The next day.
Shengshui High School.
When Qiao Sang arrived at Training Ground No. 1, she found that all members of the school teams—including the battle pairs and group battle teams from the first, second, and third years—had already gathered. The coaches for each grade level were also present.
The students of each grade stood in three separate lines, resembling three distinct camps.
"I thought it was just us; I didn't expect the second and third years to be here too."
"Doesn't the competition start tomorrow? Why are we having a mass gathering today?"
Those raising questions were all first-years.
The second and third-years, meanwhile, were discussing the status of their respective pets.
"Not to brag, but the physical fitness of my浆刺莓 (Berry-Thorn) is top-tier even if you look at all the high schools in Hanggang City."
"You didn't take any drugs, did you?"
"How is that possible!"
While the group was chatting idly, someone caught sight of Qiao Sang walking in from the door and immediately waved enthusiastically to greet her
"Qiao Sang! Over here!"
The others instantly looked over.
"Qiao Sang!"
"Here, here!"
"Qiao Sang! Come quickly! We're just waiting for you!"
People from all three grade levels were waving and calling for Qiao Sang to come over.
As someone who did not suffer from decision paralysis, Qiao Sang didn't hesitate for a second. She stepped forward and walked straight toward the third-year school team.
Even though she was a first-year.
And had once been in the second-year school team.
Right now, she belonged to the third-year school team!
"Everyone is here. I will now go over the preparations and precautions for today and tomorrow," Sun Boyi spoke.
As soon as the coach spoke, the training ground quickly fell silent.
"Tomorrow is the preliminary round of the National Campus Beast-Taming League. All 384 beast-taming high schools in the province will participate. The battle list for the first round has already been decided by the principals of each school via lottery," Sun Boyi said, scanning the students before him.
"The opponent our principal drew for us is Fuqi Beast-Taming High School."
Fuqi Beast-Taming High School... Qiao Sang thought for a moment but found she had no impression of them.
"Fuqi Beast-Taming High School competed against our school once in the previous National Campus Beast-Taming League. Those of you in the first year might not be very familiar with them; it's a beast-taming high school in the neighboring Hanwen City, and they are only considered mid-to-low tier locally," Sun Boyi explained.
"So it's Fuqi Beast-Taming High School."
"The principal has great luck!"
"I remember that school; they're weak as hell. It's basically a free win."
For a moment, the crowd whispered among themselves.
The atmosphere in the training ground relaxed considerably.
"Quiet!" Sun Boyi said sternly. "This is only the first round! We have to play seven rounds in one week! What you need to do is treat every single match seriously, not be arrogant over here! Thinking you've already won just by hearing the opponent's name!"
At these words, everyone shut their mouths.
Sun Boyi continued, "The first-year students might not be clear on the competition format, so I'll explain. For the preliminaries, the 384 beast-taming high schools in the province will be divided into 48 groups, with 8 schools per group."
"Depending on which group you are assigned to, you will have to play against the other 7 schools in that group one by one. The competition will use a points system: 3 points for a win, 0 for a loss, and 1 for a draw."
"After the preliminaries, rankings will be determined based on the points."
"Only students ranked in the top 48 will have a chance to advance to the next stage."
"The top 48 is just the beginning! Our ultimate goal is the top three! Because only the top three contestants will have the opportunity to qualify for the regional finals." After saying this, Sun Boyi raised his voice
"Is that clear to everyone!"
"Clear!" everyone responded in unison.
Sun Boyi nodded with satisfaction.
Qin Wen, standing to the side, followed up: "There is one more urgent thing to do before the competition: pet physical examinations. We are heading to the Beast-Taming Center now!"
Pet physicals were a requirement for every large-scale official tournament.
Only after a physical report was issued on the designated date would the organizers officially register the participants' names in the backend.
The purpose of the pet physical wasn't necessarily to see if the pets were sick, but to prevent some people from using any means necessary to win—such as administering psychoactive drugs that accelerate or enhance central nervous system activity to put the pet in a state of intense excitement, or other potions that could boost a pet's strength in a short period.
These potions usually had side effects; not only did they damage the body, but they also caused dependency in the pets, which is why they were banned in all official competitions.
...
In the school team's dedicated vehicle heading to the Beast-Taming Center.
Xu Yixuan scrolled through her phone for a while, opened a document in her notes, and asked Qiao Sang, "The detailed information on the members of Fuqi Beast-Taming High School's third-year team is all here. Do you want me to send it to you?"
Before Qiao Sang could answer, Xu Yixuan spoke to herself, "Actually, never mind. This data is from last year; this year's hasn't been updated yet."
"In fact, it doesn't really matter whether you look at their school or not. Some of them probably still have one pet that hasn't even reached the Intermediate level among their two pets."
*They're in the third year and still have pets that haven't reached Intermediate? That's pretty weak...* Qiao Sang couldn't help but complain inwardly.
In reality, most third-year students only had one pet.
Possessing two pets—one Primary and one Intermediate—was already considered leading among their peers.
It was just that Qiao Sang was at Shengshui High School, and specifically on the school team. Normally, when she was out, she spent her time at pet clubs. The people she dealt with were different from ordinary students, so her perception was naturally different.
It was like how top students who spend all their time with other top students might occasionally meet someone with average grades and exclaim: *Ah, so there are actually such dull people in the world!*
An old man who once looked quite amiable had said something like this
"There is a major secret I must tell you. A high school student with normal intelligence should and ought to be able to get 120 points in math. A hard rule of the college entrance exam is 30% basic points, 50% medium-difficulty questions, and 20% hard questions. Therefore, 30% plus 50% is 80%, and 80% of 150 points is 120 points."
He concluded: "These 120 points are intentionally given away."
Once this was said, netizens attacked him for not speaking like a human being.
Qiao Sang's current inner thoughts felt the same as that old man's words—if she said it out loud, she'd be flamed.
"By the way, hasn't someone been selling your information on the forum lately? I spent 1,000 to buy a copy. Don't worry, this person doesn't know about Ice-Lucius yet," Xu Yixuan said in a lowered voice. "I suspect this person is from our school, but definitely not in our school team."
Qiao Sang paused, stared at Xu Yixuan, and said sincerely, "Thank you!"
"What are you thanking me for?" Xu Yixuan scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
*Of course I'm thanking you for your 1,000 Alliance Coins...* Qiao Sang's gaze toward Xu Yixuan suddenly became much softer.
Usually, the people who private messaged her to buy information were stingy as hell. It was rare to encounter a buyer who spent four digits, so she naturally remembered it very clearly.
*So it was you...*
Amidst the chatting, they arrived at the Beast-Taming Center.