Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 108 Shi Jingyi's Invitation

"It seems like I've figured it out..."

After receiving Wang Yan's call, Guan Tong was somewhat concerned about Chen Na's situation, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she returned to focusing on her original luck.

He has been studying in the shelter since the Blood Plague Rules period, and after half a month, he has memorized almost all the acupoints on the human body.

This memory surprised even himself; it was likely due to the continuous improvement of his mental strength, which also subtly enhanced his physical attributes. The changes weren't easily noticeable in normal times, but their magnitude became apparent when he actually used them.

Guan Tong felt that if another World Games were held now, even if the participants didn't use any special abilities and relied solely on their physical fitness, they could break all the historical records for every event.

"As Shi Jingyi said in the first overview class, the first step is to memorize the acupoints all over the body, and then you can try to circulate your energy between these acupoints... Only by mastering this can you make your mental energy cover and circulate on the body surface in a way similar to 'qi'."

Currently, online classes don't seem to have reached this stage yet; they're still focused on techniques for recording acupoints and some fist and foot exercises.

Indeed, before the students mastered techniques such as acupoints and qi circulation, Shi Jingyi also taught them some martial arts skills from her "Guiyun Martial Arts School" during class, saying that regular practice would improve blood circulation and help with future training.

Guan Tong couldn't leave the house before, so she didn't practice much. Practicing martial arts in a small room was too stifling. Now, however, she has the means. The entire Mingdao Mountain can be used as a training ground, and she can practice wherever she wants.

He knew that no matter how much he practiced, he could never reach the level of Shi Jingyi, who could do it with such ease. She herself said that she had been practicing martial arts for over twenty years, which must have been a child's training she started when she was just a few years old. It wouldn't be easy for others to catch up.

Therefore, rather than honing his martial arts skills, Guan Tong preferred to leverage his strengths and advantages by studying the "Wordless Book" more thoroughly, aiming to achieve the flow of mental energy in terms of "martial arts."

Because he was ahead of the course, he considered calling Shi Jingyi to ask about tips and tricks for practicing Qigong. However, after glancing at the time, which was already 10:30 PM, he decided not to disturb her rest and to do it tomorrow.

With a thought, Guan Tong saw the wordless book appear before him.

Turning to the fifth page, looking at the blank page, he didn't know how much mental energy he needed to put pen to paper.

If we consider the sanctuary on page four, which instantly drained all mental energy when it materialized on Grail Island, page five will only be more extreme. Perhaps... we'll need to reach the 150-point cap, or even higher, before we can even begin to write.

“我现在的上限是137，平均7-8天自然增长1点，一个月增长4点左右……还是有点慢。”

Four points a month, less than 50 points a year, is really not enough.

Considering that another way to quickly increase one's mental strength is through intense combat, what is the reason for the increase in mental strength through intense combat?
According to Ouyang Shanyue, one of the college's main lecturers, this is part of the course "Philosophical Thinking on Mental Power," which mentions that mental power is related to emotions and spirit.

Following the first rule of sleep deprivation, why do some people have high mental energy while others have low mental energy?
According to post-event statistics, those who used external aids to pass the level all had lower mental strength. Whether it was using "wake-up peppermints" or receiving injections of psychotropic drugs in the hospital, both affected the upper limit of mental strength.

Those who rely solely on their willpower without external assistance generally have a higher potential for mental strength. However, there are also differences within this range; statistically, teenagers tend to have higher potential, while older people have lower potential.

In this light, the upper limit of mental power seems to reflect an individual's potential at the level of mental will.

However, according to Ouyang Shanyue's theory, he believes that the rate at which the upper limit of mental power increases is also related to emotions. When a person is in battle, their emotions fluctuate violently because they are facing a threat.

Anxiety about one's own abilities, high tension in the face of a powerful enemy, and great fear of defeat... these emotions are intense and complex, and would never arise in a stable environment.

Ouyang Shanyue also gave some examples in class, mainly some well-known ascendants, many of whom were celebrities from the pre-apocalyptic era, including famous athletes and stars.

Examples include a former well-known young boxer who, after the first rule was implemented, publicly revealed his maximum mental strength on his social media account, which was 105 points, a very high level.

There is another film and television star whose publicly revealed mental strength limit also exceeds 100 points. Although this star is very famous, he has a lot of scandals, so he is constantly insulted by netizens. However, he doesn't care at all and is known as "shameless".

In that lesson, Ouyang Shanyue's example included someone Guan Tong had heard of: Go champion Wenren Yizhi. She had become a sensation online for live-streaming her Go matches for 72 consecutive hours during the rule period, gaining countless followers.

However, she did not voluntarily disclose her mental strength stats; it was officially released. It seems that the organization recognized her sudden surge in popularity and recruited her into their ranks, using her fame for promotional purposes.

According to official announcements, Wenren Yizhi's maximum mental strength was 117 points after passing the first rule. This news caused a huge stir online, as it was significantly higher than others.

Most people would be happy with an 80-point rating and a "normal" rating. But her 117 points far exceed the 100-point "excellent" rating, which is truly terrifying.

Ouyang Shanyue used these examples to illustrate that the upper limit of mental power is related to emotions. Whether it's a fiery, raging emotion or a rock-solid one, reaching the extreme can benefit the improvement of the upper limit of mental power.

Returning to Guan Tong himself, his personality can be described in two words: bland.

He has all the emotions that ordinary people have, but they are not very intense, so the path of increasing the upper limit of mental power through extreme emotions does not seem to be suitable for him.

"...Forget it, what's the rush? Let's just take it one day at a time."

Guan Tong thought about it carefully and realized he didn't need to rush. His goal was simply to keep completing the rule challenges and see if he could reach the end and find out the truth, rather than endlessly becoming stronger.

He went to sleep at 11 p.m. The next morning, when he woke up, he found a message on his phone from Wang Yan, sent in the middle of the night.

"The sheriffs checked the surveillance footage and found that Nana took a car to the suburbs. They haven't found her yet and are still investigating."

Guan Tong's heart sank slightly upon seeing the message.

If that's the case, then Chen Na might not be able to return anytime soon...

No matter who the organization is or how powerful it is, they will always worry about exposing their problems.

Even if Chen Na passes the selection, if we let her go back, she might reveal something at such a young age, exposing some of the organization's secrets.

As Guan Tong looked at the information, she inexplicably thought of the serial kidnapping case targeting individuals with high mental abilities that she and Xu Xiaotian had both been involved in across multiple cities. Although Shen Zuohu and others from Yunhua had already been arrested and were probably sentenced to death by now, it was still unclear whether the mastermind behind their remote control had been apprehended.

Guan Tong only knew that Li Meng, the director of the Yunhai City Public Security Bureau, had been transferred to Yong'an, the capital, to continue investigating this matter.

Could the organization that recruited Xiaona have some connection with those people from back then?
Guan Tong couldn't be sure, and he was also a little worried about Wang Yan.

The latter was already seriously ill and didn't have much time left, and now her daughter had gone missing, which would probably be a huge blow to her...

Guan Tong thought for a moment and replied, "Sister Wang, even if Xiao Na is missing, she shouldn't be in any danger. Her abilities are very rare, and whoever took her away is unlikely to harm her."

All he could do now was offer Wang Yan some words of comfort; he couldn't help with anything else, whether it was Chen Na's whereabouts or Wang Yan's terminal cancer.

Wang Yan replied to the message shortly after: "Thank you, Xiao Guan. I also believe that Nana will be alright. I will persevere and will definitely find her!"

Guan Tong sighed and stopped thinking about it. After breakfast, he called Shi Jingyi, who answered quickly.

"Hey, Guan Tong, is there something you don't understand that you want to ask me?"

Shi Jingyi got straight to the point as soon as she spoke, which shows that she knew Guan Tong wasn't the type to call her for casual chats.

"Yes." Guan Tong recounted the question about luck that she had been pondering last night, which surprised Shi Jingyi considerably.

"You've already started trying your luck? So fast? You've memorized all the acupoints?"

"I've memorized it."

Shi Jingyi deliberately asked Guan Tong a few tricky questions, which Guan Tong answered correctly in every single one.

"I didn't expect you to have such a good memory! No wonder you are... um." Shi Jingyi almost blurted out, "No wonder you are the world's number one shadow."

"You're progressing so fast, it's really hard to keep up with online classes. Here's what I'll do: I'll send you some of the later course materials on luck later, so you can study them on your own first."

"OK, thanks."

"Oh, right." Shi Jingyi suddenly remembered something, "Even if you don't call me, I was planning to call you in the next few days."

Upon hearing this, Guan Tong asked curiously, "Is something the matter?"

"You should know that the whole country will enter a state of war on the 10th."

"know."

"Everyone will have to register and be assigned a shelter. After I found out, I was thinking, you probably won't be going to a shelter, will you?"

Shi Jingyi knew Guan Tong's shadow identity and that the latter had been concealing it from registration. However, once wartime began, concealing it would not be so easy.

“…Actually, I’ve already left the city,” Guan Tong said.

"Haha, I knew it." Shi Jingyi seemed to have guessed it, laughed a few times, and then said seriously, "The reason I called you is to give you an invitation."

"An invitation?"

“Yes! When I called you before, I noticed that you were progressing very quickly in my course. This time it’s even more certain that you’re ahead of the other students in my class. So, if you’d like, you can come to the academy to be my teaching assistant.”

Teaching assistant...

Guan Tong was quite surprised that Shi Jingyi had this plan.

“If you come, I can register you as a special teaching assistant once the wartime state begins. At that time, apart from spending some time helping other students every day, you will have most of your time to arrange as you wish. In addition, you will not need to live in a communal shelter; you can live in the faculty and staff dormitory of the college. They are all single rooms, and your privacy will not be a problem.”

Guan Tong listened to Shi Jingyi's words and thought about them carefully.

If he registers as a teaching assistant, he will have a legitimate status to move around in the city. Otherwise, if he doesn't register, he might be fine living in the wild, but he will face many problems once he wants to enter the city.

Furthermore, Shi Jingyi specifically stated that as a teaching assistant, one can live in a single dormitory room for faculty and staff, and does not need to live in a collective shelter... This also meets his requirement of satisfying his privacy.

The price to pay for these things is to dedicate a portion of your time each day to the responsibility of being a teaching assistant, helping lecturer Shi Jingyi organize course materials and assisting students with their studies.

“There’s no need to make a decision immediately,” Shi Jingyi said. “My invitation is valid indefinitely. Just call me whenever you want to come—but it’s best to make a decision before the 10th. Once we enter a state of war, it might be a bit troublesome for unregistered personnel to enter the academy.”

　Day 10 of daily check-ins; I should get the "Explosive Update" badge tomorrow.

　　My next goal is to write 10,000 words a day for 30 consecutive days and get the "10,000 words a day" badge! This badge is only available for about 2,000 books on Qidian, and it's even rarer than the 10,000-subscription badge, so I plan to work hard to get it.

　　After all, these two badges don't depend on subscription performance, but only on the author's personal efforts! As long as the author is diligent enough, they can get them.

　　I would also like to thank all the readers for their support through subscriptions, donations, comments, and monthly tickets. Without your support, I certainly wouldn't have had the motivation to keep going.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)