At noon, on the mountaintop beside the waterfall.
Ever since Piandao returned from visiting his old friend, his mood had seemed complicated.
He often sighed while practicing calligraphy.
Still, a master was a master.
However troubled he felt, he never brought that mood into his daily teaching.
During this period, Ren and Zuko’s understanding of swordsmanship had advanced by leaps and bounds.
Ren especially, with that terrifying memory of his, could glance once at a move and remember every last detail.
It made Piandao feel less like he was teaching Ren swordsmanship, and more like he was simply feeding it to him.
See it once, and he could understand it; see it twice, and he could mimic it; see it thrice, and he captured its true spirit.
In a certain sense, Ren truly was a genius of the sword.
Today, Piandao had called Ren up to the mountaintop to test his swordsmanship alone.
As for why he hadn’t included Zuko…
Piandao knew very well that given Zuko’s current progress, the boy would never be able to keep pace with a natural talent like Ren.
When two people could trade victories, chase each other, and push each other forward, they could improve side by side.
But when faced with a genius who had already pulled so far ahead that his back could barely be seen, all it brought was helpless despair.
Piandao had once been a genius of the sword.
He had also been an ordinary man with no talent for bending.
Those two different positions kept him humble when he taught swordsmanship.
He did not simply assume that everyone possessed the same talent he did.
Nor would he develop that arrogant mindset of, How can you not understand something this simple?
So this private test for Ren was not only an acknowledgment of Ren’s talent, but also a kindness toward Zuko.
Now, under the blazing noon sun, Ren and Master Piandao stood facing each other at the summit.
A roaring curtain of white water split the space between master and disciple.
Ren took a deep breath, centering himself into an optimal state.
Piandao held his sword in a relaxed, single-handed grip, keeping his left hand casually tucked behind his back.
“Master, forgive the offense.” Ren raised his sword, holding it horizontally at eye level.
His voice was soft and light, carrying the chill of an autumn wind.
“Begin.” Sensing the unyielding, razor-sharp aura radiating from his disciple, Piandao nodded in satisfaction.
“Strike!” With a sudden shout, Ren moved from stillness into motion.
His foot stepped into a bow stance, his body leaning forward as his sword thrust at Piandao’s chest with frightening speed.
Clang!
The instant the blade came at him, Piandao moved.
His right hand flicked lightly.
The sword leapt from its sheath, and with a twist of his waist, he slashed upward from below.
A streak of silver flashed like spilled mercury, several times faster than Ren’s thrust.
Before Ren even realized it, the blade was already cutting toward his neck.
Ren’s heart lurched.
He hadn’t expected Piandao’s one-handed sword to be this fast.
Even against Ren’s full-power two-handed thrust, the master had moved second yet struck first.
So this was the skill of a true grandmaster.
Ren reined in the pride that had begun to grow within him.
Releasing the hilt with his left hand, he twisted his right wrist, turning the thrust into a horizontal guard.
At the same time, his left palm braced against the flat of the blade, using the sword as a shield to meet Piandao’s strike head-on.
Clang—!
The two swords collided, spraying sparks.
The impact forced Ren half a step back.
Piandao didn’t budge.
“Treat the sword as part of your body.” Piandao’s voice lowered.
He stepped forward and attacked first, delivering a heavy downward slash at Ren’s head.
Ren knew exactly where his own advantages lay.
His stamina far surpassed others his age, but trying to clash head-on with a grandmaster who had immersed himself in swordsmanship for decades was anything but wise.
Ren drew in a breath, then exhaled sharply.
He stepped to the side, his shoulder shifting as the sword in his hand cut upward.
But he did not use full strength.
Instead, the moment his blade met Piandao’s, it clung and dragged like cloth pulling through water, guiding that heavy strike off to the side.
Shhk!
The teacher and disciple crossed paths.
Ren drew his blade back as Piandao’s redirected strike cleaved into the earth, the momentum carving a shallow furrow in the ground.
“Good.” Piandao’s eyes were full of praise.
The instant Ren spun into a sweeping slash, he sprang lightly backward and avoided it.
But Ren did not let up for even a moment.
He was like a wolf with its teeth sunk into its prey, refusing to loosen its bite.
Without pausing, he stepped forward.
His stance remained firm as his waist drove the motion and his body pressed ahead.
The sword thrust out with enough force to pierce anything in its path.
Even Piandao was impressed by the power behind the strike.
He retreated lightly, then leaned back just as the blade reached the tip of his nose, letting the edge skim past.
Then Piandao planted his sword against the ground and kicked upward, striking Ren’s hands with perfect precision.
The blade flew from Ren’s grip.
The outcome seemed decided.
Ren’s sword spun through the air.
Piandao had already risen, his own blade stabbing forward.
The edge cut through the air with a sharp whistle, aimed straight at Ren’s neck.
With no sword in his hand, Ren seemed cornered.
There was nothing left for him but to stand there and accept defeat.
But in the next instant, light flashed in Ren’s eyes.
His empty hands formed sword fingers.
His footwork and hand speed both pushed past their limits.
He closed the distance in an instant, his fingers striking several pressure points on Piandao’s body in rapid succession.
Chi-blocking!
It was a technique Ren had learned from Ty Lee’s explanations, refined through his own practice.
This was the first time he had used it in a real fight.
After two of his pressure points were struck and numbness spread through his arm, Piandao immediately realized something was wrong.
He quickly switched the sword to his left hand while retreating to open the distance.
Finally, the spinning sword came down.
Ren didn’t even glance at it.
His right hand shot out and caught the hilt as if it had been destined to land there.
In the same motion, he rushed forward and thrust.
Piandao raised his blade to guard his neck.
Shing— Sparks burst.
The bright edge was guided slightly to the side, sweeping past Piandao’s neck by a hair.
Teacher and disciple held their positions for a breath.
Then Ren withdrew his sword, stood straight, and cupped his hands in salute.
“Master, forgive my poor display.” Ren understood very well that while it might have looked as though he had held the advantage, he was nearly spent.
Piandao, despite seeming pressured, still had plenty of strength to spare.
Piandao flexed his right hand as feeling gradually returned to it.
“What was that move just now?” he asked.
Ren immediately explained, “Chi-blocking.
I learned it from a friend of mine.
This was my first time trying it, so I’m ashamed it was so rough.” Piandao waved the apology away.
“Swordsmanship is only one part of martial arts.
In the end, the purpose is victory.
If you chase swordsmanship so obsessively that you treat every other martial art as foreign, you’ve mistaken the branch for the root.” As he spoke, a smile appeared on Piandao’s face.
It was the proud smile of a teacher who had seen his student perform well.
He patted Ren on the shoulder.
“I have nothing more to teach you.
You are already a qualified swordsman.
“Where your road leads from here depends entirely on you.” Becoming a qualified swordsman was something Ren had been striving for all this time.
He had not expected the surprise to come so suddenly.
His joy lasted only an instant before he bowed deeply to Piandao, his expression solemn.
“Master, I know that if I had planned the rest of my life on my own, I never would have come this far so quickly.
Thank you for passing on your knowledge, for teaching me, and for the care and importance you’ve shown me.” Piandao shook his head.
“Why are you in such a hurry?
I said you’ve become a qualified swordsman, yes.
But there’s still one thing you haven’t done.” Huh?
Ren was a little lost.
Piandao sheathed his sword and said, “Didn’t I tell you before?
Treat the sword as part of your body.
And if it is part of you, how can you not forge it with your own hands?” …