When the students saw the words on the big screen, their first impression was that there was nothing new about it.
Who doesn't know about Mind Power? Moreover, 'Philosophical Reflections on Mind Power' is a mandatory main course at the academy, and Ouyang Shanyue had already covered many analyses about it.
Now that Guan Tong was using it as his topic, the students felt it was cliché on one hand, yet sowhat curious on the other, wondering what new angle Guan Tong could bring to it.
"Everything I want to say is based on inferences drawn from my personal experiences. It's not necessarily correct, so just take it as you will. I'll skip the basics since you all definitely understand them already."
"Currently, the analysis of the nature of Mind Power is mainly divided into two schools of thought. One school believes this is a type of idealistic dium; humans can use it to transform the real world, so they call themselves the 'Idealistic Origin School'.
The other school believes this is a special energy system created by the Fire Thief, serving solely for the Doomsday Rules, just like 'energy points' in a ga, having little direct relation to humans themselves. Therefore, this school is also called the 'Fire Thief Tool School'."
"The number of adherents to these two schools is roughly equal. The Idealistic Origin School's reasoning is that humans can use Mind Power to create energy and matter out of thin air, and can, to so extent, intervene in or even resist the Doomsday Rules, so it definitely cannot originate from the Fire Thief—just like a ga GM, would they hand out cheat codes to players?"
"And the Fire Thief Tool School's rebuttal is also quite strong. That is, if Mind Power originates from humans themselves, then why can the Fire Thief increase or decrease it through the rules? What changes for the sa person between the second before a rule ends and the second after? Why does their Mind Power Upper Limit decrease in the second after failing a rule?"
The students listened with rapt attention, clearly expecting Guan Tong to support one of the schools of thought and hoping he could provide so novel arguntative basis.
"You students definitely aren't a monolithic bloc either; you'll have different views and positions. As for , I don't belong to either school."
The students were greatly surprised upon hearing this. Currently, societal analysis of Mind Power is primarily divided into these two schools; the rest are fringe theories with very few supporters.
Could it be that Guan Tong, as a teacher, subscribes to so fringe school?
A student couldn't help but ask, "Then what do you think, teacher?"
Guan Tong said, "To be precise, I'm a centrist between these two schools, or a fusionist. I believe Mind Power is a type of idealistic energy, and at the sa ti, the Fire Thief can also interfere with it."
The students whispered among themselves, many shaking their heads directly.
Soone spoke up to refute, "That's completely contradictory. How can others interfere with sothing that's idealistic?"
"Let
give you the simplest example," Guan Tong said. "You all know that so items or abilities with similar effects have superior and inferior versions. When activated simultaneously, the holder with the higher Mind Power Upper Limit will gain the advantage. The holder with the lower limit might experience item/ability failure."
"In this scenario, assuming both Ascendants are using idealistic energy. Why can Ascendant A's idealism defeat Ascendant B's idealism?"
"When we say idealism, we an imagination. I can imagine I'm invincible in the universe, and you can imagine you're invincible in the universe. So why, when our two 'universe invincible' idealistic energies collide, is there a winner and a loser?"
"Well... a higher Mind Power Upper Limit should an being more idealistic, right?" a student said.
"'Being more idealistic' is, in itself, not idealistic."
"..."
"Teacher Guan, can you explain in more detail?"
Guan Tong nodded. "My speculation about this Mind Power energy is that it's semi-idealistic. What is semi-idealistic? It ans people can mobilize it through ntal perception, or resonance, but its existence itself does not depend on the existence of humans."
"Why can the Fire Thief increase or decrease a human's Mind Power Upper Limit through the Doomsday Rules? My view is that the Fire Thief itself is also an Ascendant—it's just that its Mind Power Upper Limit is unimaginably high. So, relative to all of humanity, it is in an absolute 'superior position,' thus able to completely suppress and interfere with humanity, the 'inferior position'."
Whoosh!
As soon as these words were spoken, the classroom erupted.
There are many speculations about the nature of the Fire Thief. Most people generally believe it's so kind of super-evolved organism, or an AI created by a super-civilization. There are even quite a few who believe it's a god.
But those who believe it's an Ascendant—if not completely nonexistent, are at least unseen in mainstream discourse.
Guan Tong's statent was basically the first ti the students had heard this.
Of course, this was also related to Guan Tong ntioning it publicly for the first ti. Previously, he had only thought about it himself, and the results of his thoughts were never publicly released.
"Let
hypothesize a situation like this."
Guan Tong continued amidst the students' shock.
"In the vast universe, there exists a special energy unknown to humanity. This energy is extrely imnse but cannot be obtained or utilized through conventional ans. The only way to use it is for intelligent beings to build a bridge or channel through ntal perception, allowing this special energy to be transmitted through a dium, thereby enabling intelligent beings to use it to transform the real world."
"This bridge or channel is 'Mind Power'. The higher the Mind Power Upper Limit, the wider the bridge, or the thicker the channel, the more energy is transmitted, and the greater the reality the intelligent being can transform."
Guan Tong had this idea after the Earthquake Rule.
When hundreds of millions of units of Mind Power flowed in and out through his [Wordless Book], he truly felt in that mont that his body had completely beco a "channel." That feeling was indescribable, as if a crack had opened before him in a door to the truth.
Later, he briefly discussed it with Shi Jingyi and found that she also had so understanding in this area.
But she told Guan Tong at the ti that not everyone had his opportunities and conditions, the chance to have massive amounts of Mind Power pass through their body, so others would find it very difficult to understand exactly what feeling he was describing.
Guan Tong deeply agreed with this.
Now, even if the students didn't have his personal experience and couldn't fully comprehend his narrative, as long as the theory was correct, it would definitely be helpful for the future.
"I believe the Fire Thief, as so kind of intelligent being, perhaps over endless eons, gradually reached an astonishing Upper Limit through natural growth of Mind Power. Or perhaps it used so unknown thod to forcibly widen the channel, thereby enabling the transmission of enormous energy, gaining the mighty power to move mountains and fill seas at will."
"But regardless of which scenario, I believe the core is consistent. That is, these forty-nine Doomsday Rules should all be created by energy transmitted using Mind Power as the dium—and if, I say if, human Mind Power exceeds the Mind Power contained within the rules themselves, this situation would occur."
Guan Tong raised both hands, telling the students his left hand represented the Doomsday Rules, and his right hand represented humanity.
At this mont, he raised his right hand and pressed it down on top of his left hand.
A sharp student blurted out, "Humanity suppresses the Doomsday Rules?"
"To be precise, it's the superior position suppressing the inferior position," Guan Tong said. "Yes. If human Mind Power is high enough, humanity is in the superior position, and the Doomsday Rules beco the inferior position."
His conclusion was truly astonishing. All the students in the classroom were stunned.
Because, from officialdom to the public, the consensus among various experts and scholars has always been unified: the Doomsday Rules are unshakable, inviolable; to survive, one must act according to the rules' content.
Yet Guan Tong had presented a completely different view.
As long as human Mind Power is high enough, they can act as the superior position to suppress the Doomsday Rules, the inferior position...
This was undoubtedly a very crazy idea.
A student couldn't help but shoot to his feet to refute, "Impossible! Even if your speculation is correct, teacher, how could humans possibly possess a Mind Power Upper Limit capable of suppressing the Doomsday Rules?!"
"Yeah, even if the theory is correct, how much Mind Power would it take to suppress the Doomsday Rules into an inferior position?"
"Currently, the Ascendant with the highest estimated Mind Power Upper Limit probably only has a few hundred points at most. And how much Mind Power is contained in a single Doomsday Rule? Ten tis, a hundred tis, a thousand tis that, or even more!"
The students weren't disbelieving Guan Tong's theory; they just felt his idea was too fantastical, utterly impossible to achieve!
Guan Tong could understand.
If he hadn't obtained hundreds of millions of units of Mind Power during the Earthquake Rule, he wouldn't have conceived the idea of comparing superior and inferior positions with the Doomsday Rules.
But once this idea took root, it beca deeply ingrained.
At this point, another student stood up. "Teacher, your theory has greatly shocked . I think it's very likely correct... But, can we humans truly obtain a Mind Power Upper Limit surpassing the Doomsday Rules within our lifetis? If not, then what practical significance does this theory have?"
Upon hearing this, Guan Tong nodded and said, "That's a good question. Given the current natural growth rate of Mind Power for human Ascendants, it's indeed impossible to see the possibility of surpassing the Doomsday Rules. However, this rate is constantly increasing, which represents a kind of hope."
"Everyone knows that the comprehensive strength improvent of Ascendants is staged, leapfrogging, not a stable linear progression. So my judgnt is, after breaking through a certain stage, the natural growth rate of human Mind Power will experience a significant boost. That's point one."
"Point two, if people are willing to believe my theory and begin exploring, potentially discovering the existence of that special energy in the universe, perhaps so of humanity's top minds could figure out clever ways to utilize that energy, thus taking a shortcut..."
"I thought of point three!" At this mont, a student suddenly stood up, speaking with an excited expression.
"That is, if soone could concentrate other people's Mind Power on themselves, they could temporarily possess a super amount of Mind Power, and might surpass the Doomsday Rules, achieving superior position suppression—during the Earthquake Rule, wasn't our Beixing's Shadow God weakening the earthquake disaster level several tis using exactly this thod?!"
"..."
Guan Tong fell silent. The example this student gave was indeed very fitting.
Upon hearing this, the other students also beca agitated.
"Could it be that the Shadow God was truly suppressing the Doomsday Rules as the superior position back then?!"
"Oh my god! Isn't that the script of a chosen one?!"
"Could the Shadow God really be the chosen one?"
"No way? There must be other Ascendants in the world who can absorb Mind Power. Could all these people have the qualifications to beco chosen ones?!"
The students excitedly discussed, feeling the thrill of discovering a new path.
Guan Tong let the students vent their passion. After a while, as it gradually subsided, he continued.
"What I'm telling you all today is just to get you to think about the essence of Mind Power from another angle, and to further realize the importance of Mind Power, protecting it from decay as much as possible, and firmly grasping any opportunity for improvent."
"For concrete suggestions, one is to study the 'Mind Power Flow' course ticulously and thoroughly. It genuinely can rapidly increase the natural growth rate of your Mind Power Upper Limit."
"Additionally, I have another suggestion: if you have the conditions, be sure to spar and even engage in actual combat with your classmates as much as possible," Guan Tong said. "This is a proven, effective thod for accelerating the increase of your Mind Power Upper Limit. It's my personal experience."
Guan Tong felt this wasn't just his personal experience; it should be sothing every Ascendant who frequently engages in real combat can appreciate.
For example, Lucifer, whom he had fought not long ago. This Birdman's strength had improved significantly compared to during the Holy Grail Island. Guan Tong believed this was closely related to Lucifer's continuous, high-intensity participation in the warlord conflicts within the Tulip Federation.
Being able to survive in such a blood-soaked, war-torn environnt would definitely lead to a comprehensive, substantial boost in overall strength.
The stark contrast was the few official team Ascendants who were instantly killed by Lucifer back then.
Could Ascendants selected for the official team be weak? No, but they were still instantly killed by Lucifer. Even if Lucifer's attack was a dishonorable sneak attack, being in a battlefield situation yet not being vigilant enough is itself a manifestation of weakness.
"Teacher Guan, I have a question..."
" too!"
During the remaining class ti, many students asked him questions. Probably feeling there wouldn't be many opportunities in the future, they were all very enthusiastic.
Guan Tong answered them one by one until the class ended.
"Well, that's all for this class."
After Guan Tong walked out of the classroom, a sound of clapping rang out from his left side.
He turned his head to look and saw Shi Jingyi, dressed in white with a smile on her lips, standing beside the door, lightly clapping her hands.
Guan Tong was sowhat surprised. "You're back today?"
"Yes."
Shi Jingyi nodded. Her bright, beautiful face had excellent color; her injuries should be completely healed.
"I went to see the Dean first. When I heard you were teaching a class, I ca over to take a look," Shi Jingyi said, smiling as she looked at Guan Tong. "You taught very well, Teacher Guan. Humanity using a superior position to suppress the Doomsday Rules as the inferior position... probably only you could propose such a theory."
Guan Tong understood the reference to his identity in Shi Jingyi's words. In this world, among Ascendants who have the opportunity to suppress the Doomsday Rules from a superior position, besides "Shadow," it's hard to know if there are any others.
"Aren't you worried?" Shi Jingyi asked softly, probably referring to the possibility that Guan Tong doing this might arouse suspicion.
Guan Tong smiled. "Anyway, once you're back, I'll be leaving. Let them suspect if they want."
"... It seems you really don't plan to stay at the academy."
"Mhm. Shall we talk sowhere else?"
"Sure, let's go. I know a place with a very nice view!"
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