Qiji

Biodata

Power Progression

Qiji’s physical strength, character-card abilities, and equipment develop separately from conventional Echoer ranks. He explicitly remains without an awakened Echo until his match against Sibel 162 168.

Background

Qiji was a middle schooler before transmigrating into the world of Echo. He arrived in his own body, inexplicably reverted to its five-year-old state. He initially struggled to find meaning in his new life; the system’s awakening gave him a goal and revealed that he inhabited an anime world integrated with livestreaming and games 1 130.

The system warned that the world would “correct” him if his outsider identity were exposed. To anchor himself, he needed to become a five-star character. He chose Thousand Faces, whose defining traits included mystery, a mask, immeasurable strength, and apparent all-round genius 1.

To finance that performance, Qiji pledged his body, memories, emotions, future, and other aspects of himself to the system. Dividing himself into twenty-seven separately priced parts raised his collateral value from one million popularity points to roughly five million. He spent the following nine years building his physique, appearance, reputation, and knowledge of the first season’s plot 1 2.

Before entering Echo Academy, he was already famous for completing second-tier missions alone. Rumors claimed that he had surpassed his preparatory institute’s teachers by age ten, and his graduation assessment produced an unprecedented record 3.

Appearance

• Mask: Usually wears a pure white mask that conceals his entire face. It can separate into halves, allowing him to share its protection 12 36 37.
• Clothing: Commonly wears a long black trench coat over his academy uniform; beneath it, he wears a white uniform shirt 36 57.
• Face: Exceptionally handsome, with naturally slightly upturned mouth corners that give him an air of playful nonchalance 36.
• Height: Tall enough to keep Liuli from reaching his mask simply by holding a finger against her forehead 9.
• Later condition: Uses a wheelchair during the Tide Grand Competition while suffering severe weakness and repeated bouts of coughing blood 145 157 162.

Personality

Qiji deliberately presents himself as languid, arrogant, and effortlessly brilliant. His theatrical declarations and cutting victory speeches are calculated to satisfy the Thousand Faces persona and attract viewers. Privately, he monitors audience reactions closely and regards losing on camera as a threat to the foundation of his popularity 2 21 46.

His apparent effortlessness conceals relentless discipline. He trains until dawn almost every night, explaining much of his daytime sleepiness, and hides evidence of that exertion because it conflicts with his image. Even after exhausting missions, he refuses to skip training 18 41.

He is competitive, resourceful, and fond of money, but not without principles. He rejects attacks based on unverified rumors, refuses unnecessary additional payment from a badly damaged caravan, and risks himself to protect civilians rather than escape alone 4 40 103.

His attachments increasingly outweigh his original calculations. Although he initially adopted Xiwang to create a sympathetic character background, he later rejected treating her illness as a popularity tool. With her, he is patient and attentive rather than lazy or sharp-tongued 17 66.

Abilities & Skills

Popularity Points System

Provides Qiji with private interfaces, purchases, character cards, and control over his personal channel 1 2.

• Converts popularity points into resources that can improve his strength or support his performances 1.
• Lets him choose when to begin and end his livestream, controlling which aspects of himself the audience sees 2.
• Provides access to other characters’ channel footage, which he studies for information and combat techniques 47 68.
• Supplies recording and livestream-mode upgrades, as well as Circuit Book analysis and instruction 47 168.
• His purchased plot synopsis is incomplete, and his interventions cause events to diverge from it 46 90.

Max-Level Physique and Martial Arts

Qiji reaches Max in strength, speed, and constitution before the anime begins 1.

• Can leap from an academy rooftop dozens of meters high and land silently without supernatural assistance 3.
• Uses precise kicks to exploit armored joints and overwhelm second-tier Void Beasts 11.
• Possesses hearing sharp enough to follow conversations from concealment 41.
• Survives the destruction of his mirror armor and a direct blow from Kamishiro Chiho, though he suffers serious injuries 103.
• Physical power alone does not overcome the qualitative advantages of higher-tier Echoers 18 91.

Mask of Miracles

A growth-type item that initially supplies much of Qiji’s supernatural versatility 49.

• Lie: Carries the effect “become the perfect version of oneself.” Removing only half the mask does not interrupt it 37.
• Miracle accumulation: Stores Miracle; Qiji expects it to reach a maximum of 9.1 while researching his awakening 8.
• Blurring of Illusion and Reality: Grants conceptual intangibility, allowing him to evade otherwise lethal attacks 35 49 84.
• Mental protection: Produces a cooling sensation that clears his mind after the Sword of No Thought disrupts it 13.
• Shared protection: Can be split so another person receives half; he uses this when saving Bai Lili 36 37 84.
• Limit: Intangibility cannot protect nearby civilians, forcing him to take Chiho’s attack directly 103.

Heart Essence Conversion and Fist Techniques

Qiji’s Heart Essence initially has no recognized attribute because he is an outsider. The mask acts as a medium and amplifier, simulating conversion into different elemental powers 49.

• Flame Fist: Combines elemental force with his Max-level body, producing enough power for him to consider challenging third-tier defenses 49.
• Thunder Fist: Produces blue-violet lightning; initially less stable and more expensive than his flame conversion 49.
• Other developed techniques: Ice Fist, Storm Fist, and Haymaker 49.
• Instant Bloom: A recurring combat technique; he lands eight uses against Chiho while coordinating with Liuli 101 163.
• Limit: Attribute conversion consumes far more Heart Essence than Huomu’s native Flame Fist, restricting sustained use 49.

Person in the Mirror

The Armament associated with Qiji’s five-star Thousand Faces card 79 80.

• Takes the Imagery Armor form, covering his body and enhancing defense, speed, and strength rather than spellcasting 91.
• Controls mirror shards for defense, mass attacks, concealed strikes, and weapon formation 79 96 145.
• Can form the Sword of Mirrors, redirect fragments behind an opponent, and assemble small hidden blades 156.
• Deploys instantaneously and with greater strength inside the Sea of Consciousness than in reality 78.
• Can grow through mastery and compatibility; sufficient progress can unlock its second-stage form early 80.
• Qiji suspects the unfulfilled Older brother trait is the key to greater compatibility, motivating him to accept Suyo’s mistaken identification 80.

Replicated and Learned Circuits

Qiji supplements his own techniques with recorded abilities, equipment, and system-assisted learning 69 168.

• One Night’s Moonfall: Records Yuejian’s technique and later uses it during the Chiho battle. His incomplete mastery makes it far more costly than Yuejian’s version 69 103 105.
• Piercing Rainbow: Condenses lineage power into a penetrating arc of light. An ordinary version uses one lineage; the system adapts his learning path to his existing traits 168 169.
• Combines Piercing Rainbow with Blurring of Illusion and Reality to bypass Sibel’s Closed Loop and pierce her spirit body 170.

Miracle: To See Is the End

The six-star Miracle card grants an Armament explicitly associated with destruction and loss of control 167.

• Its warnings include rampaging, destroying everything, and never stopping.
• Qiji considers the Armament unusable after reading its risks.
• Separately, the card can bear damage dealt to the Sea of Consciousness when he enters in his true body.
• The card repairs itself, with recovery time determined by the damage sustained 167.

Combat Analysis and Deception

• Identifies a scorpion’s injured joint from shell discoloration, weight distribution, and claw marks, then directs Huomu toward it 11.
• Misleads Chiho’s Mind Domain Net with fabricated thoughts 101.
• Uses blinding reflections and scattered fragments to conceal attacks from unexpected angles 145 156.
• Exploits wish wording: time already spent in a wheelchair counts toward a stated half-month cost, granting a ten-minute exemption without a new payment 157.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Mask of Miracles — His principal early supernatural item; later breaks, with its abilities retained in his Echo Core 49 170.
• Sword of No Thought — A Kamishiro Echo creation whose scabbard can disrupt minds. Liuli lends it to Qiji during the beast tide, and he later wields it against Chiho 13 25 103.
• Silver Wish — A Concept Armament with crystal slots. Can return to the form of a tie and assume the Binding Silver Grip form 69 99.
  • Binding Silver Grip’s self-corrosion exceeds his stamina at the time of the Chiho battle 99.
  • Equivalent Wish supplies the Heart Essence needed for his costly circuit use 105.
• Performance cards — Purchases Camera, Spotlight, Sound Effect, Lucky Bag, and Betting Cards to support his staged appearances and popularity strategy 1.
• Guessing Card — Uses a guessing event to draw enough viewers for his stream to reach the top two 3.
• Wheelchair — Supports his weakened body and doubles as preparation for Ritual Two, a means of misleading opponents, and part of a wish’s cost 157.
• Battle Support card — Retains it to assist Suyo’s team, though it requires that team to approach defeat before activating 171.

Relationships

• Xiwang / Xiao Xi — Adopted younger sister. Qiji pays her overdue medical bills with rift-hunting proceeds and abandons his original plan to use her illness for audience sympathy 18 66.
• Huomu — Friend and informal pupil. Qiji saves him from falling off the rooftop, challenges the rumors surrounding him, and helps him develop Flame Fist. Huomu briefly addresses him as “Master,” which Qiji discourages 4 5 42 45.
• Liuli / Kamishiro Ruri — Friend, combat partner, and someone he promises to protect from the Kamishiro Family. She calls him her only friend; their coordination is decisive against Chiho 9 88 107.
• Setsuna — Friend and teammate. She tests his advice about Heart Essence, helps care for him in hospital, and pushes his wheelchair during the competition preliminaries 43 109 141.
• Bai Lili — Classmate and mission employer. He saves her from a blood arrow by sharing his mask, prompting her to recognize romantic feelings for him 25 35 36.
• Suyo — Rival who becomes attached to his Thousand Faces identity as her deceased brother. Qiji protects her concealed identity, reassures her after their duel, and later gives her fragments and assistance 65 67 79 125 174.
• Yuejian — Class Eight’s teacher and a model for Qiji’s desired fighting style. Qiji studies his battles and records One Night’s Moonfall 47 69.
• Kijika — Teacher whom Qiji suspects during the White Harbor crisis. He warns Liuli about him before collapsing, though she later reports finding no unusual conduct 108 109.
• Panyan — Fellow student who resolves to become strong enough to fight alongside Qiji and later cooperates when Qiji intervenes against Charles 71 174.
• Sibel — Tournament opponent. Qiji insists on facing her strongest Echo, then defeats her with Piercing Rainbow 162 170.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Academy Debut and Practical Assessment

Qiji launches his personal channel while avoiding the aptitude test that could expose his lack of Echo aptitude. He draws viewers through Liuli and Huomu, intervenes in Huomu’s bullying, and rescues him from the rooftop. His skipped test leaves an X in his student record rather than a conventional rating 2 3 5 22.

During the practical assessment, he guides Class Eight through combat and defeats Kamishiro Seigen after Liuli turns against her brother. Killing Seigen alters the expected storyline and contributes to Qiji’s fear that stronger enemies may appear ahead of schedule 11 13 21 46.

Caravan Mission and Beast Tide

Qiji orders the students to abandon unnecessary cargo and escape while he blocks the approaching Void Beasts with Liuli’s sword. He later returns to save his classmates from two upper-level second-tier battle eagles, then protects Bai Lili from a redirected blood arrow 25 26 33 35.

Training and Suyo’s Challenge

While guiding Huomu, Qiji secretly studies Flame Fist for his own use. A month of training culminates in the discovery that his mask can convert Heart Essence attributes. He subsequently defeats Suyo, conceals her exposed identity behind fire walls, and comforts her after learning about her past 45 46 49 65 67 71.

White Harbor Crisis

Recognizing signs that the Red Sea Incident is occurring early, Qiji checks Liuli’s channel and rushes to her aid. He faces the fourth-tier Kamishiro Chiho despite knowing that his available strength is suited to third-tier opponents at most 90 91 95.

Qiji and Liuli exploit Chiho’s mind-reading and unstable Armament, but protecting civilians costs him his armor and leaves him badly injured. Their final coordinated attack combines Liuli’s Final Form: One Sword with his intangibility, allowing him to behead Chiho 101 103 107.

Hospitalization and Sea of Consciousness Expeditions

After collapsing, Qiji repeatedly coughs blood and suffers weakness that doctors cannot explain. He nevertheless returns to the Sea of Consciousness to strengthen himself, later apologizing when his extended absence frightens his friends and sister 108 109 112 113 130.

During these expeditions, he reunites with Suyo, gives her a useful Flame Lineage fragment, evades an Isolde pursuer, and scavenges fragments from fallen Echoers’ loot boxes 125 126.

Tide Grand Competition

Qiji competes despite his condition and eliminates the third-tier Bai Shi from his wheelchair. Against Sibel, he lets his borrowed ten-minute burst expire and publicly reveals that he has no Echo, setting up the fate ritual he has been awaiting 138 145 162.

By the end of their match, he has awakened his Echo, obtained the six-star Miracle card, and learned Piercing Rainbow. He defeats Sibel, then seeks a third team victory through the retained Battle Support card. He subsequently enters Suyo’s battle against Charles and returns Charles’s insult toward her 167 168 169 170 171 174.

Notable Quotes

“To test is to define, and to define is to limit. I am a genius beyond definition.” 2

“But those are just rumors. Attacking someone without even checking whether they're true is way too stupid!” 4

“Hey, you shouldn't say such negative things... You'll be happy. You'll feel happy to be alive. I promise you.” 13

“Sorry about this. Beyond this point—No passage.” 26