"That's surprising," he said acknowledging my achievement. "[Transcend the Heavenly Footpath] is one of the highest tier techniques the Sect has collected. You must have impressed Elder Cix or angered him, for him to suggest that method.

"Even with a basic cultivation technique, it can take days to gain any real understanding and progress. Once you start purging impurities, you will know that you are adept enough with the technique that there is no need to discuss an alternative with Elder Cix.

"Give it two weeks. If you haven't started purging impurities by then, discuss the matter with Elder Cix.

I didn't want to admit that I had already reached the stage where I was purging impurities. The stench of that black gunk was revolting and the less I had to think about it the better. But if he was going to invest time and energy into training me, it was best I keep him as informed of my progress as possible.

"Forgive me, Elder Shadow," I said, the courtesy a disciple owes her master not coming naturally to me, "this lowly novice began purging impurities as I progressed and increased my understanding last night."

"And have you had any weapons training at all?" Elder Shadow asked eyes glinting in pleasure. Maybe I wouldn't be a complete burden to him after all. I was certain he'd only agreed to take part in my training because of a sense of duty or honor. He had been the one after all that had placed me squarely in the sight of Braun and Elder An.

"My father has trained me to use a bow," I answered. "He gathers herbs, and often comes across wild animals when he first began allowing me to go with him, he taught me how to use a bow for hunting as well as his herb lore,"

"Nothing close range, and no techniques for the bow. Just hard work with hours and hours shooting at targets until he was satisfied."

"Come," he ordered, moving towards an empty archery range.

The setup for archery was interesting. There was the standard target at the end of the range, but Elder Shadow wanted to test more than that. Imbuing an array that was linked to the range, an illusion was created that would test more than stationary shooting at an immobile target.

The kind of topography I might find when out gathering with my father formed. Trees, scrub, even a stream that had obvious signs of animal tracks sprung into existence. The array had to have some spatial mechanics involved or it would limit the testing greatly. There had to be a way to allow a full range of motion, a way to test not only a person's archery skills but also their hunting and tracking knowledge.

I had thought he meant for me to hunt animals, but what he expected me to face wasn't low realm beasts, he programmed people. Those skilled enough to fight back, or attack in ambush. I had never killed anyone before, and this was too close to reality. When I saw the first person skulking through the forest, I had enough.

"I'm not killing people," I stated emphatically, looking for a way to exit the illusion array.

"Three things I'd like to point out," Elder Shadow began, he seemed to have expected that response from me.

"First, these aren't people, they are illusions made to look like people.

"Second, it is better to become inured to combat between cultivators in this setting than to be attacked on your first mission and killed because you don't 'kill' people.

"And finally, you are an Outer Sect member of Flowing Water Sect, and I am your direct Master. You do what I think appropriate. I do not care to deal with the moral questions of right and wrong, I deal with life and death. I would prefer you to live, at least past your first encounter. But if you insist on this squeamishness, at least you will be skilled when you stand there and let an attacker slaughter you."

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I wanted to argue, but I couldn't. He was right. Instead of apologizing, I leaped taking advantage of my natural athleticism to race up the side of a tree. It was amazing how hands and feet found even the smallest niche to make my movements fluid and graceful.

Once I'd reached a branch high enough to give me a clear line of sight for the surrounding area, I realized my stupidity; I hadn't grabbed any arrows or a bow for that matter. Face red with embarrassment, I leaped from branch to branch re-tracing my path until I was back where I had started.

Elder Shadow was polite enough not to berate my idiocy, merely gesturing allowing me to exit the array and pointing to a booth near the Arena Hall entrance that loaned members weapons of all types. I was sure the laughter I heard as I stalked over to the booth had nothing to do with me, and that Elder Shadow wouldn't be so crash as to gain enjoyment at my expense.

The available types of bows and arrows was confusing. Compound, reflex, crossbow, longbows, recurve. Wood, metal, hybrid. Sinew, reverse-twisted, looped. Fletching's, nocks, inserts. I had no idea what most of those terms meant. I finally settled on a recurve bow that matched what I had trained with. It took a bit of testing before I found one with the draw weight I was familiar with. A quiver of fletched and notched arrows that while not exactly what I was used too but familiar enough that I thought they were designed with the archer in mind, how to use the arrows easily understood by anyone that had used a bow.

When I returned to the simulation that Elder Shadow had activated, I re-examined the scene. I didn't put it past the Elder to manipulate settings and place someone in the place I had originally chosen to start at. It was a good thing I had. There were clear markings of tampering, the branch I had thought to utilize to my advantage dipping almost imperceptibly. If my father hadn't drilled me to be aware of not only the obvious but the subtle inconsistencies, I would have fallen for the ambush.

I still had qualms about killing people, but Elder Shadow was right about one thing. These people were an illusion, bits of Qi that simulated reality. I could spend time reflecting on the dangers of cultivation and necessity later.

Nocking an arrow, I sprang into action. Literally. Vaulting forward, I was able to leap almost a dozen feet into the air, without the use of Qi or techniques. Landing softly on a lower branch, I began running and leaping through the branches, my passage silent, the lessons of my father so deeply entrenched that I moved before I understood why.

The ambush site was more a trap than anything. A mechanical device that had been placed to incapacitate and hold anyone stupid enough to trigger the mechanism. The 'people' responsible were hidden nearby, observing from safety.

I used their focus on the trap to my advantage. While they were so busy watching and waiting for me to trigger their mechanism, I gained height and a position that allowed me to easily find, identify, and target each one of them. A half dozen, hidden by branches, laying supine behind deadwood, or camouflaged, once I had identified each of them and was satisfied that I had located everyone within range, I began shooting.

The bow was a dream, responsive, and flexible. Just enough give and spring to the material to make use of my strength without warping the alignment. It was the best weapon I'd ever used. The arrows, although unfamiliar, were well made, and the nocks and fletching far superior to what I had access too before this. It would have made my rate of fire impressive if I could have employed stand and shoot strategy. But I couldn't.

Each time I shot an arrow, I aimed precisely, each time hoping for kill shots. I succeeded for the most part, only once was a second arrow required to complete a kill. But the death of my first target alerted the others to my counter-ambush and drew an immediate response.

They weren't polite enough to just stand there and let me target, shot, and kill them. They began moving, looking for cover, searching the forest for my location so they could return fire or get into melee range to offset the effectiveness of my attack. Their movements required me to not only track and remember where their new locations were but adjust my position to gain a line of sight when firing.

The exercise was exhilarating. Once I had compartmentalized killing people, once I had made the mental leap of faith that convinced myself that these were an illusion, it made the task more about skills and abilities. I enjoyed competing against the scenario Elder Shadow had set for me, and when the last person was killed, I felt a certain point of pride.

That is until I was strolling back towards the Elder, and an ambusher I had not identified shot me in the back. The scenario ended with the array announcing my death.