Early in the morning, before the sun had even begun to rise, Jin Shu gathered Biyu, Li Xue, and Tian Li. The extermination mission was still hours away, so this meeting wasn't about that. Instead, he wanted to give them a crash course on the weapons he had crafted for each of them.

He glanced at the three in turn.

Biyu rubbed at her eyes, clearly still shaking off sleep, but otherwise attentive. He'd woken her only an hour earlier than usual, just before she would normally begin her daily cultivation. To her left sat Tian Li, already alert and lively—she always rose at this hour to work on her fashion designs before cultivating. And then there was Li Xue. She looked half-dead, her eyes barely cracked open and ringed with dark circles. She had likely stayed up far too late, as usual, and was barely functional this early in the morning.

"I know each of you are strong—geniuses amongst cultivators your age," Jin Shu began. "But I want you to have more protection when you're away. Really, at all times I'd prefer you remain safe and unharmed. That's not realistic, of course—injuries are inevitable, whether from other cultivators or demonic beasts. So, I created weapons for each of you to strengthen your fighting capabilities. Or at least, I hope they will."

He laid out the equipment.

Biyu and Tian Li leaned forward curiously, while Li Xue let out a long yawn.

"Huh…?" she muttered, blinking slowly. "What's happening?"

He didn't bother repeating himself. She'd catch on soon enough.

"You don't have to use the weapons," he continued, "but I'd like you to at least keep them with you—for my peace of mind if nothing else."

"I've used your weapons before," Biyu said. "I know how strong they are. I don't mind taking them as a last resort, though they don't really suit my fighting style."

"I've been interested since our training sessions," Tian Li added. "I'd love to have one of my own."

"Oh, we get Jin Shu's guns? Gimme a bunch!" Li Xue said, suddenly wide awake.

Jin Shu pinched the bridge of his nose. He was already beginning to regret even thinking of arming her.

"Here," he said, gesturing to the table behind him. "I've set up a small shooting range so I can teach you how to handle your weapons. But before that, let me introduce each of them."

He paused, then added, "One disclaimer—when I explain these weapons, I'll probably use terms you don't understand. I'll do my best to make it simple, but some things just don't translate well."

"That's fine. We'll ask afterwards if there's something we don't understand," Biyu said.

Jin Shu nodded. Then his aura shifted as Gold slipped into control. The change was subtle, but from the way the girls tilted their heads, they had already noticed something was different about him.

"These are Li Xue's weapons," he said, watching her eyes snap open with sudden excitement. "Each of you will get a pistol. You don't need to remember the name, but they're called Glocks—specifically Glock 19s. They're not the strongest pistols, but they're versatile and easy to learn."

He picked one up, ejected the magazine, and cleared the chamber before setting it down again. He knew it was empty, but the motion was instinctive.

"Normally, I'd explain what kind of ammunition these use, but that's not important right now. If you're interested, I'll teach you later. For now, you need to learn the essential parts."

He raised the pistol so they could all see.

"First: the trigger. Most weapons have external safeties—the Glock doesn't. That means the moment you pull this trigger, it will fire."

Click.

The sound echoed in the quiet morning.

"Unless the weapon is empty, like now."

He picked up the magazine. "This is a magazine—'mag' for short. Think of it like a bow's quiver, except internal. It holds the ammunition."

He slid the mag back into place, then gestured to the top of the pistol.

"This part is called the slide. Once the mag is loaded, you pull the slide back to chamber the first round."

Click.

He pulled the slide and let it snap forward again.

"If you pull it again…" He racked the slide once more, catching the bullet that popped out. "…the chambered round is ejected, and the next one is loaded, as long as there's ammo left in the mag."

He turned sideways, leveling the Glock toward one of the waiting targets.

"Now the weapon is ready to fire."

Pop!

The gun fired, the bullet striking the target set fifty yards away almost instantly.

"Normally, the gunshot would be louder, however I've added a silence formation among other features—which I'll explain later. The silence formation adjusts the weapon's volume based on how much qi you put in, anywhere from loud to completely silent."

He ejected the mag, showing them the button he pressed.

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"This is the mag release. Use it when you want to either reload or clear the weapon."

After ejecting the chambered round, he set the pistol down on the table.

"Any questions so far?"

They were silent for several seconds before Biyu raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"Are you really Jin Shu?"

Gold blinked, not fully expecting that question, though he realized they had likely noticed the subtle change.

"Yes and no," he said. He might as well explain—he'd already told Li Xue. "I am one of the four souls this body houses. You've met Long Jinshu—he was our first life. Our second life was mine. I've told you that I'm from a world called Earth. I am the soul from that life—I go by Gold. Our other soul is Shuang. He was born from the fusion of Jin Shu and my soul, and he was who we were meant to become. But we were split into three. Does that answer your question?"

"Uhh… yeah… well no, but… I guess, yeah," Biyu said, nodding absently. "Should we call you… Gold?"

"Just Jin Shu is fine. I'm still a Jin Shu, and I'm only borrowing his body for this lesson. Now, if there's nothing else, I'll continue."

He picked up the next weapon, clearing it once again.

"This weapon is broadly called an SMG—submachine gun—though specifically it's a Kriss Vector. It was one of the fastest-firing SMGs in my old world, and I made it to complement Li Xue's fast-paced fighting style."

"My fighting style?" Li Xue asked, tilting her head, all the while eyeing the Vector greedily.

"Yes. Each weapon was created and tuned to your specific fighting styles, as I witnessed during the tournament. If, however, they don't suit you, I can rework them later."

"No, I meant—what is my fighting style?"

Gold raised a brow. She doesn't understand her own style… I assumed she would, since it was a fundamental part of martial arts on Earth, he thought to himself and his other selves. Maybe it's different here, since there aren't any established martial practices. But then again, we were tasked with finding our own style to complete our technique… hmm… that gives us something to think about, doesn't it?

"Jin Shu?" she called, noticing he hadn't responded.

He blinked, realizing he had been ignoring her. "Sorry, it's been a while since I've talked to someone that isn't… myself."

He paused, replaying the last few minutes in his head and realizing how awkward he must have seemed. It had been far too long since he'd interacted with anyone outside of his own souls—and even longer since before his death, when his days had been consumed by military duty in the middle of an apocalyptic war.

"Give me one second. I need to… adjust," he said, making sure they knew he wasn't simply ignoring them.

Without waiting for a response, he closed his eyes and took several steadying breaths.

"You want me to handle this?" Jin Shu's voice asked from within.

"No, no. I've got it," Gold answered.

With one final breath, he opened his eyes and gave the women across from him a small bow of his head.

"I'm sorry. Let's start over."

A flash of silver light washed over his body, fading just as quickly. When it cleared, Gold's true form stood before them. He looked nearly identical to Jin Shu, but a decade older, with the faint shadow of stubble on his chin and a steady, battle-hardened aura that spoke of years of service.

"Hello," he said with a calm smile. "I am the Jin Shu of Earth. Please, call me Gold."

The three women stared, eyes wide, blinking rapidly as if unsure they could trust what they were seeing.

"Whoa! What the—?" Li Xue was the first to break the silence. She circled him in quick steps, studying him head to toe before grinning. "Wow, you look like my dad… well, more like my adopted dad. Except you're, like, waaaay handsomer!"

Gold arched a brow at her, frowning slightly. It was the first time anyone had ever compared him to their father, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. Fortunately, the other two quickly jumped in.

"Li Xue!" Biyu snapped, scandalized. "You can't say that!"

"Why not?"

"Because… because you just can't!"

"Because why?"

Biyu opened her mouth, then shut it again, finally sighing in frustration. "How would you feel if he said you reminded him of his mother?"

"Really good," Li Xue said instantly. "Jin Shu's mom is super beautiful."

"That's not what I—" Biyu started, then groaned and shook her head. "You know what, never mind."

As the two bickered, Tian Li had stayed silent, her gaze fixed on Gold. When he met her eyes, she flinched back ever so slightly. The reaction puzzled him—until he realized what it was. Fear.

Jin Shu's younger face still carried a gentle, almost effeminate beauty. But his older self's features were harder, roughened by years of hardship. Handsome, yes, but in a way forged by survival rather than ease.

"Sorry," Gold said softly. "This form must be… startling."

"No," Tian Li whispered, though the uncertainty in her voice betrayed her.

"It's fine. I understand. But you don't need to worry—he won't ever grow to look like this. The difference in environment—this qi-rich world—means he'll stay youthful and handsome forever." His lips quirked into a teasing smirk.

"I… I'm not… it's not just his looks…" she murmured.

"I know. I was teasing." He let her off gently, then clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention back. "Anyway, enough of that. Let's return to the lesson."