Since Qiji had taught him, Qiji had to understand, right? Where exactly had he gone wrong?
Come on, give him some pointers!
Seeing Huomu's trusting, expectant gaze, the corner of Qiji's mouth twitched beneath his mask.
Though he really did want to give Huomu some pointers...
He really didn't understand it himself...
Luckily, there was a way to teach even when he didn't understand.
Qiji stepped forward and patted Huomu's shoulder reassuringly, acting as though everything was under control.
"Don't rush, Huomu." Qiji's voice was steady, with a reassuring strength to it.
"You've actually already mastered it.
It's just...
Mastering a new power can't happen overnight.
The first success is often an outburst brought about by a combination of inspiration, emotion, and condition, with a certain element of chance.
What you need to do now isn't blindly throw punches, but calm down and carefully recall what happened.
Remember what you were thinking when you threw that punch, what your body felt, how your Heart Essence flowed, how your muscles exerted force...
Remember every detail."
Qiji paused briefly, then spoke as though assigning homework.
"Huomu, how about this? After you go back, take a good look back and review what happened.
Especially all the details, feelings, and thoughts from before and after you successfully threw that punch.
Then write down everything you've learned and felt from your review, along with anything that puzzles you. Organize it into a report and hand it to me.
The process itself is a form of deep reflection and analysis.
It can help you better understand your power and discover potential problems.
At the same time, through your report, I can better steal... ahem!"
Qiji had stumbled over his words and nearly let something slip. He quickly cleared his throat twice and corrected himself.
"Better steal... see through the problem to grasp its essence, and thus offer more targeted advice for your next step."
At that moment, Huomu's trust in Qiji couldn't have been greater, so he naturally suspected nothing and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
At first, the viewers watching the comments had thought Qiji would immediately point out Huomu's problem and demonstrate it himself, teaching Huomu completely.
They hadn't expected their own thinking to be so limited!
Qiji's teaching method was far more advanced!
It was the "Socratic" style of teaching!
"Prisoner Ji is such a good teacher!"
"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime!"
"That's right! Only this way can Huomu truly master this power instead of merely learning a move!"
"He's also cultivating Huomu's ability to solve problems on his own, right? Otherwise, if Huomu relied on Prisoner Ji every time he ran into a problem, he wouldn't really grow!"
"Prisoner Ji really is just too good at this!"
"Doesn't he seem more like a teacher than Yuejian?"
"Yuejian? Who's that?"
Watching the waves of praise in the comments, even Qiji, thick-skinned as he was, felt a little embarrassed for a moment.
Fortunately, he was wearing a mask, so no one could see the awkward expression on his face.
In truth, one reason Qiji had asked Huomu to write a report was that he genuinely wanted to help Huomu better analyze and master Flame Fist.
After all, things you figured out and summed up for yourself tended to leave the deepest impression.
But on the other hand, he did have the little ulterior motive of secretly learning and studying it himself.
After all, although he was very strong now,
enough to be considered invincible below the third tier,
his means of attack were still too limited before he awakened his Echo.
At first, Qiji had thought that even with his current strength, he had enough to get by and make it through the first season.
But after he killed Kamishiro Seigen, changing the plot and setting off a series of chain reactions-
He had the persistent feeling that things were slipping a little out of his control.
He worried that some powerful characters who weren't supposed to appear in the first season would show up early and disrupt his plans.
When that happened, would being invincible below the third tier really be enough?
And the reason he was so popular now, the premise behind it all-
Was that he was strong, strong enough!
From his first appearance until now, he had never been defeated!
It could be said that the label of "absolute powerhouse" was the biggest foundation of Qiji's popularity.
So he wouldn't allow himself to lose even once in front of the camera!
His desire to grow stronger was no less intense than Huomu's!
It was even more urgent than Huomu's!
It was like someone playing a tactical game who started off on a huge winning streak and became even more eager to get going early to preserve the advantage they had...
Qiji touched the mask on his face.
The "Miracle" accumulating on it was nearly at its maximum value of 9.1.
But Qiji still didn't think it was fast enough.
He wanted time to pass faster, faster still!
As long as he could truly awaken an Echo of his own...
His strength would surely make a qualitative leap!
Then he wouldn't have to fear the few "variables" in the plot anymore.
Because by then, he himself would be this world's-
Biggest variable!
Huomu and Setsuna trained until they were exhausted before reluctantly leaving the training ground.
Before they left, Setsuna called out to Qiji.
"Qiji, I said I'd treat you to a meal before, but I've kept putting it off until now. Would tonight be all right?"
"Didn't you already treat me?"
"Huh? When?"
"The soy milk and fried dough sticks this morning," Qiji said matter-of-factly.
"How could something like that... count?"
"What you treat me to isn't important. I've got something to do tonight, so I'll be going."
Seven o'clock tonight marked the start of the anime's second week, and Qiji was in a hurry to get home and watch it!
Chapter 52: Reaching First Place!
Qiji got home at just the right time. It was exactly seven o'clock.
He eagerly opened the system's playback interface.
To be honest, he was looking forward to it-
Looking forward to his own performance in episodes four, five, and six.
Looking forward to seeing how the lines and fight scenes he'd carefully designed would turn out with top-tier production.
Of course, he was even more excited about the popularity he could gain after the episodes aired!
The opening song ended, and the story officially began-
Without a doubt, episode four was still Qiji's personal highlight episode!
Facing the rampaging beast tide that surged like a flood, he stayed behind alone to cover the retreat.
His calm declaration of "No passage," paired with the sight of him standing with his sword held crosswise, drawing a line at the narrow entrance to the valley...
With the top-tier camera work and lighting effects, it even created a magnificent, epic atmosphere!
What followed was a thrilling, one-sided slaughter that lasted dozens of seconds.
[One man holds the pass! Ten thousand beasts are slain!]
The words slammed onto the screen in elaborate special-effects lettering.
Combined with the "golden Sound System Card" Qiji had previously spent a fortune on,
Qiji's own personal BGM suddenly rang out!
The stirring melody synced perfectly with Qiji's kills on screen, the aesthetics of violence taken to the extreme!
Every swing of his sword, every dodge, every Void Beast he cut in two-
All of it, enhanced by god-tier direction, insanely fluid animation, and top-notch sound effects, assaulted every viewer's eyes and ears!
"Epic stuff ahead! Epic stuff all the way through!"
"This is the fucking fight I wanted to see!"
The comments flooded the screen in a frenzy!
Even Qiji himself couldn't help feeling his blood boil as he watched.
He almost became intoxicated with himself.
Qiji's personal highlights continued like that all the way into episode five.
Then Lao Yue appeared out of nowhere and stole some of his spotlight...
Lao Yue benefited from being the first to use Armament, and its special effects were spectacular.
When moonlight condensed into an ethereal ancient scroll, wrapping around his entire body page by page-
The breathtaking, mysterious, powerful, and incredibly stylish effects instantly won over countless fans of special effects and good looks.
"So this is Armament? That's insanely cool! Oh my god!"
"Holy shit, Lao Yue, you're this strong? Why didn't you say so sooner?"
The comments, which had been dominated by the name "Qiji," were suddenly filled with the name "Yuejian."
Fortunately, in the second half of the episode, Qiji won back some ground with his brutal clearing of the area after saying "Coming through," and his instant thirteen kills after asking, "Corpses, why are you moving around?"
And by episode six, the spotlight once again belonged entirely to Qiji.
A rescue at a critical moment, the crisis resolved in two sword strikes...
The Gold-Hunting War Eagle that had driven everyone to the brink couldn't last a second against Qiji.
All of this undoubtedly highlighted his strength even further.
After the highlight fight came another dramatic scene that showcased Qiji's personal charm.
His gentleness toward the children, his understanding of why Setsuna was angry.
And his analysis of "what makes a hero"-