10 Training the New Generation

The sky was blue and clear, seemingly pure, as if no pollution could be seen in this place, unlike the stories and rumors about the invaders' colonies. At noon, the sun continued to shine brightly. Wisps of white clouds drifted away, and a group of beautiful seagulls chirped as they flew beneath the blue sky, forming an arrow under the clouds as they soared.

These seagulls only appeared in large groups during the spring. Their bodies were filled with snow-white feathers; their size was akin to that of a dove. It had been ten days since the day Thorian managed to gather a good number of apprentices who had decided to train with him, but before even starting the training, he needed to rid them of their fear of combat, which could only be achieved through experience.

The spring breeze blew over the light snow on the ground, while around a hundred people of all ages stood in formation in an open field with swords, while others wielded long spears in their hands. The ground was flat, the ice beneath their feet should be their advantage to utilize, and they all needed to get accustomed to this type of training as it would give them a tremendous advantage on the battlefield.

There were at least fifty teenagers under fifteen years old, all of them forming a semicircle around Thorian, who had grown even taller during this time period. Regardless of Thorian's age, everyone paid attention to him because he was the one who would teach them the combat method. Everyone was excited because the time had come to learn to control the ice just as Thorian did; they all knew that this method was more advanced because it was solely focused on causing damage.

Today, which was the lesson where everyone would learn to manipulate ice, was something that Thorian would take charge of teaching them well. At least in these stages, Thorian would focus on training good leaders; they would be responsible for training the younger ones, and he wouldn't worry about the increase of good soldiers for the uprising they would slowly wage against the enemy.

"Most of you don't know how to manipulate water; that is something inherited by our people from our ancestors, and it is something in your veins to learn. This style is a variant of water control, and I will call it from now on ice control because we do not make use of it in its liquid state but rather focus on the solid," Thorian began.

"All of you have chosen to learn because you believe it is an invincible method, but even the most powerful methods can be defeated by carelessness or a bad leader. That's why you will learn; no one will participate in the attacks until they know very well how to defeat a fire control master.

"Those who learn to control the ice will be able to create their own techniques, but they must know that whether for short or long range, this fighting style is now focused on always being the best."

As he spoke, Thorian extended his right hand, the fingers of his hand spread wide apart. He lowered the palm of his hand so that the youth could see its center.

"First, manipulate the energy that we all have within us, and with the martial arts I have taught you, you will be able to control the ice by yourselves." Following Thorian's voice, they all watched as frost slowly formed on his palm, causing him no harm.

"Then, mobilize the energy of your body by connecting it with your mind; imagine the power you can have; and do not be afraid to manipulate the ice because you have the talent to do it."

They all watched as a long sword of ice slowly formed, appearing out of nowhere without the need to manipulate water beforehand. Thorian knew that his power came from that dragon, and he couldn't demand too much from these people who were just starting, but as far as he understood, he didn't have a power that was difficult to reach.

As everyone focused on what they wanted to achieve, they could easily become powerful enough to match fire control masters and put them in serious trouble. Once he created the ice sword, he manipulated it in the air under everyone's gaze with minimal hand movements, and without warning, he forcefully threw it at an ice wall not far from his position.

Boom!

Subsequently, the ice on Thorian's skin grew stronger, and quickly, the ice around him was manipulated with such ease that it seemed like a game. Obviously, not everyone would have the same talent, but they could do the same with the skills and necessary training.

"That's amazing!" "How beautiful." The young ones couldn't help but release praises of surprise and awe when they saw it. The ice Thorian manipulated could create anything, from a wall that protected them to one that launched an attack without exposing the body, generating great impressions on everyone watching this.

To manipulate the ice, everyone knew that first, water had to be manipulated, but with this method, Thorian bypassed that unimportant factor to increase the chances of causing damage in a life-or-death combat.

"The angrier you are, the clearer the idea you fight for, your control, and the power of ice will increase. We have all lost something; maybe you only fight for your nation, and that is important because we are not fighting in this war for an absurd idea of conquest."

As he said this, his five widely open fingers slowly closed, then he raised his arm and slowly moved it forward with his right arm. Finally, he waved his palm slightly in a cutting motion. The entire movement was steady and powerful.

Swish.

The young students could hear a soft brushing sound next to their ears. But when they looked to where Thorian had attacked, they all saw with horror as a huge series of ice spikes that could easily cut anyone emerged out of nowhere, extending to several hundred meters.

"If you continue with this training, we will unite the entire South and teach them this training method. But we must be aware that the Fire Nation could pay attention to us, so we will do this very slowly, and when we have the talent, we will attack the colonies."

Following the movement they had been learning, they now understood that this was a lie with which they would quickly become familiar with ice manipulation.

Watching as the ice around them transformed into a snowstorm, they all covered their faces when that control passed over them, and without prior warning, they began to freeze.

"As long as you know how to manipulate ice, there will be incredible attacks that could start against the enemy. Only we are made to withstand extreme cold temperatures, but the enemy will die if exposed to this degree of cold."

Crack!

After attacking in a different way, freezing much of the moist ground, they all felt a bit of admiration and respect. The attacks were impressive, but if their enemy was the Fire Nation, they still had to consider defense and know how they would attack.

But for that, Thorian, who was a fire control man, knew how to train these people in the future. Once they were proficient in combat techniques, they began to eliminate enemy cruisers that were prowling the sea.

The young ones were surprised to see this, with their eyes wide open. Some of them even touched their bodies in fear of continuing to freeze quickly.

The teenagers had bright eyes as they looked around, suddenly changing surroundings; some of them looked at Thorian's arm, which was in perfect condition.

"All right, follow my steps and train."

All the students stretched out their right hands, letting the ice slowly cover them in waves, and moving their inner energy. There were signs very soon. One by one, they were able to briefly manipulate the ice, making good use of everything they had learned.

But when they tried to form an ice sword in their right hand, they all encountered different problems in doing so. Among them, some of them only formed a simple sword, but it ended up breaking because it was so weak; others covered their hands with ice but didn't have the ability to manipulate it as easily as Thorian did. Some formed smaller daggers and threw them forward, and those proved effective but did not show off for the enemy.

The young teenagers frowned.

When they saw Thorian's demonstration before, it seemed quite easy. But when they started practicing themselves, they realized the skill required for this action. Creating a snowstorm, creating ice spikes on the ground, or throwing ice spears was not easy at all.

Thorian had a slight smile as he looked on. He hoped for something like this to happen, and he wasn't surprised. Despite there being many talents in this group, not everyone had the skills to make a perfect demonstration on the first day of training.

As long as he trained these people well, he could really make a difference, not only for himself but for many more people.