A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

35:

“Are you serious?”

Everyone looked puzzled, and Lan Subing, overcoming her social anxiety, couldn’t help but speak up: “How would she use it? To make the loser read their concession speech more gracefully?”

The queen of snarky commentary was back in action! (×)

Jiang Tianming looked at the two on the stage, then back at Su Bei, full of doubt: “Is this also something your ability told you?”

“Just watch and see,” Su Bei said, not elaborating further. In truth, he hadn’t figured out how ‘Smiling Speech’ could help Zhao Xiaoyu win the fight.

“Comic Sense” was equally baffled, but what it couldn’t understand even more was: “How can you be so bold to say that? Even I can only know that Zhao Xiaoyu will win, but how can you be sure she will win with her ability?”

“Just a reasonable guess,” Su Bei replied nonchalantly, not really caring about the small bet after having wagered big before, “If she wants to become a powerful ability user, she won’t give up using her ability in a fight.”

There was no doubt Zhao Xiaoyu wanted to be a powerful ability user; it was evident from her omitting the specifics of her ability during self-introductions, her attentive demeanor in class, and the importance she placed on monthly exams.

In this world, all powerful ability users must develop their own offensive techniques using their abilities. They face the threat of nightmare beasts at any moment, and without sufficient offensive means, the stronger they are, the faster they die.

Even the ability user with the ‘Detective’ ability could use it to quickly find the enemy’s weak points during a fight.

So, as Su Bei had said, since Zhao Xiaoyu wanted to be a strong ability user, she would definitely not give up the chance to make her ability work in combat. And this monthly exam was the perfect opportunity to showcase her development in offensive ability power.

Understanding Su Bei’s point, “Comic Sense” immediately approved of his action. Zhao Xiaoyu was indeed likely to use her ability while on the platform, even if they hadn’t figured out how the ability could be used.

Moreover, the stakes for Su Bei in this gamble weren’t high, and the method to make amends was simple. Even if Zhao Xiaoyu didn’t use her special ability, it wouldn’t break her character, for she never claimed it was her ability that made the judgment.

Afterwards, Su Bei could easily feign disappointment, recite the reasons he had previously given for the “comic consciousness,” and then express that Zhao Xiaoyu wasn’t as clever as he had imagined.

A simple explanation could completely clear his earlier mistake.

On the stage, the two had already tangled and started fighting. They were all from Class F; who didn’t know whom? Even if they were unclear about each other’s special abilities, they knew that their fight didn’t rely on abilities. A direct close-quarters brawl would settle it.

Clearly, neither of them had much training. Although they had been drilled by Meng Huai for some time, it only improved their physical fitness a bit, unrelated to combat skills.

So now, the two were merely pecking at each other like inexperienced fighters.

At first, they didn’t dare to exert too much force, after all, they were classmates and had to get along after stepping down from the stage. It was just a minor scuffle as they tried to persuade each other to yield. But gradually, they couldn’t control their tempers, and the fight escalated with punches and kicks.

Li Qian’s tall stature gave him an advantage in this kind of melee. Although Zhao Xiaoyu, at 1.6 meters, wasn’t short, she was still forced into a retreat. This retreat

wasn’t as disheveled as Wu Jin’s had been, but to the discerning eye, it was clear she was being pushed to the edge of the stage.

With her current state, let alone using her special ability to fight, victory for Zhao Xiaoyu was difficult. Jiang Tianming stole a glance at Su Bei but said nothing. With the lesson from Wu Jin’s previous fight, he wouldn’t consider Su Bei wrong until the referee announced the result.

Su Bei remained calm, certain of Zhao Xiaoyu’s victory if Wu Jin had won, so he naturally wasn’t worried.

After struggling for a while, Zhao Xiaoyu was finally pushed to the edge of the stage.

Strangely, Jiang Tianming felt this scene seemed familiar. Then it dawned on him, wasn’t Wu Jin also pushed to the edge of the stage?

Was a reversal coming?

He perked up, watching the stage intently, and the others also realized this, bracing themselves.

Sure enough, Zhao Xiaoyu suddenly spoke with conviction: “You’re definitely going to lose.”

Li Qian looked puzzled: “What are you saying… Hahahaha!”

Before he could finish, he burst into uncontrollable laughter, his eyes revealing a hint of bewilderment.

As everyone knows, one’s body is weak during laughter. Zhao Xiaoyu seized the moment, pushed with force, and flipped Li Qian over.

She had won the victory!

“It’s ‘Laughter’!” Mo Xiaotian exclaimed with wide eyes, “What a perfect timing to use this ability!”

The swift reversal of fortune left even the stoic Mu Tie stunned for a moment before he turned to Su Bei in surprise: “To think the victory was actually due to an ability.”

Su Bei curled his lips into a smile, remaining silent. Had Zhao Xiaoyu not used her ability, he would have shared his basis for judgment. But since she had successfully employed her ability, he naturally maintained an air of mystery.

Observing his demeanor, the crowd couldn’t help but speculate anew about his ability.

“‘Laughter’ can actually make people laugh so heartily; I wonder how long it lasts. If it’s for an extended period, it could cause considerable harm,” mused Mu Tie thoughtfully, considering Class F to be full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.

Wu Mingbai shook his head: “At least for now, it surely doesn’t last long, or else she wouldn’t have waited until the end to use it.”

With only two people left to compete, one was Lan Subing, and the other was Jiang Tianming. Jiang Tianming looked at Lan Subing: “Will you be able to use your ability when it’s time?”

Lan Subing’s ability was ‘Word Spirit,’ and for these novice ability users, saying “step down from the arena” wasn’t difficult. Even an A-class couldn’t break her control, only causing her to expend more mental energy.

However, Lan Subing’s severe social anxiety nearly prevented her from speaking to strangers, which was why she ended up in Class F. An unusable ability, no matter how strong, was pointless.

“I don’t know,” Lan Subing admitted honestly, also worried about this point, “If I’m matched with a classmate from Class F, it’s fine, but if it’s someone from another class…”

She truly couldn’t reconcile with that. If she were outmatched, losing would be acceptable. Even if the opponent won by deceit, she could accept that. But to fail because of her own psychological issues, unable to use her ability, would be unbearable for anyone.

Wu Mingbai couldn’t help but sigh: “Honestly, you should develop a way to release your ability through a recorded message on your phone.”

Hearing this, Lan Subing gave a bitter smile: “Do you think I don’t want to? It’s just that I don’t have that capability right now.”

As soon as the monthly exam’s individual battle was confirmed, she began looking for a solution. Initially, she thought that standing on the arena and looking at Jiang Tianming and others in the audience, she would be able to speak.

But after today’s matches, Lan Subing realized that standing on the arena meant she couldn’t see the audience at all, meaning she couldn’t cheat.

Now her mind was completely blank.

“Why not take our photos with you? Maybe looking at the pictures will help you speak?” Jiang Tianming suggested, offering the most reasonable advice he could think of.

Lan Subing’s eyes lit up: “I could try that!”

Weapons were not allowed on the arena, but a photo was permissible. Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai ran back to the dormitory and each brought her a one-inch photo. They were the people Lan Subing was most familiar with, and their photos couldn’t be more suitable.

With these two photographs in hand, Lan Subing gratefully hugged the person who gave them to her, then nervously stepped onto the stage.

No sooner had she ascended than she brandished the photos of her two friends, attempting to use the “Word Spirit” to banish her opponent from the arena.

Alas, gazing upon the two chilling images, Lan Subing’s lips seemed sealed shut, unable to part, her voice stifled as if something was lodged in her throat.

Her adversary, a student from Class D, possessed a rather inconsequential ability. The sight of the blue-haired beauty producing two photographs upon her entrance startled him; he mistook it for some formidable power.

After a moment’s wait with no subsequent action from her, he cautiously advanced.

Sensing his movement, Lan Subing swiftly retreated. Her combat strength was not high; a real fight might see her easily tossed from the ring. As Wu Mingbai had said, she was a pure mage.

Seeing her retreat, her opponent realized the truth. Joy surged within him, thinking: “This F-class act was all a bluff. Watch me throw her off the stage… but first, I’ll ask for her contact information.”

With that thought, he strode forward, ready to act.

Fortunately, while Lan Subing couldn’t speak, her social anxiety didn’t control her physical actions. Seeing the attack imminent, she fled, not intending to resist.

Thanks to several weeks of training by their homeroom teacher, Meng Huai, the students of Class F might not excel at much, but they could run. The boy chased after Lan Subing for quite some time, never catching her and exhausting himself in the process.

“Why are you so fast?” he panted, standing in place, gasping for air. “Stop running; you can’t beat me anyway. Why not just step down from the stage?”

But Lan Subing had relaxed considerably, realizing that he indeed couldn’t catch her, and it seemed his stamina was even less than hers! What did she have to worry about? She could just wear him out!

Hearing the boy’s words, Lan Subing thought he was dreaming, and couldn’t help but retort, “Why don’t you just…”

She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing she could speak. Seizing the opportunity, she changed her words: “Step down from the stage.”

“I certainly will not… Huh? What’s happening?” In the next second, the boy found his body moving against his will, his legs seemingly with minds of their own, carrying him towards the stairs of the arena.

“Wait, what’s going on!” he cried out, helplessly forced to walk down from the stage.

Leaving Lan Subing alone on the stage, bewildered.

Below, witnessing this series of unexpected events, the crowd was stunned. No one had anticipated that Lan Subing would overcome her social anxiety and use her ability under such circumstances.

Su Bei muttered to himself, “Is this the outburst of a commentator?”

Lan Subing had not yet recovered, walking dazedly down from the arena, looking at Jiang Tianming and the others, pointing to herself and asking, “Did I win?”

“You won,” Jiang Tianming affirmed.

Realizing she hadn’t snapped back to reality, Wu Mingbai hooked her shoulder and laughed, “Not bad, you’re already able to speak to strangers!”

The atmosphere among the three of them was as if there was a wall separating them from everyone else. This was the bond between the main characters who had gone through an entire season of the comic, a bond no one would intrude upon at this moment.

Except for Mo Xiaotian, who was oblivious to the mood.

He didn’t care about anything and rushed over, embracing the main group, “Little Lan, you’re amazing! Your ‘Word Spirit’ ability is so strong! After this month’s exam, you should be able to move up to Class A, right?”

Lan Subing couldn’t help but laugh, her mind finally clearing. After calming down, she thought it over carefully and felt that things were not so simple.

Hearing Mo Xiaotian’s words, she shook her head honestly, “Not necessarily, I haven’t completely overcome my social anxiety yet.”

Just saying this much made her want to hide her face with a scarf. The rest of the message, Lan Subing typed out on her phone.

——”I think the reason I was able to speak to strangers just now is firstly because I couldn’t suppress my inner desire to criticize, I really wanted to criticize him. But the second reason is more crucial, I felt that even without using ‘Word Spirit’, I could defeat him. Realizing this, my mindset became very relaxed, and that’s why I was able to speak out.”

Admiration flashed in Su Bei’s eyes. Worthy of being one of the main group known for their collective intelligence, Lan Subing’s analysis of her own situation was spot-on. In the short two minutes from stepping down from the arena to typing, she was able to think so clearly, indeed very smart.

Although he hadn’t seen the subsequent comic plot, it was clear that Lan Subing’s social anxiety wouldn’t be cured so simply.

As she said herself, the reason she could use ‘Word Spirit’ in front of strangers this time was entirely due to the relaxed feeling of certain victory that allowed her desire to criticize to come forth.

But if faced with a slightly stronger opponent, Lan Subing’s mindset would not be so relaxed, and naturally, her social anxiety would not be alleviated.

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Her analysis made everyone realize that the issue was not so simple and over with, Mu Tie suddenly asked, “Subing, didn’t you say you’ve seen a psychologist before, but it was useless? Have you considered seeing a psychologist who specializes in abilities?”

That was a good idea. Previously, because her whole family were ordinary people, even though they were wealthy, Lan’s parents couldn’t hire a powerful ability user for their daughter due to lack of connections.

But now that Lan Subing herself had become an ability user, she could definitely ask the school teachers for recommendations.

However, before she could speak, Jiang Tianming shook his head, “I don’t think it would be of much use. The homeroom teacher obviously wants to help you overcome your social anxiety, and he hasn’t mentioned seeking a psychologist with abilities, so I guess that means a psychologist with abilities can’t cure you.”

His words

made sense, and Mu Tie also remembered the first day of school when Meng Huai forced Lan Subing to introduce herself. He frowned, “Maybe I should ask the homeroom teacher, especially since I’ve already finished my match today.”

“Thank you,” Lan Subing said gratefully, knowing that this was not really related to the class leader’s duties. It was only because Mutie Ren was her friend that he had gone out of his way to confirm it for her.

At that moment, the boy who had been defeated by Lan Subing came over with a gloomy face: “What kind of superpower do you have? How could you be assigned to Class F?”

He was no fool; he knew that a superpower capable of controlling a person was no simple feat. Such a power being assigned to Class F was a joke.

“It’s ‘Word Spirit.’ Because I have severe social anxiety and can’t speak, I can’t use my superpower, so I was placed in Class F.” Seeing him approach, Lan Subing cautiously stepped back a few steps before quickly typing out her response on her phone.

Hearing this, the boy scratched his head, suddenly showing a look of delight: “So, if you’re talking to me, does that mean…” ——you’re interested in me?

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard the mechanical female voice from Lan Subing’s phone again: “It seems I can easily defeat you without using my superpower, so I’m unexpectedly less socially anxious. Thank you for that!”

The boy: “……”

Watching his tearful retreat, Lan Subing turned in confusion: “Why is he crying as he leaves? Is it because he was defeated by me and took too big of a hit?”

Wu Mingbai showed a sunny, cheerful smile, gave her a thumbs up, and nodded very affirmatively: “That’s right!”

Now, only Jiang Tianming was left without a match, and Su Bei was looking forward to his. He was curious whether Jiang Tianming would use his superpower in this match.

After all, since the comic’s update, except for what seemed like a passive use on the first day of running, Jiang Tianming had not used his superpower at other times. If he used his ability to summon the dead, would it alert others?

It was known that the dead he summoned seemed to be related to himself. Su Bei even boldly guessed that those he could summon were all killed by his own hands.

Wu Mingbai, who was well aware of the ugliness of human nature, also felt that Jiang Tianming’s use of his superpower would affect his image. Seeing that it was almost his turn, he leaned in and whispered a reminder: “Be careful with that superpower of yours.”

Jiang Tianming nodded, indicating he understood, and then walked straight to the arena.

His opponent was a Class C student, whose superpower was ‘Hair Strands,’ capable of attacking with hair. This kind of innate weapon, effective in both long-range and close combat, could obviously play a significant role in the arena. It was one of the superpowers that Su Bei had marked as the least desired to encounter in the past few days.

As he said, Jiang Tianming was indeed the most unfortunate among the living in this batch, followed by Su Bei himself.

The Class C girl had obviously investigated Jiang Tianming before today, and although she couldn’t find out what his superpower was, what good power could one assigned to Class F have?

So as soon as he approached, the Class C girl said without any courtesy: “Just give up, my superpower is ‘Hair Strands.’ I can bind you with my power before you even get close to me.”

The saying ‘the more you say, the more mistakes you make’ applies everywhere. Hearing the girl’s warning, Jiang Tianming keenly caught the loophole: “Since you can throw me off the arena directly, why say more now?”

Certainly, today there’s only one match, and even if all my mental strength is exhausted, I can fully recover by tomorrow. If the girl could really toss Jiang Tianming off the stage with her hair as easily as she claimed, there was no need for her to waste any more effort; she could have ended the battle right then and there.

The girl from Class C choked on his words, realizing her ploy had been exposed. With a slightly embarrassed cough, she said no more and strode directly towards Jiang Tianming.

Indeed, she had no way to directly use her hair strands to throw her opponent off the stage, for her mental strength had not yet reached that level. If she really had such ability, she would have gone straight to Class B; why would she still be in Class C?

But this did not mean she couldn’t handle Jiang Tianming. At least in the girl’s eyes, sending away a student from Class F was still a piece of cake. She had just wanted to save some trouble earlier, hence the deliberate lie.

Now that her strategy had failed, it was time to rely on brute strength.

As soon as she approached, Jiang Tianming immediately retreated, preparing to emulate Lan Subing’s tactic of running around the ring to exhaust the enemy’s stamina. But after only a few steps, he realized that victory was impossible with this method.

The girl from Class C indeed couldn’t use her hair strands to send him away, but extending her hair by a meter was effortless. Moreover, she could control the hardness, shape, and movement of this one-meter length of hair.

This extra meter made it impossible for Jiang Tianming to distance himself from her, and instead, he was easily caught. After all, the arena was so small; it wasn’t like the wilderness where one could keep running forward.

Watching the hair strands behind him emit a dark glow, like long needles aiming straight for the back of his neck, Jiang Tianming knew that once those hair strands touched his neck, he would be immediately deemed defeated by the referee.

This wouldn’t do.

Jiang Tianming gritted his teeth, squatted down, and turned, trying to temporarily shake off the hair. But the girl from Class C was not to be trifled with; she very timely controlled the hair to turn with Jiang Tianming.

The arena competition was indeed a good way to showcase the students’ learning status during this period. The girl from Class C, for instance, had clearly been studying and training her special abilities since the start of the school year.

But Jiang Tianming knew in his heart that he could easily defeat his opponent if he used his special ability. The problem was, as Wu Mingbai said, it was best not to use his special ability in full view of everyone. If someone noticed something amiss, his secret might be discovered.

He needed a more covert method.

Thinking this, Jiang Tianming’s gaze fell on the edge of the arena, and suddenly, an idea struck him. He gathered the little strength he had left and accelerated towards the edge of the arena.

The girl from Class C, who was about to catch up with him, fell behind quite a bit due to his sudden rush. Her eyebrows furrowed in impatience. How could this guy run so fast? Although she complained inwardly, she immediately controlled her hair to follow suit.

The girl knew that this guy could only hold on for so long; sooner or later, she would catch up if things continued as they were. With this thought, she suddenly felt less hurried.

On the other side, just as Jiang Tianming was about to reach the edge of the arena, he suddenly squatted down a second before stepping out. If the unprepared pursuer wasn’t careful, they might overshoot due to his move and fall off the arena.

But the girl from Class C was clearly not the unprepared type. Too many people had already fallen off the arena today because of this trick; she wouldn’t be fooled!

!

Upon seeing the space suddenly clear before her, the girl from Class C immediately tried to pull back and stop. But before she could control her body, suddenly, it seemed as if someone had gently tugged at her clothes.

That tug felt like the last straw that broke the camel’s back, causing her, still under the effect of the inertia not yet fully dissipated, to fall from Jiang Tianming’s back and plummet straight down.

Jiang Tianming wins!

Just like the scene when Lan Subing won the previous round, everyone was stunned. Won? Just like that?

From what they saw, Jiang Tianming had run to the edge of the arena and squatted down, and the girl from Class C, due to her fierce charge, couldn’t control herself and fell off the arena.

Didn’t use any special abilities?

Su Bei glanced at Jiang Tianming, whose expression was calm, as if he had anticipated this outcome. Then he looked at the girl from Class C, still in her fallen posture, her face full of confusion, and he smiled meaningfully.

Perhaps not.

It wasn’t until Jiang Tianming stepped down from the arena and the referee announced the results that the girl from Class C seemed to finally come to her senses. She stood up and walked straight to Jiang Tianming: “Hey! What ability do you have? Did you use your ability to pull me just now?”

Hearing this, Su Bei raised an eyebrow. He had said that Jiang Tianming must have used an ability, but he didn’t expect that he could do it without anyone else noticing, except for the unlucky party involved.

“Didn’t you just charge too far?” Jiang Tianming looked innocent, his black pupils filled with bewilderment, as if he really knew nothing.

Only Wu Ming, who knew him very well, chuckled softly beside Lan Subing: “Ah Jiang’s acting is so fake.”

Lan Subing could also tell that their friend was pretending, but she chose to dote on her friend: “Not at all, isn’t it quite convincing?”

And the girl from Class C, who had no prior interaction with Jiang Tianming, naturally couldn’t see that he was pretending. She frowned, and seeing that he seemed genuinely unaware, she began to hesitate.

In fact, the girl wasn’t sure if someone had really pulled her from the front; she had only felt a faint sensation. But considering the situation at the time, even if she had sensed the opponent’s plot in advance, it was reasonable that she couldn’t control the inertia of her own body. After all, there was indeed no one in front of her.

Could it be that she really misperceived? That she simply made a mistake and lost the match?

Thinking of this possibility, the girl stomped her foot in frustration and glared fiercely at Jiang Tianming: “This time you’re lucky. You better pray you don’t face me in the team battle!”

With that, she walked away angrily.

Jiang Tianming blinked and smiled at everyone: “Shall we go eat now?”

It was five in the afternoon, and the arena matches were not yet over, likely to continue until six or seven.

Although he was indeed a bit hungry, Wu Mingbai shook his head without hesitation and nodded towards a certain direction: “Let’s wait until his match is over before leaving.”

Everyone turned their heads and saw in the center of the playground, Si Zhaohua, dressed in a school uniform, gracefully rolling up his sleeves as he stepped onto the arena.

Below his arena, his teammates stood. However, it was clear that aside from Ai Baozhu, who was genuinely worried for Si Zhaohua, the rest didn’t seem concerned at all.

Su Bei glanced at Si Zhaohua’s opponent and tilted her head to ask Mo Xiaotian, “Is that short guy opposite Si Zhaohua also from Class A?”

Mo Xiaotian, who remembered his own classmates, nodded affirmatively: “Yes, his ability seems to be something like ‘Laser’. He showed us his electric eyes in class before.”

As he said this, his eyes sparkled, and he deliberately glared as if demonstrating: “That skill is so cool, just like in the movies! Zzzzzz—”

“Do you know the abilities of Si Zhaohua and his team?” Su Bei was referring to the three Class A students in their team.

“Zhou Pangzi’s ability seems to be related to defense. He himself said that no one in the class could break his defense except for Si Zhaohua. I don’t know about Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua’s abilities; I haven’t seen them use theirs. But Si Zhaohua’s ability should be offensive,” Mo Xiaotian shared everything he knew.

Su Bei nodded and walked towards the central arena: “Then let’s take this chance to see Si Zhaohua’s ability. Without using his ability, he probably can’t deal with that ‘Laser’ ability student, right?”

The others thought the same and followed suit. On the stage, the short male student’s expression was solemn, and his hands and eyes had already begun to emit a faint glow: “Come on, Si Zhaohua, let me see what your ability really is!”

As soon as he finished speaking, two lasers shot out from his left eye and right hand, attacking Si Zhaohua from above and below. In such an onslaught, the one being attacked had no chance to dodge. After all, the laser from the hand was movable.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the next second, Si Zhaohua’s school uniform tore open from the back, and a pair of huge white wings unfolded, swiftly crossing over to envelop Si Zhaohua, blocking the laser attack. It looked divine and noble.

“Damn! Is that even fair?” Even Wu Mingbai couldn’t help but curse when he saw this scene.

Including Su Bei, the Jiang Tianming squad stood there dumbfounded, staring at the shocking scene on the arena.

After a moment, Lan Subing murmured to herself, “Is it just my imagination? The style of this match is completely different from the one we just had, right?”

Hearing this, Su Bei couldn’t help but glance at her and thought to herself, “I think she also has the potential to break through the dimensional barrier.”

After a brief quip, Su Bei’s gaze returned to the field. She had to admit that Lan Subing was right; compared to their previous minor scuffles, this arena was the real battle between ability users.

Logically speaking, could they, a bunch of misfits, really have a chance to defeat Si Zhaohua and his team?

No matter how surprised they were, the match on the arena continued. Seeing that he couldn’t break through the opponent’s defense for the time being, the short male student immediately stopped wasting his mental energy and retracted the lasers.

Feeling the assault from the outside world fade, Si Zhaohua’s wings unfurled once more, half-concealed behind him, revealing his unscathed body.

The short boy’s expression was complex, his face slightly pale from the relentless use of his special ability: “Is this your power? ‘Angel’, indeed formidable, no wonder the teacher made you class president.”

After catching his breath, he continued: “My bad luck to face you this round, but I’ve heard that ‘Angel’ abilities come with a powerful attack move ‘Judgment’. Can I witness it?”

Hearing this, Si Zhaohua’s eyebrows lifted slightly: “I might not be able to execute it.”

Misunderstanding his meaning, the short boy thought he referred to his own mental strength possibly being insufficient to use the skill, so he said carelessly: “Why not try? Who knows, you might succeed?”

Taking his words, Si Zhaohua no longer dissuaded, politely nodding. The next second, his wings fully spread, fluttering twice, lifting him into the mid-air.

His expression was indifferent, looking down upon the masses, his hand raised as if to completely block out the sun’s rays: “Then, ‘Divine Judgment’—”

As his voice echoed, a small patch of sky above the arena darkened abruptly, the surrounding debris and leaves stirred without wind, the entire space of the arena seemed like a storm was imminent.

Before his hand could fall, the referee arrived in time: “Si Zhaohua wins! Withdraw your ability quickly!”

Only then did the short boy have a sudden epiphany about his earlier words. “Might not be able to execute it” wasn’t due to lack of mental strength, but because the attack was too strong, it would be stopped by the referee in advance.

Realizing this, the boy gave a wry smile, said nothing, and stepped down from the arena.

Watching him leave, Si Zhaohua retracted his wings. He bowed elegantly to the referee, then turned and descended from the arena. On his way down, he glanced inadvertently at Jiang Tianming and others, then withdrew his gaze without lingering, returning to his team.

Ai Baozhu’s delicate face showed a proud and joyful smile: “Amazing, Young Master Si! Worthy of you! But how did you manage to use ‘Judgment’? That’s…”

Her words were cut off by the chubby boy, his face full of admiration, flushed with excitement: “Young Master Si, you simply crushed Class A, you should be in Class S! The school really lacks vision.”

Si Zhaohua frowned slightly, saying indifferently: “Class S hasn’t started sorting yet, keep quiet.”

Hearing this, Su Bei and others perked up their ears. So Class S hadn’t started sorting yet, no wonder there was no news.

At that moment, Jiang Tianming suddenly remembered what Su Bei had said before—”What’s the rush?”

So that’s what it meant? Class S wasn’t established yet, of course, there was no need to hurry.

Noticing Su Bei and the others’ attention, the chubby boy didn’t want them to get any extra information, so he deliberately raised his voice, speaking in a sharp and sarcastic tone: “My mistake, you’re definitely going to make it. As for some, even flattery won’t help them catch up.”

In response to his words, Si Zhaohua showed no reaction. As if she hadn’t heard, she turned and left. Throughout, she didn’t glance at Jiang Tianming and the others even once.

The feeling of being ignored was more uncomfortable than an argument, and Jiang Tianming pursed his lips: “Let’s go eat.”

This time, no one objected, and everyone silently went to eat. No one spoke on the way, each lost in their own thoughts.

What the others were thinking, Su Bei didn’t know, nor did he care to guess. But what he pondered was Si Zhaohua’s formidable power, defensive and offensive, with innate skills. Perhaps the unknown students of Class S might be even stronger.

Had he set his own power too weak?

No, he must first understand the powers of the Class S students to better determine his own. Otherwise, setting the bar too low would lead to trouble later on.

It wasn’t until mealtime that someone finally broke the silence. But it wasn’t one of the few present, rather it was Mu Tie, who had just returned from Meng Huai.

“What’s going on here?” He came over with his meal, puzzled, then suddenly realized something and looked at Jiang Tianming worriedly, “Your match…”

“I won,” Jiang Tianming replied, indicating their silence wasn’t due to his loss.

Mu Tie put down his tray, scratching his head: “Isn’t that a good thing? We all passed the first round! We should be celebrating, why the long faces?”

It was Jiang Tianming who answered his question: “We saw Si Zhaohua’s match, very, very strong.”

For precision, he used “very” twice to describe the shock of the moment.

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Even though the skill named “Judgment” wasn’t unleashed, just the prelude alone was enough to oppress everyone present. The atmosphere darkened, the winds and clouds changed color; not just the new power wielders, but even most of the veteran ones couldn’t achieve that.

Could they really defeat such a powerful Si Zhaohua?!

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