Ishin cocked an eyebrow at Wen Mei’s words, trying to parse her meaning. His thoughts were almost immediately distracted when he heard a loud shout come from the far left side of the crater.

  “Bai Hao!” a monstrously tall man with flowing dark hair and a ragged appearance roared. He was a brute amongst brutes, making even Lei appear small. In both hands he held steel tridents.

  Bai Hao turned his head toward the man, but this far away Ishin couldn’t see his expression.

  The trident wielder leapt down into the crater with a resounding thud, bright red dust rising around him at the impact. Two swings of the tridents dispersed the dust. “Today you die!”

  With another battle cry, the challenger charged forward. Ishin watched as Bai Hao waited patiently beside the basket. When the dual trident wielder arrived, he thrust one of the three-pointed weapons at Bai Hao’s head. Bai Hao swatted it effortlessly to the side with one hand, but the second trident came immediately afterward. It too was deflected, though Bai Hao was forced to move aside by the sheer strength of the thrust.

  An unrelenting series of thrusts followed. Through it all, Bai Hao continued to parry each strike, but his adversary pressed his attack with such speed that it even outshone Ishin’s abilities. The exchange of attacks and blocks was so fast it became difficult to track their movements at all.

  They’re both monsters.

  There was no question that both surpassed Ishin in skill, and he understood why Wen Mei had warned them not to risk a confrontation with Bai Hao.

  “Look over there,” Rhee hissed.

  With the two combatants having moved several yards to the west of the basket, a new cultivator drifted down to the eastern side of the crater. The figure jumped forward, propelled on a wind current to close the gap to the pill basket swiftly.

  “That’s Phantom Crow Mu,” Wen Mei whispered.

  Ishin spared a glance back at the impressive fight to the west. Neither combatant had let up, and both were clearly too occupied to notice Phantom Crow Mu’s arrival.

  “Who’s he?” Ishin asked, following the gliding cultivator.

  “A wind cultivator who prefers to steal while others are distracted.” Ishin detected a hint of irritation in her voice. “He’s tricky, but not a threat. At least not directly.”

  Ishin understood what she meant by tricky. Phantom Crow Mu came to a sudden halt once he reached the basket. He pulled out a small sack and quickly scooped up a dozen pills. Then, just as quickly as he had arrived, he shot back the way he came.

  A missile of fire flew at Phantom Crow Mu, but he sidestepped the attack and continued along his way. Upon reaching the crater’s edge, he used another movement technique to soar into the air in a single leap and then disappeared back into the forest.

  “Should we go after him?” Wei Long asked.

  “No. He’s too fast and far away. We won’t be able to find him.”

  “We’re running out of people to rob,” Tan Chen remarked.

  “There will be more soon,” Wen Mei insisted. “We just need to wait for Bai Hao to leave.”

  Ishin returned his attention to the fight below and watched as it reached its climax. The trident wielder had slowed his assault, and before he could make another thrust, Bai Hao stepped forward into the warrior’s guard and pierced both hands through the man’s chest. Blood spat from the man’s mouth as his arms fell in defeat, tridents dropping. Bai Hao then kicked the trident cultivator back so that he slid off his blood-soaked arms.

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  The defeated warrior muttered something imperceptible and collapsed onto the crater’s surface, blood pooling beneath his corpse. Bai Hao approached his fallen foe and flicked his arms a few times to disperse some of the blood covering his limbs. He then returned to the basket to retrieve his prize.

  No one else entered the crater as Bai Hao perused the contents of the basket. After a few minutes, he collected his winnings and then simply walked back the way he had come.

  “So that’s Bai Hao,” Rhee remarked from beside Ishin.

  “I guess so.”

  As if triggered by Bai Hao’s absence, six more figures descended into the crater. Except for one pair, each seemed to operate alone. A twin-headed black and white snake was wrapped around the neck of one, while another had a massive white-bladed broadsword strapped to their back. The two who were clearly allied both carried spears. Of the remaining two cultivators, one was a female who immediately began hurling burning coals at the others, while the last was an older man carrying a scythe of all weapons.

  Two minutes after they all entered the crater, they were within range of each other and conflict ensued. Ishin’s eyes darted to where the previous fire attacks had come from, expecting another barrage to fall upon this group of hopeful candidates, but none came.

  “Those are the Borai Siblings,” Wen Mei said, indicating the two spear-carrying allies. One sibling stabbed their spear into the leg of the scythe wielder. The other used the opening to pierce the rival candidate through the heart.

  Around them, the cultivator with the absurdly large broadsword had become entangled by the twin-headed black and white snake. The snake’s master tried to approach the basket but was assaulted by a barrage of burning coals. Once the path was clear, the female cultivator moved for the basket. She actually reached it and managed to take two large handfuls of pills, stuffing them into her robes. With a flick of her wrist, she manipulated the coals into a whirlwind that prevented the snake master from attacking her, and then ran toward the side of the crater.

  “Her!” Wen Mei hissed.

  Ishin tracked their target. She had begun to ascend a section of the crater only fifty or so yards to their left. If they moved now, they could ambush her before she disappeared too deeply into the forest.

  “Let’s go then,” Tan Chen affirmed.

  Tan Chen and Wei Long took the lead, moving toward the portion of the forest the woman would flee into. Ishin was surprised, though, when instead of running straight at her, Wei Long slowed their pace and began to move away from the crater’s edge.

  He must be tracking her. But why?

  Ishin thought they should attack immediately, lest the woman notice them or they encounter another threat along the way. But he chose to trust Wei Long’s judgment.

  Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait long. Wei Long drew an arrow and loosed it forward. The projectile burst into flames as it collided with a tree nearby. Their group came to a stop, with Ishin and the others spreading out to surround the startled woman.

  Up close, Ishin saw that the woman was a few years older than him, with amber-colored eyes and long, matted hair.

  “What do you want?” she demanded. She brought her hands up and a dozen burning coals manifested in the air before her.

  “Your pills,” Tan Chen demanded without preamble. “Give them to us and you won’t get hurt.”

  “Like hell I will,” the woman spat. “These are mine. I earned them. If you want your own, go down there and get some yourself.”

  Wei Long pointed an arrow at her. “Last chance. You’re outnumbered and can’t win.”

  Ishin noticed the defiant look in the woman’s gaze. He knew she wouldn’t surrender, but wondered how many of their group were willing to actually kill her to claim the pills. He looked to Rhee, who was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. In contrast, Lei seemed fine, though lacking his usual enthusiasm for battle.

  His warrior spirit must find this dishonorable.

  “Fine,” the woman spat. Her coals dissipated and she withdrew the pills from her robes. “Filthy cowards.” She set the pills on the ground.

  Wei Long lowered his bow. “Good choice. Now back away.”

  The woman did so with malice. When she was twenty feet away, she ran off to the west of the island. No one tried to pursue her.

  “I guess we have some pills now,” Rhee lamented, walking forward with the others.

  “We’re no better than bandits,” Lei grumbled.

  “At least no one got hurt,” Tan Chen replied. She bent down and retrieved a pale blue pill. “I think this one is ice-aspected.”

  “This island makes bandits of us all,” a cool voice said to their right.

  Everyone spun to find three people standing only a few yards away. The one in the center was tall, with two swords strapped to his back. Even more distinguishing was that his face was covered in bandages, save for his eyes, which were calm. Beside him stood an attractive woman with flowing black hair who carried a staff, and a smirking man with short hair who held a flute.

  Wen Mei was the first to respond. “Isho Nel.”

  “Wen Mei,” their leader replied. “I was disappointed to find you missing from your group’s fort. It must be the Heavens’ will for us to meet here.”