Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 80: Studying the Three Major Courses
May 8, morning.

Guan Tong had just gotten up when she suddenly received a phone call from Xu Xiaotian.

"Brother Tong!"

"Xiaotian, is something the matter?"

"Nothing special. The college starts tomorrow, and I just moved into my new dorm. I was just calling you since I had nothing else to do."

How are you feeling in the dorm?

"It's great!" Xu Xiaotian laughed. "They're all double rooms, very spacious. And they have all the necessary appliances, making it extremely comfortable to stay in!"

"That's very good."

"Tong-ge, where are you living now?"

"I just stayed anywhere."

Guan Tong still lives in that small property storage room. He doesn't envy Xu Xiaotian or anyone else; where he lives is really unimportant to him, as long as it's a place that can shelter him from the wind and rain and allow him to sleep.

"By the way, Brother Tong, I've been working on developing my instant noodle prop lately. And guess what?" Xu Xiaotian's voice was tinged with excitement.

"I've developed noodles that can increase movement speed! Isn't that amazing?"

"Not bad," Guan Tong said in surprise. "If you could develop more noodles with different abilities, your props would be very useful."

"That's what I was thinking too! Hehe. By the way, Tong-ge, there's also that challenge... You know I passed the fasting rule by eating instant noodles, and I also have an invitation."

I was going to ask Tong-ge if you wanted to team up, but it seems like teaming up requires face-to-face interaction, and you're not coming to Yong'an... so I'm planning to team up with a few classmates who enrolled at the same time.

"It's alright, your group is fine," Guan Tong said.

"So, Brother Tong, do you have a team?"

"Yes." Guan Tong thought to herself, "Even a one-man team can be called a team. Xiaotian, don't worry about it."

"Okay then," Xu Xiaotian said. "I'll call you again next time. I'll hang up now!"

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Guan Tong thought for a moment.

Eight or nine days have passed, and people have already thoroughly researched the newly added "team-up" feature.

First of all, as Xu Xiaotian said, this function must be used face-to-face; it cannot be used remotely by simply adding a friend by a number.

Secondly, after two people team up, some special mental power items can be shared between the team members.

For example, Xu Xiaotian's instant noodles: during the third rule, the fasting therapy, only he could eat his instant noodles; no one else could eat them at all.

Once the "team up" function is enabled, if two people are teammates and there is a similar no-eating rule, Xu Xiaotian can give the instant noodles to his teammate so that the teammate can also complete the challenge.

It is foreseeable that after the team-up function is launched, the status of those Ascended who possess "auxiliary" mental power items will be elevated to a certain extent.

Like Xu Xiaotian, his instant noodle item was weak before, but he developed noodles with special effects. And since it can be shared with teammates, it might come in very handy at crucial moments.

Guan Tong thought to herself, "I guess teams that pay more attention to team composition will have one or two teammates with support items."

Returning to his own situation, Guan Tong didn't envy others. He knew that as long as he had enough time to develop, he could satisfy any need he had with the [Wordless Book].

This is also his greatest source of confidence to live alone. As long as his mental strength gradually grows and the [Wordless Book] has enough pages, he can write whatever he needs.

If you need food, you can write "food"; if you need transportation, you can write "vehicle".
Guan Tong was confident in himself. He believed that once he developed, he would be able to live a self-sufficient life entirely by relying on the "Wordless Book".

But not yet.

"Among the people I know, besides Xu Xiaotian, Shi Jingyi should also have an invitation and will participate in this challenge."

Guan Tong thought that Shi Jingyi's special "psychic power flow" ability was indeed powerful, and she could naturally combine offense and defense. Teaming up with her should give them a high chance of winning.

But even if Guan Tong hadn't exchanged contact information with her, she's currently in the capital, Yong'an, and he has no plans to go there for the time being.

"I'd better just focus on doing my own thing."

A phone call from Xu Xiaotian gave Guan Tong a moment to think. He then resumed his daily routine, focusing on strengthening himself as he had previously planned.

From the very beginning of the apocalyptic rules, he had become accustomed to accumulating and improving himself slowly on his own. This was, to some extent, his comfort zone, and it also fostered a non-anxious mindset in him.

By the evening of the 10th, one-third of the thirty days had passed, and he had accumulated 280 points of mental energy.

That's right, he stored up all the mental energy he recovered in the first ten days at a conversion rate of one-tenth.

With this added to the remaining 50 points, he now has a total of 330 points of mental energy.

Over the next 20 days, he planned to allocate the silver hunters' ammunition storage and to add words to the second page of the "Wordless Book".

That evening, sitting on her folding bed, Guan Tong opened her laptop and logged onto the official website of the Mind Power Development Academy.

As Shi Jingyi said before she left, all the lessons for the first day of school today have been recorded and uploaded.

Although the academy has a limit on the mental strength required to admit students, it is only a helpless measure due to limited space.

Otherwise, without admission requirements, a large number of people from all over the country would flock to enroll. At that time, not only would the college not be able to accommodate so many people, but the entire Yong'an might not be able to support such a large population.

Therefore, in order for those who have not yet reached the required level to also learn in parallel, all courses have been recorded as online video lectures.

The only difference between online and offline learning is that online learners cannot ask questions to teachers or receive specialized answers and guidance offline.

Guan Tong didn't rush to watch the video; she first checked the academy's "faculty strength."

The college's staff list is publicly available on its official website.

The dean is Zhou Qinfeng, who was originally the president of a well-known university and has extensive experience. He has now been transferred to the college as dean.

Next came three main lecturers, each covering one of the three main courses.

"Philosophical Reflections on the Power of the Mind," lectured by Ouyang Shanyue.

"A Study of Mind Power Tools," lecturer Zheng Kexue. "The Flow of Mind Power," lecturer Shi Jingyi.

In addition to the three main courses, there are other courses such as "Disaster Survival Studies," "Analysis and Research on Fire Stealers," and "Apocalyptic Psychology," etc.

If other courses are more like electives, then the three major courses are required courses for majors and must be attended.

Although Guan Tong didn't go to the academy, he just didn't like that kind of environment; he was still willing to learn something from good courses.

Instead of watching Shi Jingyi's "The Flow of Spiritual Power" course first, he watched the first lesson of Ouyang Shanyue's "Philosophical Thinking on Spiritual Power" in order.

Ouyang Shanyue was originally a philosophy teacher, but after the rules of the apocalypse came, he turned to studying mental power.

At this moment, in the first lesson, he stood on the high platform and succinctly posed a question.

What is the essence of mental power?

Some students said it was "special energy," some said it was "the power of the fire-stealers," and others said it was "dark matter."

After listening, Ouyang Shanyue gave his own opinion.

"I believe that the essence of mental power is the essence of this world—that is, this material world is created by our mind or consciousness, and mental power is the medium through which transformation takes place."

As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom erupted in an uproar.

One student immediately questioned, "Isn't this a typical example of idealism?"

"Yeah. How is that any different from 'the universe disappears the moment I close my eyes'?"

"Consciousness determines matter? That idea is a bit outdated."

Faced with questions from many students, Ouyang Shanyue did not get angry, but patiently waited until the classroom quieted down before continuing.

"Classmates, I used to think the same way you did, that idealism was unacceptable. But after the emergence of spiritual power and my personal experience of its usefulness, I have a completely new perspective."

"The idea is that while the world is inherently idealistic, our human minds are too weak to interfere with it. 'Mental power' strengthens this power and, as a medium, gives us the possibility of changing reality with our consciousness."

"The main course of my course revolves around this core idea, constantly exploring the essence of mental power."

At this point, a student stood up and asked, "Professor Ouyang, I'd like to know what the point of taking this course is? Even if your viewpoint is correct, how will it actually help us?"

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Shanyue smiled and asked, "May I ask this student how long it takes for your mental strength to naturally recover 1 point?"

"Uh, about fifteen minutes. Is that important?"

Ouyang Shanyue said, "I recover 1 point every three minutes."

Wow!
A gasp of surprise erupted in the classroom, and Guan Tong, who was watching the video on her laptop, also looked astonished.

Does it restore 1 point every three minutes?
Guan Tong himself recovered a little every five or six minutes on average, which he thought was fast enough. He didn't expect that Ouyang Shanyue's recovery speed was almost twice as fast as his.

The student who asked the question was stunned, exclaiming incredulously, "Three, one point is restored in three minutes? That's five times faster than mine..."

Ouyang Shanyue waved his hand, gesturing for the students to sit down. He then said, "I believe that the more thoroughly one understands the nature of mental power, the faster one will recover. It's like solving a math problem; once you fully understand the concepts, your answering speed will naturally be much faster... Therefore, I hope everyone will study diligently."

"no problem!"

"I will definitely study hard!"

The students were instantly motivated. The promise of restoring 1 point of mental energy every 3 minutes was far more enticing than anything else!
Even Guan Tong decided that she would watch online courses whenever she had free time, hoping that she could improve herself as well.

He then watched two other major courses.

Zheng Kexue's course, "Research on Mind Power Tools," mainly focuses on the analysis, listing, and in-depth study of various tools. The aim is to help students better choose tools that suit their individual needs.

Guan Tong watched for a while and felt that the content of this lesson gave him a sense of déjà vu, like "customized equipment for online game characters".

It's definitely useful. The academy is backed by the official organization and has a huge database of items. At the very least, by looking at more items, you can learn more about their effects.

Finally, he watched Shi Jingyi's "Flow of Spiritual Power" course. Unlike the other two lecturers, Shi Jingyi's entrance into the classroom elicited murmurs from the students.

This is understandable, given that Shi Jingyi is an extremely rare type of beautiful woman with a heroic air. Coupled with her outstanding temperament due to years of martial arts training, her extremely tall figure, and her long braid that reaches her waist, she would have a strong visual impact if seen in real life.

However, the students soon began to complain. Shi Jingyi immediately posted a "chart of acupoints on the human body" on the big screen and stated explicitly: "If you want to excel in my course, first memorize these hundreds of acupoints!"

Guan Tong couldn't help but smile wryly: "We have to memorize hundreds of acupoints right from the start. No wonder Shi Jingyi said before she left that this course requires 'patience'..."

After finishing the three lessons, Guan Tong turned off her laptop and lay down.

"I can do my own self-strengthening during the day, and then rest at night and watch online courses to learn a thing or two when my mental energy recovers."

He was thinking about it, but he had no intention of having any fun at all.

This surprised Guan Tong himself. At the beginning of the rules, he would play games and read novels, but now he spends the whole day struggling with mental power and doesn't feel tired at all.

Silent all night.

The next day, Guan Tong was awakened by the loud rumbling of an excavator.

He went outside the community to take a look. After the fifth rule, the urban reconstruction work continued, and the demolition work had now reached the street where his own community was located.

"It looks like they'll be demolishing my neighborhood next month..."

The thought of having to find a place to stay again made Guan Tong feel a sense of trouble.

He really wanted to take out the "Wordless Book" and write something like a "refuge" to make it tangible for himself to live in—maybe he could actually do it, but it was definitely beyond his current mental strength.

"We shouldn't need to move before the challenge... Hmm, we'll figure out where to go after the challenge. Today, let's start adding words to the second page of the wordless book."

　Dear readers, there will be a scheduled chapter at 9 PM every night, and it will be the same every day from now on.

　　One more thing to explain... The reason I didn't update more chapters on the release date is because I have very few drafts saved up, mainly for emergency updates in case of unforeseen events.

　　Therefore, in order to maintain a steady, consistent daily update schedule of three chapters and 10,000 words per day, I haven't been updating excessively. I believe that stable, regular, and consistent updates are the most important thing, and I hope you all understand.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)