The Rise of the White Tiger King and the Lesson of Power

  That evening, as the group sat by the Phoenix Lake gazing at the moon ??, Bach Ho asked Vong Tran: "Why don't you want to be the Demon-Slaying Celestial Master? That job sounds pretty impressive, you know."

  Vong Tran replied, "Yeah, but it's an unlucky profession. Both my older brothers were affected by it; one died, and one went missing."

  Bach Ho said, "Are you a coward, scared of a little difficulty?"

  Vong Tran turned and punched Bach Ho. They immediately began fiercely punching each other, while the others just laughed and let them fight.

  When their tempers cooled, and their faces were bruised, they stopped fighting. Vong Tran sighed: "I used to think differently; now I think differently. I shouldn't be selfish and only think of myself. I'll consider it."

  After hearing this, the Elder of the Village wanted Bach Ho to become Vong Tran's sparring partner, but Bach Ho looked down on the Elder, thinking he was too weak to need his guidance.

  The Elder smiled and said, "To me, you are just a small demon. Try to unleash your full power for me to see."

  As soon as the Elder finished speaking, he gently tapped Bach Ho on the head. A vague wave of anger spread throughout Bach Ho's body, and he roared, "What! How dare you treat me like those ordinary demons and wicked spirits?!" Bach Ho's body began to grow larger, transforming into a 10-meter-tall, three-tailed white tiger ??.

  The Elder remained calm, smiling, and said, "There are good and bad among demons and wicked spirits, so looking down on them isn't right." The Elder nodded as he watched Bach Ho transform: "White Tiger King bloodline, not bad."

  Bach Ho was nearly out of control, his eyes fierce and bloodshot. The children around ran behind their mothers, while the men entered a combat stance, pulling out various weapons, smoothly and quickly, as if it were an everyday routine.

  The Elder lightly walked towards the giant tiger, used his wooden staff, jumped high, and struck the large tiger's head. He climbed onto its back, hitting and saying, "Are you awake yet? Come back to your senses! Wake up!" After that incident, Bach Ho never dared to speak loudly in front of the Elder again.

  The Elder taught Bach Ho: "Don't reject that feeling of anger. Feel it, manage it, and turn it into the motivation that drives you to act. Simultaneously, maintain a clear mind, observe, and calculate the situation. Your strongest state is in the middle ground between reason and anger."

  The Elder continued: "Do it again; transform for me to see." Bach Ho obediently complied, practicing how to maintain his blue eyes when transforming into the White Tiger King, avoiding madness, so his eyes would not turn red.

  Dialogue on Tai Chi, Liang Yi

  Noe ?? observed the Elder teaching Bach Ho and was intrigued by the theories of Yin and Yang, Liang Yi (Two Polarities), Tai Chi (Supreme Ultimate), and the balance of reason and emotion. This was very similar to the concepts of Divine Intellect ?? and Divine Sense ?? that he was currently pursuing and exploring. This could be another perspective on the Heavenly Dao – Divine Intellect and Life – Divine Sense.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  He knew that Divine Intellect belonged to Yang, being clear and transparent. Yang Qi is the stream of profound knowledge, understanding, calculation, planning, and objective judgment. It is the ability to analyze, deduce, and predict based on data and rules; it is the light that illuminates and sees through the essence of the problem.

  Conversely, Divine Sense belonged to Yin, being vague, mysterious, intuitive, and emotional. Yin Qi is the stream of strong emotions, premonitions, instincts, unconscious understanding, and spiritual connection. It is the ability to perceive irrational things, invisible vibrations, and connect with the soul or other dimensions; it is empathy and a guiding "spiritual intuition."

  Noe generally understood these two concepts, but he was unclear about the transformation of Yin and Yang into Liang Yi and Tai Chi, so he sought out the Elder for more insight.

  Noe ??: "Please explain to me about Liang Yi and Tai Chi."

  The Elder of the Village ??: "You are an immortal who has lived for over a hundred years, and a profound scholar. Why are you asking me, an old man not yet a hundred?"

  Noe ??: "I dare not call myself a scholar; I am just a book lover. I was born and raised in Atlantis and don't understand much about the culture of this continent of Mu. Age does not represent knowledge. If you don't mind, please teach me, and consider me a student."

  The Elder of the Village ?? smiled brightly and said, "I wouldn't dare. The world is vast, and each person only holds one puzzle piece. Let us share with each other to progress together. Please ask, Immortal One. I will tell you what I know immediately, without a single lie."

  Noe ??: "What is Liang Yi?"

  The Elder of the Village ??: "In the beginning, the world was empty. When the world formed, there was Yin and Yang mixed together, called Chaos, meaning disorder and indistinction. Liang Yi is the state of arrangement, where Yin goes with Yin and Yang with Yang. It is like the folk saying, 'Cows seek cows, horses seek horses.' Things that are alike will seek each other out to form a group."

  Noe ??: "What is Tai Chi?"

  The Elder of the Village ??: "That is the highest state of Liang Yi. When Yang gathers too much Yang, it is called Extreme Yang. When Yin gathers too much Yin, it is called Extreme Yin. There is another saying, 'When things reach an extreme, they reverse' – Extreme Yang will give birth to Yin, and Extreme Yin will give birth to Yang."

  The Elder of the Village ??: "For example: a person who starves for too long, when given food, will eat like a glutton. A person who practices asceticism excessively, abstaining from relations, will eventually become a crazed, deranged libertine when they can no longer endure it. Therefore, the best course is to maintain a balanced harmony of Yin and Yang; that is to comply with the will of Heaven, the will of the Heavenly Dao."

  Noe joyfully listened to the Elder's guidance, then shared his own thoughts on Divine Intellect, Divine Sense, and Yin-Yang. The Elder was equally delighted upon hearing this, and they continued to converse for several days.

  The Elder asked: "Your perspective, is the Balance between the two parts, Divine Sense and Divine Intellect, the narrow path right in the middle?"

  Noe explained: "That's right. People usually choose the wide and easy paths, such as the branches of Divine Intellect: Legalism, Intellectualism, or Cunning. Others choose the branches of Divine Sense: Emotionalism, Freedom, Cheerfulness, or Happiness. It's like one person eating too much until they're bloated, while another mortifies the flesh by not eating or drinking anything. What I choose is the path of Balance, the narrow path, eating just enough, not being overly greedy for emotion, nor overly greedy for reason."

  The Elder nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes. So your path, your Dao, chooses the small, faint line right in the middle of the Tai Chi and Liang Yi diagram ??."

  Noe nodded in reply: "Nearly so. So, what is the Dao of the Elder here?"

  The Elder said: "My Dao is Nature, to learn from Nature, to imitate Nature, because this world was perfect from the beginning. It only gets worse because people act according to their own will."

  Noe asked: "The original Nature, right? When the world was full of good things, the sun didn't harm us during the day, the moon didn't harm us at night, the era of eternal spring, a world where creatures didn't need to consume each other..."

  The Elder said: "What I believe is that the world has always been perfect, whether in the past or now, following its own perfect cycle..."