higher than mine. You’ll make even faster progress studying under her."

"But... Mr. Guan, where will you go after you leave the academy?" a female student asked, looking at him with reluctance. "Where in the outside world is safer than it is here?"

Guan Tong looked at the quiet female student. She was right. There were few places outside safer or more suitable for long-term residence than the academy.

It was just that the students probably didn’t realize this safety didn’t just fall out of the sky.

The students felt safe because the academy was under the special protection of the authorities; any needed supplies were mobilized and provided immediately. The authorities did this to allow these talented young Ascenders to develop in peace, so that one day they could contribute to their nation and fellow countrymen.

But did Guan Tong need that kind of protection?

He felt he didn’t need to be a drain on those resources. On the contrary, his role was more akin to the one providing the protection.

He vividly remembered something Jiang Lanying had said about him before she died.

"Just an ignorant, foolhardy person who got lucky and rose up in these special times."

It was true. Guan Tong knew that his current power was due to two indispensable factors: luck and these special times.

But he hadn’t "risen up" just to become the new Jiang Lanying. His goal was to explore the rules and the world, and staying within the temporarily stable environment of the academy wouldn’t help him achieve that.

Facing the students’ curious gazes, Guan Tong said, "After leaving the academy, I’ll probably travel around the world."

"Whaaat???"

"Mr. Guan... this isn’t the world it used to be."

"Yeah, back in the day, traveling the world wasn’t that difficult, but now..."

The students all felt that what Guan Tong was saying was unrealistic and incredibly dangerous.

Guan Tong didn’t explain further, instead pulling the topic back to the lesson.

"Class. Since I’ll be leaving soon, for my remaining lessons, I don’t intend to force you into any more practical combat drills. Instead, I plan to share some of my personal understanding and insights about Psychic Power."

"Because everyone’s insights stem from their own experiences, what I’m about to say may be limited or unique to me. You’ll need to consider and absorb it in the context of your own situations."

After Guan Tong finished speaking, he displayed the two words "Psychic Power" on the large screen used for lectures.

"Everything, absolutely everything, revolves around this. So, everything I’m going to talk about today relates to it."

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