Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
113. Let The Tournament Begin!

Jin Shu arrived back on the raised platform above the arena and bowed to Chen Ai Yun. “I'm back, Master.”

“Welcome back,” she greeted him with a warm smile.

As he made his way to his seat, Lu Cha turned to his mother.

“Isn't your son's name also Jin Shu? In fact, I remember him arriving here a few years ago. Whatever happened to him?” she asked.

Sun Mei’er turned to Li Xue instead. “Daughter, do you hear that? There’s an annoying little fly buzzing around.”

Li Xue clung to Sun Mei’er’s arm, wrinkling her nose. “A fly? Ew! I hate flies! Will you squash it for me, Momma?”

“Don’t worry, daughter,” Sun Mei’er said, rubbing Li Xue’s head reassuringly. “If that nasty fly keeps buzzing, I’ll squish it dead.”

Lu Cha’s face turned so red she looked ready to erupt like a volcano.

Sun Mei’er glanced her way. “Oh? Lu Cha, did you say something? I couldn’t quite hear over the buzzing.”

Lu Cha clenched her fists. “I asked how your son is doing—you know, after I nearly choked the life out of him.”

Sun Mei’er turned away, ignoring her completely.

Lu Cha ground her teeth and tried again. “Your son isn’t here masquerading as one of our disciples… is he?”

Sun Mei’er finally looked at her, a faint smile playing on her lips. “If my son were, as you claim, masquerading as a disciple, do you really think he would choose the Sect Master as his Master over his own mother? And do you truly believe Sect Master Chen would allow such a thing?”

“Uh… well…”

“Are you accusing the Sect Master of breaking our sect’s time-honored laws?” Sun Mei’er pressed. “Hm? Is that it?”

“No, no! I wouldn’t dare! You’re twisting my words!”

“I believe I told you two not to bicker,” Chen Ai Yun interjected, her voice cool and authoritative. “The tournament will begin shortly.”

““Yes, Sect Master.”” Both women echoed at once, their quarrel instantly cut short.

Jin Shu had been listening quietly, and realization struck him.

He had assumed his mother was mad at him because he’d discarded the technique she had painstakingly acquired for him and because his own technique was flawed. But now, it seemed the real reason might have been that he had chosen to become Chen Ai Yun’s disciple instead of hers.

A sudden cough drew his attention. On the stage below, Di Ti cleared her throat.

“It is time! All those wishing to participate, please come down to be assigned to an arena!”

All at once, hundreds of women in the spectator stands stood up. Some leapt down to the stage, while others moved more composedly.

Jin Shu was surprised to see that even some of the disciples seated with the elders on the raised platform had stood up to join the competitors—including, to his surprise, Bin Yu.

As she passed by, she smiled and waved.

Jin Shu waved back before turning to Tian Li. “Is she already in the Core Realm? She’s only twelve, isn’t she?”

Tian Li nodded. “She just reached the First Stage recently. And that's thanks to her pills, because alchemists cultivate using the pills they concoct. And the better the alchemist, the faster they cultivate.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. They don’t care about their foundations as much, since to them, fighting is useless.”

Jin Shu blinked, processing her words.

That was one of the major problems with Nano's technique—a lack of foundation.

“Wait, then why is she joining the tournament?”

Tian Li shrugged.

A voice sounded in his ear. “My daughter likes to show off.”

Jin Shu glanced behind him at the back of the seating area, where Bin Yu’s mother, Bin Yin, was seated alone, isolated from the other elders. Just as Bin Yu had said, it seemed she disliked socializing.

For a moment, he wondered how she had heard their hushed conversation—until he recalled what Bin Yu had told him about her ears. Clearly, she had inherited her powerful hearing from her mother.

He gave Bin Yin a respectful nod, but she simply turned away.

Jin Shu couldn't help but chuckle.

She reminded him of Long Jinshu’s Aunt Xue.

By the time he turned his attention back to the arena, the fighting had already begun.

Sixty-four matches were taking place simultaneously.

Jin Shu, however, only focused on two.

The first was Zhu Ren, the girl he had just fought. She ended her match in seconds.

The moment the barriers rose around her arena, she launched a relentless assault, sending all thirty-six of her daggers hurtling toward her opponent.

Her opponent collapsed before the daggers even reached the halfway mark, falling to her knees in shock, tears and snot running freely down her face.

Jin Shu shook his head. Zhu Ren's reputation for ruthlessness was well-earned.

The second match he watched was Bin Yu’s.

She was darting around the arena, barely dodging her opponent’s sword strikes, while hurling pouches that exploded upon impact. Some released clouds of bright-colored powder, while others detonated like small grenades.

Her fight lasted several minutes before her opponent made the mistake of slashing at one of the pouches. The moment the blade touched the pouch, it exploded into a fine, shimmering powder that burst into the air, coating her opponent.

Seconds later, the girl collapsed, foaming at the mouth. She had to be carried out on a stretcher.

Jin Shu blinked, surprised.

Apparently, Bin Yu fought using poisons—or something close to them.

After watching those two fights, he lost interest in the rest. He didn’t know anyone else competing.

Turning to Tian Li, he asked, “What’s the deal with Zhu Ren? She doesn’t seem very well-liked in the inner sect.”

Tian Li tilted her head. “I’m not sure. I don’t interact much with the inner sect disciples.”

She leaned forward, glancing at Biyu, who sat on Jin Shu’s other side.

Jin Shu couldn’t help but notice how the front of Tian Li’s robe stretched tight as she moved, threatening to burst at any moment.

“Do you know?” Tian Li asked Biyu.

Biyu turned her attention away from the fights.

“Zhu Ren?” She echoed, clearly recalling something. “I heard she and some other girls were bullied. She fought back, but she ended up permanently disfiguring her bullies. That earned her a bad reputation.”

She shrugged. “After all, we are a sect of women, and we value beauty.”

Jin Shu raised an eyebrow. “And she wasn’t punished?”

Biyu shook her head. “Not entirely. Because of the bullying, she wasn’t held fully responsible. Even if we value beauty, strength matters more at the end of the day. And Zhu Ren is an excellent cultivator.”

Jin Shu hummed in thought. “That’s… pragmatic.”

Biyu simply shrugged again.

“That’s how the world works,” she said. “Strength trumps all.”

She turned back to watch the competition, leaving Jin Shu in thought.

Strength trumps all…? We'll see about that.

His gaze shifted to Liu Hua, seated a few rows from him.

She slowly turned from watching the stage, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper as she transmitted it into his ear. “Am I very beautiful, husband~?”

Jin Shu frowned and looked away.

Was she beautiful? Without a doubt, drop-dead gorgeous. But considering the trouble she had already put him through, he might actually drop dead if he made the wrong move with her.

No. He would pay her back for all the hardship she had given him, and then he would never deal with her again.

He promised himself that.

By the time he refocused on the arena, most of the fighting had wrapped up.

Many disciples were limping or being carried off the stage with varying injuries.

Even though the weapons used were non-lethal, that didn’t mean no one got hurt. The techniques these women practiced were deadly—with or without a blade.

Jin Shu watched as women in white robes moved across the stage, tending to the wounded. Their robes bore red stains across their backs, in an odd but deliberate pattern.

He recognized them as healers—physicians who focused on cultivation. Similar to divine physicians, but with a more specialized skill set. Or at least, that was his understanding. He wasn't actually sure of the exact distinction between the two professions.

After treating each injured disciple, the healer would turn around, and the patient would press a blood-covered palm against their back, adding another crimson stain to their robes.

Tian Li, noticing his curiosity, began explaining.

“That’s a sect tradition. Apprentice healers receive their patients' blood on their backs. Once the stains form a proper blood phoenix, they graduate to official healers.”

She gestured toward a group of older women in similar robes, tending to the more severely injured disciples. The shapes on their backs resembled crude phoenixes in varying shades of red.

“Those are the official healers,” Tian Li continued. “The darker the stain, the more patients they’ve healed.”

Jin Shu nodded, taking note of the differences—some phoenixes were light red, while others had deep crimson shades.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone different.

One healer’s blood phoenix wasn’t red at all. Instead, it was nearly pitch black.

“That’s the elder in charge of the healing division,” Tian Li said, following his gaze. “Her name is Xi Yue, but most people call her Nurse Xiyue.”

Xiyue? Joy? That name didn’t match the cold expression on the woman’s face.

“Nurse Xiyue?” Jin Shu asked. “Why’s that?”

“Because she never smiles,” Tian Li replied. “In fact, she never shows any emotion at all.”

Jin Shu studied her. As Tian Li said, her expression was completely unreadable, cold, detached, not a single twitch of emotion.

A chuckle came from Sun Mei’er, who glanced back at them from her seat.

“She does show emotions sometimes…” she said, a knowing smirk on her lips. “But only when she’s feeling… passionate.”

Jin Shu blinked.

Then, realization struck.

His eyes widened. “Y-you… and she…?” His voice faltered. “Then is she… also… my…?”

Sun Mei’er shook her head. “No.”

She trailed off, then shot a glance at Chen Ai Yun.

“Someone,” she said, her smirk deepening, “is very possessive and doesn’t like to share.”

Jin Shu turned to Chen Ai Yun just in time to see her ears turn bright red.

She glared at Sun Mei’er.

Before he could process that revelation, Li Xue suddenly chimed in, her voice cheerful.

“I don’t mind sharing!” she declared, smiling brightly, as if she were eager for such an arrangement.

Jin Shu glanced at her. Then at Biyu. Then at Tian Li.

Neither of them reacted much to Li Xue’s words.

He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Scratching his neck awkwardly, he decided not to think too hard about it.