Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation

"So, how is it?" Jin Shu asked inwardly. "Have you found a way?"

"I have… however…" Nano replied, his tone carrying hesitation.

"However?"

"We missed something," he continued. "Before, we could only cultivate using the technique I created. Other methods required a specific core creation process, which would have meant destroying your core. But now…"

"Now, I no longer have a core," Jin Shu finished, the realization dawning on him.

"Exactly."

"So what does that mean for my cultivation?"

"We have two major choices—each with a few variations," Nano said.

"And they are?"

"You can either follow the cultivation path of humans and most other living beings—using meridians—or you can choose a completely different path altogether."

Jin Shu blinked, partially confused, but he understood enough to know these were no small decisions.

"What would each option involve?"

"At their core—pun not intended—it's a question of whether you continue to separate your qi from your blood, or not."

"Give me the full breakdown. Start with what happens if I keep separating them."

"First, you'd need to reform your core, or you risk being stuck at the Core Realm for life," Nano explained. "Second… if you fully separate qi and blood, I'm not sure what will happen to me. Right now, my existence is sustained by both."

"You could die… for real this time?"

"It's possible. We won't know until the separation is complete."

"No." His voice was firm. "Off the table. I won't take that risk. Even if I could gain all the power in the world, I'm not sacrificing someone for it."

There was no world where Jin Shu would trade another's life for his own gain. He wasn't Long Jinshu—someone who played with lives as if they were nothing.

"If you're sure—"

"I am."

"—then the final choice is to abandon the separation and find a new cultivation path."

"And I assume you've already found a way to do that?"

"Yes. I have two methods," Nano replied. "But before you choose, I'd recommend writing them down and showing them to someone more familiar with this world's techniques."

"Sure. I'll get Feng Lian's opinion later. For now, tell me what they are."

"The first is an improvised Fire Spiritization Method. The original was designed for phoenixes—the embodiment of living flames. It allows them to shift from being half fire spirit to fully fire spirit, becoming not just living flame, but heat itself."

"So… I'd become an elemental spirit?"

"No, not with this improvised version. You'd be able to channel your elemental affinities through your body and briefly spiritize yourself."

"Interesting. What would be the benefits?"

"While spiritized, you could absorb elemental energy in place of qi, and you'd be completely immune to your chosen element."

"And the downsides?"

"You'd take increased damage from the opposing element, and the elemental energy would need to be digested slowly before it could replace your qi."

"I see." Jin Shu nodded thoughtfully. "What about the second one?"

"This one is… unique. I combined a technique from your memory with dozens of others we've found here, your body inscription technique, and theories from my original world. The result is something I believe has never existed before."

"Okay, tell me more—wait…" Jin Shu frowned. "A technique from my memory? Don't tell me it's the one I'm thinking of."

"…It likely is."

The only other technique he'd ever seen—aside from the basic one Chen Ai Yun had shown him—was the dual cultivation method his mother had given him.

"However, it's not used in the way you're imagining," Nano clarified. "Although… it could be, if you wanted."

Jin Shu wanted to say no, but it wasn't exactly a bad option. He had only been against it before because he thought such techniques were morally questionable. But after reading through the sect's library, he realized they were actually quite accepted. Even so, he would rather not depend on what he still considered an intimate act as a source of cultivation.

"We'll shelve that discussion for now. How does it work?"

"Your original auxiliary technique used runic tattoos to grant special abilities unique to each rune," Nano explained. "This new one builds on that—not only with runes, but with their advanced form, formations. It also integrates elemental energies and special materials to push the technique's power even further."

"Its advantages?"

"Varied abilities and maximum compatibility with you—being customized specifically for your body," Nano said.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Good. And the disadvantages?"

"It's experimental and untested, so it's hard to say. But the biggest would likely be limited space for formations—unless we find a way to significantly reduce their size."

"Well… theoretically, rune size is based on the amount of qi supplied during inscription, right?" Jin Shu said, thinking aloud. "So, if the runes are on my body, which constantly contains all my qi, couldn't I load them with qi after inscription?"

Nano paused for several seconds. "That… should be possible in theory. I'll add it to the technique's description."

"That works. I'll write them down in a moment. But first—you said you added something to the technique? Something from your world?"

"Oh, right." Nano's tone brightened. "I combined the Fire Spiritization Method with theoretical biological nanotech research. This allows for a deeper integration between you and me."

"Explain that like I'm dumb."

"You'll be able to turn your blood into… how to put it… a semi-living healer. Only, it'll be me instead of bioengineered robots."

Jin Shu's mind spun. "Still don't fully get it, but I trust you. I'm sure it'll be useful."

"Essentially, I'll be able to heal your body again, among other things."

"Oh, that is useful." He nodded. "By the way… I never asked. You know how you turn things into metal—like that tiger back then—how'd you do that? I assume it has something to do with that bio-whatever, right?"

"Yes. That's another application of bio-nanotech," Nano explained. "Almost all living things have trace metals in their chemical makeup. With a small genome tweak, the production of those metals can be overclocked."

"Again, like I'm dumb."

"I can turn living things into metal because they already have metal inside them."

Jin Shu frowned. "Huh… makes sense, somehow."

"It's far more complicated than that. But you wouldn't understand the details—even with thousands of years to study."

"Uh… I told you to talk like I'm dumb, but you don't have to insult me."

"That wasn't an insult," Nano said quickly. "It's just a fact. My world's humans took thousands of years to develop a working theory, and hundreds more to produce real results."

"There were humans in your world?"

Nano didn't respond immediately.

"…Were, yes," he said at last, his usually flat tone carrying a faint trace of sadness. "But the planet was destroyed. The last survivors died when their ship crashed into Gold's world."

Jin Shu froze—and so did Gold and Shuang within his soul space.

"You… why didn't you ever tell us?"

"You never asked."

"I… guess you're right. Sorry, we should have."

"What destroyed your planet?" Shuang asked.

"The plague. The same one that infected Gold's planet. It came from another dimension and spread through our universe."

The three of them were stunned again.

"Wait—if your world had technology far beyond Gold's and it was destroyed… then what about his?"

"I would assume it's fine," Nano said without hesitation.

"What? But—"

"Ah. I should explain. The humans of my world had no weapons to fight the plague—they were pacifists. Their advanced science held it at bay for a hundred years, but without a cure, they were overrun."

"But… didn't they have weapons like the railgun?"

"That wasn't a weapon. It was a mining tool—specifically for asteroid mining."

"So Earth was better equipped to fight the plague?"

"Yes. Especially since they weaponized the nanobot shielding from the crashed ship—something my creators refused to do, even to their dying breath. Which, logically, was a mistake."

"Why would they refuse?"

"Because their god forbade them from taking a life."

Jin Shu blinked. "They had a god? A real one? Not just a metaphor?"

"Yes, a real god. He was one of the first to fall to the plague. In fact, he was the one who opened the dimensional gateway it escaped from."

"And I thought I was an idiot. That god really doomed his people for nothing."

Jin Shu shook his head, still trying to wrap his mind around the sheer stupidity of it.

"They were his slaves, not his people," Nano corrected.

The words hit him like a sudden drop in temperature. Slaves. Not worshippers, not citizens—slaves.

A dozen questions burned on his tongue, but before he could speak, Feng Lian's voice rang out, echoing across every floor of the library.

"The library will close in one hour. At that time, everyone must leave," she announced, before adding, "Jade token holders may remain."

Jin Shu glanced around the open fourth floor. Empty. The place was small enough that he could see the entire space from where he stood, though Feng Lian's desk was hidden behind a wall. He figured the last part had been for him.

Whatever. Best to focus on this world instead of ones we'll likely never see again. He shook his head, pushing the revelation—and the unease it brought—aside.

"Alright. Tell me what I need to write," he said, pulling out two blank scrolls and a brush.