Chapter 347: Why Does This Look So Familiar?

Hanggang City.

An indoor training field somewhere at the East Pan Beast-Taming Training Base.

"Principal, are we really going to keep the news of Guwei Flower's evolution under wraps first?" a slightly chubby man in a black polo shirt asked, puzzled.

"Or are we going to have Ding Yanjing keep battling with Flash Rift Crow?"

Huang Renbiao looked at Ding Yanjing and Flash Rift Crow training in the center of the field, didn't answer directly, and instead asked slowly:

"Do you know Qiao Sang from Sacred Water Middle School?"

"Of course I do." The man nodded. "A Flame Listener Hound, a Treasure Seek妖怪, and an endangered pet beast, Ice Dew Kia. Right now she's the most talked-about student in our province."

Huang Renbiao added: "The most important thing is, she's only fifteen."

The man fell silent for two seconds.

No matter how many times one heard it, all these conditions concentrated on one person gave a sense of impact.

"But what does that have to do with hiding Guwei Flower's evolution?" the man asked.

Huang Renbiao said in a deep voice: "Every time the provincial round of the National Campus Beast-Taming League ends, some awards are given out. Someone told me that this time, among the top three, the prize for the 'Most Potential Award' is a bottle of Grade-A Potential Enhancement Elixir."

"I want Ding Yanjing to win this award, to get another boost in strength before heading to the divisional tournament."

A Grade-A Potential Enhancement Elixir? The man was startled.

This thing didn't raise a pet beast's level, nor did it elevate its life tier; it improved the pet beast's constitution, allowing it to break through its own shackles and expand the range of energy values it could originally withstand, thereby raising its potential.

All items that could raise a pet beast's potential were priced astronomically, let alone a Potential Enhancement Elixir appraised as Grade-A.

The man struggled for a moment, then steeled himself and said: "With Qiao Sang from Sacred Water Middle School around, Ding Yanjing probably can't get this award."

Although Ding Yanjing's potential was undeniable, anyone with eyes could tell whose potential was greater between Qiao Sang and Ding Yanjing.

Even though he was a teacher at Li Tan Beast-Taming High School, when it came to something this obvious, he really couldn't bring himself to lie and say the award belonged to Ding Yanjing.

"I know." Huang Renbiao said: "That's exactly why I told you to keep it under wraps. If no one knows, it'll be all the more shocking when Ding Yanjing summons Guwei Sunflower at the time."

"As long as his first time summoning Guwei Sunflower is during his battle against Qiao Sang, and he beats her, the visual impact and the strength comparison will sway the judges toward Ding Yanjing at least a little."

Actually, just that alone wasn't enough. The most important thing was having someone in charge.

With the first appearance of a high-tier pet beast in this edition of the National Campus Beast-Taming League's Zhejiang Sea Province round, it would be easier to bring this matter up.

With Ding Yanjing's strength, it was a certainty that he would represent Zhejiang Sea Province at the divisional tournament. As provincial leaders, they naturally hoped that at this critical juncture, the stronger he was, the better.

Of course, Huang Renbiao wouldn't say such blunt truths out loud.

Why go through all this trouble? Doesn't this award have a prerequisite—it's only chosen from the top three of the provincial round? Instead of all this, wouldn't it be better to just have Qiao Sang stop outside the top three... The man had wanted to voice his thoughts, but opened his mouth and swallowed them back down.

Uh, given Qiao Sang's strength, having her stop outside the provincial round's top three didn't seem very reliable either...

……

Qiao Sang naturally had no idea that Li Tan Beast-Taming High School had kept Ding Yanjing's Guwei Flower's evolution under wraps because of her.

At this moment, she was in a wonderful mood, humming a tune as she scrolled through her phone looking for skills suitable for Lu Bao to learn.

As she scrolled, she came across a post about the principal on her own school's forum and gave it a like.

Just thinking about the principal's words—"Don't worry about the money, the school will cover it"—Qiao Sang felt his image shining with golden brilliance.

High-tier pet beast energy pills, specially customized urgently according to a formula! She had always worried that once Ya Bao evolved, she wouldn't be able to afford its cultivation costs for a while. She hadn't expected she wouldn't have to pay at all!

She wondered if the principal could still help cover the costs when Xiao Xun Bao and Lu Bao evolved... Just picturing that scene, Qiao Sang couldn't help the corners of her mouth curl up as she grinned foolishly.

She felt that since coming to Hongrao Town, her luck had really been great.

Although she'd gotten caught up in an incident, at the very least she'd witnessed with her own eyes the legendary scene of the mythical beast Qi Yun La appearing and a secret realm rift opening. Moreover, Xiao Xun Bao had inexplicably learned Spatial Shift, and Ya Bao had evolved.

Now that Ya Bao had evolved, she didn't even have to worry about the money for its energy pills.

If only Lu Bao could also have a breakthrough here, it would be perfect... Just as Qiao Sang was thinking this, she had no idea that the air around her had suddenly trembled slightly.

……

The group stage lasted a total of one week.

Before she knew it, Qiao Sang had already been in Hongrao Town for five days.

Hongrao Beast-Taming Center.

Room 1203.

"Qiao Sang, among tomorrow's opponents is Liu Zeru from Xiong Ding High School. Are you still sending out Ice Dew Kia?" Xu Yixuan asked, lying on the bed with her head tilted.

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and said: "Depends on the situation."

To quickly improve Lu Bao's real combat ability, Qiao Sang had sent it out for all the battles these past few days.

But that was only when she was confident of winning.

Liu Zeru from Xiong Ding Beast-Taming High School had two bear-type pet beasts, both of the high-attack and high-defense variety. With Lu Bao's current strength, she didn't have a 100% chance of winning.

Xu Yixuan suggested with a smile: "Why not send out Blaze Star Hound? You'd definitely win for sure!"

"Lu."

Lu Bao, who was on the table by the window trying to condense energy at a single point, instantly shot a cold glance over.

Feeling the chill radiating from Ice Dew Kia, Xu Yixuan quickly changed the subject:

"Isn't the lottery drawing at nine-thirty? Let me check if I've won!"

Saying so, she got up, picked up her school uniform nearby, and pulled a lottery ticket from the pocket.

Qiao Sang looked at her and said, surprised: "When did you buy a lottery ticket?"

"Yesterday. After evening training ended, I went with He Datao." Xu Yixuan took the lottery ticket, lay back down on the bed, opened her phone, and answered while searching the official lottery website:

"I actually wanted to ask if you wanted to come along, but the principal and Teacher Sun were both next to you at the time, so I didn't have the nerve to ask."

Even if you'd asked, I still wouldn't have gone... Ever since the principal paid for Ya Bao's energy pills, Qiao Sang felt her desire for money had dropped considerably.

Lottery tickets?

Just a tax on stupidity.

"Did we win?" Qiao Sang asked.

Xu Yixuan held up the lottery ticket and compared the numbers to those on the official website, then pursed her lips, set the ticket on the nightstand, and said, "We didn't win."

As expected… Qiao Sang wasn't surprised at all.

"Oh right, do you still remember what I told you last time about someone in Hongrao Town winning a one-year unlimited card?" Xu Yixuan suddenly asked.

Qiao Sang said, "I remember. What about it?"

Xu Yixuan let out a heavy sigh and said, "I saw in the news today that no one has gone to claim the prize yet. If the winner doesn't want it, how great would it be if they gave it to me."

"How could they possibly give it to you? They probably just forgot." Qiao Sang retorted, "You'd be more realistic thinking about whether you could pick one up yourself."

Xu Yixuan thought about it and figured that made sense. She got up, put on her school uniform and shoes, and smiled shyly: "I'm going out to buy something to eat, and I'll see if I can pick one up along the way."

After saying that, she turned and pushed open the door.

Qiao Sang: "…"

Just then, a gust of wind blew in through the newly opened door, causing the lottery ticket on the nightstand to flutter and slap right onto the face of Little Xunbao, who was training a group of ants.

"Xun…"

Little Xunbao used its claw to take the lottery ticket off its face, took a look, and then showed a puzzled expression.

"Xun?"

Huh, why does this thing look so familiar?