"Oh, right."
Topaz asked again:
"I heard you accepted the challenge from that contestant named Shuo Jin?"
"Eh? I only just accepted it, and you already know, Miss Topaz?" Luka was astonished.
"Well, I am one of the sponsors."
Topaz smiled.
"Consider this a reminder from a bystander. Be careful—he has quite a few tricks outside the ring."
Luka nodded, deeply grateful.
"Thank you for the warning. I'll be careful."
After Yan Huan returned with some skewers, Luka bid Topaz farewell and returned to the Jingfeng Ship.
The next day.
Contestant lounge.
Luka stood before the tactics board, unable to keep himself from feeling nervous again.
Winning would let him advance straight to the qualifying match, but if he lost, it would all be over.
"Are the underhanded tactics Miss Topaz mentioned the kind I'm thinking of?"
Luka looked at Yan Huan, who was busy eating.
"During my old boxing career, I met some despicable boxers who liked using dirty tricks. There was one guy who specialized in putting laxatives in other people's drinks before a match."
"Mr. Yan Huan, have you ever seen anything like that?"
"..."
Yan Huan stopped chewing and could not help recalling something.
"Do you know why March 7th fought two matches in a row earlier?"
"Actually, there was supposed to be someone else's match between those two."
"But one of the contestants got bagged and beaten up while shopping around the Luofu. He's still hospitalized in the Alchemy Commission."
"You should be careful too. Don't let someone beat you up before the match. Then your opponent would get a bye and win outright."
"What?" Luka's eyes widened.
"That kind of thing has already happened?!"
"What else?" Yan Huan said helplessly.
"You're way too naive about Xianzhou people's competitions."
At that moment, Camille rushed