Avatar - Conquering the Elements-Chapter 165

A month later. Tienhai City. Police Headquarters. Yo.

Yes, it's not the most elegant way to put it, but at that moment, Kuvira genuinely resembled a cute little dog looking up at her beloved owner. All she needed was a wagging tail to complete the picture of devotion in her eyes. Even Zhu Li glanced at the police chief with a puzzled expression, though there was judgment in her gaze—directed at me, not Kuvira. That was fine, as until then, Zhu Li had been too formal, which I didn't like. I still remember her beet-red face when I invoked a clause in the contract—the dress code—and made her wear something like a miniskirt. If she'd truly objected, she could have resisted, but she enjoyed the way my eyes occasionally drifted down to her legs and hips. After all, every girl craves attention. The key is not to overdo it.

There was a reason for all this. Of course, I'm always happy to admire the figures of attractive women, but there was another purpose behind my obvious attention—I wanted to draw out her emotions and see what lay hidden in her heart. Slowly, she began to open up.

We've strayed from the topic, so let's return to Kuvira.

Honestly, I intended to shamelessly exploit the police chief's feelings to gain control over the resources of the law enforcement agency. Driya, Celine, and Gaia had quickly set up permanent surveillance on the Equalists. Knowing their plans, minimizing casualties wouldn't be difficult. The police here were as ruthless as the world itself—they'd take down criminals without hesitation. Yakone would surely stir the crowd into action. I wanted to prevent a potential massacre. Kuvira was reasonable, but she might be left with no choice. My intervention was necessary.

"Zhu Li, prepare something hot for us," I asked my assistant. She didn't need to know this yet. No, I'd had enough time to understand her character, and betrayal wasn't in her nature, but some things were better left unsaid for now.

"The walls here are thick, no one can eavesdrop..." So, I could tell Kuvira the true purpose of my visit. "Kuvira, you've realized by now that the same organization was behind all the attacks," I said, seeing her nod. "Soon, they'll escalate their actions, and I want you to listen to my advice because..."

"Okay!" she interrupted, agreeing immediately.

"I'm glad, but let me explain everything," I smiled, knowing Kuvira didn't treat others with such warmth. The scale of the Equalists' organization had made her serious—after all, some of her subordinates might be on the enemy's side.

"If you know where their base is, we can crush them today!"

"It's not that simple," I sighed, shaking my head. "People need to release their emotions, understand, and accept that they're not second-class citizens but equals protected by the law."

"We'll have more time to discuss this," I smiled at Kuvira, unable to resist patting her head. She shyly lowered her gaze, just like a child. "Deep down, you're still that six-year-old girl craving warmth..."

*

A week ago. Tienhai City. Wan.

In the depths of the Sun Warriors' Island, ancient firebending techniques were recorded on stone tablets. Some were unreadable due to faded letters, but others were clear. That's where I learned a technique to detect particles of dark energy.

In the animated series, the shaman-priestess of the Fire Temple demonstrated energy-reading when Korra was possessed by a dark spirit, but here, even the Library didn't have that knowledge. Wan Shi Tong was always eager to expand his collection. Mastering the technique wasn't difficult, thanks to my understanding of spiritual healing—they're similar, both manipulating positive energy with an elemental twist, though this one requires life energy.

The easiest target to test the technique on was Bakir, the so-called King of the Criminal Underworld, who was actually a high-ranking Equalist. He distrusted his subordinates, so he rested alone, changing locations every day or two. "Better safe than sorry..." With that thought, I spent hours on a bench near his five-story building, gradually increasing the concentration of life energy in the area. Once I deemed it sufficient, I deepened the sleep of all residents.

I then calmly opened Bakir's locked apartment door. After a brief walk through the hallway, I headed to his bedroom. Bakir slept peacefully, unaware. This easy access to his body raised doubts about their devotion to Vaatu. But...

"We won't know unless we try," I thought, mixing a "pinch" of life energy, some positive energy, and fire particles. After five seconds, my hands glowed with a faint orange flame. Seeing Bakir still asleep, I ran my hands over his body, careful not to disturb any potential Vaatu particles. When my hands reached his abdomen, there was an odd response—a small part of his spiritual body resisted "scanning." A dark spot on his light-green aura, emitting no energy, sparked curiosity.

I'd need to talk to Aang and teach him this technique. He could briefly connect with the spirit of light—enough for Raava to identify the dark particle.

This time, Vaatu was being cautious... or had no other choice. If he were stronger, he'd make his puppets as powerful as possible. Likely, the particle had restored its energy but couldn't regain its quality without its main body. These are just my guesses, but they seem fitting. Unfortunately, even Wan Shi Tong lacks precise data on the Great Spirits' powers.

"It seems everyone closely tied to Yakone has a similar dark spot..." For statistical purposes, I'll visit Lady Suyin, who's so passionate about the Equalists' ideals.

*

Same day. Air Temple Island. Yo.

Holding a warm cup of tea, I gazed at the calm sea. The gentle waves lapping against the rocks below seemed to help me focus my thoughts, though they were far from cheerful. For fifteen years, I've been creating a system to help ordinary people master life energy, aiming to bring them closer to the level of benders. Progress has been made, but it's a fraction of what I envisioned. Mostly, it's individual techniques or combinations, like the Kyoshi Warriors' methods to enhance physical abilities or stick to surfaces.

If someone mastered all the techniques I've developed, they could rival even a mid-level bender—provided the environment favored them. Why are there only a few swordmasters like Piandao? Because they've proven they can fight powerful benders. How many swordsmen exist in the world? Most could be as persistent as Piandao, but they remain unknown. Becoming a true swordmaster requires talent, perseverance, vast experience, and mastery of life energy—all at the highest level.

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Frankly, any large-scale technique from a mid-level bender could easily kill a dozen skilled swordsmen. Under extremely lucky circumstances, even a novice waterbender could defeat a martial arts master. The chances are nearly zero, but they exist. This shows that even with life energy techniques, practitioners remain vulnerable—they can still die from a well-thrown knife.

In this regard, opening the body's chakras offers far more advantages. For example, the first chakra strengthens bones, allows incredible flexibility, and enhances reaction speed and skin toughness beyond human limits. It provides some ability to resist benders. I've tried making chakra opening easier or dividing it into more stages... unfortunately, without success.

Guru Pathik's method of opening chakras through voice infused with life energy has limited effects. Only Aang, as the Avatar, Celine—a half-human, half-spirit—and my other daughter with a similar dual nature have easily opened their chakras. This path remains closed to most.

Ordinary people need confidence... and only the ability to defend themselves can give them that.

"Maybe it's time for bed?" I mumbled uncertainly, rubbing my eyes. The rapidly approaching island refused to disappear. "A floating island..." Before I could finish the thought, a massive lion-turtle head emerged from the water.

"In the animated series, the lion-turtle appeared when Aang needed help..." I hoped this ancient creature wasn't here by chance.

Without a word, it extended a massive clawed paw. I felt no malice, in fact, I felt nothing—not even a trace of energy. The next second, I was in the air, watching as two giant claw-fingers approached my forehead.

The next few minutes stretched into years for me. The mental strain forced me to merge with my other bodies. My mind was flooded with knowledge from ancient masters of life energy. There was no time for shock—I had to grasp this precious opportunity. In short, opening the body's chakras is like forcibly tearing off locks from doors! It's an attempt by descendants to gather scattered knowledge of life energy and bring some order to it. They deserve praise—not everyone can create something functional from remnants of past greatness.

People from before the first Avatar Wan understood how to achieve the same results as chakra opening without risking their lives. Yes, progress was slower, and the lion-turtle knew only a few practitioners who reached the seventh chakra... But what impressed me most was that their development was safe, allowing them to start training from childhood.

After a few minutes, the necessary training methods were "imprinted" in my mind, but I wanted to question this being, possibly older than the spirit of knowledge. In the animated series, lion-turtles communicated verbally, but with me, they used images—much faster. Only after an hour did I "release" the ancient creature. My head was still swelling with information... Ha, Wan Shi Tong will be envious—even he has no knowledge of those distant times!

"Lion-turtles are like Noah's Arks of this world..." They've saved not only humans but also spirits countless times, protecting them from the eternal conflict between the Great Spirits. The animated series might not have shown the spirits' true power, but here, even a simple ancient spirit could easily destroy a massive city. What kind of destruction did Raava and Vaatu cause? According to the lion-turtle, entire regions spanning thousands of kilometers were sometimes rendered uninhabitable. Their battles split the once-unified continent into three... Mostly, the destruction was caused by the spirit of chaos—that's his specialty. Lion-turtles often became homes for spirits and humans who lost their lands, lasting for centuries. As natural products of the world itself, they mastered both life and spiritual energy. They evaded danger with their speed and sensitivity, detecting Raava and Vaatu's locations to avoid those areas. "It feels like the world created lion-turtles to protect life..." I'll discuss this with Wan Shi Tong—I can't wait to boast about my new knowledge!