She was naturally more alert than the average person and found it difficult to fall asleep in an unfamiliar environment unless she was knocked unconscious.

So, not counting the time in the Time Realm, she hadn't closed her eyes for a full day and night.

Plus, after an hour of tossing and turning in the Thunder Pool, even if her physical strength had upgraded, she was still bound to be tired.

But the Han Ning City combined regional competition was about to begin, and the top 60 would be decided in the morning, with the group points competition starting directly in the afternoon.

In other words, she would have to fight at least two matches consecutively on the first morning; of course, if she lost the first match, there would be no second match.

So, she had no time to recuperate.

The knockout rounds still adopted the sub-division rules.

Draw numbers, randomly match opponents.

This time, Mingxi drew number 96.

69, 96.

These two sets of numbers, placed together, were quite unique.

It had a fresh and unconventional feel, regardless of the fate of those who drew them.

Han Ning City Workers' Stadium was a professional pet beast battleground, having hosted many large-scale pet beast battles.

The stadium was a semi-open building, with a total area of 57,000 square meters, equivalent to a quarter of the Bird's Nest stadium, and could accommodate 20,000 spectators. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Although it wasn't the largest battle venue in Han Ning City, for a non-official, small-scale selection competition like the Changheng Cup, it was already considered a top-tier setup.

Mingxi noticed that smart cameras had already been installed near the ten competition venues, capable of filming the entire competition process from all angles.

Moreover, she also saw several people with reporter IDs from a local TV station sitting in the VIP section at the very front, with various long and short lenses already in place.

She also saw many people streaming live on their personal terminals.

And it was said that the organizers had also invited professional commentators who would randomly comment on ongoing matches.

It seemed that this internal selection competition of the Changheng Group was more highly valued than previous editions.

I wonder if it's related to the never-before-seen top three rewards in previous years?

Probably, right?

At 8:45 AM, after the Changheng Group's senior management finished their brief address, the host announced the official start of the competition.

All contestants took their positions in the waiting area.

"Mingxi?"

Hearing the slightly familiar shout, Mingxi turned around in surprise and, sure enough, saw Fu Yifan's figure in the crowd.

"Senior Fu? Why are you here?"

Fu Yifan had already quickly walked up to Mingxi.

"I was going to ask you why you're here."

Fu Yifan truly hadn't expected to run into Mingxi here. What was this? Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land?

This kind of fate was unparalleled.

"Senior Fu, are you also a contestant? But I didn't see you in the Haizhou City sub-division."

Only 26 people qualified from the Haizhou City division, so even if they didn't know each other's names, they at least recognized each other by face.

So, Fu Yifan was definitely not among them.

Fu Yifan shook his head, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "I was directly recommended into the combined regional competition; I didn't have to participate in the sub-division competition."

Mingxi raised an eyebrow.

There was direct recommendation?

What kind of status was that, so impressive?

Mingxi suddenly thought of something.

The chairman of Changheng Group also seemed to have the surname Fu.

So, it couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?

She looked at Fu Yifan and asked uncertainly, "So you're from the Fu Family?"

Fu Yifan nodded with an expression that said, 'You've discovered a big secret.'

"My grandfather is Fu Ting."

Fu Ting, the current chairman of Changheng Group, and also the current head of the Fu Family.

Impressive.

She hadn't realized that Fu Yifan was actually a genuine young master from a noble family?

Then why did he go to Haizhou City for school, attending a public Junior high like No. 3 Middle School with ordinary teaching staff?

Don't children from wealthy families all go to schools like St. Mia, St. George, or private Ouran, private Cross Academy, which constantly highlight the students' noble status?

As if seeing what she was thinking, Fu Yifan scratched his head somewhat shyly: "I had a bit of a conflict with my family before, and in a fit of pique, I accompanied my aunt, who married out, to Haizhou City."

What a coincidence, there really was an aunt who married into Haizhou City.

So, the end of the lie is the truth?

"So you also want to compete with us for those 20 Mystic Ground spots?"

Mingxi looked at him with an expression that said, 'No way, no way, what you're doing is too unkind.'

Fu Yifan: ...

Junior's gaze was too direct; he felt too embarrassed to nod.

But he still nodded.

That was indeed the truth.

"No choice, this is Grandpa's test for us."

Mingxi noticed the key point.

"Us?"

"So, besides you, are there other people from your family also participating?"

Fu Yifan: "Yes, there's also my cousin; he just turned 17 this year, a little under."

Mingxi finally understood why the Changheng Group was so generous and grand with this year's selection competition.

With Skill Stones and Spatial Buttons.

It turned out that their son had grown up.

He needed to go out and see the world, to defeat some easy opponents.

Mingxi didn't care; a battle was a battle, no matter who the opponent was.

However, since this inside information had delivered itself to her, it seemed a bit unreasonable for her not to ask for more details.

So she asked:

"How strong is your cousin? How does he compare to you?"

Fu Yifan glanced at her, "He and I are the same; we both contracted tiger-type pet beasts, but his Frost Odd-looking Lion-like Tiger has already evolved to Advanced Level. My Mountain King can't last five moves against his female tiger."

The first pet beast of the direct descendants of their Fu Family is basically a tiger-type pet beast; this is a family tradition.

He paused, then lowered his voice again and said, "The Spatial Button in the champion's reward was specially customized by my grandfather according to his preferences."

Mingxi understood.

His cousin's goal was the championship.

"By the way, you know about the National High School Beast Tamers League, right?"

Mingxi nodded.

She wasn't a cave dweller.

The National High School Beast Tamers League was the most important national event for high school students in Dragonflower Country; how could she not know?

It was usually held at the end of January each year.

From provincial competitions to regional competitions, and then to national competitions, the entire schedule lasted three months.

But this year was special; due to some reasons, this year's National High School Beast Tamers League was held a month early, so it ended at the end of March.

"My cousin was selected by his school to participate in the National High School Beast Tamers League this year, and he performed well, taking second place in the regional competition for the second-year high school section and reaching the top 16 in the national competition."

Is he that amazing?

Then does °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° her championship still have hope?

He was a top 16 player in the National High School competition, and she?

An unremarkable Junior high student, who had awakened for less than a month.

The gap in strength was a bit large.

"Actually, it's not just my cousin; several other high school league contestants also participated in this internal selection competition, so the competition this time will be very fierce."

"Inside information: there are as many as nine Beast Tamers with Advanced Level pet beasts in this combined regional competition."

Hearing this number, even Mingxi, such a calm and steady person, couldn't help but gasp sharply.

Nine Advanced Level pet beasts?

What kind of joke is this?!

In previous years, it was already rare to see three Advanced Level pet beasts.