Old Zhang... so he knew all along... Qiao Sang retracted her gaze.

At this moment, many people had noticed the battle lineup.

The entire Kainan Beast Battle Arena erupted into a buzz, the chatter growing increasingly lively and chaotic.

"Whoa! Litan Royal Beast High School vs. Shengshui High School? How come these two major schools are facing off so soon this year?"

"Qiao Sang seems so unlucky. It’s only the second day of the competition, and she’s already up against Ruan Yunwen once and now Ding Yanjing."

"I know Ding Yanjing! He’s won the provincial first place in the National Campus Beast Mastering League twice in a row. He’s insanely strong."

"I remember him. Yesterday, he defeated his opponent in just one minute using a Flash-Leaving Crow."

"But Qiao Sang isn’t bad either. She’s won two matches in a row using her Treasure-Seeker Demon, and one of those victories was against a Glide Owl."

"I can’t believe these two are matched up. Today’s battle is going to be epic."

Today’s match, or rather, this elimination round, had the biggest highlight yet: Ding Yanjing vs. Qiao Sang.

Shengshui High School

Class 9, Grade 12.

It was break time.

A boy sitting in the back corner raised a heavy textbook upright, pretending to read diligently.

Suddenly, he stood up with a jolt, causing the book to fall over.

Holding his now-revealed phone, the boy exclaimed, "Holy crap!"

Everyone in the class turned to him.

"What’s wrong?"

"Qiao Sang! Qiao Sang is matched against Ding Yanjing!" tThe boy said excitedly.

The mention of Ding Yanjing left no one in the class indifferent, especially since one of their classmates, Xue Chuhua, had quit the school team because of him.

That incident had been the talk of Shengshui High for quite some time.

The class fell into a mix of shock and worry.

Among the Grade 12 students, no one had a clearer or more fearful impression of Ding Yanjing than his peers.

Although they had heard of Qiao Sang defeating Ruan Yunwen yesterday, they also knew Ruan Yunwen’s Command Glide Owl had suddenly lost control during the match, as it had in the previous two tournaments.

An out-of-control high-level beast would undoubtedly have its strength significantly diminished.

Ding Yanjing might not have a high-level beast, but his strength was universally recognized as the best among high school students in the province.

Was their school’s Light of Shengshui going to end here?

At this moment, a boy sitting by the second-to-last row by the window, with a sharp jawline and black hair covering half his forehead, suddenly got up and walked out of the classroom.

His deskmate called out, "Xue Chuhua! Where are you going?"

"To ask the teacher for leave." Xue Chuhua replied without turning back.

"The teacher won’t approve it!" The deskmate shouted.

"Then I’ll just skip class," Xue Chuhua said before leaving the room.

The classmates exchanged complex looks. Everyone knew what he was going to do, he was definitely heading off to watch the live match.

Twenty minutes later.

In his dorm room, Xue Chuhua sat with his phone in hand, watching the provincial elimination match live. His eyes brimmed with hope.

Kainan Beast Battle Arena

The matches had been ongoing for over two hours, with most outcomes being fairly predictable.

The spectators, seasoned in beast battles, could usually tell who would win as soon as the beasts were summoned and made their first moves.

However, there were always one or two exceptions.

"That kid, Liao Chaonan, is interesting. He had his Toxic-Tailed Moth play dead to lure the opponent closer, then landed a poison strike when they let their guard down."

"I bet his coach taught him that trick. Kids this age wouldn’t normally think that deviously."

"Times have changed, brother. Kids these days are sharp."

"If he ends up against Huang Kaijun from Lianyu Royal Beast Academy, that’d be a match worth watching."

"Haha, speaking of Huang Kaijun, his earlier match was hilarious. He had his Eight-Barrel Coral pretend to jump to dodge an attack. That Desert-Tail Fox actually tried a Sky Stone strike mid-air, only for the coral to fake the jump and land a direct attack instead."

"Yeah, and he even yelled ‘jump’ so loudly, as if afraid no one would hear it."

Watching from above, Qiao Sang had taken note of both competitors. Hearing about their tactics was one thing, but witnessing them firsthand was another.

Oddly, she felt their strategies might suit her Little Treasure.

As the matches continued, the massive virtual screen lit up with the next round's lineup.

At the same time, a standard announcer’s voice echoed throughout the arena:

"Ding Yanjing of Litan Royal Beast High School and Qiao Sang of Shengshui High School, please enter the arena."

The crowd’s energy surged.

The commentator enthusiastically introduced the competitors:

"Today, at the Kainan Beast Battle Arena, the most anticipated match in Zhejiang Province will soon begin! Ding Yanjing, who has claimed first place in the National Campus Royal Beast League for Zhejiang Province two years in a row, has represented our province on larger stages many times."

"On the other hand, Qiao Sang, with her extraordinary talent, has consistently defeated opponents at higher levels, crushing her way to this point."

"Will Ding Yanjing achieve his dream of becoming the provincial three-time champion, or will Qiao Sang perform another miracle to claim victory?"

"Let’s turn our attention to the arena!"

Under everyone’s eager gazes, Qiao Sang and Ding Yanjing stood at opposite ends of the battlefield.

Players' Area

Xu Yixuan let out a long breath.

"Why does this match feel more nerve-wracking than when I competed?"

He Daotao glanced at her.

"The match hasn’t even started yet."

"…I know." Xu Yixuan stared at the arena.

"If the principal’s information is correct, and Ding Yanjing’s Guwei Blossom has really evolved into a Guwei Sunflower, what do you think Qiao Sang’s chances of winning are?"

He Daotao pondered.

"Their beasts evolved around the same time. I haven’t seen the Blazing Star Canine in action, nor have I seen how the Guwei Sunflower performs post-evolution. And Ding Yanjing’s Flash-Leaing Crow is no pushover either... Let’s just watch. If I were that insightful, I wouldn’t have failed to make the top ten."

Xu Yixuan: ...

On the Field

Qiao Sang and Ding Yanjing simultaneously formed hand seals.

Gray and green star arrays lit up as Flash_Leaving Crow and the Treasure-Seeking Demon appeared.

Flash-Leaving Crow, an intermediate beast of the Electric and Flying types, was widely recognized for its incredible speed and attack power in the Yuhua region’s rankings.

Qiao Sang studied the yellow-bodied beast with wings longer than its tail, recalling its details.

Meanwhile, Ding Yanjing’s expression grew more serious as he eyed the Treasure-Seeking Demon.

The whistle signaling the start of the match sounded, and the Treasure-Seeking Demon vanished from its spot.

Ding Yanjing stood still, issuing no commands, his expression unperturbed.

Then-

"Li!"

The Flash-Leaving Crow let out a cry, and yellow lightning began crackling around its body.

At that exact moment, Qiao Sang felt a strong sense of danger. She instinctively shouted, "Fall back!"

Litle Treasure had used ihis invisibility and teleportation to approach stealthily, but as he reappeared, the lightning coiled and interwove into a massive net in front of the Flash-Leaving Crow.

The instant Litle Treasure reappeared, the net surged toward him.

Thankfully, Qiao Sang’s timely command caused Little Treasure to flinch and teleport back to his original spot just before the lightning could touch him.

After the brief exchange, Qiao Sang looked across the field at Ding Yanjing.

This guy... he didn’t just get here because of some school favoritism.