A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

43:

“Jiang Tianming,” Su Bei answered without hesitation.

Hearing his answer, Lan Subing decisively chose to follow her own side’s prophet: “Then I also choose Jiang Tianming.”

Mu Tie Ren and Mo Xiao Tian also didn’t hesitate to say in unison: “Jiang Tianming!”

Seeing this, Wu Mingbai pouted, looked at Su Bei, and said discontentedly, “It’s one thing for you to cheat, but you can’t lead others to cheat too!”

The one who knew them best, Lan Subing, walked over and extended her palm to Wu Mingbai: “Better luck next time?”

This time Wu Mingbai smiled genuinely, slapping her palm with his own, saying very confidently, “Next time, I will definitely win!”

Of course, he wouldn’t give up just because of one defeat; he often had wins and losses when fighting with Jiang Tianming before. This time, the opponent had hidden their trump card, catching him off guard. Next time, Wu Mingbai was certain he wouldn’t fail so easily.

“What about me?” Jiang Tianming also walked over, extending his hand towards Lan Subing.

Lan Subing went over and high-fived him as well: “Congratulations!”

As they celebrated, the referee also came over: “The ones advancing this round are Su Bei, Lan Subing, Si Zhaohua, and Jiang Tianming. Now, let’s draw lots to decide the opponents for the next round.”

Saying this, he took out a draw tube containing four wooden sticks.

While Su Bei and the others were drawing lots, Mu Tie Ren asked, “Teacher, may I go take a shower first?”

“I’d like to stop by the infirmary,” Feng Lan followed.

“We have a school doctor here; I’ll call them for you in a moment,” the referee satisfied Feng Lan’s request first, then shook his head at Mu Tie Ren, “You can’t leave now; you have to wait until the first place is decided before you can leave.”

Meanwhile, the others had already finished drawing lots, Su Bei against Si Zhaohua, Jiang Tianming against Lan Subing.

Facing Si Zhaohua? This result was actually quite good for Su Bei. On Jiang Tianming’s side, he only needed to go through the comics, and he could see what trump cards the other had. Rather than forcing out the opponent’s trump cards in a match, Su Bei preferred to establish his character by revealing the opponent’s trump cards.

“To describe them as evenly matched would suffice for Si Zhaohua and Wu Mingbai; there was no need to include another.”

Because Su Bei and Si Zhaohua were relatively unfamiliar with each other, there were no pleasantries exchanged, and they simply proceeded to the arena.

Having encountered each other in the final round, neither could afford to take the other lightly. Si Zhaohua transformed into an “Angel” with his ability, bowing gracefully: “I’ve always been curious about your power, and now I finally get to witness it.”

With that, he flapped his wings, and a dozen feathers flew towards Su Bei like hidden weapons. Su Bei ducked, evading the volley, while simultaneously controlling five sharp-toothed gears with his mind, launching them at Si Zhaohua in the same manner.

The reason he hadn’t used this tactic against Feng Lan was that his opponent could predict it in advance. Such an attack would not only fail to inflict significant damage but also reveal his trump card.

But this was not a concern against Si Zhaohua.

As the gears rushed towards him, Si Zhaohua’s wings closed, easily blocking the attack, then spread again: “It seems your method of attack is quite similar to mine.”

After saying this, the feathers on the outermost edge of his wings disassembled, all flying towards Su Bei.

“Aren’t you afraid of going bald?” Su Bei quipped, dodging left and right, carefully watching the trajectory of the feathers.

Barely avoiding the attack, before he could relax, Su Bei suddenly heard a whooshing sound behind him.

His pupils shrank, and he instinctively performed a side somersault to dodge. The next second, several feathers flew past where he had just been.

But due to the hasty evasion, he was still grazed by two feathers. One slashed his uniform, which almost instantly split open, and the other brushed past his cheek as light as a feather, instantly leaving a trail of blood.

These feathers could even act as boomerangs!

They didn’t fall to the ground after one return flight but instead flew back to Si Zhaohua’s wings, each to its place.

Only after the scattered feathers had fully returned did Si Zhaohua reveal an elegant and noble smile: “Thank you for your concern, but I won’t go bald.”

Crouching on the ground, Su Bei wiped the fresh blood from his face and looked up at Si Zhaohua, who was hovering mid-air. He knew this wouldn’t do; if things continued this way, he would only be passively taking hits.

Even if defeat was inevitable, he wanted to lose with style.

He had to test further.

With that thought, he flicked his wrist, and five more gears flew out. At first glance, it seemed as if he had thrown them, rather than guiding them with his mental power.

With wings too large to carry, Si Zhaohua found swift movement cumbersome. Against such wide-ranging attacks, he always chose to shield himself with his wings.

Observing his defensive stance, Su Bei’s eyes lit up. Whenever Si Zhaohua defended, his feathers ceased their assault. Could this be his vulnerability? If timed between offense and defense, could effective damage be dealt?

Though Si Zhaohua, perched high, feared not failure, he wouldn’t grant Su Bei an opportunity. Seeing him crouch, he immediately launched several feathered attacks.

Su Bei rolled away, then sprung up, catching a glimpse of feathers embedding into a section of the arena. Such things, if embedded in flesh…

He gasped, instantly conjuring ten gears, five of which he hurled straight at Si Zhaohua. As expected, Si Zhaohua was fooled, wings closing to shield his form.

With himself fully covered, Su Bei swiftly directed the surplus five gears towards Si Zhaohua’s neck, ready to strike fatally as soon as the wings would part.

Unexpectedly, Si Zhaohua spoke with a hint of amusement, “I knew your abilities weren’t as you’ve shown.”

Without opening his wings, he cast out five feathers, knocking down each gear.

“You can attack while your feathers are closed?” Su Bei realized he’d been duped.

Si Zhaohua’s wings slowly opened, revealing a face with a faint smile. He nodded, “Not just that, I can also see outside from within my wings.”

That’s why he could easily knock down those five gears without opening his wings.

Alas, the previous plan had clearly failed, and who knows how many had been deceived by Si Zhaohua’s tactic. Su Bei sighed, continuing to dodge the attacks. This time, Si Zhaohua dropped the act, attacking with feathers even while dodging with his wings.

One could only be thankful he couldn’t use his wings too flexibly yet. Otherwise, if Si Zhaohua could easily shift positions… Su Bei might as well concede now.

His ability to dodge so often was not just due to his own agility but crucially because Si Zhaohua’s position was fixed, making the initial feather attacks come from one direction.

And the subsequent boomerang-style attacks could be easily avoided by Su Bei, who kept his psychic powers active.

Of course, he had to admit, his effortless and unflustered dodging also came from experience gained in battle with Qi Huang. After one encounter with the same attack, the second time was naturally much easier.

However, it was a significant challenge for Su Bei’s psychic powers, as he needed to sense what was behind him and control his psychic powers to attack the enemy.

Even if his gears could not effectively harm Si Zhaohua, he couldn’t cease this action.

Once he stopped attacking Si Zhaohua, it would grant the opponent more ample conditions and time to attack. One misstep leads to another, making it impossible to reorganize effective interference later.

While dodging, Su Bei pondered his strategy. If he were to fail like this, he would become nothing but a control group for Si Zhaohua.

Ordinary attacks had no chance of harming the opponent. To inflict damage, one must strike unexpectedly. But Si Zhaohua, soaring in the sky, had an unobstructed view of the ground. Even shielded by his wings, his vision remained clear. How could one possibly catch him off guard?

Watching the sharp feathers shoot towards him again, Su Bei suddenly had a stroke of inspiration.

This time, he didn’t dodge, or rather, he didn’t dodge completely. Instead, he narrowly evaded, intentionally brushing past the feather closest to him at the last moment, reaching back with a reverse grip to catch it.

Instantly, a cut appeared in his palm, the sting of the wound spreading. Su Bei didn’t even frown as he conjured a gear in his palm, pressing it tightly against the base of the feather.

Soon, Si Zhaohua had thrown almost all his feathers and chose to recall them.

He couldn’t release too many feathers at once; though it would have made it impossible for Su Bei to dodge them all, it would also leave him without protection.

Compared to Su Bei, a pyrrhic victory would cost Si Zhaohua more. So, Si Zhaohua planned to wear him down slowly. Dodging these feathers was no simple task, as evident from Su Bei’s increasingly pale complexion, indicating his significant exhaustion.

Once his strength was depleted, victory would belong to Si Zhaohua.

Seeing the feathers slowly floating back to the boy in the air, Su Bei let go, allowing the feather in his hand to fly upwards. At the same time, the gear, controlled by his mental power, clung tightly to the underside of the feather, floating up with it.

To draw Si Zhaohua’s attention, Su Bei deliberately threw a few gears as a distraction. These gears only grazed by, not meant to actually harm Si Zhaohua, lest he react by using his wings to block.

Si Zhaohua was indeed unguarded against his own feathers. After dodging the gears, he easily allowed the feather with the “undercover” gear to return to its place.

Suppressing his excitement, Su Bei threw five gears once more. This time, they were not just grazing; they were aimed directly

() at Si Zhaohua’s face, forcing him to block with his wings.

Seeing the imminent threat, Si Zhaohua immediately closed his wings in front of him.

As he completed the motion, the hidden gear sprang into action, its sharp end heading straight for Si Zhaohua’s throat.

If they made contact, Su Bei would be declared the victor. He wasn’t worried about Si Zhaohua getting hurt; the school wasn’t foolish, and surely had taken ample protective measures.

“Ugh!”

The next second, a pained grunt echoed, and the figure in mid-air plummeted rapidly, falling down. Unfortunately, even as he fell, the wings still tightly shielded the person inside, preventing Su Bei from delivering a finishing blow.

The referee didn’t enter the stage at this moment, and Su Bei’s heart sank. He knew his plan must have failed. Regrettably, he couldn’t sense the situation inside the wings with his mental power, and the gear had already “lost contact.”

Quickly, the wings opened, revealing the situation inside—

Si Zhaohua’s face was dark with anger, blood dripping from his chin. Clutching a gear in his hand, he slowly raised his head to look at Su Bei: “It’s a pity, you were so close to success.”

Indeed, it was just a hair’s breadth away. Within the shelter of the wings, Si Zhaohua had completely relaxed, only to suddenly sense a disturbance. The next second, he spotted a gear hurtling towards him.

He was shocked, unable to react otherwise, instinctively ducking his head. It was this very action that allowed him to avoid a fatal blow, taking the injury to his chin as a price to withstand the attack.

This was the first time since Si Zhaohua’s birth that he had suffered such a severe attack. While he was still shaken, he wasn’t particularly angry. Being outmaneuvered was a result of his own lack of skill, allowing Su Bei to succeed in his calculation. And being outmaneuvered in an academy’s arena match was far better than on a real battlefield.

For the first time, he took this opponent seriously, solemnly calling out his name: “Su Bei, you are formidable. Next, I will use my strongest move to show you my respect.”

“Holy Judgment—”

Su Bei: “?”

Leaving the arena, Su Bei wore a scowl, while Si Zhaohua was pale, looking somewhat drained. Both were battle-damaged, with injuries on their faces.

However, the atmosphere between the two was much better than before they entered the arena. It was clear that Si Zhaohua had lost his previous arrogance. As for Su Bei, although his expression was unpleasant, the fact that he was willing to walk shoulder to shoulder with Si Zhaohua spoke volumes.

“Isn’t this… are you guys imitating me and Zhou Renjie?” Mu Tie Ren asked uncertainly, looking at their state. Of course, he wasn’t referring to their harmonious vibe, but rather their scowling and weakened appearances.

Ai Baozhu had already rushed over to support Si Zhaohua: “Zhaohua, are you alright?”

Hearing this, Si Zhaohua immediately turned to her: “You’re not calling me ‘Young Master Si’ now?”

Ai Baozhu’s pretty face turned red—truly as red as a tomato—annoyed, she said: “Don’t you think ‘Young Master Si’ sounds very imposing?”

Si Zhaohua just smiled without a word.

Beside him, Su Bei, who had been walking alongside Si Zhaohua, finally couldn’t bear it anymore: “Calling him that is so juvenile, and besides, I think he really is hurt. After the monthly exam, take him to get his head checked.”

Ai Baozhu: “?”

She paused, looking at Su Bei, then at Si Zhaohua, suddenly remembering an important question she had forgotten to ask due to her concern: “Who won?”

Before, she would never have doubted Si Zhaohua’s victory. But the performance of these two was too confusing, both with handsome faces injured, Si Zhaohua even appearing weak.

Truthfully, Ai Baozhu knew of Si Zhaohua’s special ability. In her view, the fact that Su Bei could injure Si Zhaohua was already incredibly unbelievable, to the point where she couldn’t be sure of the outcome of the match.

Mo Xiaotian and others also gathered around, all curious about the result of their duel.

“I’ve won,” Si Zhaohua replied.

Before Ai Baozhu could breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Su Bei’s cool voice interject, “But he’s definitely going to lose the next round.”

“Why?” Ai Baozhu asked instinctively.

Su Bei let out a cold laugh, mimicking Si Zhaohua’s earlier tone, “‘Divine Judgment’!”

This answer was so unexpected that Ai Baozhu first paused, then suddenly widened her eyes in surprise and exclaimed, “You used that move?!”

“What move, what move?” Mo Xiaotian eagerly joined in the excitement, “Is it the move you were asked to use that day?”

Si Zhaohua nodded, “He’s very strong, I don’t want to lose.”

The implication was clear: in his view, if he didn’t use his trump card, he was likely to lose.

Even Ai Baozhu, who usually worshipped Si Zhaohua unconditionally, did not argue with his statement. She was well aware that if Su Bei could hurt Si Zhaohua once under that nearly impenetrable defense, it was possible he could do it again.

Moreover, the place where Si Zhaohua was injured was very delicate, between the neck and the chin. It was obvious that the wound was originally aimed at the throat, but it was narrowly avoided.

“So what are you going to do in the finals?” Ai Baozhu couldn’t help but worry, knowing that after using the big move, Si Zhaohua’s mental energy would be drained. Not to mention using the big move again, even using his special ability would be a bit strenuous.

Si Zhaohua wasn’t too worried about this, “Lan Subing’s ‘Word Spirit’ can’t affect me…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when Su Bei interrupted him, “The winner will be Jiang Tianming.”

Upon hearing this, both of them were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other, recalling what Feng Lan had said before, that Su Bei might also have the ability to predict.

But Ai Baozhu couldn’t understand, “How is that possible? Can Jiang Tianming resist the ‘Word Spirit’?”

Although she was somewhat disdainful of Lan Subing, she was very clear about the strength of the other’s ability. After all, she herself had been eliminated by the ‘Word Spirit’, and the feeling of being completely unable to resist still lingered in her memory.

Su Bei remained silent, knowing only one outcome; as for how Jiang Tianming would win, that would only be known by reading the comic.

After a moment of silence, Si Zhaohua chose to believe him, “Then it’s even simpler, isn’t it? Even if I can only use my ability simply, I can easily defeat Jiang Tianming.”

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Watching his confident demeanor, Su Bei could hardly bear to look. Wu Mingbai even let out a direct cold laugh, “Nice dream, but the first place will be ours to take!”

Si Zhaohua ignored Wu Mingbai’s provocation and continued speaking to Su Bei, “Your physical technique…”

“Strong, is it from training since childhood?”

He could be said to be the first person to truly confront Su Bei’s physical prowess. If he didn’t know what the other’s ability was, he would have thought Su Bei’s power was related to his physical skills.

Su Bei nodded.

“How strong?” Ai Baozhu asked curiously. She knew Si Zhaohua well and understood that for Su Bei to receive such praise from him, his physical skills must be extraordinary.

Indeed, Si Zhaohua slowly uttered four words: “Top among the newcomers.”

In the midst of their conversation, Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing came out together. Both were good-natured with friends and didn’t fuss about anything, directly announcing the results.

Jiang Tianming: “I won.”

Seeing that everyone had an understanding look, with not a single person showing surprise, Jiang Tianming was taken aback. He first looked towards Si Zhaohua and the others, not understanding why they didn’t question his victory.

Then, he suddenly showed a look of realization, his gaze shifting to Su Bei: “You… guessed it?”

Su Bei nodded: “Congratulations.”

Jiang Tianming stared at Su Bei, almost immediately noticing the scars on his face. Thinking back to the wounds on Si Zhaohua’s face earlier, he finally remembered to ask a key question: “So, who is my next opponent?”

“It’s Si Zhaohua,” Su Bei answered calmly. He had calmed down now, but thinking back to the situation, he still found it absurd.

Why bother? Su Bei thought. After his strike failed, there was basically no chance of victory. He was ready to give up, yet Si Zhaohua suddenly unleashed his power.

But now, in hindsight, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Unlike the previous time Si Zhaohua was asked to unleash his power, this time, perhaps because it was considered a normal match, the referee didn’t stop him immediately. And it was only when the “Holy Judgment” was about to be fully released that he appeared in time, bearing a large shield to block the attack.

Because of this, aside from the final attack, Su Bei could say he fully experienced the effect of “Holy Judgment.”

When Si Zhaohua shouted that phrase, Su Bei felt as if he was locked on. This lock was inescapable, and perhaps due to the overwhelming pressure of the skill, he had no desire to dodge in his heart, only able to stand in place waiting for the judgment to descend.

Although he didn’t dodge, every cell in his body was screaming danger. Su Bei was certain that if he were hit by this skill, death was almost guaranteed.

Among the novice ability users, such a skill was a complete dimensional suppression.

Thinking this, he couldn’t help but ask himself: “Using ‘Holy Judgment’ at this time, could it be that the author is getting carried away?”

If this skill were saved for the finals, Su Bei couldn’t imagine how Jiang Tianming could possibly win.

Even if the truth of the matter was indeed as it seemed, he wouldn’t blame Jiang Tianming in his heart. After all, they were but tools under the author’s pen, a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

“The Comic Consciousness” always had a timely response: “No, even without using his powers, Jiang Tianming would have triumphed.”

What it really wanted to say was that even if the author truly manipulated Si Zhaohua to unleash his ultimate move, the purpose was to ensure his victory.

“The Comic Consciousness” couldn’t understand how Su Bei could seem so confident that Si Zhaohua could win easily without using his ultimate move. Was it not Su Bei himself who had nearly succeeded in harming the opponent, almost knocking Si Zhaohua out of the competition?

In fact, it was the author’s meddling that time, for Si Zhaohua had to win, which is why he narrowly dodged that strike. Otherwise, the victor of that round should have been Su Bei.

Although “The Comic Consciousness” said so, Su Bei found it hard to believe: “How can he win? He only has three summoned dead, right? The first season’s boss who can control objects, a woman who looks a lot like him, possibly his mother, and someone who hasn’t shown up yet. Among these three, is there anyone who can block that guy’s ultimate move?”

Honestly, that would be too far-fetched, at least from what we can see now. Jiang Tianming’s ability to use the dead doesn’t fall within his own range of powers.

Like that first-season boss, whose ability to control objects was incredibly strong, able to easily manipulate objects many times his own weight. But Jiang Tianming has only ever used this power to control small and light things, which in a way, seems similar to his advanced mental strength.

Thus, Su Bei had always deduced that although Jiang Tianming had mastered the dead’s abilities through “Death Summoning,” he could only use the parts he could control, not as powerful as the dead were in life.

And as he had said before, Si Zhaohua’s “Divine Judgment” was absolutely a barrier for the novice ability users; they couldn’t possibly withstand it.

“Who says that power can only be resisted head-on, it can also…” Just as he was halfway through, “The Comic Consciousness” suddenly realized it might be spoiling too much and hastily shut up.

Su Bei raised an eyebrow, tactfully not pressing further, his mind already pondering over what “The Comic Consciousness” had just mentioned.

Not just withstand? How else could it be countered?

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Su Bei’s mind, and he thought of a possibility.

“…”

If that was truly the case, his expression complex: “Then that’s really the hallmark of a protagonist.”

“The Comic Consciousness” didn’t know what Su Bei had guessed to make such a comment, but it didn’t dare to ask, only to slink away dejectedly.

When Su Bei came back to his senses, Jiang Tianming and the other two had already approached him. They had just finished a match and could rest for a while before the next one. During this time, they also had some questions for Su Bei.

“Why didn’t you use your ability before the match?” Jiang Tianming asked hesitantly.！