The morning breeze blew gently.
Ren held his sword in both hands, extending it horizontally in front of him, his eyes closed.
He activated his recollection ability.
It felt as though a large hand had swept through his cluttered thoughts, gradually bringing them to a state of absolute calm.
Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his posture to achieve the optimal state of physical exertion.
Within the memory, Ren imitated the details of Master Piandao’s posture and power flow when he practiced his sword techniques in the morning.
When Piandao saw the details of Ren’s footwork, his gaze grew increasingly astonished.
As a grandmaster of swordsmanship, Piandao’s powers of observation were extraordinary.
With a single glance, he realized that Ren was imitating the sword technique he had practiced that morning.
And the imitation was flawless, down to the smallest detail.
In the next instant, Ren opened his eyes, and the sharp blade in his hands thrust out.
Under his precise control, the sword tip stopped in front of the first sheet of paper without piercing it.
“Did it work?” Zuko asked, his heart hammering with anxiety.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on Ren’s forehead.
At this moment, even he was not entirely certain.
Although he felt that he should have succeeded, everything before this had only been a prediction achieved through imitation and testing inside his mind.
He had never properly tested using recollection to control his body in real combat.
On his first attempt, Ren had used his full strength.
Now that he stopped the recollection, he immediately felt as if his entire body had been hollowed out.
Piandao stared at the clear sword mark on the second sheet of paper, a wave of astonishment washing over him.
Zuko’s earlier thought had indeed been correct.
Piandao had deliberately made things difficult for Ren.
His main goal had been to restrain this disciple’s recent frivolous attitude.
But he had never expected Ren to actually do it.
When he himself had reached the point of being able to send sword force through the back of a sheet of paper, he had already been nearly thirty.
It had happened after he learned to rein in his anger.
Yet Ren had achieved such a thing at this age.
Piandao suddenly felt as if he had already grown old, as if his era had passed.
What came next would be the era of these young people.
Ren rested a hand on Zuko’s shoulder and forced a smile.
“Master, may I ask if I passed?” Piandao took the papers back and said lightly, “Not bad.
But your stamina is too poor.
For the next half month, every morning, you will carry twenty pounds and run ten kilometers.” You are completely taking out a personal grudge on me, aren’t you!
Ren grumbled inwardly, but he still did as instructed.
After putting on the weights the steward brought over, he began running laps around the courtyard.
Seeing Ren suffer a rare setback, Zuko couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath.
Piandao glanced sideways at Zuko and immediately said, “What are you laughing at?
When the two of you first arrived, didn’t you say you would share hardships together?” Huh?
Zuko finally understood what it meant to have joy turn into sorrow.
But the smile on a person’s face would never vanish.
It would only transfer elsewhere.
When you were unlucky enough, you had to think of someone even unluckier than you.
That way, your mood would improve greatly.
Suppressing his own laughter, Ren shared this bit of life experience with Zuko.
Zuko kept his face completely rigid, muttering unhappily, “So I’m the one who’s even unluckier, right?” Ren laughed openly.
“Bingo.
Too bad there’s no prize.” “You still have the time to chat?
Two more laps each.” Master Piandao’s voice came from the second floor.
This time, Ren and Zuko both went completely quiet and began running with their heads down.
After calling out, Piandao frowned and shook his head.
He felt that ever since he had taken in these two disciples, it had become increasingly difficult for him to keep his emotions calm.
Even his brushwork had made a mistake, failing to flow in one continuous breath.
He took the towel Fa handed him and wiped his face, then sighed.
“What do you think of those two children?” Fa generally kept silent.
Although, speaking solely in terms of swordsmanship, he could also be called a top-tier expert, he had never liked offering opinions.
However, since Piandao had asked, Fa naturally would not remain silent.
“In my view, Ren’s talent is more outstanding.
More importantly, his temperament is steady, and he can distinguish clearly between good and evil.
“By comparison, Zuko—this prince—is too arrogant and impetuous.
He is not suited to become the inheritor of your legacy.” Piandao looked at this old friend of his and could not help shaking his head with a laugh.
He and Fa had known each other for a long time.
Rather than saying Fa was his disciple, it was more accurate to call him a friend.
When Fa had first come to study swordsmanship, Piandao had asked him what value he possessed that would make him worthy of being taught.
Fa’s answer had been very interesting.
Unlike the other seekers, he had not tried to prove his value in swordsmanship.
Instead, he had proven his skill in cooking and used that as his value, exchanging it for Piandao’s swordsmanship.
But after Piandao taught him everything he knew, Fa did not leave.
Instead, he took up the role of steward for the manor and began looking after Piandao’s daily life.
After so many years, the relationship between the two of them truly had the feeling of being both teacher and friend.
Therefore, after Piandao asked the question, Fa immediately realized that this master swordsman wanted to choose someone to inherit his legacy.
For that reason, Fa naturally set aside his own subjective opinions and evaluated objectively which of the two, Ren or Zuko, was more suitable to become Piandao’s true successor.
Piandao handed the towel back to Fa and said slowly, “I merely feel the swift passage of time.
In the blink of an eye, both you and I have grown gray hairs.” “But they are still young.
The road ahead of them is still very long.
“On the path of swordsmanship, I have merely walked a little farther ahead.
How would I dare say that no one can surpass me?
Especially Ren.
Perhaps his future achievements may even exceed mine.” “You are always so modest,” Fa said calmly with a nod, offering no further comment on Piandao’s sentiment.
… At this time, in the Fire Nation capital, the school bell rang to signal the end of class.
Azula propped her chin up with one hand, bored out of her mind as she played with the flame in her palm.
With each turn of her wrist, the flame went out and flared to life again.
Just from this use of firebending alone, Azula’s talent was absolutely extraordinary.
After all, while others were still carefully and cautiously using flames, Azula could already treat fire as a toy.
The gap was not ordinary.
Moreover, Azula was executing this firebending subconsciously, as her mind had completely drifted off into the clouds.
For some reason, the past half month had felt both long and boring.
With Zuzu gone, Mother had shown her much more concern, and Father continued to praise her as always.
In the past, that would definitely have made her very happy.
But now, somehow, it all felt a little dull.
What exactly was the reason?
Azula thought it over and soon discovered the problem.
That guy Ren was gone too!
Azula had found the culprit behind her boredom over the past half month.
When she was with that guy Ren, he had thrown rocks at crows, only to be chased and pecked by them.
He had fed a stray cat, only for the stray cat to run off right after eating, and then he had chased after it, saying something about how he had paid the cat-petting fee, so why would it not let him pet it?
Thinking of those things, the corners of Azula’s mouth could not help curving slightly upward.
She immediately slapped the desk, pointed at Mai and Ty Lee, and said, “I’ve decided.
Tomorrow, we leave for Shu Jing.
We’re going to find that guy Ren!”