INT. JADE PALACE, HALL OF WARRIORS - CONTINUOUS
Master Yang leans heavily on his staff, his ancient eyes seeming to look past the stone walls and into a memory. Po, his earlier jokiness gone, steps forward.
PO: "A storm? What storm, Master Yang? Who is this about?"
MASTER YANG: (His voice low and grave) "His name is Xian. A name I have not spoken in centuries."
He gestures for them to gather around the shimmering surface of the Moon Pool. As he speaks, faint, ghostly images seem to swirl within its waters.
MASTER YANG: "Long ago, in an age of chaos, the great Master Oogway brought a gift to the world: the art of Kung Fu. But it was my father, Master Tai Chi, who explored its deepest currents. He advanced the art beyond what anyone imagined, unlocking techniques of incredible power-what we call the Mystical Secrets."
PO: (In an excited whisper) "Whoa..."
MASTER YANG: "My father knew these secrets were too dangerous to share, so to help guard them, he formed a legendary team: the original Furious Five. And the strongest, most gifted among them... was Xian the Gorilla."
He pauses, a flicker of pain in his eyes.
MASTER YANG: "He was my friend. But his ambition was a fire that burned too brightly. Xian couldn't bear the thought of anyone being his equal, let alone his superior. His goal was to possess every secret, every technique, so that he alone would stand as the ultimate, unrivaled master of kung fu for all time."
TIGRESS: (Her voice tight) "He desired power above all else."
MASTER YANG: "Indeed. When my father saw this lust for power, he knew Xian could never be the next Guardian. He chose to pass the burden to me instead. This rejection drove Xian mad. He began spying on my training, stealing the very secrets he craved, and using them to prove his dominance, terrorizing anyone who wouldn't bow to his might."
The images in the pool show a great battle.
MASTER YANG: "He came for the final secrets with an army at his back. My father tried to reason with him, to reach the friend he once knew. But Xian saw only an obstacle to his ultimate power, and he... struck my father down."
A collective gasp fills the hall. Po looks horrified.
MASTER YANG: "With my father gone, I was all that stood in his way. I used all my power and the magic of the Red Stone of Petrification to seal him within the mountain, turning his living form to stone."
He looks up from the pool, his eyes meeting Po's. The images fade.
MASTER YANG: "But such power cannot be contained forever. The stone has weakened. He is free. And a master who knows the Mystical Secrets cannot be defeated by ordinary kung fu."
He looks at Po, not with the weight of succession, but with a shared sense of destiny.
MASTER YANG: "You are the successor to Oogway, the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. Your path is already chosen. But to face this enemy, to protect this world from a man who wants to own kung fu itself, you must be armed with the knowledge he now wields. You must learn the Mystical Secrets."