31 Where will you go?

[Tai Lung's POV]

It has been 10 months, nearly a year since I have been living in the Jade Palace. 

I had become stronger than I could ever hope to during these past 10 months. My decision to copy techniques and martial arts from different worlds proved to be more than just genius.

It was heaven-shattering.

And I did not use that sentence to sound funny, okay maybe a little but it was worthy of such praise.

I could now confidently declare to the world that I am the strongest. There was no doubt in my mind that there were no one who could match me if I went all out.

I am the strongest.

Although, claiming to be the strongest in history was still something I could not do.

Because even with all the things I have learnt and my new familiarity with Chi, I could still not use it like a master of Chi would be able to.

I cannot extend my Chi to affect a large area or someplace far away. And I cannot yet blast around Chi like Kamehameha, or make Rasengan.

I could not mould my Chi as I wanted. The most I could do was use it as fuel to create a miracle I visualize in my mind. I was yet to be able to manipulate Chi directly.

But with my knowledge and creativity, I was sure that I would be able to match someone like Po from the 4th movie and Kai with his own Chi.

That means I could match a normal master of Chi with my inner peace alone.

I did not know what was stopping me from mastering Chi. I remembered in the third movie that people who knew themselves could use Chi easily.

"Am I the son of a Panda, son of a goose? A student? A teacher? Turns out I am all of them, I am the Dragon Warrior." Po declared and used Chi.

"Po, you taught us who we were meant to be. A father." Po's dad said and used Chi.

"A friend." Tigress said and used Chi.

"A family." Mr. Ping the goose said, although that was weird, as a person with knowledge of the modern world, I give it a pass.

But god forbid someone said, "A nunchuck chick." before using Chi.

"Dumbpling kicker."

"A hugger."

"Stripey baby."

They said these bullshits before being able to transfer their Chi to Po. Which was fucking ridiculous because I can barely make trees move with mine.

In the end, I almost chalk it out to them being a panda but the damn goose and Tigress were able to use Chi too, just like that.

It was not hard for me to use Chi as fuel to create miracles, but to manipulate my Chi itself was almost impossible. 

After a long time of thinking, I realized that the only explanation was the fact that I had two Chi inside of me. Maybe that was stopping me from manipulating my Chi.

I could not understand why I was unable to use Chi otherwise. I have attained inner peace and during my imprisonment, I have already answered the question of 'Who am I?'

Nevertheless, I did not give up. 

"I am Tai Lung." I said and put my hand forward.

"..."

Nothing.

"I am the strongest."

"..."

Still nothing,

"I am both human and a snow leopard."

"..."

Nope.

"I am a villain."

"..."

Nuh uh.

"The son of Shifu." 

"..."

*cricket sounds*

I took a deep breath and decided to try one last time. I focused on my Chi and I felt the world listening as I spoke the next words.

"Throughout the Heavens and the Earth, I Alone am the honoured one."

"..."

Wait!! Is that- Nope.

"I am the rejected one."

"..."

Nothing.

Okay, this was not working at all. Clearly, I have worked out who I am but it was other things that were the problem.

I stopped my private Chi training and decided to work my body instead so I went towards the training ground. It was early in the morning before dawn so it was still very dark and chilly.

Although I was a snow leopard, I still had a blanket wrapped around me as I quickly ran to the training ground.

When I reached the training ground, I was not greeted with the silence and emptiness that I was hoping for. Instead, someone was training.

My yellow eyes pierced through the dark as my natural night vision as a cat came into play. I was able to see Tigress training in the training ground all by herself.

I couldn't stop my lips from stretching into a pround smile when I saw her using her claws to attack the pillar of Iron which I had bought for her when she asked me to teach her how to use her claws.

Instead of training like I was planning to do, I opted to leaped up the roof of the training hall and watch her from there. I sat down and got comfortable as I watched her train with a smile.

She might not be as talented but she had similar obsession for strength like me.

The unquenchable thirst to improve, the need to be stronger than yesterday, and a reason to push beyond her limits.

I wonder what that was, what reason does she have to constantly train to improve? The position of the Dragon Warrior was already filled and she had enough strength to protect herself and be respected.

So why? Why was she doing it? What was the purpose behind her desire for power?

"Hyaaaaah!!!" She screamed as she swiped at the heavy pillar of Iron in front of her. Her claws left a deep mark but that was it.

She took a breath and rested for a few minutes before she slowly walked back. After a good amount of distance was between her and the iron pillar, she closer her eyes.

She got into a stance. She lowered her centre of gravity and got on all fours, like she was meant to be.

A predator ready to pounce.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw that familiar stance. It was mine.

After what felt like an eternity, her eyes snapped open and she shot towards the iron pillar. She was a blur but my eyes followed her movement and I noticed the exact moment when her claws turned black.

Just like mine.

*PHEW!!*

Her body cut through the air and her claws through the iron pillar. She stopped when she was behind the target as the iron Piller slowly fell down, separated into three pieces.

'Remarkable'

She stood up and her claws slowly turned to normal as she stopped strengthening them with Chi. She had a wide smile on her face as she looked at the broken iron Pillar.

..

*Clap*

*Clap*

*Clap*

..

Her eyes snapped towards me as I started clapping my hands. Surprise coloured her face when she saw me and I noticed a blush on her face.

I leapt down the roof and landed in front of her. 

"Truly remarkable." I said and paused to show her my proud smile. She became flustered as it was not often that I smiled.

"You can celebrate, you know. Jump around and scream giddily as much as you want to. There is no one except me." I said and she raised her eyebrow before she gave me a toothy smile.

"I did it!!!" She screamed and jumped around like an excited girl. I did not disturb her and let her enjoy her moment of achievement.

Hardcore my ass, she was just a kitty inside.

"WhoooHoooo!!!" She screamed to the sky before looking and pointing at me, "I beat your record."

"Indeed, It took me half a year to learn it, but you only took three months," I said and her smile grew wider.

I wisely held back from mentioning the fact that I was 14 years old.

////////////

"Sorry for my outburst. That was unsightly of me." Tigress said while hugging her knees.

The earliest ray of the sun was shining down on her, making her red fur almost look golden. We were sitting on the roof of the training hall and the awakening world below was for us to gaze at.

I chuckled and patted her head, she buried her face a little deeper in embarrassment, "You don't need to act like that towards me. After all, you are my little sister in all but blood now. I was equally proud if not prouder."

She gave me a smile and nodded at my words.

Tigress was a pitiful girl. She had told me her past before, she was an orphan but due to her unnatural strength, everyone in the orphanage called her a monster and she spent most of her time locked up in a room.

She was a tiger and not only that, she was supernaturally strong even for her species standard. She locked herself away, afraid to hurt other kids with her strength which she had yet to learn how to control.

That was until Shifu came and taught her Kung Fu so that she could control her strength. After she was done learning how to control her strength, she eventually got accepted by children her age.

Yet adults were still afraid to adopt her so she thought she would always be alone. That was until Shifu came and adopted her as a daughter.

So naturally, her only parent figure and family was Shifu. But because of me, she never really got the affection of a father from Shifu.

After hearing that, I ended up feeling a little guilty and began pampering her as much as I can. I was more than happy to act as a brother for her.

"Here, wrap this around you." I said before taking off my blanket and covering her shivering body. 

She had just finished training so her body was cooling down and exhausted, add the chilly morning air to the mix and she was cold.

She tried to resist but I easily forced the blanket around her. In the end, she accepted with a small voice.

"thank you."

I was a snow leopard so the cold did not bother me much. I could also heat up my body with Chi if I really wanted to so there was no need to thank me.

But I just gave her a nod as we sat side by side, watching the sun rise on the horizon. 

It was beautiful.

I couldn't express enough how beautiful my world was. The modern-day landscapes and beauty were nothing in front of this.

We stayed quiet, none of us bothering to speak as we are both not the talking type. Yet we felt comfortable with each other, enjoying each other's company.

There was no romance around us though, only a familial bond. I did not know if it was because she was so much younger or because of the memories of my past life as a human but I could not see Tigress that way.

But that was not a problem. I liked the bond we had.

..

..

So I felt a bit hesitant when I said, "I will be leaving."

Though Tigress did not react much. She just stayed silent and processed my words until she was ready to speak.

"When?"

"I will give one final teaching to all of you today and I will leave tomorrow."

She nodded. She did not ask me to stay longer or express her desire to come along with me.

Maybe she did not want to be a bother or maybe because she still thought we were not that close for her to ask.

I have done everything I wanted here. I have studied in the library and had the peace and privilege to train as much as I want.

And now, it's time to go out to explore the world. See how much China had changed during my imprisonment but most importantly.

Seek out opponents.

I have learned and mastered many new techniques during my training and now it's time to test them in real combat.

It will be like my hay days when I travel around China and seek out different masters to a duel.

"Where will you go?" Tigress asked.

"I am planning to visit many places. But I will start with someplace familiar and where I can find worthy opponents for certain." I said and turned to her with a smile.

"The city where the Kung Fu Council resides..."

"Gongmen city." I revealed with an excited smile.

She stayed silent and observed my face. Then she asked with a tone of doubt.

"You think you can beat the Kung Fu Council?" 

I was caught off guard by her question before I started laughing out loud. Had they really hidden the truth in order to save face? 

"Wrong question kitty. You should ask, 'You think you can beat the Kung Fu Council again?'" I said.

"And my answer would be, absolutely. In fact, I will beat them worse."

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