Beast Taming: the More the Better Chapter 831 - 358: The Mysterious Backdoor Contestant! (Part 2)

His piercing eyes scanned downward, swiftly fixing on the massive crowd beneath him:

"Quiet down! You’ve all been summoned here today, and I’m sure you know the reason. Correct, it’s about the provincial exam’s battle royale rules. No need for me to explain in detail—the exact rules and win conditions are all listed on the Jianghai Beast Master Association’s official site!

That’s why we’ve gathered you now: to hand out your personal wristwatches for pre-registering your details. With so many entrants and the registration process, we’re doing this two days early. I trust you all get it!

Meanwhile, I truly hope you all shine in the exam the day after tomorrow, bringing pride to Jianghai and to me, Qin Erlong! And soon, let Jianghai boast before the whole Dragon Nation!"

Qin Erlong spoke with utter composure, but it stirred many to ball their fists tightly.

In these moments, fame equals recognition of talent, fame brings riches, fame unlocks resources far beyond your birth status.

This chance belongs to every one of them.

Forget aiming for the top ten—that’s like crossing a narrow log over a chasm—even with the tough prelims, thousands still compete.

How tough is standing out in the top ten?

Yet, simply cracking the top hundred would mark a glorious achievement on anyone’s record.

It’d be a badge of honor for landing jobs at big firms or pursuing any other route!

Besides, confronting a genuine Emperor-level Beastmaster left no room for antics; even the wildest young Breeders fell into neat lines without protest.

Leading the queue stood a young Beastmaster, seeming about twenty-four, buzzing with thrill.

For the very first to receive numbers and gear was President Qin Erlong himself, floating down from above, not the staff in the back.

In the hastily formed lines, the lead guy’s cheeks burned red as he faced Old Qin.

Qin Erlong said little, just gave a faint smile and pulled out a wristwatch:

"Put this on, 0002—that’s your number! Soon, input your pre-registered name and student ID. It matches your registration sequence.

The wristwatch shows your rank and live rankings. Plus, there’s a safety button: hit it, and an energy shield pops up right away, protecting your life and pulling you from the trial Secret Realm.

Naturally, pressing it ends your trial, locking in your score then as final. Got it?"

"Yes, got it!"

The youth snatched it fast, slipped it on, then paused in confusion:

"President Qin, is this number by registration order? But with no one ahead, shouldn’t it be 0001, or 0000?"

Qin Erlong showed no surprise at the query, merely grinning lightly:

"0001 went to someone tied up with affairs who couldn’t show these days. A proxy collected it. Check the wristwatch for details. By day after tomorrow’s end, every participant must enter name and student number."

The youth blinked, brow furrowing a bit—this felt off the rules, didn’t it?

Everyone knew the prelim’s brutality, yet here President Qin let someone skip via connections openly?

Still, before President Qin, silence reigned; no one spoke up, though the front youth and those behind wore clear frowns.

They vowed to uncover who got President Qin bending rules for them!

Sure enough, word spread fast, drawing mounting curiosity.

Particularly among fellow contestants.

Under battle royale rules, plenty of ambitious young Beastmasters had already linked with known allies for mini-teams.

Linzhou drew a crowd, but the circle stayed tight-knit; even tail-end liners got the buzz via quick whispers!

Daring to pull strings now!

The whole province—no, the nation—had eyes on this!

Clearly, this mystery figure, with a backstory surely jaw-dropping, now drew endless hostile glares.

Even in the provincial exam’s thousand-plus participant group, open chatter erupted over it.

"Who’s this young master? President Qin’s kin maybe?"

"No way! Cut the rumors! Old Qin has just one granddaughter, studying at Magic Capital Academy and locked for their finals! He’d never rig for family!"

"Then who? They haven’t input name or grad year yet? Back from some elite college to Linhai?"

"Ridiculous! Sure, a few from Linzhou, Shuhua, Shuiyuan returned ahead of time, but none get Old Qin pulling strings!"

As talk hit this snag, sharp minds connected dots.

Right away, in the huge thousand-member group, someone pinged key players.

"@Yan Fan, Brother Yan, anyone angling to team with you, needing your backup?"

"Yeah, connection-pullers might flop in prelims, so to pad resumes and shine, they’d chase top dogs like you, Brother Yan—one of our rare Commander tenth-tier aces?"

One caught the hint behind the probes.

Inquiries flew to Jianghai’s top young Beastmasters with top-ten shots lately.

Yet all denied any such approaches!

Truth was, Old Qin’s favoritism meant his sway was huge—even reluctant, for Jianghai careers, they’d agree.

Issue was, no such requests happened.

Still, even honest public denials in the big group fooled few; private checks with buddies yielded zilch.

All the same, chatter pivoted—from unmasking Qin’s favored to team-ups and alliances in this setup.

Everyone grasped why the provincial used this format: vast entrants, quick wrap-up.

But at Imperial Capital for national TV, no carries allowed—no delusions of top-ten rides.

While this fresh temp group buzzed hotly, a message dropped, halting the rapid scroll.

"!!! Number 0001 dude finally added student number and name—oh man, now it clicks why President Qin pulled strings."

This bombshell stalled the whole group chat, as all scrambled to see the identity.

No shock there—in that quick peek, the 0001 enigma stepped into the spotlight for all.

[Number: 0001]

[Name: Su Ping, Age: 19, School Record: Graduated in year 24 from Linzhou No. 6 Middle School, Class 2...]