Kunlun Mountain Part 2 - The Masters Disciple.

Chapter 5 - Part 3. The Trial

It was the sound of battle that ripped them from their deep slumber and brought them all to their feet in an instant, and though it was still dark, they all knew what the sound meant.  The other team were fighting to clear the exit and would soon be joining them. 

 Wasting no time, Liang ordered his group up, and though he could see they were all tired having slept only a few hours and hungry having had nothing to eat since lunch the day before, he would not allow them to tarry any longer.  Not when they were in the lead.

Reminding them all that they had to stay together, and they could no longer use their magic, they would need to use their natural abilities and inner strength if they were to complete the trial.  "From this moment on, we are a team in everything we do." and with that they fled straight for the beacon they could see shining brightly ahead of them.  

Si Yins eyes fired with excitement as they all sprinted for the hill, which was only a mere mile away.  Though breathing heavily from exhaustion, he reached down deep to keep his legs moving and as they all ran, the explosive sounds of the battle being waged by the opponent team behind them, suddenly fired  a sudden rush of adrenaline which began to take hold of them all, and the surge of new energy, saw them almost flying ahead.

Making it to the bottom of the Hill, Liang stopped his group. "Only one of us needs to collect the flag, the rest can wait here to conserve energy." He said, before looking about his team of tired and hungry juniors.  

"No senior, we all go together."  Si Yin stated, while reminding him of his earlier words that they do everything together.  

Nodding, he patted his junior on the head.  Then looking down at the boy, he realized his demeanor had changed.  The impassive face with dark unmoving eyes was back.  Frowning but saying nothing, he turned back towards the flags.  "Alright, together." he yelled, and as one they walked to the top of the hill, all of them were expecting a challenge before they got there, but there wasn't one.  

"You take it Senior." They all cheered as Liang nodded and ripped the flag out of the ground, before holding it high in the air above them as they all roared and and laughed.  All of them jumped about him as he held the flag high, though he noticed Si Yin did not, though there was a small smile on his face.

After a few moments of jubilation, Liang once more huddled his team together.  "Alright, we all know Shifu.  Merely running back with the flag isn't his style,  and being caught in another challenge in the dark is too risky."  then looking back towards the forest in the far distance he could see the battle energy still raging, which would give them time to rest.

Then looking at Ru, he asked him how much time they have until dawn.  Looking up at the sky, he read the stars.  Bringing both hands up he spread them.  One hand pointing directly to a group of stars that had caught his interest, the other on the horizon.  Then bringing his hands together to meet in the middle, he calculated the distance between his enclosed palms and the horizon, by reopening them one centimeter at a time, until he was back in his original position.  Four Centimeters.

"As you can see, the Fourteenth Star of Xuanyuan, or The Yellow Emperor constellation is almost on the horizon, we have about 4 hours."  he said, as all eyes squinted upwards to find the stars he was talking about, but being the only authority on Astronomy among them, none other but himself could see them.

"Good." Liang said as he looked back towards the forest.  "By the time they break out of there, they are going to be tired.  I doubt very much they will continue to their flag, which will buy us some more time."  he stated.  "But we do need to get off this hill, our silhouette will be visible to them when they do break out." he said.  So leading them all back down to the base of the hill and away from the glare of the beacon, he suggested they all nap lightly for a couple of hours, then eat, which brought sighs of relief from them all.