Chapter 162
Tienhai City. Airbender Academy. Yo.
"I understand perfectly that your brilliant minds are still wandering. But right now, that's exactly what's needed. Don't try to control the currents, don't overthink techniques—just surrender to the wind," I said, falling silent as I began to closely observe my students' progress. Occasionally, I'd appear beside a young man or woman, using quick and precise finger movements to relax their tense bodies.
This year, the walls of this magical institution welcomed its first batch of students. Over the past years, nearly a thousand new airbenders have joined. Of course, most are fairly weak talents who, without relentless effort, are unlikely to achieve any significant results. But there are also young people whose hearts, so to speak, burn with passion. It's these young men and women I'm focusing on now. The others, unwilling to dedicate themselves to full-time training, study at home and only come to Tienhai once a year to demonstrate their progress. After all, without even small improvements in their skills, they won't see any money. Financial rewards have greatly motivated their progress. Though Aang often grumbles that true Air Nomads shouldn't be trained this way. But he doesn't plan to change anything—he knows results speak louder than words.
No one but Aang and I can teach those who've unlocked the mysteries of airbending, so we're the only instructors in this massive building. He teaches one week, and I take the next seven days. Students are divided into two groups: one attends in the morning and leaves by afternoon, while the other trains in the evening. Every day, I spend at least eight hours here. I wouldn't say it's a burden, but there are other matters demanding my attention. At some point, I realized clearly that four bodies simply aren't enough. One is always in the Spirit World, I'm responsible for Tienhai and training young (and not-so-young) benders, and the other two shuttle between the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Northern Water Tribe. Meanwhile, full-scale clashes often erupt in the Spirit World, requiring all my bodies to intervene.
It's a good thing no powerful beings are emerging from interdimensional breaches, and the military handles the lower and mid-level spirits that occasionally appear. We've created a decent "simulator" to train soldiers, and judging by the reports I've reviewed, the benders are progressing well in their skills and gaining essential battle experience against various spirits.
In the class, there were a couple of familiar faces from the animated series. The first was Lee, now a fully grown man, the son of the farmer Hansu, who dared to speak out against soldiers clearly abusing their power.
The second was a girl who strongly resembled Avatar Korra's mother, Senna. Coincidentally, her name was Senna too. The universe loves surprising me...
The last notable student was Jin, the girl Zuko met in the original story. She'd actually come here from the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se. All three possess great talent in bending, and I hope to help them reach even greater heights.
"Relax your minds," my voice, filled with life energy, focused them on their tasks. Soft music played in the background, further enhancing their training. The bodies of those present were buffeted by gusts of air—sometimes strong, sometimes weak, fast, or barely noticeable. The specially designed practice room had numerous "vents" from which air was supplied. All this brought their training closer to what would've taken place in the actual Air Temples. Only there, the wind was driven by nature itself; here, science and technology lend a hand. It would be better if they trained in the Temples themselves, but few are willing to forsake the comforts of civilization to live like true monks.