Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
137. Can I Have All Of Them?

“Senior Sister Fan’s flames can melt a cultivator’s weapon?!”

“It is Phoenix Fire.”

“I guess… but you'd think she’d need way more heat than what that small flame was putting out.”

“Well, Zhu Ren’s weapons aren’t top quality. They're just for practice. But even still—Senior Sister Fan has perfect control over her flames. She could, in theory, make them hotter than the sun.”

“Yeah, but that would mean she’d have to burn herself with flames hotter than the sun. That’s how her Flame Body Technique works.”

Up on stage, Zhu Ren stood dejected, staring at the pile of hardening sludge that had once been her weapons.

“Haa… those were my only daggers…”

Biyu walked over. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s not your fault. You did what you had to. I would’ve done the same. I just wasn’t prepared.”

Biyu paused, then brightened. “Come with me. I’ll get you a new one.”

“Where to?”

“Jin Shu. He—She has plenty of spares.” Biyu pointed up at the elders’ platform, where Jin Shu sat near the front, watching from above.

As they made their way up, Di Ti’s voice echoed across the arena.

“For the next match, we have brawn versus ice—Ling Shi versus Bing Hou!”

The cheers erupted once more, reaching all the way to the elders’ platform.

Buyu waved to Jin Shu. “Jin Shu, give Ren a new dagger. Please.”

“A new dagger?” Jin Shu blinked as the two approached. “Sure. I’ve got a few options.” He tapped his earring, summoning a small spread of knives onto the table in front of him.

“These ones are standard—no runes. These are sharpness runed. Over here’s frost, flame, wind… and a few hybrids.” He gestured to each type as he spoke.

“Can I test them?”

“Go ahead,” he said with a casual wave.

While Zhu Ren tested the blades, Jin Shu turned his eyes toward the arena.

Ling Shi was smashing through thick walls of ice with brute strength, backed by her spirit, while Bing Hou countered with waves of frost and ice-cold air that coated the battlefield in rime.

Still, something felt off.

Jin Shu narrowed his eyes, watching more closely. Something about Bing Hou’s fighting style tugged at his thoughts. It wasn’t that she was weak—far from it. She responded sharply when Ling Shi broke through her techniques, brief flickers of surprise or panic betraying how much effort she was putting in.

But Jin Shu couldn’t shake the feeling that she was holding back.

He ran through the possibilities.

Either she didn’t care about the tournament rankings—or she couldn’t reveal her true strength.

He was leaning toward the first. There was nothing in her expression that suggested restraint—just calm, controlled indifference. Cold as ice, and just about as emotional.

But one thing was certain.

She wasn’t going easy.

But even still, her opponent was overpowering her with sheer physical might.

Ling Shi and her Naked Ape spirit bulldozed through every icy barricade Bing Hou conjured. Even as frost clung to their limbs and slowed them down, they never stopped—crushing everything in their path with brute force.

It was all Bing Hou could do to avoid being flattened by either Ling Shi’s fists or the club-wielding spirit.

Even her signature blue cold flame, which had once frozen Mei You Ren into a living ice sculpture during the elimination finals, barely slowed them. When it latched onto Ling Shi and her spirit, it only added a thin coating of ice—making them sluggish, not stopped.

Near Jin Shu, a voice spoke softly into his ear.

“Can I have all of these?”

He didn’t even register the words. Too absorbed in the match, eyes locked on the destruction in the arena.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” he muttered vaguely, waving a hand.

“Thanks!”

“Uh-huh,” he replied automatically, not even turning.

He continued to watch Ling Shi and her spirit rampage through the frost-covered battlefield.

Until something clicked.

Wait… wasn’t that Zhu Ren’s voice? he thought.

And then came the internal reply—Shuang’s voice in his head, dry and exasperated. You just gave her all your practice knives.

Jin Shu blinked.

I did?

Looking around, he realized both Zhu Ren and his entire collection of daggers were gone.

“Where did Zhu Ren go?” he asked Tian Li, seated beside him.

She smiled serenely, stifling a giggle. “She scampered off after swiping all of your weapons.”

“What?! Who told her she could take all of them?!”

Biyu, sitting on his other side, burst out laughing. “You did!”

“No… I—wait… I did?”

“Yes.”

Jin Shu started to rise, fully intending to chase her down and reclaim his stash. But halfway up, he sighed and sank back into his seat.

“Ah… whatever. Let her keep them. I don’t really need them anyway.”

Truth be told, they hadn’t been that useful.

“Winner, Ling Shi!”

Elder Li’s announcement snapped his attention back to the arena.

He looked down to see a frozen Naked Ape locked in a crushing bear hug around Bing Hou, who was struggling to breathe.

Apparently, Ling Shi had ordered her spirit to use a self-sacrificing move—latching onto Bing Hou and becoming encased in ice mid-attack, just long enough to secure victory.

The ape dissolved into motes of qi, letting Bing Hou drop gently to the frost-slicked floor.

Despite breathing heavily, Bing Hou landed gracefully, never once breaking her eternally cold façade.

Jin Shu kept his eyes on her and Ling Shi as they exited the stage, while Di Ti ascended once more. He half-expected to be called next—and dreaded it. At this point, his opponent could only be either Liu Hua or Tian Li.

He also couldn’t help but wonder about the strange setup of the tournament. Why did they have a dedicated host—a core elder no less—but no announcer’s platform or commentary?

Then again, he probably wouldn’t have noticed if not for Gold’s memories. Earth’s tournaments were flashier, full of pageantry and hype, even without mystical abilities. Somehow, they managed to feel more exciting.

Maybe I should bring it up to... stepmother? Master? Aunt Chen...? He rubbed his temple as a headache came on. Ugh, this whole two-mothers situation is too much. Then I went and made my stepmother my master too…

He really needed to sit down and sort out his life.

But for now, the tournament demanded his focus.

“The next match-up is sure to be exciting!” Di Ti announced, “It features two of the more unpredictable participants—Liu Hua and Li Xue!”

Jin Shu turned, just in time to see Liu Hua yawn—then vanish in a flash of lightning.

Beside him, Li Xue clung to his mother’s arm like a child clinging to a security blanket.

“That girl is scary,” she whined. “Do I have to fight her, Momma?”

Sun Mei’er patted her head gently. “You’ll be fine… probably.” She sounded confident—until the shrug.

“Well… okay! If you say so!” Li Xue chirped, letting go and leaping from the platform.

She landed with a flourish, spinning and striking a playful pose, grin wide.

A moment later, Liu Hua stepped up, leaned close, and whispered something in her ear.

“Huh? You want to know if my husband’s slept with any women?” Li Xue repeated, loud enough for the whole stadium to hear. “That’s a weird thing to ask!”

The crowd stirred.

“That is a weird question.”

“Wait… is Eldest Senior Sister trying to steal someone’s man?!”

“No, no way… right? …Actually… maybe?”

Liu Hua straightened, blinked at Li Xue, scanned the murmuring crowd, and huffed as she turned away.

“Wait! Don’t you want to hear the answer?” Li Xue called.

Liu Hua glanced back, raising a brow. “…You’ll tell me?”

“Yeah,” Li Xue nodded brightly. “So not too long ago, my husband was lured in—actually kidnapped—by this crazy woman.” Her voice carried across the arena with theatrical flair.

Liu Hua tilted her head, clearly intrigued.

“This woman dragged my man into her bedroom and forced him to sleep with her. Can you believe that?!”

Liu Hua slowly shook her head.

“Then the next day, she chased him around trying to kill him!”

The crowd exploded with whispers.

“Wow. That woman’s insane.”

“Absolutely despicable.”

“Hmph, some girls have no class.”

“Why does Senior Sister Liu look like she’s about to explode?”

“Obviously she’s furious! Even I want to beat up that crazy woman, and it wasn’t my man!”

Then Liu Hua stomped her foot, sending cracks spidering across the arena floor.

“I didn’t lure him in!” she shouted. “And nothing happened! We only slept together!”

Silence.

The entire stadium went quiet as her voice echoed, impossibly loud.