SS-Class Guide - Chapter 3

Feelings are delicate things. Looking back, meeting Gu Hanqing felt as if it happened only yesterday.

After the Zerg invasion, the Five Districts were established. District 1, known as the Central District, is the heart of the world where the Se-An Temple stands, governed collectively by all five districts. District 2 is the Yunhai District. It is said that when the Five Districts were first partitioned, the strongest alliance was established there by the most powerful warriors. It remains the place with the highest concentration of S-Rank Sentinels.

Gu Hanqing came from the Gu family of the Yunhai District. Even setting aside his own Double-S status, the Gu family boasted twelve S-Rank Sentinels and numerous A-Rank Sentinels. District 3 is the Shuhuan District. After the partition, various ancient families united to form this district as a counterweight to the Yunhai District. Since ancient times, established families have found it difficult to compete with rising heroes, and the Yunhai District was undoubtedly the land of heroes. While the overall strength of the Shuhuan District was weaker than that of Yunhai, its ancient heritage was formidable.

An Yuan and Wen Xiuyan were born in the Shuhuan District. Being neighbors, they developed a deep bond from childhood. District 4 is the Jiuming District. At the start of the Five Districts, all kinds of heinous criminals united to build this region. The people of Jiuming value individual strength above all else. Initially, the Jiuming District was considered the weakest, but its power has grown daily. There are even rumors that many of its S-Rank Sentinels and Guides have not been reported to the Se-An Temple, suggesting its hidden strength might surpass even that of the Yunhai District. Its alternative name is the District of Extreme Evil, a paradise for villains.

District 5 was named the Wuming District, also known as the Neutral District. It is the most dilapidated of the five, yet it covers the largest land area. Most of its territory is considered dead space, and those living there are at the very bottom of society. People huddle together on small patches of land where rules are chaotic and sin is rampant. Those in the Wuming District dream of leaving, but unless they are wealthy or can find a powerful patron in another district, the only legitimate path out is through education. For ordinary people, studying is the only way out.

The environments of the Five Districts were vastly different. An Yuan was born in the Shuhuan District and was tested for Guide talent at a very young age. Initially, he was tested as a D-Rank. D-Rank was a complicated level. The Se-An Temple is managed by the Five Districts. Guides of B-Rank and above must join the Temple and are usually assigned to factions based on their origin. As someone from the Shuhuan District, An Yuan would naturally belong to that faction.

While B-Rank Guides theoretically have a choice of factions, they often lose that freedom during their first point of contact. C-Rank Guides are generally overlooked by major powers; their presence is welcomed but not required, making them the only rank truly free to choose their path. As for D-Rank Guides, although Guides are precious, the D-Rank is considered too low. The four major districts do not accept them, and by unspoken rule, they are relegated to the disorganized Wuming District.

An Yuan was tested as a D-Rank Guide, a level no one valued. According to the An family, he might as well have been an ordinary person. His mother died early, and when his father remarried, he quickly had another son who was only a year younger than An Yuan. An Yuan was never favored by his father, and after he awakened as a D-Rank Guide, his father’s dislike only intensified. Those years were the most difficult of his life. During that time, his only comfort was Madam Wen, the mother of Wen Xiuyan. Madam Wen had been close friends with An Yuan’s mother and treated him like her own child. Whenever An Yuan felt wronged at home, he would run to the Wen family next door.

Unlike An Yuan, his childhood friend Wen Xiuyan had awakened with Super-S talent from the beginning, breaking records among the powerhouses of the Shuhuan District. The stronger a Sentinel is, the more unstable they tend to be in their youth, requiring a Guide to stabilize their mental landscape. At the time, Wen Xiuyan was an S-Rank Sentinel while An Yuan was a D-Rank Guide. Theoretically, An Yuan should not have been able to help him. However, An Yuan desperately wanted to repay Madam Wen for her kindness. He told Wen Xiuyan, “Even though I am only a D-Rank Guide, let me try to cleanse your mind. Even if the effect is tiny, it might make you feel better.” Wen Xiuyan believed it would have no effect, but he understood An Yuan’s desire to help and did not refuse him. In fact, Wen Xiuyan never refused An Yuan anything.

That was the first time An Yuan performed a cleansing for Wen Xiuyan. They were too young to understand that a D-Rank Guide should not have been able to influence an S-Rank Sentinel. Yet, An Yuan succeeded. The results were unexpectedly good. Had they been older, they would have realized this was impossible, but in their youth, they simply accepted it.

They continued this way for six or seven years. An Yuan saw no issue, and Wen Xiuyan felt nothing was wrong. When An Yuan was twelve, his relationship with the An family deteriorated further. His father was cold, his stepmother was indifferent, and his younger brother bullied him constantly. Consequently, An Yuan practically lived with the Wen family. He felt the Wen home was far superior to his own and often secretly called Madam Wen “Mother.” Once, she heard him and gently replied, “Yes, my darling.” In that moment, An Yuan felt he had everything.

On that same day, the second son of the Wen family, five-year-old Wen Xiuyu, suffered a shock. His mental barrier collapsed, his eyes turned bloodshot, and a violent surge of wood-element energy erupted from him. Wen Xiuyu had fallen into a berserk state. Madam Wen was an A-Rank Guide. While S-Rank Guides were rare, A-Rank Guides were also precious. The Wen family guards refused to let her near the boy. It was the first time An Yuan saw her cry, and her tears felt like blades stabbing his heart. He was frantic for both her and the child. Before he knew it, he heard her calling his name. She cried out, “Quick! Stop An Yuan! Do not let him near Xiuyu! He will be hurt!”

A D-Rank Guide should have been helpless against a berserk S-Rank talent and would likely have been killed. However, An Yuan was faster than anyone. Driven by worry for the child and Madam Wen, and perhaps too young to grasp the danger, he threw his arms around the berserk Wen Xiuyu. The child trembled in his embrace, unable to control his chaotic mental landscape. At that moment, An Yuan’s powerful spiritual energy surged like a tidal wave, instantly submerging the boy. The soothing energy stabilized Wen Xiuyu’s mental state, and his violence ceased immediately.

To the witnesses, it looked like a miracle. But miracles are often just the result of hidden truths. The truth was that An Yuan had never been a D-Rank Guide. Madam Wen stared at him, murmuring, “An Yuan is not, he is definitely not D-Rank.” This was the shared thought of everyone present.

When the incident was reported, Madam Wen personally took An Yuan to the Se-An Temple for retesting. The results showed he was an S-Rank Guide. Because of this event, the two Masters of the Divine Healing Hall would frequently ask An Yuan the same question: what should an S-Rank Guide do when encountering a berserk Sentinel? His answer was always to stay away and save himself. He should not do what he had done before, which was to rush forward and embrace them. An Yuan would say he understood, knowing he only acted that way because he did not realize his own rank. Deep down, however, he knew that if it were Wen Xiuyan or Wen Xiuyu in danger, he would do it again. Eventually, he grew tired of the Masters’ constant lecturing and simply stopped arguing.

The Five Districts originally had only six S-Rank Guides. District 1 had one, while Districts 2 and 4 each had two. District 3, which barely kept pace with them, had only one elderly S-Rank Guide who served as the Master of the Divine Healing Hall. An Yuan became the second S-Rank Guide of the Shuhuan District. His existence caused a sensation. He met with the top leadership of all five districts. Afterward, the father and stepmother who had always ignored him came to the Temple to bring him home. An Yuan refused to go with them. He had arrived with Madam Wen and chose to return to the Wen house with her. That night, the An family came to demand his return. Since Madam Wen was in poor health and he did not want to disturb her, An Yuan finally went back to the An family. He lived there under a tense truce. His father and stepmother were kind to him now, but it was a kindness based solely on his talent. An Yuan could not accept this shallow affection, and they lived together as polite strangers.

At thirteen, An Yuan was still a middle school student. Due to his talent, he worked part-time at the Se-An Temple as a legal minor. At sixteen, Gu Hanqing of the Gu family in District 2 arrived. His mental landscape was in a terrible state, and the two S-Rank Guides in the Yunhai District had a compatibility rating of less than 60% with him, making a perfect cleansing impossible.

Upon his arrival at the Temple, tests revealed talent values far beyond the norm, leading to the creation of the Double-S rank concept. Gu Hanqing became the first SS-Rank Sentinel. That same day, he was tested for compatibility with every S-Rank and A-Rank Guide in the Temple. An Yuan, who was still a student, arrived after school. Before he got there, Gu Hanqing had already failed to find a match. The highest compatibility found was with the old Temple Master, but at only 62%, it was barely acceptable. Such a low number meant the Sentinel would instinctively resist the Guide, experiencing pain and a sense of invasion.

When An Yuan first saw Gu Hanqing, the Sentinel had just finished a session with the Temple Master. The Master looked exhausted, and Gu Hanqing’s bloodshot eyes were filled with suspicion and rejection. He hated all Guides. To him, they were invaders of his mind, yet he was forced to rely on them to prevent a total mental collapse. An Yuan sensed the rejection and found he did not like the boy much either, though he was curious about the only SS-Rank Sentinel.

The Temple Master took An Yuan’s hand and said, “An Yuan, test your compatibility with Gu Hanqing.” Before An Yuan could answer, Gu Hanqing snapped, “I do not want to.” Wen Xiuyan, who was standing by An Yuan, added, “An Yuan, I do not want you to test with him either. Let us not do it.” An Yuan simply agreed.

Gu Hanqing looked at Wen Xiuyan. They were the same age and were considered the top geniuses of their respective districts, making them natural rivals. Gu Hanqing had always suffered from mental instability, while Wen Xiuyan’s mind was famously stable, which made Gu Hanqing feel a sense of imbalance. He remarked, “S-Rank, a weakling.”

Being insulted in front of An Yuan made Wen Xiuyan furious. At sixteen, they were at their most sensitive age. To An Yuan’s bewilderment, the two teenagers started a fight. Glass windows in the corridor shattered as ice and wood energies clashed with a thunderous noise. A group of S-Rank Sentinels had to forcibly separate them. However, the fight made everyone realize that Wen Xiuyan’s talent was also extraordinary. He was taken for retesting and was soon confirmed as the second SS-Rank Sentinel.

Gu Hanqing’s mental state became unstable again after the fight. The Temple Master asked An Yuan to try cleansing him. To An Yuan, this was just a job. Under the supervision of ten S-Rank Sentinels, he entered the white-noise room. Gu Hanqing tried to resist, but he was held down. Then, something unexpected happened. The moment An Yuan took Gu Hanqing’s hand to begin the cleansing, the Sentinel stopped struggling.

To Gu Hanqing, it was a completely new sensation. There was no painful invasion, only a gentle power that felt as though it could embrace the entire world.

It was a strength unique to An Yuan. After the session, they tested their compatibility and found it was a staggering 99%. By then, Wen Xiuyan’s tests were complete.

He had also been ranked as SS-Rank. Hearing about the compatibility between An Yuan and Gu Hanqing, he demanded a test as well.

His match with An Yuan was also 99%. Everyone finally understood, why Wen Xiuyan’s mind had been so stable for so many years. From then on, An Yuan became the exclusive Guide for both of them. Six months later, Jing Lan from the Jiuming District was also sent to the Temple.

The three SS-Rank Sentinels were finally together, and all of them were assigned to An Yuan.

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