Gold spent the next quarter hour walking the three women through the basic mechanisms of their weapons before shifting into the real lesson—how he had customized them for each of them.

"Let's start with Li Xue's set," he said, returning to the table where her Glock and Vector rested. "As I mentioned earlier, these are tuned for her fast-paced fighting style. They're designed to overwhelm opponents with sheer, blinding speed."

He gestured to the faintly glowing runes etched across the weapons.

"To that end, I—we—overloaded them with speed-type enhancements. The bullets fired from these move faster than… well, a speeding bullet." He chuckled at his own joke, only to clear his throat when their blank stares met him. "Ahem. Anyway. They may look straightforward, but don't mistake that for weakness. Quite the opposite."

Picking up the Vector, he slid in a magazine, pulled the charging handle, and aimed at a metal target shaped like a cultivator's upper body.

"These targets are forged from materials that mimic a fifth-stage Spirit Realm cultivator focusing all their qi on defense."

Pop!

The round blurred out of the barrel, punching a clean hole through the target's forehead.

"Whoa!" Li Xue gasped. "Let me try!"

"You can't," Gold said flatly. "That overloaded shot only works once per day. Any more and the formations will collapse. Still—"

Poppoppoppoppop!

He squeezed the trigger, unleashing a sustained burst. These rounds were slightly slower, but still fast enough to dent the metal until the final shot broke through. Firing a few more bursts, he riddled the target until the magazine clicked empty.

"Remember—only use the overloaded shot once. Push it further and you'll unravel the formation, leaving yourself with a very expensive piece of scrap metal." He fixed Li Xue with a long look.

"What?" she asked, fidgeting under his gaze. "Fine, fine, I'll remember."

"Good." He set the weapon down. "Now—Tian Li's weapons."

Moving to the next table, Gold picked up Tian Li's Glock.

"Unlike Li Xue's, this one isn't built for speed. Since Tian Li prefers crowd control—immobilizing her enemies—I gave her weapons freezing-type enhancements."

Pop!

The shot landed, and frost spread instantly across the target. Had it been a living opponent, the limb would've slowed to a crawl.

He set the pistol down and lifted the custom-built rifle.

"This M110A1, though, carries more than just freezing runes. Freezing alone is limited—nearly useless against opponents with strong fire or ice affinities. So, we added lightning enhancements. Lightning is rare, which means it should work in most circumstances."

Pop! Bzt—bang!

The target froze solid before a crackling bolt struck, exploding the ice along with a good portion of the metal frame.

"Holy!" Li Xue yelped, reaching greedily for the rifle. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!"

"You already have yours," Gold said, slapping away her outstretched hands. "This one is tailored for Tian Li. She prefers long-range fighting."

"I'll fight at a distance if you make me one of those!" Li Xue shot back. "Doesn't even have to be that exact one!"

Gold shook his head. "I can't just make another. Before my rebirth, sure—I could've churned out a few in a day. But now? Now it takes hours for a single rune. Until I master my new cultivation technique—if that's even possible—I can't just make them."

"What happened after your rebirth?" Biyu asked.

"I lost access to my qi. Technically, it fused with my blood. When I try to mobilize qi now, this happens—"

He forced qi to his head. Blood surged, streaming from his eyes in a flood of crimson tears.

"Eek!"

He couldn't see which of them screamed, only their blurred figures stumbling back. Quickly, he wiped his face clean, his features returning to their usual calm, handsome self.

"Sorry… I didn't think it would scare you that much."

He'd only meant it as a small prank, but from the way they stared—wide-eyed and pale—he realized he'd pushed it a little too far.

Gold blinked his eyes clear and spread his hands. "See? Still alive, still handsome. No big deal."

He cleared his throat and gestured toward the frost-and-lightning-scorched target. "Now, where were we? Ah—Tian Li's rifle. Don't get distracted by the flash. It's powerful, but only if you use it correctly."

They looked ready to comment on the blood, so he pressed on before they could.

"Just like Li Xue's weapons, the full freeze-and-lightning combo is part of the overloaded formation." He tapped a faintly glowing rune. "I forgot to mention: when this sigil is brightly lit, the overload is ready. If it's dim, the formation is still recovering. Push it too soon, and you'll break it."

The three leaned in, studying the dim rune with fresh interest. Satisfied he'd diverted them, Gold moved on.

"Lastly, Biyu's weapons. Since her style mixes ranged and close combat, we focused her build more toward close quarters—but it's still in development. For now, we've outfitted her with our XM7 as a temporary measure."

He indicated the rifle resting across the table.

"This one can't overload. Instead, it's built for versatility. Fire for raw damage, ice for immobilization, wind for speed, and lightning for both damage and control. The Glock has the same setup."

He picked up the XM7, loaded a magazine, and faced a target.

Pop! A fire round struck, briefly engulfing the metal in flames and warping the surface.

Pop! An ice round followed, freezing the softened metal and leaving it brittle.

Pop!

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The next shot—wind—shattered the weakened section clean through.

Pop! Finally, a lightning round hit, electricity crackling across the remains of the target.

"As you can see, it doesn't match the others in sheer power," Gold said, lowering the rifle. "But what it lacks in force, it more than makes up for in adaptability."

Unloading the rifle, Gold set it back on the table and laid out fresh magazines for each of the other weapons.

"You can test them out now," he said, gesturing toward the line of targets. "One at a time. I want to personally walk each of you through handling."

His gaze drifted, almost unconsciously, to Li Xue. Sure enough, she stepped forward, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Me!" she shouted, snatching up her Vector as if he might change his mind and snatch it away.

He sighed heavily and moved in behind her. "Fine. Start with the basics. Load it, like I showed you earlier."

She fumbled with the magazine, needing him to remind her where it slotted in, but managed to chamber a round smoothly enough. He opened his mouth to start explaining the firing stance—

Bang!

A single shot rang out, grazing the side of the target. Before he could even react, a wild burst followed, rattling dents all across the metal silhouette.

Click. Click. Click.

She kept squeezing the trigger even after it went dry.

"You're out of ammo," Gold said flatly.

"Oh. Gimme more."

His brow twitched, but he passed her another loaded mag. This time, she slammed it home with practiced ease, chambered, and fired off short, controlled bursts—exactly like he'd shown her before.

Gold blinked. A minute ago she'd been spraying like a child with a water gun, and now she was moving like a seasoned soldier.

Natural instinct? he wondered. More likely, it was sheer cultivator talent. Their learning aptitude was said to far outstrip mortals, and he was watching it firsthand.

Once she was done with the Vector, she switched to the Glock. No fumbling this time—just load, chamber, fire, reload, repeat. By the time she emptied the last magazine, she turned back with a beaming smile.

"These toys are fun. Can I have more?"

Gold stared blankly at her. Should he scold her for calling them toys… or congratulate her for firing like a professional?

"No," he said at last, motioning her aside and gesturing for Tian Li to step forward.

Li Xue pouted, hugged the Vector to her chest like a sulky child, and stomped away with a huff.

Tian Li stepped up hesitantly, glancing at him with thinly veiled unease.

Blinking, he caught on and smirked. "Want Jin Shu to teach you?"

She nodded without a word.

Still smirking, he shifted souls and forms, returning to his original appearance in a flicker of light.

"Miss me?" he asked, wearing the same grin.

"I don't like his face…" she muttered.

Jin Shu tilted his head. "But… it's my face. Just older. With a beard."

She shrugged. "I just don't like it."

"Actually, the two of you don't look that much alike," Biyu chimed in. "His is more square. Yours is softer, more angular. If anything, you're more… effeminate."

His brow twitched.

"Oh, but still manly. Handsome, even," she added quickly.

Jin Shu turned away, ears burning, and picked up Tian Li's rifle. "Here. Try it."

Tian Li accepted it, studying the weapon curiously before slotting in a magazine.

"Activate this formation," he said, pointing to a faint sigil. "That'll give you a scope."

She directed her qi into it, and a shimmering scope appeared along the rail. "How do I use it?"

Reaching around her, he guided her arms, settling the scope before her right eye.

"See the magnified view?"

"Yes. And… strange lines."

"That's the reticle. Line up the center with your target."

"Okay." She steadied the rifle.

"Now squeeze the trigger. Don't pull."

Bang!

The weapon kicked, but his arms held hers steady. Not that recoil could hurt a cultivator like her, but he'd rather not risk bad habits. A clean dent appeared in the target's forehead.

"Good shot."

She blushed faintly. "I was aiming for the middle…"

"Oh. Then let's fix your stance."

He adjusted her grip, tucking the stock into her shoulder and nudging her legs into position. "Slow breath. Line it up. Then squeeze."

She inhaled, exhaled, and fired.

Pow!

Softer this time—the silencing formation partly engaged. The round punched through the target's center.

"Was that where you aimed?"

"It was."

"Then perfect." He smiled. "Great shot."

Her own smile bloomed. "Li Xue was right. This is fun."

"Are you two done being all lovey-dovey?" Li Xue's teasing voice cut in.

They froze, realizing Jin Shu was still behind her, arms around her shoulders. To him, it was just instruction. But as Tian Li stiffened, he released her gently, clearing his throat.

"Just because I didn't let you keep shooting doesn't mean you should ruin the mood," Jin Shu said with an exaggerated sigh.

Li Xue stuck her tongue out at him.

He ignored her and turned to Biyu. "Do you need help?"

"No." She shook her head, lifting her rifle with practiced ease. "I watched enough."

She loaded the weapon in one smooth motion and leveled it at the target.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The shots rang out as nothing more than sharp impacts, the rifle itself utterly silent. With each hit, a different flash lit the target—fire, ice, wind, lightning—flaring across the metal in quick succession. Within seconds the magazine clicked empty. Calmly, she ejected it, set both mag and rifle back on the table, and nodded.

"It felt better than I imagined."

Jin Shu, Tian Li, and Li Xue all stared at her, stunned. If not for his own soldier's soul, Jin Shu might have believed she was the one reincarnated from Earth.