A whistle? I didnât buy a whistleâŠ
Qiao Sang stared blankly at the whistle in Little Treasure's claw.
It looked strikingly similar to the one that mechanical pet beast referee had earlier todayâŠ
No wayâŠ
A bad feeling crept into Qiao Sangâs chest.
Steadying herself, she asked, âLittle Treasure, where did this whistle come from?â
Little Treasure, who was busy urging Yabao and YanYan to start their duel, heard his Beastmasterâs voice. He lowered his head to glance at the whistle in his claw and wiggled it a bit.
âXun Xun?â
Is this what you mean?
âYes, that one.â Qiao Sang nodded.
âXun Xun~â
Little Treasureâs eyes curved into crescents as he happily explained.
He had exchanged Yabaoâs sunglasses for it.
âYap?!â
Yabao instantly forgot his staring contest with YanYan. He turned to Little Treasure, eyes wide with disbelief.
My sunglasses?!
You traded my sunglasses for this worthless piece of junk?!
âXun Xun~â
Little Treasure shook his stubby claw, signaling for Yabao to calm down.
From his ring, he began pulling out a series of colorful sunglasses and lined them up neatly.
âXun~â
Little Treasure gave a cheerful cry, trying to please his elder brother.
See? All your favorite colors are still here. I specifically chose one you never use to trade.
âYapâŠâ
Yabao relaxed when he saw his favorite styles were all accounted for. Sitting on the floor, he extended a claw and gave a thumbs-up.
âYap Yap!â
Nice trade!
âXun~â
Little Treasure scratched his head shyly, looking both proud and humble.
Just then, the whistle in Little Treasure's claw floated up, slowly making its way to Yabao.
âYap!â
Yabao grabbed it excitedly, giving a happy cry.
Since it was traded for with my sunglasses, itâs mine now!
Little Treasure: !!!
---
âYouâre so lucky your two pet beasts get along so well.â Wang Yao said enviously, watching Yabao and Little Treasure interact.
Most pet beasts trained separately. Keeping two around meant sending the other to a pet training center for boarding, so they rarely interacted this much.
Now reassured the whistle was legally acquired, Qiao Sang laughed heartily.
âOf course! Little Treasure grew up under Yabaoâs watchful eye.â
---
That night, Little Treasure, who was being praised for his great relationship with Yabao, grew more and more annoyed thinking about the whistle he had worked so hard to obtain.
Looking at the sleeping Yabao, he rolled his eyes and suddenly came up with an idea. Floating over to his Beastmaster, he gently shook her with his claw.
At 3:22 a.m., Qiao Sang was in deep sleep, completely unaffected.
Little Treasure, now a pro at this routine, pinched her nose shut.
âMmgh!â Unable to breathe, Qiao Sang reluctantly opened her eyes.
âWhat is itâŠâ She murmured, half-asleep, finding Little Treasureâs face right in front of her. She didnât react with shock, just a mix of resignation and helplessness.
It wasnât because she had nerves of steel, Little Treasure had done this far too many times.
Sometimes he even licked her awake, leaving her face drenched in drool. Qiao Sang had built up a tolerance.
âXun Xun!â Little Treasure clenched his tiny claw into a fist, looking serious.
He wanted to participate in tomorrowâs match!
If he fought, Big Brother Yabao, who loved battles, would definitely be upset.
This is his revenge!
âAlright.â Qiao Sang agreed without hesitation.
âAnything else?â
âXun Xun.â Little Treasure shook his head.
âThen let me sleep.â Qiao Sang yawned and closed her eyes again.
âXun~â
Little Treasure nodded, satisfied.
The room fell silent once more.
Little Treasure floated to the windowsill and gazed up at the moon.
âXunâŠâ
For tomorrowâs battle, he should trainâŠ
Thinking this, Little Treasure began searching the floor.
Maybe he could find some ants hereâŠ
---
The preliminary rounds of the qualifier continued in full swing.
Based on the first day of matches, someone compiled a tally.
Throughout Zhejiang Province, there were 67 students who scored a full set of points on the first day.
The provinceâs high school forum had a thread that listed these students, classifying them as the
first-tier competitors
while also posting their photos and the pet beasts they used in the first match.
Qiao Sang was among them.
âSo, thatâs Qiao Sang?â
âLooks like her. Must be.â
âCanât believe the Beastmaster of that Flame Hound is someone our age. I thought itâd be some veteran.â
âDo you even use the internet? The houndâs been featured in a sunglasses ad, and its Beastmasterâs info was dug up ages ago. She won a championship right after finishing her high school entrance exam.â
âRight after the entrance exam? So sheâs only been a Beastmaster for a short time? And she already won? That competition mustâve been weak.â
âWeak? It was the Bai Xin Competition. Any F-rank Beastmaster could enter, and plenty of them had intermediate-level pet beasts.â
âWow⊠Thatâs impressive.â
Regardless of whether people had seen her C-Zone match yesterday, all eyes in the B-Zone were on Qiao Sang today.
Among Shengshui Highâs senior team, all members were part of the first-tier competitors, but they were veterans who had competed twice before.
None drew as much curiosity as Qiao Sang, who was a complete newcomer to the senior team.
---
As matches proceeded, the spotlight turned to Shengshui Highâs match against Pinghai High.
Pinghai High was notorious for its water-type pet beasts, making it a natural counter to fire types.
Qiao Sang deliberated. Yabao hadnât faced a worthy opponent in a long time. Yesterdayâs match didnât even count as a warm-up.
Perhaps a school specializing in water types could give Yabao a good fight. Practical experience was the key to progress.
Then she remembered her late-night promise to Little Treasure.
After a moment of hesitation, her expression cleared.
Little Treasure had woken her at 3 a.m., which was already October 28th. It had said it wanted to fight
tomorrow
, and sheâd agreed.
Today was still October 28th. Letting Yabao fight wouldnât break her promise.