The impact of defeating Zhengzheng went far beyond what appeared on the surface. After the most visible, heated discussions gradually died down, it continued to exert its influence in the shadows.
For Kahn, the greatest benefit was that Ozai continued to lower his guard around him. This gave him more freedom and time to move about, and he could finally put his plan to seek instruction at the Eastern Air Temple on the agenda.
But this was no easy matter, either.
First, although Ozai was gradually loosening his control over him, he would never allow him to leave the city alone, so this, too, could only be done in secret.
Second, and the foremost difficulty, was how to get there.
The Eastern Air Temple had once been home to the Air Nomads. After the Fire Nation wiped them out a hundred years ago, it became a forbidden place people could not avoid quickly enough, and it remained deserted to this day.
Although it was called the Eastern Air Temple, that meant it lay east of the Earth Kingdom and west of the Fire Nation. Its location was closer to the Earth Kingdom's mainland, separated from the Fire Nation by a vast stretch of sea.
Traveling overland would mean crossing more than half the planet, which was clearly impossible. He would have to take a ship. Chartering a large merchant ship would allow him to travel back and forth, but aside from the expense, it would also make him very easy to expose.
More importantly, he was unsure how long learning spiritbending would take, but he imagined it was certainly not something he could master in ten or twenty days. At the same time, he could not stay out of Ozai's sight for too long.
This meant that if he wanted