Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

Jin Shu met with everyone at the entrance of Chen Ai Yun’s mountaintop courtyard.

Today marked the beginning of the sect tournament, and they had gathered to attend it together.

Everyone was dressed differently than usual.

His mother and stepmother wore the robes he had gifted them a few days prior, while Biyu and Tian Li, his fellow participants, had traded their usual loose hanfu for tight-fitting combat robes. He couldn't help but give them a second look.

“Like what you see?”

A voice came from behind, followed by a firm slap on his back.

He turned to find Li Xue grinning at him. Unlike the others, she hadn't changed her usual style—though her style was simply whatever hanfu caught her eye that day. Today, it was pink, adorned with delicate yellow flower patterns.

“Of course I like what I see,” he said easily. “Too bad you're not participating in the tournament. I would’ve liked to see you in the same kind of outfit…”

She blushed slightly—until he added, “Not that there’s much to see.”

“You—!”

Her fist shot toward him, but he had anticipated it, dodging just in time.

“Alright, you two, don’t fight now. It’s time to leave,” Chen Ai Yun called out.

Jin Shu glanced back. Above them, a large bird descended, its wings cutting through the air. He recognized it instantly—Xiao Tian. He hadn’t seen the bird since the day he arrived here.

BAM!

“Ugh…”

A fist landed squarely against his exposed stomach.

Doubling over, he clutched his abdomen as Li Xue stood over him, looking immensely pleased with herself.

“You cheated…” he groaned.

“Hmph!” She merely huffed and turned away, clearly satisfied.

Jin Shu recovered just as Xiao Tian landed before Chen Ai Yun and Sun Mei’er.

The large bird leaned down, allowing Chen Ai Yun to gently rub her head.

“I missed you, Xiao Tian,” she said softly.

“Coo~” Xiao Tian cooed in response.

“Birdie!”

A sudden shout interrupted the tender moment.

Yin’er came barreling in from where she had been playing off to the side.

In a flash, she appeared before Xiao Tian.

“Birdie, come play with me!” she chirped, fluttering around Xiao Tian in rapid circles—like an overexcited hummingbird.

“Caw?” Xiao Tian called out in confusion.

“You don’t remember me? I’m Yin’er, remember?”

Xiao Tian tilted her head and gave a hesitant shake. “Caw…?”

“Oh, you’ll remember now!” Yin’er declared confidently.

A silver light flashed around her, and when it faded, a medium-sized tiger cub stood in her place.

“See? You remember now, right?”

“Squawk!” Xiao Tian blinked, startled. Her feathers puffed up in surprise. “Caw.”

“Yep, it’s me!” Yin’er nodded enthusiastically.

The two continued their conversation, though only Yin’er seemed to understand what Xiao Tian was saying.

Then, suddenly, Yin’er spun around and called out to Jin Shu.

“Daddy! Come do the glowing finger and make Birdie into a pretty girl!”

Jin Shu blinked. “…What?”

“Hurry!”

“Okay, okay, I’m coming,” he muttered, still trying to decipher her words when a voice echoed in his mind.

“I will not teach that bird my transformation technique.” Long Jinshu stated coldly.

Jin Shu stiffened.

“…What?” The thought slipped out aloud, earning him a few curious glances as he passed the women.

“Yin’er is asking you to teach that bird my transformation technique, and I refuse.”

Why?

He asked in his mind—though the answer struck him a moment later.

Oh… because of the roc clan?

“Yes. I can feel the golden roc bloodline within that bird. I'd rather you kill it, though I know that is irrational.”

Really? Xiao Tian is part golden roc?

“A distant relation, yes.”

Hmm… interesting.

Jin Shu understood Long Jinshu’s hatred for the roc clan. He had lived through those memories himself, but he couldn’t say he felt the same.

Sure, if a golden roc appeared before him, he might attack first. But he had no desire to hunt them down—especially not their distant relatives.

He shook his head.

“Yin’er, I can’t teach Xiao Tian to become a pretty girl.”

“Why?” Yin’er pouted.

“Because… she needs to learn it from her own clan.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. If Xiao Tian’s clan was powerful enough, they would have developed their own transformation technique.

“Caw…” Xiao Tian’s head drooped, her cry soft and dejected.

“Daddy! You made her sad! Apologize!” Yin’er demanded, wings fluttering in frustration.

“How did I make her sad?” he asked, genuinely confused.

“Xiao Tian’s clan was wiped out by demonic cultivators,” Chen Ai Yun answered.

Jin Shu paused. “…Oh.”

A beat of silence passed.

“I’m sorry,” he said at last, “but I still can’t teach her that technique…”

“Caw.”

Yin’er huffed, then relayed, “Birdie says she doesn’t need your technique. She doesn’t want to be human. She will become the strongest without it.”

Jin Shu raised a brow. That was a bold claim.

Having lived as a dragon for thirteen years, he knew that Spirit Beasts typically took on human form to aid their cultivation. In their true forms, they could only access their upper dantian. But by transforming, they gained access to a lower dantian—the one humans used for cultivation.

That effectively gave them twice the qi of a human who had yet to reach the Spirit Realm and unlock their own upper dantian.

It was one of the reasons Spirit Beasts were so powerful compared to humans of the same cultivation level.

So for Xiao Tian to say she would become the strongest without a human form… that was a bold statement indeed.

Having been raised as a potential heir to the dragon clan, Jin Shu had been taught about the most powerful clans in the world. Yet, he had never heard of Xiao Tian’s clan.

That meant one of two things: either they hadn’t existed back then, or they were too weak to be worth noting.

He had his doubts about her becoming the strongest cultivator—if that was what she had meant. After all, even the dragon clan didn’t claim to have the strongest cultivator among their ranks.

That title belonged to the king of spirit beasts—the Great Lord Qilin.

Jin Shu wasn’t sure if the Great Lord still existed in this world. From what he had seen, the most powerful spirit beast clans had either vanished or gone into seclusion.

Unless they had been wiped out entirely.

But that was impossible. No human could ever hope to exterminate the great spirit beast clans—not the ones from Long Jinshu’s memories.

A tap on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts.

He turned to see Chen Ai Yun watching him.

“Jin Shu, it’s time to leave,” she said.

“Oh… okay, Master.”

He glanced at Xiao Tian. She was large, but not nearly big enough to carry all of them.

“How are we all supposed to fit on her?” he asked skeptically.

Chen Ai Yun laughed. “She’s not taking all of us. Just you and the girls. Mei’er and I don’t need the support.”

“Ah, I see.”

That made sense.

Chen Ai Yun, as an Adept Realm cultivator, could fly using her qi. His mother, while still in the Spirit Realm, had her unique spirit's ability of teleportation.

Jin Shu nodded, then called Yin’er over.

“Yin’er, it’s time to go.”

Turning to Xiao Tian, he asked, “Can I get on?”

She nodded and crouched down.

Jin Shu carefully climbed up her side and settled into place, waiting for the others.

Biyu was the next to climb up, followed shortly by Li Xue. Even though Xiao Tian was large, with the three of them aboard, space was already limited.

By the time Yin’er joined them, the available space had all but disappeared.

Biyu and Li Xue exchanged a look, seemingly communicating without words.

Then, as Tian Li climbed up, they moved toward her, each grabbing one of her arms.

“Uh… what are you two doing?” Tian Li asked, letting them pull her forward.

“There isn’t enough room for everyone,” Biyu replied.

“Okay, then I’ll have Master take me,” Tian Li said, starting to pull away.

“No need,” Li Xue said with a teasing smile. “There’s an extra seat right here.”

Before Tian Li could resist, they shoved her toward Jin Shu.

“Ah! What—?!” she yelped as she landed awkwardly in his lap.

Jin Shu caught her before she could topple over.

He exhaled. “Why are you two throwing Tian Li around?”

“You need to hold someone for there to be enough room,” Biyu said matter-of-factly, as if her nonsense made perfect sense. “And if you hold either Li Xue or me, one of us will be left out. So that only leaves Tian Li.”

Jin Shu raised an eyebrow. He expected this kind of logic from Li Xue—but Biyu, too?

Sighing, he ignored them and turned to Tian Li.

“Are you okay with this?”

“Ah… well, I don’t mind,” she said hesitantly.

“Time to go,” Chen Ai Yun called out before glancing at Jin Shu. “You’d better take on your disguise.”

His brow twitched. He’d really rather not have to use the transformation technique again—turning into a woman was far from ideal.

But he needed the second-place prize.

He had asked for more details on what was wrong with the cultivation technique Nano had devised, and the answer had shocked both him and Nano.

First, Nano had based his cultivation method on the sect’s most basic technique—the one given to outer sect disciples. It was essentially a beginner’s guide to cultivating qi, a technique designed for children.

Because of that, it lacked depth. It didn’t include the cultivation of specific elemental qi or breakthrough methods for higher realms.

On top of that, the sect’s library held techniques he wanted to learn, like the voice transmission technique. Though, technically, he could learn that directly from his new master—or even from his mother.

Either way, if he wanted access to those resources, he had no choice.

With a sigh, he resigned himself to taking on his female form once more.