By the next day, Shiratori Riku had finished perfecting his new art. From acquiring energy, to converting it, to final absorption, it covered both nurturing and refining.
First, use the improved Kunpeng Heaven-Devouring Art to take in vast amounts of food while Ripple breathing rapidly stores that energy in the cells.
Next, use the vibration-guiding method to convert it into life energy, then divide it evenly into five portions.
Start by nourishing the five viscera with the five-phase cycle, raising the body's toughness bit by bit until the life energy is spent.
During this process, match attributes to sense the same qualities in nature and absorb from outside as well.
This was his brand-new system.
"I will name it the Invincible Kunpeng Five-Phase Rebirth Ripple Vibration Innate Devouring Profound Art. Isabella, am I not amazing?"
Riku explained it proudly to Lisa Lisa. He was showing off. A genius who did not flaunt would be wasting the gift, and if he did not talk about his art, who would know how brilliant it was?
"My name is Lisa Lisa. If you can remember a title that long and that hard to say, why can you not remember a person's name?"
She sighed. Yesterday, when Riku called out Elizabeth, she had thought he had uncovered her identity. After he flubbed it several more times, she realized he simply had not remembered her name and, too stubborn to ask, had grabbed a random one.
"Right, Lisa Lisa. I remember. My mouth slipped."
He did not feel he had forgotten. He had only misspoken for a moment. He definitely remembered what she was called.
Lisa Lisa studied him. She was certain he would hold it for half an hour at most.
"You make it sound powerful, but how is it in a fight?"
"Care to try me?"
Riku smiled with unshakable confidence. "One move. If I cannot put you down in one, I lose."
"If you underestimate me because I am a woman, you will pay for it."
She flicked her hair, and in that beat pulsed Ripple into her palm, turning it razor-sharp.
"Done. I already won."
Riku stepped back.
"What are you talking... hn!"
Lisa Lisa lunged, then found her feet stuck as if glued to the ground. She could not budge.
In the next instant Ripple coursed up through the earth into her body. A wave of weakness washed her limbs.
"You are transmitting Ripple through the ground?"
She frowned. That could transmit, yes, but attenuation would be large. Her own Ripple was not weak. How could she have no resistance at all?
She had no idea what had happened. Her Ripple would not answer her call.
"Not the ground. Vibration."
Riku stamped lightly. Lisa Lisa felt a distinct tremor.
"You see me standing still, but my body is vibrating every moment. The heart is beating."
"Each beat throws off minute ripples. Wave after wave, the energy builds."
"When I trigger Ripple's magnetic pull and vibration together, your body adheres to the floor."
"At the same time, the vibration disrupts the fluctuation created by your breathing, so you cannot form Ripple."
"As for the limp feeling, that is just numbness. Rest a bit and it will pass."
He drew the vibrating Ripple back, walked to her, and helped her up, settling her into a chair.
"You are a frightening one."
"If I had not seen it, I would refuse to believe you learned Ripple and forged a technique this strong in a single day."
"No, not even a full day."
Her shock eased into relief. With Riku's help, their odds against the Pillar Men rose.
"I have proved my strength. I will skip the grueling drills and take a nap."
"If anyone wants to learn my Kunpeng..."
"Enough. Do not say that name again. It is too long, and Caesar and Joseph do not control Ripple finely enough to learn it."
"What matters now is their foundation. Your art can wait until after we defeat the Pillar Men."
She cut him off. In Riku's hands it looked simple, but the foundation it demanded was immense. Without tight control and precise Ripple, they would never manage it. For Caesar and Joseph, forcing it would be wasting precious time.
"All right. It is really simple, though."
Riku closed his eyes and slid into meditation. His awareness merged with the wind, drifting free as its energy soaked into him.
Meanwhile, inside the Pillar of Hell, Caesar and Joseph struggled.
"Damn it, that jerk Riku. We were supposed to train together, and he is napping outside."
"We were going to share the suffering. That scoundrel. I will climb up and toss him down."
Seeing Riku snoozing fired Joseph up. Strength seemed to flood back into his weary limbs.
This was fearing a brother's hardship, yet also fearing a brother's luxury.
When trouble hit, Joseph would step up. When there was none, he became the problem.
"JoJo is motivated again. I cannot quit either. Focus. Gather the Ripple."
Caesar steadied his breath. His stamina was nearly spent, each motion exhausting, yet he calmed body and mind to concentrate the Ripple.
Their struggle continued, and Riku began probing Stands.