Ch. 34 - The Great Pretender goes on a training arc!

The trip towards the Wu Dan Mountains was...boring.

To Leo, it was quite boring as Po kept on resting so much that he rested for every 5 minutes they walked.

Like seriously, if Po were in the modern world, no doubt he'd always use public transportation or worse, use a wheelchair everywhere he goes.

Aside from that, Leo decided to use Po's resting time to train with Master Shifu by sparring with the old red panda.

For every spar they do, Leo was slowly adapting and changing his fighting style when it comes to fighting Master Shifu.

As Master Shifu is very fast and almost unable to be seen by his speed, Leo focused more on defensive play-style rather than being on the offensive.

That way, Leo's reaction time would improve and adapt to Master Shifu's speed and patterns.

Even Master Shifu himself was surprised by Leo's Kung Fu development. It started from Leo failing to react to his punches and kicks to Leo managing to grab his ankles and slamming him down on the ground.

Mind you, Master Shifu isn't holding back on Leo unlike what he did in his spar with Po in the movie.

If Master Shifu wanted, he could use his entire strength to almost reach the speed of sound.

Just a reminder, this is just pure Kung Fu!

Now, imagine Leo who only has his Black Panther Template, sure Black Panther is stronger than an average human but when it comes to this world dominated by animals and Kung Fu, Black Panther would definitely have his ass kicked by some Kung Fu Masters unless he wears his Panther Habit.

With Panther Habit, almost no one could hurt him.

This is also what Leo has been eyeing for. By reaching 80% of the Black Panther Template, he would get the permanent Panther Habit unlike the trial use of Black Habit that he got from the Gacha draws.

"Up.....down....up....down...." Crouching in front of Po, Leo decided to use this time of Po resting to give him a good warm-up every morning.

"I-Haahh- I can't push it anymore." Breathing heavily, Po's limbs were shaking like they were on the verge of breaking into half.

"Yes you can, Po! Just do it! Believe in yourself!" Using the old but useful lines, Leo was shouting those words to Po, motivating him to continue his push-ups instead of giving up halfway.

"C-Can I-Haahh~ at least take a small breather?"

"Po. Just two more and you're good for the day, you are so close and you wanted to give up mid-way?"

***

By the end of the day, Po passed out on the ground while making extremely loud breathing sound like an engine revving.

"You did a good job, Po. As a reward for you. Here's a small dumpling." Although Leo was speaking to Po who was sleeping on the ground, the moment his hand that was holding a chopstick with a dumpling slowly went closer to Po's face, Po's eyes snapped open and swallowed Leo's entire hand in one go like a shark that found its prey.

*Bam!*

"Don't eat my fucking hand!" Shouted Leo as his fist found its way on Po's cheek.

"Swoowrryy!" Po apologized with his mouth full.

***

"Finally." Soon, they made a short stop next to a spring of water which is just a few kilometers away from their destination. Meanwhile Leo took a deep breath, gathering the fresh air through his nostrils.

'The air here is much fresher than the air from the Jade Palace.' Leo noticed once inhaling the air.

Meanwhile, Po wasted no time before rushing towards the spring of water and took a bath.

'Po is still the same as he is in the movie.' Leo silently chuckled to himself which turned into a full-blown laughter after Master Shifu reprimanded Po.

Seeing the interaction of the two never fails to make Leo laugh.

Thus, the journey resumed and they went through several hurdles and places that made Leo realize just how huge the world of Kung Fu Panda is.

He only realized it now because of the fact that the movie only focuses around the Jade Palace and other places such as Gongmen City or the village of Pandas.

Now that Leo is experiencing the journey, he encountered many travelers, animals that were never seen in the movie and even some Kung Fu Practitioners that paid their respects to Master Shifu upon seeing him.

"We have arrived!" Master Shifu loudly announced as both Po and Leo were left with their jaws open wide, staring at the most beautiful scenery they have ever seen throughout their entire life!

The Wu Dan Mountains!

The place where Kung Fu originated and found by Master Oogway!

"Woaahhh!" Po's eyes glittered like the stars, clearly mesmerized by the tall mountains and the fog that surrounds them, giving the place a mysterious but tranquil aura.

As for Leo, he has a stunned expression which didn't come from arriving at the Wu Dan Mountains, instead it came from the pop-up screen in front of him.

[• Quest Title: Kung Fu Master

Main Quest: Master the art of Kung Fu by training with Master Shifu.

• Rewards:

Main Reward: 5% of Black Panther Template, 10 Gacha tickets, Rank D Universal Ticket.]

Seeing the familiar reward, Leo's eyes gleamed in greed. He knew that a new world means a batch of Quests and Sub-Quests full of juicy rewards.

So this Rank D Universal Ticket is his key to those juice rewards.

Leo then mentally pressed on the ticket, to see how many days or weeks he can spend on the other world this time.

"A month!?" Leo exclaimed in surprise, which was heard by both Master Shifu and Po.

"Were you saying something, Leo?" Master Shifu squinted his eyes at Leo and asked.

"N-Nothing, I was just asking if we're gonna stay here for a month?" Leo coughed, clearing his throat, which was what gave him enough time to come up with a lie.

"A month?!" Without even waiting for Master Shifu's response, Po was quick to believe Leo's words and shouted in shock.

"We're not staying here in a month!" Master Shifu yelled back at the poor panda.

"We don't have that much time before Tai Lung arrives at the Valley of Peace. at most, we can only stay here for a week and another week for our journey back to the Jade Palace." Master Shifu explained while shaking his head, feeling bad that there's not much time for Po and Leo to train enough to match Tai Lung's level.

At this point, Master Shifu could only trust Master Oogway's words and just believe.

Believe that Po and Leo would be strong enough to defeat Tai Lung given the time they have in training.

If not, then they have no choice but to evacuate the Valley and abandon the Jade Palace, the place that values everything about Master Oogway.

As much as Master Shifu hates to do it, but it is a must if he wants to persevere what is left of his legacy, which are the Dragon Warriors.

"Get to position! We'll start our training right here and right now!" Without bothering to explain about the Wu Dan Mountains like in the original movie.

***

While Leo and Po were training, back in the Jade Palace, the entire place was gloomy.

Instead of evacuating the Valley as Master Shifu instructed, the Furious Five were on the edge of the Valley with a dangerous plan in their mind.

"You guys didn't have to follow me, the Valley won't have its protectors if you guys also go with me." Tigress sighed in defeat upon seeing that their expressions stayed resolute with their decision.

What else can she do but leave them be with what they chose to do.

Although the Valley would be left defenseless without them, the Valley has been at peace for almost a whole year, sure a few days of journey to fight Tai Lung, nothing bad would happen, right?

"Let's go then!" Grinning with excitement to prove herself, Tigress took the initiative and ran forward before being followed by the rest of the Furious Five.

Unlike what they usually have when having fun with Leo and Po, this time, their faces bore nothing but seriousness.

Their journey this time is no joke, it may even cause them their lives if they're not careful.

***

The journey wasn't very long, as a matter of fact, they have arrived just in time to meet Tai Lung in the long rope bridge.

"There he is!" Crane, with the sharpest vision out of all of them, was the first one to notice Tai Lung running through the rope bridge on all fours.

"We must stop him!" Tigress growled, on the verge of roaring, before hastening her pace, making it hard for the others especially Monkey to keep up.

Thankfully, they arrived just in time before Tai Lung could reach the end of her rope bridge.

"Your journey ends here, Tai Lung." Tigress loudly announced.

"Oh really?~ You five must be Shifu's new students." Tai Lung smirked and heed them no mind as if they're no threat to him as he calmly leaned on the ropes.

"You shall not speak of his name with such disrespect!" Tigress glared.

"Heh~, was he also filling your heads with dreams of becoming the Dragon Warrior and failing?"

"I'll fight him." Tigress ignored Tai Lung's provocation and whispered to the Furious Five, who hesitantly agreed with her.

Jumping from her position, Tigress landed on the rope bridge, facing Tai Lung.

"Where is the Dragon Warrior, by the way?" Tai Lung casually said, looking at Tigress as if she's some kind of child.

"How do you know you're not looking at her?" Tigress said, claiming to be the one.

"No you're not. I heard there are two of them, one fell from the sky as a fireball while the other one rose from the ground like an earth dragon!" Tain Lung exclaimed, making up stories based on the rumors that he heard.

"Po?" Tigress muttered.

"Leo?" The Furious Five on the back muttered also.

"So that's their name. Leo and Po." Tai Lung then closed his eyes and continued.

"Our battle will be Legendary!"

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[We're behind the rankings boys! Let's go!]

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 35 - The Great Pretender, Master of Kung Fu!]

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