"Tweet!"

The whistle sounded.

Immediately after, a professional announcer's voice echoed through the broadcast system, carrying across the Kainan Pet Beast Arena.

"In the first match, Shengshui High School's Qiao Sang wins!"

"Wow!"

Deafening cheers erupted as the audience burst into chaos.

Especially in the contestants' area, disbelief painted everyone's faces.

This was a shock only those in the current senior year could truly comprehend.

Ding Yanjing, the once-invincible shadow over the entire senior grade team, lost just like that?!

"What the heck?! Is Qiao Sang some kind of monster?!"

"Is this a turning point?!"

"What's Ding Yanjing doing?! He crushed me completely, only to lose to a freshman?!"

"Can’t blame him entirely. Think about it: A Ghost-type plus a Psychic-type pet beast, paired with triple-dimensional shadow control? No matter how fast Flash-Leaving Crow is, it’s not enough."

"To be fair, Ding Yanjing fought well. If Flash-Leaving Crow had stronger defenses and escaped the shadow control, there was a chance he could’ve turned it around. Treasure-Seeking Demon is just too fragile, it would’ve been knocked out in one strike."

"Yeah, he’s still the first one to break free of shadow control."

"Honestly, the way he made Flash-Leaving Crow bury its beak in the ground to break free? Genius. I’d never think of that!"

"Don't forget, Guwei Sunflower is Ding Yanjing's trump card."

Most of the spectators in the contestants' area had suffered defeats at Ding Yanjing's hands before. Though they secretly relished his loss, outwardly, they scrambled to make excuses for him.

After all, if Ding Yanjing wasn’t good, what did that say about them, who he utterly dominated before?

Unlike the hypocritical contestants, the live stream chat was far more honest.

[A new provincial champion is born!]

[Haha, Ding the Villain, today’s your day!]

[Qiao Sang is amazing!]

[Can we see Ice Qiya now? Please?]

[No way! I thought it was a joke, but Ding Yanjing actually lost?!]

[From today on, I’m a die-hard Qiao Sang fan!]

[Holy! What even just happened?!]

[Second match, come on, Monster Qiao!]

[But Ding still has Guwei Sunflower...]

[I hope Qiao Sang’s beast isn’t afraid of tickling!]

[Serious moment: I just laughed so hard I pulled a muscle...]

At the Kainan Pet Beast Arena, in the VIP section of the audience:

Principal Wang Weidou couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.

"Ha! Principal Huang, Ding Yanjing is still impressive, but it’s just bad luck he ran into our Qiao Sang so early. Otherwise, he’d definitely make it into the top three this year!"

He shot a meaningful glance at Fu Huaiyang sitting nearby, urging him to say something to provoke Principal Huang Renbiao.

Fu Huaiyang: ???

Why are you looking at me?! Sure, we scheduled a friendly match, but I’m still from the same city as Litan. If I help you out now and Huang makes trouble for me later, what then?

Feigning ignorance, Fu Huaiyang pretended not to understand Wang’s hint.

Wang Weidou kept glancing at him so hard it nearly gave him a tic.

Left with no choice, Fu Huaiyang cleared his throat and said emotionlessly:

"Ah, I’m looking forward to the next match."

Wang Weidou: ...

Oh, right. The next match was against Guwei Sunflower.

No one noticed that the middle-aged man seated beside Huang Renbiao, whose face had been dark earlier, was now wearing an unreadable expression.

Huang Renbiao remained silent, unsure how to respond to Wang Weidou’s smugness. For now, he kept his face expressionless.

Let’s see how much you’re gloating when Ding Yangjin summons Guwei Sunflower... Huang thought grimly.

On the battlefield:

"I admit you’re strong, but do you really think this is enough to beat me?" Ding Yanjing stared at Qiao Sang intently.

Qiao Sang blinked.

"Yeah, I do."

Ding Yanjing: ...

He paused, then said, "That was just a mistake earlier."

Qiao Sang nodded.

"I know. Flash-Leaving Crow burned most of its energy early on and got injured. That last move was a bad call."

Ding Yanjing was stunned speechless.

"Tweet!"

The whistle for summoning new pet beasts blew.

Meanwhile, the livestream chat exploded:

[Ice Qiya! Please summon Ice Qiya!]

[Flame Hound! I want to see Flame Hound!]

[Forget it. Qiao Sang always sticks to one beast until it loses. No way she summons something else unless Treasure-Seeking Demon falls.]

[In that case, I kind of hope she loses a round first.]

[No! I need Ice Qiya!]

[Treasure-Seeking Demon is cute, though. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it.]

[From what I’ve seen, there’s a high chance she’ll summon something new, she already recalled Treasure-Seeking Demon.]

[Ice Qiya, come on!]

[Not happening. Ding Yangjin’s next beast is Grass-type. Summoning a Water-type would be ridiculous.]

[But Ice Qiya also has Ice attributes! Perfect against Grass!]

[Enough arguing. The match is starting. Just watch to find out.]

Millions of viewers leaned in front of their screens.

The livestream showed a green and gray summoning circle.

Then the chat flooded so thick it obscured the entire screen.

Around 70% of viewers did the same thing at the same time: They turned off the chat.

The arena fell into brief silence.

Then, in an explosion of movement, nearly everyone in the audience and contestant sections leaped to their feet, staring wide-eyed and excited at the new beast on the field, a red and white creature radiating elegance and power.

Chaos broke loose again.

"What the?! What?!"

"That’s not just Flame Hound! It’s evolved into a high-tier beast!"

"Oh my god, this is incredible!"

"Ahhhh! This trip was worth it!"

"Wait! Look! There’s Guwei Sunflower too!"

"Just from appearances, you can tell that’s Flame Hound’s evolved form!"

"I saw rumors online about this evolution and called it fake. Turns out, I was the fool..."

The broadcast crackled with static before the announcer’s trembling, excited voice cut through:

"Quiet! Everyone, please quiet down!"

The chaos barely subsided.

"The match is about to begin! Please return to your seats and maintain silence!"

Right. The match... Slowly, the audience settled back, phones out and recording.

In the VIP section:

Huang Renbiao snapped out of his daze, his expression complicated as he glanced at Wang Weidou, whose grin was nearly splitting his face. For the first time, he spoke first:

"No wonder you’re so confident in Qiao Sang’s victory."

When finally addressed, Wang Weidou surprisingly feigned modesty:

"Haha, was I?"

Huang Renbiao: ...

On the battlefield:

Ding Yanjing’s mind went blank as he stared at Qiao Sang’s newly summoned beast.

Flame Hound had... evolved?!

Yabao’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he locked onto his opponent. If not for the crowd, he would’ve taken a victory lap already.

"Yap!"

Finally, a real fight!

Guwei Sunflower trembled under the intense gaze of the majestic beast.

Wait... Didn’t its trainer promise it would scare away any opponent? Why did this one look so excited?!

"Tweet!"

The mechanical referee’s whistle signaled the start.

Guwei Sunflower instantly released white spore-like balls into the air. The wind scattered them across the battlefield, creating a pervasive, ominous presence.

Ding Yangjin took a deep breath, steadying himself. They’d planned this, these spores would weaken any opponent they touched, even an evolved Flame Hound.

But Qiao Sang calmly raised her hand.

She had been waiting for this moment.

Millions of viewers watched as Qiao Sang’s ponytail swayed. The camera zoomed in as she snapped her fingers.

The majestic beast lifted its head and unleashed a massive red energy ball into the sky.

In the next instant, a fiery rainstorm descended, engulfing the entire battlefield in flames.

Even through their screens, viewers could feel the terrifying, destructive power.

The entire battlefield seemed transformed into a forbidden land of flames, one that would incinerate anything daring to set foot within.

When the fiery onslaught finally ceased, the scene revealed a scorched and devastated ground, riddled with blackened craters tinged with glowing red, still emitting heat.

And amidst the devastation lay a fainted beast, its original appearance unrecognizable, its body entirely charred black.