"Three episodes back-to-back?!"
"Production team, I'm your real dad!!!"
"Fucking awesome!!!"
Chapter 23: This Man Was Terrifyingly Strong!
As the first episode finished airing without a hitch, a pleasant system notification sounded in Qiji's mind:
[Ding!] [The first episode of "Echo" (main feature) has finished airing!] [Calculating based on your overall contribution to the episode...] [Total Popularity Points earned: +23,333!]
"Oh?" Qiji raised an eyebrow.
The Popularity Points earned from an anime broadcast were not "settled in real time" like those from a livestream.
Instead, they were distributed according to each character's contribution to the episode, based on the overall response after it aired.
Of course, contribution here meant credit.
It primarily referred to a character's overall contribution to advancing the plot, generating discussion, attracting viewers, and so on.
Most importantly, this was not a one-time payout.
As long as the anime kept airing, new viewers got into it, and old viewers rewatched it, the associated views, discussions, and fan works would bring him a steady stream of Popularity Points!
"Twenty-three thousand from one episode..."
And it was still the day of the premiere.
Once some time had passed and the anime's popularity had grown, he could hardly imagine how much a single episode would earn him!
Qiji suddenly felt like the five million he owed wasn't much at all, just pocket change.
He even felt that if he borrowed another ten million, he could handle it with ease.
The second episode of "Echo."
It was another episode that showcased Qiji.
In the second episode, he delivered several "Qiji-isms" that quickly went viral and became popular talking points among viewers, along with several "iconic scenes" that were frantically screenshotted and shared.
"Beneath this handsome mask is an even more handsome face."
"The safest place is by my side."
And then there was the line repeated by the examiner, a favorite of every chuuni:
"Testing is defining, and defining is limiting. As for me, I'm a genius who can neither be defined nor limited!"
Of course, the real surprise of the second episode was that it showed viewers in no uncertain terms what top-tier fight production looked like!
The team battle in this episode featured sharp, realistic action choreography and breathtaking camerawork.
The violent beauty of Qiji's fight against the Scorpion King.
The nail-biting moment when Huomu fought back against the odds.
The speed and determination with which Setsuna maneuvered to stall for time...
Every fight got the blood pumping.
It was also in this episode that the protagonist, Huomu, finally showed his unique character appeal and growth arc, thanks to Qiji's guidance and his own refusal to give up.
Despite having the worst aptitude in the entire class, he overcame a stronger opponent and defeated a second-tier Void Beast on his own!
The childhood flashbacks interspersed throughout also allowed viewers to finally begin to understand Huomu a little.
They understood the roots of his "people-pleasing personality," which had initially only made him seem pathetic.
All because-
Huomu knew better than anyone how unforgivable his father's grave crime was.
And as that man's son, he did not want to run from it.
Feeling that he had wronged everyone in the City of Kindling, he wanted to make up for his father's sins.
He wanted to repay the debt, and he wanted to prove-
His father was his father, and he was himself.
Even if his father was an utterly unforgivable sinner, he was not the "naturally evil brat" people called him!
One day, he would become a hero of the City of Kindling-
As the son of the fire thief!
That was why he wanted to fit in more than anyone else.
Why he longed to be accepted and recognized more than anyone else.
And in turn, he worked harder than anyone else!
When others cultivated, he cultivated even harder!
When others rested, played, and enjoyed life, he was still cultivating.
On the empty training grounds, he endlessly repeated the dullest of exercises: punching, shooting, and running.
Sometimes, watching everyone else enjoy themselves amid laughter and cheerful chatter, he naturally felt envious.
But he also knew he had no right to such pleasures.
After all, wasn't having fun something that only brought true happiness when shared with family and friends?
He had no family and no friends...
So he simply refused to let himself stop.
Because once he stopped, he would feel lonely.
He could only devote all his time to cultivation.
The gun in his hand was the only companion he had known all those years.
When his hard work finally earned him admission to Echo Academy, he had thought he might receive even a little recognition.
But all he heard were voices of opposition-
"He's a sinner's son. What right does he have to enroll?"
"We're training the next criminal!"
He had heard countless voices like those.
In the end, it was the academy director who overrode the opposition and vouched for his admission.
So-
I have to do better!
If I don't do well, then people from backgrounds like mine might never be allowed to enroll again!
I'm working hard not just for myself, but for everyone who might be in the same situation as me!
So I don't want to lose...
I can't lose!
I couldn't choose where I came from. All I can do is use my own hard work to tell them-
I did nothing wrong!
I'm not the one who's wrong!
Is a sinner's child born a sinner?
The world shouldn't be like this!
The emotion of the flashback reached its peak at that moment, then suddenly receded like the tide-
The scene cut back to the present.
Dust filled the air before him.
Huomu emptied his magazine at the second-tier Rock-Armored Venomous Scorpion.
Boom!
The dust cleared.
He stood.
The Rock-Armored Venomous Scorpion fell.
At the same time, Qiji's voice drifted in from the side, carrying a hint of approval:
"Not bad at all, are you?"
With the end of the second episode, Huomu, the protagonist who had once been mocked as "pathetic," finally began to come into his own.
Viewers gradually came to understand his pain, his perseverance, and the burden he carried.
Many sympathized with him, and many also saw the qualities that shone within him.
"Next episode!"
Then the viewers eagerly clicked on the third episode, the last one of the night.
After the team battle against the Rock-Armored Venomous Scorpion, the story that followed could almost be called Qiji's personal showcase.
Liuli disappeared, and Kamishiro Seigen made his entrance.
Through a series of low-angle, wide-angle close-ups that slowly pushed in, Kamishiro Seigen was deliberately given an aura of exceptional "power" the moment he appeared.
To highlight that power, the production team even had him encounter a rampaging pack of Void Beasts as soon as he appeared.
His only response was a gentle push of the thumb on his sword hand.
His longsword slid half an inch out of its sheath.
With a clang-
The terrifying Void Beasts lunging through the air all froze at once.
The next second.
Every Void Beast was split into two symmetrical halves!
Their cuts were smooth as mirrors, and blood gushed out like waterfalls.
It was as if a crimson downpour had begun to fall from the sky.
But as the rain came within three feet of Kamishiro Seigen, an invisible, razor-sharp aura pushed it aside, leaving him untouched by a single drop.
That cold, stern face, that effortless instant kill, and the anime's top-tier visuals brought the viewers to a unanimous conclusion in an instant-
This man was terrifyingly strong!
Chapter 24: Would He Win?
"Holy shit! Early-game boss confirmed!"
"Isn't his showing against the Void Beasts even more impressive than Qiji's?"
"No, he's a lot more impressive!!"