December 24th, less than a week before the release of the twenty-fifth Doomsday Rule.
Guan Tong woke up at dawn and turned his head to look beside him—the one who had shared his pillow was already gone.
He yawned, sat up, and rubbed his eyes before putting on his clothes and heading outside. Sure enough, he saw Shi Jingyi practicing her boxing in the courtyard.
"Jing..."
The moment he opened his mouth, Shi Jingyi shot him a glare.
Remembering Shi Jingyi's self-imposed rule of "no distractions while training, no training while distracted," Guan Tong smiled sheepishly and sat down on a small stool nearby to wait.
They were currently in the Interval Period between rules. Although he had been staying in Bandzhen recently to prevent Suroma from attacking Sakura Prayer, he still returned to Pinglu every few days to chat with Shi Jingyi and engage in some life-sustaining harmony.
Beyond exchanging feelings, Shi Jingyi was actually a powerful source of intelligence for Guan Tong.
This was because she was the academy's lead lecturer, and the academy itself was a key official institution. Whenever the government planned to implement new policies, they would usually notify the academy first to prepare, occasionally even using the students as test subjects.
This way, without needing to go through others, Guan Tong could obtain some intelligence on Beixing's official movements just from Shi Jingyi.
Moreover, the academy itself was a place where information flowed widely and quickly. Quite a few students with influential backgrounds could contribute important information. Once something spread among the student body, even if Shi Jingyi didn't actively seek it out, she would passively learn about it.
Just in the past few days, Guan Tong had learned several major events from Shi Jingyi.
For instance, Duanmu Feng, the teacher in charge of Practical Combat Class, was currently suspended from teaching.
Shi Jingyi told Guan Tong that the Countermeasures Research Office had conducted an investigation and concluded that Duanmu Feng likely suffered from battlefield trauma stress disorder, making him unsuitable for the teaching role.
Judging by her tone earlier, Guan Tong could tell she strongly disapproved of Duanmu Feng's teaching methods, even holding some dissatisfaction toward Dean Zhou Qinfeng as well.
She didn't have the authority to interfere with Duanmu Feng, who was also a teacher, but in her view, Zhou Qinfeng, as the dean, should have been more assertive.
For example, when student casualties showed an abnormal increase in the second month of Duanmu Feng's class, Zhou Qinfeng should have used his power as dean to demand an immediate suspension and request an investigation from higher-ups.
But Zhou Qinfeng had refused to order the suspension at the time, citing that "the upgrade of Practical Combat Class is a national strategic policy, and the teacher selection was recommended by the Countermeasures Research Office—neither of which I can interfere with."
This stance might have been procedurally correct, but someone with Shi Jingyi's personality would definitely not approve.
Besides that, Guan Tong also learned from Shi Jingyi that, with the "help" of the last rule, Beixing's "Tiangong One" space project was progressing extremely smoothly.
She said that just a few days ago, officials from the Space Agency had even come to the academy for promotion, directly stating that volunteer registration for the "Space Vanguard Team" would open soon.
"What are you thinking about?"
Shi Jingyi's voice rang out. Guan Tong looked up and saw that she had finished her training, standing in front of him with a bottle of water, taking small sips.
"I was thinking about what you said yesterday regarding the Space Agency's promotion. That 'Space Vanguard Team' volunteer thing probably means selecting residents for the future space survival base, right?"
A space survival base—at first glance, it sounded similar to a space station, but in reality, it was a completely different concept.
Space stations only accommodated a limited number of astronauts, scientists, and other personnel.
But the space survival base Beixing was building would have a residential scale far larger—not as big as a major city, but at least the size of a village or a small town.
Since it was a survival base, the more people living there, the better they could test its construction effectiveness.
For this reason, in addition to the Space Agency's professionals, they also needed plenty of ordinary people with no space experience to move in.
"Probably." Shi Jingyi looked at Guan Tong and asked with a smile, "What, could it be that Little Tong wants to sign up for the vanguard team and become one of the first volunteers to move into the space base?"
Guan Tong shook his head. "No, that's not it. I'm just curious about space-related matters. You know my target is Meltstar."
"Mm."
Shi Jingyi had already heard Guan Tong tell her that he planned to go to Meltstar to find a clue related to Authority.
"What about you? How much more Mind Power do you need to break through two thousand?"
"Probably another two or three days," Shi Jingyi said. "As I get closer, the giant tree in my dreams becomes clearer. And there's one fruit hanging high up that seems to keep flickering. I wonder if it's a sign of something."
Hearing this, Guan Tong's face lit up with joy. "Maybe that fruit is the Authority you'll obtain after breaking through!"
Shi Jingyi looked curious. "Can I obtain it just by breaking through? Little Tong, you broke through two thousand points, and you didn't gain a new Authority."
Guan Tong paused. She wasn't wrong.
The Authority of [Impermanent Tax] came from the Life-Hunting Demon, and the mysterious Authority corresponding to the [Wordless Book] was hidden in the fog. When he would even discover it was unknown, let alone obtain it.
Maybe because he already had [Impermanent Tax] or the [Wordless Book], his slots were already occupied, so he had never even dreamed of that starry giant tree.
"And if two people have similar abilities and both break through to the 'Awakened' level you mentioned, would they both have a chance to obtain a similar Authority?"
"That's unlikely." Guan Tong thought for a moment and said, "Maybe... there's also a matter of priority and competition."
There were no shortage of Ascendants with similar abilities and Dao Zhen. Take Yang Ran's fire manipulation ability, for example. Just in Beixing alone, two Ascendants with that power had made the news. Globally, there were probably eight or ten.
If Authority was related to ability, would everyone obtain the "Fire" Authority? Impossible.
"More likely, the Ascendant who breaks through to the Awakened stage first has a priority opportunity to obtain the Authority. Latecomers who want it probably..."
"Probably have to obtain it through seizure, like you did with the Life-Hunting Demon's Authority?" Shi Jingyi finished his sentence.
Guan Tong paused briefly, then nodded.
That was right. He had obtained the Authority by using the Life-Hunting Demon's "Primal Blood." Essentially, it was a form of plunder.
If other Authority holders also generated their own "Primal Blood," like the Life-Hunting Demon did, then the struggle for it might evolve into a bloody storm among only the top Ascendants.
...Fortunately, there was no need to worry too much for now.
For the time being, Ascendants whose Mind Power upper limit could reach 2,000 points were still rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. A large-scale Authority battle was unlikely in the short term.
"I wonder what Authority I'll obtain," Shi Jingyi said, a trace of longing in her voice.
Guan Tong replied, "I'd guess it will be related to martial arts."
"Little Tong, you said Authorities were created by intelligent civilizations. If there's an Authority related to martial arts, would that civilization also be a martial arts civilization?"
Hearing this, Guan Tong paused. "Probably... maybe. The universe is vast—who can be certain there isn't a world like in those novels, where martial arts is revered and everyone practices? A world like that creating a martial arts Authority seems only natural."
Shi Jingyi nodded first, then pressed further. "Why wouldn't the civilizations that created these Authorities use them themselves? Why hang them on that giant tree?"
Guan Tong had already thought about this question.
Authorities, products imbued with the power of "rules," must have been extremely difficult to create. Once completed, they would become the highest crystallization of that civilization's value.
If such a crystallization wasn't in that civilization's hands, but elsewhere, able to be obtained by intelligent beings outside that civilization...
That could only mean one thing.
"Jingyi, I think the civilizations that created these Authorities have likely all perished," Guan Tong said in a grave tone.
Hearing this, Shi Jingyi's usually radiant face took on a hint of sorrow.
"On that starry giant tree in my dream, countless fruits are hanging... If they're all Authorities, does each fruit's existence mean the extinction of a civilization?"
Guan Tong thought of the giant tree he had seen and said hesitantly, "I remember some fruits were bright, others dim. Maybe the bright ones belong to civilizations that still exist, and the dim ones... have already perished?"
"...These civilizations capable of creating Authorities must have far surpassed us humans in technology, right? If even these advanced civilizations can perish in such numbers, then the future for us humans really doesn't look optimistic."
Though Shi Jingyi said this, her eyes held no despair or dejection. Clearly, this wouldn't shake her determination on her own path.
At that moment, Guan Tong fell into silence.
He thought again of the Authority represented by the [Wordless Book]—the one the Mysterious Gambler had mentioned could "break the cycle of the universe."
The key to this Authority was now in his hands. Did that mean the intelligent civilization that created it had also perished?
But...
How powerful and advanced must a civilization capable of creating an Authority that could break the cycle of the universe be? Humans probably couldn't even begin to imagine it.
So why would such a powerful civilization have seemingly perished?
Were these civilizations' destructions all related to the Fire Thief? Were they all destroyed by the Doomsday Rules it brought?
At the very least, judging from the attitudes of advanced cosmic intelligences like the Dialoguer and the Life-Hunting Demon toward the Fire Thief, the latter was an extremely unique existence in the universe.
With this thought, Guan Tong couldn't help but look up at the sky. His gaze seemed to pierce through the gray canopy, reaching deep into the cosmos, searching for the many answers he sought.