More than a Dragon Warrior

[3rd POV]

In the valley of the peace, the sound of the morning bell could be heard. It was a sound that signifies the start of a new day, the beginning of tomorrow.

"Good morning master!!" The furious five greeted Master Shifu as they all stood outside of their room.

Master Shifu looked at them one by one with stern eyes and he noticed that one of them was missing.

The new resident of the Jade Palace, Shifu's new disciple and the so-called Dragon Warrior was nowhere to be found.

"Panda?" Master Shifu called out as he looked towards the room of the Dragon Warrior. 

Getting no response, he let out a sigh and went inside the room. He slammed open the door, "Wake up Panda!!'

He paused as he looked at the empty room. There was no one inside and from the condition of the room, it seemed like no one had even slept there.

Master Shifu let out pleased chuckles as he thought the Panda had finally realized he didn't belong there.

"He's quit." He said and he was pleased. 

He did not know why Master Oogway had chosen the chubby Panda as the new Dragon Warrior but Master Shifu definitely did not support the decision.

So, the fact that Panda had quit was good news to him. It was proof that his condescending thought that the Panda could never be the Dragon Warrior, was right.

He and his disciples went out of their room and headed towards the training ground of the Jade Palace. Master Shifu had a permanent shadow of a smile as they climbed up the mountain to reach the training grounds.

"What do we do now master? With the Panda gone, who will be the Dragon Warrior?" Viper asked her master as they made their way up the mountain.

"All we can do is resume our training and trust that in time, the real Dragon Warrior will reveal themselves." Shifu said and pushed open the door to the training ground.

And lo and behold, the real Dragon Warrior was in the training ground, stuck in a split position with both legs on a made-shift bamboo platform.

Master Shifu lost his smile instantly as he gazed at the awkward posture of the Panda. He seemed to be doing his own disastrous training.

"What are you doing here?" Sifu asked with a big frown to which the Panda simply turned back.

"Good morning Master. I thought I'd warm up a little." Po said while secretly trying to get out of his position but alas, he could not. He was too heavy.

Master Shifu grabbed his head and let out a sigh. 

Really? This was the Dragon Warrior who was destined to defeat his prodigious son Tai Lung?

There is a higher chance of Tai Lung turning good than this stupid Pnada defeating him.

Whatever, it seemed he needed to try harder to make sure the Panda quit by tomorrow. He couldn't have someone like him be the Dragon Warrior. 

The topic of the Dragon Warrior was a sensitive subject for Shifu since his son Tai Lung was rejected for that title.

He expected someone great and a never before seen genius to hold the title Tai Lung could not attain.

Now, Master Oogway was telling him that this Panda was worthy while Tai Lung wasn't?

It irked his pride the wrong way and caused a storm of rellious feeling in his heart.

His son, who had worked hard his whole life, his pride and joy, was rejected and your telling him that the Panda was more worthy?

He couldn't accept it.

This was just an absolute disregard of his own and Tai Lung's dignity.

The fact that this fat Panda was the Dragon Warrior.

Master Shifu refused to believe that.

///////////

[Tai Lung's POV]

"He is a warrior like nothing the world has ever seen. A warrior of black and white, an odd reminiscence of the symbol of yin and yang. He embodies the balance of the universe, of both good and bad. It is said that he fell out of the sky in a ball of fire."

I am not gonna lie, it almost sounded cool even when I knew that it was nothing but an exaggeration. Po was almost exactly the opposite of that.

But words spread by mouth seemed to escalate like wildfire. The story got exaggerated more and more as it was passed on.

"It sounds like he must be a formidable opponent." I said while eating the porridge I had in front of me. There were also other dishes like noodles and dumplings on the table before me.

I was currently in the tavern of the first village I could find. I haven't eaten anything in 20 years so you could imagine how hungry I was.

So I decided to have a feast before continuing my journey to the Valley of Peace. After all, unlike the original Tai Lung, I was not blinded by range or hatred to run towards the Valley of Peace the moment I got out.

Let me enjoy my freedom for a bit.

Not only that, I was on the outskirts of Mongolia so I had to travel across China to reach the Valley of Peace. It would take more than a month of normal travel but if I ran without stopping, I could cover the distance in two weeks.

So there was no reason for me to hurry. I will give myself four weeks to make the journey. The original Tai Lung was foolish to immediately run towards the Valley of Peace. When he reached there, he was probably not even at full strength as he would've been tired from making such a long journey.

I did not need to hurry like him, it's not like they could run from me anyways.

"Are you kidding? Of course he would be formidable. He is the Dragon Warrior." The pig who was the owner of the tavern said with a laugh.

The other animals in the tavern also laughed along with him at my seemingly stupid question. Of course the Dragon Warrior was strong, he was prophesied to be the strongest warrior in China.

'Ha~ if only they knew.'

I continued eating my food and ignored the noisy crowd. The food tasted amazing at first but the more I ate, the more mundane it seemed to get.

Well, anything you eat after two decades would be good so maybe the food was never remarkable in the first place.

But there was also a certain factor why the food was so bland. 

'There is no meat.' 

As one might expect, there was no meat in the world of Kung Fu Panda. Everyone was a vegetarian, even the predatory animals.

Eating meat would be considered cannibalism here. Even throughout my life as Tai Lung, I have never eaten meat.

But I have memories about my other life where I did not only enjoy meat but it was my main diet. So I couldn't help but crave meat.

And who could blame me? I was a predator, I was meay to eat meat. Not noodles and stupid dumplings.

I looked at the owner of the tavern who also happened to be a pig. My eyes narrowed as his image was replaced with a crispy bacon in my mind.

"Eeep!!" The little chubby pig flinched and moved away from me. "W-What are you l-looking at!!?"

I shrugged, "Nothing." 

I looked away and resumed eating my food. I need to keep these intrusive thoughts away less I might actually try cannibalism. Hopefully, other vegans foods like Po's noodles were better than this.

Speaking of my other life, in my life there, I was also called Tai Lung. I was born in China and had an unhealthy passion for martial arts and fighting.

I trained my whole life in different Chinese martial arts and Kung Fu. After I learned everything, I was determined to enter the UFC and prove to the world that Chinese Kung fu were real and useful in combat.

I was about to make a revolution, like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan and introduce a different aspect of Kung fu to the world.

Sadly, I died in a plane crash when I was on my way to America.

...

I took a big swig of wine to clear away my, thoughts. The way I went out was unfortunate, with all of my efforts going to waste before I accomplished my dreams.

"Thank you for the food." I cupped my fist with my palm and bowed in gratitude. Then I got up from my seat and head for the exit.

"Hey!!! You haven't paid for the food or wine!!" The owner, a middle-aged pig called out in anger.

"I'll pay next time." I said and tried to reach for the door but a giant buffalo blocked my way.

"Didn't you hear Mr Chen? He said you need to pay." He said and towered over me. The other customers of the restaurant also looked our way as some fighters stood up and got ready for conflict.

"You see, Mr Chen here is a friend of ours who has been serving us food and wine for a long time. I am not gonna watch someone disrespect him like that." He said with a threatening edge to his tone.

Understandable, I could respect that.

But you must also understand that 20 years in prison has not been a good way to earn money. I had absolutely no money on me right now.

"I have nothing on me right now but I promise I will pay when I come here next time." I said and swiftly manoeuvred myself to pass him but he managed to grab me.

'He is trained in Kung fu.'

"That wouldn't do." He said and blew steam from his nostrils.

In this situation, if you look at it from a moral perspective, they were in the right while I was in the wrong.

But in this world, might makes it right.

That means I am alwasy right.

"Get your hand off me." I said and grabbed his hand. My claws sank into his flesh and he let out a scream before I twisted his whole body and slammed him to the ground.

"You!!" The other immediately rushed at me as a deep growl rolled off my throat.

At least I wouldn't kill them.

...

...

...

The owner of the tavern hid in the corner while trembling. His eyes reflected fear and his curled up body reflected his helplessness.

"Mr Chen, like I said, I will pay for everything next time." I said and wiped away the blood on my face.

The interior of the tavern which was lively and hospitable not too long ago was reduced into a broken room that spoke of the conflict and violence that took place.

All of the customers lay with broken bones and bloody bodies but all of them were still breathing out of mercy. Except for the buffalo guy who stopped me. His condition was unknown.

On the other hand, my breathing was not even haggard and my body was clear of even the smallest scratch.

"Oh, and put the tab under the name.." I said as I exited the tavern,  "Tai Lung."

I got on all four limbs as I sprinted away from the tavern and continued my journey. 

The wind rushed against my fur as I ran at a speed that should be a blur to the normal eye. I ran past the different obstacles that came my way with ease.

Four weeks. 

In four weeks I would be home.

.

.

[Image]

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Author : Extra chapter if we hit 1000 stones by today. We are at 570

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