"The principal said we could join the school team." A senior murmured.

"I heard that too..." A nearby student, looking dazed, replied.

Another girl standing by, who seemed a bit more rational, added, "Let’s be precise: The principal said we could join if we defeat Qiao Sang."

"How is that different from just giving us a spot?!" The first student, face flushed with excitement, argued.

They had thought they were only there to watch, but the principal dropped this bombshell at the opening ceremony!

Senior year was the toughest stage of student life! Not only did they need to master every subject, but they also had to know things not even covered in textbooks.

A good senior student is expected to know the basics of taming beasts, current events, and even trivial things.

They go to bed later than dogs and wake up earlier than chickens, that’s what being a senior means.

After two years of high school, most students had a rough idea of their academic standing and how many points they could score on exams.

In an environment surrounded by top students, it was unrealistic to feel no pressure.

They all planned to work hard in their final year to achieve one last push, yet now, out of nowhere, the heavens dangled the chance to join the school team before them!

As long as they made it onto the team and placed in competitions, if not a top-tier university, at least a stable entry into a bachelor’s program was almost guaranteed.

High school was different from middle school; the difficulty level of the knowledge had multiplied.

Many students who entered prestigious high schools still ended up only attending vocational colleges.

Though the juniors were equally excited, the seniors’ level of eagerness bordered on madness.

"First come, first served! Don’t fight me for it! My grades are the worst."

"To be on the team, you’ll have to compete with other schools. You only have one mid-level pet beast, don’t embarrass our school."

"If we’re being picky, I remember you only have a Double-Tailed Land Turtle, so I guess you’re not joining either?"

"No, I’m joining!"

"Heh."

"Stop arguing! Someone already went up."

"What?! Who got there so fast?!"

"It’s Feng Zongxin from Class 3, the guy whose family is really wealthy. That guy ranked seventh from the bottom in the whole school in the last exam of the semester, he’ll struggle just to get into a third-tier college, so no wonder he ran up there."

"That guy got lucky."

In the arena, a boy around 1.76 meters tall with a buzz cut eagerly summoned a pet beast with a blue bell atop its head and two tails with yellow tips.

A Fluttering Bell, the evolved form of a Bubble Bell, a mid-level pet beast whose tails always drifted with the wind... Information on Fluttering Bells surfaced instantly in Qiao Sang's mind.

"Senior Class 3, Feng Zongxin."

The boy spoke seriously, "I’m sorry, but I have to get this spot!"

Qiao Sang nodded.

"Good luck."

Feng Zongxin: ...

At the sound of the whistle, her Little Treasure vanished instantly.

"Fluttering Bell, teleport!" Feng Zongxin commanded in time.

"Floo~"

Following the wind's direction, the Fluttering Bell's tail flicked as it teleported to another position.

The audience fell silent; the Treasure-Seeking Ghost was nowhere to be seen.

Feng Zongxin remained vigilant, scanning the surroundings. Three seconds later, he issued the command again: "Teleport."

Facing an invisible ghost-type pet beast and needing to avoid its shadow attacks, using teleportation to change position constantly was indeed a good strategy.

After all, ghost-type pet beasts are only invisible, not faster.

Unfortunately, her Little Treasure wasn’t purely ghost-type... Watching the Fluttering Bell reappear on the field after teleporting, Qiao Sang spoke up, "Now."

Hearing Qiao Sang's command, Feng Zongxin froze, his pupils narrowing as he shouted, "Don’t look it in the eyes!"

But it was too late. The Treasure-Seeking Ghost appeared at the moment Fluttering Bell teleported, facing it directly as if it had always been lurking there and Fluttering Bell had teleported right into its line of sight.

"Xuuuun~"

Little Treasure’s purple-glowing eyes met Fluttering Bell’s.

The next second…

"Floo...ttering..."

Fluttering Bell’s eyes shut, and it dropped to the ground.

"Fluttering Bell! Wake up!" Feng Zongxin shouted anxiously.

In official matches, when a pet beast collapses, there's a countdown. The referee must get close to the fainted pet beast to assess whether it's fully unconscious or temporarily unresponsive.

If it gets back up within the allotted time, the match can continue.

Ten seconds is the standard countdown in most matches.

Normally, a mid-level pet beast would quickly recover from a low-level pet beast's Hypnosis due to its much higher mental strength.

So the referee, a female teacher, didn’t immediately announce Fluttering Bell’s defeat but instead moved beside it and began the countdown.

"One, two, three, four, five..."

"Fluttering Bell! Wake up!"

"Six, seven, eight, nine..."

"Fluttering Bell!!"

"Ten."

The teacher looked at the still-sleeping Fluttering Bell with uncertainty before declaring, "Fluttering Bell is unable to fight. The winner is Qiao Sang!"

Feng Zongxin dropped to the ground in defeat.

Everyone stared at each other, dumbfounded.

"What just happened in that battle? Is it already over?"

"Don’t you think he went up there just to throw the match? With such a big arena, how could a pet beast teleport right in front of its opponent?"

"Exactly."

"Also, psychic-type pet beasts typically have much stronger mental strength than other types. How could it not shake off a hypnosis spell cast by a lower-level pet? This is nonsense."

"Could it be that the Treasure-Seeking Ghost’s Hypnosis is just too well-practiced?"

"How skilled would it have to be to put a psychic-type like Fluttering Bell to sleep for that long... Look, someone else is going up!"

"What?! Someone beat me to it again!"

"Senior Class 10, Xia Chengqing." This time, it was a fair-skinned girl with shoulder-length hair.

Just as she summoned a Short-Eared Mouse and prepared to fight, Qiao Sang raised her hand to signal a pause.

"Wait."

"Why did she call a stop?"

"She’s not going to withdraw, is she?!"

"No! My spot on the school team!"

"She didn't have to compete against us in the first place. Now that she’s beaten one senior, she probably feels confident and doesn’t want to continue."

"Don’t go!"

As everyone discussed anxiously, Qiao Sang looked toward the referee.

The teacher hesitated for a moment before understanding and passed the microphone to her.

After a brief pause, Qiao Sang said, "I’d like to request time to recharge my Treasure-Seeking Ghost’s energy."

"Xun~"

Little Treasure nodded in agreement after sensing himself.