Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
112. Three Quick Victories

Chu Bi wasted no time, charging forward with her sword raised, its hilt level with her chest.

Jin Shu remained motionless, watching her approach.

The crowd broke into murmurs.

“She’s just standing there. Is she scared now?”

“Maybe it’s a strategy?”

“What strategy? Letting herself get cut down?”

It took mere seconds for Chu Bi to close the four-meter gap. She swung her sword down in a powerful arc, aiming for Jin Shu’s head.

Jin Shu raised his combat knife in response, meeting her strike head-on.

Chu Bi scoffed and pressed down harder, adding her full momentum behind the blade.

Ding!

The sharp clash of metal echoed, and the crowd sucked in a collective breath.

““Huh!?””

A beat of silence followed before the elder’s voice rang out.

“Winner! Jin Shu!”

Chu Bi’s eyes widened as she stared at what remained of her weapon—just the hilt and three inches of blade. The rest spun away across the stage, severed cleanly.

Jin Shu’s combat knife had sliced through it like paper.

“H-how?” she stammered.

Jin Shu only shrugged, offering no explanation.

In truth, he had combined a sharpness rune with a blunt weapon—normally an ineffective pairing. But by infusing the weapon with his Metal Qi and sharpening its edge himself, he had created a cutting force even stronger than a standard bladed weapon with a sharpness rune.

“Next challenger! Gu Yi!”

Another woman stepped forward to take Chu Bi’s place.

She was older—at least a decade senior to Chu Bi—appearing to be in her late thirties. The oldest disciple Jin Shu had seen yet.

She gave a slight bow. “I am Gu Yi, thirty-six years old, Eighth Stage of the Core Realm. Pardon my challenge, but I can’t compete against the younger girls. This is my last chance before I’m forced to join the outer sect elders.”

Jin Shu blinked in mild surprise at her candid explanation.

“I see. Well, I’m sorry in advance, but I can’t lose here.”

The crowd buzzed with renewed discussion.

“That’s Gu Yi! She’s the oldest disciple left in the inner sect.”

“She’s not ranked highly because of her age, but she’s a tough opponent.”

“Plus, she uses an unconventional weapon.”

The outer sect elder acting as their judge spoke up. “Gu Yi, will you be using a weapon?”

Gu Yi raised a brow. “Jie-Jie, don’t you already know?”

Jin Shu blinked again, belatedly realizing the resemblance between the judge and Gu Yi. They were sisters.

“It’s a formality. Please reveal your weapon.”

Gu Yi nodded and reached for her waist. She pulled at her leather belt, unraveling what turned out to be a whip.

Her sister gave a nod and stepped back. “Same rules as before. The barriers will rise, and then you may begin.” She turned toward Jin Shu with a warning look. “And keep the uncivil comments to a minimum.”

Jin Shu gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry, won’t happen again… maybe.”

As soon as the barriers sealed them in, a sharp twang cut through the air—Gu Yi’s whip lashed out at where Jin Shu had just been standing.

Only, he wasn’t there anymore.

He had vanished.

“Winner! Jin Shu!”

Gasps rippled through the crowd as Jin Shu reappeared behind Gu Yi, his combat knife pressing lightly against the back of her neck.

She remained frozen mid-motion, her whip still in the air.

Jin Shu had honed his Ripple Walk technique ever since his escape from Liu Hua. He no longer needed to create a visible portal—he could blend it seamlessly into the air, producing only the faintest ripple.

It wasn’t yet the highest form of Ripple Walk. His Aunt Zui—well, Long Jinshu’s Aunt Zui—once told him that she allowed the ripple to form on purpose. If she wished, she could move without a single trace.

Jin Shu hadn’t reached that level yet.

But for this competition, his mastery was more than enough.

Gu Yi exhaled softly. “Do you practice an instantaneous movement technique?”

Jin Shu smirked. “Something like that.”

She studied him for a moment, then gave a slow bow. “Thank you for going easy on me.”

Jin Shu raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t the winner supposed to say that?”

Gu Yi smiled. “Yes, but I can tell you really did.”

As Gu Yi stepped down, Jin Shu took his place, waiting for the final challenger.

“Next, the final challenger—Zhu Ren!” Di Ti called.

A small figure leapt onto the stage.

Jin Shu narrowed his eyes. It was difficult to gauge her exact age from appearance alone, but if he had to guess, she seemed around sixteen. However, she was remarkably short—standing only 1.2 meters tall.

“Hihi! I’m Zhu Ren, Ninth Stage Core Realm, and the one who’s going to defeat you!” The short girl laughed, her tone playful yet confident.

Jin Shu raised a brow. “We’ll see.”

The judge’s expression hardened. “Zhu Ren, this is your only warning—lethal weapons are grounds for automatic disqualification.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It was only one time, and they survived.” Zhu Ren waved dismissively.

The judge’s nostrils flared. “It was two times. And both girls are now permanently disfigured, forced to wear masks to hide their wounds!”

“The last time was seriously an accident!” Zhu Ren protested.

The crowd fell into hushed whispers.

“That’s Zhu Ren, the second-ranked inner sect disciple! She’s the one who maimed those two girls last year…”

“She wouldn’t dare injure the Sect Master’s disciple, though… would she?”

“Who knows? They say she’s insane.”

“It’s a wonder they haven’t expelled her from the sect.”

“Apparently, her aunt is one of the core elders.”

“Then why isn’t she a core disciple?”

“I heard even her aunt dislikes her.”

Zhu Ren’s ears twitched. She turned sharply to glare at the crowd, having clearly heard their not-so-quiet whispers.

The judge ignored the commotion and held out a hand. “Show me your weapons, Zhu Ren.”

Zhu Ren smirked and pulled open the top of her robes, revealing daggers strapped both inside her clothing and along the bindings wrapped around her chest.

There were dozens.

The judge carefully inspected each blade while the spectators continued their murmurs.

“Is it true she can manipulate dozens of daggers at once?”

“It’s true. Her Flying Dagger Art is said to have reached semi-mastery.”

The judge finished checking the last dagger and stepped back. “Alright, they’re all dulled properly.”

She turned to Jin Shu. “You know the drill.”

The walls rose one final time.

Jin Shu glanced at Zhu Ren. “They don’t seem to like you.”

“Hmph! Ungrateful, the lot of them. I did it to help them!” She spat through clenched teeth.

Jin Shu tilted his head. “Hmm… I don’t know what you did, but I’d appreciate it if you avoided my face. I quite like it.”

Zhu Ren’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “No promises.”

Jin Shu nodded—then vanished.

“Not gonna work on me!” she called out.

Dozens of daggers sprang from her robes, forming a defensive ring around her.

Jin Shu reappeared behind her, swinging his combat knife.

Ding!

His blade was deflected by a floating dagger.

He vanished again, reappearing at his original spot.

Jin Shu narrowed his eyes. “How are you moving those daggers without touching them?”

Zhu Ren blinked at him. “Qi… duh.”

He sighed. “Yeah, that was a dumb question.”

A quick mental count told him she had thirty-six daggers rotating around her in perfect formation, forming an impenetrable defense.

If he had known she’d be using this technique, he would have brought additional weapons. Instead, he had limited himself to just his combat knife.

Before he could devise a plan, Zhu Ren flicked her wrist, and half of her daggers spiraled toward him.

Jin Shu leapt backward, vanishing into a ripple.

Inside the slipspace void, he paused, rapidly formulating a countermeasure that wouldn’t reveal more than necessary.

He had many techniques he was reserving for his inevitable battle against Liu Hua.

After a moment’s thought, he settled on a solution. It would expose a certain ability, but it would keep his most dangerous techniques hidden.

With one hand, he began sketching a formation in the air, golden runes materializing with each stroke. With the other, he reversed his grip on the combat knife.

When the formation was three-quarters complete, he stepped back into the arena.

As he reappeared, Zhu Ren’s daggers slashed through the empty space where he had been moments before.

She flicked her wrist, commanding them to change trajectory mid-flight.

Just then, Jin Shu completed his formation.

A blinding light erupted across the stage.

"Ah!"

Cries of pain filled the air as the audience shielded their eyes.

A second later, the light faded.

“Winner! Jin Shu!” the judge called.

“No, it’s a tie!” Di Ti’s voice rang out from below the stage.

The crowd buzzed with confusion.

Jin Shu stood in front of Zhu Ren, his combat knife pressed against her throat. But at the same time, thirteen of her daggers hovered inches from his vital points.

A perfect stalemate.

“A tie?”

“Does that mean Jin Shu loses her seeded position?”

“No, they’ll have to rematch, right?”

Di Ti climbed onto the stage and motioned for silence.

“This match has ended in a tie. That means there is neither a winner nor a loser. Jin Shu will retain her seeded position, and Zhu Ren will have another chance when the tournament begins.”

She smiled. “Now, a round of applause for these magnificent fighters—and those before them!”

The arena exploded with cheers.

“That was insane!”

“Three victories in a row!”

“Technically, two wins and a tie.”

“Semantics!”

“Let’s call Jin Shu ‘Quick Shot!’”

Jin Shu nearly tripped off the stage at the sound of someone trying to brand him with a nickname.

Zhu Ren merely hmphed, withdrew her daggers, and stomped off.

Jin Shu watched her go before turning to Di Ti. “I have a question I can’t help but ask.”

Di Ti smiled. “Go ahead.”

“You wouldn’t happen to be related to Tian Li, would you?”

She blinked. “No, why?”

Jin Shu glanced her up and down—specifically at her dangerously short and revealing outfit.

“You two seem to share a certain… fashion sense.”

Di Ti let out a laugh. “Oh! That’s because I taught her how to make clothes when she first arrived here—about fifteen years ago, I think?”

Jin Shu nodded. “I see. That explains a lot.”

He gave a slight bow. “It was nice meeting you. I’ll let you get back to running the tournament.”

Di Ti waved him off as he stepped into a ripple—vanishing from the stage.

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