Chapter 45

Chapter 45 Heart-shaped pupils in comics often represent something subtle, usually symbolizing emotions like “love,” which is a bit of a trope, especially when it involves content that platforms like Jinjiang don't allow. In simpler terms, this visual cue often expresses feelings of affection. If the author had not mistakenly drawn it, Su Bei would only assume it was the effect of Wu Jin's ability. Could Wu Jin's ability make others fall in love with him? This thought made Su Bei frown. If this were true, it would definitely be something to be cautious about. If Wu Jin were to unintentionally say something inappropriate because of this ability, it could have devastating consequences for him. After noting this down mentally, Su Bei continued reading. Although Mu Tieren’s match didn’t have as much dramatic contrast as Wu Jin’s, it still showcased a lot of confidence. During the match, when facing Wang Lei’s ability, [Thousand Arrows], Mu Tieren exhibited an impressively strong physique. From Su Bei’s perspective, this attack wasn’t much different from Si Zhaohua’s feather attacks. While the latter had stronger single-target power, the former compensated with sheer volume. Though Wang Lei couldn’t unleash the full power of [Thousand Arrows], summoning a hundred or so arrows at once was still no problem. Despite this, Mu Tieren knocked away most of the arrows using his arms, forcing Su Bei to reevaluate his ability, [Physical Enhancement]. Did this ability really belong in Class F? Or had Mu Tieren made rapid progress recently? Either scenario indicated that Mu Tieren was not simple. If it were the former, it would mean that Mu Tieren had deliberately hidden the full extent of his power when placed in Class F, raising questions about his motives. If it were the latter, his ability had improved so much in just a month that he now had strength comparable to at least Class B. Such rapid improvement couldn’t be explained by ordinary training alone. As there were many contestants in the second round, the comic didn’t depict every match, only fully showing Mo Xiaotian’s battle from the protagonist group. The rest of the participants were given a brief scene, highlighting their opponents and abilities. Su Bei initially thought this section had nothing to do with him, but to his surprise, many comments mentioned him. “Su Bei’s opponent has the ability [Flame Phoenix]?? How is he supposed to win?” “Even though I know Su Bei will win, it’s still hard to believe.” “I knew Brother Bei must have an offensive or defensive ability, otherwise how could he win?” “Can [Gear of Destiny] beat [Flame Phoenix]? Was that girl just too weak?” “I really want to see their match. Stop hiding it, author!” These comments were a pleasant surprise for Su Bei. Despite his ability having changed significantly, allowing him to glimpse fate and slightly alter it, in a real fight, Su Bei was still just an ordinary person. He had to rely on his excellent physical condition, combat experience, and advanced mental power for survival. He desperately needed some offensive or defensive skills! Su Bei hadn’t hidden these thoughts, so the “Manga Awareness” was able to sense them. He figured there was no need to keep it secret, and who knows? Maybe the author would have a sudden moment of kindness and give him some buffs! However, the "Manga Awareness" had another idea: if the opponents Su Bei had defeated heard these thoughts, they would probably curse him. Although Su Bei’s ability lacked offensive power, his personal attacks and dodging skills were maxed out! Even if someone started learning martial arts now, they couldn’t compare to Su Bei, who had trained for ten years. Without powers, no one in the first year could defeat him. And yet, he still looked down on himself—wasn’t this just false humility? As the story progressed, although Su Bei and Qi Huang’s match wasn’t shown, the aftermath was depicted. When Su Bei emerged first, everyone was clearly in disbelief. It wasn’t until Wu Mingbai pointed out the truth that the tension finally eased. Then, the reason Su Bei hadn’t carried out the unconscious Qi Huang caused some lighthearted complaints, and the comic included a flashback. Su Bei initially carried the unconscious Qi Huang over his shoulder, glanced in the direction of the departing referee, and decisively put her back down. The comment section burst into laughter. “Hahaha Su Bei, you sly dog!” “Guess we can rule out any romance line for Su Bei. He’s heartless!” “He really just put her back down, didn’t he?” “Wasn’t he carrying her like a sack of potatoes at first?” The story moved on to the part where Su Bei revealed his points, and the scores of the other participants were shown as well. Su Bei’s four-digit score sharply contrasted with the others, who hadn’t even broken 500. This part of the story reminded Su Bei that he had nearly 3,000 points now. Before the team battles began, he needed to exchange those points for useful items. Better to finish reading the comic and forum first before making any decisions. Soon, the matches of the remaining characters were also completed. To save space, the author only illustrated scenes involving the protagonist group. Still, this was enough to please readers who enjoy battle scenes. Su Bei mainly focused on whether any of the protagonists had secretly developed abilities he was unaware of. Thankfully, nothing like that occurred. The biggest change in the battles came from Lan Subing, who finally managed to overcome part of her mental block. She successfully used [Word Spirit] without overthinking. However, after the match, she couldn’t use her ability again. Lan Subing, being clever, realized that she could only activate her powers when facing a single opponent and when no one else was watching. Her social anxiety remained an insurmountable challenge. During lunch, a side event featuring Qi Huang was illustrated in the comic. Even though she was reluctant, she still appeared graceful. The comic even dedicated two panels to her attacking Su Bei with her phoenix ability, demonstrating her prowess. Judging from the comments, many readers liked her, and Su Bei suspected that she would continue interacting with the protagonist group. It wasn’t until Qi Huang left that Su Bei understood the full extent of Lan Subing’s imagination when she made that teasing remark. The author even added several humorous side panels showcasing her wild imagination, including scenarios like Su Bei and Qi Huang as bickering lovers, a dramatic love chase, graduating together, and even getting married. Su Bei: "?" He was speechless. He knew Lan Subing had a big imagination, but he didn’t expect it to be this wild. She should just become a novelist instead! Seeing that the comments offered him no support and were filled with nothing but "hahaha," Su Bei could only sigh at how ridiculous things had become, turning the page with a sense of relief. On the next page, Su Bei’s response to Qi Huang was shown. When he mentioned that Qi Huang reminded him of Si Zhaohua, both the readers and the protagonist group fell silent. After a brief pause, a flood of comments erupted. “Hahaha, not wrong at all, female Si Zhaohua!” “OMG, now I can’t unsee it!” After the two left the arena, Si Zhaohua and the others were visibly shocked by Zhou Renjie’s defeat, contrasting sharply with the protagonist group’s excited celebrations. Su Bei couldn’t help but marvel at how useful this comparison group was. After the protagonist group left, the comic focused on Zhou Renjie for a moment. In his dorm, news of his defeat had already reached his parents. Naturally, the parents who raised such a cruel child were no different. Over the phone, they berated him mercilessly. “Useless,” “A waste of space,” “Can’t do anything right,” “You should just die”—with just a few harsh words, readers could feel their fists clench. Zhou Renjie’s face was full of malice, but long since brainwashed by his parents, he didn’t resent them for their cruelty. Instead, he glared at his phone and muttered, “I’ll make Class F pay for this.” Seeing this, Su Bei couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed Zhou Renjie’s personality was a product of his family environment. Indeed, pitiable people often have hateful qualities. In fact, there weren’t many truly evil characters in comics—most villains had their own tragic backstories. But then again, who didn’t suffer? Those chosen by the comic all had some bad luck. Su Bei wasn’t in the mood to sympathize, so he lowered his gaze and coldly flipped to the next page. That evening, everyone was practicing their abilities, and the author didn’t hold back, giving each character one or two panels. Su Bei also had a panel, where he looked pale but determined, with a large pile of gears in front of him. This appearance, which hadn’t been seen before, sparked a lot of discussion. “What is Su Bei practicing?” “With all those patterned gears, is he trying to predict multiple people’s futures at once?” “What a strange scene! Why does Su Bei’s training always seem different from everyone else’s?” “I feel like Brother Bei is about to unleash a big move!” “He can summon so many gears at once?” Seeing these comments, Su Bei appeared thoughtful. The fact that his training session was illustrated in the comic had both advantages and disadvantages. The downside was that it took away some of his mystery. Readers who thought he was incredibly strong might be disappointed, as his training for the final day of individual battles indicated that he wasn’t overwhelmingly superior to the first-years. However, the upside was that, if handled properly, it could raise the limit of his ability usage. When Su Bei’s power first evolved, he was limited to using his ability once a week and predicting the fates of only three people at a time. But after his mental strength received a significant boost, Su Bei could feel that his predictive ability had definitely improved. He was still limited to one prediction per week, but now he could foresee the fates of at least five people at once. An upgrade to this ability was certainly good news, but Su Bei was more interested in evolving his power to alter other people's fates. As long as readers believed he could throw out many of these gears, his ability was bound to improve. The story continued, and before long, it was the second day. To give more depth to the characters, the author didn’t hold back, giving plenty of attention to each battle during the finals. Su Bei suspected this was the reason the author couldn’t cut things short, requiring an additional chapter to cover the team battles. The match between Mu Tieren and Zhou Renjie wasn’t long. Mu Tieren’s ability was indeed countered by Zhou Renjie’s, and although he uncovered the secret of the space, he ultimately couldn’t escape. Next came the battle between Mo Xiaotian and Si Zhaohua. While Mo Xiaotian’s [Air Blocks] ability was powerful, it was currently no match for Si Zhaohua’s [Angel] ability. Through this part of the story, Su Bei noticed that Mo Xiaotian could manipulate air blocks to explode. He likely employed some compression technique, which made his attacks quite strong—it was clear that he had mastered the use of his ability. Next up was Su Bei’s battle with Feng Lan. Their fight was undoubtedly more interesting than the previous ones. It became evident that Feng Lan was the true “prophet,” completely using his abilities in battle. Su Bei, on the other hand, relied on brute strength at first. It wasn’t until Feng Lan suddenly stopped, surrounded by floating gears, that readers realized Su Bei had secretly been setting things up. Everyone could understand that Feng Lan had already lost. Surrounded by gears, even if he had seen this coming five seconds earlier, there was no way to shake off all the gears and escape. Next came a dialogue between the two. 【The golden-haired boy, calm and calculating, stood across from the white-haired boy, who was trapped by the sharp points of numerous gears. Feng Lan’s confusion was plain: “You should know you didn’t need to do all this to win, right?”】 During their conversation, sidebars displayed the stamina and mental power levels of both Su Bei and Feng Lan. It was clear that Su Bei had consumed far less power in both aspects. Su Bei’s response confirmed this: “Winning by exhausting your mental power? Sure, but that’s not necessary.” He smiled like a sly golden fox, both proud and cunning: “Don’t you think this is more fun?” “Ahhh! Brother Bei, you’re so cool!” “Bro! You’ll always be my bro!” “These two are perfect together! I’m totally shipping them!” “Sorry, Brother Bei, but I have to start imagining you as a proud little fox now.” “Su Bei: ‘What’s the fun in a simple win? Let’s go for high difficulty!’” “Am I the only one who thinks Su Bei didn’t want Feng Lan to lose so miserably and used a more difficult method to defeat him?” “Fights! Shonen manga is all about epic battles!” Su Bei didn’t expect this part of the story to spark such heated discussion. He hadn’t said anything particularly special, but the comic certainly made it atmospheric. When the next fight between Ai Baozhu and Lan Subing came up, Su Bei realized the author ranked the battles based on reader interest. Ai Baozhu immediately activated her [Elegant Domain], attempting to strike first. She tried several times to lure Lan Subing into a trap with her words. However, Lan Subing, now able to face one-on-one conversations without breaking down, didn’t fall for it. Despite her severe social anxiety, she didn’t neglect her studies and didn’t let Ai Baozhu’s schemes succeed. When it was Lan Subing’s turn to speak, a simple [Word Spirit] easily knocked Ai Baozhu out of the ring. Among all the characters, Lan Subing was undoubtedly Ai Baozhu’s biggest counter. This scene brought great joy for readers who adored Lan Subing as their daughter or goddess. Especially for those who had followed since season one, they had watched Lan Subing evolve from someone who couldn’t speak a word due to severe social anxiety to a confident girl who could verbally spar and defeat her opponent in a battle of wits. The pride they felt was beyond words. This was the essence of a character-development story. Su Bei realized that he, too, could introduce a growth arc in some small, less critical areas to let readers enjoy the feeling of nurturing a character. The last match of the first round was between Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai. An internal battle among the protagonist group was, of course, highly anticipated. Su Bei was ready to carefully observe this part to see if they had any hidden aces up their sleeves.