Abruptly, beams of light descended from the sky and landed on all the surviving participants. Hui squinted up into the beam, but saw nothing but light all the way to its source. The light lifted him off the ground. All around him, everyone else lifted into the sky as well, ascending into the sky. He let the light take him, scanning around at everyone else lifted into the sky.

Looks like they’ve narrowed us down from a hundred to fifty. Did that many people die in the battle trials, or…

He squinted at the ground below. A cultivator gaped up at the ascending participants, then lifted his hands to his mouth and shouted something. Hui heard nothing.

Huh. So I guess those who survived but didn’t pass get left behind. Well… it’s reasonable. After all, it’s not as if All-Heavens Sect has any more use for them.

Ah… I wish my Elder Siblings good luck with escaping from the ghoul-ridden… wherever we are.

The light grew brighter and brighter around Hui. His vision whited out, and when it returned, he stood on a large, white stage. The other cultivators stood at random intervals around the stage, beams of light slowly fading from around them. White walls and a white floor all gently exuded light.

Hui looked around. Did I teleport into a default video game space? Is this another reincarnation into another strange realm, but this time with everyone? That happens sometimes, right? Anyways… er… System!

…

Yeah, I don’t know what I expected.

A larger beam of white light struck down from the heavens, blindingly bright. Hui covered his eyes. When the light faded, the elders from before stood there, alongside Gui Delun and Gui Yutong.

Hui stiffened. Gui Delun! The man who killed my sect!

Sectgoer, don’t do anything rash! Rogue shouted.

Ow, my mind-ears. Anyways, I’m infected by confidence, not stupidity. I’m not going to attack, Sectgoer said, rolling his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Hui forced himself to relax. He peeled his eyes off Gui Delun and took in the rest of the cultivators in the group. A few he recognized the faces of, though several remained complete strangers to him. He licked his lips. Those who were involved in the annihilation of my sect must die. I’ll have to find a way to eliminate them… preferably before we begin the attack. If nothing else, I won’t feel guilty for destroying those who murdered my sect.

Hui’s eyes narrowed. Although it might be difficult to destroy Gui Delun without someone noticing, the lesser cultivators… between death qi, rot qi, and my various adds—that is, helpers, I can probably… disappear a few of them.

Although this small cultivator hates killing, I cannot allow these cultivators to live. Besides… if I manage to disappear them in a way that doesn’t come back to me, isn’t that equivalent to not having killed them?

It’s possible to unravel the thread, true, but by putting more time between me and the inevitable retribution, I’ll have more ability to see the retribution coming, prepare, and grow strong enough to handle whoever comes to kill me. I hate to say it, but I am fifth stage. We do have… some… trifling… amount of… ability…

Good job! Good job. You admitted it! Sectgoer cheered him.

Hui narrowed his eyes. I don’t need the heart-demon to cheer for me.

Rogue chuckled. You tell him, Healer.

Watching the group, Hui caught sight of Tang Fei. She stood quietly, her head ducked, no longer acting cute. He pursed his lips. What happened to her? Is the loss of her hand hitting her that hard?

He caught sight of her hands, and raised his eyebrows. Two hands? She shouldn’t be able to use a prosthetic, even if she has one, since I severed her life-and-death threads… maybe she’s wearing it for the appearance? Or maybe Gui Delun lied when he said she would never be able to use it again… well, it’s none of my business. She’s the excuse they used to destroy the sect, after all.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The two elders stepped to the side, allowing Gui Delun to come to the forefront. He tucked his hands behind his back and let his gaze wander the crowd. He hesitated on Hui, looking him over for a long moment.

Hui swallowed. Why is he singling me out? Does he know who we are?

From behind Gui Delun, Gui Yutong glanced at Hui, then away, her eyelashes dipping coyly.

Hui’s eyes widened. Eh? What does that mean? Wait, did she… did she tell him something? Tell him… that I saw her naked, maybe?

Saw her naked? Pics or it didn’t happen, Rogue said, raising his eyebrows.

Sectgoer laughed. Yeah, where are those memories, huh?

It was a mistake! An honest mistake. Gui Yutong, why? If you wanted to kill me, why do it in such a roundabout way? Come at me simply! This small cultivator can handle that! Hui shouted silently, despairing.

Gui Delun looked away at last. He strode into the air. Glowing golden panels appeared below his feet, supporting him as he climbed up. A few steps up, he paused and looked down at the cultivators. “Welcome. Before we move on to the final trial… the final fifty participants will participate in an interview.”

An interview? He knows. He definitely knows! Hui thought, tensing.

“Lower your defenses. To verify the veracity of your answers, I will use a truth-sensing technique. Anyone who refuses it will be disqualified,” Gui Delun stated, lifting his hands.

Do we run? Do we refuse? Peak Lord asked, panicking.

No, no. We’re so close! We can’t give up! Sectgoer replied.

Rogue waved his hand. Come on. We can fake it. I believe in us.

Hold strong. If we have to back out later, we’ll back out. If he found out, why waste his effort on casting the technique on everyone? We… we might still be able to make it! Healer said decisively.

After a moment, he coughed silently and added, and we have a lot of practice evading truth techniques. I believe we can make it through this.

Gui Delun twisted his hand. Strands of qi emerged from his fingers, quickly weaving into a net that spread over all the cultivators below. He pressed his hand down, and the net descended, settling over all the cultivators below.

The moment of truth… literally, Hui thought, watching the net approach. He swallowed one last time and closed his eyes, circulating his qi to calm himself.

A cool tingle passed over his body. He breathed in and out, and the sensation passed. Hui opened his eyes. Something shimmered on the back of his hand.

He hissed in a breath and whipped his hand up, instinctively covering it. The ‘Heaven’ mark is visible—wait, no. He lifted his hand away from his other hand. A blue circle glowed there.

Hui’s brows furrowed. Huh?

I’ve got one, too. Red triangle, Rogue reported.

Green square for me, Sectgoer said.

I’m red triangle, too, Peak Lord piped up.

“I’ve left a mark on the back of each of your hands. Please congregate toward the mark that matches yours,” Gui Delun instructed. He waved his hand, and a large version of each of the marks appeared in the air. The elders who’d come with him separated, with one standing under each of the marks.

Gui Delun strode forward, as well, standing firmly under the blue circle. His eyes locked on Hui.

Hui swallowed. Waving his hand, he called the lotus beasts back to him, compressing their newly-reforged bodies back into his palm one by one, storing them in the void spaces in his chest. He gave a small smile to the other clones. Farewell, brothers.

Good luck in the afterlife, Rogue replied, shaking his head.

He stepped forward, only for someone to catch his sleeve. Ying Lin looked up at him, her brows knotted in concern. “Master…”

Hui gently removed his sleeve from her grip and smiled. “It’s fine, Elder Sister. This small clon… cultivator is resigned to his fate.”

“But—you shouldn’t—Master, you can still… turn back! You can—” Ying Lin protested.

Hui raised his hand. “Ying Lin, please carry on for me. If he knows… then nothing can be done. I’ll go to play my final role… but it can’t end here.” He looked at her knowingly. Our grand plan. Continue the quest to take down All-Heavens Sect without me!

“Master!” Ying Lin cried, but she didn’t grab his sleeve again. She bit her lip, and nodded.

Turning away, Hui strode toward Gui Delun with his shoulders back and his spine straight. Nobly, he stepped up to the short line filtering down to Gui Delun.

Ah, dammit! Fuck! I was so close! That damn Gui Delun. Why’d he have to figure it out now? After all this time… and I was the most likely clone to get chosen, as a healer that uses life qi. Dammit. Argh! I hate this! I don’t want to die! But… but… for the sake of the plan, I shouldn’t fight. If I fight now, if I run, it’ll be even more obvious! It’s still possible he only suspects, and doesn’t know. I can’t give up the ghost now!

Hui carefully adjusted his mental energy to mask his thoughts as he approached. Chen Wuya hopped off his head and vanished into his robes. Hui peered after him, but the raven had melted into the shadows. Ah, oh well. With Senior somewhere nearby, I can always delude myself that he’s helping me mask my thoughts.

With a grim expression, he joined the line to Gui Delun. The line filtered down. At last, he reached the front of the line.

Gui Delun looked up at him. His eyes rested on Hui, and he narrowed his eyes. “So, Xie Hao.”

“Yes,” Hui said nervously, glancing at Gui Delun. I can do this. I can do this! Don’t give up! Don’t play dead! We can make it!