Although it was already March, the early morning still carried a slight chill.
Out of concern for his future fate, Ren got up very early.
He badly wanted to lie around for a while and put everything off until later, but the moment he thought about how he would be conscripted into the army in another couple of years, Ren obediently crawled out of bed and found something to eat.
As for breakfast, he had always been perfunctory about it.
He simply boiled a few eggs and called it done.
While it was still early, Ren took a few scrolls from the bookshelf and began reading.
At first, he hadn’t been used to reading scrolls at all.
Even now, he still wasn’t.
Ren swore that if he ever got the chance, he would turn every last scroll into a book.
Although he had no talent for bending, that didn’t stop him from exploring its origins.
Naturally, there was no way a nobody like Ren could have borrowed these scrolls and classical records on his own.
They had all been lent to him out of consideration for a certain princess.
Damn the evil privileged class!
…Wait, wasn’t he part of it too?
All right, never mind.
Ren opened one of the scrolls.
The units of chronology recorded on it were all divided according to the years before and after the life of a certain Avatar.
This was also known as the Avatar Calendar.
From that alone, it was clear that the Avatar’s influence on this world touched every aspect of life.
Every Avatar represented an era.
Of course, after the Fire Nation launched the Hundred Year War, the Air Nomads were wiped out, and the Avatar vanished, the past century had become the dividing line between modern history and ancient history.
Ren carefully read through the records, hoping to uncover the secret behind the origin of bending.
The section he had reached covered the era of Fire Nation Avatar Szeto.
It was said that no Avatar had influenced the Fire Nation more deeply than he had.
In its early years, the Fire Nation had suffered severe internal strife.
Because it was an island nation, power had been difficult to centralize.
Volcanoes erupted one after another, and the Fire Lord’s government had been weak, repeatedly compromising with the noble class while being battered by all manner of natural and man-made disasters.
Civil war was on the verge of breaking out, and the Fire Nation nearly split apart.
When natural disasters and warlord infighting descended upon the country at the same time, ordinary people could barely survive.
Their only hope was to pray for the spirits to calm their anger.
Szeto witnessed all of this in his childhood and swore to change the country.
Several years later, Szeto was confirmed as the Avatar.
Afterward, he immediately chose to join the Fire Lord’s government and became the chief minister and advisor to Fire Lord Yosor at the time.
In short, in Ren’s understanding, that position was more or less the same as a prime minister.
Avatar Szeto first used the Avatar’s influence to ease the blood feuds among the nobility.
He then carried out sweeping economic reforms, bringing an end to the currency’s continued depreciation.
Reading this, Ren couldn’t help but feel that Avatar Szeto had truly been an extraordinary figure.
After all, the economy was the lifeblood of a nation.
Of a ruler’s so-called civil and military accomplishments, at least half of the “civil” side rested on the economy.
After halting the currency’s depreciation, Avatar Szeto reached a trade agreement with the Earth Kingdom and established relief programs to combat the devastating famine of the time.
His efforts saved countless impoverished farmers from starvation and helped revitalize the Fire Nation’s population.
Ren read with great interest, nodding from time to time as though he fully understood what he was reading.
Before long, however, he set the scroll aside.
What he wanted to explore was the origin of bending, not the glorious history of how the Fire Nation had risen from weakness to strength.
He casually picked up another ancient text and continued reading.
It contained legends about spirits.
One passage told of the city of Tienhaishi on the Mo Ce Sea.
Long ago, a group of nomads had camped along its shores.
Starving and freezing, they prayed for the spirits’ protection.
In answer, an ancient spirit known as the Lady Tienhai appeared.
She healed the wounded, provided them with food, and promised to watch over them as long as they remained on that land.
Thus, the nomads settled there and founded the city of Tienhaishi.
However, that city was completely abandoned during the era of Avatar Yangchen.
It was said to have been the result of an agreement between Avatar Yangchen and the spirit.
Ren stroked his chin, feeling that the relationship between the spirits and the Avatar was a subtle one.
The two seemed to interact as equals.
And yet, something about it felt off.
The spirits always seemed to adopt a slightly lower stance toward the Avatar.
Why was that?
If it was simply because the Avatar was powerful, that didn’t seem entirely convincing.
After all, according to the ancient records, spirits did not truly die.
They merely continued to exist in another form.
When mortals died, they were buried beneath a mound of earth, and that was the end of it.
But when spirits died, they might become a tree or a fish before eventually being reborn after a long span of time.
They weren’t truly dead to begin with.
On top of that, the Avatars held themselves to exceptionally high moral standards, while spirits often regarded mortals from a lofty position of superiority.
There was no reason for the spirits to lower themselves before the Avatar.
Ren scratched his head, thinking hard.
Just then, someone suddenly patted his shoulder, startling Ren so badly he jolted.
His thoughts instantly returned to reality.
Ren turned his head and saw Her Highness standing there with her hands behind her back, wearing a kindly smile.
“What are you thinking about so intently?” “How did you get in?” Ren immediately focused on the important question.
A flame flickered to life at Her Highness’s fingertip.
She replied leisurely, “I knocked downstairs just now.
Didn’t you hear me?
You know I’ve never liked waiting for people.” Ren looked out the window and saw that the front gate of his house had been set on fire.
Holding his forehead with one hand, he gained an even clearer understanding of this princess’s terrible personality.
Ren rubbed his face and decided not to dwell on such minor matters.
With slight helplessness, he said, “All right.
May I ask what business Her Highness has with me?” Azula blew out the flame on her fingertip, then, without the slightest sense that she was a guest, picked up one of the eggs Ren had already peeled and took a bite.
“Didn’t you say before that you wanted to find a swordsmanship teacher to guide you?” Hearing this, Ren nodded.
Then he first put away the ancient scrolls and texts, lest this temperamental princess burn them with a burst of fire.
Azula picked out the egg yolk in disgust before continuing, “I had someone look into it.
In Shu Jing, there’s a master swordsman.
If you can receive his guidance, then in the future, you might barely be qualified to serve as my guard.” Ren was not about to waste food.
He took the egg yolk Azula had picked out and spoke while chewing.
“I think I’ve heard of him.
That master’s name is Piandao, right?” Azula nodded, then pointed at the egg, signaling for Ren to peel another one.
Ren lightly cracked the shell and peeled the egg as he said, “I heard this master never takes disciples.
Many people have been rejected by him before.” Azula folded her arms and gave a cold laugh.
“That’s because they were all trash.
You’re different.” Ren handed over the peeled egg, somewhat embarrassed.
“You really think too highly of me.” “In any case, I don’t care.
I’ve already mentioned this matter to Father.
You and Zuzu will go there together to seek apprenticeship and study.” At this point, Azula took a large bite of the egg, narrowed her eyes slightly, and cast Ren a sidelong look.
“If you dare make me lose face in front of Father, hmph…” Although Azula’s words were very threatening, her cheeks were puffed out as she issued the warning, which for some reason made her look a little cute.
Ren forcefully suppressed his laughter and nodded solemnly.