Selection

"After tallying, the five works that have entered the final selection stage are:"

"Iron Fist Geli, average score 73."

The editor of this work wasn't surprised it made it to the final round, but likewise, he felt not a shred of joy.

Most editors understood that after Dong Yun stirred things up, three of the five works in the final selection had zero chance—they were just there to make up the numbers.

Their judgment wasn't off; they knew deep down that the winner of this serialization meeting would basically come down to two works: Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal and Secret Girl.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the meeting room shifted.

Many editors kept glancing at Su Ruo and Song Jiayu.

Editor-in-Chief Pang Feng continued reading.

"Green Streets, average score, 69 points."

"Nightmare Descends, average score, 78 points."

As he read this, quite a few editors in the audience sighed.

At a serialization meeting where Man Ying had no empty seats, if a work scored an average of 75 or above across all editor ratings, its serialization was pretty much locked in.

If Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal and Secret Girl hadn't joined this meeting, Nightmare Descends would have been a sure bet.

Too bad...

"Secret Girl, average score, 86 points."

The editors nodded. As a work by Feng Yu Comics' renowned manga artist Dong Yun, it would've been strange if it hadn't reached this level.

"Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal, average score... 93 points."

The moment Pang Feng finished, the seated editors erupted into commotion.

"Ninety-three?"

"That high?"

"I genuinely thought this work was great, so I gave it ninety-one. I figured my score would be too high and get tossed out as the max, but you guys went even bolder than me!"

"I had the same idea—I gave it ninety-four."

Basically, in meetings like this, editors followed a standard. Even if a proposed work was terrible, everyone usually scored it above sixty to save face for their colleagues.

Above that, it was a ten-point ladder. Sixty to seventy was cannon fodder—if a meeting lacked standout works, these could sneak onto Man Ying for a while, but if the story didn't improve, most got axed or moved to other journals within half a year.

Seventy to eighty was the baseline for Man Ying serialization eligibility. If nothing went wrong and quality didn't drop, it could maintain average popularity until the end.

Eighty to ninety meant the work had serious potential, with editors optimistic. Once serialized, as long as quality held, it was a lock for the top four in Man Ying's popularity poll.

As for ninety and above...

That was a rarity, seen once every few years.

Manga artists who could produce works of that caliber had all run off to Modu or even RB Island to make their mark. Few bothered to put such works on Man Ying.

In Man Ying's history, works that scored an average of ninety or above from editors based on their first three chapters were few and far between. Every single one had significantly boosted the journal's sales.

That's why, when editors scored, if a work didn't have the corresponding potential, they wouldn't hand out such ratings.

Su Ruo sighed deeply. Though she held back from showing it out of restraint, her heart was blooming with joy.

Sometimes, those in the thick of it lose perspective. Su Ruo genuinely thought Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal was high-quality, but she'd also wondered if her judgment was off.

Yet with over thirty editors scoring and averaging out to 93, it only meant this work had conquered a group who dealt with all kinds of manga daily—arguably the pickiest audience in the manga industry.

And more importantly, this score wasn't meaningless.

Five works entered the final discussion stage. So what were they discussing?

It wasn't that low-scoring works got no chance, but if a low-scoring work wanted to break through, what gave it the right?

A work averaging seventy from multiple editors—what reason could it have to edge out an eighty-point work?

The responsible editor had to present a convincing argument to win over the room and get other editors to raise their hands in support.

If they couldn't, the final decision on which work got serialized on Man Ying basically came down to the previous round's voting scores—highest score wins!

So at this stage, whichever work had the highest editor score from the last round held a massive advantage.

Su Ruo's eyes were now brimming with laughter.

Song Jiayu, meanwhile, wore a grim expression, his breathing seeming uneven.

Editor-in-Chief Pang Feng coughed twice, silencing the noisy chatter among the editors.

"Alright, the scores for the five works are out."

"The quality is clear to everyone. To avoid wasting time, the discussion from here on will focus on Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal and Secret Girl."

"Editors responsible for Iron Fist Geli, Green Streets, and Nightmare Descends—any objections?"

"No." The three in the audience answered in unison.

Pang Feng nodded, his gaze shifting to Song Jiayu beside him.

"Deputy Editor-in-Chief Song, you're the editor in charge of Secret Girl. Being able to poach Teacher Dong Yun to our manga company really shows your exceptional skill... Normally, with Teacher Dong Yun's credentials, she wouldn't need to attend a meeting like this—our company would naturally give her a serialization slot in Man Ying..."

"But since Deputy Editor-in-Chief Song has submitted Teacher Dong Yun's new work Secret Girl to the Serialization Meeting for evaluation, as Editor-in-Chief, I can only follow the company's decades-old rules..."

"Next, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Song and Editor Su Ruo may speak freely, presenting their respective views."

"After the final statements, all editors will vote to select the work for this serialization slot."

Song Jiayu heard this and, though reluctant, still rose to his feet.

After all, right now, he was at a disadvantage, while Su Ruo held the advantage.

Su Ruo could stay silent and wait for the meeting to end, but if he couldn't lay out a clear case, then from the start, which work would the editors who favored Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal vote for? Need it even be said?

He did have considerable sway within the manga company, but it wasn't to the point where a single glance from him would make the assembled editors ignore a work's quality and blindly support him. Otherwise, the word "Deputy" wouldn't still be in his title.

"First, I want to clarify one point."

Song Jiayu took a breath and spoke.

"Secret Girl is Teacher Dong Yun's new work—the same Teacher Dong Yun who created Heart Mystery, which sold millions of copies in collected volumes across Luo Province. I'm sure everyone here is familiar with her..."

"Luo Province has long had three major manga journals: Man Ying, Fire Dragon Comics, and Tian Yin Comics."

"These three journals have been fighting each other, eating into each other's market share, maintaining a balance. But now, after much effort, I've finally persuaded Teacher Dong Yun to bring her new serialization to our company—a decision to weaken our rivals and strengthen ourselves."

"But if, in the end, she's willing to come to us, yet we fail to give her a serialization opportunity..."

"Isn't that just ridiculous?"

Many editors, upon hearing this, looked thoughtful.

"I oppose Deputy Editor-in-Chief Song's argument." At that moment, Su Ruo raised her hand to speak.

She stood up, staring straight at Song Jiayu.