Chapter 43

Chapter 43 "Jiang Tianming," Su Bei answered without hesitation. Hearing his answer, Lan Subing decisively followed their team's prophet, "Then I also choose Jiang Tianming." Mu Tieren and Mo Xiaotian also echoed in unison, "Jiang Tianming!" Seeing this, Wu Mingbai pouted and looked at Su Bei, complaining, "It’s one thing to cheat by yourself, but you can't drag others into it too!" Knowing them best, Lan Subing walked over and extended her hand to Wu Mingbai, "Better luck next time?" This time, Wu Mingbai genuinely smiled, clapping her hand with his and confidently stating, "Next time, I’m definitely winning!" He wouldn’t be discouraged by one loss. When he used to fight Jiang Tianming, the results were always mixed. This time, Jiang Tianming had held back his trump card and caught him off guard. Wu Mingbai was confident that next time, he wouldn't be defeated so easily. "What about me?" Jiang Tianming also walked over, extending his hand to Lan Subing. Lan Subing came over and gave him a high five as well, "Congratulations!" As they celebrated, the referee came over, announcing, "The ones advancing are Su Bei, Lan Subing, Si Zhaohua, and Jiang Tianming. Now, we will draw lots to decide the matchups for the next round." He brought out a drawing tube with four wooden sticks inside. While Su Bei and the others were drawing lots, Mu Tieren asked, "Teacher, can I go back and take a shower first?" "I want to visit the infirmary," Feng Lan chimed in. "The school's doctor is here, I'll call them for you," the referee addressed Feng Lan's request first, and then shook his head at Mu Tieren. "You can’t leave just yet. You'll have to wait until we determine the first-place winner." By the time they finished drawing, Su Bei was matched with Si Zhaohua, and Jiang Tianming with Lan Subing. Going up against Si Zhaohua? That was a good outcome for Su Bei. He could gather information on Jiang Tianming’s hidden cards just by reading the manga later. Instead of forcing Jiang Tianming to reveal his cards through a competition, Su Bei preferred to show off by predicting his strategies. The idea of being evenly matched was already well represented by Si Zhaohua and Wu Mingbai, so there was no need for Su Bei to join in on that narrative. Because Su Bei and Si Zhaohua weren’t well-acquainted, they skipped any pleasantries and walked straight to the ring. By now, having reached the finals, no one was being careless. Si Zhaohua immediately activated his [Angel] ability, transforming and elegantly bowing. "I've always been curious about your ability. Now I finally get to see it." With that, he flapped his wings, sending several feathers flying toward Su Bei like hidden weapons. Su Bei bent backward to dodge the attack, simultaneously launching five sharp gears with his psychic power, sending them back at Si Zhaohua like hidden projectiles. He hadn’t used this move in his previous match with Feng Lan, since Feng could predict it ahead of time. Such an attack wouldn’t have been effective against Feng, and it would have revealed Su Bei’s hand too early. But against Si Zhaohua, there was no such concern. Seeing the gears flying toward him, Si Zhaohua folded his wings to easily block the attack, then spread them open again. "It looks like your attack style is quite similar to mine." He detached the outermost layer of feathers from his wings, sending them all flying toward Su Bei at once. "You're really not worried about going bald, huh?" Su Bei quipped as he dodged left and right, trying to avoid the oncoming feathers. Barely managing to dodge the attack, Su Bei suddenly heard the sound of something cutting through the air behind him. His pupils contracted, and instinctively, he performed a sideways flip to evade. A moment later, a few feathers flew past where he had just been standing. Despite his swift evasion, he didn’t escape unscathed. One feather sliced through his school uniform, ripping it open, while another feather lightly grazed his cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood in its wake. These feathers could function like boomerangs! They didn’t simply fall to the ground after one pass, but returned to Si Zhaohua’s wings, each feather finding its rightful place again. Once all the feathers had returned, Si Zhaohua smiled gracefully. "Thanks for your concern, but I won’t go bald." Su Bei crouched on the ground, wiping the blood from his face as he looked up at Si Zhaohua, who was hovering in the air. He knew he couldn’t go on like this—he couldn’t stay on the defensive forever. Even if he was destined to lose, he wanted to go out in style. He had to test something. With this thought, he flicked his hand again, sending another five gears flying toward Si Zhaohua. At first glance, it looked like he had simply thrown them, rather than using his psychic power to guide them. With the wings, Si Zhaohua’s larger form made it difficult for him to move quickly. When faced with such wide-range attacks, his usual response was to block with his wings. Watching his defensive maneuver, Su Bei’s eyes lit up. Whenever Si Zhaohua defended, the feathers stopped attacking. Could this be his weak point? If Su Bei could exploit the gap between his attack and defense, could he land a decisive hit? Though Si Zhaohua, confident in his aerial advantage, wasn’t worried about losing, he had no intention of giving Su Bei any openings. As soon as he saw Su Bei crouching, he immediately sent out more feathers to attack. Su Bei rolled on the ground to dodge, then sprang up, catching a glimpse of feathers embedding themselves into a section of the arena. If those had hit him... He took a sharp breath and immediately summoned ten gears, sending five of them directly at Si Zhaohua. As expected, Si Zhaohua fell for the trick, folding his wings to shield himself. Once Si Zhaohua was fully hidden behind his wings, Su Bei quickly used his psychic power to guide the remaining five gears toward Si Zhaohua's neck, ready to strike as soon as the wings opened. But to Su Bei's surprise, Si Zhaohua spoke with a hint of amusement, "I knew your ability wasn’t as simple as what you’ve shown." Without opening his wings, Si Zhaohua flicked out five feathers, knocking down the gears one by one. "You can attack even while your wings are closed?" Su Bei immediately realized he'd been tricked. Si Zhaohua slowly unfolded his wings, revealing a calm smile. "Not only that, I can also see everything from inside my wings." This was why he had been able to knock down the gears without opening his wings earlier. Clearly, Su Bei's plan had failed, and it was hard to say how many people had been fooled by this same trick. Sighing, he continued dodging Si Zhaohua’s attacks. This time, Si Zhaohua no longer held back, attacking with feathers even while defending with his wings. Fortunately for Su Bei, Si Zhaohua wasn’t very flexible with his wings; otherwise, if he could easily change positions, Su Bei would have no choice but to surrender. The reason Su Bei could dodge the attacks so many times was partly due to his quick reflexes, but more importantly, Si Zhaohua's position remained relatively static, allowing the feathers to always come from the same direction. Moreover, the wound on Si Zhaohua’s neck was in a critical spot, right between his neck and chin. It was clear that the injury had originally been aimed at his throat, but Si Zhaohua had narrowly avoided it. “What will you do in the finals?” Ai Baozhu couldn’t help but worry. She knew that after using his ultimate move, Si Zhaohua’s psychic energy would be nearly drained. Forget using the move again; even using his regular abilities would be challenging. Si Zhaohua, however, didn’t seem concerned. “Lan Subing’s ‘Word Spirit’ doesn’t work on me—” Before he could finish, Su Bei interrupted, “Jiang Tianming, Jiang Tianming will win.” Both Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua froze, exchanging a glance as they recalled Feng Lan’s earlier prediction that Su Bei might possess the ability to see the future. Still, Ai Baozhu couldn’t believe it. “How is that possible? Jiang Tianming can resist the ‘Word Spirit’?” Though she wasn’t fond of Lan Subing, she knew how powerful her ability was. After all, Ai Baozhu had been eliminated by that very ability. The feeling of being completely powerless against it was still fresh in her memory. Su Bei didn’t respond further. He only knew the result, and how Jiang Tianming would win was something only the comic’s plot could reveal. After a brief silence, Si Zhaohua chose to trust Su Bei’s prediction. “Well, that makes it even simpler. Even if I can only use my powers at a basic level, I can easily defeat Jiang Tianming.” Su Bei couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed at Si Zhaohua’s overconfidence. Wu Mingbai outright scoffed, “Dream on! We’ll happily accept the first place trophy.” Ignoring Wu Mingbai’s taunts, Si Zhaohua turned back to Su Bei, “Your martial arts skills are impressive. Have you been training since childhood?” So far, Si Zhaohua was the first person to directly confront Su Bei’s martial arts abilities. If he didn’t already know what Su Bei’s supernatural ability was, he would have assumed that Su Bei's powers were tied to his martial arts. Su Bei nodded in acknowledgment. “How strong?” Ai Baozhu asked curiously. She knew Si Zhaohua well enough to understand that Su Bei must be exceptional if he received such praise. Sure enough, Si Zhaohua slowly uttered four words: “The top of the freshmen.” At that moment, Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing walked over. Both of them were good-natured around their friends, skipping any unnecessary formalities and directly announcing the result. Jiang Tianming said, “I won.” Seeing that everyone seemed unsurprised, without even a hint of shock, Jiang Tianming was momentarily taken aback. He looked at Si Zhaohua and the others, puzzled by their lack of doubt. Then he suddenly understood and turned his gaze to Su Bei. “Did you... predict it?” Su Bei nodded, “Congratulations.” Jiang Tianming stared at Su Bei and quickly noticed the injury on his face. Linking it to the wound on Si Zhaohua’s face, he remembered to ask the important question: “So who is my next opponent?” “It’s Si Zhaohua,” Su Bei answered calmly. Though he had composed himself by now, he still found the previous situation absurd. What was the point? Su Bei thought. After that failed strike, Si Zhaohua had essentially lost his chance of winning. Su Bei had already prepared to surrender when, out of nowhere, Si Zhaohua unleashed his ultimate move. But thinking about it now, it wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Unlike the last time when Si Zhaohua had been forced to use his ultimate move, this time, perhaps because it was a normal duel, the referee hadn’t intervened right away. Only when "Divine Judgment" was about to be fully unleashed did they step in, blocking the attack with a large shield. Because of that, apart from the final attack, Su Bei had experienced almost the full effect of the “Divine Judgment.” When Si Zhaohua had spoken those words, Su Bei felt as though he had been locked onto. This lock was unavoidable, and perhaps due to the sheer pressure of the skill, he didn’t even feel the urge to dodge. He just stood there, waiting for judgment to descend. Though he hadn’t dodged, every cell in his body screamed of danger. Su Bei was sure that if the skill hit him, it would be a fatal blow. For novice ability users, a skill like that was complete domination. Reflecting on the moment, Su Bei couldn’t help but think, "Did the author control him to use ‘Divine Judgment’ at that point?" If Si Zhaohua had saved that move for the final round, Su Bei couldn’t imagine how Jiang Tianming would manage to win. Even if that was the truth, Su Bei didn’t hold it against Jiang Tianming. They were all characters in the author's story, after all. The “Manga Awareness” was as timely as ever: “No, even with this skill, Jiang Tianming will still win.” It was clear that, if the author had indeed made Si Zhaohua use his ultimate move, it was to ensure his victory. “Manga Awareness” couldn’t understand why Su Bei acted as though Si Zhaohua would easily win the ultimate move. After all, wasn’t it Su Bei himself who had successfully wounded Si Zhaohua, almost knocking him out of the ring? In fact, it had been the author’s intervention that allowed Si Zhaohua to dodge the attack. Otherwise, Su Bei would have won that round. Though “Manga Awareness” insisted on this, Su Bei still found it hard to believe. “How would he win? Jiang Tianming only has three summons, right? One is the first-season boss who controls objects, one is a woman who looks like him and might be his mother, and the third hasn’t appeared yet. Can any of them block that ultimate move?” To be honest, that seemed far-fetched. So far, Jiang Tianming’s summoning ability wasn’t particularly overwhelming. For example, the first-season boss was incredibly strong at controlling objects, capable of manipulating things far heavier than himself. But Jiang Tianming had only ever used this ability to control small, light objects, making it seem more like advanced telekinesis than full-blown object manipulation. Su Bei had always theorized that, while Jiang Tianming could access the abilities of those he summoned, he was limited to using only the parts of their power that he could handle. He wasn’t as strong as when the owners were alive. And as he had mentioned before, Si Zhaohua’s “Divine Judgment” was on an entirely different level compared to newcomers. They simply couldn’t withstand it. “Who said the skill can only be resisted? It could also be—” "Manga Awareness" cut itself off, realizing it was about to spoil too much, and quickly fell silent. Su Bei raised an eyebrow but wisely refrained from pressing further. He began to mull over what "Manga Awareness" had just hinted at. Not just only resisted? Then what other way could it be? Suddenly, an idea sparked in Su Bei’s mind, and his expression turned complicated. “If that’s really the case, then it’s definitely protagonist-level plot armor,” he muttered. “Manga Awareness” wasn’t sure what Su Bei had figured out, but it didn’t dare to ask and promptly disappeared. When Su Bei returned to his senses, Jiang Tianming and his companions had already approached him. There was a brief rest period between matches, and during this time, they had some questions for Su Bei. “Why didn’t you use your ability before the match?” Jiang Tianming asked hesitantly.