A whole new world

Chapter 7 : An Interesting Invitation

The gong sounded over the valley, reflecting the warming golden rays of the giant flaming ball somewhere in space to announce the dawn. Barely seconds after, five figures came quickly through their doors, bowed strictly and said all together "Good morning, Master!" to the small red panda who gave no reaction in return but merely waited.

Thirty-seven seconds later they observed a figure, whom could best be described as a giant black and white blob of cuddly fluff, came crawling through the opening. His groan sounded as if he'd just been raised from the dead.

"You are thirty seven seconds late panda. Also, try to stand up properly and cease imitating a dying snail, if you will. It is degenerative to your species as a whole." The red panda said dryly, with only a hint of sternness behind it. He could have used the same tone to casually observe the weather. For all his newfound motivation for Po, insulting him every now and then was still a given fact. A remainder of the snarky sadistic side of his.

The grandmaster then returned the greeting to his students and walked with them to the kitchens for breakfast, surprising his students a bit. Master Shifu didn't join them very often for breakfast, or meals in general. He usually ate alone. After collective eating, he began to speak once more.

"Mantis, how was the situation there, concerning the council? Have they dealt with the recent uprising of those extremists?"

"All went well, we think. The situation had largely been disbanded when we arrived, and we provided necessary presence the guards could not spare. The extremist demanded that the city was to be ruled by someone that had claim to the throne, rather than the council. They mentioned the exiled Lord Sheng as a candidate but it was clear that he, wherever he is, had nothing to do with this. The emperor's seal for the council made them shut up."

"The masters Rhino, Croc and Ox were the actual masters there as a constant presence from the council. The others were more temporary in their stay, like master Hao. There were roughly twenty students, ready to do their master tests in between two and four years from now, in terms of technique mastery." Mantis reported. He had the most experience with the council from the three and if you discounted his more-often-than-not vulgar language was the best fit from them to deal with such matters.

"Good. Gongmen is one of the major ports. Violent unrest is not something it needs for the trade. Monkey. How was your training with the other masters in Gongmen City and its academy?"

"All went fluid. We mainly spent are time giving them correct basics of our styles, and sparring on minor points with masters Ox and Croc. Two versus two, or single combat. Master Rhino also joined us a few times for three versus three. We all improved in weapon trainings."

"Good. Have you anything to add, Po?"

"No master, except that it surprised me how different their styles were."

"Which is one of the main reasons I sent you with Mantis and Monkey. You now know more of the inner workings of the council, its representations and you could train against different styles on different levels." Shifu explained to his eager student. Po was a natural talent, but he needed experience. Having the chance to observe the more delicate parts of a mission from higher authority, he now knew who, how and why concerning these authority figures. The training experience in different styles was just a bonus.

"Viper, Crane. How was your mission concerning the outer villages?"

"We had little trouble. The bandits have been dispatched, on the organization behind them they planned everything is broken. The two leaders have been sent to Chorchom prison, while others are more in local, lighter prisons. The light members who did very little are working in community service."