A Guide for Background Characters to Survive in a Manga

Chapter 46

Since they had already exchanged pleasantries outside the ring, they wasted no time and immediately started fighting purely with their fists. From how they fought, an outsider might have thought they were sworn enemies.

Both of them were orphans who had grown up together, and their fighting styles were similar. After a few moments of fighting like twins, they couldn’t help but laugh.

"Alright, I'm going to get serious now," Wu Mingbai was the first to stop smiling, his palm facing up as a yellowish-brown glow faintly appeared.

Behind Jiang Tianming, a black shadow emerged: "Bring it on!"

The two of them showed their best skills. Wu Mingbai first formed a small patch of quicksand under Jiang Tianming’s feet, trying to trap him. However, Jiang Tianming knew him too well and jumped out as soon as the sand began to form.

His ability worked best when used unexpectedly, so Jiang Tianming didn’t immediately use his powers. Instead, he continued the physical fight as before.

But this time, they were no longer evenly matched. Wu Mingbai had to split his focus between controlling his ability and fighting, which made things harder for him. However, with the help of his ability, Jiang Tianming was the one at a disadvantage.

“If you keep this up, Ah Jiang, you’re going to lose,” Wu Mingbai teased while attacking.

Although Jiang Tianming took a punch to the face, he remained composed: “You’d better not celebrate too early.”

In the manga, it wasn’t clear what Jiang Tianming had done, but in the next scene, his hidden plan was revealed.

It turned out that Jiang Tianming, while distracting Wu Mingbai with the fight, had secretly used his [object control] ability to seize control of the sand Wu Mingbai created. Then, at just the right moment, he delivered a fatal blow to Wu Mingbai.

This part of the plot made Su Bei raise an eyebrow, as he suddenly realized something interesting—Jiang Tianming’s [object control] ability could manipulate the creations of other people's abilities.

Normally, a person with abilities had absolute control over their abilities. For example, Su Bei could make the gears he summoned disappear, even if someone else held them.

But under Jiang Tianming’s control, Wu Mingbai lost that ability. Otherwise, he would have made the sand disappear long ago.

Jiang Tianming’s [object control] power had been given to him by the volume one final boss. Since none of the characters had showcased their abilities much in the first season, this secret had remained hidden—until now, Su Bei finally noticed.

[The outcome was decided. In front of his friends, Jiang Tianming wasn’t as composed as usual. He proudly wrapped his arm around Wu Mingbai’s shoulder: "How was that move?"

Wu Mingbai didn’t get angry over his loss. Instead, he gazed quietly at the smug guy in front of him: "Since I lost, I’m sure Ah Bing wouldn’t mind using her [Word Spirit] ability to fulfill a few of my requests. What do you think?"

At these words, Jiang Tianming instantly remembered how Lan Subing had made them dance with her [Word Spirit] ability when she was angry. His body froze up: "You are trying to cheat!"]

“So that’s how he won. The old thief sure loves a twist.”

“Haha, is he really going to tattle on him to Bing Bing?”

“That’s the price of showing off!”

“I’m laughing so hard right now!”

“Remind me of some plots from the last volume, haha.”

Despite Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai fighting, the comment section was still full of joy. There was no sign of fan group wars, which was a good thing. Some manga authors can’t prevent their fan bases from fighting, and the resulting chaos can ruin the atmosphere of the story.

The harmony among the character fans here allowed for more discussion of the plot. Even those who weren’t fans of a particular character could still talk about the story objectively, without turning every update into a heated argument.

It’s worth mentioning that the storyline where Su Bei confidently predicted Jiang Tianming’s victory was also included in the manga. When Su Bei saw this scene depicted, his eyes lit up. If the author was willing to show this, then what he said before Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing’s battle would likely be included too.

Two accurate predictions—there’s no way this wouldn’t stir up the forums. Even if no one talked about it, Su Bei was ready to post about it himself.

He continued reading. The semifinals were Si Zhaohua versus Su Bei, and Jiang Tianming versus Lan Subing. These two battles were highly anticipated. Not only was there the appeal of another internal fight within the main group, but the mystery surrounding Su Bei and the obvious strength of Si Zhaohua made their match a major highlight.

Unsurprisingly, Su Bei’s group took the stage first. Si Zhaohua’s fighting style had been briefly shown before, but this was his first time going all out in the manga.

Just from the way his feathered blades were drawn, it was clear his attack power was formidable.

Su Bei’s strength was fully showcased as well. In previous battles, none of his opponents could even stand up to him.

But this time, Si Zhaohua’s powerful ability completely compensated for that weakness. Especially since he was in the air, Su Bei could only dodge and show off his perfect evasion skills.

However, you could tell Su Bei’s gears weren’t just for show—if they were easy to block, Si Zhaohua wouldn’t be folding his wings every time.

Their fighting styles had some similarities, and the battlefield between them was as chaotic as a war zone, creating an intense and exciting scene.

When Si Zhaohua made his first calculated move, throwing boomerang-like feathers that hit Su Bei, who wasn’t prepared, the barrages exploded with excitement.

“This is the true world of ability users! So impressive!”

“This battle between two powerhouses makes my blood boil!”

“Both of them are so handsome!”

“Su Bei has these skills?? How did he even train for this?”

“OMG battle damage! It’s battle damage!”

“The old thief is really good at drawing! This full-page completely showcases my brother Bei beauty.”

“Battle damage! A beauty with battle damage! The bloodstains on his face look amazing!”

Su Bei quickly turned off the comments and flipped to the next page before reopening them. At that point, the story had already progressed to the part where Su Bei’s first plan had failed.

“Si Zhaohua had the upper hand, hiding his strength so well.”

“Si Zhaohua can see outside even when his wings are covering him? Isn’t that unbeatable?”

“Too bad, Su Bei’s plan was pretty solid, but in the end, the stronger one wins.”

The story continued, and Su Bei didn’t give up. He resumed dodging and attacked without holding back.

Soon, he came up with a second plan: intentionally getting injured to grab hold of one of the feathers and hide a gear beneath it. As Si Zhaohua summoned the feathers back, the gear floated along with them.

The manga even focused on this particular feather, showing a glimpse of the gear through the feather’s gap.

Su Bei launched two consecutive attacks with his gears—one just grazing his opponent and the other serious. The manga conveyed his strategy through thought bubbles.

When Si Zhaohua closed his wings for the second attack and groaned, falling from the sky like a fallen deity, the comments erupted again.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

“After watching so many children fights, seeing such a well-thought-out strategy actually surprised me!”

“Su Bei’s plan was genius! Looks like Si Zhaohua’s going to lose.”

“I love smart characters!”

“Su Bei is just too awesome!”

“This doesn’t seem right—based on my usual manga experience, it should end with Si Zhaohua fighting Jiang Tianming.”

“The referee hasn’t arrived yet; I feel like there’s still a chance.”

“No matter who wins, I’m now a Su Bei fan!”

Unfortunately, when the wings opened up, Si Zhaohua had only sustained a wound to his chin. But his pale face and sweat-drenched hair showed he had been thoroughly shaken.

The next scene flashed back to what happened when Si Zhaohua was attacked within his wings.

He ended the fight with his ultimate move, “Divine Judgment” which not only showed respect for Su Bei but also demonstrated his own strength.

Su Bei was grateful that the manga focused on highlighting Si Zhaohua’s power and elegance, without showing his own stunned expression—otherwise, he would have been out of character (OOC).

From the comments, it was clear that aside from Si Zhaohua’s ultimate move, most readers believed Su Bei had the upper hand, given that his plan nearly succeeded, falling short only due to a bit of bad luck.

This is a manga world after all, so many people knew that the bit of "luck" Su Bei lacked was intentionally crafted by the author to set up the final battle between Si Zhaohua and Jiang Tianming.

While many of Su Bei’s fans might have been dissatisfied with this, for Su Bei himself, it was the best possible outcome. He didn’t have to fight Jiang Tianming, and his character was still firmly established.

The events that took place after Su Bei and Si Zhaohua walked off the stage were also depicted in the manga. Though Su Bei was both amused and irritated, his words were well thought out. He did mock Si Zhaohua, but it wasn’t serious—more of a lighthearted tease. After all, having lost, such an attitude was quite appropriate.

What really caught Su Bei off guard, however, was the barrage of shippers flooding the live comments again.

"Su Bei: You’d give up the final just to deal with me?"

"Hahaha, I’m dying, check your brain!"

"Ai Baozhu: ?"

"Is it just me, or is this kind of shippable?"

"Si Zhaohua gave up the final just to use his ultimate on Su Bei, and Su Bei’s mad that he did. I ship it!"

"It’s rare to see Su Bei show such emotions."

"What’s this ship called? BeiHua?"

"Why not HuaBei? I support Si Zhaohua being on the left!"

"Su Bei, the dominant one!"

Seeing these comments, Su Bei nearly fainted, consoling himself that fans shipping him was better than arguing over him.

Feeling a bit comforted, he chose to turn off the comments again.

Next up was the battle between Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing. Knowing her well, Jiang Tianming quickly used his telekinesis to control a handkerchief and gag her, swiftly moving in to push her off the stage.

Their fight ended much quicker than Su Bei’s. If they had entered the ring earlier, they would have finished sooner for sure.

Just as Su Bei predicted, the plot of Jiang Tianming’s inevitable victory was drawn out in the manga.

During the break before the final, Jiang Tianming and his two teammates approached Su Bei, asking why he didn’t use his abilities to change the outcome of the battle—a scene that naturally appeared in the manga.

[“A clumsy attempt to provoke me.” The blond boy shook his head with a smirk, his expression almost mocking. But whether that mockery was aimed at Wu Mingbai or himself was hard to tell from his violet eyes.

“Ever heard the phrase, 'a doctor cannot heal himself'?”]

After Su Bei left, the trio’s discussion sparked further debates in the comments.

"It feels like there’s a foreshadowing here. What did Su Bei go through?"

"‘a doctor cannot heal himself.’ That’s deep. I’ve got new material!"

"Mom, I’m hungry!"

"Wow, you shippers are something else (facepalming and smiling)."

"So why doesn’t Su Bei change his own fate? Jiang Jiang says he doesn’t want to—does changing his own fate have negative consequences?"

"I’m more curious if changing other people’s fates has consequences."

"I can only say: so handsome..."

"This confirms it, right? Su Bei can indeed change fate?"

Seeing these comments, Su Bei felt at ease. He knew the manga fans wouldn’t let him down in overanalyzing everything, perfectly interpreting the message he wanted to convey.

However, the talk of "knife" wasn’t necessary. Though he knew that the "tragic beauty" trope was a key factor in boosting popularity, Su Bei had no intention of playing into that for his character development.

Apart from being a minor character in the manga, the only aspect of Su Bei's life that could be considered tragic is his orphaned background. But compared to two of the three main characters, who are also orphans, his hardship doesn’t seem all that significant.

The final battle between Jiang Tianming and Si Zhaohua followed the typical formula of shounen manga. In these types of final matches, the protagonist is usually in a rough spot at the start.

Su Bei was able to handle Si Zhaohua's attacks with ease due to his impressive skills. Even when facing attacks from multiple directions, he could dodge and counter without taking much damage. Jiang Tianming, however, wasn't as agile. He could only scramble to dodge, taking hits and soon accumulating several wounds.

Despite his rough handling, Jiang Tianming's past experiences had taught him well how to protect his vital points. Even while taking hits, he guarded himself enough not to be knocked out of the fight. He endured, collecting more wounds but refusing to give up.

Si Zhaohua, being cautious, maintained his aerial advantage and avoided landing on the ground. As expected, Jiang Tianming eventually turned the tables and defeated him.

Having already expended much of his energy in the fight with Su Bei, Si Zhaohua lacked the strength to keep up. Without his ultimate move, he couldn’t instantly finish off Jiang Tianming, and when he grew too tired, Jiang Tianming seized the chance to strike.

Jiang Tianming used the same strategy he had employed against Wu Mingbai—secretly taking control of the opponent’s abilities before launching a surprise counterattack. However, controlling Si Zhaohua's feathers proved to be far more difficult than manipulating sand. Moreover, once the feathers returned to Si Zhaohua, Jiang Tianming’s control over them diminished. He patiently endured the attacks, marking most of the feathers, and when Si Zhaohua retrieved a large number of them at once, Jiang Tianming delivered a decisive blow.

Thanks to his prior experience, Si Zhaohua managed to protect his vital areas. But in the end, he fell to the ground, where Jiang Tianming knocked him out, having already been prepared.

Though it was a clever and patient strategy, Jiang Tianming's fight was undeniably chaotic and messy.

Su Bei couldn’t decide who was in worse shape: Jiang Tianming, covered in wounds, or Si Zhaohua, betrayed by his own feathers.

The post-battle interaction scene was drawn to ease the tension, and the final panel showed Si Zhaohua waking up and issuing a challenge to Jiang Tianming.

After reading the manga, Su Bei sighed in relief. “Not bad. I feel like my abilities will be upgraded in the next chapter.”

The "manga awareness" responded with some confusion, “What upgrade? I didn’t notice anything.”

From its perspective, the only hint in the current chapter was the confirmation that Su Bei could alter other people’s fates.

But Su Bei had already managed to establish this ability in the current update thanks to his manipulation on the forum.

“There are two things,” Su Bei said with a smile. “The first is what Si Zhaohua mentioned—he called me the top in martial arts among the freshmen. My martial arts might not be that impressive, but since he said it, it will likely become part of the canon.”

In other words, unless the author decides to introduce a character to undercut his abilities, Su Bei will now be officially acknowledged as the top martial artist among the freshmen.

The “manga awareness” quickly caught on and nodded in agreement. “And the second?”

Su Bei shifted into a more comfortable position. “Do you think when people see me freely manipulating the gears in battle, they’ll think it’s my mental power or my actual ability?”

“Of course it’s your ability…” Before the “manga awareness” could finish its sentence, it understood Su Bei’s point.

Exactly. Su Bei had always been using his mental power to manipulate the gears, which had no inherent offensive capability. But the readers didn’t know this—they simply assumed it was his ability at work.

So by the next manga update, Su Bei could freely control the gears without draining his mental power. The energy required to use this ability would certainly be much less than what it took to control the gears with sheer mental power.

After explaining this to the “manga awareness,” Su Bei opened the forum. As expected, the forum was bustling with activity, full of posts about the latest chapter, with numerous threads marked as “hot.”

Scrolling down, Su Bei spotted a post about him. Though it wasn’t entirely focused on him, he clicked it without hesitation.

The title read: “Ranking of Student combat Power, Subjective Guesswork, Enter at Your Own Risk if You Want to Argue.”

The characters involved are Jiang Tianming, Lan Subing, Wu Mingbai, Mo Xiaotian, Mu Tieren, Su Bei, Feng Lan, Si Zhaohua, Ai Baozhu, Zhou Renjie, Zhao Xiaoyu, Wu Jin, and Qi Huang.

The rankings are not necessarily based on the wins and losses in the manga matches. Some of the rankings are more subjective, and rational discussion is encouraged—no arguing allowed.

[Happy Potato no.1: Jiang Tianming > Si Zhaohua (with ultimate move) > Su Bei > Si Zhaohua (without ultimate move) > Lan Subing (brave version) > Qi Huang > Feng Lan > Wu Jin (mutated version) > Mo Xiaotian > Wu Mingbai > Ai Baozhu > Zhou Renjie > Mu Tieren > Zhao Xiaoyu > Wu Jin (normal version)

Feel free to refute this, and I will reply.]

no.2: 66666

no.3: Finally, someone compiled this.

no.4: So many people.jpg

no.5: Wow, there are even multiple versions?

[……]

no.23: Is putting Jiang Tianming at the top really not a fan filter?

no.24: What’s the mutated version of Wu Jin?

no.24 replying to no.23: I also feel that, without the protagonist halo, Jiang Tianming's ranking is a bit too high.

no.25: Jiang Tianming should also have two versions: one with all his trump cards revealed and another with just the basics.

no.26: The protagonist’s ability ceiling will surely rise in the future, but at the moment, I don’t think he’s quite at the top yet.

no.27: What’s the reasoning behind ranking Qi Huang so high? I almost forgot who she was.

no.28: As soon as I saw Jiang Tianming ranked first, I knew this ranking lost its fairness. How can you put a useless person who relies on dead people at the top? Doesn’t that feel wrong?

no.29 replying to no.28: Are you sick? If you hate Jiang Jiang, stop reading [The King Of Superpower]! If Jiang Jiang is on every page, you’d die of frustration!

no.30 replying to no.28: Even though the poster said no arguing, I have to say: you [censored], bad luck, [censored]!

no.31 replying to no.28: Unfair [censored]! Are you jealous of Jiang Jiang and wish you were an orphan too? Well, congratulations, you [censored] orphan!

no.32: Everyone, just ignore that unlucky troll. They’re only here to get attention.

[……]

Happy Potato no.80 (OP) replying to no.23: Yes, I am a Jiang Jiang fan, but I objectively believe he deserves this spot. He has enough skills to defeat every opponent, and besides, he hasn’t even used all his trump cards yet. Based on overall rankings, I think this position is fair.

Happy Potato no.81 (OP) replying to no.24: The mutated version of Wu Jin is the form he displayed after being injured. There’s a specific discussion thread outside of this one if you want to check it out.

Happy Potato no.82 (OP) replying to no.25: That makes sense, but how should we account for his trump cards?

Happy Potato no.83 (OP) replying to no.27: Qi Huang’s ability is the [Flame Phoenix] and just from the name, it sounds like a highly offensive power. I think this beautiful character will have a lot of screen time in the future, so I included her in the rankings.

Happy Potato no.84 (OP) replying to no.28: Everyone who reads shounen manga but dislikes the protagonist should be exterminated! Get out of my post!