Winter Blossom

The Struggle

Returning to the Hall, Mo Yuan took one look at his Disciples expectant faces and almost walked out the door on them.  He had made his farewells to Lord Pua with every ounce of politeness and graciousness that he could muster, but his nerves were so stretched and ready to snap, that it took every ounce of will power to make his way to his platform to sit down when all he wanted to do was flee the mountain to search for her.

But thousands of years of self control and governance over his mind, saw him sit down before addressing his Disciple calmly, and in the same unhurried way he had always addressed them.  Though he knew, if any of them was to notice a change in his demeanor, regardless of how small, it would be Die Feng, and possibly also Chang Shan.

And it was Die Feng who noticed the barely discernible tenseness in his shoulders, but like the rest, he remained kneeling with his eyes facing straight ahead as Shifu apologized for keeping them waiting, but now that he was back, their much anticipated lesson would begin immediately.

It was mid afternoon and the lesson would take four hours, and once completed, Mo Yuan decided he would leave them to the rest of their day to either continue their studies on their own or rest while he would begin to compile a list of every known Goddess known before eliminating those that he knew.

So beginning the lesson on High God Ascension which many of them would in time become, he took them all through the known High Gods they were already familiar with and the three kinds of ascension trials that one would normally undergo.

"The Love Trial is the most common of them all and usually incorporates several emotions of the heart.  That being Love of course, but there is also desire, lust, jealousy, hate, and even anxiety and loneliness though loss." he said before they all discussed each attribute and what each one did to the soul, the mind and even the physical body.

For one hour, they discussed each one while Mo Yuan kept his head and went through the motions of teaching and his Disciples grappled with each concept until they had a good grasp on each one before moving onto the next.

"The next one is the Power Trial.  This one is a little more difficult to overcome as it is usually given to those who have never held positions of power or do hold positions of power.  Usually the one undergoing this kind of trial will see a complete reversal of their true situation in order to learn the pitfalls of what Power actually does to the soul while also ensuring they learn how their own role affects others." he said as he began to feel more at ease with the lesson which he knew two would soon be leaving for their own trials hence why this lesson was so important.

And so they discussed the pitfalls and advantages of living with and without Power.  Most were reborn as rulers of vast empires, while others might be given positions within establishments that governed over the lives of others.

"Remember, regardless of what position you hold in this lifetime, you will take with you parts of your true nature.  It is very easy to say....I would never do that, or I would never act like that.....  however, you absolutely would because the Trial is based on your own heart, hidden desires and thoughts, tendencies that you would not dare to display.  You cannot hide from them, your trial will pull out every secret desire and even weaknesses  and amplify it in order to force you to face yourself completely." he said looking down at each and every face that seemed to be trying to meld themselves with the floor.

So, discussing the pros and cons of power and what truly motivated the heart in terms of self service through governance over others, yet another hour passed until eventually they arrived at the final ascension.

"This one is normally only given to those who are the most stable among us and rather than being one that forces hidden desires to the fore, this one creates issues that one may not have experienced or even given any thought to.  But it is because of these reasons that it is forced to the fore.  After all, one cannot master the mind, body and spirit unless it has known every manner of affliction." he said looking down at them all, but lingering on Die Feng a little longer because he had a very strong suspicion that he would face this kind of trial which so few underwent.