Chapter 13: Guide Academy
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Mrs. Joseph brought Yu Ran into the Sanctuary. As the Federation’s largest enlightenment education institution, the Sanctuary was divided into the “Guide Academy” and the “Sentinel Academy,” with a tall wall separating the two to prevent young sentinels and guides who couldn’t control their abilities from meeting and causing chaos.
The dean of the Guide Academy was named Xie Shiyi, an S-level in mental energy, with a spirit body resembling a Silver-Throated Long-Tailed Mountain Finch ā the cutest bird in the world. It had snow-white soft feathers, a beautiful fan-like tail, two eyes like black beans, and a round, chubby body that looked like a white puffball from a distance.
Xie Shiyi’s “Silver-Throated Long-Tailed Mountain Finch” had extremely strong healing abilities and could quickly dispel negative emotions. Dean Xie himself was easygoing and patient with students, having worked in teaching at the Guide Academy for over twenty years.
Mrs. Joseph led Yu Ran to the dean’s office. Upon knocking, they were greeted by a well-dressed middle-aged man sitting behind the desk. He had long hair and wore a neatly tailored white suit. When he met Mrs. Joseph’s gaze, he immediately stood up, smiled, and walked over, extending his hand. “Mrs. Joseph, long time no see.”
Mrs. Joseph shook his hand politely. “Dean Xie, I’ve sent you a message before. This is Yu Ran.”
Xie Shiyi carefully observed the 18-year-old student before him. Yu Ran had distinctively mismatched eyes, with the red pupil of his left eye being particularly beautiful. He had a cute appearance that naturally evoked a sense of affection from elders. Arriving in a strange place, he appeared somewhat nervous and uneasy, while his spirit body, the little white fox, seemed timid, curling up into a ball on his shoulder.
ā Fox Clan.
ā The most intelligent, cunning, and adept at disguising the spirit body.
The mention of the Fox Clan made Xie Shiyi couldn’t help but think of someone.
There was a very special child among the students admitted to the Guide Academy more than ten years ago. At the age of 13, he was extraordinarily intelligent, with exceptional comprehension abilities. Shortly after starting school, while other students were still pondering what “mental energy” was, he managed to successfully release red mental tendrils. He completed the two-year Sanctuary curriculum in just three months, terrifyingly mastering mental energy control at a younger age than adult guides. Later on, even the teachers couldn’t teach him anymore, forcing the Guide Academy to modify regulations to allow him to graduate early.
That student was the most aggressive guide Xie Shiyi had encountered during his many years at the Sanctuary. His spirit body was an extremely ferocious fire fox, agile and nimble when running, as if engulfed in blazing flames all over. He could even use powerful mental energy to burn others’ mental worlds to ashes.
Such a guide was too terrifying. Being young, he hadn’t formed a proper sense of right and wrong. Once he went astray, he would become a huge threat to the entire human society. Therefore, after consulting with the president of the Guide Association and that student’s parents, three S-level guides jointly sealed his mental energy and sent him to the church, allowing him to calm down and receive one year of psychological education to correct his values, learn to be kind and compassionate.
After leaving the church, he enrolled in the Federal Military Academy, but unfortunately later…
Xie Shiyi frowned and snapped out of his thoughts, carefully examining Yu Ran in front of him ā Yu Ran didn’t resemble the student in his memory in terms of appearance or age. Moreover, Yu Ran’s spirit body was the little white fox, a cute and gentle healing-type spirit body, not the highly aggressive fire fox from his memory. Besides, if that student were still alive, he would be at least 24 years old by now, which didn’t match Yu Ran’s age.
Xie Shiyi lowered his head and noticed a small unhealed wound on Yu Ran’s wrist, left by the identity chip implanted by the Guide Association. This proved that Yu Ran was indeed a newly registered novice guide. Perhaps he was just overthinking it?
The fox clan is not a very rare spirit body and appearing in the Sanctuary is not uncommon either.
Xie Shiyi withdrew his thoughts and gently asked, “Yu Ran, you just awakened last month and haven’t studied any courses related to mental energy, right?”
Yu Ran blushed slightly and nodded apologetically, “Yes, Headmaster. I awakened late and don’t understand anything.”
Xie Shiyi said, “Most of the guide students in this cohort are 13 years old. You are the oldest. Do you want me to arrange a single room for you?” He paused and explained, “Younger students are very curious and may be more lively. Most of the rooms in the school are for four people. I’m afraid you might not be comfortable living with them.”
Yu Ran thought for a moment and said seriously, “Headmaster, please arrange a four-person room for me. I don’t want special treatment. Also, I entered the school late and don’t understand many things. It would be convenient to study and communicate with my roommates.”
Mrs. Joseph agreed, “Yu Ran makes sense. He’s already different from other students. If he lives alone, he might not be able to integrate into the group easily and could be isolated by his classmates. Having roommates would allow him to chat and relieve boredom after classes, and he might even make some like-minded friends.”
After some thought, Xie Shiyi nodded, “Alright, then I’ll arrange for you to stay in dormitory L1-101. There are empty beds in that dormitory, and the other students are also C-level guides. Your mental energy levels are similar, so perhaps you can become friends.”
Yu Ran politely said, “Thank you, Headmaster.”
Xie Shiyi smiled and said, “You’re welcome. Let me take care of your enrollment procedures first. The school is on vacation now, and the students have all gone home. Classes will officially start next week. These days, you can familiarize yourself with the campus.”
Mrs. Joseph said, “Headmaster, shall I leave Yu Ran to you? There’s still something I need to attend to at the association.”
“Go ahead. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.”
After Mrs. Joseph left, Xie Shiyi personally completed Yu Ran’s enrollment procedures, and Yu Ran also received his student ID.
Yu Ran
Sanctuary Guide Academy
Class 107 of the 500th Cohort
Student ID: 500107037
Yu Ran gently touched the photo on the student ID and wore it carefully on his chest. With this ID, he could freely access the Sanctuary Guide Academy’s facilities as the school’s access system automatically scanned student IDs.
After completing the enrollment procedures, Headmaster Xie continued to show Yu Ran around the academy. Yu Ran scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Headmaster, if you’re busy, you can go ahead. I can find the dormitory myself.”
Xie Shiyi’s gaze was gentle, “It’s okay. The school has been on vacation recently, and I’m free. I’ll show you around. The building ahead is the mental energy meditation room, with many soundproof small rooms for students to practice mental energy manipulation. And on the left here, the building resembling pages of a book is the academy’s library, which is free for students to use. You can go there to read, as there are many books related to guide studies…”
Xie Shiyi led Yu Ran around like a patient tour guide, introducing every building and its purpose at the academy. Yu Ran listened curiously and earnestly, occasionally asking a few questions. His behavior seemed like that of a freshman visiting the academy for the first time, completely different from the person in his memory.
Ignoring the strange feeling in his heart, Xie Shiyi stopped in front of a monument.
On the monument, there were boldly carved words: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Xie Shiyi asked in a low voice, “Do you know what this sentence means?”
Yu Ran looked up at the bold characters on the monument and tentatively replied, “People with great abilities also have to bear greater responsibilities?”
Xie Shiyi smiled slightly, “That’s right. As guides, we can manipulate the mysterious quantity of mental energy and invade others’ mental worlds. With such great power comes greater responsibility, of course, to help those in need.”
He looked into Yu Ran’s eyes, “I hope you can become an outstanding guide with a clear conscience.”
Yu Ran nodded earnestly, “Thank you, Headmaster. I’ll remember.”
Headmaster Xie escorted Yu Ran all the way to the dormitory, settled him in, and then left. The cute silver-throated long-tailed mountain finch fluttered its wings curiously around Yu Ran, and Yu Ran’s little white fox also looked at it curiously. The two fluffy spirit bodies looked at each other for a moment, and then the mountain finch seemed to dispel its doubts and followed its owner away.
Yu Ran withdrew his gaze and turned to his own bedroom.
Most of the dormitories at the Guide Academy were four-bedroom suites, with each student’s bedroom being independent, while the living room, dining room, and two bathrooms were shared. After all, they were the evolutionary beings among humans, and the conditions provided by the federal government for them during their study in Sanctuary were very generous, with all living expenses waived and various textbooks provided for free.
As long as one awakened as a guide, it was like being provided with free education and job placement by the state, living a life that ordinary humans envied.
Yu Ran opened the suitcase given by Mrs. Joseph and hung the clothes neatly in the closet one by one, then neatly arranged the daily necessities. After everything was packed, he sat on the bed in the bedroom and took off the necklace that had been hanging around his neck.
The silver necklace had a square pendant on it. Opening the pendant revealed a family photo of a middle-aged couple and their son leaning together. The family photo was very warm, with smiles on everyone’s faces.
When the cake shop was demolished by the monster, the necklace was buried under rubble, and it was Lu Zexuan who helped find it. He never doubted that this “memento left by Yu Ran’s mother” would have any problems.
Yu Ran took out a needle from somewhere, and the tiny needle rotated clockwise twice in the concealed small hole at the upper right corner of the photo. Miraculously, the pendant split in half, revealing a miniature receiver the size of a baby’s fingernail behind the photo.
At this moment, the receiver emitted a soft red light, followed by a strange string of garbled characters projected in front of him.
This was a special code. Even if someone saw it, no one would be able to understand it.
ćSentinel Academy Library Top Secret Chamberć
ćRetrieve the locked-up informationć
Yu Ran quickly glanced over the garbled characters, then deleted the information from the receiver, restored the necklace, and hung it back around his neck. His expression remained calm throughout, as if nothing had happened.
There was a ten-meter-high isolation wall between the Guide Academy and the Sentinel Academy in the Sanctuary. He was a freshman at the Guide Academy and retrieving something from the neighboring Sentinel Academy was not an easy task. He had to be extra careful with this task.
With fewer people around during the recent school vacation, it would be convenient for action, but if he acted now, his suspicion would be too great. He would wait until the Sanctuary officially started classes, and when his roommates moved in, he would take action.
Yu Ran frowned, closed his eyes, and slowly combed through his mental landscape. In the forest, the originally calm lake suddenly surged, as if some dormant memories were about to surge out, but Yu Ran forcibly suppressed them with his mental tendrils.
At the same time, Lu Zexuan returned home and made a phone call.
The man appearing on the projection screen had curly golden hair and was none other than Meredith, the head of the Federal Intelligence Bureau, who had recently helped Lu Zexuan investigate the information about the graduation ball. With a frivolous smile on his face, he teased, “Zexuan, you rarely call me. There must be something up, right?”
Lu Zexuan said, “Thank you for your help last time. Didn’t I promise to treat you to dinner after returning to Capital Star? Do you have time tonight?”
Meredith raised an eyebrow, “You’re definitely not just kindly inviting me to dinner. Fine, 7 p.m., see you at the usual place.”
Lu Zexuan hung up the phone and went to change his clothes.
Of course, he didn’t invite Meredith to dinner just to express his gratitude. Their relationship as childhood buddies didn’t require gratitude. It’s just that, regarding Yu Ran’s background, he had a terrifying speculation in his mind. Meredith worked at the intelligence bureau and was well-informed. He wanted to confirm some questions with him.
Thanks for the update
Quite a bit more background and info on YR this chapter; cut off at a crucial point though! š¬
Another person has been added to the list of those that feel they’ve met him before, or are reminded of that exceptional (and terrifying) person from the past.
I wonder who he’s communicating with, or if these are his own instructions, to himself.
The Academy sounds amazing, I must say!
Thank you both for the chapter.
He must have changed his appearance, especially his eyes or heād be recognised. I wonder what the story is behind his eyes. Finally we have lost Mrs Joseph!
It’s getting so good!! I wonder who he’s planning on killing next š¤