Getting Down to Business in Boot Camp.

To say that Shang put them through the wringer would be an understatement.

They were taught archery, strength-training, bo-staffs, reflexes, kung-fu, explosives and so on.

Ping's first day didn't endear him to the rest of the camp and he was a constant victim for the other guy's pranks, which in turn singled him out for Shang's ire. And Shang punished the entire troop with more intense drills, which only made them hate Ping more. It was a vicious cycle.

Add on to Mushu's attempts at "helping" made it look like he was trying to cheat and things were not going well. The only thing that helped Ping's confidence even a little bit is that the other, more "manly" recruits were not doing so great either, so he wasn't alone in his struggles. Not completely.

The fact that Shang always did his training without a shirt was also very distracting for Ping. Before the war, Ping was expected to find a girl to marry to keep their family going, but Ping was never all that interested, so the fact that he couldn't stop staring at Shang's perfectly proportioned pecs was definitely not great.

While the other recruits were catching, Ping was falling behind, and soon enough, Shang had cornered him with his horse.

"Pack up. Go home. You're through."

He tossed a bag of provisions into his arm and walked away.

Ping felt a sudden chill run up his spine. If he didn't stay, they were reissue the draft and the only other man in their family -- his father -- would have to take his place.

He needed to think of something. Fast.

He looked up at the wooden post that towered at the center of camp.

At the top of the post, Shang had fired an arrow onto the very top of it and told them that he expects them to be able to retrieve it. The catch? They were expected to do it with matching pair of weights tied to sashes.

"Discipline and Strength" he called them. "You need both to reach the arrow."

Ping dropped his bag and grabbed the weights left at the stump of the wooden post.

"Hmm..."

He took the time to guess their weight.

He had an idea.