In the previous book, titled The Lessons of the Master: The Story of Master Kuo, Master Kuo re-counts his life as Guo, one of the 8 Chinese Immortals. In that book, Master Wu appears as a minor character, an assistant for Master Guo in mortal combat. It is from that training that Wu (who Guo once personified), learned his skill as an entertainer. Wu learns a number of things about the immortals on his own path to greatness, in this story of a man who was like a god (and maybe better).