Allen opened a portal and appeared in Po's room, where Po lay utterly worn out.
"Panda..." Allen sighed as he watched the panda snore. He held a coffee made by MJ, with a heart design crafted in foam. He had no idea when she learned to do that, but he wasn't complaining. Also, he had a donut in his other hand.
The girls were quite happy at this moment; seeing Allen return each night felt like a true blessing, and he had been receiving lots of attention both at night and in the morning before he returned to his current journey.
[And to think that you ever doubted that it would be beneficial to improve the system~ *Proud look*]
Allen smiled in amusement at the system's attitude, 'I will never doubt you, system, sleeping with two redheaded girls in a premium bed is better than a bed on the floor of the ancient China of the Kung Fu Panda world.'
[Hehe~]
The aroma of the donut in Allen's hand roused the panda from his half-hibernation, like a zombie returning to life.
Diana – This panda needs some Amazon discipline to get on the right path of a warrior.
Allen sipped his coffee and took a bite of his donut. The sound made Po snap awake, his eyes glued to Allen.
"I don't know what that is... but something tells me it tastes amazing," said the panda, his eyes shining with anticipation and his mouth watering at the sight of the glazed donut.
"They sure do taste good, but..."
Allen wasn't sure if he should be influencing Po's eating habits, considering this was ancient China.
"They're donuts."
"DONUTS?!" shouted Po, only to realize he had no idea what they were.
Allen wouldn't be stingy—after all, it was his fault for coming into this world with modern food. So, he bought some more from the system's store and placed them in front of Po. The Po looked at the tray with a mountain of donuts like they were the golden ark or the fountain of youth.
Po carefully picked up one with reverence, as if handling a piece of fine art, and then he let out a tear.
"It's beautiful…"
Then he proceeded to eat like a pig. "Ohh~" Po nearly fainted twice, but his appetite won out, and he kept eating until he was done.
Po was puffed up with a goofy grin, "Now I can die in peace.~"
(A/N: Po fell in love with the donuts 🍷🗿)
"You're overreacting..."
Po finished eating and was full of energy. Allen gave him the recipe so he could make more, though he warned that the glaze might need substituting for certain ingredients. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! THIS IS AMAZING!"
Allen grabbed Po by the scruff before he could run to his father's restaurant to cook, reminding him he was the Dragon Warrior and needed to train.
"Oh, right..."
Po looked dejected for a second but quickly put the recipe away and got ready to continue his training. The Furious Five not only trained but also did errands—fighting bandits, escorting people, and resolving all kinds of issues. That was why they were so respected, as they were like superheroes in Kung Fu form.
Well let's go," said Allen.
"I can walk UWOOO!" Po shouted as Allen jumped into the sky.
Allen threw him into the training room, where he started screaming while being tortured by the training machine.
"Ahhhh!"
Allen left Po in training (being tortured) and went to see Oogway at his legendary peach tree.
...
Gwen – Allen, you're going to have to share the preparation method with the panda, or he's going to lose his mind.
Artemia – Well, it's inevitable... Maybe the outside world lacks ancient purity and has grown weak, but its advances in the pursuit of indulgence are impressive.
Rick – Civilization has always sought comfort; from heated bathrooms to perfecting the most unhealthy but delicious foods, it's been a human priority.
Beerus – Damn it! I can't take it anymore; I need donuts now!! Hey, inconsiderate disciple, where are my donuts?!
[I.M.] "Beerus-sama, you can get all the junk food you want from the store…"
Whis – Young Allen, you shouldn't have mentioned that. I was trying to keep Beerus from discovering it, or he'll become addicted to junk food… well, even more than he already is, but still.
Beerus – Huh?! Whis, you knew about this?!
Whis – Ohoho~
Allen shook his head. Since Beerus was Allen's mentor, he received a significant amount of points when he entered the Chat, so it was expected he'd be able to feast on junk food without restraint.
By the way, the system was aware of Whis, Vados, and Champa, so after consulting with Allen, it gave the three of them access.
Champa, who was beside Beerus and had now received his personal access, complained when he saw Beerus's overwhelming number of points compared to his own.
"What's the meaning of this? I'm a god of destruction too!"
[My apologies, but the God of Destruction, Beerus, has been Allen's mentor, which has helped Allen survive some difficult situations...]
Champa – Brat... Allen, come here now; let me teach you a few things. I'm sure that stingy Beerus hasn't shown you Ultra Ego, right? I'll teach you!
Vados sighed. Seeing her God of Destruction so eager to teach someone should have made her happy, but she knew it was for the wrong reasons.
[I.M.] "Currently, I can't, but I don't see the need since the store's food is so affordable."
Champa checked the store, and sure enough, the prices were so low he could eat daily to his heart's content with the points of a casual viewer.
Champa – In that case, forget it!...
Vados began to feel very angry, scaring Champa.
Vados – Don't mind him, Allen~ When you come, I'll teach you personally…
Whis eyed his sister suspiciously, "Isn't it improper to teach Ultra Ego without your god's permission?"
Vados blinked, confused, "Huh? Ultra Ego?... Oh, yes, of course, I'll teach him that too, and Champa-sama won't object."
Champa trembled without daring to look at Vados...
Whis remained silent; he didn't want to ask what she actually meant by "teaching" Allen if she wasn't talking about Ultra Ego at first. Naturally, Whis had no issue with his sister doing as she wished, but he worried she might get herself into trouble.
Vados – What do you think Allen would you let her show you various techniques this beautiful big sister?~
[I.M.] "Learning from an angel is an honor..."
[We're still talking about training right?]
'I'm not sure... but I'll let the Allen of the future worry about that...'
Vados – Ara~ how sweet of you, I'll put in twice the effort~
Whis – ...
...
"There it is..."
From a distance, it was already visible to Allen and his Chat; the peach tree was blooming on top of a big rock.
The ancient Chinese buildings, the lush trees, the spring wind, and the whole jade palace were very charming, but where that peach tree was, there was something special.
The tortoise in question sat atop the peach tree, eating one of its fruits. Oogway tossed a peach toward Allen.
Allen looked at the peach for a few moments.
"Don't you like it?" Oogway asked with a slight smile.
"It's not that, Master Oogway; it's just that this peach seemed special. I thought it might contain some spiritual power or something…"
...
Nikky – I get the reference! In Chinese novels, every fruit has some spiritual power and stuff like that!
Captain America – I... didn't understand the reference.... *Gets depressed*
Wade – Don't worry, Capi, there are plenty of references out there; you'll get your turn to show off your sweety a** (Ban for an hour for obscenities).
...
Oogway chuckled, "Of course it's special; it's a wonderful living being. There's nothing more special than that…"
"Of course, Master Oogway." Allen ate the peach.
Oogway climbed down from the tree and glanced at Allen before walking to the edge.
"The wind flows beautifully in this place…"
Allen looked into the distance, "It's a very welcoming place..."
The old turtle smiled at the breeze on his face."It is because of the brave warriors who keep it this way..."
Allen remained silent for a while and then asked, "Master Oogway… do you think my path is the right one?"
"One of the things I've learned over the years is that a master doesn't decide what the right path is… the job of a master is to teach different paths, to try to guide a student so that they don't make mistakes that lead them down the path that only brings misery to others and itself.… however, in the end, we all walk alone, and we must decide our path for ourselves."
Allen looked at Oogway out of the corner of his eye, "Even if that creates another Tai Lung?"
Oogway sighed, "Tai Lung, what a lamentable young man... that was my mistake, as I ultimately failed Shifu as a teacher, and in turn, he failed Tai Lung…"
"Shifu's admiration for you made him unable to question your decisions..."
Shifu adored the ground Oogway walked on and still does; even until the very end, Shifu could not accept his master's departure.
The wind stirred the petals of the peach tree floating in the air and formed the image of Tai Lung.
"Tai Lung may not have been the Dragon Warrior, and he may have had darkness in his heart, but he didn't deserve to be abandoned after being rejected… by the time we understood that, it was too late."
Beerus – This power...
Whis – That must be what they call Chi... is similar but different.
"Tai Lung is not innocent, but it was not entirely his fault… huh." Allen looked at Tai Lung, "Master Oogway if you had the chance, would you do things differently?"
"That's a question without an answer... and an unnecessary doubt. The past is history, the future is uncertain, and I can only say that in the present, my heart is at peace as my legacy is almost complete..."
Oogway looked at Allen, "Young Allen, I'd like to ask you… how far do you plan to go?"
"How far?" Allen thought for a moment before smiling, knowing Oogway was teasing him since he'd just said the future was uncertain.
"That is also an unanswered question, Master Oogway."
Oogway smiled and walked to the edge of the rock, then moved his hands slowly… as he created a circle, he turned toward Allen with his palm raised.
Allen's eyes widened as he felt a warm current pass through him, reaching the peach tree behind him and causing it to bloom fuller and more beautifully.
"This may be useful for you in the future..." Oogway smiled again, then sat in the lotus position.
Allen lifted his hand, and the peach pit he held had sprouted. As he looked at Oogway, Allen couldn't help but feel doubtful. Was he truly near the end of his life, or did he simply cross over to the other world because, with him around, Shifu would never become the master Po needed?
Allen leaned toward Oogway and covered his own fist with his palm before turning and walking away.
...
Allen headed to the training hall, but not before planting the peach tree near the pond where he had been earlier.
Po lay sprawled out in front of the children's training dummy. Allen watched him; he needed to help Po find his strengths.
Po got up and hit the dummy again, but it was designed to stay upright, so no matter how hard Po hit it, he couldn't knock it down. The force of his blow would just bounce back on him.
Allen recalled Oogway's words—everyone has their own path. He wasn't a Kung Fu master, and while Oogway's path worked, it wasn't Allen's style. Allen has his way of doing things and, of course, his way of coaching, and that doesn't take away from Oogway's respect.
"Hey, Po…"
"I'm not resting!"
"Po, why are you losing to that dummy?"
"Don't underestimate him! That guy's trained masters for generations!"
Nikky – He's got a point; at least Tai Lung and Tigress used it.
Allen tried not to laugh. "That's not what I meant, Po. The training dummy is designed to send your strikes back to you, but it's just your own strength hitting you."
"Huh?"
Po stared at the dummy for a while; it was true that it only moved when he hit it, but if that was the case, what was the point of using it?
"One more thing, Po—why are you fine after falling down the stairs constantly…?"
This world might be flexible with some laws of physics, but if another person besides Po fell from such heights and took that many hits, even if they didn't die, they'd definitely be badly injured. And they wouldn't recover in a day, much less half an hour.
Po stared at Allen, a bit dazed. These were two questions Po would eventually ask himself, but Allen was giving him a little push now.
Allen left the training hall, and at the door stood Shifu, who hadn't interrupted them. Shifu, too, fell into deep thought. His insistence on denying Po's existence as the Dragon Warrior had blinded him to the fact that, despite everything, Po was quite peculiar.
"Maybe…" Shifu muttered as if he'd realized something.
Allen smiled before leaving the Jade Palace and heading into the village.
...
Allen down to the town, where he received several greetings from the people, to which he responded politely. It is a pleasure that he is no longer seen as a very conspicuous stranger.
DoomGuy (Updated Name) – *The man trembles with uncontrollable excitement*
Allen noticed Doomslayer didn't seem keen on talking, but the system had found a unique way to interpret a silent character in the Chat.
"What's up, DoomGuy?"
DoomGuy – *Points behind Allen*
Allen turned around and saw a pair of rabbits pushing a stroller with baby bunnies.
Allen smiled and approached. "Good morning."
"Honored guest?!" the mother rabbit exclaimed.
"Have we done something to offend you? If so, please forgive us!" the father rabbit pleaded, putting himself between Allen and his family.
"No, on the contrary," Allen smiled. "In my homeland, we have a tradition of gifting a dowry to families with seven children…"
Allen pulled out a bag of coins and some carrot plush toys for the kids.
The pair didn't seem well off, wearing patched clothing, but accepting help from a guest of the Jade Palace made them uncomfortable.
"But we have eight?" said the father rabbit, a bit embarrassed.
"Ahem, I meant eight…" Allen said, handing the bag to the rabbit.
The rabbit gave the bag to his wife and bowed. "Thank you very much, honorable guest… we won't forget this favor."
"Don't worry, it's tradition," Allen smiled and then turned away.
Gwen – Oh~ so it's a tradition? Strange that I've never heard of it~
Felicia – Hehe~
MJ – So, eight kids, huh? Well, I wouldn't worry about the money; something tells me that you will get that dowry more than once hehe~
Allen paused for a moment before continuing without reacting to MJ's teasing.
DoomGuy – *Shaking with joy*
[DoomGuy has sent you a private message – :3]
[DoomGuy has sent you a gift. Do you want to open it?]
'Better… later…'
…
Monkey and Crane were standing in front of a cart loaded with merchandise and a pig that looked like a merchant.
"What are you doing?"
Allen looked at the merchant busy reviewing scrolls and the ox set to pull the cart doing stretches.
Ivy – I get it; since there aren't horses or pack animals here, some people take on this type of work…
Gwen – Not sure if it's sad, funny, or ironic that, even with human-like intelligence, they end up doing the same job.
MJ – Well… at least they get paid, so it's not as bad as it might be.
"Allen?!" Monkey jumped in surprise, and Crane was startled as well.
Allen had a strong presence, so it was easy to sense when he was near. But this time, they hadn't noticed him until he was very close.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Allen said with a slight smile.
Crane and Monkey exchanged glances; after getting to know Allen, they could be sure he wasn't an enemy. But they both knew what he was capable of and yet they didn't feel uneasy in his presence.
Part of the reason for this was that they no longer harbored hostility toward Allen. However, the other reason was Allen himself. At this point, even if someone held bad intentions toward him, they'd just feel uncomfortable—maybe a bit scared, but not suffocatingly so. Of course, this didn't apply if Allen himself felt hostility, anger, or dislike toward someone.
"We're about to start an escort mission to the neighboring village," Monkey replied casually. His personality was quite friendly, though he tended to joke around.
"Yes, well, we should go," Crane hurried, a bit nervous. Even if Allen wasn't hostile or dangerous, he was still a bit of a monster in Crane's eyes, so he preferred not to be near him.
"Don't be like that, Crane; he could even help us…"
"Lazy Monkey, you just want someone else to do the work for you!"
"Don't be a coward, Crane."
"I'll go," Allen said, looking a bit lazy. Escorting a merchant was like a level-two mission in any video game or isekai story—not very exciting, but it wasn't like there was much else to do here.
Crane and Monkey gulped. Monkey hadn't seriously expected Allen to join; since Shifu treated Allen with respect, they assumed he was of high status, so Monkey figured he'd refuse. However, now that he'd accepted, the prankster Monkey regretted his big mouth.
…
Mantis had seen what happened and went to inform Shifu, but only Tigress and Viper were there.
"The human went with Crane and Monkey on an escort mission?"
Tigress's eyes widened in disbelief; she, too, thought Allen wouldn't do such things.
In ancient times, social status was very rigid, and even masters of martial arts like them showed respect to nobles. This was explored in the TV show, where they cared for an arrogant noble little pig, even allowing verbal and physical abuse.
Of course, these were just their assumptions, as Allen had never claimed to be someone like that.
Viper trembled in panic. "What do we do?! If Shifu finds out, or worse, if Master Oogway finds out, we had his honored guest doing escort work, and we'll be expelled from the palace!"
Tigress, pacing back and forth, knew how serious this was.
She frowned. "We need to follow them!"
Mantis gulped, and Viper felt small, but neither objected.
Tigress, Viper, and Mantis sprinted across rooftops, intent on catching up with Allen. Their speed was fast, and it only took an hour before they spotted the cart.
Allen was lying in the back, chewing on a stalk of wheat and wearing a traditional open Chinese hat. Monkey was patrolling by swinging through the bamboo, and Crane flew overhead.
Tigress sighed with relief that, at least, they hadn't been so reckless as to make Allen work.
…
Allen wasn't too nice to refuse the goodwill of his companions, who offered him a place in the cart.
"Allen…" Artoria's voice reached his ears, and as he opened his eyes, he saw smoke in the distance. Tigress, Monkey, Crane, Viper, and Mantis had noticed it too.
"…" He frowned; there was too much smoke for it to be just a house burning.
…
A/N: The world burns with the wrath of vengeance...
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