The New Recruit Competition ended in a hasty fashion.
Lin Feng carried off his prize, a D-Rank weapon, in a pretty good mood.
The piece of junk was useless to him, but he could sell it on the Black Market later and get at least a hundred or two hundred thousand for it.
With the fifty-thousand bonus on top, judging the competition had been worth his while.
He put away the prize, hung Mountain Splitter at his waist, and left Base Camp through the western gate.
The New Recruit Competition had wasted a whole day. He had to make up for lost time.
The number on his System Panel was still there.
[Current Martial Path Points: 872]
Not enough. He had to grind.
Lin Feng followed the edge of the Wilderness for about half an hour before spotting the entrance to an F-Class Rift in the distance.
Low-level Rifts like this were usually deserted, with the guards dozing off on duty.
Not today.
A huge crowd had gathered outside the Rift entrance, packed together in a sea of people. There had to be at least two hundred of them.
And judging by their clothes, most were seventeen or eighteen years old. They wore matching school uniforms, in all sorts of colors.
Students?
Lin Feng quickened his pace.
The military guards at the entrance spotted him from afar and immediately stood at attention and saluted.
"Sergeant Major Lin!"
The two guards' voices rang out, their backs ramrod straight.
Lin Feng waved a hand. "What's going on here? Why are there so many people?"
"Reporting, Sergeant Major!" the guard on the left answered promptly. "The Provincial Capital Department of Education and the military are jointly holding a practical combat simulation for Martial High School students. This year, it's taking place in an F-Class Rift near the Sixth Defense Line. The graduating classes from Martial Arts High Schools across the region are here to give the students a taste of fighting Exotic Beasts."
"Which schools?"
The guard pulled a list from his pocket and handed it over.
"There are six in total. They're all on this list."
Lin Feng took the list and scanned it.
The first line: Qingzhou Martial High School.
The second line: Yuncheng Martial High School.
The third line: Linhai Martial High School.
The fourth line: Beiling Martial High School.
The fifth line.
His finger stopped.
Ping'an Martial High School.
His alma mater.
Lin Feng stared at those five characters for two seconds. His mind went blank with a sudden roar.
Ping'an Martial High School.
The Academic Affairs Office director, Wang Jianguo.
That line—"What can you do to me?"—and the subsidy money he'd stolen.
Just thinking about it set Lin Feng's blood boiling.
Lin Feng handed the list back to the guard.
"Who's leading Ping'an Martial High School?"
The guard flipped through the registration book. "Director Wang from the Academic Affairs Office. Wang Jianguo."
Lin Feng fell silent for three seconds.
"How interesting."
He lifted his head and walked toward the crowd.
In the open area outside the Rift entrance, the students from the six schools had been divided into six formations.
Each formation had its own teacher standing at the front, giving them a final pep talk before they went in.
Lin Feng circled around the edge of the crowd and soon found Ping'an Martial High School's formation.
Over thirty students stood in three rows. Most were between Martial Disciple Rank 3 and Rank 5.
At the front of the formation, a middle-aged man stood with his back to Lin Feng, hands on his hips as he barked at them.
"Listen up! Once you're inside, no running off! This F-Class Rift isn't that dangerous, but with a bunch of good-for-nothings like you, even one Iron-Armored Demon Wolf would be too much for you!"
That voice, that tone—Lin Feng would have recognized them even if they'd turned to ash.
Wang Jianguo.
He was a whole lot fatter than the last time Lin Feng had seen him, and now he had a gold chain around his neck.
Lin Feng remembered that when he'd gone to the Academic Affairs Office, Wang Jianguo's neck had been bare.
How long had it been? He'd already bought himself a thick gold chain?
He must have enjoyed spending that subsidy money.
Lin Feng didn't rush over.
He leaned against a rock, arms crossed, and watched Wang Jianguo.
There were a few students in the formation whom Lin Feng recognized.
After finishing his lecture, Wang Jianguo pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took one out, and stuck it between his lips. He was about to light it.
"Director, open flames aren't allowed in the Rift area," a young teacher beside him reminded him quietly.
"Quit your damn nagging." Wang Jianguo glared at him but lit the cigarette anyway.
He took a deep drag and blew out a cloud of white smoke.
Watching the smoke, Lin Feng remembered what had happened in the Academic Affairs Office last time.
The exact same move.
The exact same face.
"Sergeant Major, would you like to go over?" a voice asked behind him. It was the guard from the entrance, who had followed him over.
Lin Feng nodded and headed toward Ping'an Martial High School's formation.
The two guards fell in behind him automatically, one on each side.
It wasn't much of a display, but it drew plenty of attention.
The students around them turned to look.
The teachers leading the other schools noticed too, each reacting in their own way.
Some nodded in greeting; others stepped aside to clear a path.
The Sergeant Major's insignia was pinned to Lin Feng's chest, gleaming bronze in the sunlight.
A Sergeant Major carried real weight on the Sixth Defense Line.
Especially after the Beast Tide. Word had spread across the entire line about how Lin Feng had held the front by himself.
The teachers from the Martial High Schools might not know who he was, but the words "Sergeant Major" were enough to make them show him the utmost respect.
Lin Feng reached the front of Ping'an Martial High School's formation and stopped.
Wang Jianguo had his back to him and was still puffing away at his cigarette.
"Um, Director Wang." The young teacher beside him nudged his arm and jerked his chin toward Lin Feng.
Wang Jianguo turned around, cigarette still in his mouth.
He glanced at Lin Feng, and the cigarette nearly fell from his lips.
"Greetings, sir! I'm Wang Jianguo, director of the Ping'an Martial High School Academic Affairs Office. I'm in charge of leading the team this time..."
He stopped halfway through.
His eyes fixed on Lin Feng's face, and his smile slowly stiffened.
"You!"
"Long time no see, Director Wang."
Lin Feng's voice was calm, without the slightest tremor.
The cigarette slipped from Wang Jianguo's hand.
"Lin... Lin Feng?"
"Good memory."
Wang Jianguo took half a step back.
His mind raced as he matched the face before him to the poor kid in his memories.
Lin Feng.
The pauper who'd gotten into a Martial Path Undergraduate program and come to ask him for his subsidy money.
The pauper he'd beaten up in the Academic Affairs Office.
Why was he wearing a military uniform?
A flicker of panic crossed Wang Jianguo's face, but another emotion quickly smothered it.
He glanced down at his clothes and puffed out his chest.
"Well, well, Lin Feng." His tone shifted, dripping with deliberate contempt. "Instead of going to your Martial Path Undergraduate program, you came to the Northern Territory to be a lowly soldier?"
His lips curled.
"Tsk, tsk. You really couldn't afford school, could you? I knew it. With your circumstances, even getting accepted wouldn't have done you any good."
All the students from Ping'an Martial High School pricked up their ears.
Wang Jianguo got carried away and couldn't stop running his mouth.
"But that's all right. Being a soldier's a way forward too, even if it's a hard life. What was your younger sister's name again? Xiao Yu? Is she still in school? Can you afford her tuition?"
He clicked his tongue twice and shook his head, putting on a look of regret.
"Ah, what a shame. If you'd just listened to me and accepted your lot, you wouldn't have ended up in a place like this."
Slap!
A sharp crack rang out.
Wang Jianguo's head snapped to one side, and half his face swelled red in an instant.
He was stunned.
The one who had hit him was a guard standing behind Lin Feng.
The guard was in his early twenties, a Rank 3 Martial Artist, with arms thicker than Wang Jianguo's thighs.
The slap nearly knocked Wang Jianguo off his feet.
"What the hell are you doing?" Wang Jianguo shrieked, clutching his face.
The guard stepped forward, fury written all over his face.
"Sergeant Major Lin is an officer on the Sixth Defense Line! He held the front during the Beast Tide and saved thousands of lives!"
"You're a school director, and you dare insult an officer in front of all these people?"
"Think I won't arrest you right now?"
Wang Jianguo was completely dumbfounded. It took him several seconds to finally understand.
Lin Feng wasn't the poor student from his memories anymore, the one who'd held three thousand yuan and begged him for help in the Academic Affairs Office.
He was a Sergeant Major.
A Northern Territory officer.
A hero of the Beast Tide.
Wang Jianguo's lips trembled twice. He couldn't get a word out.
Lin Feng raised a hand to stop the guard.
"Forget it."
The guard stepped back into place, but his glare at Wang Jianguo didn't soften.
Lin Feng walked up to Wang Jianguo and looked down at him.
"Director Wang, it's been a while since you last hit me, hasn't it?"
Wang Jianguo's legs were shaking.
"This practical combat simulation—you're going into the Rift, right?"
Wang Jianguo nodded mechanically.
Lin Feng patted him on the shoulder. The force wasn't much, but Wang Jianguo's whole body seemed to shrink.
"Good. I've got nothing else to do today."
He looked back toward the entrance.
"I'll go into this Rift with you."
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