17 A True Master is an Eternal Apprentice

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Waking up along with the dawn, Azula felt somewhat uncomfortable. Unpleasant feelings in her back and shoulders were distracting the girl's brilliant mind. Such a nagging pain causing mild discomfort. The fault was probably the not-so-comfortable bed. Having no trouble pulling herself together, the girl showed a strong will and got up. There was a new day ahead that was worth living it to the fullest.

"Morning Azula, how did you sleep? I didn't disturb you too much with my business?" - greeted her spirit almost immediately, in a cheerful voice.

- Morning... why do I feel like I slept standing up all night? - Standing up from the bed, the girl immediately began kneading her unpleasantly aching shoulders.

"Well not all night, and I was far from standing. It's just that while manipulating your body, I became interested in the limits of your abilities. It turns out that you can do handstand push-ups with a clap! You have no idea what you're capable of!" - The spirit spoke admiringly, shocking the girl.

- 'What have you been doing to my body?

'Don't say it in that tone of voice, as if I was doing something vulgar and immoral'

- What. You. Did. With my body?! - The princess raised her voice slightly, slowly enunciating each word.

"Not a big deal. Standing on my hands, I decided to start doing push-ups, experimenting with Qi along the way. I did so that my feet touched the ceiling." Azula looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, which was about five to seven metres from the floor. The spirit, not even paying attention, continued talking.

"...Tested your stamina, it's monstrous, practised your punches, played with your internal energy. Did you know that if you infuse your body with Qi, making it move faster, you become a little stronger, stronger and faster? And if you infuse your bones, muscles, tendons and nerves separately, the result is much better? You could say the latter trick allows you to go beyond the limits of human capabilities, but monstrously fast wastes stamina. And the further you go beyond the limits, the faster you waste your Qi," the spirit finished saying fantastic things that were impossible to believe.

- Such control is impossible! Don't tell me fairy tales, what were you doing with my body?

'It's true and you know it, does your memory fail you? I may have done it in the dark, I don't need the light, but you must remember something, right?"

- Humans can't control such subtle processes..." Azula stammered, remembering she wasn't exactly talking to a human. - Okay. I need to get cleaned up and get to training. Since you've been experimenting on my body, why don't you spare me the pain? And wait, how can you control my chi? It's mine!

"Heh. The fact that I can conquer blue flames didn't confuse you? Qi and conquering fire are actually the same thing. As you remember, I was perfectly in control of the flames I created since I never started a fire in all this time. As for the pain... I have an idea about that. Will you hand over control of your body to me for a moment?" - There was silence, the girl pondered the spirit's words, feeling the unpleasant sensations in her back and shoulders.

- Okay," despite her disbelief, Azula allowed the spirit to take control of her body. But at any moment she was ready to take it back, reclaiming her body from the demon's vile clutches.

The spirit, having gained control of her body, spread her arms wide and breathed in full. Beginning to wave its arms in time with its breathing. Soon Azula began to feel warmth. It spread from her lungs to her stomach and then to the rest of her body. Finishing the incomprehensible exercise of breathing, the spirit calmly handed over the power of the body to the true master.

- What was that? - wondered the princess, kneading her shoulders and stretching her back. There was no more pain.

''An advanced breathing exercise to regain strength. After recovering the spent Qi, I directed it to the sore areas of my body and healed the minor wounds. I learnt this overnight when I got too involved in testing your stamina. I'm sorry I didn't do it right away, I forgot a little bit in the excitement of my success," the spirit explained in an apologetic tone.

- What else have you learnt this night? - Azula asked cautiously, feeling fear creeping up at the realisation of the spirit's growing capabilities.

"Nothing. What I know how to do now is too much. Spent most of the night learning new abilities. I also learnt a lot more about fire magic, have Piandao look at your breathing, it can't hurt"

- My breath is perfect! - The last words of the interlocutor hurt the girl so much that she raised her voice again. For her, as a fire mage, breathing is extremely important.

"I thought you were going to the morning training? There's no need to waste time. We can talk about everything in the evening, but for now, take care of the immediate business and I need to think"

- Fine, but don't expect to dodge the questions," Azula replied grudgingly.

Recognising another's rightness, she begins to tidy herself up. A couple of minutes later, dressed in her old crumpled clothes, she left the assigned chambers, washed, combed and with a fresh head. Azula, pretending to be Tai Li, went to the training ground, where after warming up, she began practising with the training sword she had picked up on her way to the ground. It was at this activity that she was caught by the master.

Piandao was delighted by this dedication to learning, and he noticed the girl as he drew a picture of the dawn. His keen eye was quick to find the slightest errors in Tai Li's techniques. Pointing them out, he showed her how to do it correctly. After warming up a bit, they sparred. The fight was much harder than yesterday's.

This time he managed to defeat the girl only by repeating the hair ring trick. It was with this trick that Azula had defeated the master yesterday. Of course, the girl also didn't fight "fair" at all using dirty tricks, which she had experienced yesterday. Piandao only praised her for such a thing, saying that a true master is an eternal student. Except that experience still trumped genius with youth, which was why the girl lost. They decided to take a break and have some refreshment, the servants had prepared breakfast for the early birds.

After eating, Tai Li was the first to speak to Master. Asking him to look at her breathing and whether she was doing everything right. Master looked at the girl for a long time, a very long time looking at the way she was breathing. After which he decided to have another sparring session. Only after the fight did he realise what the girl's little mistake was. Pointing at her, he made a whole speech about the importance of breathing for any human being and in particular a warrior.

- Breathing is an important part of every warrior, and it is especially important for fire mages. Always try to breathe properly. Even when you sleep, don't forget about breathing. Breathe with your chest to the full capacity of your lungs. This saves your stamina, it gives your whole body strength. This is especially important for a firebender, because your magic depends on proper breathing. You can see for yourself," With Piandao's permission, Tai Li immediately performed a series of fire magic techniques, quickly feeling the difference.

"As I thought, your breathing wasn't perfect, but I won't distract you any further, practice and learn, I'll be a mere observer," the spirit reminded himself as soon as the girl finished a series of fire magic blows.

It was amazing, but a person who didn't know fire magic knew a little more than all the masters she had been trained by. Azula even wondered, how could he know such subtleties about breathing? After all, not every master could even guess about them. This was a big blow to the girl, because she had previously thought her breathing was perfect. But having corrected the mistake immediately felt the difference - to do techniques became a little easier, she spent a little less effort and they turned out more powerful.

- Thank you for the lesson, master, perhaps you can answer my other question," Tai Li bowed respectfully to the master, making a mental note. She had heard the master's words, and now she would always breathe correctly.

- There is nothing stopping you from voicing it...''

Azula, posing as Tai Li, told the master about her question. Or rather, her questions. Since the girl had more than one question on a topic she was completely unfamiliar with. She told much of what she knew about Qi, the system of internal energy, pools, swirls, the interaction of pools with each other and other things that she had talked about with the spirit last night, adding her questions. The Master answered briefly:

- What you are talking about is chakras. As far as I know, chakras are centres of power and consciousness located inside the human body and linking its spiritual and vital energy. Each of these chakras is tied to an emotion or state of mind that a person can fall into. Each can be opened or closed by the desired emotion and state. Seven chakras are located along the vertical axis of the human body, but in different organs. If you open them all, the energy of Qi will flow freely through the body," the old master explained, remembering someone else's words, under the attentive gaze of the girl listening to him.

"Ask about his chakras, has he opened them all?" - The spirit interjected into the conversation, but only Azula could hear him.

- 'You opened all the chakras? Is that what made you so strong and brilliant?

- Not exactly. Rather, thanks to genius and the help of someone wise, I was able to open all the chakras. In advance of your next question, yes I can help you open the chakras, however it will be very difficult. Opening them requires a deep knowledge of meditation, understanding yourself, your emotions, your goals and your life path. By opening all the chakras, a lot of things will be available to a person, but it is far from an easy path and not everyone is able to walk this path. This is not something I will be teaching you anytime soon," Piandao finishes his speech with decisive words.

- In that case, what will be my next lesson? - Tai Li said in a respectful voice.

- To begin with, let's repeat our fight, you still do not perceive the sword as an extension of the hand, this must be corrected first of all, - the master accompanied his words with pulling the sword from the sheath.

The girl's training began...

(***)

After another fight, Piandao decided to teach another lesson. He took the student to the room, or rather hall, where they first met. The room had been changed, there was a clean scroll, a brush, and ink on the table, and the windows still had a marvellous view. The girl quickly realised that this was about to be a very unusual lesson.

- What's this for? - Tai Li asked, looking around at the other calligraphy equipment.

"Looks like there's going to be something interesting," the Spirit gave his opinion.

- A true warrior practices many arts, training not only the body but also the mind. I want to see your calligraphy skills. Write your name," the master said after his little speech, and then he took the brush and handed it to the girl.

- What does this have to do with the art of swordsmanship? - Taking the brush in his hands, Tai Li examines it carefully, throwing his gaze at the blank scroll.

"A warrior who only knows how to kill is a bad warrior," said the spirit who was not asked.

- When you write your name, you leave your own mark on the paper. You must learn to leave your own mark with sword, magic or other skills on the battlefield," the master calmly explained, looking at the girl carefully. The apprentice dipped her brush into the ink and was about to start writing when the words of the master stopped her.

- Remember, you can never erase the mark of the ink, nor can you erase the mark of the sword or your mark on history.

"What wise words. I hope you got the hint?"

Tai Li cast a glance at the master. Her eyes glittered with understanding, the girl realised everything the master wanted to convey to her. Concentrating her gaze on the blank scroll. Holding up her hand with her sleeve, she begins to inscribe her name. Slowly, taking her time, without error or doubt, the apprentice drew her mark perfectly. Towards the end, looking at the drawn name "Tai Li", she couldn't hold back a smile, satisfied with her work.

- Beautiful work. What were you thinking while drawing those kanji? - Master asked, watching the girl's work.

- About the past... What will be my next lesson, Master...?

(***)

- Is it necessary? - Tai Li inquired, looking at her Master. They had now travelled far outside the castle, the master was about to give another peculiar lesson.

- Yes, it is mandatory. This is necessary for the next lesson,'' the master replied confidently.

'Don't be stubborn, a student must trust his master. Put on the blindfold, it won't prevent me from seeing the world. If he's up to something bad, I'll be sure to tell you about it," the girl was comforted by her body neighbour.

- 'Okay,' the apprentice replies, blindfolding herself with the blindfold, thus depriving herself of her sight. She didn't like this sort of thing, but she had already recognised the master, and if he deemed such a thing necessary, she would trust.

- Trust me and go ahead," Tai Li felt the master's hand on her shoulder and she headed in that direction.

She walked, counting the seconds and feeling her way up the hill. At times the girl stumbled, but she always managed to keep her balance and not fall face first into the ground. The master's hand, constantly resting on her shoulder, guided Tai Li in a direction unknown to her. About ten minutes of silent travelling passed as the master suddenly spoke to the distant sounds of a waterfall.

- The art of painting helps to capture the images of nature in the warrior's memory - feeling the master's hand pulling back, the girl stopped. The blindfold is quickly torn from her eyes by a stranger's hand. The bright light hits her eyes, making her blink.

- In battle, you'll only have a moment to remember everything," Piandao says as the girl's eyes adjust to the light.

Her eyes got used to the light, the girl saw the enchanting beauty of nature. A huge stream of water flowed down in a cascade of waterfalls. The splashes of water formed a mist, giving the beauty of nature a touch of mysticism. In the distance, hills could be seen in the distance, spacious meadows flanked the river, and the sky was as blue and bright as ever.

"It's beautiful. It even makes me want to swim there," the spirit expressed his opinion.

- Now draw, and don't peek," the master carefully turned the apprentice round to the table behind her. On it everything was ready for painting: paints, brushes, clean canvas.

Tai Li took a brush and began to pensively examine the canvas, thinking about the usefulness of such a lesson. The pondering dragged on, the spirit taking her inaction in its own way.

"Draw, it's just another exercise for the mind. Specifically this lesson teaches you to memorise as much as you can in a short time. You should realise, in battle there is rarely time for unnecessary thought and reflection."

She dipped her brush into the paints, beginning to draw carefully. The princess had never done this before, but her knowledge of calligraphy helped her to make a good picture, and her well-developed memory helped her to convey the accuracy of what she saw. The girl drew slowly, trying to draw the picture perfectly accurately. The spirit sometimes helped her in this endeavour, reminding her of some small details. The Master stood silently, enjoying the wind, the sound of water and birdsong, waiting for his apprentice to finish her work.

- Done," the apprentice held out her work to the master.

Piandao examines the resulting painting. It was far from perfect, but it was done with diligence.

- Quite decent for a first time, now back to the castle....

The days of training with the master flew by. Piandao taught the girl not only how to use the sword, but also many other things that he himself had learnt.

The art of calligraphy was at a high level for Tai Li. But the master did painting with his pupil much more often. The girl also tried to learn to play a musical instrument, training her ear. Piandao possessed not only a sword, but also many other weapons and styles of fighting with them. He passed on his experience to his student in numerous sparring sessions alternating with lectures.

Days were followed by days. The apprentice grew stronger and stronger each day, gaining experience, sharpening her senses, mind, and skills...