more-than-a-dragon-warrior

by Dextrode

Dont read. Posted for tts

2. Chapter 2

Chapter 26: Library of the Jade Palace

[Tai Lung's POV]

The Furious Five were lying on the ground, bruised and completely toasted. They had never experienced a training as intense as what they just experienced.

It was not because they trained harder or longer than usual, but simply because their health and their very lives were on the line.

Although it was true that Shifu was a stern and strict teacher, he was only words and orders. I on the other hand, was extremely rough with them in a physical sense.

They trained a lot, and they practised their Kung Fu techniques again and again, refining them to the limit. But training at the comfort of safety and no consequences of failure could only get you so far.

Ultimately, your body and your mind will realize that there is no risk so you will not push yourself hard, stopping slightly below your limit when you should aim to surpass it.

It was different today though, as I challenged them all to fight me together, in the middle of the obstacle course.

The keyword being fight and not spar.

They knew I would not hesitate to take their lives or even hurt them so it pushed them to their limits. They had to fight in a way that they had never thought of in order to survive.

They made breakthroughs.

It was during a life-and-death situation that we animals truly evolve and surpass our limits. If the level of your skills was not tested in real combat, they would never grow.

So I gave them that opportunity.

Of course, I was not actually going to kill them or injure them seriously. I was skilled enough to give them that delusion while also making sure nothing dangerous ever happen.

I used my reputation and negative impression they had of me to affirm that lie and they all believed it. They thought I was just doing this to get revenge and was aiming to kill them.

In their eyes, they barely escaped with their life due to luck. They thought I had all the intention of making an 'accident' and killing them.

It would not work after they get to know me better but for now and hopefully for three or more times, they would continue beliving and grow under the pressure of a life and death.

"Colour me impressed. Everyone survived and with no serious injuries, sadly." I whispered the last word loud enough that they barely heard it. They gulped.

"You can rest for some time and eat your lunch. After that, you will do strength training." I said as the Furious Five released a sigh of relief.

They stayed lying on the ground as I left them and made my way back to Shifu.

"That was truly a remarkable session." Shifu said as I stood beside him and we watched the exhausted Furious Five.

"You seem unfazed. Are you tired?"

I scoffed, "It did not require much to school a bunch of kids."

Shifu remained silent as he stared at me with his signature raised eyebrow.

"You've gotten even stronger," Shifu said but there was an underlying question in his tone. How did I get so strong while I was imprisoned? If anything, I should've gotten weaker.

I did not answer his question as we both remained silent, content with enjoying each other's company. I was never someone to talk a lot and Shifu was still a little conscious of me so he was still not comfortable with acting like that to me.

Then suddenly, the door of the training hall was slammed open and the Dragon Warrior ran in. He was breathing heavily but there was an aura of pure excitement oozing from him.

"I'm finally here guys! I am ready for training!" He exclaimed loudly but his jolly attitude stopped when he saw his friends laying half dead on the floor of the obstacle course.

"Guys, what happened?"

I smiled looking at him before walking up to him.

"Dragon Warrior, follow me."

/

"What are we going to do? Are you going to teach me one of the techniques from the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu?"

"Are we learning how to fly in the air? Would I be able to break giant boulders like you after this?"

"Wait! Don't tell me, you are going to teach me your secret move!" The Dragon Warrior said excitedly with eyes shining with enthusiasm and hope.

"Dragon Warrior." I said in a serious tone as Po lose all his giddiness and gulped. I knew calling him the Dragon Warrior instead of Po was making him uncomfortable which in turn made him more responsive and act responsible, so I always called him that.

"Did you know of the hidden meaning behind the Dragon Scroll?" I asked and I saw his eyes gain an unexpected shine of rare wisdom.

"Yeah." He said, "There is no secret ingredient. You don't need to add something special to make something special, you just have to believe it is"

Great. That means the change in canon did not affect his character growth by much. He learned his lesson and that's all that matters.

He can keep believing that phrase.

"You are correct." He was not. He was the Dragon Warrior and had all the secret ingredients, he had the special body, was the chosen one of the universe, had a whole ass prophesy about him defeating Shen and was coincidentally a Panda who were species extremely attuned with Chi, a great power in this universe.

That was what made him special. Not simply because he believes himself to be.

Even I had a secret ingredient, which was the fact that I recalled my past life.

No secret ingredient my ass, he was full of secret ingredients. The scroll was just something that hid the secret ingredient. After all, it wouldn't be a secret ingredient if it was not a secret.

You can't convince me that it was all a coincidence.

"I have no special moves or techniques for you." I said, "The only thing I can do is advise you to start going on missions and gain experience."

He was different from the Furious Five. He had great talent and a unique body that helps in fighting. The best thing I could do was offer and advice to get more experience.

No specific Kung Fu or technique suited him. And I did not posses the same incredible body like he did to guide him.

I tried to be the Dragon Warrior, and I failed. It'd be weird if I tried to tell the real Dragon Warrior how to be one.

"You shall join us in the strength training," I said and Po pushed his fist on his hand and bowed to me.

"Thank you, Master Tai Lung." He said, "I have always been a fan of all your achievements even though you went evil for a while. So I am happy to get your advice."

Hmmm. He sure knows how to flatter people. His honest tone and his eyes that belied no deceit was proof that whatever he said, he believed.

I coughed a few times, "On second thought maybe I should teach you a secret technique."

A technique I had tried many times on my way home but couldn't succeed in because I did not possess a huge Chi reserve like the Dragon Warrior.

"We will need an actual field expedition for this. We should go search for a mountain bandit." I said and looked at the sun. We still have time.

The Furious Five could continue their strength training without me. Master Shifu, their true master was with them.

"Follow me." I said as the Dragon Warrior came up to me and walked right behind.

"So, Master Tai Lung." He said as he switched from my right side to the left.

"What super awesome technique are you teaching me?" He asked in a curious voice that was dying to get an answer.

"Ever heard of the Wuxi finger hold?" I asked back and his jaw dropped.

He froze like a statue while I continued walking with a smirk on my face. He quickly shook his head and followed me with a bright smile and shining eyes.

"NO WAY!"

[The Next Day]

It was finally time to do one of the main reasons why I came back to the Jade Palace and decided to make it my home.

To learn the knowledge and wisdom held within the library of the Jade Palace. Specifically all the knowledge related to Chi.

It was not only to study but to practice and conduct research as well.

I walked through the sacred Hall of Warriors which was in the middle of repair as I thought of the different possibilities of Chi.

I figured my knowledge from another world would be extremely useful. Although that world had no Chi, I remembered practising it and learning about the basis and theory of Chi during my training in mastering every Kung Fu.

Not only that, there were many fiction - which at this point, I was sure were real - that dealt with the power of Chi or other related abilities.

I could use that knowledge and try to apply it in this world. Who knows, I might even be able to replicate fictional powers.

Hopefully, my time reading those cultivation novels also come to use.

As I was in thought, I had already reached the library and I pushed the door open to gaze at the rows of shelves on the wall and the thousands of scrolls contained in them.

The reason why I did not immediately visit the library was that I wanted to settle everything else before focusing into my studies. I couldn't have any other distractions.

"Let's begin." I said with a smile and closed the great doors of the library.

When he opened the doors again, he hoped he would come out wiser and with a new breakthrough.

..

..

..

[IMAGE]

Author : Although I don't really have competition at the moment, I don't want to just give you extra chapter for free again. I work overtime to write for double chapter so I think it's only fair I make you guys work for it too.

We always get 1500 stones in a day and it's just a matter of time. So, 1500 stones and you get extra chapter!

Meaning 3000 total stones for the book and I release the next chapter IMMEDIATELY!

Chapter 27: Chi and Inner Peace

[Tai Lung's POV]

For the next month, I stayed cooped up in the library of the Jade Palace breezing through the countless scrolls that held knowledge of this world.

Unfortunately, there was not much information on mastering Chi as I hoped there would be. Maybe it was done on purpose by Oogway to prevent such power from getting into the wrong hands, or maybe it was too rare to be documented. I did not know.

Out of the countless scrolls, only around ten of them mention the use of Chi to affect the outside world. But even then, they dealt with the teachings of how to use Chi to heal others or give life to dead plants.

There was not a single scroll that dealt with Chi and how it could be used for combat. Which made sense as I would've definitely learned it in the past if there were.

Although that might be the case, my time spent in the library was very beneficial. Even the scrolls or Kung Fu theory which I had studied in the past - after getting memories of my past life - gave me a new perspective and I could comprehend it in a different way.

I also got to learn new informations which I had deemed useless in the past. Specificaly about the species which had been thought to have gone extinct hundreds of years ago.

Humans.

Oogway talked about the human species in one of his scrolls that note down every species in this world. There, it was mentioned that humans were furless and fragile animals that were born inferior to other animals in almost every way.

It also talks about how the humans were considered extremely ugly by the people and often taken as slaves. They made for good workers and slaves because they could work small jobs for a long time. They had huge endurance when it came to physical activity that was not so intense.

It was because they could produce sweat and their furless body made it so that they rarely went overheat and could work for longer hours. The people living in Mongolia used to run a big human slavery trade but as of now, humans were considered extinct.

I did not know how to react at first since I used to be the same species in my past life but I was not as affected as I hoped I would be.

I also got to read the other scrolls which Oogway had written while I was imprisoned and I have to say, although I may hate him for what he did to me, I also respected him greatly. His wisdom and knowledge knew no bounds.

He was also the creator of Kung Fu, something I had come to fall in love with, so it was hard to not respect him.

I also went out frequently to train the Furious Five and to ger some exercise during the one month I studied.

My relationship with the others was slow going but at least now, I was seen as a fellow resident of the Jade Palace and not simply a villain that was staying here.

I had taken my role as their elder and senior seriously, guiding them and teaching them with my limited knowledge. With all the wisdom I quoted from my past life, I think their negative feeling towards me was slowly turning into respect.

...

Today marked the end of my study session as I walked out of the library and closed the door. I had not gotten the enlightenment I hoped for but I came out wiser.

I was a warrior and I never liked these scholar-type things so I think I did a good job focusing only on reading for a whole month.

I went out of the Hall of Warriors and climbed down the steps as I made my way towards the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.

When I reached the Peachtree, I stood at the edge of the cliff and enjoyed the scenery of the Valley of Peace.

It was beautiful. I could understand why Oogway had decided to make this place his permanent home.

The beautiful landscape of China had a mystical feeling to it. There was the bright sun on the horizon that lit up the sky clear blue.

The clouds spread out like waves in the sky while some came down low enough to hide the peak of the mountains.

There were tall mountains the size of skyscrapers and rocky mountains with green algae covering them. A mighty Waterfall shaped the land as its rhythmic crashing made for a melodious sound. The song of nature.

I took in a deep breath and took in the world around me. Then I went under the shade of the Peachtree and sat with crossed legs and I started meditating.

I closed my eyes and tuned off the rest of the world and only focused on my life force or in this case, Chi.

The world lost all its identity as a new perspective of the universe opened up to me. A universe where everything was made up of energy called Chi.

Inner Peace.

It was a concept taught by Oogwat himself. It was a state of absolute peace between the mind and the spirit.

How someone achieves inner peace is different from person to person. But it mostly involved the acceptance of oneself. Be it your past, your regret, your mistake, your flaw or your identity.

When you accepted all of these, when you accept yourself, you attain inner peace.

Although it sounds simple, it was very hard to achieve and Kung Fu masters spent their whole life trying to attain inner peace with most of them failing.

After all, how can someone truly accept themselves? If a person was given the chance to change anything about themselves, would they reject it and chose to stay exactly as they are?

Be it talent, looks, physical attributes, upbringing, past mistakes etc. Everyone wanted to change, it was only a chosen few who could sit there and say 'I am content with being myself. Be it my past, how I grow up, who I am, I accept all.'

It was because of this that masters who were of old age attain inner peace. When you are old, you are not as ambitious. You don't desire a lot of things.

You feel like you have lived your life and there is not much you can do anymore. Hence it's easy to accept yourself.

A young soul on the other hand would always want to be stronger, richer, want to be loved, desire a different upbringing, regret their life descisions etc. This holds them back from achieving inner peace.

In this harmonious state where the spirit and the mind are at peace, you are able to harness the flow of the universe.

You do this by becoming one with the world.

In this world, only sentient beings have the trouble of accepting themselves. A tree accepts that it is a tree, and so does a rock, the mountain, the sky and the clouds.

A tree had never wanted to change. A rock never wished it was a mountain. So when you finally attain inner peace, you become like the world itself.

If you can't accept yourself, how can the world accept you? Therefore in the sate of inner peace which was self acceptance, you are accepted as a natural part of the world.

Your Chi started seeping out of your body to interact with the outside world and becoming one with the world. By doing this, you are unconsciously using your Chi to make miracles happen around you.

That was how inner peace works and the power it gives.

Otherwise, it made no sense how Po was able to catch cannonballs fired at him. He was no master of technique to be able to redirect the force of the canon, and it made no sense how the canons did not losse their energy after being stopped, he was using his chi to make miracles.

As you become one with the world, by accepting yourself, your chi seeps out of your body. You can then use your chi to a small margin and influence the world.

Not by much though as the world you can influence is limited to something close to you. I used it once to slow down time from my perspective, Po used it to stop and redirect cannon balls and Oogway was said to heighten his senses to the point he could hear the flaps of a butterfly wings.

Like I said, create small miracles.

As you become one with the world, you can change it and control it as if it was your body. All this was done with the universal energy called Chi.

That is what it meant to harness the flow of the universe. To harness Chi was to harness the flow of the universe,

"huuuuuuuu~..." I breathe out as I felt my Chi seep out of my body to interact with the world.

It was the first time I had truly meditated like this and I made an important discovery in this instant.

Of course.

When everyone else obeyed the rules of the universe, I had to be different. I just had to be troublesome and come out unique.

.

.

.

"I have two Chi."

Danmit.

What does this even mean?

/

[Hours later]

I have two different Chi inside of me.

The other one was mine, it was white in colour and I have had this Chi from the very moment I learned to infuse Chi into my attacks.

But the other one was new, it was blue in colour and it stayed in on the deeper part of my body and spirit.

I focused more as I looked deep inside myself. My Chi had two layers, the outer layer was made up of white familiar chi but deep inside, under my white chi was a blue Chi.

I kind of had an idea why I had two Chi but it did not make sense. It would be more logical if I had a bigger Chi or if my original Chi changed.

So why did I have two types of Chi?

I let out a sigh as I knew I was not getting answers from anyone. I was probably the only one to have this issue and I would have to find out the answers by myself.

Hopefully, it was nothing bad.

My thought was cut short as I felt a sudden contact on my back. I instantly perked up and turned to see Tigress sitting behind me and resting her back on mine.

I was so focused that I became unaware of the outside world. I wouldn't be able to do this anywhere else but home.

This was one of the reasons I decided to live in the Valley of Peace.

"What are you doing?" I asked to which she just proceeded to get comfortable leaning against me.

"I was here to call you for dinner." She said and I looked at the sky. The sun was beginning to set and evening had come.

"And..." I trailed off as I questioned about what she was doing.

"I don't know." She said and closed her eyes before melting on my back, "it feels good to be around you."

I was taken aback and became slightly flustered.

I quickly shook my head as I realised the reason why she was comfortable around me. It was due to my Chi which was leaking out around me. Nothing more.

Chi was the universal energy of the world, so it must've felt rejuvenating just to be around me.

My Chi was affecting her body, filling her with energy and lessening her exhaustion from training.

I let myself go and stopped being in my inner peace state as I leaned against her as well. Maybe it won't hurt to rest like this until my Chi slowly returned to my body.

The Chi which was outside my body slowly went back into my body as I rest, not meditating or focusing.

A simple rest.

..

..

..

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Purrr~*

That was not me.

Tigress was purringing softly as she leaned on my back. She seemed to be enjoying herself.

I looked back at her and at the small content smile on her face.

Out of every student of the Jade Palace, my relationship with Tigress was the best followed closely by Po.

Maybe it was due to the days we spent traveling or maybe it was because I was personally teaching her Kung Fu since we had similar strength and build.

But I have come to care for her a little. Like a younger sister I never had.

"..."

I entered inner peace and my Chi which was returning in my body, stopped it's flow and leaked out again.

It won't hurt to let her enjoy this a little.

She had trained hard this past month.

So she deserves rest.

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[Must see IMAGE!]

Author : The workings of inner peace and Chi was never explained to my knowledge.

This mostly came out of my own understanding and I made some things up.

I hope you can understand the power system I am trying to give the world and the explanation.

I have a new cover pic too. Commissioned by fartxzy on IG. Check him out.

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: Emmanuel_Capricorn

Chapter 28: Master Shifu and his faith

[3rd POV]

"Why do I have to train so hard father?" A small snow leopard cub once asked Shifu.

They were in the middle of training and although the cub listened to every instruction he was given and would repeat the same actions Shifu did as many times as he was instructed to do so, there was something missing.

There was no purpose in his eyes, no meaning to his movements. It was like a play to him or a chore. It was something he had to do since his father wanted him to do it, nothing more.

Shifu realizes this. The cub had endless talent and potential, he was a diamond, a one in a million. But talent can only get you so far, you needambition, a reason to go beyond the mortal limit.

A reason to persist.

Shifu looked at the young cub who was nearly his height though he might be young. He couldn't help the wide smile that came naturally to his face.

"You are destined for greatness Tai Lung." Shifu said and patted the cub's head who leaned into his touch, always eager for affection.

"To attain your destiny, you will need strength." Shifu told him as the young cub listened to his words as if they were the words of a god.

"You will be the Dragon Warrior. It is your destiny." Shifu said, looking at the cubs believing eyes, "That is why I named you Tai Lung."

Tai Lung means 'Great Dragon'.

Shifu firmly believed that Tai Lung was going to be the Dragon Warrior because Master Oogway had told him once that he was going to train the Dragon Warrior someday. It was why he had become a master in the Jade Palace and why he began taking on students.

The Dragon Warrior was going to be a genius, a warrior unlike the world had ever seen before. And in Shifu's mind, Tai Lung fit that criteria.

Shifu looked at the child's eyes full of life and firmly believed that his son was destined for greatness.

If he were truly meant to train the Dragon Warrior as Master Oogway had said, then it would be Tai Lung. His son and a genius like nothing he had ever seen before.

"Really father? You promise?"

"Yes my little Tai Lung." Shifu said and poked his nose, "And don't call me father while training. Call me master."

Tai Lung nodded with a happy smile and began his training again.

This time, his moves and technique were exactly the same but Shifu saw the great change. Now his movements were not mere consequences of an order.

They held meaning.

They had a purpose.

"Again!" Shifu said with a smile as he began teaching the future Dragon Warrior.

/

The Snow Leopard, Tai Lung was all grown up as he destroyed every obstacle course in the training hall.

He had gone beyond Shifu's expectation and with every new achievement, he was sure that Tai Lung was truly the warrior of prophecy, the Dragon Warrior.

His son.

And his greatest student.

Shifu was the proudest animal in all of China.

In the world.

"That is why I do all of this to be honest." Shifu heard Tai Lung's voice as he was broken out of his reverie.

He looked at his son who was smiling at him while standing at the center of the broken obstacle course. The training hall could no longer bear the might of Tai Lung and his Kung Fu.

"Pardon?" Shifu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Father." Tai Lung smiled, "I said your proud smile is why I have always gone beyond and why I pushed myself so hard."

"You rarely smile." Tai Lung looked a little embarrassed by what he was saying but it was honest all the same.

"I am glad when I can make you smile."

..

..

Shifu smiled again when his son said that. But you will notice his smile was a tad bit prouder than the previous ones.

"I told you not to call me father while training."

"Right."

/

"But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!" Shifu screamed at his master. He was unable to comprehend how Oogway was telling him that the Panda could be the Dragon Warrior.

What did he see in that Panda? He is just a Panda, he is not a warrior, has never even trained in Kung Fu and how can he protect anyone when he can't even take care of himself properly?

He is just a Panda and will always be a Panda in Shifu's eyes.

"But maybe it can" Oogwat said wisely while looking at Shifu's eyes. Two orbs of infinite wisdom meet confused ones.

"If you are willing to guide it, to nurture it, to belive in it." Oogway told him as Shifu's heart shook.

,

,

,

"You just have to belive Shifu." Oogway said right before his body turned into pink petals and he left the mortal world.

Shifu took his words to heart and went to the Panda. From then on, respecting his master's final words he started believing.

He trained the Panda to become the Dragon Warrior. And no matter how he himself did not believe it, no matter how much the Panda disappointed him.

He never gives up.

He believed in Po.

In the end, he realizes that he was wrong. Po was indeed more than just a Panda.

Po was the Dragon Warrior.

/

"You gave up on me." Tai Lung said as he loomed over Shifu's small body.

"You did not believe in me." Tai Lung said, Shifu had stopped believing in his son.

"What father gives up on his son?"

Shifu had no excuse. He believed in the Panda and he never gave up on him.

Yet he could not do the same for the cub he called his son.

.

.

/

Shifu opened his eyes as he stared at the ceiling of his room. The first ray of sunlight had woken him up from his slumber.

Was that a dream? Was it a nightmare?

Or maybe the truth.

Shifu pushed himself up from his bed and started his day. He was the master of his student, he had to teach by example so he could not stay in bed.

On second thought, maybe he can. Today was the first day after Tai Lung ended his study session so he had told Shifu that he would take over morning training to teach his junior some things.

Tai Lung's presence had changed a lot around here. Not only for himself but for his students as well.

The Furious Five were getting stronger than ever under the example of Tai Lung. His mere presence seemed to be a wall for them, something which they tried to climb over again and again, and in the process, it made them stronger.

The frequent sparring and teaching pushed them to be stronger as well. In specific, Tigress and Po were improving by leaps and bounds.

Tai Lung had taken a liking to the young tigress as he had been teaching her Kung Fu and given her special trainings.

It was nice to see them get along as adopted siblings. Shifu could never wipe away his smile when he saw Tai Lung teach Tigress like a brother teaching his younger sister.

Tigress also seemed to hold Tai Lung in high regard, which was only natural as he is possibly the strongest Kung Fu master in all of China.

Po on the other hand held a great amount of admiration for Tai Lung. He sees him as a rival and someone he must be equal to if he wants to wear the title of the Dragon Warrior with pride.

Po also seemed to be getting taught by Tai Lung but in a different way. They would go out together to hunt for bandits - which was also Po's duty as the Dragon Warrior - and when they returned, Po would always learn a thing or two.

Shifu had nearly lost his mind when Po returned with the ability to use the Wuxi finger hold. It was believed to be only a legend or folk story since no one had been able to master it but the Panda came home excitedly and said Tai Lung taught him the move apparently.

What a headache that one was. Shifu had to properly educate him on the dangers of the move and made him promise to only use it as the last triumph card.

Tai Lung's presence also changed Shifu as he tried his best to reconnect with his son. It was slow going, but it could be said that they were in a good relationship.

The childish and jolly bond was gone, in its place was the respect they held towards each other. Recognizing that both of them were mortals and they made mistakes, but they have grown.

Speaking of which, Shifu realized that today was the day Tai Lung said he would help him with achieving inner peace.

Shifu did not know how but his son had achieved the legendary inner peace while he was in prison. How Tai Lung was able to achieve such a thing after what he did to him and how everyone wronged him was a mystery.

Though right after the initial shock, Shifu's heart almost burst with pride as he looked at his son.

"Right, gotta hurry to the training ground." Shifu said after he had freshened up and he made a beeline to the training ground of the Jade Palace.

When he reached there, he was greeted with the sight of the Furious Five fighting amongst each other while Tai Lung watched from the side with his ever-present frown.

It was one of the worst traits he got from him. Tai Lung always had a permanent frown or scowl, just like Shifu.

Although Shifu would've loved a smile more than a frown on his son's face, he also felt it was funny how he took that from him.

'Like father like son, I suppose.' Shifu thought to himself.

Tai Lung looked at him as he got closer and with a small smile, he greeted him.

"Good morning."

"Good morning son." Shifu greeted back.

"Ready for your training?"

"We're doing it right now?" Shifu asked.

"Yes, we will do it now. And then you can mediate and try to achieve inner peace for the rest of the day." Tai Lung affirmed.

"I-I am not sure that's how it works. You are speaking as if I would learn inner peace overnight."

"You will." Tai Lung said, "You are close and with my help, it won't be long until you can achieve peace of the spirit and mind."

"Really?" Shifu asked, he had spent half of his life trying to attain inner peace so he doubted it would be that easy.

"Yesh, it's a simple concept." Tai Lung said, "Besides, you're old. Of course no offence."

Shifu's eyes twitched, "Some taken. But look who's talking, you are not a young lad yourself."

Tai Lung laughed at his comment, "Well thanks to Oogway, my body is barely in its 20's. I haven't even reached my prime yet."

Now that was an incredible statement. Both because of Tai Lung's ability to thank Oogway for something and realize that there is always good even in something bad.

And that his son, possibly the most powerful warrior in China was still not in his physical prime. That means he would even be stronger than he was now.

Tai Lung had grown so much during the time he had not seen him. It hurts him as a father and master that his son/student had grown in character this much when he was not there to witness it.

Tai Lung still had the darkness that Oogway saw in him, that much was obvious to Shifu when looking at all the things his son had done after prison.

What he did while coming home, what he did to the mountain bandits, etc.

But at the same time, Shifu also saw something which he was too blind to see in the past.

The heart to change.

Tai Lung was a bad guy trying to be good. That simple fact alone had made him better than the majority of people in this world.

Shifu's only regret was that he never saw this side of him in the past. Maybe if he could travel 20 years back in time, he would go meet his son and say...

'You are not born evil. You might have taken the wrong path but you can always right your wrong. Everyone makes mistakes, but as long as you learn from it then it's okay.

I will help you. I believe that you have it in your heart to be good, son. No matter what Oogway see or says. You are my son, I know you.

So stop your rampage and come home.'

...

But there was no such thing as a rewind button. You cannot change the past or take back your actions.

Or in this case inaction.

"So, shall we go someplace quiet?" Tai Lung asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, let's do that."

/

Achieving inner peace was simple, not easy.

After the teaching was done and Tai Lung had told him everything he knew about inner peace, Shifu's problem became obvious.

His regret.

He needs to forgive himself and learn to accept himself in order to attain inner peace.

Which really translates into 'It's impossible.' in Shifu's head.

He could never forgive himself.

Tai Lung had told him that he forgave him and said that he understands Shifu's position and action at the time. His son also said that he himself was equally to blame.

But Shifu digressed.

It was his fault. As a father, his son's fault was also his fault. As a master, his student's action was also his fault.

Whatever Tai Lung was to deserve being imprisoned or to be called evil, Shifu made it. He made 'that' Tai Lung.

So as long as the vivid image of an innocent cup he loved and let down remained in his mind.

Shifu will never be able to forgive himself.

.

.

.

"But who cares! Who needs inner peace anyway? I am happy just the way things are." He said to himself, pretending to meditate when in reality, he was looking down on Tai Lung teaching Po and the Furious Five.

He did not need inner peace to move forward from here.

He believes that whatever happens in the future they will overcome it together.

He had faith.

..

..

"Huh?" Shifu said out loud as he looked at his body that was slowly leaking out his green Chi.

Finally, after years of training, Shifu had attained inner peace.

And to think that it was this simple.

He just needed faith.

.

.

.

.

[Adorbs Images]

Do you like my writing? Do you like the story? Are you tired of waiting for new chapters? Are you tired of simply reading and want to support and get really involve with the story?

Then join my to support me and to read 15 Chapters ahead!

: Emmanuel_Capricorn

..

Chapter 29: The Path to Strength

[Tai Lung's POV]

I like to believe that I am someone who learns from his mistakes. A person who can reflect on his past actions to act better in the future.

Every day, I am better than I was yesterday. Every day, I work in hopes that I will be even better tomorrow.

So you can imagine, how much it bothers me that a random bear in Mielin city, someone who was not even mentioned in the movies was able to overwhelm me, even if it was briefly.

It has been on my mind ever since that day. It made me question my own strength and the faith I had in myself as the strongest.

Of course, I could make a bunch of excuses like Wuboa's strength that overwhelms me comes at the cost of his life, he became a mindless beast so even if he overwhelmed me, I was never in danger, or the fact that I was not exactly in my best shape while fighting him.

But those were in the end, excuses.

The fact that someone could overwhelm me, no matter the method or drawback was completely unacceptable.

I was trying to become the strongest in the history of this world, so being the strongest present living being was the bare minimum in my opinion.

There were people like Oogway, Jindao, Kai, and even future Po who were all stronger than me than I was now.

To add salt to the wound, these were all people from China. If we take the whole world, was I confident that I was the strongest in the world right now?

Although as a world of Kung Fu, China naturally dominate the rest of the world when it comes to strength, the point still stands.

Even Wubao was someone unknown. Yet he was that powerful, it really opened my eyes that many things happened during my imprisonment and there were hidden threats in this world.

It was unacceptable.

I needed to get stronger. So much stronger than I am right now.

I wanted to be able to take down kingdoms and empires by myself. Being the strongest when it came to a one-on-one fight was not enough.

I was not trying to get stronger through mastering Chi alone either. Especially when I was a unique case that had two Chi inside the body, I did not even know when I will be able to use Chi like I wanted to.

So I needed a different way to get stronger.

Luckily, I have just the right method to get stronger. It was the greatest boon I had, one that was soon to make me stronger than ever before.

Knowledge of another world.

It was not limited to one world either, as the modern world contained the knowledge of other different worlds in the form of fiction.

Thought to be fiction, but they were real. I was the proof of that so that means that other world thought be fiction there was also real.

In my past life, I was a Kung Fu enthusiast who thought and dreamed of nothing but Kung Fu my entire life. I spent my entire life practising real Kung Fu and other forms of martial arts.

Not only that, I had the hobby of reading stories, novels, manga and watching animes, movies, TV shows etc that have anything to do with marital arts.

Coupled with the knowledge I had from this world of Kung Fu by mastering the one thousand scrolls of kung fu - which was all the Kung Fu Oogway had created - my knowledge of martial arts and kung fu was vast.

Master Oogway was the creator of Kung Fu, not the creator of all Kung fu styles that existed in this world. So I was not kidding when I said I might surpass Oogway's knowledge when it came to different styles and techniques of Kung Fu.

But the question was whether I could replicate and use that knowledge in this world.

Could I use martial arts from different worlds? Say, maybe Renewal Taekwondo? Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist?

At first, I thought no. Different world works with different logic and power systems so I shouldn't be able to copy them. Maybe use the theory behind them to create similar styles?

But then I realized, I could create miracles on a small scale. While I was in a state of inner peace and my Chi became one with the world, I could achieve impossible feats.

I can do more than just catch cannons which should be logically impossible. I can do more than enhance my senses. I could do more than slow down time in my perspective.

The people in this world were backward, even with all the wisdom that Oogway had, when it came to imagination and a way to use a power, he would fall short.

Inner Peace, the ability to create miracles on a small scale. It might not be much to people born in this era like Po and Oogway other than a basic enhancement but for me, the one who possesses otherworldly knowledge.

It will make all the difference in the world.

It's like giving a dagger to someone with hands and someone without hands. The one who would find more use with the dagger was the one with the hands.

Similiar to that, I have something special. Something which both Oogway and Po did not have even though they might be the chosen one of the universe.

I have a cheat of my own.

"hehehehahahaHaHaHaHAHAHAHAHA!" I started laughing madly as my laughter echoed through the Pool of Scared Tears.

It was the place where Shifu trained Po to be strong enough to face me. It was also said to be the birthplace of Kung Fu.

I had come here in hopes of finding out a method I could use to get stronger and improve myself. And just like I had hoped, I did it.

I made a breakthrough.

Shunpo or flash steps. It was a special movement that let you move from point A to Point B faster than the eye could follow. The concept behind the technique was covering a distance with the least amount of steps.

It sounded impossible if you did not have their Reiatsu or if you were not a Shinigami. How am I going to cover the same distance with lesser steps? Should I take longer strides? It was not logical and you would need a miracle to do it.

But with the help of inner peace and its ability to create small miracles, I will be able to do it. I can create that miracle which I would need to execute that technique.

Although I still cannot affect the outside world as a master of Chi could, I can at least achieve the impossible when it comes to my own body and the area near me.

That was all I needed to copy other martial arts and techniques. It would be more than enough to make up for the difference in logic or power system.

What other techniques could I learn and replicate? Rokushiki? I would love to get Tekkai for my defence.

It would be easier to replicate techniques rather than an entire martial arts. I have to be wise in what I choose to copy as too many techniques would ruin my fighting style.

I need to choose techniques that would suit my fighting style and master new techniques one at a time.

But the first thing I needed to learn was a movement technique. The world of Kung Fu Panda was extremely lacking in movement technique, especially one that suited my style so this shall be the first technique I learn,

Shunpo/Flash Steps.

After all, as a martial artist once said, 'In the world of Kung Fu, speed defines the winner.'

"Cover a distance between point A and point B with the least amounts of steps huh?" I asked myself while walking to a place that had an open plain where I could move freely.

"It doesn't sound too complicated. There are more nonsensical techniques in this world." I said to myself as I finally began my journey towards strength.

I did not need to follow this universe's path to strength.

I will create one on my own.

A true warrior makes the best of every advantage and weapon he is gifted with. Let's put that to the test, shall we?

The ability to create small miracles with Inner Peace, my knowledge of different worlds and my genius in Kung Fu.

Let's see how far that can take me.

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[Image]

Join my to support me and read 15 chapters ahead.

: Emmanuel_Capricorn

Chapter 30: The fuel of miracles

[Tai Lung's POV]

"It is wise to rest sometimes son."

I heard Shifu's voice from above as he was looking down on me from a cliff. I did not even look up to meet him as I continued focusing on training.

In front of me was a giant clay pot nearly twice my size. The pot was made of a thin layer of clay so it was extremely fragile. Even if a civilian were to punch it, it would surely break since it was also filled to the brim with water.

"I have no time for such things Shifu," I said and continued focusing on my Chi which was covering my body. After months of training, my Chi was not merely leaking out but I was controlling it.

I focused on the feeling of my Chi, willing it to do my bidding as I visualize the miracle I wanted to create. It was not just a miracle as I had a somewhat logical explanation behind it. A theory, and I have seen others do it in the form of an anime.

The level of miracle I needed was a small one, just enough to make the technique pop and come to life.

"Armament technique : Internal Destruction." I said and punched forward with breakneck speed, but my fist stopped right before hitting the clay pot.

My punch stopped, yet the force behind the attack did not disappear. Instead, it travelled forward a few inches without even needing a medium.

And then my attack landed.

BOOOM!*

SPLASH!*

My attack went through the clay pot and directly exploded the water it held. The water splashed violently like a volcanic eruption and almost all of it was emptied.

Yet as I looked at the clay pot, there was absolutely no dagame on it. My attack had skipped the exterior part and only attacked the interior.

I needed to get more proficient in it so I could use it in an instant without even having to put much focus. I needed to make it second nature, like a normal punch.

I developed this technique because of Wubao. To truly put him down, I needed to push my hand down his throat and attack his internals that way.

Although it worked that time, I didn't want to rely on that again. What if he had not opened his mouth to roar? Then the fight would've lasted longer and who knows what could've happened.

Then there was also Po, who had a special body that imitated rubber or balloon. Blunt attacks were very ineffective while fighting him so this technique would be of great help when we fight again. I will be able to defeat him even easier.

After I master this, I won't have to worry whether my opponent wears armour, has iron hide, possesses a special body etc. I would be able to attack their internal organs directly.

"Congratulations on creating yet another lethal technique." Shifu said and I looked up at him. I held back a laugh when I saw his wet state. Although he was a red panda, he looked more like a wet raccoon.

"But again, I must advise you as your master that you rest for a day or two." He said and before I responded, he put up his hand to stop me.

"I know you are busy developing these new techniques and getting stronger than you already are but... " He said wisely.

"The time to relax is often when you don't have time for it."

You can't really argue with that. It has been a few months since I have been constantly training to get stronger, and my only rest consists of sleeping, eating or when I was training the Furious Five and Po.

"I guess I shall meditate then." I said and was about to sit down before Shifu sighed and pinched between his eyes.

"Meditation is also another form of training. What I mean by rest is you having fun or being idle." He said.

'Fun?' I processed the word in my mind. I have never had what normal people would deem 'fun' both in this life and in my past life. You don't master different Kung Fu and martial arts at the young age of 24 by having fun after all.

But I was also constantly having fun training myself and getting stronger. I had plenty of fun when I pushed through even when my cells screamed at me to stop and when I abled my body to do impossible feats.

As I looked at Shifu with a dumbfounded expression that hinted I clearly had no clue what he was talking about, he sighed and said, "Something fun. Like going around the village or buying things in the market."

"The villagers hate me." I said. Although the only crime I commited against them was laying waste to the village twenty years ago, the people in all of China hated me.

It was because no matter how small my crime seemed when there were literally bandits and assassins who turned into masters who then became loved. It was a different case.

It was because of my unparalleled strength coupled with Oogway being the one to deem me evil. Oogway was basically like a Buddha to them, someone who held great power and had lived for a thousand years while also having wisdom deserving his age.

There were some who even worshipped him. Give it a few hundred years and they might make a legit religion for him.

As the creator of Kung Fu and the master of Chi who achieved impossible things and saved the world from demons, that was the admiration he held amongst the people of this world.

So when such a person said he saw darkness in me, the whole of China believed him. They saw me as more evil and sinister than even actual evil villains themselves.

His influence could be seen in how the whole of China believed in the prophecised warrior, the Dragon Warrior although such a thing never really existed before. When he selected Po, they simply believed it without even questioning a thing.

His mere words could even turn my own father against me.

In simple words, they were a bunch of NPC.

"They don't hate you son." Shifu said, his eyes were sad for me, "They are merely afraid."

"What's the difference Shifu?" I asked, "Fear breeds contempt. People naturally hate what they fear."

He stayed silent, arguing with me no more.

I have gone to the village multiple times and each time the reaction was the same. If I did not save the world or something on that level, my reputation and how the people perceive me would not improve.

I stopped trying.

They can hate me if they want.

At least, I now have my father and my juniors who see me as I am.

When I became the strongest and build a legacy that even surpassed Oogway's, they would change their tone real quick. It was not like there would be a lack of opportunity to save the world either as long as I stick with Po.

A long silence stretch between father and son before it was broken by Shifu's movement. He leapt into the air and slowly fell towards me by riding on a falling leaf.

'Hing Kung.' I thought of the Kung Fu Shifu was using to make himself weightless.

It was an extremely difficult kung fu to master but when you do, you can lighten yourself to the point that you are as light as a feather and you can even walk on leaves.

"You remember this?" Shifu asked me as he landed gently on the ground, like a feather.

"The art of balance." I said and when he gave me a cheeky smile, I felt annoyed.

"Exactly, the art of balance. You, my son, were never one to be balanced. You were always on either side of the extremes." Shifu said, "Even with all your genius, it took you five years to master this Kung Fu."

I looked away, a little embarrassed at that fact. It was truly shameful that it took me that long to master it when Shifu himself mastered it in a few weeks and I remembered Po mastered it in a matter of days.

Such a stain on my reputation as a peerless genius.

"Come, walk with me, son. I will show you how to free your spirit and have fun." Shifu said and leapt into the air. His soft and gentle push took him to the sky with his light weight.

He landed on top of a tree, his whole weight being held up by the leaves as he waited for me.

I sighed. I never really liked Hing Kung even after I mastered it.

'Do not allow the weight of the world to control you, instead become weightless and take control of the world' That was the concept behind Hing Kung.

You need to have an absolute balance of the mind and the spirit and walk the way to the art of balance.

I never used this Kung Fu because, in my mind, my attacks should have the weight of a mountain behind them instead of being weightless. I believe I needed to be as destructive as a volcano instead of a feather.

It was not suited for my Kung Fu which emphasised destruction.

But that doesn't mean that I can't use this type of Kung Fu. I rejected the weight of the world as I observed curiously how the Chi inside of my body changed my weight.

It was such a curious thing. I have only been capable of feeling my Chi like this after months of meditation and inner peace.

The Chi in your body can make you achieve miracles when it comes to your body alone. Inner Peace just makes it much easier and allows you to make miracles only with your will alone. Plus giving you the ability to influence objects other than your own body.

This would explain how I was able to make myself weightless, how Mantis could be so strong or how Po's body was like a rubber balloon. It was all because Chi.

'The fuel of miracles' as I have come to call it.

I realized that after all the training and research I did. The only difference is that someone like me who achieved inner peace had a much easier time doing it.

Everyone in this world was allowed to create miracles. But the people were unaware because they don't have outside knowledge like I did. They can't look at their lives from an outsiders perspective.

To them, some things just makes sense. Like how Mantis small body can be so strong, how ducks can fly with clothes on or with small wings, etc.

Chi was such an interesting energy that left me with more questions the more I learned about it. It was very narrow but at the same time vast in what it could do

...

I shook off my thoughts as I felt my body become weightless and I leapt towards Shifu.

A day of rest shouldn't hurt or slow down my progress by much.

"Let's go." Shifu said with a smile as we leapt from one place to another. With our weight that of a feather, we were carried by the wind.

We took to the skies, unchained by the world. We took control of the weight of the world instead of letting it control us.

It gave me the feeling that my own fate was in my hands. My destiny, mine to shape.

I looked at the smiling face of my father as we gently rose and fell, scaling the entire Valley and I couldn't help but reminisce about the past when we first flew like this when I mastered Hing Kung.

The day went by quickly as I spent time with my father.

In the end.

I think I had 'fun'.

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[Image]

Author : I hope everyone can keep up with the information about Chi. Tai Lung had learned that creating miracles was not limited to those who attained inner peace.

Pretty much anyone can create miracles about their body. That should be obvious with how Chi can strengthen the body to the point that even Mantis can throw around 1000 times his size or how Crane can carry all the Furious Five.

But to create such miracles in your body, you need to train for many years and spend time training in Kung Fu.

Inner Peace made this easier, to the point that they can create a small miracle with just a thought and will. They can also affect objects close to them, the environment covered by their leaking Chi.

This could, for example, make a tree grow faster if they meditate and stay in a state of inner peace near a Chi. Or heal and rejuvenate others as shown with Tigress and Tai Lung.

They could even turn canon balls into something which you can simply grab and throw around. Irrespective of its heat, spinning or the force they held. Or make a drop of water maintain its state with Tai Chi like movements.

...

: Emmanuel_Capricorn

Chapter 31: Where will you go?

[Tai Lung's POV]

It has been 10 months, nearly a year since I have been living in the Jade Palace.

I had become stronger than I could ever hope to during these past 10 months. My decision to copy techniques and martial arts from different worlds proved to be more than just genius.

It was heaven-shattering.

And I did not use that sentence to sound funny, okay maybe a little but it was worthy of such praise.

I could now confidently declare to the world that I am the strongest. There was no doubt in my mind that there were no one who could match me if I went all out.

I am the strongest.

Although, claiming to be the strongest in history was still something I could not do.

Because even with all the things I have learnt and my new familiarity with Chi, I could still not use it like a master of Chi would be able to.

I cannot extend my Chi to affect a large area or someplace far away. And I cannot yet blast around Chi like Kamehameha, or make Rasengan.

I could not mould my Chi as I wanted. The most I could do was use it as fuel to create a miracle I visualize in my mind. I was yet to be able to manipulate Chi directly.

But with my knowledge and creativity, I was sure that I would be able to match someone like Po from the 4th movie and Kai with his own Chi.

That means I could match a normal master of Chi with my inner peace alone.

I did not know what was stopping me from mastering Chi. I remembered in the third movie that people who knew themselves could use Chi easily.

"Am I the son of a Panda, son of a goose? A student? A teacher? Turns out I am all of them, I am the Dragon Warrior." Po declared and used Chi.

"Po, you taught us who we were meant to be. A father." Po's dad said and used Chi.

"A friend." Tigress said and used Chi.

"A family." Mr. Ping the goose said, although that was weird, as a person with knowledge of the modern world, I give it a pass.

But god forbid someone said, "A nunchuck chick." before using Chi.

"Dumbpling kicker."

"A hugger."

"Stripey baby."

They said these bullshits before being able to transfer their Chi to Po. Which was fucking ridiculous because I can barely make trees move with mine.

In the end, I almost chalk it out to them being a panda but the damn goose and Tigress were able to use Chi too, just like that.

It was not hard for me to use Chi as fuel to create miracles, but to manipulate my Chi itself was almost impossible.

After a long time of thinking, I realized that the only explanation was the fact that I had two Chi inside of me. Maybe that was stopping me from manipulating my Chi.

I could not understand why I was unable to use Chi otherwise. I have attained inner peace and during my imprisonment, I have already answered the question of 'Who am I?'

Nevertheless, I did not give up.

"I am Tai Lung." I said and put my hand forward.

"..."

Nothing.

"I am the strongest."

"..."

Still nothing,

"I am both human and a snow leopard."

"..."

Nope.

"I am a villain."

"..."

Nuh uh.

"The son of Shifu."

"..."

cricket sounds*

I took a deep breath and decided to try one last time. I focused on my Chi and I felt the world listening as I spoke the next words.

"Throughout the Heavens and the Earth, I Alone am the honoured one."

"..."

Wait! Is that- Nope.

"I am the rejected one."

"..."

Nothing.

Okay, this was not working at all. Clearly, I have worked out who I am but it was other things that were the problem.

I stopped my private Chi training and decided to work my body instead so I went towards the training ground. It was early in the morning before dawn so it was still very dark and chilly.

Although I was a snow leopard, I still had a blanket wrapped around me as I quickly ran to the training ground.

When I reached the training ground, I was not greeted with the silence and emptiness that I was hoping for. Instead, someone was training.

My yellow eyes pierced through the dark as my natural night vision as a cat came into play. I was able to see Tigress training in the training ground all by herself.

I couldn't stop my lips from stretching into a pround smile when I saw her using her claws to attack the pillar of Iron which I had bought for her when she asked me to teach her how to use her claws.

Instead of training like I was planning to do, I opted to leaped up the roof of the training hall and watch her from there. I sat down and got comfortable as I watched her train with a smile.

She might not be as talented but she had similar obsession for strength like me.

The unquenchable thirst to improve, the need to be stronger than yesterday, and a reason to push beyond her limits.

I wonder what that was, what reason does she have to constantly train to improve? The position of the Dragon Warrior was already filled and she had enough strength to protect herself and be respected.

So why? Why was she doing it? What was the purpose behind her desire for power?

"Hyaaaaah!" She screamed as she swiped at the heavy pillar of Iron in front of her. Her claws left a deep mark but that was it.

She took a breath and rested for a few minutes before she slowly walked back. After a good amount of distance was between her and the iron pillar, she closer her eyes.

She got into a stance. She lowered her centre of gravity and got on all fours, like she was meant to be.

A predator ready to pounce.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw that familiar stance. It was mine.

After what felt like an eternity, her eyes snapped open and she shot towards the iron pillar. She was a blur but my eyes followed her movement and I noticed the exact moment when her claws turned black.

Just like mine.

PHEW!*

Her body cut through the air and her claws through the iron pillar. She stopped when she was behind the target as the iron Piller slowly fell down, separated into three pieces.

'Remarkable'

She stood up and her claws slowly turned to normal as she stopped strengthening them with Chi. She had a wide smile on her face as she looked at the broken iron Pillar.

..

Clap*

Clap*

Clap*

..

Her eyes snapped towards me as I started clapping my hands. Surprise coloured her face when she saw me and I noticed a blush on her face.

I leapt down the roof and landed in front of her.

"Truly remarkable." I said and paused to show her my proud smile. She became flustered as it was not often that I smiled.

"You can celebrate, you know. Jump around and scream giddily as much as you want to. There is no one except me." I said and she raised her eyebrow before she gave me a toothy smile.

"I did it!" She screamed and jumped around like an excited girl. I did not disturb her and let her enjoy her moment of achievement.

Hardcore my ass, she was just a kitty inside.

"WhoooHoooo!" She screamed to the sky before looking and pointing at me, "I beat your record."

"Indeed, It took me half a year to learn it, but you only took three months," I said and her smile grew wider.

I wisely held back from mentioning the fact that I was 14 years old.

/

"Sorry for my outburst. That was unsightly of me." Tigress said while hugging her knees.

The earliest ray of the sun was shining down on her, making her red fur almost look golden. We were sitting on the roof of the training hall and the awakening world below was for us to gaze at.

I chuckled and patted her head, she buried her face a little deeper in embarrassment, "You don't need to act like that towards me. After all, you are my little sister in all but blood now. I was equally proud if not prouder."

She gave me a smile and nodded at my words.

Tigress was a pitiful girl. She had told me her past before, she was an orphan but due to her unnatural strength, everyone in the orphanage called her a monster and she spent most of her time locked up in a room.

She was a tiger and not only that, she was supernaturally strong even for her species standard. She locked herself away, afraid to hurt other kids with her strength which she had yet to learn how to control.

That was until Shifu came and taught her Kung Fu so that she could control her strength. After she was done learning how to control her strength, she eventually got accepted by children her age.

Yet adults were still afraid to adopt her so she thought she would always be alone. That was until Shifu came and adopted her as a daughter.

So naturally, her only parent figure and family was Shifu. But because of me, she never really got the affection of a father from Shifu.

After hearing that, I ended up feeling a little guilty and began pampering her as much as I can. I was more than happy to act as a brother for her.

"Here, wrap this around you." I said before taking off my blanket and covering her shivering body.

She had just finished training so her body was cooling down and exhausted, add the chilly morning air to the mix and she was cold.

She tried to resist but I easily forced the blanket around her. In the end, she accepted with a small voice.

"thank you."

I was a snow leopard so the cold did not bother me much. I could also heat up my body with Chi if I really wanted to so there was no need to thank me.

But I just gave her a nod as we sat side by side, watching the sun rise on the horizon.

It was beautiful.

I couldn't express enough how beautiful my world was. The modern-day landscapes and beauty were nothing in front of this.

We stayed quiet, none of us bothering to speak as we are both not the talking type. Yet we felt comfortable with each other, enjoying each other's company.

There was no romance around us though, only a familial bond. I did not know if it was because she was so much younger or because of the memories of my past life as a human but I could not see Tigress that way.

But that was not a problem. I liked the bond we had.

..

..

So I felt a bit hesitant when I said, "I will be leaving."

Though Tigress did not react much. She just stayed silent and processed my words until she was ready to speak.

"When?"

"I will give one final teaching to all of you today and I will leave tomorrow."

She nodded. She did not ask me to stay longer or express her desire to come along with me.

Maybe she did not want to be a bother or maybe because she still thought we were not that close for her to ask.

I have done everything I wanted here. I have studied in the library and had the peace and privilege to train as much as I want.

And now, it's time to go out to explore the world. See how much China had changed during my imprisonment but most importantly.

Seek out opponents.

I have learned and mastered many new techniques during my training and now it's time to test them in real combat.

It will be like my hay days when I travel around China and seek out different masters to a duel.

"Where will you go?" Tigress asked.

"I am planning to visit many places. But I will start with someplace familiar and where I can find worthy opponents for certain." I said and turned to her with a smile.

"The city where the Kung Fu Council resides..."

"Gongmen city." I revealed with an excited smile.

She stayed silent and observed my face. Then she asked with a tone of doubt.

"You think you can beat the Kung Fu Council?"

I was caught off guard by her question before I started laughing out loud. Had they really hidden the truth in order to save face?

"Wrong question kitty. You should ask, 'You think you can beat the Kung Fu Council again?'" I said.

"And my answer would be, absolutely. In fact, I will beat them worse."

.

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Read 15 chapters ahead and support me by joining my .

: Emmanuel_Capricorn

Chapter 32: Leaving

[Tai Lung's POV]

I stood at the courtyard just outside the training hall with Shifu by my side as we watched the Furious Five train in the training ground.

The students were fighting each other and the way they moved and fought was very different from 10 months ago.

Their Kung Fu and their style had been soaked in my nature. It was the consequence of my training and teachings.

"They have certainly gotten stronger." Shifu said but then he smiled an unsure smile, "But I am questioning if it is good or not."

I scoffed and thought to myself, 'How can being stronger possibly not be good?'

I watched as Viper wrapped herself around a dummy and completely broke it down piece by piece. She did this by wrapping herself around the limps and squeezing in such a way that she broke every joint of the dummy.

She could do more than just choke her opponents or control their limbs to make them hit themselves.

She was perfect for Jiu-Jitsu.

The body of animals had hundreds of joints, not just movable joints but the places where bones meet bones.

I made sure Viper studied them, the joints and bone structure of different animals as I taught her how to dismantle her opponents that way. Snapping their joints until her enemies were at her mercy as she turned them into broken puppets.

I have also taught Manits how to turn himself into a living bullet. Now he bounced around at the speed of sound and used his entire body to pierce through his opponents.

His small body made him unable to exert much force in his attacks and most of the time, due to his small mass he could never strike with another person.

But I taught him to use that as an advantage. He was small and that meant a smaller target for his opponents. Plus, it reduces the surface area of his attacks and it gave him a devastating piercing nature to his attacks.

Monkey also learned to use his feet like hands. I taught him how to use grappling which was quite an unorthodox style of kung fu but it fit well with his body.

He now climbs on his opponent and tries to bring them down like a three. I strengthened his grip and made him utilize it. The simple act of grabbing was something rare amongst the masters in this world as only a few animals had hands.

But the improvement he made the most were in weapons. Monkey was always a weapon master so I taught him how to be a spear and a bo Staff. He was already quite proficient in it so it was not hard to show him some new tricks he could use.

Tigress also learned how to use her claws. That increased her threat level massively as having claws was like being perpetually armed.

Tigress had been someone who had to control her strength from birth. She was always too strong so when others trained to get stronger, she trained to be weaker and control her strength.

That naturally had a psychological effect and she had trouble using all of her strength, much less going beyond it.

So the sparrings we had where she was actually the weaker one helped her improve by leaps and bound.

Lastly, I had taught Crane many battle strategies and tricks he could use since he was the main brain of the team.

In a real fight, he would fly high in the sky and coordinate the attacks of his teammates while also coming up with plans and strategies.

So I made him study a lot of war and battle tactics.

"I don't see the problem." I said with a smug smile. I was proud of them and the improvements they made with my guidance.

"Don't you think it's a little ruthless? It's not like we are in war times for them to train such lethal techniques." Shifu said his thought while touching his beard.

"It's always better for them to learn than stay ignorant. You can teach them to hold back if you desire a more merciful style of combat." I said.

"A sword in a sheath is always better than no sword."

"Of course." Shifu said and we continued watching them train for a while until he asked me another question.

"I heard you are leaving tomorrow."

I raised an eyebrow, "Tigress told you?"

"Yes." Shifu said and chuckled, "She told me not to tell you this but she was asking me if it was possible for me to make you stay for a few days longer or if I could order you to take her on your journeys, at least for a few days."

I shook my head with a smile, "So, are you going to ask me?"

"I agree with her. It was sudden, for you to leave tomorrow but I don't think I have the authority to tell you what to do and what not to do. You can decide on your own." Shifu said and our eyes turned to Tigress who was on the training ground.

"She had grown attached to you." Shifu said, "I am glad to see you two get along like brothers and sisters."

"For someone with the hardcore style, she is extremely soft inside," I said. 10 months was not a very long and I did not have much time to spend with them since I was busy with my own training.

The fact that she had grown so attached to me was a testament to her need for love and her emotional and soft nature.

"Well, you are her brother."

I smiled, "Indeed."

Tigress was my adoptive sister and I have come to see her as such. She was still young and had a great future in Kung Fu so I couldn't help but grow close to her as well.

"Where will you be heading?"

"Gongmen city." I said, "I'll pay a visit to Master Thundering Rhino and check out the new Kung Fu Council that he made."

"Should I be worried?" Shifu asked. Hewas aware of the many new techniques I had created so he should know exactly what I was planning to do when travelling around.

It will be like my younger days when I travelled around China to challenge every famous fighter and master I could find. At one point, I even participated in wars and helped kingdoms fend off attackers.

"No. But expect some rumors." I said while looking at him with a knowing smile.

Shifu simply smiled back.

Right then, Po opened up the gate to the training ground with a giant bag on his back. With the sun being at the midpoint of the sky, I'd assume that was lunch.

"Guys!" Po screamed, "Lunch is here!"

"Alright!" X4

"Lets Gooo!" The Furious Five stopped their training and ran to Po.

They helped him settle down before they sat on the ground with multiple dishes and noodles. They started eating and praising Po for his hard work.

Po still holds the job of a water in his father's shop so until noon, he rarely joined the training. But even with that, his genius made him match Tigress when it came to fighting prowess.

I think even he doesn't realize his own strength and genius.

"Shall we join them?" Shifu asked and without even responding, I turned into a blur and in just a second, I was already near the students.

"Did you get mine?" I asked Po to which he quickly reached into his bag and took out a special lunch box.

"Of course." He said and gave it to me, "The Tai Lung special."

"Yum." I said and nudged at Monkey to move so I could sit with them.

I opened the lunch box and inside were noodles and a bunch of dishes which I requested. There was even an egg sandwich among them.

"Make sure to thank Mr Peng for me." I said and started digging into my food as I sat alongside my juniors.

Shifu also came down and took a bowl of noodles which he ate while standing beside us.

We had a small talk as I enjoyed the company of the people who were the closest I had to a family. There can never be a moment of silence with Po as he shows off how many dumplings he can fit in his mouth.

I enjoyed the last day I would be spending with them for a while.

It was peaceful and warm.

Moments like these are what makes a person rich.

After all, it is not the number of days in your life that you remember.

You remember moments like these.

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"Goodbye." I said one final time before I descended the steps of the Jade Palace.

I wore a travelling cloak and I had a small draw string bag where I put money and an official letter from the Jade Palace.

I also carried the Dragon Scroll inside because it meant a lot to me even if it was blank. It had affected a huge portion of my life so it held sentiment.

"Stay safe, son."

"Bye Tai Lung." Po said with a sniff, before he started crying for real and leaned on Tigress's shoulder.

"Goodbye master Tai Lung." Viper waved at me good-naturedly. We might have a bumpy start but we ended on a good note.

"Don't miss me too much, I am going beat all of you when I get back so you better train hard." I said with a wave.

All of the residents of the Jade Palace, including the servants had come to bid me farewell.

It was a nice gesture on their part.

After I went down the first three sets of stairs, I disappeared in a blur.

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It was the beginning of a new adventure for me.

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[IMAGE]

Can't wait to read about Tai Lung's new adventure? Join my to read 15 chapters ahead.

: Emmanuel_Capricorn

Chapter 33: Reaching Gongmen City

[Tai Lung]

After leaving the Jade Palace, I made my way down to the village with my cloak covering my body so that no villagers panicked or freaked out when they saw me.

It would be a lie to say that I did not care about what the NPCs thought of me since I was the guy who wanted to be the Dragon Warrior, a hero admired by everyone, so the unjust perspective people had of me was a great annoyance.

It was truly baffling how they forgot the countless times I had saved the village and protected the Valley in the past. 25 years ago, the Valley of Peace used to be under the protection of Tai Lung and I made sure to extinguish whatever or whoever was threatening it.

I went on countless missions under Shifu and Oogway's order and even with my own free will. I was sent to settle disputes between Kingdoms, I caught criminals, killed Masters who had turned evil and saved many lives.

I used to bring prosperity and peace to not just the Valley but to China as a whole. As the future Dragon Warrior, I thought it was my duty to do such things. To protect the people and to serve the land.

I take pride in that. My father took pride in that.

I used my strength and I used my influence for them. I was a tool, diligently doing a duty which was never meant to be mine.

Gladly too.

With pride.

No, I was not a tool, I was a fool.

"Would it be possible for me to tag along on the carriage? I heard you guys were going to Guangzhou." I asked the cow lady with ripped muscles.

My past human self would've called her mommy.

Jokes aside, her posture and foot placement told me that she was at least trained in Kung Fu and her eyes which constantly scanned her surrounding with a certain level of intent hints at experience in battle.

We were currently in the vegetable market of the Village of the Jade Palace and using my acute sense of hearing, I heard her discuss her travel plans with a rabbit from far away and I instantly approached them.

Guangzhou was a trading town located a few hundred miles away from the village. The road leading there was good and wide so it wouldn't take longer than a couple of days to reach there.

Gongmen City was further down the west from there and since the road leading to the city was busy and long, I planned to travel on foot from Guangzhou onwards.

But for the first part of the journey, it would be easier to tag along in a carriage. Guangzhou was the main trading place for the village as it had a little bit of everything and they would buy things at a much higher rate thanother villages.

So many traders and businessmen travel back and forth from the village to Guangzhou.

"I am willing to pay a dozen bronze coins." I said to the cow who just kept looking at me. She must be curious to know what I looked like under the cloak.

Not gonna happen.

"Honey!" She called and pushed the carriage slightly and a small rabbit peeked his head out.

"Yes?"

"This guy wanted to tag along, even said he was willing to pay a dozen coin." the cow said to the rabbit which I now assumed was her husband.

"There is no problem at all from my side. You are the one pulling the carriage dear so whatever you say." the rabbit said.

"You heard him, get in." the cow lady said and I tossed her a dozen bronze coins which she later used to buy carrots for snacks.

I went behind the carriage and there were only empty boxes, making plenty of space for me to sit. It seemed they were going to Guangzhou to buy and not sell.

I had to wait a few minutes before the rabbit finished arranging the boxes and we were off to our travel. The cow lady said we would reach Guangzhou in two days.

"Oh by the way, my name is Jiang Liu and my beautiful wife there is Chang'in." The rabbit man said, pointing at his wife who was pulling the carriage.

I did not return the polite gesture and simply nodded without introducing myself. The guy seemed to take no offence but I saw his wife clicking her tongue. It seemed she was the fiesty one, the typical marriage between a hot-tempered and a gentle soul.

I sat cross-legged at the back of the carriage and spent my time meditating. But as the journey continued and we left the village, there was silence which prompted Mr Jiang Liu to start a conversation with me.

"So, where will you be heading young lad? I don't assume you want to go to Gunagzhau since you have the bare necessity for travel." He asked me. Guangzhou was a trading town and most people go there to trade, it seemed I did not look the part.

"You'd be correct in your assumption. I am heading to Gongmen city."

"Oh, the land of fair ladies and fireworks. Do tell me which one you are aiming for?"

"It's for business," I replied.

The white rabbit scoffed, "Like hell I believe that! No one goes to Gongmen city for business."

Gongmen City was the land of fireworks and entertainment. So if you are a traveller wishing to go there, people would assume you were there to enjoy life. It held the same reputation as Las Vegas would in the modern world.

"So you got a maiden of your own yet?"

"No."

"Plans on getting one soon?"

"No."

"Well, as a married man, I can tell you that you are losing out." The rabbit said and looked at his wife outside who was pulling the carriage.

"Really? I heard it's quite a hussle."

"Bah! Nonsense. There are jokes around that but in truth, we can never be happier." He said with a smile.

"The world is cruel and lonely, you would be a damn lucky bastard to find a partner you can walk with. Someone to be with you every step of the way in this journey of life." He said to me, I could see the cow outside blushing as steam came out of her ears.

"I never thought of it that way." I said and looked at the odd couple. It was not rare to see other species marry each other or become partners. But as one might expect, they could never have kids together.

If they want kids, they either have to adopt or the husband - never the wife - hires a surrogate. But that was reserved for the rich.

That was why adoption was very popular. It was also why Po never found out he was adopted. In his eyes, it was not weird that his father was a goose because he saw many other kids with different species as parents.

Orphanage were a busy place with kids getting adopted all the time. Hence why Tigress was very pitiful to not get adopted as most adults were afraid of her strength.

Our journey went on as we had small talks. I was beginning to enjoy the conversation a little as Mr Jiang Liu proved to be a knowledgeable person.

He even told me about how he met his wife. Chang'in came to the village in hopes of getting into the Jade Palace as one of the students but she ended up in his arms instead.

She might not be a student of the Jade Palace in the end but she was trained in Kung Fu. Honestly, I noticed that quite early on.

"So you do not want to mess with her, or me for that matter. I may be small but my wife will fuck you up." he said with a laugh.

"It was because of her Kung Fu skills and strength that we never even bothered to hire bodyguards. She can take care of these lacklustre criminal all by herself." He said proudly.

"Strong, beautiful and kind. I really used up all of my luck by having her. Though the roads have been peaceful these passing months." He said, "I am glad since I never really like watching her fight although I knew she could take care of herself."

I smiled softly under my hood. I have been clearing the bandits and thieves camping in the Valley a lot so it was no wonder that there were lesser attacks.

Using inner peace to heighten my senses, it was not hard to locate the criminals camping in the forest of the Valley. I would use them to test my new techniques and take them out to help the Valley.

It was unacceptable that those criminals were disturbing my home. If it were in the past, no criminals would dare step into the Valley of Peace, fearing the wrath of Tai Lung.

Its always nice to see the positive result of the work you do, no matter what it was. People were happy and safe.

"I am glad to hear that." I said.

"Yeah. It has been a blessing for all of us travellers and traders. There had been no noteworthy robberies or ambushes. It had brought great prosperity to the Valley." He said with visible enthusiasm and a fond smile on his face.

I smiled too, a little proud and satisfied.

"It's really thanks to the Dragon Warrior. He has been doing a splendid job, just what you would expect from a warrior prophesied by Oogway himself. First, he dealt with Tai Lung and now he had brought peace in the Valley." He said.

"Yes, it is true. I have never seen roads as peaceful as the road of the valley these passing 10 months. It is truly a miracle that only the Dragon Warrior can achieve." His wife added from the front, still pulling the carriage.

"Oh..." I muttered and blinked. "I see."

" We are extremely lucky to have him." Mr Jiang said.

I got comfortable in my seat again, leaning against the inner wall of the carriage. I closed my eyes and meditated to get the wrong feeling off my chest.

The journey went smoother than expected and we reached the trading town of Guangzhou in two days.

I bid farewell to the two lovely couples and I made my way to Gongmen city. I did not follow the main road and cut through the difficult terrains and took a shortcut to Gongmen City.

But before reaching the city, I had to take a ferry to cross the Lake of Eternal Pearls or Pearl Lake. The road went around the lake but that would take an extra day.

But with the help of the ferry, I crossed the lake in a single night.

After nearly 5 days of travelling, I reached the metropolis city known as Gongmen city

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[IMAGE]

IMPORTANT NOTE : So people are freaking out about the eggs. Consider them unfertilized eggs and other than straight up animal meat, they eat everything. Oh even fishes too.

I thought it'd be kind of obvious since you need eggs to make dough which is used for dumpling and even noodles.

And about the Tigress thing, she won't be the female lead. It was only natural that Tigess became the female lead and even I planned to have her but things didn't work out.

It didn't make sense for Tai Lung to see her romantically after his reconciliation with Shifu and he was busy training so romance should have been the furthest in his mind. So it was either he did not form connection with her at all or he sees her as a sister at the moment.

Female lead is still not decided but let's see, there are many snow leopard even the Wu sisters, the teammate of Master Shifu, and even the snow leopard in Crane's dojo. Even genderbend Peng, Tai Lung's niece.

But that will come later as I will focus the first two movie first. Romance will inbetween the second and third movie before Kai. And it will be a side plot than anything else.

This book is action and martail arts focused after all.

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And double Chapter to celebrate Easter Sunday!

Happy Easter everyone!

Chapter 34: Kung Fu Council

[Tai Lung's POV]

Gongmen City was a metropolis, filled with many business opportunities and trades. However, the sheer amount of resorts and other entertainment establishments located in the city made it famous as the dream city in all of China.

The city was busier than even the likes of Mielin City. I looked around curiously at the epitome of prosperity and wealth of ancient China.

Gongmen City was an independent city which was under no empire or domination. Although it was just a city, they could compete with any other kingdom when it came to economy.

It was home to many of the wealthy people in China and it always held a deep connection with the Kung Fu Council, and before that, Master Flying Rhino.

The city was also surrounded by rocky mountains that made it difficult for an army to attack, coupled with the Kung Fu masters with whom they had a relation, no Kingdom or empire could threaten Gongmen city.

Their relationship with the Kung Fu master went so long back and deep that when the rulers of the city, the peacocks all died out, Gongmen city came under the Kung Fu Council.

The city was divided into different districts, there were districts for entertainment, trade, gambling, markets, living quarters of the soldiers/Kung Fu masters, the district where the rich lived, a district where the commoners lived, etc.

At the centre of the city was the ancestral palace of the Peacocks, a place where the current rulers of Gongmen City reside.

I just entered Gongmen City and I was in the traveller's district. The place was teeming with hotels, brothels, taverns and different restaurants that would give a much-needed rest to all of the travellers that came to the city.

It was the first district and one of the busiest districts too. It also acted as a port where you could hire ships and workers to transport cargo.

No one bats an eye towards me as I fit right into the crowd. It was not uncommon for people with hidden identities to visit the city. They could be nobles who wanted to enjoy life but did not want their reputation ruined, kings and even monks.

People knew to keep to their own business.

"Oh my~ You look like you can use a rest."

'Well, maybe not this one.'

I stopped and turned to the seductive Gazelle who had decided it was wise to approach me. She wore a skimpy red dress and from her appearance, you can say that she was extremely beautiful for this world standard.

I raised an eyebrow. Judging from her dress and from her beauty, she was a prostitute, and with a high rank too. Red was only reserved for the most exquisite girls after all.

The question was, why did someone like her approach me? Instead of seeking out customers, there must be males lining up to spend a night with her.

But here she was, in the streets and she approached me first.

"I'm sorry but I have no coins to spend the night with such a lovely lady." I said politely and walked past her.

I think it was my other life as a human affecting me, but I could no longer find the females in this world too attractive.

That did not mean I was not going to marry or have kids in the future, it just meant that if I was not emotionally attached to a girl, I did not desire to mate with a random female.

I find them beautiful, and I can appreciate them. But it lacked the lust that should be there.

The Gazelle who approached me could be said to be the top beauty in this world, but her invitation did not even phase me.

"Wait sir! I did not say you need to pay." She said and came in front of me again. She smiled coyly and put her hand on my chest.

"You can have me without paying. Just promise to accept one favor I have in the future if we meet again." She said.

That made me pause.

I meet her eyes and I read her expression. Did she know who I was to want a favor from me?

In the end, I realised that she was just someone with the ability to tell the strength of a person. There were many different animals in this world and many of them had skill sets unique to them.

So it was not rare for a prey species of an animal to be able to tell the strength of someone with one glance. Like they were made to discern predators from the mass, they could tell apart the strong from the rest.

She must've noticed me and when she realized how absurdly strong I was, she must've thought I was some powerful master who came to the city while hiding my identity.

To own the favor of a Kung Fu master was priceless in this world ruled by strength. I suspect that this might not be the first time she approached a strong master.

I looked at her from top to bottom, she was tall and slender. But she had the right amount of fats where needed and she was very curvy.

There was also this alluring vibe around her, like the aura females had when they were ovulating or they were in heat.

"I'm not interested." I said and walked past her again. She just stayed rooted in her place, shocked that she was rejected.

As I was walking pass her, my ears caught a conversation taking place in front of the building opposite to me.

"We have fresh fish caught just this morning! They are completely fresh and we serve it in the restaurant. 6 copper coin is a huge steal!" The owner of the restaurant said to the incredulous sheep who was hesitant to dine in the restaurant.

I stopped.

Did they just say fish?

Meat?

"I'll take that!" I said loudly while raising my hand. Everyone was looking at me and even the Gazelle I just rejected looked at me in shock.

"Wonderful! Come on in sir!" The owner said and I excitedly went into his shop under the stumped eyes of the Gazelle.

I don't need animal pussy.

I need meat.

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Wait, that sounds kinda-

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"This is peak." I said while stuffing my mouth with the masterfully cooked fish.

Fish was the only source of meat you can get in this world but even then, it was not a popular food. Especially if you didn't live near a lake, you will never eat fish in your life.

But here in Gongmen City which was located near the Pearl Lake, fish were plentiful. They did not export it though since fish spoil too quickly and the unpopularity made it unprofitable even if you know how to preserve it.

This restaurant was special since they served the best fish dishes. They did not have much customers but they always had loyal predator animal customers so they could keep the business going.

Right now, the restaurant was mostly empty with four leopards sitting at the other end of the restaurant being the only other customers.

I would've said it was perfect if not for the shameless Gazelle sitting beside me.

I gave her a side eye and noticed how she was choosing only the noodles and vegetable part of the dish and she pushed around the fish's meat with a disgusted expression.

I would've asked her what she was doing if I had not known she would answer with something like 'Can't I eat at the restaurant? Do you own the place?'

Let's ask her anyway.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you mean what am I doing? I am eating, can't I eat at the same restaurant as you?" She replied.

Called it.

"I meant what are you doing with your dish? Do you not like fish?" I asked.

"Yes, do you want it?"

Yes please.

"Sure, I am not repulsed with the idea of helping you." I said and she gave me all the fish meat from her food.

"Are you with the Kung Fu Council? Did you come early for the tournament?" She asked offhandedly.

I raised an eyebrow, "What makes you think that? In fact, what makes you think I am a Kung Fu master at all?"

She smiled, "I have this ability to tell how strong a person is. And with the time I had spent in Gongmen City, I have encountered many people, even famous warriors."

"Yet you are by far the strongest." She said and I smiled.

At least she was honest. If that is the case then I did not mind returning the gesture.

"I am not with the Kung Fu Council but I do have some business with them. It's why I came to the city in the first place." I said and her eyes sparkled.

"So, are you like a warrior or guardian of a kingdom?" She asked, oddly interested in me but I guess it couldn't be helped.

Either her pride was hurt due to my rejection and she wanted to shoot her shot again or she was curious about me and felt that it was nice to be treated normally once in a while.

"You could say that." Technically I was the guardian of the Valley and the Jade Palace.

"Though I am curious about what you said before. A tournament or something?" I asked, since she was so persistent in learning more about me, I could use her to gather some information.

"Oh the Gongmen Whushu competition! As you know, Gongmen and its citizens love entertainment so every three years, the city holds a fighting tournament with the participants being members of the Kung Fu Council. The members can even reach higher positions in the council if they do well in this tournament." She explained.

"Although you are three months too early."

That sounds interesting. I asked the Gazelle more about it and also got the information necessary for navigating the city. She was very helpful and in the end, I told her I would remember her name.

After eating my fill in the restaurant, I ventured deeper into the city and went sightseeing at the different districts.

The buildings of Gongmen City were grand and made of bricks and stones, unlike Mielin City where it was made of brittle wood and paper to prevent disasters from happening when the Grizzly clans went berserk.

I toured the great city for a while but eventually, I reached my final destination.

The ancestral Palace of the Peacocks.

The place where the Kung Fu Council currently resides. It was their main headquarters.

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[IMAGE : I know most of you would hit ]

Author : GIVE ME SOME STONES PLEASE!

Chapter 35: The Clash

[3rd POV]

Master Thundering Rhino.

He was young once. He was bold, foolish and reckless.

But most importantly, he was strong.

He was the son of the renowned warrior, Master Flying Rhino. And unlike those sons of great figures, he did not fall under the pressure of having such a great father.

He was strong, so he thrived.

He let his own strength and fame get to his head. After he fought against ten thousand serpents in the Valley of Woe and came out as the winner, he thought he was unstoppable.

He became prideful and boasted about his achievements.

He declared, "I am the strongest of my generation!"

A statement he wholeheartedly believed in at that time.

That was a wrong move. That was a grave mistake on his part. He had invited a disaster upon himself, he had no excuse.

'He' came.

"What is this nonsense I heard from across the country? You must've been pretty loud." He came knocking to his father's castle.

A snow leopard.

"I am Tai Lung. the Dragon Warrior. And I have come all the way to see what the strongest of my generation was like." He said with a smile.

'He is mocking me.' the young rhino thought to himself.

A duel.

He thought he was strong, no he thought he was the strongest.

He realised during that fight, he was not strong.

He was delusional.

He put in all of his strength, he used every technique his father had taught him, he fought harder than he ever did before.

But he was just embarrassing himself.

In front of Tai Lung, his best was a joke.

Tai Lung was just too fast.

It was then that he launched his most powerful attack yet. He put everything behind the attack. To take back his honour, to take back his pride.

But Tai Lung shut it down with a joke.

"That was a nice hit, of course unless you were aiming for me."

A joke.

A sentence that haunted the great Master Thundering Rhino ever since.

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He opened his eyes, coming back to the present as he looked at the platform where his two students sparred with each other in preparation for the upcoming Wushu tournament.

He gripped the mighty Warhammer in his hand and tried to shrug off the bad memories of the past. He did not know why he was reminiscing about such times all of a sudden.

He was no longer that young rhino, bold and foolish. He was now the ruler of Gongmen City, leader of the Kung Fu Council and renowned as the strongest living master right now.

Master Thundering Rhino.

There was no one in this world who did not know his name. People sing prases of him and retold his tale of glory.

Unlike Tai Lung who was hated by the people. His story was not one of disgrace and evil, Tai Lung could never compare to his glory now.

Greatness was being accepted by the people.

And 'He' will never be accepted by the people.

"Master Croc, make sure you guard your abdomen next time. Your scales cover your backside so use spinning attacks, defend with your back and spin to attack. Not only will it make you unpredictable, it will give more momentum in your swings." Rhino advised his student.

"Now, again!" He said, prompting his two greatest students, Storming Ox and Croc to begin sparring again.

He hit the ground with the butt of his Warhammer to accentuate his order. It would not be wrong to call them his two greatest pupils, yet it won't be right either.

His greatest pupil was Wubao. The guardian of Mielin City and the number 3 spot in the Kung Fu Council.

Sadly he was no more, he was ruthlessly killed by Tai Lung in his rampage.

'Tai Lung.' Rhino thought and squeezed the handle of his Warhammer.

He will get vengeance for his student someday. He was confident in beating Tai Lung who wasted 20 years rotting in jail.

On the other hand, Rhino had grown a lot and got stronger during the past 20 years. If they were to fight against, the fake Dragon Warrior would stand no chance.

He had heard about the news of his escape before. Not just he, but the whole of China was aware of the escape of the Villain deemed evil by Oogway himself.

There were many rumours about how he immediately brought chaos to a tavern, how he rampaged in Mielin City in his anger and even killed the guardian of the city.

Not only that, he later had the audacity to claim that it was a duel to the death initiated by Wubao himself. That fucker, of course, Wubao would initiate a duel to the death to prevent having you attack the people.

Later on, it was said that he fought with the Dragon Warrior and somehow, the prophecised warrior was able to earn Tai Lung's respect and he admitted his inferiority.

That seemed to be a big hit to his pride as he stayed cooped up in the Jade Palace, under the surveillance of the Dragon Warrior ever since.

If only he came out of the Valley of Peace, Master Rhino would've sought him out for battle. It was sure to be easy to defeat someone who had not grown in 20 years.

Maybe he was redeemable, Rhino mused to himself. After losing his pride, maybe he will be able to set Tai Lung on a good path.

He was brought out of his musing when he saw Gazelle walk towards him, confidently rocking her childbearing hips.

Rhino had to stop himself from lashing out when he saw her dress.

"Tell me Gazelle, why are you dressed as a slut again?" Rhino asked and pinched between his eyes,

Gazelle stopped and looked at him with a shocked face, "That is NOT how you talk to a lady."

She pushed her hair and touched her ass, "I am not letting you have this cake, like ever, because of that comment."

Rhino scoffed, who would want to associate with a female that mastered Longmei Quan? A Kung Fu that takes advantage of seduction and charm during a fight.

The ability to release pheromones at will that could throw any male opponent off, fighting in a way that would distract the eyes, using your own beauty to make the opponent of the opposite gender hesitate to attack you etc. It was all under the kung fu of Longmei Quan.

It was a rare Kung Fu, but in the hands of Gazelle whose beauty and species complement the Kung Fu, it was a dangerous combat style.

"Anyways, as your informant, I have something to report." Gazelle said in a tone a little more serious than before.

She was the main source of information for Master Rhino and the Kung Fu Council. In return, she was allowed to own all the brothels in Gongmen city.

They lure in travelling males to these brothels and simply ask for information. You only needed to give them some drinks and a pretty lady to ask and the males will tell you more than you wanted to know.

They would boast about what they did, what they have done, and what they were going to do to impress the ladies in there.

Due to this, they even held the secrets and dirt of many other kingdoms. There was even a noble who boasted about the defence system he built for his Kingdom. Retelling all of its strengths and structure in hopes of impressing the beautiful mare and antelope of the establishment with his intelligence. He was a pig and insecure about his body so he was proud to boast his intelligence.

"What is it?" Rhino asked.

"A strong unknown master had entered Gongmen City. I do not know his identity but he claimed that he was a guardian of a kingdom. He also had a long tail and liked eating fish, which made it likely that he is a lion, tiger or leopard."

Rhino hummed, "Is that all?"

"Hmm.." Gazelle put her hand under her chin, deep in thought, "He was also digging for information about the city. It seemed that he was quite ignorant in that regard so he probably came from somewhere far from here."

"Somewhere far. Is he from Dali?" Rhino asked himself. Dali was a kingdom in the south of China in the Yunnan Province. The kingdom was also filled with tigers.

"Anyways, thank you for the information." Rhino nodded in acknowledgement before throwing a string of gold coins at her. (The coins had a hole in the middle which can be used to put them together in a string.)

"Well thank youuu~" Gazelle caught it and with a smile, she turned around to leave.

"Sorry, I got to go. I have a few customers waiting for me." She said and as Rhino watched her, she put an extra pep in her steps, boldly shaking her fat ass.

'What a slut.' Rhino thought with a frown, 'Yet she wouldn't let me tap.' he grimaced before smiling at his thoughts.

46 years and he was still full of vigor. He was at the prime state of his life, a point in a Kung Fu master's life where their experience and physical strength were balanced and at their peak.

He continued teaching his students for some time and before an hour passed since he got the information, he heard a commotion outside the walls.

The Palace had a huge area surrounded by walls that could fit an army. There was also a platform which they used to spar and hold tournaments.

Master Ox and Croc both stopped their sparring and they all looked at the main entrance gate of the Palace walls. There was a huge wooden gate fixed with metal and it was tightly locked from the inside.

The commotion died down and there was silence.

The silence persisted until it did not.

BOOOM!*

The gate was knocked off its hinges with a single attack as the giant gate fell down under the might of whoever was knocking.

The sound shook the entire surrounding and he came in.

He wore a dark cloak and had a draw string bag on one shoulder. He carefully looked around the surroundings before his eyes landed on Master Rhino who was standing at the top of the steps leading to the palace.

They could feel him smile.

He took off his hood with one move and the identity was revealed. The others did not know who it was but Rhino's eyes widened in recognition.

"Tai Lung."

He smiled, it was the same mocking smile Rhino remembered.

His face had not aged even a bit.

"I heard you were talking a lot again. They called you the strongest living master so I wanted to see it for myself if you had grown to deserve such title." Tai Lung said.

'No.' Master Rhino's body froze.

Why did all this seem so familiar?

It was the same as last time.

.

.

Maybe it was that realization, or maybe he was angry at Tai Lung for killing his student, or maybe it's because Tai Lung infiltrating his city. Maybe it was a bit of all of them.

The ground where Master Rhino stood was completely devastated as he shot towards Tai Lung at a speed which broke the sound barrier.

His speed was so fast that sound couldn't catch up. That made his sudden movement as silent as it could be.

His mighty body easily sliced through the air and in less than a second, he was floating in front of Tai Lung. Master Rhino brought up his mighty warhammer and with all his strength, he slammed it down at Tai Lung.

Tai Lung brought his hand up and caught the head of his hammer. A move that completely caught Master Rhino off guard.

Yet he put in all of his strength. Tai Lung would die because of his foolishness.

His figure suddenly seemed like the size of a mountain because that was the amount of weight behind his eyes glow red as he looked down at Tai Lung like he was a corpse.

The sound of his approach and the sound of his attack exploded in sync. A deafening explosion materializes in the palace ground.

Whoooosh*

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

The ground beneath Tai Lung opened up to scream as the full weight of Master Rhino's strength pressed down on it.

A shockwave that was strong enough to blow the servant ducks off their feet erupted from the clash as it shook the entire foundation of the palace.

Huge cracks started spreading under Tai Lung's feet as the earth crumbled like ash, the force was strong enough to shake the wall until it completely collapsed.

The clash lasted one moment and an eternity as unstoppable strength met the ultimate technique.

The attack settled, reality finally processed what just happened and the result was revealed.

!

The onlookers eyes nearly bulged out when they saw Master Rhino still suspended in the air as he continued slamming down his hammer which was caught by Tai Lung using a single hand.

Tai Lung seemed unfazed and there was not a single scratch on his body. Yet the traumatized earth under his feet spoke volumes of Master Rhino's Strength.

It was almost like Rhino completely missed the attack and hit the earth instead. The force of the attack had skipped Tai Lung's body entirely and only affected the ground.

But that was impossible.

Indeed.

It was a Miracle.

Tai Lung revealed a smile when he met the eyes of Rhino who looked equally shocked and amused by the display.

Then Tai Lung repeated the same words he said to Master Rhino 25 years ago.

.

.

"That was a nice hit, of course, unless you were aiming for me." he said equally amused and mocking.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" Master Rhino laughed madly and they separated.

.

.

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