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And screw Ho Chin as well.

They could both die out here for all I cared.

Or so the demon was telling me.

The Struggler, however, knew there would be days like this. Days when I wanted to just piss off and let it all burn to the ground. But where would my humanity be if I did something like that?

With a heavy sigh I withdrew my axe and sped down the slope of the hill.

Blue Rose and Ho Chin were still a good distance away, but even from where I was, I could see the outcomes of their scuffle. Blue Rose looked to have put up a good fight with Ho Chin bleeding from several cuts to his arms and side, no doubt carved from the dagger still held in her hand. But aside from that, Blue Rose was clearly on her last legs. Or on her ass more like it.

Blood was running down the side of her temple and one of her legs looked bent at an odd angle at the knee. Blue Rose released another cry as she hurled her dagger at Ho Chin. With an amazing display of dexterity, he deflected it with a parry that sent the weapon sailing through the air with a metallic ring!

One was likely when Ho Chin had caved in her leg and the other was when she had thrown her first dagger at him. But now she was weaponless and prone on the ground, and the fact that she hadn’t used her fancy ninja magic to escape said that she’d perhaps already run out of Qi a long time ago.

There was nothing left for her to do but die.

Ho Chin raised the club again and the earth beneath his feet began to crack under the pressure of his Qi.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to ruin that pretty face of yours,” he said. “Just going to make sure you can’t fight back. I’ve been dreaming about that face.”

My stomach lurched.

I didn’t want to hear any more of his sick plans.

Pouring on the Frenzy, I leapt from fifty feet away and tucked into a roll. I screamed at the last second to draw Ho Chin’s attention and he paused mid swing to glance my way. I ploughed into him with a shoulder tackle and Ho Chin went bouncing across the rocky ground, club flying.

I looked down at Blue Rose and her eyes were wide with shock. I expected to see a look of relief to come next, but instead she gave me a scowl as anger filled her soul.

“Why are you here? I don’t need saving by you!”

I scowled right back.

“I’m not doing it for you, you ungrateful bitch!”

Ho Chin was already back on his feet and shaking with rage. “You need to mind your own damn business! This has got nothing to do with you, Bull Man! Piss off!”

I readied my axe. “You’re right. I got no reason to interfere. You’re both pieces of shit in my book. Except I got a thing against thieves, rapists and assholes and you just happen to be all three.”

He grinned, lifting his club from the ground. “You’re just pissed off I thought about doing this before you did. You don’t need to be strong enough to pass the exam, just stronger than the dumb bitch who just burned herself out from doing it.” He let out a self-aggrandizing laugh, clearly pleased with his own genius. “Plus, you can’t tell me you haven’t wanted a piece of that sweet ass all week. Tell you what Bull Man… we call this even and I’ll let you go first.”

A sudden spike of fear came from within Blue Rose as I looked back down at her, but her eyes remained fierce with resolve. Her heart was racing, no doubt sensing her life was truly in the balance now, depending on what I would decide.

It made me sick to my stomach to think that she would even view me in such a manner.

That I was capable of such depravity.

But then again, for all she knew, we were all just rapists and thieves in here—convict tributes itching for the next score.

Perhaps she herself was no difference considering what she’d done.

But my humanity wouldn’t allow it.

“For that…” I said as I stepped towards Ho Chin with a heavy dose of [Fear the Flame] and [Struggler’s Resolve]. “I’ll let her decide your fate when I’m through with you.”

Ho Chin let out a scoff as he lifted his massive club onto his shoulder.

“So you want it the hard way, huh?” He then swung his club through a series of martial forms, but inside I could sense the fear building up in him already. “Come on then, bullshit man! Give me what you g—!”

He never got the last word out.

I flew across the distance between us in a burst of Frenzy and landed a clean chop across his thigh. My blade cut through his leg like butter, narrowly missing the bone to cut it clean off. He cried out in a shriek of shock and disbelief, falling to the ground with a wail as he clutched his leg in pain.

I grimaced at him with [Indifference]. “Just as I thought. The only bullshitter here is you.”

I reached down to grab him and to my surprise, Ho Chin collected himself enough to retaliate with a wild swing of his club. I avoided it easily, but then realized he hadn’t necessarily been aiming for me. As his weapon hit the ground, the stone quickly liquified beneath my feet and I fell through it like it was quicksand. I was suddenly buried up to my chest, my arms and axe stuck in the ground as the earth instantly solidified again.

I quickly understood how this bonehead might have gotten the drop on someone as quick as Blue Rose now. Before I could even flex to try and break free, Ho Chin stumbled back to his feet and ran at me with a savage war cry.

“You bastard! Think I’m weak?” he screamed. “[Stonebreaker’s Sunder]!”

Huge chunks of rock formed on the club as he swung it at my head.

I braced myself with [Indifference] and [Steel Lightning], preparing to take the hit dead on. The combined strength of our techniques collided as he slammed me with his club and the thing shattered with a massive explosion of rocks, lightning and steel. Ho Chin was blown back by the force of the detonation and I used the opportunity to break free from the stone prison around me with [Wrath of a Thousand Slain Souls].

I burst free from the ground like a Takrid and before Ho Chin could even hit the ground himself, I snatched him out of the air. I went to town on his ass with my bare fists alone, channeling my rage into solid hit after hit. He was mewling and in a bloodied pulp by the time I had finished with him.

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I then dragged him over to Blue Rose.

“Here,” I said, tossing Ho Chin before her. “He’s all yours.…”

Fear swelled in Ho Chin’s heart as Blue Rose stood shakily to one leg. She then limped across the rocky terrain to retrieve one of her daggers.

“Wait!” Ho chin said. “We can talk about this! We all get a bonus pill if we all survive right? Think about that!”

“You clearly didn’t think about that when you were going to rape and kill me for my emblem,” she said coldly. “Go to hell, Ho Chin.”

Blue Rose didn’t so much as blink as she casually pushed her blade deep into the side of Ho Chin’s neck. He gurgled and convulsed, reaching for her hand, but with a quick motion she sliced open his throat and let him bleed out.

With a clatter, Blue Rose dropped her dagger to the ground and then fell down next to it. “Off with you, Iron Bull. You’ve given me my revenge, but I won’t accept your pity. Leave me.”

I grimaced.

The nerve of this bitch.

I go through all this trouble to save her and this is what she wants?

To stay here and die?

I had half a mind to do just that. Just leave her here.

In fact…

I got to walking, I didn’t have time to deal with some stupid girl with a chip on her shoulder.

I got all of about five steps before the Struggler began pulling at my soul.

God damn it…

I walked back to her. “Get the hell up.”

She scowled. “I told you I don’t want your pity! I deserve to die for being so weak. I couldn’t even defend myself from that pig.”

I snatched her by the collar and lifted her from the ground. “You didn’t fail because you were weak. You failed because a sick asshole got the better of you. And honestly, for what you did to all of us back at the pit you probably damn well deserve it!”

“So leave me be then!”

“No,” I said. “You don’t get off that easy. I know you’d rather die than face the humiliation and consequences of your actions. But not today, bitch. I’m saving your sorry ass for everyone to see.”

“Hey!” Blue Rose cried as I lifted her over my shoulder. “Stop!”

I glanced up at the sky. Still plenty of time left.

“Better hold on,” I said and repositioned her onto my back. “This is going to be a rough ride.”

* * *

Blue Rose finally stopped protesting after about twenty minutes into the run.

By that time the silhouette of Du Gok Bhong was cresting on the horizon and well within reach. My core was still over half full, having topped some of it back up with fresh Frenzy from my short fight with Ho Chin. I cultivated what I could, strengthen my muscles while my body healed and toughened my skin.

“I do not understand you,” Blue Rose suddenly said from behind, her voice reverberating as she jostled against my back. “Why do you do this thing?”

“What thing?”

“The weak. You pity them. Save them. Why?”

It was honestly a good question.

I suppose explaining the Struggler to her wouldn’t make any sense.

“I used to be weak,” I said. “I know what it’s like to be powerless. Someone had pity on me once and lent me strength. I suppose now I return the favor when I can.”

She didn’t say anything to that.

Blue Rose was quiet for a long while afterwards, until finally she said, “Where I come from, I would be killed if I were to return to my clan after suffering such a defeat from a weakling like Ho Chin.”

“Yeah well… we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

“What?”

“Why don’t you answer me something that I don’t understand about you, Blue Rose. What made you want to screw us over like that at the pit?”

“What do you mean?”

“You left us there when we had agreed for you to grab all the tags for us.”

“You were all foolish enough to let me do it. Why should I not take advantage?”

“You honestly think like that?”

“Don’t you? Why would you purposely give yourself competition when you can have an advantage?”

I supposed her logic made sense in a jacked-up kind of way.

“So there is truly no honor amongst thieves, huh?”

“I am no thief,” she said.

“It’s just an expression. But you could have fooled me. You move like a thief.”

“I said I am no thief.”

“Maybe you’re just a cheat then. Or an assassin maybe?”

“Do not presume to know what I am, Bull Man.”

“Just calling it like I see it, Blue Rose.”

She went quiet again.

“Just because you happen to be strong, it does not mean you are right. Do you think you are better than me because you feign honor? Such honor is for fools and dead men. Knowingly giving up an advantage is idiocy.”

I chuckled. The cultivator mindset at its best.

“So winning for you was that important, huh?” I shuffled her on my back, repositioning her. “You just had to be first at any cost, even if it meant screwing everyone else over?”

“The prize was a high-tier elixir. I need to cultivate and ascend to the next realm if I am to leave this place and I don’t plan on staying here forever. I have need to be elsewhere.”

“Don’t we all…”

She scoffed. “I see how you are, Iron Bull. Working to please these fool masters. I know your story also. I spoke to those weakling brothers that you pity. You chose to be here, didn’t you?”

“Yeah and?”

“A madness must plague you. You pity the weak yet also seek death.”

“And what do you seek?”

She paused again.

“Revenge.”

“Revenge for what?”

But Blue Rose didn’t answer and refused to say anything else until we reached the beacons and the edge of the barrier. The contingent of brown robes was still gathered together there and erupted into applauds as we crossed the finished line. I set Blue Rose down just as Chief Instructor Yora approached the both of us.

“Emblems?” she said, outstretching her hand.

I handed mine over and Blue Rose did the same. I then handed over the extra one that was meant for Ho Chin.

“For one that didn’t make it,” I said.

Yora chuckled as she looked between me and Blue Rose. “It looks as if you two nearly didn’t make it as well. But congratulation, you have both passed the examination.”

The assembly of brown robes broke into applause again.

“Participants! Assemble!” Yora shouted.

We pulled ourselves into a line, with Blue Rose balancing herself on one leg by my side.

Yun Jen then joined Yora as they began handing each of us new white robes.

“Now for the prizes,” Yora said. “First, second and third place will each receive an elixir. Unfortunately, as all participants did not return, there is no bonus pill.”

Ah well, I thought. A small price to pay for getting rid of that scumbag.

Yora then called Taj Qui forward and awarded him with the high-tier elixir for coming first. Not surprisingly, the awards for second and third when to the other fly boys who had snatched their emblems ahead of everyone else.

“And for the final award for best performance,” Yora said. “The winner…will be decided by yourselves. Choose now between yourselves who should be given this award which will be a high-tier elixir. Speak freely now and make your choice.”

Murmurs broke out.

“It should be me!” Taj Qui said. “I won after all. Clearly, I performed the best!”

That brough on a cacophony of mocks and jeers.

“Haven’t you gotten enough?”

“Greedy bastard!”

“I’d never agree to you winning.”

“It should be me!”

“You can not nominate yourself,” Yora said.

Taj Qui grimaced and then pointed to Blue Rose. “Her then. It was her idea that got me the win.”

Blue Rose scoffed. “I deserve nothing.” She then paused and looked up at me, the faintest hint of lemonade in her soul. “It should be him. The Iron Bull.”

“Yes, the Iron Bull!” one of the guys from the pit shouted. “He jumped in first!”

“True. The Iron Bull!”

“We wouldn’t have gotten through without him.”

I smiled and gave them a bow of thanks, even though I didn’t need the reward. The lemonade they produced was reward enough. I cultivated it and stored it swiftly within my Dantian. I then looked down at Blue Rose and gave her a smile.

She turned her head as if annoyed.

“It seems this is yours.,” Yora said, presenting me the elixir. “Well done, Iron Bull.”

I accepted the small blue vial with a bow. “Thank you, Chief Instructor.”

“This concludes the examination!” she shouted to the assembly. “These who stand before you now have ascended to the rank of White Robe. Respect them as your upperclassmen. Work hard, and you may one day join them. Dismissed!”

The assembly broke and Lo Ren and Chu Ren immediately ran to me, giving congratulations. Lo Ren then immediately began asking me about the exam and what happened, but I was in no mood to give him an instant replay.

“I’ll tell you later,” I said. “I need to get cleaned up.”

“We’ll see you later then, Iron Bull,” Chu Ren said and the brothers both gave me a bow.

Blue Rose scoffed at them as they left.

“What?” I said.

She shook her head and then hissed in pain as she began to limp away. “Nothing.”

I still didn’t know what to make of her.

A try hard that hated help.

I looked down at the small blue vial in my hand and got an idea.

“Hey, Blue Rose.”

As she turned her head, I tossed the elixir to her.

She caught it with a look of shock.

“You can cultivate that while waiting for your leg to heal.”

“W-what?”

“Figured you’ll need it a lot more than me,” I said with a genuine smile. “Cause you’re weak, remember?”

I gave her a wink and a flurry of emotions erupted within her as she stood there with her mouth open. Her pride and ego spewing hot anger, but no way would the cultivator in her reject such a valuable prize. I walked away as she stewed in her own juices.

I truly had no use for the elixir, but giving it to her wasn’t completely altruistic either.

I couldn’t cultivate Qi from it, but the amount of anger and lemonade now spewing out of Blue Rose made a damn good substitute. I cultivated it quickly and then left giving her a pleasant smile.