“What do we have?” Tan Chen asked the group.

  The sun had begun to set, casting the forest in warm orange light. Their group sat in a circle, with their spoils gathered into a neat pile in the middle. In all, they had acquired eleven pills from the coal-conjuring cultivator, and as Ishin had feared, it didn’t bode well for him.

  Rhee scratched at her nose. “Looks like three earth pills, two water, one wood, one metal, two wind, one darkness…” She paused. “…and one fire pill.”

  Sympathetic eyes turned toward Ishin.

  No lightning. He rubbed the back of his head. Am I ever going to make it past the fourth layer?

  The pills were clearly of high quality. Each contained more qi than the Rupturous Wailing Storm Pills.

  A single pill of that caliber would let me reach the fifth layer. But I can’t cultivate with any of these.

  Tan Chen picked up one of the wind-aspected pills. “These are better than I expected.”

  “They’re produced by the sect’s Alchemic Hall,” Wen Mei explained. “They train their junior alchemists by having them refine pills for the Culling.”

  “You know quite a bit about the Crimson Abyss Sect,” Wei Long remarked.

  “I…my clan has close ties with the sect. Every generation, members are sent to join.”

  “Is that so?” Wei Long studied the white-haired woman. “Does that mean you have relatives in the sect?”

  Wen Mei chewed her lip. “Yes.”

  Wei Long’s eyes narrowed, but before he could continue his line of inquiry, Ishin spoke. “Everyone who can should cultivate the pills that match their chakra. The stronger we get, the easier it will be to get off this island.”

  Tan Chen examined her pill again and asked, “What about you and Wen Mei?”

  Wen Mei? Right, there are no ice pills here either.

  “We’ll stand guard while you cultivate the pills.” Ishin massaged his temple. “How long do you think it’ll take you to process them?”

  Wei Long grabbed the single fire pill and held it up against the thin orange rays of light streaming through the canopy. “Two days?”

  He looked to Tan Chen for confirmation. She shrugged. “I don’t know. There weren’t many pills in the Blood Pits.”

  Rhee picked up the darkness-aspected pill. “These are incredible. They have the same amount of qi as an upper-tier low-grade pill, but the consistency of a medium-grade pill.”

  Ishin leaned back on his arms. “What does that mean? I’ve heard of low-grade tiers and medium-grade tiers before, but what’s the difference?”

  Rhee set her pill aside. “Primarily the amount of qi inside each. A medium-grade pill has significantly more qi than a low-grade pill. However, even among the basic grades, there are tiers based on quality and consistency.” She held the pill out to Ishin. “The qi in this one is at the limit of what a lower-grade pill can contain. More importantly, it was refined with such skill that processing it will be easier than a lesser-tier pill.” She glanced at everyone. “We should be able to cultivate the contents within a day, maybe a day and a half.”

  Ishin absorbed what she had said. I didn’t realize there were so many aspects to alchemic pills. Were the Rupturous Wailing Storm Pills lower-tier, low-grade pills then? That would explain the excruciating pain they caused.

  “A day, maybe a day and a half then,” Wei Long repeated. “So it’ll take Tan Chen about three days to process all of hers.”

  Considering her pill again, Tan Chen muttered, “With these, I’ll reach the peak of the sixth layer. If the Heavens smile, I might even break into the seventh.”

  “I’ll reach the sixth too,” Wei Long affirmed. He looked to Rhee. “You should reach the sixth too, right?”

  Rhee set the darkness pill down. Then she opened her palm, and her storage ring glowed silver. A new pill, the color of midnight, appeared. It was unquestionably superior to the other. Ishin could almost feel the consuming darkness radiating from it.

  Her well-earned prize from the Exhibition Tournament. A medium-grade darkness pill.

  “I will reach the peak of the seventh layer with this.” There was no doubt in her voice.

  “More than that,” Wen Mei exclaimed, eyes wide. “You might even be able to reach the Adept Realm!”

  “If I can overcome the tribulation,” Rhee admitted. “That’s my concern, though. I don’t want to progress to the Adept Realm. Not yet.”

  “Are you worried about leaving us?” Tan Chen asked. “You shouldn’t wait for our sake. We’ll be fine. If you can, you should take the chance to reach the sect.”

  Rhee shook her head. “It’s not that.” Her expression hardened. “I won’t leave this island until Isho Nel is dead.”

  Ishin’s inner beast growled in approval. “To avenge Lei?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s an unnecessary risk,” Wei Long countered. “We don’t know where he is on the island, and more of us could die fighting him.”

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

  “It doesn’t matter,” Ishin answered. His eyes met Rhee’s, who nodded. “Lei deserves vengeance. He was our friend. We will avenge him.”

  Frowning, Wei Long turned to Wen Mei. “Surely you agree this is reckless.”

  Wen Mei didn’t answer immediately. Eventually, she let out a breath. “He killed all of my friends. I want him dead too.”

  Tan Chen laughed. “I never thought I’d hear that from you, Wen Mei. I thought you were the voice of caution. Guess I was wrong.”

  “Mei,” she corrected softly. Her gaze swept across the circle. “I invite all of you to call me Mei.”

  Tan Chen nodded. “I suppose with all we’ve been through, we are friends. Friendship forged in combat. Call me Chen, then, Mei.” She looked at Ishin. “You too.”

  Friendship forged in combat, huh?

  “I would be honored if you all called me Ishin as well,” he said. He hadn’t felt this close to anyone since joining the Eight Oaths Resolve School’s tournament team, but now, every person here had earned his friendship.

  “Long,” Wei Long said next.

  “Please call me Rhee,” Rhee finished.

  “I am honored by your consideration,” Mei said with a bow.

  “Same here,” Chen replied cheerfully. “Now then, back to the matter at hand—what are you going to do about your pill, Rhee?”

  “I’m not sure,” she admitted, staring at it.

  Ishin still didn’t know much about the process of progressing between realms, only that a tribulation was always required. Raw qi alone wasn’t enough.

  “Do you have to undergo tribulation immediately?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” Rhee admitted. “I never asked my parents or grandfather. I didn’t think I’d reach this point so soon.”

  “You don’t have to,” Mei said. “You could stay at the peak of the seventh layer and wait, but you’ll need an additional source of qi whenever you attempt the tribulation.”

  “I see.” Rhee retrieved the low-grade pill lying on the ground. “Guess it’s good I have this, then.”

  “It’ll be valuable to have someone at the peak of the seventh layer,” Long noted. “But where did you get a medium-grade pill?”

  “I won it from Yellow Dome City’s annual Exhibition Tournament. It’s why Elder Zhou decided to recruit us.”

  Chen snapped her fingers. “I remember you mentioning that. Quite the prize.”

  “It was well earned,” Ishin remarked. “She proved herself the strongest young martial in the city.”

  “Impressive as that is,” Long interjected, “how long will it take to process it?”

  After a few seconds of thought, Rhee answered, “Four days. Maybe five.”

  “We’ll still have enough time to prepare for the next Pill Drop,” Chen pointed out.

  And by then, everyone will be stronger… except me.

  Ishin hated the truth of it. By the time everyone else finished cultivating, they would be at the sixth or seventh layer, while he would remain stuck at the fourth—a weak link. Even Mei, though she had no pills to cultivate, was already at the sixth.

  I can’t let them remain stuck on this island for weeks while I wait for lightning qi pills.

  And yet, Ishin would need their help to get any further. Alone, he wouldn’t survive. Not after seeing the strength of the other candidates, or the terror of the Vampire Monkeys and Apes that plagued the island.

  “That’s quite the collection you gathered,” a voice commented from high in the surrounding trees.

  Everyone turned. A tall, thin man lounged in the branches ten yards away, his bangs drifting over his eyes. He smiled lazily down at them, unbothered by standing so close to five rivals.

  Mei rose first. “What are you doing here, Mu?”

  Phantom Crow Mu?

  “Just surveying your winnings,” Mu said with a smirk. “You did well. And without taking much risk yourself.”

  Mei scoffed. “You’re one to judge others for stealing. And we did face our share of danger to obtain these.”

  Mu shrugged. “True. Fighting Isho Nel’s group is no easy feat. Can’t believe you still forced them back.”

  Chen got to her feet. “Care to introduce us?” she asked Mei.

  “Phantom Crow Mu,” Mei droned. “The most infamous thief on the island.”

  “Aw, are you still upset about that?”

  “Yes!”

  Long sighed and quickly notched an arrow. “Are we going to fight?”

  Mu lifted his hands defensively. “Wait, wait. I’m not here to fight. On the contrary—I want to help.”

  “We’re not allying with you,” Mei said sharply.

  With a roll of his eyes, Mu replied, “Not that. I just want to trade.”

  Long lowered his bow slightly. “Trade?”

  By then, the rest of the group had risen as well. After scanning the trees for threats, Ishin looked at Phantom Crow Mu with his third eye. As he suspected, Mu was a wind cultivator—at the peak of the fifth layer of the Initial Realm.

  “Yes.” Mu reached into his robes and pulled out two pills, each a different shade of blue—one pale, the other bright.

  Ishin immediately recognized the brighter one. A lightning-aspected pill!

  “I saw your group lacks both ice and lightning. I thought I could help.”

  No one spoke, each weighing the implications of his offer.

  “What do you want?” Mei finally asked.

  “I’ll trade you both of these for one of your wind pills. A very reasonable trade, don’t you think?”

  Numerically, it was a great deal. Both he and Mei would gain a pill, while only offering one in return. But that pill belonged to Chen. As much as he needed it, Ishin was reluctant to pressure her.

  “Come on,” Mu pressed. “Two for the price of one. What’s there to think about?”

  “Fine,” Chen said, to Ishin’s surprise and relief.

  She’s really giving up one of her pills for us?

  Chen pulled out a wind pill. “How do you want to do this?”

  “Toss it at the base of my tree,” he said, pointing. “Then I’ll give you mine. We go our separate ways.”

  “It could be a trap,” Long warned.

  Chen tossed the pill. “What choice do we have?”

  Mu pulled out a paper fan. With a flick, the two pills drifted through the air to Chen. She caught them, while Mu fanned the wind pill up to himself.

  “A pleasure doing business,” he said before disappearing into the forest.

  “I hate interacting with that man,” Mei muttered once he was gone.

  “You’ve dealt with him before?” Rhee asked.

  “Yes. He stole from the Collective Liberation Alliance three weeks ago while we slept. Took four pills and some of our meat. We lost two members winning those pills the day before.”

  “That’s…frustrating,” Rhee said.

  “It was.”

  Chen approached, holding out the ice pill. “Maybe this will help.”

  “Thank you,” Mei said, accepting it.

  Chen then turned to Ishin. “Here.” She tossed the lightning pill to him, and he caught it.

  “Thanks. I must admit, I’m surprised you gave up one of your pills for us.”

  Chen shrugged. “We’re a team, right? This way, we all get stronger. Besides, I’m sure I’ll get more during the next Pill Drop.”

  What a collaborative approach.

  “Still. Thank you, Chen.”

  “You’re welcome.” She clapped her hands. “Now then, shall we finally cultivate?”