“Is he dead?” Rhee asked, her voice shaking.

  She stared at where Ishin lay motionless on the ground.

  No, no, no. He can’t die. Not him and Lei.

  Rhee clenched and unclenched her fist. If Ishin died too, then she would be alone—the last connections to her old life gone.

  “He’s alive,” Long mercifully confirmed, kneeling to study Ishin. “I can see his chest rising. He’s alive, just unconscious. Qi exhaustion, I’d guess.”

  “I hate this place,” Rhee panted.

  Still, she felt a blissful relief knowing Ishin was alive.

  Not alone.

  Rhee’s body still shook with anxiety, but now she could focus on herself. Her chakra was nearly empty of qi, her meridians strained to their limit from all the consecutive techniques, and most annoyingly of all, her back ached.

  I didn’t even get hit. Not really.

  Her attention moved to Ishin, still unconscious on the ground. Considering his fight with Isho Nel and the direct blow from the Vampire Ape, it was a miracle he was still alive. And then there was that final technique.

  Pierced cleanly through the monster, Rhee thought. She’d seen the hole left through the Vampire Ape’s chest. It was an impressive feat that she couldn’t hope to match.

  That lightning qi is deadly. Especially the white and blue type.

  In truth, Rhee doubted that any other Initial Realm cultivator had a technique that could equal the destructive force she’d witnessed.

  “Hopefully that’s the last one,” Long remarked as he walked over to retrieve one of his arrows from the ground. He inspected it and then, with a tsk, discarded it upon finding the arrowhead dulled. He moved to another, hoping to find some that were still intact.

  Rhee peered around with her third eye. She didn’t detect anyone else nearby—a great relief.

  “I can’t believe,” the injured flute cultivator rasped, “he had such a powerful technique.”

  Rhee froze at his words. She’d nearly forgotten he was still alive. He was slumped against a tree, Long’s arrow still buried deep within.

  “He’s still alive?” Long asked as he examined another arrow. Evidently that one passed his inspection, as he placed it in his quiver.

  Rhee’s expression darkened. “It appears so.”

  Mei limped over to stand beside Rhee, one hand pressed against her arm. The woman looked exhausted, her hair knotted and frayed, a cold layer of sweat glazing her face. “I forgot he was there,” she admitted. Rhee could see the bruise she’d given Mei, covering most of her left cheek. “What should we do with him?”

  Eyes narrowing, Rhee left the irritating white-haired woman and approached their dying foe. When she stopped in front of him, she was met with a strained smile.

  “Come to finish me off?”

  Rhee remained silent, glaring at the other candidate with clenched fists. The man before her had helped Isho Nel kill the members of the Collective Liberation Alliance—Six, Lei, and now Chen. And even though he sat there dying, the sight of that grin filled her with hatred.

  He would have killed us if we hadn’t beaten them. He tried to kill us. They killed Chen.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “How many have you killed?”

  The flute cultivator spat a spittle of blood. “What?”

  Rhee’s words were cold iron as she repeated the question. “How many people have you killed on this island?”

  The dying man deflected his gaze. “Myself? Probably five or six.”

  “And how many did your group kill together?”

  “Dozens,” he answered plainly. “Can’t say a number for certain. Nel was efficient like that. Soya too.” There was almost sadness in his tone. “But that’s just the realities of this place. Of all Immortal Paths driven by a martial dao.”

  Rhee closed her eyes and exhaled a deep breath. Seven times. Seven times now she’d been forced to fight for her life on this wretched island. Unlike in the Howling Scape Forest, there was no one to intervene if her life was at risk. She’d seen allies and enemies die alike. Each had walked their own Immortal Path, each striving with the same ambition of entering the Crimson Abyss Sect. Each had fallen victim to the Culling.

  The Culling. An accurate name indeed.

  She opened her eyes and looked down at the last survivor of Isho Nel’s group. Kneeling in front of him, she asked, “What’s your name?”

  Surprise flickered across his face. “Houxi Tou.”

  Rhee nodded. She wrapped her hand around the arrow lodged within his lower chest. With a quick yank, she ripped it free, earning a gasp of pain from Houxi Tou. Then she rammed the arrow into his heart.

  A fatal gurgle came from Houxi Tou as his life faded to nothing.

  Rhee rose from the corpse, leaving the arrow stabbed into his heart. Seven times. Seven times she’d fought life-and-death battles on this island. She’d killed the abominations that were the Vampire Monkeys, but this was the first time Rhee had ever killed another person.

  Steel eyes gazed down upon the result of her first kill.

  He deserved it.

  Houxi Tou may not have been the one who killed Lei or Chen. No—Ishin had avenged them. In truth, Long had sealed Houxi Tou’s fate even if she had dealt the final blow. Even Mei had been the one to kill that wood cultivator. All had claimed a life. And now so had she.

  Rhee gazed up toward the Heavens. If she truly continued down her Immortal Path, she’d follow in the footsteps of the late Eternal Emperor, ascending as well. She’d chosen a martial path, like her grandfather and parents had. Rhee wasn’t a fool and knew that following such a path would be both dangerous and require the shedding of blood. Now she’d spilled blood. Perhaps this was her first true step down her Immortal Path—the first bloody step of many.

  At least I’ve proven myself before entering the sect.

  “Rhee,” Mei said gently, approaching from behind, “are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Rhee turned to face her. Mei winced under her attention.

  “I… that’s good.”

  This woman.

  She had lied to them—a lie that had resulted in Chen’s death. Rhee couldn’t forgive her. But for now…

  “How is he?” Rhee asked, looking at Ishin.

  His chest rose and fell as he slept. As far as she could tell from here, he had no serious external injuries.

  Long placed another arrow in his quiver, bringing his total back up to six. “My guess is qi exhaustion.” The archer looked from Ishin to the dead Vampire Ape. “After a technique like that, I’m not surprised.”

  “What was that technique?” Mei asked. She followed behind Rhee as they approached Ishin.

  “One of his techniques,” Rhee answered simply. She wasn’t going to share more than that. It wasn’t her place.

  “A useful weapon for his arsenal,” Long noted. He walked over to join the women. Bending down, he dragged one of Ishin’s arms over his shoulder. “Mei, can you grab my bow?”

  Mei followed Long’s gaze and spotted his bow just a few yards away. “Oh, sure. On it!”

  “Do you need help?”

  Long shook his head. “I’ve got him, but can you grab Chen?”

  Rhee’s brows furrowed. “Chen?” Why would we take her?

  “I promised not to let her be turned into a Vampire Monkey,” Long explained. “I don’t have enough qi to burn her body right now. But I don’t want to leave her here for them to find.”

  Rhee understood now.

  He’s more considerate than he appears.

  “I’ll make sure to bring her with us.”

  “Thank you.”

  Rhee approached her fallen friend. Chen had been the first of the other three candidates that Elder Zhou had recruited to befriend her. She’d helped Rhee get through her nausea on the trip to reach the island. Then they’d fought side by side over the last two weeks. Even though Rhee hadn’t known her as long as she had Lei, her loss was felt deeply.

  Bending down, Rhee pulled Chen’s body up and draped it over her shoulder. “Let’s go, Chen. I’ve got you.”