Li had just passed the sword, when he heard Jiao Jie's words and turned to her. He was smiling, and this was his most friendly smile in a while.<br/>"You no longer need to address me with Shifu. As of tonight, your studies are complete. This was your final test, and you succeeded. You can even take your own students now".<br/>He bowed to her with respect. This time, the bow was the form one would use to address an equal.<br/>"I didn't notice you most of the time, and nobody less able than me would be able to do it, either. But this wasn't the real test. I'm not going for the perfection in your stance - no matter how often I have corrected it, it's a matter of practise. The test was to brave your own heart".<br/>He sighed.<br/>"See, when there is combat, there is danger to overcome, but there is also excitement. Most people are pushed by the excitement, so the danger is easier to neglect. That's why I couldn't use your skill in Dao Shu to gauge your real achievements. Remaining unseen doesn't allow you to get excited - or doesn't allow you to show it, anyway. In order to excel in this craft, you need the calmness of a master of the bow, or even to exceed it - as you can't focus on an action you have repeated thousands of time. Let me tell you a story about the bow to illustrate my point".<br/>He sat down, indicating it would take a while.<br/>"Long ago, a master of the bow was challenged by a student. The man, some say he was from Qi, others claim he was from Wei, released arrows with perfect form, always sending them right in the centre of the target. Not even the master could match that".<br/>Li smiled mischieviously.<br/>"That's 'mastery at shooting, but there is no mastery without shooting', he said. And he said the student should match his achievement by shooting over a deep chasm. The chasm was less wide than the distance of the practice field, but he had to shoot from the end of a boulder that was hanging over it! Can you guess what happened?"<br/>He didn't wait for an answer.<br/>"The student got all white in the face, and couldn't even draw the string, that's what! At his turn, the master calmly stepped to the edge of the boulder, and shot the target, while the student was still trembling on the ground. 'The heart of the master bowman shouldn't be affected by external conditions', was all the master said. That's even more true if you're learning the art of remaining unseen, because you have to follow all the external changes, and yet not allow your heart to be affected by them. That's what you have achieved. The ogre was your chasm. You faced the night that can hide both you or a monster, the unknown territory - you have never seen this place, while we normally sneak in places we have seen before. And you didn't crawl away, like that student of the bow. That's all I did, too".<br/>He rose and bowed once again, then added.<br/>"Of course, I will always remain your Shifu, but for all this implies, you will also be my equal. In order to prove that, once we are over with this task, and I can find a suitable paper, I'll write you a master certificate. You can show it to anyone in Wulin to prove that you have mastered the teachings of the Li family in remaining unseen. I don't think anyone would doubt it after seeing your demeanour, though!"<br/>Then he turned back, and went to prepare his bed.