The secret strategy

(In the emperor’s pavilion)

“Why isn’t he using his arms?” Princess Meiling asked the curious old man sitting with them.

The emperor glanced his way too.

“To answer the princess, Master Shen Mu is following this teacher’s advice.” Master Fa answered from his bowing position.

After it was reported that the young Shen Mu had refused to use his arms in the competition, the Emperor had been intrigued and thus summoned his teacher. When the strategy had been explained to him, the Emperor had wanted to witness it first-hand and ordered his pavilion to be moved to oversee the arena.

Master Fa hadn’t been dismissed, so he accompanied the procession and sat on his knees behind the emperor, answering the questions of the imperial family, who hadn’t been present for the first interrogation.

“Why would you tell him to fight with only his feet?” Heng Li asked next.

“To answer the prince, this servant suggested the young master such handicap so that he could benefit from fighting those less talented than himself; also…” his eyes went to the emperor, who faintly nodded “also, this servant advised the young Master to only use his arms against Prince Heng Hui.”

“Why?”

“To answer the princess, it would be his way to honor the Prince. By restraining himself against everyone else, he will only show his true strength to the Prince.”

“What do you mean by ‘his true strength’?”

The old Master smiled proudly “To answer the princess, this servant is proud to announce that the Young Master already overcame the second Heavenly Tribulation.”

Heng Li’s eyes went wide as saucers and he stared open-mouthed at the old man, but Meiling had no idea what that meant, so she asked for clarification. The one to answer, however, was the third prince.

“It’s the second milestone of the Path of Cultivation. Just passing the first Heavenly Tribulation would put the cultivator above most men… to have surpassed the second Tribulation at his age is unheard of-”

“It’s not unheard of,” the Emperor interrupted his son, who stared at him wide-eyed, “only extremely rare. The only other man to achieve such accomplishment was the Yellow Emperor.”

Now both kids were gawking at their father.

“Wh-what are these heavenly tribulations?” Meiling asked, already dreading the answer.

Master Fa answered “To answer the princess, they are the test of the Heavens and they depend on the path one chooses to achieve illumination. For the young master and myself, who chose to walk the Elemental Path first, we had to survive the elements.”

“W-What elements did Shen Mu choose to challenge?” Heng Li asked

“To answer the prince, the young master chose Earth and Wind.”

“But they are opposites!” The prince was scandalized.

Master Fa nodded with a wide smile.

Heng Li was stumped. Normally those who walked the Elemental Path would choose to conquer first air and then another complimentary element, like water or fire, since it was easier. Choosing the opposite element would mean that your first element would be of little to no assistance during the Heavenly tribulation.

Now he understood why Master Fa had devoted all his time and energy in training Shen Mu. If he was capable of mastering two opposing elements at his age, there would be very little the boy wouldn’t be able to do with the proper guidance.

This was the reason why the Emperor had wanted to witness Shen Mu’s abilities first-hand.

There was silence in the arena, which made the Emperor and his children look toward the match just as Shen Mu’s voice reached them “This subject is sorry for the lackluster display of this match.”

The emperor chuckled and motioned for the judge to end the fight.

When it was announced that Shen Mu’s next fight would be the next day, the emperor lost interest in the bouts but remained on his post for an hour more for the sake of fairness. Then, before his children could escape to meet with their friend, he forbade them to speak of what they had learned there with anyone.