“It should be any moment now,” Wen Mei whispered. She was lying prone across the ground beside Ishin. Both were only a few yards away from the crater’s edge. They’d been forced to leave the circling tree line to see the crater’s center, but Ishin hoped that they’d go undetected.

  The sky was still dark and absent of the large carpet. Soon, the sun would crest the horizon, signaling the Pill Drop. If it happened. Ishin had used his third eye to search the surroundings for threats, but hadn’t detected any within the range of his sense.

  Surely there are others waiting like us.

  Once again, Ishin looked up towards the vacant black sky.

  Heavens, I hope it still happens.

  The two waited silently with bated breath for dawn. When the first rays of light stretched across the island, Ishin almost didn’t notice—it was so faint.

  “It’s time,” Wen Mei whispered.

  A brilliant green light appeared in the center of the crater’s depression, illuminating everything before them. Ishin’s eyes went wide.

  Is that the Pill Drop!

  After mere seconds, the green light faded, leaving only a single large woven basket in the middle of the crater.

  “That’s it!” Wen Mei gasped quietly. Excited eyes met his. “Go tell the others!”

  “Right!”

  Ishin rapidly rose to his feet and darted towards their encampment, cycling qi to his legs to enhance his speed. He arrived in under two minutes and shared the news.

  “The Pill Drop happened!”

  “Everyone, up!” Tan Chen ordered.

  The others quickly rose and followed behind Ishin as he returned to Wen Mei. The white-haired island veteran still lay flat against the exposed floor. Ishin slid beside Wen Mei again, with the others taking up their own positions.

  “Has anyone acted?”

  “Not yet.” She looked around the crater. “Everyone is always initially cautious. Soon though, someone will act.”

  “Is that basket it?” Rhee asked quietly, beside Ishin.

  “Yes,” Wen Mei answered. “There’s always only one, but it is filled with pills.”

  “Ruthless,” Wei Long remarked.

  “Look, there’s someone!” Lei said, his voice still strong despite being hushed.

  A figure a hundred yards to their group’s left slid down the crater’s slope. He was a thin, tall man who sprinted towards the basket upon reaching the floor. His speed was impressive, faster than Ishin by far.

  He’s not wasting time. Smart. Will he take the whole basket?

  “Over there,” Rhee exclaimed, gesturing towards the other end of the crater.

  Another entity had rapidly descended the crater, moving even faster than the first candidate. Squinting, Ishin realized it was a yellow-and-black rabbit. The spirit beast closed the distance to the basket in the same time that the other man had. A fight swiftly ensued between the two, with the rabbit striking with yellow glowing legs while the cultivator blocked with his arms.

  Their fight continued for several breaths before Ishin noticed something descending from the sky. A cluster of a dozen black arrows fell upon the crater’s center. The cultivator glanced up at the last second after blocking another of the rabbit’s kicks, but didn’t have enough time to dodge. Three struck the man, piercing his back, thigh, and arm. The rabbit managed to dodge two, only to be speared by two others in the head and chest. Ishin watched as the rabbit fell, likely dead. The cultivator staggered to his feet and limped forward towards the basket, but was clearly near death himself.

  “That attack came from the far side of the crater,” Wei Long noted from beside him. “Whoever did that will be a problem.”

  Ishin didn’t have time to process Wei Long’s words before a jet of fire erupted towards the wounded cultivator, right before he could claim any prize from the basket. Flames consumed the injured man, pulling horrific screams from him. His cries only stopped once he fell, dead but still alight with fire.

  “Heavens, that was brutal,” Rhee exclaimed.

  Ishin agreed.

  Between the archer and that fire cultivator, going down there is a death trap. No wonder the Collective Liberation Alliance needed numbers to claim any pills.

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  He understood now why Wen Mei insisted they ambush someone afterwards instead of trying for the pills themselves.

  No others made an immediate move for the pills. No doubt, they were deterred by the recent ranged assaults.

  The stillness was eventually broken when a red-and-orange blur soared down from above. It was an avian spirit beast, and Ishin bet it was the same one that Wei Long had noticed the previous day. No arrows or blasts of fire were launched at the spirit beast as it reached the basket. Ishin understood why. With its current speed, hitting the spirit beast would be near impossible.

  Gliding low at the basket, the spirit beast did not stop, instead grabbing two pills with its talons and flying away. It escaped unmolested, disappearing over the trees.

  “We need a spirit beast,” Wei Long muttered.

  “Little late now,” Tan Chen replied.

  As though bolstered by the spirit bird’s success, three more descended into the crater, each coming from a different side. One looked to be carrying a wooden club, another a large metal shield, and the last was unarmed. They all approached the basket at about the same time, with surprisingly no sign of the black arrows.

  A burst of flame launched at the club-wielding cultivator. Remarkably, the woman swatted the fire away with her club. Ishin had no idea what aspect of qi she must have used to accomplish that feat, but he was wary of engaging anyone as strong as her. At least, Ishin was, but his inner beast growled in excitement at the thought.

  Calm yourself.

  “Where’s the archer?” Wei Long inquired.

  “Forget that,” Lei said. “Look!”

  The unarmed male cultivator’s body became surrounded by a red aura. Before their eyes, he grew in size until he tore apart his robes. He didn’t just grow in size—his entire body transformed into a red-and-silver tiger that stood eight feet long. A bestial roar spread across the crater, startling all.

  “Anyone know how that’s possible?” Tan Chen asked.

  “No idea,” Lei replied.

  Ishin glanced at Wen Mei. There was no hint of surprise on her face. Instead, her eyes were focused and intense. She’s seen this before! Or something similar.

  Once again, Ishin considered how the young woman had been on the island for months. The adversities she must have experienced.

  The red-and-silver tiger leapt at the shield wielder. Its sharp claws slashed into the metal, but were unable to break through. The shield carrier was forced back by the tiger’s strength but didn’t relent. Ishin opened his third eye, but the combatants were just barely outside the range of his sight.

  How is he resisting that tiger?

  The red-and-silver tiger was just as large as the sun tiger that had given Ishin his scar. Surely it wasn’t as strong, otherwise the cultivator would have left the island, but still. He felt the pale scar lines across his eye ache at the memory. Deep inside, his inner beast growled, hungry for revenge. Ishin tightened the grip on his spear. He wanted to fight. He wanted to kill.

  While the tiger and shield wielder engaged in battle, the club-carrying candidate reached the basket. She looked around, noticed the two in combat, and then quickly began to fish through the basket.

  “She’s not just taking the whole basket?” Lei asked.

  “Everyone would target her immediately if she did,” Wen Mei explained. “Besides, only some of the pills will be useful for her. It contains plenty of whatever aspect of qi the candidates need.”

  Ishin scratched his chin. Does that mean there will be lightning-aspected pills inside?

  “What’s that at the far end?” Rhee asked.

  Ishin looked over and saw someone roll violently down the end of the crater.

  What happened? Is that candidate dead?

  Gaze moving up, Ishin saw another figure step towards the edge of the crater, right where the other had rolled from. So far away, he could only vaguely make out the individual’s outline. There was a thin trace of silver around his head—perhaps his hair. The figure threw something down into the crater, but Ishin couldn’t discern what it was.

  “A bow,” Wei Long supplied. “Did he just kill the archer from before?”

  Ishin heard Wen Mei’s breath catch. “Bai Hao.”

  Bai Hao? That’s the person she warned us against confronting.

  Ishin considered the new arrival with more interest.

  As Bai Hao gradually descended into the crater, the battle between the tiger and the shield cultivator reached its climax. With a powerful shove, the shield carrier knocked the tiger back half a dozen feet in a remarkable display of strength. Undeterred, the tiger lunged into the air and fell upon its foe. The candidate managed to bring his shield up in time, and while it did prevent a direct swipe by the tiger’s claws, the larger form of the beast pinned its prey against the ground. The shield remained between them, but he was certainly trapped. With a merciless growl, the tiger’s fangs struck at the other’s exposed head, creating a cascade of blood accompanied by agony.

  Throughout the final moments of the battle, the club-carrying female finished her search within the basket. She spared the tiger a final glance and then her attention found the slowly approaching Bai Hao. At the sight of the silver-haired candidate, she sprinted in the opposite direction of Bai Hao.

  Licking its lips free of blood, the tiger watched the woman run away. It then saw Bai Hao approaching from behind. Letting out a low growl, the red-and-silver tiger stepped off the dead shield cultivator, moving to face Bai Hao. It then ran at the approaching candidate.

  Jumping into the air, the tiger brought up its two ferocious claws to rip its new prey apart. Then Ishin watched as Bai Hao thrust a single hand through the tiger’s body, piercing bloodily out the other side. The tiger let out a pained whimper and made a final effort to claw at Bai Hao’s face. Before its attack could land, Bai Hao flicked the massive beast onto the ground. Pitifully, the bleeding tiger tried to rise to its feet, but the damage was too much. Ishin could see its guts falling out from its stomach as the tiger couldn’t maintain its balance. With a final cry, it fell down, slain.

  Upon the tiger’s death, it transformed back into the male cultivator that it had been before—naked and with the same fatal wound present. Bai Hao apparently didn’t care and continued onward towards the basket, now just a few yards away.

  A torrent of fire then collided into Bai Hao. Smoke temporarily covered the aftermath, but when it cleared shortly afterwards, Bai Hao was completely unharmed.

  How is that possible?

  Their entire group was quiet, unsure of how to process the display of power they had just seen.

  The silence was broken when Ishin barely heard the following escape from Wen Mei’s lips:

  “Aunt, someone else is cheating too.”