[Tai Lung's POV]
"Ahh, shit." I cursed when I felt his body stills and I could literally feel life leave his body in the form of his Chi dissipating.
How wasteful.
Such talent, such power, such a great living being. And now he was no more.
I didn't feel good at all. It felt wrong to rob the world of such a soul.
I said it before, I was not an evil villain, never was. I did not revel in taking the life of my opponents. But he left me no choice, even if he were to survive this fight his life force and body would be destroyed to the point that he would be lucky to live for another month.
Yet I still felt like I did something wrong by killing him.
Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't bat an eye or feel this much guilt if it was the death of a normal kung fu practitioner or those incompetent soldiers in the Anvil of Heaven.
But this person under me was a kung fu master, wielding techniques that impressed even the likes of me. He was more valuable than them and his life was worth that of the whole city.
And now he lay dead. For what? To reclaim his father's honour? Because of his traumatic hate for me which he cherished since childhood?
How stupid.
But then again, it was an honour he died at my hands.
What better way to go than from fighting Tai Lung himself?
I pulled out my bloody arm from his limp maw and his body fell on the ground with a thud. His corpse was constantly shirking in size and smoke dissipated from his body.
This went on until his body shrivelled up into a small corpse. A hollow vessel that used to host a powerful soul.
Again, how unfortunate.
I moved my eyes from his body and scanned the surroundings. The broken buildings and the traumatized lands filled my view.
The once glorious city was almost razed to the ground. The urban city was so tightly packed that one building caused the destruction of many others.
The sun was still up in the sky but its bright light was slowly shadowed by the dark clouds. A storm was coming, and from the black clouds, it would be quite the storm.
The chilly wind brushed against my fur and that forced my attention to my body.
It hurts.
I had no serious injuries but I did not come out of the battle unscathed. My forearms hurt from continuously blocking swings that could shatter mountains.
My paws hurt due to the overexertion of my claws. My ribs and back were aching due to the constant rag dolling.
"Definitely gonna feel worse in the morning" I said with a sigh.
Tomorrow, never come.
I walked away from the corpse of my opponent and made my way to the gate of the city. The citizens of the city were too afraid to even show themselves in my line of sight as they all hid from me.
I wondered if anyone died during our fight. The buildings in Mielin City were made from wood and paper precisely because the Grizzly were known for their Berserk Kung Fu which can cause lots of collateral damage. It is made of light materials to not hurt civilians even if they fell.
And if Wubao had come to me, knowing for sure we were going to fight and he might need to use such a dangerous technique, he should have the intelligence to tell people to evacuate first before coming to me.
Nevertheless, it was not my responsibility.
The responsibility falls on Wubao as the sworn protector of the city. But instead of protecting them, he risked their lives for his revenge. Their deaths - if there are any - were entirely in his hands, it was his sin to bear.
That's how it works here, in this world. So I pushed the bubbling guilt that came form my experience in another world.
I looked at the citizens hiding between the rubbles and said, "It was a duel."
"He asked for it."
"He threw the first attack."
"And he was the one who went on a mindless rampage."
I tried to explain myself and when I saw them cower even lower, I just sighed.
"Forget it."
Let it be known that Tai Lung destroyed the City of Mielin and killed the Master in cold blood. Fucking fantastic, my reputation couldn't get lower anyways.
I picked up a jar of honey from a broken shop and left the city. This fight would surely slow down my journey, but not by much.
This was but one obstacle in my journey towards home.
---__---__---__---__---__---__---__---
[3rd POV]
"Tai Lung went into Mielin City. His wrath and hatred had consumed him and he couldn't help himself anymore. But he was only halfway to the Valley of Peace, so he needed a target, a victim he could direct his anger to." A travelling crane said to the audience of the tavern who listened in rapt attention.
"He went into the City with malicious intent. The warm welcome of the city was but an annoyance to him. His cold eyes flashed in madness chained for 20 years. He started wreaking havoc on the city." He said and the audience gasped in horror,
They imagined the scene in their head and couldn't help but feel a chill down their spine. How could someone be so ruthless as to destroy people's lives just because of anger and thirst for revenge?
"Master Wubao, the mighty bear and the leader of the Grizzly Clan fought against Tai Lung. Their battle shook the city and made the heavens themselves silent. Master Bear fought with honour and valor against the evil that was Tat Lung."
"His father's honour rang in his heart, and the desire to protect became his strength. But the enemy proved to be too powerful. Even after years of imprisonment, Tai Lung who practised his evil martial arts only became stronger. But Master Bear never gave up. He fought with every inch of his body, the body the people found was said to be only bones. That was how hard he fought to protect his people. Until his body was reduced to mere bones." The crane said and there were people who cried hearing it.
Oh, brave Master Wubao. How admirable to fight until the very end.
"In the end, Tai Lung fought not with honour but evil. After failing to penetrate the impenetrable iron hide of Master Wubao, Tai Lung stuck his arms down his throat and tore his softer inside." The crane said, imitating the action with his legs.
"Then at the heart of the city where Master Wubao gallantly stood, Tai Ling patiently waited as he drowed the protector of Moelim City in his own blood."
Silence descended the tavern.
"But with the final struggle of Master Wubao, Tai Lung's wrath was satisfied, and his hatred quenched. To give respect to the protector of Mielin City, he leaves without taking the life of a single citizen." The crane finished the story.
"He might have lost the battle but he won the war. His people remained unhurt as he gave his life for them. A small price to pay, he thought in his heart."
"For even in death, he protected the City."
The audience cheered loudly, tears falling from their face as they cheered praise and admiration for Master Wubao.
Although the story told was a bit further from the truth, it was spread fast by travellers and the aerial citizens of Mielin City.
The story had become increasingly heroic and heart-touching as it spread from person to person. The end was what we heard just now.
It was natural for stories to be exaggerated and tweaked when it was passed on. Be it intentional or simply a product of storytellers wanting to captivate their listeners.
Ever wondered how the game 'Chainese Whisper' got its name?
Well, now you know.
"How heroic. Master Wubao stood his ground until the very end." Viper said to her fellow Furious Five as they all sat at a table in the corner, listening to the story.
"Yeah and to bypass Master Wubao's impenetrable hide like that? Tai Lung is not only skilled in Kung Fu but his mind is evil and will not hesitate to use any means to win." Monkey commented. His style of Kung Fu was unpredictability and using any means to win so he could understand what Tai Lung did on a deeper level.
"We have to stop him." Tigress suddenly said in a serious voice, "Fast."
All of them looked at her. Her voice echoed into their heart as they had never heard such a grave and serious tone from Tigress.
"Even as we speak, he is making his way towards the Valley of Peace, ready to lay waste to the village just because of spite," She said.
"I wouldn't allow him to do what he did in Meilin City to my home." She said and quickly finished the food on the table.
The others followed her example and quickly finished their food before continuing their journey.
It had been one night since they had decided to stop Tai Lung before he reached the Valley of Peace. They leave with their Masters instruction to be stationed at the Mountain Pass to slow down Tai Lung until the Dragon Warrior is ready to face him.
Now that Oogway, the main reason they were at ease was gone, they had to take matters into their own hands and stop Tai Lung themselves. They were not going to simply slow down Tai Lung and leave him the safety of the Valley to the Panda.
They ran and traversed the landscape as quickly as they could. Their main goal was to reach the Mountain Pass before Tai Lung could cross the Thread of Hope, a bridge connecting the northern lands and the west.
They would stop or at least hold off the evil known as Tai Lung there.
*ROAR!!*
Tigress let out a roar and quickened her speed. The others try to catch up behind her.
She will do it.
She will stop him.
Even if she has to die while doing it.
.
.
[IMAGE]
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[Tai Lung's POV]
Four weeks have passed since I broke out of my prison and I have travelled across China to reach my final destination, the Valley of Peace.
A curious question, why was I so obsessed with going back to the Valley of Peace? There were many other, more interesting and pleasant cities all over China so why even go there if I was not driven by vengeance like OG Tai Lung?
Well, other than the obvious answer which was that I had some personal issues to settle and that it was my home, there were other reasons why I was returning to the Valley of Peace.
The greatest reason being the Jade Palace and the knowledge within.
The Jade Palace was a personal home of Master Oogway, the creator of Kung Fu. Surrounded by many other notable places like the Dragon Grotto, the Pool of Sacred Tears, the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, etc. The Jade Palace was considered a sacred ground for Kung Fu.
It was considered to be so sacred that every kingdom and city in China decided that there would never be a conflict in the valley and it would remain a neutral ground. Not only that, all masters of Kung Fu were expected to protect the Valley if the peace was ever threatened.
It was also customary that whenever someone created a new style of kung fu or technique, they should send a copy of it to the Jade Palace. Even if they didn't want to reveal everything, they needed to send the concept and the base of the technique.
Although no one was enforcing this custom, it was about honouring the creator of Kung Fu and getting his blessing as they believed in Karam. The fact that the Jade Palace was not under any kingdom and stood neutral also helped this custom to stay alive.
That was not to mention the many techniques and wisdom written by Oogway himself. There was a great collection of knowledge hidden in the library. It was so vast in fact, that Master Shifu had not even read half of them.
I need to go there and soak in all that knowledge. Specifically knowledge related to mastering Chi.
Although the use of Chi to strengthen ones body and infuse in attacks was not unheard of, the concept of using your Chi to influence the outside world and other living beings was an entirely new concept to me.
I knew from the movies that the use of Chi had many uses and could give great power to an individual, so I was definitely eager to learn more about it.
Those were the big techniques. The pinnacle of the world. I need to master them.
I also have many other things I wanted to research and try out. The concept of Chi was also something I learned in my other life, although that world had no Chi, there were many ideas around it that I want to put those into practical tests.
So I needed to get home, stay in the Valley of Peace which was a neutral ground so no one would bother me, and learn everything I could.
Although I could be said to be one of the strongest warrior that ever lived, my future was quite bleak when considering the later villains.
They were in a realm I had yet to achieve.
Another reason why I wanted to be there was that I wanted to be close to the Dragon Warrior.
The Dragon Warrior was the protagonist of the world and as a warrior of destiny, he was sure to attract every single problem and villain to himself.
I would need to be present during these troubles. So that I could get stronger and also give a big fuck you to fate by saving the world and proving myself to be superior to the Dragon Warrior in every instance.
They will regret not choosing me.
It might be a petty goal compared to others but fuck it.
..
I stood at the very edge of the mountain as I looked ahead. The sky was brightly lit by the morning sun, casting its warmth to the world.
In front of me were the peaks of many mountains. If you look down, you will only see a blanket of thick clouds. They were so thick that the sunlight couldn't penetrate them.
The peaks of these rocky mountains were connected by long bridges made of rope and wood. It was the final obstacle. On the other side was the Valley of Peace.
I did not run on the bridge but simply stood at the edge of a mountain and overlooked everything.
The sight was breathtaking and otherworldly, in a literal sense.
I wonder if my other world was even half as beautiful as this in the same period. Probably not as this world had Chi and other fantasy elements.
I stood there for well over an hour, basking in the glory and beauty of the world. After that, I went on the last leg of the journey.
The Thread of Hope, or the Infinite Bridge.
That was my final obstacle. The Thread of Hope was a mile-long rope bridge that connected the cliffs known as the Cliff of Great Awakening.
At the end of this bridge was the Mountain pass, a great gate that was the entrance to the Valley of Peace.
I ran along the rope bridge at a hurried pace but I was not running fast to avoid breaking or damaging the bridge.
It took me ten minutes to cover the mile-long bridge which was more than a mile since the bridges went zig zag between the peaks of mountains. The distance between the two cliffs was a mile but the actual journey was more.
But when I was about to cross the final bridge, I found them waiting for me on the other side.
I couldn't help but smile when I saw them.
The Furious Five.
They seemed to have been waiting for a while now. They stood at the other side of the bridge, which by the way was still intact. It seemed they wanted to break it when I cross so that I may fall to my death.
They must have plans on how to fight against me given how much longer I took compared to canon. They must've thought of every advantage they could get if we fought on the bridge.
Welp, the first rule of war. Never fight a battle in an environment where your enemy had a chance to familiarize themselves.
I slowly walked away from the rope bridge and stood at the edge of the mountain.
And then, I let myself fall off the edge in a carefree manner.
Tough luck kiddos, I ain't playing by your rules.
The air whipped around me as I fell down faster and faster. I pierce through the thick blanket of clouds and the ground quickly revealed itself.
I manoeuvred myself in a way I wouldn't hit the side of the rocky mountain and I fell for almost a minute.
When I was close to the ground, I used my claw and stabbed it into the side of the mountain to slow down my descent, Itachi Style.
My momentum diminished by the second until I used my other hand and my two feet to slide down the mountain.
I leapt off and landed on the ground with a thud, a small shockwave announced my presence.
"This is going to be fun."
---__---__---__---__---__---
[3rd POV]
"Welp, he's dead," Mantis commented as they watched Tai Lung fall off the mountain. "Let's go home."
Mantis and Crane turned around, ready to leave before Tigress spoke up. "No. He is aware of our plan to cut off the bridge while he crosses so he chose to go with the long route."
"...or maybe he decided to kill himself after seeing us and realizing he couldn't win?" Monkey said with a hopeful tone.
Mantis snorts, "It'd be easier to believe if you said he killed himself after seeing Crane's straw hat. This is Tai Lung we're talking about, he's not afraid of anyone."
"Hey! What's wrong with my hat!!" Crane asked.
"It's stupid. Why do you have a hat when you fly? I need to sit there and prevent it from falling off with the wind every damn time." Mantis rebuked.
"Well, it's epic okay."
"Yeah, it'd be pretty epic when it falls off."
"You're just jealous your too small to get a hat."
"No way you just went there-"
"Guy!!" Tigress growled, "Focus."
The two grew quiet as Tigress sighed. Shee looked over to the side where they had a few arrows and spears which they were planning to use.
If Tai Lung tried to cross the bridge, it would leave him with barely any room while he crossed so throwing spears would've been effective.
There were also other plans like throwing a net or a few dynamite which they got in from the Smithing Village.
They were waiting nearly a day for Tai Lung to arrive so they made some plans. But all of those were for nought as Tai Lung suddenly decided to change battleground.
Well, not like she didn't expect something like this.
"Let's go." She said and jumped off the cliff as well. The other furious five soon followed as Crane let out a sigh.
He didn't like carrying all of them,
.
.
.
[Image]
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Author : The moment we reach 1000 stones, you get extra chapter. No next update bullshit. If you reach it today, you get it today.
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