Kahn and Azula were sparring.
Though it was sparring, to anyone watching, their fight probably looked more like a duel to the death. Every move was lethal, neither showed mercy, and the sight made onlookers tremble with fear.
Unlike the close-quarters fighting that had dominated their childhood bouts, as they grew older and their physical abilities improved, the power of their firebending grew ever stronger. Their battles had evolved from warriors trading blows into mages exchanging barrages.
An ordinary Firebender would probably have been left staring, jaw agape, at their battle. The power of firebending in their hands was on an entirely different level from that of ordinary Firebenders!
They stood about five meters apart, surging flames colliding and merging between them, scorching the ground. Such intense fire forcibly raised the surrounding temperature considerably, even making the light faintly distort.
With a casual sweep of her hand, Azula sent an arc of blue fire several meters long straight at Kahn's face. Without a change of expression, Kahn made a blade of his right hand and split the fiery arc with a downward chop. Yet several waves of flame followed close behind, tracing graceful curves through the air to surround him from above, below, left, and right.
Kahn raised both hands overhead, and a massive wall of fire rose to block every attack. Yellow and blue flames collided, merging into a dazzling spectacle that concealed the boundless killing intent beneath, its beauty mesmerizing.
Azula's boundless fire went as quickly as it came. The blue flames soon dissipated, but the wall of fire Kahn had raised remained, standing firm.
Then Kahn changed his movements, and the wall changed shape with them, falling like a supple waterfall of flame and rushing toward Azula in a mighty torrent.
Azula lowered her center of gravity, pressed her palms together, and thrust them forward forcefully. A powerful pillar of fire gushed out like a sharp blade, easily dividing the fiery waterfall in two and charging onward without losing momentum, as though to cleave Kahn in half.
Yet Kahn had vanished from view at some unknown point.
Azula's heart jolted. Suddenly sensing a gust of force from behind, she hurriedly ducked beneath it and rolled forward to put distance between them. When she looked back, however, she saw Kahn holding his palm out without making another move, merely smiling at her.
"Tch."
Azula dropped her fighting stance, clicked her tongue in annoyance, and swung her arm to fling a fireball at Kahn, only for him to casually swat it apart.
She knew she had lost, too. If Kahn had truly attacked from behind her just then, whether he used firebending or Chi-Blocking, the scene would have been ugly.
The intense use of firebending had consumed a great deal of stamina. The lingering heat around them left Azula drenched in sweat, her mouth and throat dry as she panted heavily.
But she paid no attention to any of that, walking up to Kahn and asking directly, "How did you get behind me?"
Kahn gave his answer:
"I hid inside the waterfall of fire. If you'd watched carefully, you should have been able to spot me."
"Tch, all you know are these cheap tricks that don't belong out in the open!"
So Azula gave him another annoyed kick and muttered disdainfully, as though she herself did not enjoy playing such tricks in battle.
Really, Kahn had learned these techniques from her in the first place.
"Heh heh, anyway, I won this time!"
Kahn grinned smugly, earning another eye roll from Azula as she said scornfully:
"You just got lucky. You've still lost plenty of times!"
"Hah, you expect me to believe that? Our wins and losses are about even, all right? And if anything, I've won a little more."
"Bullshit!"
The two bickered. As the victor of this battle, Kahn indicated that he did not mind the loser venting, then walked over to the stone steps not far from the training ground, picked up a pitcher, and poured two cups of water.
The water in the pitcher, which had already cooled, had become warm again under the effects of their firebending. The air over the training ground where they had fought was even more scorching, as though baked by the summer sun.
Looking back and finding that Azula had followed him over, Kahn handed her the water and simply sat down on the stone steps to rest. Azula sat beside him without ceremony.
Sparring with Azula demanded his full effort. After such an intense battle, both of them had nearly exhausted their stamina.
Looking at the training ground ravaged by flames before him, it was at times like these that he could feel his progress most keenly.
From forcing a draw against Azula at first by unfairly exploiting his physical advantage, to gradually daring to face her head-on but losing more than he won, and finally to trading victories with her now, he had truly felt his own terrifying talent.
In terms of fighting strength, Iroh judged him already more formidable than most Firebenders in the world, firmly situated near the top of the pyramid and unquestionably one of the two strongest Firebenders of the younger generation.
The other was naturally Azula.
So he could not help remarking:
"Talent so great it even scares me. Just what you'd expect from me!"
"Heh, when it comes to shamelessness and narcissism, you really are uniquely gifted."
Azula scoffed, still unable to get over her defeat just now, and declared:
"You can only gloat for now. Once I learn that move, you'll get what's coming to you!"
Hearing this, Kahn could not help growing curious and asked instinctively:
"That move? What move?"
Azula immediately gave a sly smile, looking as though her scheme had succeeded:
"Guess!"
"Tch."
Kahn clicked his tongue in annoyance, but curiosity kept slowly growing inside him, making his heart itch as though a cat were scratching it.
He was the sort of person with a fairly strong sense of curiosity, and people who liked to leave things half-said were precisely the ones he found most irritating and unbearable.
So he also feigned disdain and said indifferently:
"Whatever. Either way, you still won't be able to beat me."
"Heh, say whatever you like."
Azula remained unmoved, her lighthearted smile still on her face. Clearly, she had seen through Kahn's provocation.
Finally, Kahn could not resist guessing:
"It should be some hidden, advanced application of firebending, right?"
Because of Iroh's advice, he had diligently practiced firebending all these years, strengthening his foundations. Though his mind was filled with all sorts of wild ideas, he had kept himself from trying them lightly.
And now, his mastery of firebending was becoming ever more refined, his understanding of flames and firebending ever deeper. Though he had never experimented, he was certain that firebending was by no means as simple as merely controlling flames!
So the moment he heard Azula's words, he suspected that what she had gained was another application beyond firebending!
"Who knows? Maybe I'm learning earthbending."
Azula neither confirmed nor denied it, continuing to spout nonsense with her eyes wide open.
"You..."
Kahn took a deep breath and decided to bring out his trump card:
"Azula, do you really not think you have a terrible personality?"
As the saying went, the truth hurt most!
Come on, let's hurt each other!
"Hah?! Are you asking for a beating?!"
"You started it!"
"Who cares!"
The two began bickering again.
Perhaps Kahn himself had not noticed that, after living in this world for two years, his personality had not grown more mature with time. Instead, he had become more and more like a child his age.
His habits of speech and behavior had also been unconsciously influenced by those around him. He was fitting into this world more and more, no longer as out of place as he had been at the beginning.
Of course, that influence went both ways. The people around Kahn had also been influenced by him to varying degrees.
It was worth mentioning that Kahn had grown considerably taller by now. Though he had yet to shed his childishness, he could still be considered spirited and dashing, sunny and handsome, and quite a few girls at school had confessed their feelings to him.
Naturally, Kahn had turned them down. He was not some pervert, so of course he had no interest in children.
That afternoon, Kahn greeted Iroh at the door with an expectant look, for he had been looking forward to this day for a long time.
Now that his bending had more or less reached Iroh's requirements, the road ahead appeared clearly before his eyes-
The road called Firebending Master!
Before you continue