14 The Infinite Bridge
[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.
