Avatar - Conquering the Elements-Chapter 140

Yo. The Library of Wan Shi Tong.

With great effort, I pried my eyes open and scanned the space around me. The same was happening to the rest of my remaining bodies as they began to wake up.

"My room in the abode of knowledge," I stated the obvious, and without wasting time, I immediately delved "inside" myself. I wanted to understand as quickly as possible what had happened to my Roku body. Was there any way to bring it—or myself—back?

The sight that unfolded before me wasn't very pleasing. The source of earth energy had regressed to its lowest level and showed almost no signs of life. Hmm, my thoughts didn't quicken, though theoretically, Roku's stream of consciousness should have been distributed among all the other bodies. The state of the other sources was also far from ideal. Clearly, they had been severely affected by the violent disappearance of one of the bodies. I definitely wouldn't be able to conquer anything for the next month.

"Or manipulate life energy..." I had to admit. Most likely, each body was too tightly bound to the elemental and life energy sources, which was why the situation looked so bleak now.

Attempting to sit up, I managed only to tense my facial muscles. Everything below my neck simply wouldn't respond to my control. Another try, this time using life energy, made it clear that wasn't the way to go... unless I wanted to experience unforgettable sensations. It felt like thousands of excruciatingly painful needles were being jabbed into me. But apparently, that wasn't enough for me. My futile attempts to survey the space with my spiritual senses gifted me with a long-lasting headache. That's the downside of being almost an energy-based being. Any spiritual issues affect the physical body even more intensely.

"Damn Koh!" I muttered. He was truly determined to become the first on my list of most hated individuals—at this rate, he might even surpass Vaatu. "So many good conquerors were lost..." I hoped their deaths were quick and painless.

Until I personally witness this spirit's death, I won't be able to walk in peace. He could literally be anyone! No, I don't believe his disguise is perfect! There must be some flaws!

Replaying our two encounters in my mind, I grew more and more amazed by his abilities. Paying attention to every tiny detail, I soon realized something. The flame of life! That was something he couldn't possibly fake, as it exists only in living, sentient beings of the human plane. Yes, he managed to create some kind of surrogate, but it didn't come close to the real thing. While the genuine flame of life constantly flickers, resembling a campfire, his looked more "static."

"I'll need to closely monitor my surroundings..." It's reassuring to have found at least one flaw.

"Father!" a joyful voice called from the door. Before I could turn my face, my head was suddenly squeezed between Selin's massive upper hemispheres. She seemed determined to finish me off. After all, due to losing control over my life energy, all human needs had returned. Just as I took a free breath, Driya took Selin's place. Fortunately, Gaia limited herself to a simple kiss on the cheek.

"You have no idea how worried we all were!" Driya exclaimed, still holding my hand.

"Yes! We were about to head to Yui Bay when you suddenly lost consciousness!" Selin continued.

"I'm glad to see all of you too!" I managed to interject.

"Roku!" Shizuka, Suyuki, Jun, and Tof literally burst into the room.

And once again, the breath-holding challenge began. But all of this was overshadowed by the fact that the girls were safe and sound! Honestly, I had been forcing myself not to think about the possibility of the Face Stealer going further to ruin my life. Thanks to Wan and Yuki, I had already seen the other girls; only those in the Earth Kingdom remained.

"Well, you certainly gave us a scare!" Tof lightly punched me, trying to hide her satisfied expression. My bed was surrounded by beautiful women, which was a delight to my eyes.

"Don't do that again," Jun whispered.

"It's not up to me anymore..." I sighed to myself. Shizuka and Suyuki were still thoroughly examining me.

They then began recounting the events. First, I had slept for an entire week, and during that time, my energy had been "stormy." My body periodically released bursts of various spiritual energies, and sometimes life energy joined in, adding even more chaos.

Second, the claimants to the Omashu throne had safely returned home, though they brought sad news. My women had almost killed them, not particularly amused by such a "joke." But as they admitted, they simply didn't want to believe what they were told. Fortunately, in the emergency, Selin, Gaia, and Driya thought of the other women, who were experiencing similar feelings at the time. After contacting and calming everyone, they rushed to find Wan Shi Tong. He often disappears from the Library, always busy with something. I suspect he's persuading other spirits to join our plan. The Spirit of Knowledge dispelled the most dire thoughts, saying that soon—meaning I—would recover.

"Another one of my theories has been confirmed," Wan Shi Tong appeared as abruptly as ever. "As long as all your bodies aren't killed, you'll continue to live."

"Do you think I'll be able to get my Roku body back?" I didn't believe he hadn't tried to study me.

"Judging by everything, the fourth stream of consciousness, as well as the body itself, will return to you once you reach your previous level of development in earthbending," he concluded... The Spirit of Knowledge is everywhere.

"But why didn't he attack my protégés? They were definitely experiencing strong emotions, seeing their King beheaded right before their eyes."

"It means only one thing. He no longer had time; just a little more, and his body would have been irretrievably destroyed. Even I don't dare to toy with the laws of the world," he said. In other words, this fool used almost all his limited time during our first meeting? Oh, and he was so pompous at our wedding. "He'll definitely be out of our sight for about five years," which can't help but bring joy.

"We want to stay here! With you!" Shizuka quickly declared, with the others nodding in agreement.

"No one was planning to chase you away," I laughed at their determined faces. "I'll feel more at ease this way."

And so, my measured life continued. Despite spending twenty-four hours a day in bed for seven days, there were plenty of interesting things...

"Here's a spoonful for beautiful Selin, ah-mm," a spoonful of fragrant herbal porridge was brought to my mouth. Weakness simply didn't allow me to take care of myself. "Now one for Mom, just like that!" My daughter was genuinely enjoying herself. The situation amused her, as just a couple of years ago, I was the one feeding her like this. "And one for Grandma Jun!" I still occasionally recall the moment Selin met my parents.

Before that, I had told them I had a daughter. Mom and Dad already had some resilience, so to speak, accustomed to my antics. But it turned out we only made it to the North Pole after Selin's chakras opened. They certainly didn't expect a granddaughter who looked even older than Yui. But Selin didn't miss a beat, quickly winning their love.

"Don't play with my device while I'm in this state!" I scolded Suyuki.

"It's so unusual to see him not in an active position," she wrapped her hand around it. "Still too big..." she seemed to admit defeat, unable to fully encircle it.

"Daughter, maybe you could help me after all?" Shizuka asked, not pausing her massage of my body. It was necessary to prevent muscle atrophy. Fortunately, daughter and mother were quite skilled at it, thanks to their experience as Kyoshi Warriors.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

It was clear they were unaccustomed to seeing me so helpless. They were used to my, so to speak, confident side, to how I effortlessly defeated enemies. And it seemed everyone even liked this state of affairs. Judging by their remarks, they finally felt they could be useful and help me in some way.

There was plenty of time for reflection. I had to admit I'd grown too accustomed to playing in the "sandbox." The conquerors opposing me had somewhat lulled me into complacency. Even the Fire Sages, though strong, weren't even close to the Ancient Spirits. It was time to focus on the main component of any Korean novel. Let the grind begin! Cruel and relentless.

As I expected, by the end of the allotted month of doing nothing, my body began to return to normal. A slightly disappointed Selin could no longer feed her daddy. Sorry, but a whole month of helplessness was enough for me. Sometimes it felt like I'd returned to my early childhood.

On the last day of my stay on the human plane, I had a confidential conversation with my daughter:

"Selin, while I'm in the Spirit World, persuade the others to visit other members of our large family. Let them gradually get used to each other. After all, I won't give up on anyone."

"You can count on me, Father!" Selin patted her chest.

"My beauty," I gently stroked her silky green hair.

"I'm not a little girl anymore," she weakly protested against such treatment.

"To me, you'll always be my little baby..."

*

Fire Nation Islands. Aang.

"Momo! Appa! We finally escaped from the Palace!" Aang's happiness knew no bounds, as his torment had finally ended.

Let's rewind a bit... It all started when he "built" his foundation in earthbending. He was ready to move on—to learn the final element.

Everything was going well; his new teacher was a true master of his craft. And Aang had some suspicions... The new teacher, Wan, looked too much like Roku... and Yuki... and even Yo. No, their appearances were different, but something inside him said they all shared something in common. Not letting it bother him, he continued diligently absorbing his teacher's wisdom.

"If only I could help them in that war against the Fire Sages, how much energy could I gain for Raava?" he often wondered. And yes, he had become a bit obsessed with solving problems of all kinds. It was now hard for him to walk past any issue... even the most minor one. In truth, with the help of the flying bison, he should have reached the capital in half a week. But how would that uncle harvest all his crops? And what about the girl who lost her doll? That grandmother wouldn't have been able to fix the hole in her roof herself... In this way, his journey stretched into a full month.

A couple of days passed, and his teacher lost consciousness. And he overheard that Yo and Yuki were in the same state. Very strange...

But then, he had no time for thoughts. He just needed to survive...

His training was taken over by none other than Lord Azula. It would have been fine—he didn't doubt her competence in the slightest. But there was one issue. Each of their training sessions ended when Aang could no longer stand. Thanks to Roku, he was used to beatings, but the Fire Lord's expression was terrifying. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one receiving such treatment. Every day, he prayed for his kind, dear, and understanding teacher Wan to regain consciousness. Because then, Lady Azula's good mood would return.

It was doubly unfortunate that this monster in human form was horribly responsible. He was told not to leave the Palace walls until his firebending level matched all the other elements.

"Appa, descend! It looks like that uncle in the boat can't catch any fish! We need to help him!"

"This big, hairless lemur is glitching again..." Momo rolled his eyes.

*

Southern Water Tribe. Sokka.

"Be careful with the cargo! If you damage it, you'll be sent back to the Northern Water Tribe yourselves!" the loud voice of a much-matured Sokka echoed through the area.

And honestly, every newly unloaded ship, every newly constructed building, gave Sokka a sense of duty fulfilled. He hadn't forgotten his promise to revive the Southern Water Tribe.

"Miss Hama, someone's injured again, they need your help!" Sokka called to her.

"Alright, grandson," she groaned, rising from her icy chair. "I'm glad I was wrong about him; I thought his words were just bravado..." She cast a quick glance at Sokka's broad back, or rather, the future Chief of the Southern Water Tribe.

In reality, the future Southern Water Tribe would be something like Omashu in the Earth Kingdom. It would have some autonomy, but important matters would be decided in consultation with the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka wasn't opposed to this arrangement, as he remembered the kindness of his northern kin. Besides, they would definitely depend on supplies from the North Pole for several years.