At the sight, the comments couldn't help but marvel:
"As expected of Prisoner Ji! The strong leading the strong! He's both a father and a mother to them!"
"I'm dying! I thought Yuejian would be the one training the five kids in this show, but he went and vanished instead!"
"Obviously! When something actually happens, we can always count on our Prisoner Ji!"
"Hajiqi really can do everything!"
Qiji hadn't slept a wink all night, so he slept especially soundly.
By the time he opened his eyes again, it was evening.
The setting sun bathed the training ground in a warm golden glow.
Qiji sat up and stretched contentedly.
Then he noticed Huomu sitting dejectedly beside a training dummy, his head bowed as he absently plucked at the grass.
His face, once brimming with enthusiasm, was now smeared with dust and sweat, and he couldn't quite hide his frustration.
Setsuna sat cross-legged not far away, panting heavily with a deep frown. Clearly, she hadn't made much progress either.
Qiji walked over, and his footsteps alerted Huomu.
Huomu looked up at Qiji and forced a smile, but it quickly faded.
"Qiji, you're awake..."
"Yeah. How's the training going?" Qiji asked him.
He could already guess from Huomu's expression.
Huomu lowered his head, his voice muffled. "I'm too stupid... I have no talent... Maybe... I really can't master such an advanced technique..."
Following Qiji's instructions, he had tried to feel the "heat" in his heart and guide and concentrate it, but all he had managed was to make his heart race, raise his body temperature, and turn his face red from the strain.
That so-called "power" remained elusive and beyond his reach.
After all, the theory Qiji had taught him ran completely counter to the textbooks. Deep down, he believed in Qiji, and knew that if Qiji said it, there had to be a way to do it.
But...
What if it was a realm only a "genius" like Qiji could reach?
A fool like him might never break through that invisible barrier, no matter how hard he tried.
Seeing Huomu's discouragement and self-doubt, Qiji couldn't help feeling a little uncertain himself.
Could my teaching method be wrong?
But in the original story, hadn't Lao Yue also taught him using this kind of "inspirational," "mystical" approach?
And right after that, Huomu had figured it out on his own...
Where had things gone wrong?
The timing? The moment? Or was some crucial trigger missing?
In any case, when he didn't know what the problem was, he couldn't go wrong laying on the inspirational talk and firing him up!
It was a classic way to motivate the protagonist!
Qiji crouched down in front of Huomu.
"Huomu, you're wrong."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word reached Huomu's ears clearly.
"Getting stronger... for Echoers below the third tier, it's not time to compete on talent yet.
So it doesn't matter if you have no talent. You only need one thing, and you'll definitely be able to do it!"
Huomu looked up, stunned.
Qiji told him what that one thing was, enunciating each word.
It was actually very simple-
"Re! Pe! Tition!
Repeat it over and over!
If you can't learn it in one try, try ten times.
If ten times isn't enough, try a hundred.
If a hundred isn't enough, try a thousand, ten thousand!"
The last rays of the setting sun slipped through the clouds, casting a thin golden-red glow over Qiji's mask.
Huomu stared at him blankly. He hadn't expected Qiji, a genius, to end up teaching him such a "stupid method."
What he didn't know was that Qiji had used that very same stupid method to become the "genius" everyone saw.
"When you think you can't do it, try one more time."
Qiji spoke firmly, as though looking back on the path he had walked over the past nine years.
"One time, then one more!
A so-called genius-
Is just the fool who tried one more time than everyone else! That's all."
In a way, Qiji himself was just such a fool.
That made him more qualified than anyone to say those words.
Qiji pointed at the training dummy beside them and said to Huomu:
"Now, stand up.
Face it.
Take that fire in your heart, all your frustration, unwillingness, desire, anger...
And with your fist-
Let it out!
Whether it takes a thousand tries or ten thousand, keep going until you master it!
Come on, Huomu!
Hit it with-
Flame Fist!"
When his words fell, a deathly silence descended over the training ground.
Only the fiery sunset remained, casting the three of them in long, slanting shadows.
Huomu stared blankly at Qiji, then looked at his own fist. The flame that had died in his eyes slowly reignited!
And it burned fiercer than ever before!
"Y-yes!!!"
He sprang to his feet, letting out an inhuman bellow that mingled fury and resolve!
He turned to face the training dummy.
He clenched his fist!
The flame in his heart, smothered by repression, doubt, and frustration, was fully ignited by Qiji's words!
"Haaaah!!!"
There were no fancy moves, no wasted motions.
Huomu put every ounce of his strength, every emotion, every conviction, and all his unwillingness into that punch.
He slammed it at the dummy!
Chapter 50: This Man Was Too Perfect
With this punch-
Huomu no longer thought about complicated theories.
He no longer worried about the limits of his talent.
At that moment, his thoughts boiled over!
He remembered-
The Metal-Rending Battle Eagle's ferocity, the terror of the two little ones clinging to each other, and his own helplessness as he charged at it roaring, only to be swept aside by a wing.
He also remembered what Qiji had said:
A hero had to think calmly and save those he was capable of saving.
He understood all of it.
Stay calm, weigh the options, and make a choice.
But... someone was going to die right in front of him!
He really...
Couldn't stay calm!
He had never been smart to begin with!
He was a fool who was bad at thinking and could only act on instinct!
So there was only one best solution he could think of-
To become strong enough!
To expand the range of what he was capable of.
Enough that he wouldn't have to choose between "saving the few" and "saving the many."
Enough to protect everything before his eyes!
Not letting anyone die in front of him!
Just as Qiji had done yesterday!
I want to be as strong as Qiji too!!!
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
At that moment, Huomu heard his own heartbeat, like a war drum being struck.
For the first time, he truly felt the existence of the Heart Essence within him.
His Heart Essence vibrated!
His muscles trembled!
His bones hummed!
And then, in the next moment, they coordinated in an incredible way!
Firelight flared around Huomu's right fist as he threw a punch!
The instant his fist struck the training dummy-
"Boom!!!"
A muffled bang rang out.
Flames erupted out of thin air, snapping the training dummy in half at the waist, fierce tongues of fire burning at the break!
[Flame Fist]!