Ji Xiuneng gripped the principal's hand tightly, almost wanting to kowtow to these two older men.
"Rest assured! I'll report your contributions to the nation!"
"You deserve the greatest credit for this incident! Absolutely a special-class merit! I'll make sure all of Jiang City hears about your heroic deeds!"
The more Ji Xiuneng spoke, the more excited he became, spittle flying everywhere.
However.
As the principal and vice principal received treatment for their wounds, their expressions became quite a sight at this barrage of flattery.
Embarrassed.
Strange.
And even a trace of... shame?
"Ahem..."
The principal's aged face flushed red, whether from excessive blood loss or embarrassment. He really couldn't listen anymore and stiffly withdrew his hand from Ji Xiuneng's grasp.
"Well... Captain Ji, calm down first."
The principal gave a wry chuckle, glanced at the vice principal beside him, who was equally mortified, and sighed.
"As much as I'd like to take the credit, well... a man needs a conscience."
"Huh?"
Ji Xiuneng froze, somewhat bewildered.
"What do you mean? You didn't kill them?"
The principal shook his head.
He slowly raised a hand and pointed at Lu Fang, who stood nearby with his head lowered, calmly straightening his sleeves.
"Captain Ji, to tell you the truth."
"Although we two old fellows did put our lives on the line to hold them off, the one who actually killed those three level-100 experts and turned the tide to save everyone..."
"Was Lu Fang."
The air seemed to freeze that instant.
The expression on Ji Xiuneng's face stiffened.
His neck turned with extreme stiffness, like rusty gears making clicking sounds, as he followed the principal's pointing finger and looked at Lu Fang.
Lu Fang had just brushed a little dust off his cuff. Sensing his gaze, he looked up and nodded politely to Ji Xiuneng.
"Captain Ji, long time no see."
Ji Xiuneng's mouth fell open.
His jaw nearly hit his feet, his eyes as wide as brass bells as his gaze darted between the three gruesome corpses of the Blood Wolf Association leaders nearby and the harmless-looking, even rather handsome youth before him.
His brain crashed completely.
His CPU burned out.
"Who... who?"
Ji Xiuneng's voice turned shrill and comical.
"You mean... him?"
"A student who just turned eighteen and only awakened today?"
"Killed three... level-100 experts?!"
Ji Xiuneng's first reaction was: These people are all in on a joke at my expense.
This was pure fantasy!
It was ten thousand times more absurd than an ant biting an elephant to death!
He tried to find even the slightest sign of a joke on the faces of the principal, the vice principal, and the surrounding teachers.
But.
There was none.
Everyone's expression was so solemn, so earnest.
And when they looked at Lu Fang, what showed in their eyes... wasn't merely gratitude, but a deep reverence that came from the depths of their souls.
It was reverence for the strong.
Ji Xiuneng's heart sank.
As an experienced Guard Team captain, his reason began to return.
He quickly let go of the principal and strode over to the bald leader's corpse.
He crouched down and examined the wounds.
There were no traces of holy light burns, nor any gashes from a greataxe.
This corpse... every bone in its body had been pulverized, and its muscle tissue had completely disintegrated, as though some indescribably massive weight had smashed it into pulp from above!
This simply wasn't damage the principal, a Holy Light Priest, or the vice principal, a Berserk Battleaxe, could have inflicted.
This was an utterly overpowering, destructive force unlike anything he had ever seen!
Ji Xiuneng's fingers trembled.
He stood up and looked at Lu Fang again.
The youth still stood there calmly, his posture straight. Faced with the blood covering the ground and everyone's stares, he showed no discomfort whatsoever. Instead, he had a certain... composure, as though everything was under his control.
The facts lay before his eyes.
No matter how horrifying, no matter how much it overturned his understanding of the world.
This was probably the truth.
"Gulp."
Ji Xiuneng swallowed, his throat feeling dry.
"He really... did this?"
He muttered to himself, forced to accept this reality that made his scalp prickle.
Ji Xiuneng took another deep breath, trying to quell the tumultuous shock within him.
Then he stepped forward and walked up to Lu Fang with a solemn expression.
Looking at the straight-backed youth before him, who remained unruffled even after such a great battle, Ji Xiuneng couldn't help slipping into a momentary daze.
He seemed to see Lu Fang's parents in their youth, those two extraordinary geniuses who had once taken Jiang City by storm and protected the area.
"Whew..."
Ji Xiuneng extended his large hand, somewhat stiff from excessive tension, and patted Lu Fang firmly on the shoulder.
"Xiao Fang..."
Ji Xiuneng looked at Lu Fang, his voice full of emotion.
"You're even more of a genius than your parents were at your age!"
Ji Xiuneng's voice rose slightly with excitement.
"The student has surpassed the masters!"
"If your parents heard about what you accomplished today, they'd probably laugh themselves awake!"
Faced with this elder's lavish praise, Lu Fang showed not the slightest pride, merely nodding modestly.
"You're too kind, Uncle Ji. I just got lucky."
"This wasn't luck."
Ji Xiuneng's smile faded, his expression instantly turning serious.
At that moment, he was no longer an emotional elder, but the Guard Team captain responsible for the safety of all Jiang City.
He stepped back half a pace and bowed deeply to Lu Fang before all the teachers, students, and his subordinates.
"Captain Ji! You mustn't!"
The principal beside him tried to stop him, but Ji Xiuneng raised a hand to halt him.
Ji Xiuneng remained bowed, his voice heavy and filled with lingering fear.
"Xiao Fang, with this bow, I apologize to you and all the teachers and students on behalf of the Jiang City Guard Team."
"This was a grave dereliction of our duty!"
Ji Xiuneng straightened, his eyes filled with guilt.
"The Blood Wolf Association is an S-rank wanted organization. They infiltrated Jiang City and even set up a sealing barrier in a place as important as the school, yet our Guard Team didn't notice a thing!"
"Right under our noses, an irreparable tragedy nearly occurred!"
At this point, another layer of cold sweat broke out across Ji Xiuneng's back.
He didn't dare imagine what would have happened if Lu Fang hadn't been there today.
The gymnasium would probably have become a silent tomb by now.
The principal and teachers would have died fighting, and those thousand-plus innocent students would have been slaughtered to the last.
It would have been the darkest day in Jiang City's history, and a sin he, Ji Xiuneng, could never atone for even with ten thousand deaths.
"If you hadn't turned the tide..."
Ji Xiuneng looked at Lu Fang, his tone solemn.
"The consequences would have been unimaginable."