Chapter 285
Hiccups POV:
It's been a week since my time off ended and since then I've gotten back into my old routine of training myself, training my kids, preparing for the day my dad retires, riding Toothless and just doing whatever I could to make life a little easier for my family. Speaking of my family, I am happy to say that my kids have fully gotten the hang of their new weapon forms with Brant being able to spin both halves of his spear around easily and was developing his own way of fighting with them which was impressive but still needed a lot of work to perfect it. As for Chara, she'd also been studying how to properly wield her kunai at the end of her chains under the lessons of both Wind who specialized in Kunai and Earth whose main weapon was a kyoketsu-shoge which was similar in use as it did have a blade connected to a string that he'd throw and swing while also being able to use the string to block blows. It was because of this that I'd often see Brant using his split weapon to climb mountainsides by stabbing the blades into the side and pulling himself up while Chara would use her new weapon to swing around from cave roofs and tree branches. It always made me smile when I saw them enjoying themselves as it was one of the times when they weren't warriors in training but just kids which is something I wanted since you're only young once.
As for my wives, they'd been doing well and just yesterday Astrid told me some big news that made me both terrified and incredibly happy at the same time. I wasn't the only one who was happy about this news though as everyone in the family was excited about it except for Xiu who was too young to know what was happening since she was only half a year old. Honestly speaking though, I think it'll be good for her since the news Astrid gave me was that she was pregnant with my second blood child and when this child was old enough it'd be good for Xiu to have a playmate closer to her own age. I know Brant and Chara were looking forward to it since it was another younger sibling for them to play with and play a part in raising to be a member of the family. It was easy to tell that although they weren't blood, they considered Xiu their real baby sister and intended to protect her whenever they could since it would be a while before she herself could begin training in combat.
Now I was in the nursery gently rocking little Xiu who was reaching up at my face with her tiny little hands, trying to grab it as I chuckled and lifted her up and down. It was then Blanca walked in making me smile as I turned to her and gently cradled Xiu in my arms before I asked.
"And what brings you here my sweet serpent?" She gave a small smile that always made my heart warm up.
"There's someone here who wishes to speak with you." I raised an eyebrow.
"Who is it?"
"It's Master Shen." My eyes widened.
"As in the student of the Buddha, creator of dragon style kung fu and my kung fu master, that Master Shen?" It was then a voice from beside her answered.
"Yes, that Master Shen." I immediately bowed while being careful with Xiu in my arms.
"Master, you honor my home and family with your presence." He bowed back.
"It is good to see you, my student." We both stood up straight before Master Shen's eyes landed on Xiu and he smiled. "And who is this precious little hatchling?" I smiled as Blanca left us to talk.
"This is Xiu, my first blood child born from Blanca." He smiled and gently gave her his finger which she took.
"How precious, is she going to be able to take a snake form like her mother or only possess a human form?"
"We don't know and won't know until she's older." I then looked at my master. "Master, it's not that I'm not honored to be in your presence once more but why have you come to my home." His face turned from playful to serious as he pulled his finger away from Xiu.
"My student, when you were training under me, do you remember what I told you about a title called 'Zodiac Master'?" I nodded.
"Of course." I knew this was serious. "You told me it was a title given to those who are trained to be a master in all twelve kung fu styles designed by the twelve animal masters of the Chinese zodiac." He gestured for me to go on. "The masters being the monkey Gokun, the rabbit Aangmu, the rooster Choa, the sheep Lu rang, the tiger Xiao Chi, the snake Chi Metsu, the dog Bo, the rat Nugeru, the pig Po, the horse Miracu the bull Beng Chu and you Master Shen the dragon." He smiled and nodded.
"Very good my student, but do you remember when and how the last zodiac master was chosen?"
"The last zodiac master was the one who united the lands and became the first emperor of China centuries ago and became one through intense training after passing challenges set by the twelve masters." He nodded. "Master, if you don't mind me asking why you are bringing up the Zodiac Master now?" He sighed.
"The Buddha and the gods have decided the time has come for a new zodiac master to be trained and each of the twelve masters is to bring their best student to face the challenges to represent their respective master and decide who will receive the honor of becoming a Zodiac master." He then placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hiccup, I have chosen you to represent me in these challenges." I bowed.
"I am honored master." I stood back up straight. "When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning, you have till then to say goodbye to your loved ones as they will not be allowed to attend and it will be a few days before you see them again but do not worry as it shall be like the scroll I gave you in which much time passes for us while very little passes for them." I nodded and gave another bow.
"Thank you master but why won't my loved ones be able to attend?"
"Your focus and that of the other challengers must solely be on the challenges, not on the loved ones you have or those who do not have loved ones." I nodded before he walked out and vanished while I looked down at Xiu.
"Well princess, we better go let the family know I'm not going to be around for a while." She just babbled as I chuckled and left the room to let everyone know what was happening.
Morning
It's been a day since I informed my family what was going on and they were all impressed with the honor I'd been bestowed with the chance to become a Zodiac master. They were all happy for me but none of them were happy that I'd be gone for who knows how many days even though when I return, winner or loser I would have gained new skills and experiences to share with them all. This stopped some of the sadness but not all and my family made it clear they were going to miss me with me spending most of my day training under my dad or helping train the kids. At night though, my wives made my favorites for dinner and desert, we all spent the remaining evening together talking in the comforts of the library before tucking the kids in to bed. Once that was done, I was pretty much dragged into the bedroom by my wives who made sure that I understood I was going to be missed and gave me a nice long goodbye that I definitely wasn't going to forget anytime soon.
Now though, I had left my island this morning with master Shen through my portal door before he took his dragon form and brought me to a hidden valley filled with pillar shaped mountains. This brings us to now, with us flying towards a tall mountains side that had a large waterfall with two large stone Shen-Long dragons on either side with the water coming to land in a small pool on the mountains edge. We came to land in front of the lake which I now saw had an alter with two miniature shen-long statues on either side of a tablet with a water symbol on it. Master Shen returned to his human form before turning the heads of the small statues so they were facing each other before the large statues did the same and then released streams of flame that cut the waterfall off to expose a cave behind it as stepping stones rose from the pools water. Master Shen turned to me and said.
"Come my student, it is time for you to see the birthplace of zodiac kung fu styles."
I nodded and followed him into the tunnels where we began to walk for what felt like hours with numerous twists, turns, steps and more before I was blinded by a bright light which leads to outside. When my vision cleared, I gasped at what I saw since I was now at the top of a stairway that lead to the bottom of the mountain but the view from the top was enough to take my breath away. I was looking down at a gorgeous bamboo forest with field that looked to be used for farming and huge mountains surrounding the entire valley like place. At the far end built into the side of the mountain was a large temple but I couldn't tell much about it from this distance since it was so far away and the eye of the dragon wasn't allowing me to get a closer look like usual. I felt a hand placed on my shoulder and turned to Master Shen who said.
"I take it you realize your eye is not working as it usually does?" I nodded. "The reason for this is my master arranged a barrier which shall nullify all unnecessary forms of magic to make things fair for the competition so your eye shall now only function as an eye while your prosthetic arm shall only be able to function as an arm." I nodded in understanding. "When we reach the village I am afraid you shall also need to hand in all your equipment such as your shoes, coat, spider-pack and other such items including the weapons within your prosthetic but do not worry for they shall all be locked away in a vault where no one shall be able to get them." I nodded.
"I understand master." With that said we made our way down the steps and made our way to the village, where a group of men wearing grey robes and shaved heads were waiting for us, bowing to master Shen in respect.
"Hiccup, these are the men who watch over this land in the absence of me and the other masters so show them respect as they are also skilled warriors." I nodded before we were led up to a very large wagon in the center of the crowd. "Hiccup please place your equipment on the wagon." I nodded and did as I was told before doing the same with my weapons. "Your belongings shall be taken to a hidden vault in in the mountains where none shall be able to get it and the same shall happen to the equipment of the other participants so do not fear it only being done to you." I nodded before one of the men walked up to us from the crowd and bowed. "This man shall lead you to the building in which you shall be staying in with the other participants and shall provide you with attire for your stay here." I nodded. "Now please excuse me as I have matters to tend to." With that said he walked away while the man left behind led me away.
3 hours later
It's been three hours since master Shen, and I parted ways and since then I've been spending my time settling into my new room and the building that I'd be calling home until the end of my time here. The building I was staying in was pretty big with hot springs in the back with a wall separating them with men allowed in one and women allowed in the other, a dining room with a table for twelve and upstairs were twelve bedrooms, each with a rice paper door that had the zodiac animal of the master of the student who would be staying in it like how my door had a dragon on it. The rooms weren't anything impressive, just a plane bed and window looking outside and not much else with the hot springs having small stone waterfalls to let the water in and simple stone floors with a bamboo wall separating the two hot springs. As for the dining room, it was a simple room with wooden floors, a wooden table with wooden chairs around it with a zodiac animal carved on each one to show who it belonged to.
Now I was sitting on the floor of my room silently meditating to both pass the time and mentally prepare myself for the trials that were to come in the events. It was then the door was slid open and the man who escorted me here stood on the other side with some folded-up clothes in his hands with a set of shoes on top of them. He handed them to me and said.
"Please put these clothes on and wait in the dining room."
I nodded and took the clothes before he left me to examine the clothes I was given and saw it was similar to the attire I wore when I was training under master Shen. A black gi with white frog buttons, white cuffs, black pants that tighten around the ankles, a white dragon symbol on the back, a black belt made of silk and a short collar. What surprised me the most though was the wooden helmet that covered the whole head which was shaped like a Shen-Long dragons head. Shrugging it off as part of the tournament, I closed the door and changed into the clothes I was given while setting aside the clothes I was originally wearing and placed them on the bed before heading down to the dining room where I found the other students waiting in silence.
Each of them was wearing the same outfit as me except theirs had the animal form of the master who they studied under on their backs like how mine had a dragon on the back and helmets shaped like the head of the animal. I took my seat next to the rat and the tiger before I allowed the room to fall into silence which was easy to understand since we were all studying each other. I couldn't blame them though since we all wanted the honor of training under the twelve masters and earning the title of Zodiac master and the perks that came with it. Before I could begin studying my opponents though, the same man who gave me my robes walked in and bowed before he said.
"Please form a line and follow me to where the masters are waiting for you all."
We all stood up and followed the man out the door and down the streets which was lined with people who were stepped aside and bowed to us as we walked by. We eventually came to a long flight of stairs and made our way up them to come to the temple that I saw earlier when I first arrived in this land. When we reached the doors that lead to the temple entrance, I saw a ring carved onto it with smaller rings circling the edges on the inside with the animals of the zodiac in them. The doors opened on their own and we were all lead inside before we were led to the center of the courtyard and lined up next to each other in front of the temple. The courtyard wasn't anything special with it being a dirt floor with the yin and yang sign in the center of the ground with it being made out of black and white marble. The temple on the other hand had a few stone steps leading up to it and a small pathway going all around it, lined with red marble pillars that held the black tiled roof up, the door had the same symbol as the one on the door that lead to the courtyard but this one was painted in gold. The doors to the temple opened and out walked the masters, one by one and lining up in the same order as us so each master was facing their own student and in the center of the masters was none other than the Buddha himself. We all bowed to the master's before the Buddha ordered.
"Raise your heads!" We all did as he spread out his arms. "I welcome you all to the Zodiac Temple, it was in this very courtyard where I trained the twelve students who would become your masters and the creators of the various styles of Zodiac kung fu and it is where you shall each be tested with the one victor who shall be chosen to become a Zodiac Master." He then gestured to his head. "Now then I'm sure some of you are curious to know why you have been given the helmets and are wearing them now." He lowered his hand. "The reason is you each may be well trained mentally but you are still living beings and as such may find reason to hold back or be distracted by the sight of your opponent's appearance." I had to admit it sounded logical. "This is why unless you are eliminated by failing the challenge, you are never to remove the helmet and expose your face to the others, but you are free to remove them in the evenings when you are alone in your room with the doors closed." We all nodded. "Now despite not being able to see each other's faces, I encourage you all to get to know one another as friends but do not reveal your names to each other or allow this friendship to cloud your judgement as that will only serve to dishonor you and your companion as you are not giving the challenges your all." We all nodded in agreement to what he said. "Now the challenges shall begin in one week and in that time, you shall be given time with your own master who shall help you train and prepare for the coming trials but tonight, rest and wait for dinner shall be brought to your lodgings for the evening before you go to bed." He then bowed. "And with that I wish you all a good evening."
With that said he returned to the temple with the masters following him before we were all lead out of the courtyard and back to where we would be staying where a simple dinner of rice and dumplings was waiting for us. Dinner was a silent affair outside of someone asking another to pass a dish that was out of their reach which I thought would allow me to figure out the gender of each but their voices were muffled by the helmets so we couldn't tell who was male and who was female. My guess is it was an effect of the helmets to help keep us from knowing our opponents' gender and giving our opponents an advantage in the challenges.
Now though, I was in my room with my helmet resting on my nightstand while I lay down on the bed with my arms behind my head as I looked up at the ceiling. As I lay there, I found myself lost in my thoughts about what was to come since there was no telling what these challenges would be or how long they'd take which meant I had no idea how long I'd be away from my family. I sighed while picturing my family, Hadasa lounging under a tree in the garden, Blanca holding Xiu as she gently bathed her, Astrid sitting down in the library while rubbing her stomach that now had a child, Brant and Chara playing hide and seek in the forest, Toothless flying with the other nightfury's with Twilight flying at his side, my dad chiefing, my mom training dragons and Gobber hammering metal in the forge. I took a breath while wondering if I'd still be able to forge items if I did become a zodiac master since I wanted to keep my blacksmithing skills sharp. I closed my eyes knowing that there was nothing I could do about it now and with the challenges only being a week away, I needed to calm down and get some rest and allowed myself to fall asleep.
Afternoon the next day
It's now my second day in this land and I had to say my morning had been peaceful, starting with a simple breakfast of rice, eggs and some meat. Once breakfast was done, we were all left to do our own thing with me going to explore the village a bit and found that I was being treated with a lot of respect by the people who would bow to me whenever I passed by. The village itself was a simple place that relied on farming plants and animals for food, no currency was used since everyone here seemed to do their own fair share of work. I had to admit it was pretty nice to be in a village with such peace and prosperity, but I could easily tell that none of these people should be taken lightly since I saw a few men sparring and they were obviously well trained as were the other people. Earlier though I was summoned by master Shen who wished to discuss some things with me and was led away by a messenger which brings us to now with me sitting in a gazebo on top of a mountain with master sitting across from me and a pot of tea between us. Master Shen took a sip of his tea and said.
"My student, I trust that you know why I have called you here."
"To discuss the challenges that await ahead during these coming days." He nodded.
"Hiccup in the coming weeks you shall face a challenge within each one and challenge shall be different as each master has created it to be incredibly difficult but not impossible to defeat but should you fail even one than you shall be out of the tournament." I nodded. "Still though, by simply participating you bring great honor to both me and your family so there is no shame in losing." I let out a sigh of relief hearing this since shaming my master is the last thing I wanted after all the knowledge he'd bestowed upon both me and my son which made us better warriors, so I bowed to him.
"I will do my best to honor both you and your teachings master." He smiled and bowed back.
"That is all I can ask for my student." He then sat back up. "Now tell me, how are you finding this village?"
"It's nice and peaceful but I can tell the locals are strong." He chuckled.
"You always were the observant type, even during your training." He sipped his tea. "The people around here are all trained in the forms of zodiac kung fu with each person being trained in one style that they were best suited for, but few have been able to reach master level."
"Despite this, I know none of them are to be taken lightly as every warrior is powerful and taking them lightly would only bring one's own downfall." He nodded.
"Wise words, I take it you heard them from the ninja master known as 'The Ancient One'?" I nodded while rubbing my head.
"He told me this when he felt I was getting a bit too arrogant right before he hit my head and told me to never underestimate my opponent." Master Shen chuckled.
"Sounds like that old timer is still as cranky as he was when I was young." I raised an eyebrow.
"You knew the Ancient One when you were young?" He sipped his tea and nodded.
"He and my master are old friends who worked together to stop an evil when they were champions of the gods." He smiled. "He came to visit my master when I was training to take human form." He then chuckled. "When I growled at him, he struck me on the muzzle and told me to respect my elders." He rubbed his nose. "Have to admit, for an old timer he had a strong strike." I nodded and rubbed my head.
"Tell me about it." He chuckled and sipped his tea.
"Now we need to discuss some things about the upcoming challenges." I nodded. "There shall be a single challenge at the end of each week so you shall have time to train for the next challenge."
"So a total of twelve weeks of training, ending in challenges." He nodded.
"Indeed, and it all comes down to who remains standing on the final challenge and he who wins shall be given the honor of becoming a Zodiac Master." I nodded. "You though have an advantage over the other challengers." I raised an eyebrow.
"I do?" He nodded.
"Most of the other students have remained in their homeland to strictly train under their masters, you on the other hand have spent your life travelling the world and mastering the various forms of fighting that great masters have developed while merging them into your own style of fighting which shall serve you well in the future challenges you shall face, especially against Gokuns test." I raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you weren't allowed to know the challenges the other masters came up with."
"I'm not and I do not know what he has planned but knowing that cheeky monkey, his challenge shall be something difficult that will provide him with a good laugh." I chuckled.
"Sounds like his father."
"I forgot you met him on your travels."
"Yeah, I have to admit for an old monkey, he's got a pretty strong swing when it comes to his bo staff." He chuckled.
"That he does, that he does." He rubbed his stomach and chuckled. "When I first met him, I asked him for a friendly sparring match and he slammed the head of his staff into my stomach the second the match started and threw me back into the wall." He rolled his eyes. "That old monkey doesn't hold back when it comes to combat." I nodded.
"Tell me about it."
"Anyway, back to the matter at hand, before the challenges begin you will be allowed to choose a single weapon that is used in the style of kung fu you specialize in like how you specialize in dragon-style kung fu, you shall be allowed to choose from various blade type weapons." I nodded. "I cannot tell you which weapon to choose, but I can tell you that this is the same weapon that you shall be using this weapon throughout all the challenges so choose the weapon you shall feel most comfortable with and feel that you are most skilled in using as there may be a challenge in which you may have to go up against an opponent or even the other challengers."
"Any advice for me if I have to go up against the other challengers as opponents?"
"Since they all mostly specialize in the other forms of kung fu you must remember what each of them focus on." He sipped his tea. "Do you remember what each style focuses on?"
Rabbit style focuses on speed and leg usage, Snake style focuses on speed, stealth and flexibility, Monkey style focuses on flexibility and arm usage, Rooster style focuses on fury, precision and leg usage, Sheep style focuses on defense, rerouting and patients, Dog style focuses on frontal assault, striking and loyalty, Rat style focuses on stealth, deception and agility, Horse style focuses on speed, power and chi spots, Pig style focuses on defense, knowledge and relentlessness, Ox style focuses on power, strength and determination and Tiger style focuses on power, attack and balance." He smiled and nodded as I took a breath and a sip of my tea.
"It's nice to know you have not forgotten what I taught you about the other forms and if you are able to become a champion of this tournament then it is knowledge that shall serve you well in the future when training under the other masters as they will be as strict as me if not more." I nodded.
"If there's one thing my travels and training have taught me, it's that the more difficult and stricter the training the better my skills will become and the easier time I'll have using them in battle against stronger opponents." He smiled and nodded.
"Wise words my young student, now finish your tea so we may begin your training for the challenges that are to come." I nodded and began sipping my own tea knowing that I was going to need it since Master Shen was always strict when it comes to training, and it was always hard as training can be.
AN: And this brings an end to this challenge and yeah, I know it's short and took long to update but I've been busy at work with my coworker being off due to sickness and on his computer, I can't use any writing programs so I couldn't write. Anyway, I've spent that time with my friend 'Red Dragon' who has been helping come up with the challenges and 'Rogue Deity Master' who has been sharing info on the masters and their styles to better write the combat scenes. Please review and have a nice day.