Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
115. Icy Phoenix

Jin Shu returned to his seat, handing out drinks and snacks to the girls.

His mother turned in her seat to face him. “Did you bring me any?” she asked with a sly smile.

He blinked. “Didn’t they offer some to you and… Master first?”

She grinned. “Yeah, but it’s different when you’re the one giving it.”

He sighed and passed her the extra food and drink he’d picked up—just in case.

“Master, would you like something as well?” he asked politely.

Chen Ai Yun turned slightly to glance over her shoulder.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you, though.” She offered him a soft, warm smile.

“Oh! This stuff is good!” Li Xue said between chews, eyes lighting up. “Oo~ it’s qi-enriched!”

Jin Shu looked down at the food in his hand. Curious, he took a bite of a glutinous rice ball.

He’d assumed it was just a simple snack, but as it slid down his throat, a gentle stream of qi bloomed in his chest.

These were meant for the high-level elders… Makes sense they’d prepare rare, qi-rich food for them, he thought.

“This is your first time at a sect tournament, right, Jin Shu?” Tian Li asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It’s also my first time actually being part of one.”

“Do you like it?”

“Hmm… It’s interesting to watch, but… a lot more violent than I expected.”

“Normally, it would be slightly less intense,” she explained. “But no one wants to hold back—not with all the elders here, and both sect leaders watching. Everyone’s trying to make an impression.”

“That makes sense.” He nodded again, thoughtful. “Still… I expected less bloodshed from a sect of women.”

“Hmph.” She raised an eyebrow. “And why’s that?”

He stiffened, realizing too late how his words could be taken.

“Ah—sorry, I didn’t mean anything bad by it. I just assumed you’d be more compassionate.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury,” she replied coolly. “Not when demonic cultivators could attack at any moment.”

“Right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

He mentally cursed himself for forgetting that the Immortal Phoenix Sect was stationed dangerously close to the southern region—the demonic cults’ stronghold.

While the two sides weren’t in open war, skirmishes were frequent. Deaths on both sides were common.

Of course the disciples here were a bit more ruthless.

“It’s fine,” Tian Li said after a pause. “I know you didn’t mean anything by it.”

“Though I’ve noticed you’ve only been watching Bin Yu’s fights… and that Zhu girl’s. Any reason?” she asked with a slightly dangerous glint in her eyes.

Jin Shu instantly felt two sharp gazes burning into his back.

He didn’t need to turn around to know that Li Xue and Biyu were listening very, very closely.

He shook his head calmly.

“No. They’re just the only two I even vaguely know.”

“That makes sense. You haven’t left Master’s courtyard since you arrived… except for that day.”

They slipped into casual conversation after that, with Li Xue and Biyu gradually joining in.

Before long, several hours passed, and the tournament resumed once more.

What had started as one hundred and twenty-eight participants had, after just two rounds, been cut down to thirty-two.

And from what the others had said, those initial participants weren’t even half of the Core Realm disciples in the sect—let alone the elders.

Altogether, the Immortal Phoenix Sect had somewhere around fifteen hundred Core Realm cultivators, both inside and outside the sect. The ones assigned outside were typically responsible for managing businesses or recruiting new talent.

The number of lower-level cultivators was more than four times that.

From what Jin Shu had gathered, nearly half the sect’s total strength—disciples and elders alike—were present either as participants or spectators for the tournament.

Still, he couldn’t help but wonder.

Where were all the male cultivators from the eastern region?

The Immortal Phoenix Sect was the only major sect in this area, and they only accepted women.

He turned, intending to ask Tian Li, when a loud stir rippled through the crowd below.

“The little poison devil’s finally met her match.”

“Forget her—even the best in the inner sect can’t beat that girl.”

“That’s the Icy Phoenix. Only the top three seeds might stand a chance.”

“I think you’re overhyping her. She’s only Ninth Stage Core Realm. A Spirit Realm cultivator would crush her.”

“Maybe, but don’t forget her heavenly physique.”

Jin Shu leaned forward, eyes scanning the arena below for the source of the excitement.

He didn’t know exactly who the ‘little poison devil’ was, but he had a pretty strong guess.

Sure enough, he spotted Bin Yu’s arena. The small girl stood opposite an older girl, trembling.

At first glance, she looked afraid—but then he noticed the frost blooming across the arena floor.

She wasn’t just scared. She was freezing.

Without looking away, he asked the girls beside him,

“Who’s the one fighting Bin Yu? She seems well known.”

It was Biyu who answered.

“That’s Bing Hou. She’s the top-ranked inner sect disciple. People call her the Icy Phoenix because of her heavenly physique.”

“What kind of physique is it?” he asked.

“She has something called the Natal Flame Physique,” Biyu explained. “Those born with it are gifted with a heavenly flame in their bodies from birth.”

“So why is she called Icy then?” Jin Shu asked, confused.

“Because the flame she was born with is the Cold Flame,” she replied. “Even among heavenly flames, it’s rare. It doesn’t burn hot—it burns cold.”

“Wow,” Jin Shu said, watching frost crawl across the stage. “How does it compare to yours?”

Biyu gave a thoughtful shrug. “Well, my physique only just awakened, so I don’t know all its limits yet. So far, I’ve discovered it has strong healing properties.”

He nodded, eyes still fixed on the arena. “And hers?”

“Hers is one of the rarest,” she said, a hint of reverence in her voice. “And definitely one of the most powerful heavenly physiques.”

“No wonder she’s famous.”

“That’s not the only reason,” Biyu added, her tone suddenly playful.

He glanced at her. “Oh? What else makes her so famous?”

Biyu smirked. “She famously rejected Master’s attempt to recruit her.”

“What?! She rejected Mo— I mean, the Vice-Sect Master’s offer?”

Sun Mei’er turned around, grinning.

“Well, technically… I was trying to recruit her as my daughter-in-law.”

Jin Shu stared at her, speechless.

Of course she was, he thought with a resigned sigh, shaking his head.

“Would you like to know a secret?” his mother asked, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“Even if I say no, you’re going to tell me anyway.”

Her grin widened.

“You know me too well.” Her voice echoed directly in his ear—transmitted through qi. “As expected of my precious son.”

Since he hadn’t learned voice transmission yet, he simply blinked at her, silently urging her to continue.

“That girl, Bing Hou, has a secret identity,” she said, lowering her voice as if it were some scandalous gossip. “And because of it, I was going to make her your main wife.”

He raised a brow, more curious than surprised. He was, after all, well accustomed to his mother’s eccentric matchmaking schemes.

“She’s actually the only daughter of Long Aotian.”

Jin Shu’s eyes widened.

He wouldn’t pretend to know everything about the cultivation world, but when it came to runesmiths—he was well-read. And the name Long Aotian was a legend.

The head of the Long family in the northern region. The greatest living runesmith. One of the strongest cultivators alive. Said to be nearing the Sage Realm, which meant he was at least at the peak of the Grandmaster Realm.

If Bing Hou was really his daughter, it was no wonder his mother had her sights set on her.

Even I’m a little tempted, Jin Shu thought.

He was a runesmith himself, and while his family’s name carried weight among the mortals of one empire, the Long family was revered across the cultivation world.

As he mulled it over, his gaze drifted back to the arena—though calling it a battle felt generous.

Bing Hou hadn’t moved. Not once. She stood there, calm and still, radiating a frost that rolled visibly off her body.

Bin Yu, on the other hand, was in constant motion—flinging pouch after pouch of explosives and debilitating powders. But nothing worked. Each projectile froze mid-air and shattered before touching the ground near Bing Hou’s feet.

Eventually, the little girl slowed. Her movements became frantic as she searched her robes.

“Oh no! I’m all out of poison…” she muttered sadly, shoulders slumping. “Looks like this is your win, Senior Sister Bing Hou. But, would you mind if I got your autograph?”

From her sleeve, she pulled out a brush and a blank scroll, holding them up with innocent eyes.

Bing Hou blinked in surprise. The frost in the air seemed to ease slightly as she regarded the girl cautiously.

Bin Yu took a few tentative steps forward, aura relaxed, face beaming.

Then—suddenly—she threw the scroll, the brush… and a hidden pouch.

This time, with no active aura suppressing them, the items sailed through the air unhindered.

Until Bing Hou calmly lifted a single hand.

A flicker of pale-blue flame ignited from her fingertips.

The scroll, the brush, and the pouch froze mid-air and dropped, encased in glittering ice.

The flame didn’t stop—it drifted forward, silent and cold, arcing toward the now-exposed Bin Yu.

“I surrender!!” she shouted, arms raised in panic just as the flame reached her.

The fire stopped an inch from her face, hovered, and then gently returned to Bing Hou’s waiting hand.

“Hehe!” Bin Yu laughed sheepishly. “Sorry, Senior Sister, I didn’t mean to deceive you… but it was my only chance. I hope you won’t hold a grudge?”

Bing Hou said nothing. She simply looked at the girl—expression unreadable—then turned and stepped off the stage as the surrounding qi barriers fell away.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

“As expected of the Icy Phoenix! Everything is beneath her!”

“Senior Sister Bing Hou is the best!”

“She’s going to win the tournament for sure!”

“Don’t forget who the first seeded disciple is…”

“Oh… right. Still! Second place is basically guaranteed!”

“Maybe. We’ll see.”

Jin Shu’s eyes followed Bing Hou as she walked away, calm and untouchable, taking her seat in the participants’ rest area without so much as a backward glance.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.