The things that could be opened from the box were bizarre and varied, so it wouldn't be strange if there were some martial arts manuals among them.

However, compared to Shi Jingyi, Guan Tong's interest in such things wasn't that great.

Based on his own understanding over the past year, plus seeing various ability sharing posts on the Ascendant website, he believed a simple truth had already formed a consensus among Ascendants.

That was, compared to the quality of abilities and items, Mind Power itself was particularly important. If Mind Power development was insufficient, even if one had the best, most powerful ability, it couldn't be fully utilized.

Because of this, the academy courses were now extremely popular, with countless people watching the online classes every day. Everyone hoped to be like Ouyang Shanyue or Shi Jingyi, able to quickly recover and enhance their Mind Power.

Guan Tong turned on his computer and entered Ascendant Home.

After the tenth rule ended, users whose Five Senses had returned came to the site in droves to post, lamenting how difficult it was to still be alive.

Many people mentioned that many new faces had appeared in the shelters they were in. Undoubtedly, many people had died during the rule period, and some new people who previously lived in gathering points had been brought in to replenish the numbers.

There were also many people posting, saying they had seen through the vanity of the world and so on.

One user posted a thread titled "Truth is False, False is Truth".

He said that during those days when he lost his sense of touch, he understood one principle. That was, the entire material world might be false, an illusion simulated by the brain.

Therefore, there was no need to take everything too seriously, just eat and drink as one pleases. It didn't need to reach the level of "carpe diem", but there was also no need to exhaust oneself worrying about the pressure of the rules every day, one could just act according to one's nature.

This post sparked many replies, with many who had experienced it personally resonating deeply.

After seeing it, Guan Tong knew it wasn't strange that many people would develop a nihilistic psychology after experiencing that feeling.

He himself hadn't experienced it for a long time because he relied on the Five Senses shared by his Shadow. If he had also been like the masses, losing his Five Senses for over ten days, he might have developed similar psychological emotions.

Directly falling into nihilism might not happen, but it would definitely leave a certain degree of psychological trauma, and this was something he had always tried hard to avoid.

Because he felt that to go all the way to the end, one couldn't just look at strength; mental health also needed constant attention. Once one embarked on the one-way road of extreme alienation, the outcome would likely not be good.

Precisely because of this, many people also posted saying that the authorities were actively conducting psychological intervention and healing, organizing shelter personnel to attend lectures together and share their feelings.

Doing this was to reduce the number of people committing suicide. In this environment, almost during and after every rule, some people would end their own lives. If this continued long-term, it would definitely become a major problem.

Guan Tong continued browsing, absorbing information about the outside world.

He saw someone post saying they had avoided the rule through drugs and surgery, but the result was failing the challenge, and their Mind Power had diminished.

This was within his expectations, but the next piece of information he browsed surprised him somewhat.

A user posted: "You Wouldn't Believe It Even in Your Dreams: The Authorities Are Going to Launch a Large-Scale Ascendant Entertainment Show"

Guan Tong initially thought it was a troll post, but after clicking in, he found it wasn't.

The poster claimed to have been a variety show worker in the past, and recently, an official department had approached some of them, asking them to organize and create a large-scale variety show, but the main characters weren't past celebrities, but rather current Ascendants.

There were numerous replies under this post, everyone feeling quite astonished about this matter.

"Really? In this environment, they're still doing this kind of unnecessary stuff?"

"It's probably to give the masses something fun to do."

"There really should be some new forms of entertainment. I feel like many people in the shelters are about to go crazy from boredom, they can't even immerse themselves in playing games or watching movies anymore."

"Is this about pushing Ascendants to become star idols? Why does it have a flavor of creating gods?"

"I remember an old TV series where the content was about super-powered people becoming idols. Seemingly bright and proper on the surface, but full of filth behind the scenes."

"I'm actually quite looking forward to it. Having something new is always better than nothing."

"Same. Best if there's some Ascendant battles, even if scripted. I feel like we've only been fighting wits with the rules, but rarely encounter situations of Ascendants fighting each other."

"To the person upstairs, if you're staying in a shelter, you definitely won't have many chances to see that... if you come to the wild, you'll run into it. Some places abroad have long since had Ascendant free-for-alls!"

After reading the replies, Guan Tong felt that this "Ascendant Variety Show" planning had hit the pain points of domestic Ascendants.

Because the authorities of Beixing were very powerful, they had early on built a large number of shelters for people to live in and strictly prohibited private fights. So, people living in shelters usually had little opportunity to use their abilities and items to fight.

At this time, if they launched a variety show with combat elements, it would indeed attract a lot of attention.

Of course, Guan Tong definitely wasn't the target audience. Although he couldn't be considered a battle-hardened veteran, he was still an experienced hand with plenty of combat experience, having experienced both one-on-one and group fights. Just in terms of mentality, he could surpass most Ascendants who had never seriously fought.

In comparison, those Ascendants who had always stayed in gathering points and shelters, under the protection of the authorities, were almost no different from a flock of little lambs in terms of combat power.

Whether this was good or bad was hard to say clearly. But for those who disliked conflict, being able to live in a safe, regulated environment was always better than chaotic disorder.

Guan Tong closed the post and opened his private messages.

He saw that Primordial One had sent him a new reply.

Previously, he had sent a message hoping to obtain the two fragments in the latter's possession.

Primordial One: "Although the fragments are with me, many people contributed effort to obtain them, so I can't make decisions arbitrarily. However, I can help Shadow ask the person with decision-making authority."

Primordial One: "Ah, right, what is the content of the mural on Fragment 5?"

Guan Tong had a pretty good impression of this person. Back when they exchanged fragment contents, it was a pleasant cooperation.

He sent over his interpretation of Fragment 5, and soon the other party replied.

Primordial One: "The painter actually wasn't a native species of Kimos Star, but suspected to be a Fire Thief? That's a bit strange. Could it be that Fire Thieves are some kind of 'civilization collectors', specifically collecting information about destroyed civilizations?"

Administrator: "Insufficient information makes it impossible to infer."

Primordial One: "That's true. Speaking of which, how did Shadow get the fifth fragment? The action was surprisingly fast."

Administrator: "Just got lucky."

He didn't say the fragment was directly given by the holder from Sakura Prayer Country, as the other probably wouldn't believe that.

Primordial One: "Is that so. Shadow now has 3 pieces, I have 2 pieces. Hmm... although I really want to get those 3 pieces, Shadow definitely won't give them up, right?"

Administrator: "Correct."

Primordial One: "Then I'll contact the person with decision-making authority over the fragments later. They might propose some conditions."

Administrator: "Have you given up on collecting?"

Primordial One: "What can I do, Shadow got Fragment 5 first. If it were me with 3 and him with 2, I might still fight for it. Now it's 2:3, I'm a bit too lazy to bother—after all, if Shadow completes the puzzle and gets any new information, he'll probably tell me, right? I think we can already be considered friends."

Administrator: "Probably will."

Guan Tong didn't mind. He felt this person's personality was quite good, their communications these few times had been smooth. Being online friends definitely wouldn't be a problem.

Primordial One: "Then let Shadow wait for my news~"

...

At the same time, in the shrine on Rieming Island of Sakura Prayer Country.

After Mu Tiancheng learned that Yamata no Orochi had given the fragment in her hand to Shadow, his whole person was dumbfounded.

He looked at the person before him incredulously, stunned, and said, "You... Yamata no Orochi... why did you do this?"

Yamata no Orochi's two teammates and subordinates, Moon Fate and Faceless One, were also quite surprised. But after the two exchanged a glance, they lowered their eyes again, seemingly able to understand.

"I didn't want him to kill people on the island," Yamata no Orochi said.

Mu Tiancheng said urgently, "You're confused! This island is our territory, the garrison has several hundred soldiers—although most couldn't be deployed for combat before due to the Five Senses Elimination rule, but with you plus Moon Fate and Faceless, plus the garrison troops that can be deployed for combat, are we still afraid of a single Shadow?!"

Yamata no Orochi shook her head slightly, "We couldn't stop him."

"You..." A flash of anger appeared on Mu Tiancheng's face, "With such a weakling mentality, how do you plan to ascend to the throne of world number one!"

Yamata no Orochi retorted, "Is being world number one important?"

"Of course! This is the symbol of our Sakura Prayer Country becoming the world's strongest nation!" Mu Tiancheng said excitedly, "We didn't have this opportunity in the past, but after entering the Doomsday Rules era, everything is possible. With proper planning, Sakura Prayer Country can completely surpass Suroma and Beixing, becoming the world's number one superpower!"

Compared to Mu Tiancheng's fervor, Yamata no Orochi was completely expressionless.

Mu Tiancheng gradually calmed down, looked at Yamata no Orochi, and said in a deep voice, "Fine, even if you're not interested in becoming world number one. But have you considered whether you're being ungrateful for the Divine Child's kindness towards you?"

"Haven't considered it."

"...Forget it! I will report this matter truthfully. Yamata no Orochi, don't think you can act willfully just because your bloodline is special. If the Divine Child gets angry, he can replace you with someone else at any time!"

"I can accept that."

"You... Hmph!"

Mu Tiancheng angrily waved his sleeve and left. Moon Fate and Faceless One exchanged a glance, the former saying, "Team Leader, although the instructor, due to anger, hasn't thought of it yet, we know you did this to protect everyone."

Faceless One also said, "Shadow dared to cross the sea alone to come to this island, he must have full confidence in his own strength. If Team Leader you didn't give him the fragment, he would definitely have killed many people on the island."

Yamata no Orochi knew her two team members were covering for her. She said, "Do you two also think becoming world number one is important?"

Moon Fate shook her head, "I think surviving is the most important."

Faceless One then said, "For me, no matter the outcome, as long as I can fight side by side with the Team Leader, I am satisfied."

"If..."

Yamata no Orochi didn't continue, shaking her head.

"We'll talk about it later."