Wang Jianguo had no room to refuse.
For any Martial High School, having a Northern Territory Sergeant Major volunteer to escort them was an enormous honor.
The teachers leading the other five Martial High Schools heard the news, and their eyes went red with envy.
"Why does only Ping'an Martial High School get a Sergeant Major to escort them?"
"Exactly! We want one for Yuncheng Martial High School too!"
The guards spent ages explaining, and finally managed to calm everyone down.
Lin Feng couldn't be bothered with any of that. He only kept his eyes on the Ping'an Martial High School group.
More than sixty people entered the Rift one after another.
Ping'an Martial High School was third in line.
Wang Jianguo walked at the very back of the group, more than a dozen students away from Lin Feng.
His pace was clearly much slower than usual, and his legs were a little wobbly, but he could still walk.
The first level of the F-Class Rift was much like the one Lin Feng had entered at the Seventh Defense Line.
Here and there, Iron-Armored Demon Wolves and Steel-Tooth Rats prowled the passageways. They were all low-level Exotic Beasts at the Martial Disciple level.
The military had stationed instructors and veteran soldiers at key locations to keep everyone safe and make sure none of the students lost their lives.
Lin Feng followed the Ping'an Martial High School group, with Mountain Splitter hanging at his waist. He didn't draw it.
F-Class Exotic Beasts weren't even a warm-up for him.
All his attention was on Wang Jianguo.
Once they entered the Rift, Wang Jianguo seemed to grow bolder again.
He muttered to the young teacher beside him.
"That kid's only a Sergeant Major. It's not like he's some big shot. When we get back, I'll use my connections at the Provincial Capital Department of Education to file a complaint against him, saying he let his men assault an education worker..."
"Director Wang, please stop," the young teacher said, looking troubled.
"What are you afraid of? What can he do to me?" Wang Jianguo touched the half of his face that was still burning from the slap and lowered his voice further. "Once we're back in the Provincial Capital, I'll show him what happens when he crosses me, Wang Jianguo."
Ordinary people might not have been able to hear those words.
But Lin Feng was a Martial Master at Rank 5.
His Psychic Master-level perception covered a radius of a hundred meters.
He heard every word Wang Jianguo said, loud and clear.
Lin Feng stayed silent and followed the group deeper into the Rift.
The second level.
The Exotic Beasts were a little denser here.
A swarm of Steel-Tooth Rats poured out of cracks in the ground, squeaking as they charged toward the students' formation.
The instructor leading the group shouted, "All teams, pay attention! Meet them in the formation you practiced!"
The students scrambled to take their positions. Some raised their blades, others drew their swords, and soon everything was a mess.
Lin Feng leaned against the rock wall, watching the students clumsily fight the Steel-Tooth Rats.
The kids' abilities varied wildly. Those at Martial Disciple Rank 3 couldn't even handle a single rat, while those at Martial Disciple Rank 5 could just about manage.
Wang Jianguo hid at the back of the group, hunching his shoulders. He held a short sword with its tip pointed at the ground, clearly too afraid to step forward.
"Director Wang, we need you up front to help hold the line!" the young teacher called, looking back.
"I'm observing the overall situation from the rear!" Wang Jianguo declared righteously.
Lin Feng watched from the side without saying a word.
The students struggled for quite a while, but eventually cleared out all the Steel-Tooth Rats.
No one had been seriously hurt. At most, they'd gotten a few scratches, and the instructors handed out low-grade healing pills.
The group continued onward.
The third level.
This was the bottom of the F-Class Rift.
There were more kinds of Exotic Beasts here: Iron-Armored Demon Wolves, Venom-Sting Lizards, and Rock-Shell Beetles. Their numbers had also increased.
The instructors took the lead, with the students following in groups.
Lin Feng noticed that the teachers leading every Martial High School stayed beside their students to keep them safe. If danger arose, they immediately stepped in to protect them.
All except Wang Jianguo.
He not only refused to move up front, but kept shrinking farther back, as if he wanted to stick to Lin Feng.
He probably thought it was safer to stay near the Sergeant Major.
"You're a teacher leading these students. Aren't you going to check on them?" Lin Feng asked.
Wang Jianguo looked a little embarrassed by the question.
"I... I'm watching our rear, in case any Exotic Beasts sneak up behind us."
"What's there to worry about on the third level of an F-Class Rift?"
Wang Jianguo's mouth moved, but he couldn't come up with an answer.
Lin Feng ignored him and continued forward.
A commotion broke out ahead.
A Mutated Demon Wolf, twice the size of an ordinary Iron-Armored Demon Wolf, darted out of a side passage.
It was at Martial Disciple Rank 8.
In an F-Class Rift, this thing counted as a mini-boss.
Before the instructor responsible for security could reach them, the Mutated Demon Wolf had already pounced on the nearest group of students.
They were all at Martial Disciple Ranks 3 and 4. They couldn't possibly hold it off.
The girl at the front screamed as the wolf swiped her into the air. She slammed into the rock wall, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"Help!"
The students scattered in terror.
Wang Jianguo was the closest.
His first instinct wasn't to step in and protect them.
He grabbed the collar of a short boy beside him and shoved him hard, sending the student between himself and the wolf.
"Hold it off! You all get in there!"
The short boy stumbled and fell, landing right in front of the wolf.
The wolf pounced, jaws gaping wide.
Lin Feng's hand settled on the hilt of Mountain Splitter.
Not yet.
He didn't move.
Before the wolf's teeth could reach the student, an instructor rushed in from the side and slashed at its hind leg, forcing it back.
Two veteran soldiers followed right behind him. Three slashes were all it took to kill the Mutated Demon Wolf.
The short boy sat slumped on the ground, trembling all over, his pants soaked through.
The instructor helped him up, then turned to look at Wang Jianguo.
"You're the teacher leading these students? What was that just now?"
"I... I judged that he was closest to the wolf, so I told him to draw its attention first," Wang Jianguo stammered.
The instructor's face turned livid, but because Wang Jianguo was a teacher from another school, he held back from making a scene right there.
Lin Feng had seen the whole thing.
Wang Jianguo had shoved a student in front of the wolf to take the hit.
He wasn't just a corrupt official. He was a coward too.
No, worse than a coward.
A coward was just afraid to die. Wang Jianguo was willing to trade his students' lives for his own.
Lin Feng drew a deep breath.
He took his hand off Mountain Splitter and walked over to Wang Jianguo.
Wang Jianguo instinctively took two steps back.
"Sergeant Major, is something wrong?"
"Director Wang, you seemed awfully practiced when you shoved that student just now."
Wang Jianguo's face flushed crimson.
"I didn't shove him. I was giving orders."
"You ordered a Martial Disciple Rank 3 student to block a Martial Disciple Rank 8 Mutated Demon Wolf?"
Lin Feng's voice wasn't loud, but every student in the formation heard him.
Several students' expressions changed. They looked at Wang Jianguo with fear and anger.
The short boy he'd shoved was still sitting on the ground. His lips had gone pale, and his fists were clenched tight.
"Director Wang, oh, Director Wang." Lin Feng crouched down and brushed the dirt off the short boy's clothes. "When you stole your students' allowance money, I could still understand. People are greedy for money all the time."
"But you'd use your students' lives as a shield? You really stoop that low?"
Wang Jianguo swallowed with difficulty.
Lin Feng stood up and looked around at the students.
"Everyone, there are still several stretches of road ahead, and we may run into even more Exotic Beasts. You can't count on Director Wang."
He patted the badge on his chest.
"Don't worry. With Sergeant Major Lin here, you can keep moving without fear."
More than thirty students nodded almost in unison.
Several girls already had tears in their eyes.
Wang Jianguo opened his mouth, but not a word came out.
He looked around, as if searching for an exit.
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