Chapter 3: The Power of Chi

That evening Po walked sadly through the sculpture garden. He saw a few of the palace geese pass by and he hid.

"I'm glad we're not Po right now!" said one of the geese.

"What a loser!" said another.

"What was Shifu thinking?"

"What was Oogway thinking?"

Then they noticed Po hiding beside them.

"I think he heard us," one of the guards said.

"I didn't hear anything," Po replied, coming out of his hiding spot.

"He said you're a loser," the first guard said, toddling off with the others.

Po looked up at the statue of Oogway, the elderly tortoise who had been the senior master of the Jade Palace before Master Shifu. It was Oogway who had named Po the Dragon Warrior, shortly before he ascended into the Spirit Realm.

"Sorry, Oogway," Po said to the statue. He sighed, then turned to go and ran into Master Shifu.

"Ahh!" Po cried. "Would you stop doing that?"

"How was your first day teaching?" Master Shifu asked.

"Humiliating."

"I heard."

"Who told you? Did Tigress tell you?"

"I heard . . . the roof collapse, the cries of pain. And Tigress told me."

"Yeah, well, did she also tell you that it'll never happen again?" Po snapped.

"Because I am done."

"Teaching? Or being humiliated?" Shifu asked.

"Both! I don't know why you ever thought I could teach that class."

Shifu looked at Po calmly. "If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now."

"I don't wanna be more!" Po cried. "I like who I am."

Shifu shook his head. "You don't even know who you are."

"Of course I do," Po said. "I'm the Dragon Warrior."

"And what exactly does that mean, Dragon Warrior?"

"It means, you know, just going around and punching and kicking. Defending the Valley and stuff."

"Punching and kicking? You think that is what the great Master Oogway saw for you? A five-hundred-year-old prophesy fulfilled so you could spend your days 'kicking butt' and running through the town high-fiving bunnies?"

"Yes?" answered Po in a tiny voice.

"No!" Shifu said firmly. "Oogway saw greatness in you, Po. Against my better judgment. More than you can see in yourself. Incredible power awaits you. Power beyond anything you can imagine."

Master Shifu stood up and began a series of slow, practiced movements. As he moved, a golden light began to gather in his hands. He brought his hands together and then directed the flowing energy toward a tiny flower bud at the base of the Oogway statue. The bud immediately opened to reveal a beautiful flower.

Po stared at him in wonder. "Whoa! What was that?"

"That was chi."

"Whoa . . . what's chi?" Po asked.

"The energy that flows through all living things," Master Shifu explained.

Po's eyes widened. "So . . . you're saying if I teach, I'll be able to do cool stuff like that?"

"No, I'm saying if you teach, then I'll be able to do cool stuff like that," Master Shifu replied.

"Mastering chi requires mastery of self. Oogway sat alone in a cave for thirty years asking one question: 'Who am I?' I'm lucky if I get five minutes before you interrupt—"

"Aww, so now I have to sit alone in a cave for thirty years?" Po whined.

"Eventually. After you master teaching," Master Shifu said.

"Teaching?" Po asked. "There's no way I'm ever going to be like you."

"I'm not trying to turn you into me," Master Shifu said. "I'm trying to turn you into you."

He plucked the flower, handed it to Po, and walked off.

Po was more confused than before. "Turn me into me? Wait a second, that makes no—" He called after Master Shifu. "Almost there, Shifu! Just a little more confusing and you'll be the next Oogway!"

Po looked up at the Oogway statue. "Oh sorry, no offense, Master Oogway," he said. "I'll let you get back to your eternal peace."