Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

A holographic display sprang to life over Xi Yue's white-jade plate, transforming it into something that resembled a high-tech tablet. A translucent keyboard hovered above the surface, and she began typing what Jin Shu assumed were commands.

He watched in awe, uncertain how something that looked more advanced than even the technology from Gold's world—possibly on par with Nano's—could exist in this realm.

"It's not technology, per se," Shuang said. "Look at the runes."

Jin Shu tore his gaze from the hologram and glanced down at the plate. Intricate clusters of runes were arranged in precise formations across the jade surface. The density and craftsmanship were staggering. He barely had time to marvel at it before a sudden movement inside his body broke his focus.

"Ugh…" he groaned, gripping his stomach. "What… is this…?"

"An internal-view marble and its paired viewing tablet," she replied, still typing rapidly on the glowing keyboard.

She pressed a final key, and an image shimmered into view above the tablet—a dual-layered projection of his internal anatomy. He could see two different perspectives, each marble shown from the other's point of view. His breath caught as he watched the marbles shrink until they were small enough to flow through his veins.

"Please tell me they couldn't always do that."

"Of course they could."

His eyes flared red with fury. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You never asked," she said with a casual shrug, returning her attention to the screen.

He wanted to argue, but what was the point? It was done. No yelling would change that now. So, instead, he stared at the screen with her, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Occasionally, she muttered comments that offered some insight.

"The blood reacts to external stimuli," she murmured, jotting notes on a pad. "Qi and blood have fully interwoven into a singular structure… Tentatively classifying this as 'Nah-noh.'"

"What does that mean?" he asked.

She didn't answer, too absorbed in her observations.

"Body no longer fully human? Possible race evolution… Connection to reported rebirth?"

Frustrated, Jin Shu turned inward.

"Nano, what's happening?"

"I still cannot fully control this new form," Nano responded. "There appear to be ingrained reflexes—automatic responses I was never programmed for. This is… unfamiliar."

"Explain it like I'm five."

There was a pause.

"…I may have gained… life?"

"Not to downplay you or anything," Jin Shu said, "but I've never once thought you weren't alive. That said… what does that have to do with what's happening now? Why are my qi and blood mixed? And how are you involved?"

"Oh, right. It would seem that due to the destruction of your core—and myself—the qi I had merged with was dispersed throughout your body along with the electricity from the lightning storm. This caused both your qi and blood to evaporate at similar frequencies. When you were revived, the rune may have rebuilt your body in the exact state it was in moments before your death."

"So… what? I was reborn into my body after my core shattered, but retained my cultivation because my blood and qi vanished simultaneously under the heavenly punishment?"

"Um… yes. That is the most probable explanation. Your cultivation was retained only because you died while the qi was still forcibly contained within your body. At least, that is my working theory. We won't know for certain without understanding how the rebirth functioned. And, unfortunately, we do not."

"If only that dragon bastard hadn't left with so many damn questions unanswered," Jin Shu muttered, still bitter toward Long Jinshu.

But he pushed the frustration aside and turned back toward the medical examination—just as Xi Yue wrapped up her input.

"I will extract the internal-view marbles now. Brace yourself," she warned.

He was neither ready nor entirely sure how to brace for something like that. Before he could even ask, a jolt surged through his stomach and shot upward toward his throat.

His body tensed, the sudden pressure making him feel like he was about to vomit. On instinct, he clamped his mouth shut.

Big mistake.

The two marbles rocketed up his throat with alarming speed, smacking against the backs of his teeth with a painful clack. He winced—nearly chipping a tooth.

"Open your mouth," Xi Yue said, placing a hand under his chin.

He obeyed immediately, spitting the marbles into her hand while sputtering and coughing. The relief was immediate—but the discomfort lingered.

Unfazed, Xi Yue calmly wiped the saliva and other fluids off the slowly expanding marbles with a cloth, then placed them back on the side table. She retrieved the viewing tablet and began typing again.

Moments later, a new hologram appeared—this time a detailed projection of Jin Shu's body. The display highlighted his internal meridian pathways and blood vessels in glowing, intricate lines.

Since Jin Shu had no idea what he was supposed to be looking at in the internal diagram, he chose to stay quiet and wait for Xi Yue's diagnosis. But she said nothing. Several long moments passed in silence before she finally turned to him with a new, unexpected order.

"Strip," she said.

"Uhh… why?"

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"I need to assess your external condition now that I've confirmed the internal."

He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but since Nano didn't have a better explanation, Xi Yue remained his best option for now.

"Could you, uh… turn around?" he asked, noticing that she was watching him intently as he began to fumble with his robes.

"I've already seen you nude once," she replied, her tone bordering on exasperated—even if her expression stayed as flat and deadpan as it had been since he walked in.

"Fair point, but still…"

"Stop dilly-dallying, or I will strip you myself."

"Fine, fine!"

Grumbling, he untied his belt and shrugged off his outer robes.

"All of it," she added when he stopped.

He sighed. "Seriously?"

She didn't answer.

Resigned, he undid the rest of his robes and stripped down completely, standing awkwardly with both hands covering what modesty he could.

"Move your hands," she said, stepping closer.

"I-I'd really rather not… if possible."

"Not possible."

Gritting his teeth, he slowly lowered his hands.

She circled him, inspecting his body with clinical detachment. Occasionally, she touched his skin—her hands icy enough to make him shiver.

"The runes are gone," she said, stepping back but continuing her visual scan. "Except the one over your heart."

Without warning, she stepped close again and began pulling and pinching at his skin.

"Ow!" he yelped as she pinched his chest. "Is this really necessary?"

"It is," she said without pause, moving on to other parts of his body.

When her hands moved lower, he instinctively stepped back and covered himself again, shooting her a suspicious look.

She stared at him blankly. "I won't touch there."

"I… uh… yeah, well… I don't really trust you," he admitted.

She sighed and shook her head. "Fine. I have enough data."

"So you were going to?!"

"Believe whatever you like," she replied dryly, already turning back to the tablet and inputting her findings.

Jin Shu quickly got dressed before she could decide she needed more "data," retreating to the side of the room with his eyes narrowed and both hands on his belt protectively, just in case.

"How much do you know about human anatomy?" Xi Yue asked, still facing the holographic display.

"Just the basics… I guess," Jin Shu replied, shrugging, even though she couldn't see him.

"And what about a cultivator's anatomy?"

"Is there a difference?"

She gave a faint shake of her head—barely noticeable—then waved him over, pointing to the glowing lines crisscrossing the diagram of his body.

"Do you see these brighter lines? Those are your meridians. These," she gestured next to the dimmer lines, "are your blood vessels and veins. Tell me—what do you think the difference is?"

"Uhh… hmm…" He tilted his head, studying the display, mentally digging through what little anatomy knowledge he had. "Normal humans don't have meridians?"

"Correct," she said, typing into the tablet. A second diagram appeared beside the first, this one with far fewer glowing meridians. "Now look at this one. What do you see?"

"That's easy," he said, pointing. "This one barely has any meridians compared to… mine?"

His words slowed as realization hit him. Why did he have so many more meridians?

"Correct. You've noticed it too." She tapped a key, and a third diagram appeared, this one closely matching his own. "This is a scan of a cultivator in the Adept Realm—Chen Ai Yun, to be exact."

She pressed another key, and the three diagrams aligned side by side: the unknown cultivator on the left, his in the center, and Chen Ai Yun's on the right.

"Now," she said, "compare them. What differences do you see?"

At first glance, they looked similar—lines of energy and veins throughout the body, glowing brighter or dimmer depending on the source. But then he spotted it.

"Wait… that tiny glowing sphere on the left one—is that a core?"

She nodded.

He glanced at his own diagram again—no sphere. Then at Chen Ai Yun's, which had two: one in the lower abdomen and one within her head.

"I don't have one anymore…" he muttered. "And she has two?"

"What else?" Xi Yue asked.

"There's more?"

She nodded again.

He leaned in, squinting at the diagrams. This time, the difference jumped out faster. On both the Core Realm and Chen Ai Yun's diagrams, the meridians followed clear paths. The Core Realm cultivator's meridians radiated from the lower dantian, reaching upward—but none extended into the head. Meanwhile, Chen Ai Yun's meridians stretched from her lower dantian all the way to her upper dantian in her head, forming a clear flow from core to core.

But his own diagram… His meridians didn't radiate from a single source. They didn't start or end anywhere. Instead, they spiraled and crisscrossed throughout his entire body in a seemingly chaotic web—except… it wasn't chaos.

He recognized the pattern.

It was the same design that surrounded the Unity Rune.

Without thinking, he pulled open his robes and stared down at his chest, where the rune remained etched over his heart—still faintly glowing.

"What…?" he whispered.