Qiao Sang froze for a moment. Had she just overheard something she wasn’t supposed to?

So, it wasn’t a coincidence that she had been matched against Ruan Yunwen? It was deliberate!

She steadied her breathing and shot a look at Little Treasure.

Little Treasure instantly understood, covering his mouth with his paw and nodding.

A younger man’s voice, calm and indifferent, broke the silence.

“Your intel was inaccurate. Besides, you were the one who proposed putting them together. I only handled the logistics. The rest is none of my concern.”

The middle-aged man who spoke earlier paused for a moment before softening his tone.

“That was my mistake. I hope you can pair Qiao Sang with Liang Yuan from Jiangyang No. 1 High tomorrow.”

Liang Yuan from Jiangyang No. 1 High?

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and quickly recalled who he was.

Before coming to Kainan City, Teacher Sun had introduced Liang Yuan. His battle style was unremarkable, but his two pet beasts could pose a significant challenge: A Ghostshadow Vine, whose Shadow Trap trait could counter Little Seeker’s teleportation, and a Purple Tile Rat, an electric-type beast that had a clear advantage over Dewdrop.

“Liang Yuan?” The younger man asked.

The middle-aged man responded with a brief “Mm.”

“His beasts can somewhat counter Qiao Sang’s.”

The younger man let out a derisive laugh.

“Counter? How exactly? Type advantage? Even Ruan Yunwen lost. You’re counting on a student with basic type counters to win?”

“Even if he can’t win, at least he can force her to reveal more of her trump cards.” The middle-aged man said in a grave tone.

“Take today, for example. Although the outcome wasn’t what I expected, we did manage to see her Treasure-Seeking Demon’s Substitute and Spatial Shift abilities in action.”

The sound of a chair being pushed back and a computer booting up reached Qiao Sang’s ears. She remained perfectly still, not daring to make a sound.

Anyone who could manipulate a national campus beast mastering leagues like this had to hold a significant position, probably even be a beastmaster themselves.

And if they were a beastmaster, they likely benefited from beastmaster rebounding, an ability that enhanced a beastmaster’s own senses and abilities.

Since Qiao Sang had undergone beastmaster rebounding herself, her hearing had become almost superhuman.

Seconds later, the younger man’s voice came again, accompanied by the sound of rapid typing.

“Does Principal Huang know you’re involving me in this?”

Principal Huang? Qiao Sang’s ears perked up.

“He?” The middle-aged man sneered.

“He’s still dreaming of having Ding Yanjing pull out the Guwei Sunflower during his match against Qiao Sang to win the Potential Award.”

“So naïve for someone his age. Sure, producing an advanced-level pet beast in the first semester of senior high is rare, but it happens every year across the country. Meanwhile, Qiao Sang is a freshman who has already developed three pages of the Beastmaster Codex and contracted three extremely rare beasts."

“Anyone with half a brain can see who deserves the award. Principal Huang should stop dreaming and focus on ensuring Qiao Sang doesn’t make it to the top three.”

So that’s what this was all about, the Potential Award. But wasn’t the prize just a bottle of A-tier Potential Enhancement Potion? Was it really worth all this? Qiao Sang frowned.

The younger man’s voice carried a hint of indifference.

“Looks like Principal Huang doesn’t know what you’re up to, then.”

Silence filled the air once more.

After a while, the middle-aged man spoke again.

“Whether he knows or not doesn’t matter. If you want my recommendation for this year’s election, I can help you.”

The sound of typing ceased, and the younger man’s tone grew serious.

“I do think Qiao Sang is quite promising, but I’ll only assist with this year’s national campus beast mastering league.”

He paused briefly before continuing, “Tomorrow’s matchups are already set. I hope you’ll provide updates soon.”

Already set? That fast? Judging by the timing, he must have just done it on the computer...

Qiao Sang kept her expression neutral as she analyzed the situation.

Rumors of corruption in major competitions were nothing new, especially in highly publicized events. Some people would stop at nothing to secure victory.

Recently, the internet had been abuzz with claims that Zhu Yongchang, last year’s sixth-place finisher in the Lianbo District Tournament, had sabotaged his opponent’s performance by organizing fireworks outside their hotel, sending drunk people to the wrong rooms, and even orchestrating fights in adjacent rooms, all to ensure his opponent couldn’t sleep the night before the match.

Qiao Sang hadn’t expected to face something like this so early in her academic career.

Still, if all they were doing was assigning her a specific opponent... she wasn’t worried.

Having heard enough, she waited patiently until the sound of footsteps and a closing door indicated the house was empty.

She stepped out of her hiding spot and into the spacious main room, where a high-end sofa set and coffee table occupied the center. By the window stood a large desk with a computer on it.

Sitting at the desk, Qiao Sang powered up the computer.

[What do I want most in life?]

A password... of course.

Summoning Yabao, she said, “Can you sense what the previous user typed on this computer?”

Yabao placed its paw on the computer, activating its Perception Sense ability. Within minutes, Qiao Sang had the password: [Overthrow the boss, become the boss.]

Ambitious, she thought.

Using Yabao’s instructions, she navigated the system and eventually accessed the tool for manipulating match assignments.

How despicable! Rigging matchups in a competition that’s supposed to be fair and impartial? Good thing it’s me they targeted. Anyone else might have been crushed... Qiao Sang thought as she typed, replacing Liang Yuan’s name with Ding Yanjing’s.

Reporting this would be difficult without direct evidence or knowledge of their identities. Investigating further would take too much time and energy.

Sometimes, the simplest form of retaliation was also the most effective: Switching their plans.

The Next Day

At Kainan’s Beast Battle Arena, Qiao Sang took her seat under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

She glanced toward the VIP section, trying to identify anyone matching the descriptions of the two men she had overheard.

“What are you looking at?” Xu Yixuan asked curiously, following her gaze.

“Seeing who looks the most suspicious.” Qiao Sang replied.

“Why bother?” Xu Yixuan asked, puzzled.

Before Qiao Sang could respond, Xu Yixuan leaned in and whispered, “By the way, rumors are spreading online about your Flame Hound evolving. Did someone see your Blazing Star Canine yesterday?”

“Yes.” Qiao Sang replied casually.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“True.” Xu Yixuan chuckled.

“You haven’t seen the comments, though. No one believes it’s true.”

Behind them, He Daitao chimed in, “Weren’t you the one who didn’t believe it at first?”

Xu Yixuan: ...

Five minutes later, a man with an Extendowood Glider on his shoulder stepped into the arena. After a brief introduction, he pointed to the four massive virtual screens overhead, where the day’s matchups were displayed.

Because yesterday’s round had halved the number of participants, all matchups were shown at once without scrolling.

[Stone City No. 9 High, Xue Miao vs. Xiangshi Beastmaster High, Tang Xiangyu]

[Compound International Beastmaster High, Xu Xing vs. Kai Nan No. 1 High, Yu Yang]

[Jiangyang No. 1 High, Liang Yuan vs. Suochong Beastmaster High, Zhang Yifan]

...

[Litan Beastmaster High, Ding Yanjing vs. Sacred Water High, Qiao Sang]