The shortest shortcut is the long way around, and the long way around is my shortest shortcut! / A jockey spurns his ancestors, doesn't that make it even more fun!

"Like an electric discharge, condensing Hamon into an electric current and releasing it directly?"

Qin Qi had found that basically everything required contact with an object to release Hamon, but Hamon was essentially just a form of energy. Surely it could be fired directly, too?

"Mm, you can do that, but the effect becomes very weak. It's nothing but a waste of energy."

"Hamon has to be supplied continuously. If you fire it out, there won't be any energy following it, so the effect will be very weak."

As Lisa Lisa spoke, she gave Qin Qi a demonstration. She released Hamon directly into the air, and it struck a stone without doing the slightest damage.

But then Lisa Lisa picked up a leaf from the ground, infused it with Hamon, and threw it. In an instant, the leaf became a sharp blade.

It sliced the stone cleanly in half.

"Current and voltage. Releasing it on its own gives you voltage but no current, just like a lighter."

"Having only current and no voltage is like a battery. To have power, you need both voltage and current."

Qin Qi began to study it. He tried to release Hamon continuously, and at first he could only manage a little at a time. But once he succeeded at it,

he would definitely be able to do it again on his next attempt, and from there he could extend it a little farther.

He kept trying like that, every step taking him forward. Finally, after half a day, Qin Qi managed to succeed!

"Lisa Lisa, I did it!"

As soon as Qin Qi succeeded, he found Lisa Lisa and demonstrated it in front of her.

Hamon burst from his hand, instantly forming a bolt of golden lightning that lasted for about a second.

It reached roughly five meters, and the stone serving as his target was shattered by the lightning!

"I named it Thunder Hamon Overdrive, but it uses a bit too much energy, and its power isn't very satisfying either."

Qin Qi shook his head as he spoke. It looked impressive, but it was far too impractical. It was all show.

"You can improve your control over Hamon. A lot of energy was wasted when you released it."

"You could try shortening the duration to 0.1 seconds and condensing the Hamon more. That way it would use less energy, be more powerful, and be faster too."

Lisa Lisa looked at Qin Qi and took a deep breath. The Hamon system, which had remained unchanged for so long, had now undergone a new change.

She thought she had heard her teacher speak of people like this. They seemed to be called... pioneers, or grandmasters!

People like this did not simply learn and imitate the work of their predecessors. They kept developing it, pushing it to a higher realm,

and forging a path of their own. That was why they were called grandmasters.

She thought Qin Qi might be one such person. His talent was extraordinary and his mind was flexible. Hamon might grow even stronger in his hands.

As his teacher, all she had to do was teach Qin Qi everything she knew and help him go farther.

"Control, huh? Besides voltage and current, there's also realm. Huh, that sounds familiar. Isn't that the Complete Realm?"

Qin Qi thought of the Complete Realm in Magnetic Field Rotation, which brought energy together to unleash greater power.

Sure enough, Hamon and Magnetic Field Rotation were a perfect match. Once he succeeded in cultivating it... anyone he ran into would get a taste of his million-horsepower Sea Tiger Blasting Fist, oraah!

"I wasn't planning to have you challenge that so early, but it seems you're qualified now."

"Challenge what?"

"The Hell Climb Pillar, one of the great hurdles of Hamon training. It's the ultimate test of your ability to condense Hamon!"

Lisa Lisa took Qin Qi to a distant tower. This was the Hell Climb Pillar, one of the highest-level tests for Hamon practitioners!

Chapter 7: The shortest shortcut is the long way around, and the long way around is my shortest shortcut!

[Lisa Lisa led you to the Hell Climb Pillar, which was twenty-four meters tall and made entirely of smooth marble.]

[The pillar was nearly as thick as ten adults could encircle with their arms, and it was covered in a layer of exceptionally slippery, constantly flowing oil.]

[You could not wrap your arms all the way around it, and you also had to overcome the oil's slipperiness and flow. This undoubtedly made it even more difficult.]

"The Hell Climb Pillar is a very difficult Hamon test. Many Hamon users who have trained for more than ten or even decades have been unable to conquer it."

"You've only been here about three days. I shouldn't have brought you to challenge it yet, but I think your talent should let you overcome it."

"But in the end, it's up to you. If you decide to take the challenge, I'll stay here with you. If you give up, that's fine too."

"I'll teach you Hamon slowly, one step at a time. We still have plenty of time."

Lisa Lisa first explained the difficulty of the Hell Climb Pillar, then left the choice to Qin Qi.

"There's nothing to hesitate over. Let's do it."

Qin Qi accepted the challenge without hesitation. He had to get past it sooner or later, and one day made no difference.

Besides, he had a cheat. If he still didn't dare try, what was the point of training in Hamon? He might as well find a place to wait for death.

"All right. I'll demonstrate it for you first in a moment. Just follow my example."

Lisa Lisa nodded. It wasn't as if the Ripple Breathing Method couldn't be learned without courage, but a courageous person's Hamon would be stronger.

When she finished speaking, she jumped straight down. Seeing this, Qin Qi followed without hesitation.

The two soon reached the bottom, where the oil was deep enough to reach their chests.

"The difficulty of training on the Hell Climb Pillar lies in condensing your Hamon. If you can't condense it, you won't be able to stick to the pillar."

"Oil conducts Hamon very well, but it also causes Hamon to disperse. The flowing oil carries even more of your Hamon away."

"If it isn't sufficiently condensed, it won't be able to penetrate the outer layer of oil and stick to the pillar."

"And even if you do stick to it, as you climb higher, gravity will have a greater effect, and the strength of Hamon you need will keep increasing."

"This is a supreme test of your stamina, concentration, and technique."

As Lisa Lisa spoke, she placed her long, slender fingers on the pillar. "The more concentrated the Hamon, the better the effect."

"So instead of releasing Hamon through your palms, you release it through your fingers."

With that, Lisa Lisa climbed up on her own. Her Hamon was highly concentrated, and she moved quickly, reaching the top in no time.

"That's the technique. The rest is up to you. I won't help unless you're on the verge of death."

Lisa Lisa sat down atop the pillar, looking as though she was just watching and would never lend a hand.

"A sharp tongue but a soft heart."

Qin Qi shook his head. He thought that if Lisa Lisa truly didn't care, she wouldn't have stayed to watch over him.

After a brief sigh, he began to try. Qin Qi wasn't planning to climb straight to the top in one go; he started at the bottom, slowly improving the concentration of his Hamon.

"Once attained, forever attained. The best way to learn is one step at a time. Without accumulating little steps, you can't travel a thousand miles."

Qin Qi understood better and better what learning method suited him: one step at a time. What was hardest for others was actually the easiest for him.

After ordinary people learned something, they might forget it or even regress the next day, just like memorizing a text.

They might remember it today, only to forget it tomorrow, so they had to repeat the same actions constantly to maintain their level.

It was like marching in place, and sometimes they might even step backward.

Qin Qi was different. Every step he took became his new starting line. There was no possibility of going backward or marching in place.

Every step was progress, every step was growth.

"All right, let's give it a try."

Qin Qi trained for more than an hour before he began climbing in earnest. He placed his hand on the pillar, with no need to concentrate it at his fingertips.

His Hamon had long since been refined and condensed. No matter what part of his body he used, he could release the strongest, most concentrated Hamon.

The instant he placed his hand on the pillar, he successfully stuck to it. At that moment, a saying suddenly came to Qin Qi's mind:

"The shortest shortcut is the long way around."

Qin Qi recalled a short story he had once read in an ancient book.

In ancient times, someone had sought the Dao from Laozi, asking how he could attain the great Dao. Laozi answered that he only needed to follow the main road.

The man listened to Laozi and followed the main road. After walking for a long time, he grew very tired. It was too slow, so he wanted to take a shortcut along a narrow path.

But he did not know where the path led. He kept taking wrong turns and going around in circles, failing again and again.

Finally, after who knew how long, the man gave up and returned to the main road to continue onward.

This time, he felt he had reached the end before long. Only then did he understand that the difficult road he had imagined was already the shortest shortcut.

"No matter how many times I see it, it's still astonishing."

Lisa Lisa looked at Qin Qi, who had mastered Hamon condensation so quickly. She sighed, but a smile appeared on her face.

As a teacher and a Hamon user, she was truly happy to see such a brilliant star rise.

She took out the Super Aja Stone she wore around her neck. She felt that if she died, she might be able to pass the stone on to Qin Qi.

The traffic on Faloo has dropped again. If everyone thinks this is pretty good, I hope you'll show more support. Flowers, ratings, and comments are all free for you, but they also count as encouragement for the author.

Chapter 8: A jockey spurns his ancestors, doesn't that make it even more fun!

[It did not take you long to overcome the Hell Climb Pillar. Your control over Hamon improved once more.]

[Over the next month, you learned the most difficult Ripple Breathing Method and mastered the various forms of Ripple Overdrive.]

[You even learned all the combat experience Lisa Lisa had accumulated over the years. By now, you had learned everything Lisa Lisa knew.]

"I've taught you everything I can, and you've learned it all. From here on, it's up to you."

Lisa Lisa looked at Qin Qi and, for a moment, felt a little dazed. It was as though, since she had first met him,

not one month but a year, or more than a decade, had passed. It felt as though a lifetime had gone by.

"Yeah. I'll keep walking the path of Hamon and work hard to develop it into something even stronger!"

Qin Qi nodded. What he needed to improve now was no longer his technique, but his physical condition and the strength of his Hamon.

With constant training and Hamon's nourishment, his body had grown extraordinarily tough. He could be called a little superman.

At the same time, the stronger his body became, the more life energy it produced, and the more life energy he had, the stronger his body could become.

It was like stepping on his left foot with his right and soaring straight into the sky.

"I'm very happy to hear you say that. Mm... I should have waited a while longer before telling you about this."

"But your progress has exceeded anything I imagined, so I've decided to tell you ahead of time."

Lisa Lisa took the Super Aja Stone from her chest as she spoke and held it up toward the sun.

The next second, the Super Aja Stone focused the sunlight into a laser that instantly bored a hole in the ground.

"This is the Super Aja Stone, which we Hamon warriors have protected for generations. Our enemies are the monsters known as the Pillar Men."

Lisa Lisa recounted the history of the feud between the Hamon warriors and the Pillar Men. "After I die, the Super Aja Stone may have to be entrusted to you for safekeeping."

"And the feud with the Pillar Men will also fall to you to bear. Think carefully about whether you want to accept this responsibility."

Lisa Lisa asked the question very seriously. Although she hoped Qin Qi would take over her responsibility, she wouldn't force him.

After all, when facing ageless, undying monsters like the Pillar Men, a single mistake could cost him his life.

"Leave it to me. I learned Hamon from you, so naturally I should do something for it."

"Also, can you let me study this?"

The outcome of Qin Qi's current simulation was to eliminate the Pillar Men, so a battle was unavoidable. There was no need to hesitate now.

"Of course. Here."