Shaohao climbed Mount Never-Ending on foot. There, as he had hoped, he met Yu'lon the Jade Serpent and sought a solution from her.
Yu'lon told him that if he wished to save his people, he first had to cleanse and conquer the Negative Emotions within his own heart. Only then could he devote himself wholly to his people.
The trials of the August Celestials would be a difficult and lengthy journey. Shaohao had to overcome every test the August Celestials set before him.
For his people and the land he loved, Shaohao resolutely embarked on this Heart-Quest.
At the summit of Mount Never-Ending, Yu'lon breathed an incomparably fierce Jade Flame upon him.
The blazing fire scorched Shaohao's body. The overwhelming pain made him want to scream, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
"True wisdom lies within your heart, and within the choices you make... When faced with overwhelming darkness, can you make the right choice?"
Yu'lon's question echoed through Shaohao's mind for a long time.
As the emperor of the Pandaren Dynasty, he had to be utterly decisive. To flaunt only his strength and status was ignorant and shallow.
Yu'lon's flames cleansed Shaohao's spirit, and in that instant, the pain in his body seemed to leave him.
Several days later, the King of Monkeys helped Shaohao down Mount Never-Ending as they set off for their next destination.
The suspicion and fear in his heart had completely vanished, replaced by wisdom and conviction.
After a long journey, they arrived in the Krasarang Wilds. This vibrant primeval jungle was the domain of Chi-Ji the Red Crane.
Chi-Ji was already waiting for him in the square outside the Temple of the Red Crane.
"When facing an unprecedented challenge, what do you hope for? What future do you desire? Trust one another, and let others bring you hope. Without hope, there can be no light in the future."
Thus began the second trial. Chi-Ji the Red Crane unleashed Crane Rush at Shaohao.
A Crimson Fire Wall swept toward him with a howl. Countless Miniature Cranes formed of flames flew through it like moths rushing into fire, reaching Shaohao first before crashing fiercely into the Pandaren emperor and setting unquenchable flames ablaze across his body.
Shaohao was in pain, but he felt even greater enlightenment.
Those cranes that had passed through the fire wall made him think of his people.
Even in dark times without the slightest hope, the Pandaren had been like those red cranes flying through the wall of flames. Fearless and without hesitation, they had fought for freedom and hope, even if death was their final fate.
The flames scorching him seemed to turn into clear, soothing spring water. The pain in his body instantly disappeared, while a warm flame filled with life and hope ignited within his heart.
Despair had been purged from his heart.
As emperor, he could never despair or give up. Only by keeping hope alive in his heart could he become a beacon guiding his people forward.
Chi-Ji the Red Crane withdrew his crimson flames. Throughout Pandaria, he represented hope and rebirth. Chi-Ji's fire had never meant destruction, but Rebirth from Fire.
After bidding farewell to the Red Crane, Shaohao continued on his way with hope filling his heart, even though his next destination was fraught with peril.
The third trial lay in the Valley of the Mantid beyond the Great Wall, the territory of the Mantid, the Pandaren's hereditary enemies. The Temple of the Black Ox, belonging to Niuzao the Black Ox, stood upon the plateau in the northwestern part of the Valley of the Mantid.
Shaohao did not choose to ride a Cloud Serpent there. Instead, he and the King of Monkeys traveled on foot.
Leaving the Krasarang Wilds, they entered the Valley of the Four Winds, a place Shaohao had visited countless times.
The sky stretched vast above the endless fields. Looking at those familiar farmlands and tranquil villages, Shaohao felt something entirely different this time.
The Pandaren lived and worked in peace, sheltered by the Dynasty and its people. As the guardian of that Dynasty, he needed to protect all of it, even at the cost of everything.
As the massive gates of the Great Wall slowly opened, a dim and bleak Death Plateau lay before Shaohao. Though clusters of trees grew there, nature's peace seemed absent from the land, replaced by a chilling, harsh cold.
Shaohao and the King of Monkeys moved cautiously like ordinary military scouts, avoiding the patrols of Amber Beetle Beasts and the swarms of Mantid sweeping across the sky.
At last, they reached the northwestern plateau and arrived before the Temple of the Black Ox.
Niuzao the Black Ox was already waiting in the open ground at the center of the temple. This bovine Wild Demigod was also beloved by Azeroth, one of the first beings born into the world.
His massive body stood like Kun-Lai Summit, radiating a soft white glow. He possessed the temperament of the earth itself: generous, yet dangerous.
This trial allowed Shaohao and the King of Monkeys to face it together. They struggled to evade the Black Ox's overwhelmingly forceful charges, for a single misstep would see them impaled clean through on his enormous, sharp horns.
The Black Ox ran swiftly, kicking up sandstorms that soon transformed into piercing hurricanes.
"Can you stand alone atop a mountain and endure wind and frost until seas become fields and mountains sink beneath the ocean?"
The Black Ox's deep, resounding voice struck directly at Shaohao's heart.
Still dodging without pause, Shaohao no longer hesitated when he heard those words. He stopped fleeing and stood where he was, enduring the cutting sand and wind. His gaze was calm as he watched the charging Black Ox, then he charged forward as well.
"To reach one's goal, one must not yield a single step!"
"Wind Blade Frost Sword, beset on all sides. Immovable as a Mountain, unchanging through eternity!"
Just before they collided and he was sent flying by the Black Ox, Shaohao suddenly leaped into the air. Calmly and precisely, he landed atop the Black Ox's head and drove the sword in his hand down with all his strength.
The raging sandstorm halted in an instant. Shaohao endured the pain wracking his body and jumped back to the ground, covered from head to toe in tiny wounds carved by the wind blades.
Yet at that moment, his heart had never been calmer. Anger and hatred had vanished, replaced by courage and resolve as his new attitude toward his enemies.
The Black Ox walked slowly up to Shaohao and nodded his enormous head in satisfaction.
"Go. The final trial awaits you atop Kun-Lai Snow Mountain. Prepare yourself, and be prepared to die. The White Tiger has never understood mercy."
The Black Ox stirred up another sky-filling sandstorm, sending Shaohao and the King of Monkeys to the foot of Kun-Lai Summit. This towering snow mountain seemed to have stood there unchanged since the birth of the world.
Their arduous climb began. Danger lurked everywhere along the way. The bitter snow winds were freezing cold, and the Snow Giants that lived on the mountain were brutally savage. Those beasts would never turn down a delicious Pandaren meal.
Finally, more than ten days later, Shaohao and the King of Monkeys reached the summit.
This was a world of pure white, without the slightest impurity, as though it stood apart from heaven and earth, immaculate and untouched by dust.
Xuen the White Tiger sat quietly in the center of the snowfield. He watched Shaohao collapse onto the ground, gasping for breath, then glanced at the King of Monkeys, who planted his iron staff in the snow before falling backward onto the ground.
"The trial of strength and restraint is the most crucial test of whether you can become an outstanding leader. As for whether you possess the power to change your fate, we shall wait and see."
The White Tiger's voice carried on the gale sweeping across the mountaintop. This giant tiger Demi-god represented primal ferocity and strength. There would be no tricks, nor any victory won through clever stratagems.
The King of Monkeys struggled to his feet, then solemnly bowed to Shaohao. He understood how desperately his dear friend wished to prove himself, how urgently he wanted to devote everything, even his life, to his people.
That deserved respect, did it not?
Shaohao stared directly at the White Tiger before him, took a deep breath, and then...
"Ascension on Dragon's Breath!"
As an exceptional Windwalker Monk, Shaohao's body was immediately lifted by a current of air before he shot toward Xuen the White Tiger at tremendous speed.
Within a few breaths, he had reached the White Tiger. Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed his most destructive martial technique: Rising Sun Kick.
He remembered the Black Ox's words well: the White Tiger knew no mercy and would not pity the weak. For ultimate victory, the White Tiger was willing to pay any price.
"Double Take!"
The White Tiger did not dodge, allowing Shaohao to strike him with a fierce barrage of attacks. Then his tiger body sprang up as he lashed out with his white claws like lightning.
Afterimages of sharp claws struck Shaohao mercilessly. He immediately cried out and staggered backward, clutching his bleeding chest, which was now covered in countless claw marks.
"Strength is not merely physical power. When facing a true test, can you distinguish the difference between strength and capability?"
Shaohao fell into thought at those words, but the White Tiger gave him no time to ponder and continued his savage assault.
"So long as the brutality in your heart remains, you will always be weak! If you rely only on brute strength while neglecting your other, more important abilities and means, then you are no king!"
Not even the King of Monkeys knew how Shaohao ultimately passed the White Tiger's trial. He only knew that when he saw his old friend again, Shaohao no longer carried the same air about him.
If Shaohao had once seemed more like a lord, he had now completely become an emperor.
"As emperor, you must leave all emotions and concerns behind you. Do not let anyone sway you. Do not let anyone influence you. Make your own decisions. To achieve final victory, you must be capable of paying any price, even if the world cannot understand you. As for whether you become a wise ruler or a tyrant, that must be decided by following your heart."
The brutality in his heart had dissipated, leaving behind only strength and absolute reason.
Yet Shaohao still had one final Negative Emotion that had not been erased: arrogance.
The White Tiger told him that no one could eliminate arrogance for him. It required an opportunity, a turning point, and the price he was willing to pay for it.
Moreover, according to the prophecy of the Jinyu sages, that opportunity would arrive very soon.
Once he had determined how to eliminate arrogance, and understood that it would be the moment of his final sacrifice, Shaohao's heart became utterly calm.
He had already made his decision.
For Pandaria, for the Pandaren, he would neither fear nor retreat.
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