Chapter 318: Group Stage

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November 3rd.

Shengshui High School.

The moment Qiao Sang stepped into Training Ground No. 1, she saw a group gathered around Zhang Dezhou, Wang Yao, Shi Gaofeng, Xu Yixuan, He Datao, and others, engaged in a heated discussion. Zhang Dezhou, however, looked utterly aggrieved.

"What are you all talking about?" Qiao Sang walked over and asked.

The moment Zhang Dezhou saw her, his eyes turned red, resembling the aggrieved heroine in a melodramatic school drama, trying hard not to cry yet clearly feeling wronged.

“It wasn’t me!” He shouted in despair.

Qiao Sang was stunned.

“What’s going on? What wasn’t you?” She asked in confusion.

“It wasn’t me who leaked your information online!” Zhang Dezhou declared indignantly.

Recalling the events of last night and that morning, his frustration only grew. Being a substitute was already humiliating, but upon arriving at evening self-study, multiple classmates had bombarded him with the same question:

“Hey, is your online ID ‘GeniusGeniusGeniusAgain’?”

Initially puzzled, he later discovered this ID was infamous for leaking Qiao Sang’s information online, earning the title of Shengshui Traitor.

When he realized people were accusing him of this, Zhang Dezhou was filled with disbelief.

What the heck?! Who was spreading these baseless rumors?

Did they really think he was the type to sell out his teammates?

He spent half the night explaining himself, but some still gave him looks of

I get it

, as if they were in on some secret. It was maddening.

That morning, he came to the training ground hoping for some peace, only to be interrogated by the school team members as well.

Thankfully, Xu Yixuan and He Datao trusted him, but Zhang Dezhou still felt wronged. Seeing Qiao Sang now, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

Despite being a substitute, he genuinely admired her skills and didn’t want her to misunderstand.

“I know it wasn’t you.” Qiao Sang said.

Her words left Zhang Dezhou frozen in disbelief.

She trusts me? She really trusts me?!

“But Qiao Sang, after analyzing everything, the most likely person to leak your info is him.” Wang Yao argued, frowning.

“That’s because you don’t know Zhang Dezhou well.” Xu Yixuan countered.

“His skills might not be great, but his character is solid. He’s always been near the bottom of the class rankings, but he’s never resorted to copying answers.”

“And besides.”

He Datao added, “Analyzing posts from other schools like that? That’s not Zhang Dezhou’s style. He usually just barges into their forums and starts cursing people out. No way he’d be this strategic!”

Zhang Dezhou’s lip twitched. Any gratitude he felt toward the two vanished.

Shi Gaofeng chimed in, “What’s wrong with being at the bottom of the class? Anyone who got into Shengshui High isn’t dumb.”

Zhang Dezhou turned to him, surprised and moved.

Their eyes met, and in that moment, they shared a silent understanding:

Brother, didn’t expect you to be a fellow underachiever!

Before the conversation could continue, Qiao Sang cleared her throat.

“Actually, the person who leaked my info was me.”

Silence

.

The group stared at her, dumbfounded.

“You sold your own information?!” Wang Yao was the first to recover, looking utterly shocked.

“Yeah, it was me." Qiao Sang admitted sheepishly, scratching her head. “Think about that ID. Doesn’t

GeniusGeniusGeniusAgain

spell out my name?” (T/N: In the raws.)

Everyone: !!!

In hindsight, some forum users had pointed out that the ID ‘GeniusGeniusGeniusAgain’ could be interpreted as Sang, but they were quickly ridiculed.

After all, who would leak their own information in a high-stakes national competition?

Qiao Sang began explaining the whole story, recounting the events that led to her decision.

After hearing her out, Wang Yao broke the silence.

“So there really was someone from our school selling your information, but you intercepted them?”

“Exactly.” Qiao Sang confirmed.

“Then why did you go and post about yourself afterward?” Shi Gaofeng asked, still baffled.

Qiao Sang replied earnestly, “Because I realized it was incredibly profitable.”

The group was rendered speechless.

Finally, Xu Yixuan spoke up.

“So... about the 1,000 credits I spent to buy your info, can I get a refund?”

Qiao Sang: !!!

Oh no! I completely forgot about that!

With the air cleared, Zhang Dezhou was visibly relieved, chatting and laughing with the others.

“See? I told you he wasn’t clever enough for something like this.” He Datao teased, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Shut up!”

After about twenty minutes of free training, Sun Boyi and Zheng Guoping entered the arena.

“Everyone, stop for a moment.” Sun Boyi announced.

“We’ll wrap up training in the morning, have lunch, and head to Hongrao Town in Shanglong County.”

“High school sophomores, follow me to Jiudu District’s Beast Taming Base.” Zheng Guoping added.

Qiao Sang wasn’t surprised. She’d already looked up the location of Beast Taming High School in Hui City, it was in Hongrao Town, which was still within Hanggang City.

With the preliminaries over, the official competition began, starting with the group stage and followed by elimination rounds.

In the group stage, 576 competitors across all grades were divided into 16 groups, each with 36 participants. The top 18 from each group would advance.

“Hongrao Town, huh? I heard there’s a local guy there who’s won the lottery three times.” Xu Yixuan remarked, recalling a recent news story.

“What kind of prizes?” He Datao asked, intrigued.

Qiao Sang paid little attention. Lottery news like this was usually just marketing to encourage gambling.

“Once, it was ten cases of Grade-A energy restoration potions. Another time, an S-grade artifact. And the last time... a Greatmouth Dragon’s egg.”

Qiao Sang: !!!

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