Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
114. Hard Fought Victory

Once the winning disciples had been healed and given time to recover, the fights resumed—this time with half as many participants.

Jin Shu kept his focus on Zhu Ren and Bin Yu.

In the second round, Zhu Ren faced a tougher opponent—one who didn’t back down so easily.

The girl across from her wore a sheer top and skirt, her midsection bare to show off a dancer’s supple waist. She wielded twin swords wreathed in flame, using them to parry Zhu Ren’s daggers with graceful, flowing movements.

The crowd watching their match was in a frenzy.

“That’s Wudao Jia, the Flame Dancer!”

“She’s ranked fourth in the inner sect!”

“Looks like that evil girl’s finally met her match!”

“Go Senior Sister Wudao!”

“Her Flame Dancing Art can rival Zhu Ren’s Flying Dagger Art—she must’ve reached semi-mastery!”

While Zhu Ren and Wudao Jia clashed in a fierce, evenly matched fight, Jin Shu spared a glance at Bin Yu’s battle.

The little girl was dashing in circles, her twin fiery-red ponytails streaming behind her like comet tails. Every few steps, she’d hurl a small pouch at the sword-wielding girl chasing her.

The spectators watching them were howling with laughter.

“Haha! Junior Sister Yu is hilarious!”

“She’s making faces while running!”

“Look at her! She’s so relaxed—like she’s just playing around!”

Her opponent didn’t share the crowd’s amusement. The older girl’s face was red with fury, her movements turning more aggressive with every pouch Bin Yu threw.

Judging by the pace, that match wasn’t ending anytime soon, so Jin Shu turned his attention back to Zhu Ren.

She now held a dagger in each hand, while thirty-four others flew around her in deadly arcs, attacking Wudao Jia from all sides.

But Wudao Jia dodged with impossible grace—quick steps, tight spins, her blades slicing through the air like a flaming whirlwind.

“Senior Sister Wudao is using her ultimate move—Whirlwind Dance of Flames!”

Zhu Ren crossed one dagger in a reverse grip, the other in a standard one, blocking the torrent of sword strikes pouring down on her.

The crowd gasped as she held her ground.

She didn’t come out unscathed.

Cuts and burns streaked her arms, smoke curling from her sleeves. Her daggers clattered to the ground with two sharp dings! as her arms fell limp at her sides.

Her opponent, while uninjured, was breathing heavily.

Wudao Jia stood in place, swords planted in the ground, chest rising and falling with each strained breath.

“Y-your arms... have been... ruined! Give up, Ren!” she gasped between breaths.

The crowd exploded in cheers.

“Senior Sister Wudao has won!”

“Ha! That evil girl’s finished!”

“Serves her right!”

“Good job, Senior Sister Jia!”

But Zhu Ren didn’t even flinch at the insults. She gave the crowd a cold glare, then turned her smirk on Wudao Jia.

“What do I even need arms for?”

Wudao Jia’s eyes widened.

“Winner, Zhu Ren!” the judge called.

Thirty-six daggers now hovered, unmoving, aimed at Wudao Jia’s vital points from every direction.

“Boo!”

“Nooo! How could Senior Sister Wudao lose?!”

The crowd was not pleased.

Jin Shu, for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, felt a flicker of satisfaction at her victory.

Maybe it was because she was one of the only two contestants he even remotely knew. Or maybe he still felt pity for her after hearing her story.

Probably a mix of both—or something else entirely. He didn’t care enough to dwell on it.

Instead, he turned back to Bin Yu’s fight.

Just in time to watch the little girl trip and fall flat on her face.

Bin Yu rolled over and let out a piercing wail just as her opponent brought her sword down toward her exposed back.

“Aaah! Don’t hurt Yu’er!!” she screamed.

Her opponent flinched, halting mid-swing.

Then Bin Yu’s crying stopped as suddenly as it had started.

She grinned—a wicked little smirk—and hurled a pouch right in her opponent’s face. It burst with a flash of blinding neon-yellow powder.

The girl dropped her sword, coughing and clawing at her face. Seconds later, just like Bin Yu’s first opponent, she collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

“Winner, Bin Yu!” the judge declared.

The crowd burst into laughter.

“Ahaha! That’s so despicable, Junior Sister Yu!”

“How does she come up with this stuff?! Isn’t she embarrassed?!”

“Oh my god, that scream almost made me deaf!”

Jin Shu could barely hold back his own laughter.

Bin Yu was a little devil.

Once the disciples exited the stage, Di Ti stepped into the center of the arena.

“We’ll be taking an extended break before the next two rounds to allow contestants plenty of time to rest and recover,” she announced. “In the meantime, refreshments are available at the east and west stands. Just speak to any outer sect elder—no contribution points required.”

As her voice faded, a group of women stepped onto the platform with trays of drinks and snacks. They offered them first to Chen Ai Yun and Sun Mei’er, before moving down the line to other elders and a few of the seated disciples.

Jin Shu grabbed a drink and a handful of snacks.

Then he heard a small commotion off to the side.

He turned—and nearly had a heart attack.

Yin’er, in her full tiger form, and Xiao Tian had cornered one of the servers and were attempting to steal the snacks from her tray.

“Um… you may be the Sect Master's mount,” the server said nervously to Xiao Tian, “but I can't give these to you.” She turned to Yin’er, voice wavering. “And I’m not sure whose pet you are, but you can’t have any either.”

Jin Shu sighed and made his way over.

“Yin’er, what are you doing? Leave the poor girl alone!” he scolded.

The server glanced at him with visible relief, as if her savior had arrived. Yin’er pouted.

“But Mommy! We want food, and the mean lady won’t give us any!” she whined.

“Apologize and leave her alone. I’ll get you both something.”

Yin’er frowned, glancing between the food and Jin Shu. Then she turned back with a huff.

“Fine. I’m sorry, mean lady,” she muttered, scowling as she slunk away.

Jin Shu was about to lecture her again, but the serving girl quickly bowed.

“Thank you, miss. There’s no need for more apologies—I’ll take my leave,” she said before hurrying off.

Jin Shu turned to Yin’er, reaching into his storage space to pull out the snacks he always kept on hand for her. He divided them evenly between her and Xiao Tian.

“Here. Take these and don’t cause more trouble.”

The two nodded obediently, took the snacks, and wandered back to the corner where they’d been playing earlier.

He sighed again, shaking his head wryly.

As he turned—thump—something bumped into his chest.

“Ah!” someone yelped.

He looked down to see Liu Ying sitting on the ground, glancing up at him in surprise.

A chill ran down his spine.

He gently and swiftly helped her up, dusted off her robes and checked her for injuries. Then his gaze flicked to where Liu Hua was sitting.

Relief washed over him. She was slumped against the Grand Elder’s shoulder, a blindfold over her eyes—clearly asleep.

He turned his attention back to Ying.

“Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”

Ying tilted her head up. “Jin Shu?”

He froze for a moment before remembering—she couldn't see him properly.

“Ah, yes. It’s me. Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“No, it was my fault for running into you,” she said, trying to take the blame.

“There’s no way it was your fault.”

“But—”

“No buts. It was my fault. Final decision.”

She tilted her head up at him, stunned for a moment, then giggled softly.

“Well, since it was your fault… you should compensate me. And you never even said goodbye last time you left. I’d say you owe me double.”

Jin Shu blinked.

“Alright. What would you like?”

She smiled and shook her head. “Nothing right now. I’ll let you know when I think of something.”

“Sure,” he said with a nod.

She bowed slightly. “Excuse me—I need to grab some snacks for Big Sis before all the servers leave.”

She turned to go, but Jin Shu called after her.

“Ying.”

She stopped and glanced back, even though she didn’t need to face him to ‘see’ him.

He reached out and gently smoothed her bangs back over her eyes—her fall had shifted them just enough to reveal part of her scars.

“Your scars were showing. I figured you wouldn’t want anyone seeing them.”

“Oh…” she lowered her head, cheeks coloring a faint red. “Thank you…”

“Hm. No problem.” He glanced toward the dispersing servers. “You’d better go now. There’s one seven steps to your right, ten to the left.”

She dipped into a deeper bow. “Thank you!” she said, then hurried off in the direction he’d indicated.

He waited until she found the server before finally turning and heading back to his seat.